Dependable Erection

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Rock and Roll

Standing in the line that began at the main gates behind home plate and wound all the way to the front door of the Diamond View office building behind center field, i said to Mrs. D that there weren't any other artists who could get me to do this for a chance to see them perform. Six hours later, walking up the same street, that hadn't changed.

Bob Dylan, in case you weren't paying attention, brought his Never Ending Tour to the Durham Bulls Athletic Park last night, nearly 6 hours of countryfied rock bolstered with a healthy dose of medicine show designed to part the rubes from their money.

And, i confess, it worked.

In return for a promise of "early" admission, i bought my tickets on line and paid the 8 dollar surcharge (about which, a friend who i saw at the show said "I will crawl across 50 miles of desert before i give those clowns their service fees.") Early admission, in this case, meant, we'll work out the bugs in the line with you guys, and then when we let the rest of the people in on time, it'll go smoother. Even with our "4:30" entrance time, it was 5:25 before we were in the stadium. The seating bowl was already 2/3 full, and the bulk of the empty seats were behind home plate, where the view of the stage was completely obstructed by the soundboard tent. We eventually found a row of seats in the second deck just past first base, where i usually end up sitting for a ball game. Decent view of the stage, relatively short walk to the Foothills beer taps on the concourse. Knowing that food was not allowed in to the park, we had eaten a hasty dinner before leaving the house, which proved fortunate, as the concert organizers hadn't made any effort to bring in anything other than ballpark food. I know you've got to make some money, but really. Keeping 11,000 people in one place for 6 hours and not offering them anything more than hot dogs and reheated pizza? (Remind me sometime to tell the sno-cone story from our entry.) The beer i had purchased for 6 bucks at Monday night's game was now 8 dollars. Extra large Bud Light drafts were an even 10, bottled water 3 bucks a pop.

No idea how much of this extra profit actually stays in town, and how much travels on with the show, but i suspect more of the latter.

But what about the music, you're thinking. See some reviews on Dylan's site from people who were there. Can't say i disagree with much of what's there. There was an unlisted quartet from Brooklyn called, i think, the Wilds, who played an up tempo set before Willie Nelson. Stand up bass, banjo, real jug band music, that i'd like to see in a more appropriate venue, like the ATC lawn, perhaps.

EDIT - According to Mellencamp's website, the opening act was called The Wiyos.

Willie's 78 years old. I imagine that any set where he's still breathing at the end is considered a good one. He touched all the bases, and got a chuckle from most of the crowd introducing one of the few new songs he played with a story about his carpal tunnel surgery. Mellencamp was loud, much louder than either Willie or Bob. Again, pretty much a greatest hits set. One thing about the former Johnnie Cougar, though. By this point in his career, the one or two great tracks from each of his albums does make a pretty decent set list. He did one new song, introduced by a story about how the band had been in the old Sun Studios the night before recording the track, and the goosebumps from standing on the "X" that marked where Elvis stood when he was recording those early sides. I'm guessing a goodly portion of the crowd had no idea what he was talking about.

Once upon a time, Bob Dylan was a sharp, sarcastic, warm, engaging performer, as documented on any number of live releases, official or bootleg. But i guess that Bob Dylan moved on some time ago. Last night's set list is up at the link above. No complaints about what he played or didn't play, except to wonder what happened to the chrome horse and the diplomat in "Like a Rolling Stone"; his voice, never much to begin with, was on the hoarse side, his range a bit confined. He has, however, learned a couple of new harmonica styles. And the band, except for his pedal steel player who, as noted by one reviewer, was inaudibly buried in the mix, sported great hats. Bob himself looked pretty good in his "Cool" John Ferguson pork pie, with his black trousers and red stripes down the sides.

But at the end of the night, well, i've seen Bob Dylan now. No need to do that again.

I'm sure that a lot of Durham's movers and shakers are pointing to last night's show, which brought 11,000 or so people out to the DBAP, patting themselves on the back, and talking about how this reinforces USN&WR's Top Ten label for our town. And hey, if that's the kind of thing that puts stars in your eyes, then, yeah, we've made it.

Tonight, i'll be at Duke Gardens, listening to Peter Holsapple and Chris Stamey perform together in Durham for the first time in ages. I don't know if the dB's ever played a show for more than 2000 people, and there will probably be a tenth that number tonight. Anyone who wants to will get a chance to talk to Peter and Chris after the show. I'll bring a cooler full of dinner and my favorite adult beverages, and enjoy a civilized evening on the lawn with 2 of the artists who made late 20th century rock and roll what it was, and listen to the new music they're making together for the early part of the new century.

Friday night, i'll do the same with Drink Small at the West Village lawn. Don't tell the powers that be in Durham, but that's why Durham is one of the best places to live in this country. It's got nothing to do with who's stopping by on their tours, pulling a million dollars or so out of our pockets.

Thanks for stopping by, Bob. Come back soon and stay a while.

UPDATE
: Matt had a pretty good time.

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Tuesday, July 28, 2009

What's wrong with this picture?

Herald-Sun:
Big events like the July 4 fireworks show and tonight's Bob Dylan concert could wind up giving the city a big black eye if officials can't figure out how to empty downtown's parking decks more quickly afterward, elected officials say.

City Council members Eugene Brown and Diane Catotti complained about the pace of departures from the decks beside the American Tobacco complex shortly after the fireworks show, saying it took 45 minutes to an hour for traffic to clear.


. . .

Brown and Catotti said the July 4 problems affected the so-called "north" deck - the city owned parking structure along West Pettigrew Street - and to their eye came in part because attendants were only letting people make a right onto Pettigrew from the single exit that was open.

Catotti - who said she needed about 40 minutes to get out of the deck despite being parked only one level up - added that a gate arm that dropped between every exiting car helped slow the process.

Lanier officials said the single-exit, right-turn-only arrangement on July 4 complied with the Durham Police Department's specifications.

Most cars had exited the north deck by about 11 p.m., following the fireworks' conclusion at about 9:45 p.m., Joe Vallejos, a Lanier senior project manager, said in an e-mail to city officials. He added that the company would do whatever police and other city officials tell it to.

Police were happy with the July 4 traffic flow.

Central District Capt. Loretta Clyburn told her higher-ups that it took only about 35 minutes to clear the area around the American Tobacco complex, and that the worst jams lasted only about 15 minutes.

"I consider this a great success considering there were about 10,000 people in the area for this event," she added in a July 8 message to Deputy Police Chief Beverly Council.

The deputy chief agreed, and noted that there's another factor aside from speed to consider. "Moving 10,000 people without any accidents is awesome," Council told Bonfield, also on July 8.

Because getting 10,000 people to come to Durham, spend their evening in the parking deck, and leave without any accidents, is exactly what we need to boost downtown, isn't it? Wouldn't want any of those visitors spending any time walking around downtown and visiting our awesome restaurants and cultural facilities, would we?

I'll be at the Dylan show tonight. And i won't be parking anywhere near a parking deck.

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Continue reading What's wrong with this picture?

Monday, July 27, 2009

Job security

Me, last September:
Wait till next year.

There are a lot of ways that the (Mets) could respond to crashing and burning two years in a row. Giving Omar Minaya a 4 year contract extension isn't one of them

Why does this guy still have a job?
Mets general manager Omar Minaya fired a team executive Monday for a series of blowups, then openly questioned the motives of a local beat writer who reported the turmoil after asking about getting a job in baseball.

Vice president of player personnel Tony Bernazard was dismissed after getting into a heated argument with All-Star closer Francisco Rodriguez, challenging Double-A players to a fight and berating a team employee over a seating mix-up.

Then the news conference took a bizarre turn when the focus shifted to Adam Rubin of the New York Daily News and a series of stories he wrote, documenting problems in the club's minor league system.

"You got to understand this: Adam for the past couple of years has lobbied for a player development position. He has lobbied myself, he has lobbied Tony," Minaya said.

Rubin was seated near the back of the room and buried his face in his hands after hearing his name come up. He took a moment to gather his thoughts, then asked Minaya if he was alleging that he conspired to get Bernazard fired.

"No, I'm not saying that," Minaya said. "I am saying, in the past, you have lobbied for a job."

. . .

After the news conference, Minaya discussed what had transpired with chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon. The pair visited the Citi Field press box about two hours later, before the start of the Mets' game against the Colorado Rockies.

Minaya said he stood by his comments about Rubin but acknowledged that it "was not the proper forum to raise those issues." Asked if he would reach out to Rubin, who left the ballpark shortly after the news conference, Minaya said, "Possibly."

Thank goodness the Mets play in the same division as the Nationals, eh?

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WTF?

No idea what to make of this story:
Diez was driving his car off Interstate 40 at Exit 55 at about 11:24 a.m. Sunday when he saw Alan Ray Simons and his wife riding bikes up the road with Simons' 3-year-old son behind him in a bike seat, he said.

“He decided he needed to tell them he thought it was unsafe that they would do that and have their child out there in an area where they had a lot of traffic,” Splain said.

Diez stopped his car and confronted Simons near 1360 Tunnel Road. When Simons began to walk away, Diez shot at him, (Asheville Police Capt. Tim) Splain said.

The bullet blew a hole through the outer lining of Simons' helmet and went straight through both sides of it, but he was not hit.

"Hey, buddy, i don't like the way you're endangering your child. So I'm gonna kill you."

Holy Christ. As if the roads aren't dangerous enough.


Continue reading WTF?

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Torchwood

Was it just me, or did the Torchwood: Children of Earth miniseries kick total ass?

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Friday, July 24, 2009

Warehouse Blues

Starts back up again tonight.

Captain Luke, Sol, Big Ron Hunter, Whistlin’ Britches, and Bubba Norwood are the performers. Come on down to the West Village courtyard at 6 pm, and have a good time in the memory of Macavine Hayes.

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Thursday, July 23, 2009

Pandora users?

I signed up back in May, i think. It's unlikely i've been listening more in July than in either may or June.

Is this 40 hour limit per month new, or did i just not notice it the first few months i had the account?

Because, frankly, it's a deal breaker for me with Pandora. Especially if it's a bait and switch thing.

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Speaking of starts

We're well into the second week of Durham's new curbside recycling program. That's the one where you put all of your recyclables, unsorted, into one big 90 gallon rollout cart that gets picked up every two weeks.

The idea is that it's more cost effective for the city to do it this way, being able to use the automated trucks for pickup, being able to cover the whole city with fewer people, since it's only picking up half the city every week, and increasing participation and amount of recyclables kept out of the waste stream. The pilot program started in a couple of Durham neighborhoods last year supposedly increased the number of household that were recycling by some 40 or 50%, and the volume of goods picked up by even more than that, over the square 20 gallon blue bins.

That's the theory, anyway.

In my neighborhood, which i think had a pretty high participation rate under the old program, there are still entire blocks waiting for their new rollout carts. I posted a message to the neighborhood listserv asking for people who hadn't gotten carts yet to drop me a line, and my inbox is pretty much filled with them this morning. I'm willing to cut Solid Waste a little slack on this, but i may be in the minority based on what i'm reading. Here's a taste:
This morning I went outside to find a blue recycling cart in front of our house. No other houses received them. I took it back beside our house, dumped in all of my accumulated recycling, and it's now 75% full.

About an hour later, a crew came by and started delivering carts to all the homes on E. Trinity, including giving us a second cart. I saw this and gave it back since I don't need a second one. They didn't seem to have any idea that anybody else was delivering them.

Oh, and another thing I just realized; none of the carts included the promised plastic bag with information about the new recycling program. How are people who are not on a mailing list supposed to know that their recycling day changed from Friday to Wednesday, much less about the additional items that can be recycled, the new bulky item pickup, or the day-after pickup of yard waste and bulky items.

Oh yeah, I hope that you can read English because I have yet to see any information about the garbage/recycling changes available in Spanish.

Can you say clusterfuck? I knew you could....

And altough i'm going to protect my emailer's identity, you should know that this person is actively involved in neighborhood uplifting, and not someone who, like me, just prefers to whine about how things are going.

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It's a start

Kevin's got the scoop that Rue Cler is selling pizza by the slice at lunch time over there on East Chapel Hill Street.

Not quite the full time pizzeria that downtown needs (and to be fair, downtown really needs more than one of these), but it's a start.

I will seriously drive from Hillsborough into downtown Durham one day next week, and buy Kevin pizza for lunch.

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Monday, July 20, 2009

Forty years


Continue reading Forty years

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Thirty years


Diez y nueve de Julio.


Continue reading Thirty years

Saturday, July 18, 2009

The problem

. . . when he is a passenger in a car, it makes him nervous when the driver starts talking on the phone. But Mr. Hill, who is polite and deferential, said he doesn’t want to badger drivers about the risks.

“I hope they don’t have to go through what I did to realize it’s a problem,” he added.


Emphasis mine.

Earlier in the article, we discover what Mr Hill went through. And that was a red light. At 45 mph.

The result of which is that a woman died.

But of course, it's what he went through, pleading guilty to negligent homicide ( misdemeanor), that's the real problem here.

The 61 year old woman he killed is, of course, just as dead as if she had been killed by some gun-toting gang banger.

And even worse?

The states that rejected any efforts to limit distracted driving this year include Oklahoma.

“I’m on the phone from when I leave the Capitol to when I get home, and that’s a two-hour drive,” said Tad Jones, the majority floor leader in the Oklahoma House, who helped block the legislation. “A lot of people who travel are used to using the phone.”

Fuck you, Tad Jones. On behalf of the 2600 Americans who died in traffic accidents caused by "distracted driving" last year.

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Friday, July 17, 2009

Water wars - southeast style

Maybe not a big deal right now with rainfall totals near or even above normal for the year. But long term, this gets interesting very quickly:
A federal judge on Friday ruled against Georgia in the state's water dispute with Alabama and Florida, deciding that Atlanta-area municipalities must stop withdrawing water from a massive federal reservoir within three years unless they can get approval from Congress.

. . .

Alabama Gov. Bob Riley said the ruling would have a tremendous impact on his state's economic future.

"Atlanta has based its growth on the idea that it could take whatever water it wanted whenever it wanted it, and that the downstream states would simply have to make do with less," Riley said. "Following the Court's ruling today, this massive illegal water grab will be coming to an end."


Even better? Georgia claimed it wouldn;t be using any Lake Lanier water back in the 50s, when the dam was first built, to avoid having to chip in for the construction costs.

Damn guvamint projects.

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Your best entertainment value

Herald Sun commenters.

Although you gotta admit, it's a story that simply can't be ignored.

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This is why I supported striking Hollywood writers?

Hung.

Dear god.

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Thursday, July 16, 2009

Gin and tonic

I like me a nice cold gin and tonic on a sultry summer evening. But i noticed over the weekend that the GT i was sipping wasn't quite as refreshing as it should have been. I checked the tonic water bottle, and yep, high fructose corn syrup is the second ingredient listed. I guess i might have noticed this a while back, but for some reason it became a problem only now.

So i did what any respectable GT drinker would do - I went to the supermarket looking for unsweetened tonic water. I ended up going to 4 or 5 stores, including Whole Foods, before i gave up, not wanting to increase my carbon footprint any more than i had.

A google search on "unsweetened tonic water" led me down several paths, not all of which are worth sharing. I did learn more about quinine and its role in colonizing tropical lands than i ever imagined. To the point, though, i learned i wasn't alone in my quest for unsweetened, or at least lightly sweetened, tonic water. The big mixer makers, Canada Dry and Schweppes, don't make an unsweetened tonic water (as opposed to a sugar free tonic water) in the US. There were rumors on some discussion boards of an independent bottler in Maine or New Hampshire, or a small grocery in western Pennsylvania, where one could pick up a 6 pack of Schweppes tonic water made the old school way, but none of those posts were less than 2 year old.

Schweppes Europe makes a product called Indian tonic water that's supposed to be relatively unsweetened. Only a handful of specialty importers, including one outside of Charlotte called Minos, had it listed on their websites. But none were actually available for order. At about 3+ bucks per 1.5 liter bottle it's a bit pricier than the syrupy stuff they're selling here. Add in the shipping, and 12 bottles quickly got up to $65 - 75, if it had been available. Minos also had a listing for Schweppes bitter lemon, a carbonated, lightly sweetened soda made with quinine, which is avvailable, and might be a last chance solution.

Meanwhile, entrepreneurs out there have taken notice. There are two companies that i can find, one in England, one in the US, making boutique tonic water. And i do mean boutique. Fever Tree in England (the local name for the plant from which quinine is extracted translates as fever tree) and QTonic here in the States are doing the tried and true method of highly limited production and distribution coupled with insane pricing. Fever Tree's website says that their products are available at Whole Foods. Not in Durham, they ain't. I did find a 4 pack of 6.5 ounce bottles of QTonic at Parker and Otis.

For 10 dollars.

That's $2.50 for a Little Kings size bottle. 24 of them would be 60 bucks, although there might be a case discount. (There's a guy on Amazon.com selling them for, i think, $50, including shipping.) To put that into context, a case of Coronita's, 24 7 ounce bottles, costs $19 - 20 in local supermarkets, $17 on sale. So that's 3 times as much for a non-alcoholic mixer. Or put it this way. My preferred gin costs $13 at the ABC for 750 ml. A 4 pack of QTonic is just about 750 ml. And costs 77% of what the gin costs. The commercial tonic waters run about a buck and a quarter for a liter; store brands about 75 cents.

Now, we did a blind taste test of GTs mixed with Canada Dry and with QTonic, and the overly sweet CD version was easily distinguishable, and inferior. But, can you justify a cocktail made at home that costs about 4 bucks to make, with most of that cost coming from the mixer? I sure can't.

People, there is a marketing opportunity here. Put an unsweetened tonic water on the market for $3 - 4 liter, and bring some competition into this boutique market. It can't possible cost that much more to make this 10 dollar stuff than it does to make the commercial variety. Sure, the bottle are beautiful, but i'm not drinking the bottle. I'm not even saving the bottle. I'm putting it directly into my shiny new 90 gallon blue recycling bin.

And for that, i don't need to spend an extra 7 bucks a 4 pack, if you know what i mean.

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Noted without comment

From the Partners Against Crime, District 2 minutes from this past Monday's meeting:
Walltown is still having a lot of trouble with pitbulls being chained on Sedgefield Street.

The adjoining neighbor is afraid to go into his own back yard, the barking is disturbing everyone and they are breeding these animals. Cindy Bailey with Animal Control states their hands are tied because the ban against chaining is not in effect until January and breeding is not illegal. If they are breeding for the purpose of selling puppies, you can ask if they have a license for doing business and report the barking to the Police Department.

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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

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Tuesday, July 14, 2009

"Meeting the Brontosaurus"


(Via Mr. Felton)

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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.

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Checking the calendar

Is it really mid-July?

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

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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.

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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.)

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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.

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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.

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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?

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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?

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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.

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