Dependable Erection

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Next time he can wear blackface and channel Amos and Andy

Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) made this unsettling discovery as he questioned the nominee about the second amendment and self defense. "If the threat was in this room, 'I'm going to come get you,'" the judge said, and "if I go home, get a gun, come back and shoot you, that may not be legal."

"You'll have lots of 'splainin' to do," replied Coburn, channeling Ricky Ricardo as he addressed the first Hispanic nominee to the Supreme Court.

For his next trick, Senator Coburn will put on blackface, and perform a routine from Amos and Andy. What a first class moron.

h/t to PM

Labels: ,


Continue reading Next time he can wear blackface and channel Amos and Andy

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

"Meeting the Brontosaurus"


(Via Mr. Felton)

Labels:


Continue reading "Meeting the Brontosaurus"

Hello, Bernie!

Hide the silverware:
Disgraced financier Bernard Madoff arrived Tuesday at a federal prison in North Carolina to begin serving a 150-year sentence for what is believed to be the largest Ponzi scheme in history.

Federal Bureau of Prisons spokeswoman Linda Thomas said Madoff arrived at the Butner, N.C., facility after leaving federal jail in New York City on Monday.

Labels:


Continue reading Hello, Bernie!

Checking the calendar

Is it really mid-July?

Felt like a delightful October morning when i left the house.

Labels:


Continue reading Checking the calendar

Sunday, July 12, 2009

Remembering Bruce Rosar

From DD on the Durham Bike and Ped list:
But for now, I would suggest promoting two things Bruce was passionate about. First, follow the rules of the road to stay as safe as possible. Second, join and support the newly formed statewide advocacy group that Bruce was instrumental in starting and served on the board of: NC Active Transportation Alliance. Go to www.ncactive.org and you'll find where to send a check, or, even easier, how to join using PayPal. I'm not sure how many members they have now, but I know it's on the low side because they're just getting started. Let's change that.

If you're on another list, feel fee to cross-post this, so everyone knows about the NC ATA and Bruce's involvement with it.

Labels:


Continue reading Remembering Bruce Rosar

Local bicycle advocate killed on the road

Just, well, fuck.

A well-known biking enthusiast died Saturday after a collision with a car at the intersection of South Salem Street and Apex Peakway, Apex police said.

Bruce Rosar, 56, of Cary, has been bicycling in the Triangle area for years, serving as director of the N.C. Active Transportation Alliance and founding member of numerous other organizations, according to his Web site.

Rosar and a Honda passenger car were traveling along South Salem Street when the accident happened just before noon Saturday, said Capt. Ann Stephens of the Apex Police Department.

UPDATE: There are a number of stories published in local media on Bruce's death. I keep coming back to this at the WRAL site:
Police Capt. Ann Stephens said a preliminary investigation shows the vehicle was traveling south on Salem Street and the bicycle was going north on Salem Street. The cyclist turned left toward the Apex Peakway and crossed into the path of the vehicle.

Stephens said the vehicle involved in the wreck stopped at the scene.

"The guy (driving the vehicle) didn't even have a chance to react. It was like instantaneous. He just went 'boom' and hit the car," witness Peter Schenck said.

Which just seems so unlikely, given Bruce Rosar's credentials as a bicycle safety instructor. But i suppose we'll learn more in the fullness of time.

Meanwhile, though, this really pisses me off:
In recent weeks, the police department has recorded an increase number in cyclists in the area. Police have also seen more complaints from motorists that cyclists are not following the rules of the road, Stephens said.

In the past month, Stephens said, police have started a campaign to make cyclists aware of the dangers on the road and remind them that they are required by law to follow the same rules of the road as motorists.

Emphasis mine.

Given that bicycle/motor vehicle interactions almost always end badly for the bicyclist, what are the police doing to remind motorists that bicycles have as much right to the road as anyone else?

(Note - i've changed the title of the story to something a little more appropriate, after a night's sleep.)

Labels:


Continue reading Local bicycle advocate killed on the road

Friday, July 10, 2009

So that's what it takes

To get municipal and NCDOT officials on the same page to improve conditions on our surface streets.

Damn shame, if you ask me.
Two weeks after the death of a 16-year-old girl at an intersection near Cary Park, town officials and the state Department of Transportation have agreed on plans to try to make the crossing safer for pedestrians and drivers alike.

A traffic signal and pedestrian crossing lights with countdown timers will be installed at the intersection at Green Level to Durham Road and Cary Glen Boulevard within 60 days, the town announced Thursday. Such a project usually takes up to six months, but city and state officials said they hope to expedite the process.

In addition, Cary officials will conduct a long-term study of traffic along Green Level to Durham Road between Morrisville Parkway and McCrimmon Parkway in hopes of relieving other driver and pedestrian concerns, said Director of Engineering Tim Bailey.

"We did receive a lot of feedback from citizens in the area about travel patterns along that corridor, complaints about things like people speeding or pedestrian travel paths, that aren't completely addressed with the installation of a traffic signal," Bailey said. "We want to help deal more broadly with the citizen concerns that we saw and create a better opportunity for more citizen feedback."

I don't think we have enough 16 year olds to sacrifice to the traffic gods in order to improve all the unsafe roads and bad driving habits in the Triangle. Maybe some of our officials could be proactive in this, and not wait for more deaths to act.

Labels: ,


Continue reading So that's what it takes

Thursday, July 09, 2009

Shooting the Bull

I'm really excited about tonight's show. Pam Spaulding, blogger extraordinaire and publisher of Pam's House Blend, stops by to talk with me and Kevin about blogging, politics, Durham, and who knows what else. Tonight at 7:30 pm, on WXDU. Listen online here, or over the air at 88.7 fm.

Labels:


Continue reading Shooting the Bull

Didn't see that coming

N&O:
Wake County has closed the swimming areas at Beaverdam Beach and Sandling Beach on Falls Lake because of elevated levels of bacteria in the water.

The county tests recreational lakes weekly for bacteria, including enterococci. It closes areas to swimming or any activity where someone's head may go underwater when bacteria levels exceed U.S. Environmental Protection Agency standards.

Pop quiz - More development within 1 mile of the lake's disputed boundaries will have what effect on bacteria levels within Jordan Lake?

Labels: ,


Continue reading Didn't see that coming

Glad that's settled

I've been hearing almost since i first moved back east in 1993 all of the conflicting claims as to who made the first Brunswick stew.

Take that, Virginia.

Labels:


Continue reading Glad that's settled

Wednesday, July 08, 2009

Just wond'ring

Saw this article while i was away for the holiday in the local paper.
A bicyclist was killed when he was hit by a car Saturday night west of Boynton Beach, authorities said.

About 9:35 p.m., Fernando Rodriguez Rosario, 43, pedaled his Autostream bicycle onto West Boynton Beach Boulevard, just east of Florida's Turnpike, despite a red light.

A 2010 Lexus RX 350 driven by Henry Brenner, 76, of suburban Boynton Beach plowed into Rosario's right side, throwing him from the bike and killing him instantly, according to a Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office report circulated this morning.

The report indicated Rosario was drinking or using drugs.


And it just made me wonder how much energy the local government is going to put into determining who might have provided Mr. Rosario with the drugs or alocohol he apparently consumed to excess, costing him his life.

I'm guessing not much, since he likely didn't leave a half billion dollar estate behind. Wonder if he had any kids, though.

Labels:


Continue reading Just wond'ring

Tuesday, July 07, 2009

So sad . . .

The ACC has shifted its baseball championship from Myrtle Beach to Durham in 2011 and 2013, acting on objections to South Carolina's prominent display of the Confederate flag.

You'd never know it was almost 2010 to talk to some people.

Labels:


Continue reading So sad . . .

Saturday, July 04, 2009

Confused?

Me too.

The governor of South Carolina says quitting would be the easy way out.

The governor of Alaska says finishing her term would be the easy way out.

What would Barry Goldwater say?

Labels:


Continue reading Confused?

Friday, July 03, 2009

Go figure

So i picked up a Theodore Sturgeon anthology at one of my all time favorite used book stores today.

What a surprise.

Ninety per cent of the stories in it sucked.

Labels:


Continue reading Go figure

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

The more i think about it . . .

The more i want to see Mark Sanford stay on as governor of South Carolina.

Labels: ,


Continue reading The more i think about it . . .