NCBlogs

Yes...this about sums up my life.Breaking News: Some Bullshit Happening Somewhere

“Neither shalt thou steal.” Obviously, the good pastor heading up Raleigh’s Christian Action League forgot that morsel of divine revelation when he disregarded my publisher’s copyright notice on the bottom of our website and in the pub box of our print edition and copied and pasted my Feb. 20 Editor’s Note from QNotes into his March [...]

I JUST FOUND A HEADLINE THAT makes me wonder. It's How Social Media Is Muddying the Waters for Jobseekers. Since "media" is plural, should you use "Is" or "Are"? I'm leaning toward "Are". And wouldn't it be Job Seekers?

I'M HELPING PUT OUT THE sports section again tonight. It's a relatively small section, and I'm doing the college-basketball roundup (men and women), the college-basketball notebook, and the MEAC (Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) roundup.

I just edited the story on Carl Edwards going on probation. I didn't see the race, so I missed the altercation between Edwards and Brad Keselowski. We ran a photo, and the wreck was impressive, with Keselowski's No. 12 flying upside down.

The phone's been ringing tonight. We've taken softball, baseball, golf and other high-school sports.

I finished the MEAC roundup, and I'm still working on the college-basketball roundup. I need the Butler-Wright State game and a few odds and ends.
More later.

December 11, 2009. It was one week after Scout’s due date, and I was still pregnant. I wasn’t worried; it’s perfectly normal for babies, particularly first babies, to come a week or two past their due date. Still, I went to the OBGYN’s office that morning to check on the baby’s health and discuss, as necessary, induction options.Ever since I learned I was pregnant, I’d wanted to have a natural (

With a name so close to my own, I felt that I needed to give a shout out to this guy. You have to check out the amazing stuff he has published under his name on YouTube. Here is a link to the upcoming WS Symphony Show at the Stevens Center. You will not want to miss this.

Civitas challenges Governor Perdue's budget commission to undertake ten reforms to rein in state expenditures.  Most of these have hardly even been on the radar screen in the past.  The Governor and the state Democratic leadership faces a tough budget this year, and there will be enormous temptations to raise taxes yet again.

Civitas' recommendations are as follows:

1. Increase auditing of pharmacy overpayment reimbursements

2. Initiate a multi-state pooling consortium to purchase items like Medicaid drugs, heavy equipment, institutional foods, etc.

3. Require co-pay for non-emergency treatment in emergency rooms in Medicaid

4. Restructure State Health Plan pricing, introduce more choice

5. Phase-out unnecessary state personnel

6. Consolidate workforce development programs

7. Consolidate administrative functions of the 58 community colleges

8. Reduce/Eliminate advocacy functions in the Department of Administration

9. U.S. Treasury state reciprocal agreement program

10. Sell non-essential state assets

The organization has also made a number of other recommendations regarding fiscal responsibility:

North Carolina should enact a constitutional restraint on annual spending growth tied to the growth of population plus inflation.

Excess revenue collected will be devoted to a trust fund established to finance the promised health benefits for state retirees, most of which are teachers.

Pass legislation mandating that all new issues of state debt first be approved by North Carolina voters.

North Carolina should implement a zero-based budgeting policy. Zero-based budgeting would simply require all state agencies to produce a thorough description and justification of their expenditures, along with a ranking of each activity as it relates to the overall goals and purposes of the agency.

North Carolina clearly has a huge problem on its hands.  It will require some creativity, and some innovative solutions, to overcome that problem. 

It will also require some tough choices.

I have been reading this informative blog done by Eric Elliot regarding Public Art in Winston-Salem. The resource directory on the right column is well worth an educational trip down many different rabbit holes.

Link to the MEAC Tournament Website

If what you pay for Movies on Demand - Free Downloads +- any extra cost- What Time Warner or Satellite Channels you eliminate as many shows become “free”= How much you save with a competitive high speed internet access,which, if the average cost savings per household is about $50 per month,about 50,000 households x $50 per month = $2,500,000 x 12 months,so $2,500,000 x 12 months =

Andy Ciordia posted a photo:

A thought.. but a thought.. Always thinking.

Andy Ciordia posted a photo:

A moment in the existance of Andy Ciordia. Deep vignette.

Every man, no matter what age, wants to at one time or another grow a beard.

Then one day they try it and your genetics show through. Patchwork to needles, lay flat or go bushman, only the code knows. While I had a brush with some extended chops and a jowel line a few times in the past 20 years I can’t recall ever just seeing who I was with a beard.

This year in the Carolina’s it’s been much colder than usual and my skin hates dry cold—and being a skydiver hey, let’s face it (heh), some added protection on the way down sounded like a good call. Well that’s the way I’m going to remember it.

As with anything new it created more growth than that on my face. You learn something about how you see yourself, how others see you, and by the way—you can stroke it. New sensory too.

Times are quickly changing. Maybe this has been a bridge for me. As I soon pair back what I let grow I will be left with a memory of visages of who I can be, pondering the different embodiments that I can take.

Ever wonder where your food comes from?
Me neither.

Tomorrow morning on the CBS News' "The Early Show" co-anchor Harry Smith will undergo a colonoscopy live. The segment will look at preparation for the procedure as well as the exam itself.

The broadcast begins at 7 a.m. --is this awareness or too much information, especially before coffee?

Make fun of local churches on Foursquare? Me? Never.

Tags: dirtygreek

This screen cap shows what I'm talking about when I say the City's thousand dollar blog looks hinky in Firefox (click image to enlarge) -- note the way the words spill out of the tabs at the top. Also, "About...

By A Person
Staff Writer

'Midwife' molecule helps RNA form double helix

RNA strands are formed from building blocks called nucleotides linked together head to tail in a long chain. This happens easily if the nucleotides can bind to another RNA strand that guides their assembly. However, the earliest RNA molecules to form, billions of years ago, would have had no pre-existing RNA to guide them.

Till now, attempts to mimic this first synthesis have always hit a fatal obstacle: instead of binding to the tail of a new nucleotide, the head of a growing chain latches onto its own tail instead. This tendency to form circles keeps RNA molecules from growing much longer than three to six nucleotides – far too short to function as enzymes.

"That is a big problem," says Nicholas Hud, a chemist at Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta. "How do we get a molecule long enough to do something interesting?"

The answer, Hud thinks, may be the presence of a "molecular midwife" – a molecule that nestles between adjacent nucleotides and encourages two growing RNA strands to bind together in a double helix. Since this double helix is much stiffer than a single RNA strand, it is less likely to bend around on itself and form a circle
...
Sure enough, when Hud and his colleagues added ethidium – which is known to slip between a double helix – to a solution of nucleotides, they found that they joined up into long double helices instead of short circles.

On Saturday, March 13th, from 10 AM - 3 PM, the Friends of the Lewisville Library will hold their annual Antiques Appraisal Fair fundraiser.Antique dealers from throughout North Carolina will be on hand at the Lewisville Branch to do appraisals.Lewisville Friends members can have three items appraised for $10.00. Non-members can have two items appraised for $10.00.Items must be brought into the

Today in superfast internet news: "Using a CRS-3, Cisco claims it is possible to download the entire printed collection of the Library of Congress in just over one second; every man, woman and child in China to make a video...

Andy Ciordia posted a photo:

Out of an evening of Light Painting care of Mike Newcomer I just assisted for the most part. At the very end I figured the very least I could do was catch the fireworks.

The first grade visited the Natural Science Center of Greensboro today. The youngest very much enjoyed the opportunity to do some goat-brushing. (My boy.)

By A Person
Staff Writer

Rush Linbaugh promises to leave the country if it passes! He'll go to Costa Rica

Please oh please! Take Beck and Palin too.

Of course Costa Rica (along with all developed countries) has a 'socialist' public health care system. But Rush never let facts interfere with a good rant.

The Costa Rican healthcare system is rated very highly on an international level, and the country’s citizens enjoy the health and life expectancy equal to that of more developed nations. These accolades come courtesy of strong, universal health insurance and excellent public and private hospitals.

Public Health Care - Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social (CCSS)
Costa Rica’s public health insurance system, commonly known as the Caja, is available country-wide to all citizens and legal residents. There are ten major public hospitals – four in San Jose, including the Children’s Hospital – affiliated with the Caja. For non-emergencies and everyday medical care, small clinics, known as EBAIS (pronounced ay-vy-ice), are located in almost every community.

...enough said

http://www.timeidol.com/women-stay-single/

--Fortuitous Observer

Sunday's paper had an interesting article about Greensboro's own Kay Hagan.  She had spoken before a group gathered at Temple Emanuel  There are several points that need to be made.

1. Temple Emanuel is the more liberal of Greensboro's two synagogues from a religious standpoint-- but it should be noted it is also liberal politically.  Concerns over separation of church and state apparently did not dissuade the Temple from hosting this particular meeting.

2. Hagan predicted that "we'll have health care reform", and "discussed her disappointment with partisan bickering".  This is a standard line apparently to be used when progressive agenda items, designed to increase the degree of socialism in our national economy, are opposed.

3. The News and Record once again raised the matter of the Godless Americans PAC episode, with which the newspaper assisted Hagan during the campaign. 

4. And once again, she is described as an active member of First Presbyterian-- a liberal church.  Moreover, she advises that "my faith strengthens my life".  While that might seem inspiring at least on a superficial level, the more consequential question is what her faith requires of her life.  Does it require taking folks' money, under the threat of imprisonment, to redistribute it to others?  Does it require that tax monies be used to pay for abortions?  Those are the types of policies she supported when she voted repeatedly in favor of health care reform.

5. Absent from the article was any hint of journalistic skepticism, or any attempt to present an alternative point of view.

The Joint Commission, the nonprofit healthcare accrediting organization that inspects the quality of patient treatment at hospitals, has dispatched an official to assess potential problems at Naval Hospital Camp Lejeune... ...The commission's review comes after a series of Salon articles...

Ah.... its 70 outside and I ate lunch outside on my little deck in a tank top!

"with a small compass a model of the universal made private ....a goodly, huge cabinet, wherein whatsoever the hand of man by exquisite art or engine has made rare in stuff, form or motion; whatsoever the singularity, chance and shuffle of things hath produced; whatsoever Nature hath wrought in things that want life and may be kept; shall be sorted and included." Francis Bacon 1594

In a frantic search and dig through all the myriad CRAP that accumulates in my studio, ran across this description of a Wunderkammer by Francis Bacon that used to hang over my bench in grad school. Seemed fitting....

...and here's a Remedios Varo piece

Too bad the primary was even close, but a good day for America's schools nonetheless.

Go outside.

From Think Progress:

CALLER: If the health care bill passes, where would you go for health care yourself? And the second part of that is, what would happen to the doctors, do they have to participate in the federal program, or could they opt out of it? [...]

LIMBAUGH: My guess in even in Canada and even in the UK, doctors have opted out. And once they’ve opted, they can’t see anybody Medicare, Medicaid, or what will become the exchanges. They have to have a clientele of private patients that will pay them a retainer and it’ll be a very small practice. I don’t know if that’s been outlawed in the Senate bill. I don’t know. I’ll just tell you this, if this passes and it’s five years from now and all that stuff gets implemented — I am leaving the country. I’ll go to Costa Rica.

Costa Rica?  Uh, Rush?  Did you know that Costa Rica has universal health care?  It's paid for by the government; you can opt out if you want.  And it works pretty good, too!:

Costa Rica, a small developing country of 4.6 million people, in Central America, surprised many people by having a health care ranking by the World Health Organization higher than the United States. The life expectancy of people in Costa Rica is higher than the U.S. and the infant mortality rate is approximately the same. What is incredible is they are spending $6,000 less per capita than the U.S. and they are covering all of the people.

This is the same Rush Limbaugh who praised the health care he received in Hawaii (following a heart attackish thing).... without knowing that Hawaii has what amounts to universal health care (aka "socialized medicine").  The guy is two-for-two!

Still, Rush leaving the U.S.?  Of course it is hyperbole, but the remote chance that he will stay true to his word is incentive enough to get health care reform passed.

If you didn't know already, Texas has always played a vital role in textbooks used throughout the nation.  The reasons for this are economic: Texas is the nation’s second-largest textbook market and one of the few biggies where the state picks what books schools can buy rather than leaving it up to the whims of local districts.  This means that publishers that get their books approved can count on millions of dollars in sales.

As a result, the Lone Star State has outsized influence over the reading material used in classrooms nationwide, since publishers craft their standard textbooks based on the specs of the biggest buyers. Put simply, publishers will do whatever it takes to get on the Texas list.

That's why the Texas Board of Education is a closely-watched body, and why it has been a cause of concern for the past several years.  The TBE has been stacked with a bunch of neo-conservatives, most notably a guy named Don McLeroy, who has served on the Board since 1999.

Among the highlights of McLeroy's time on the Texas board are:

• In 2008, he objected to including Chinese literature in English classes: "[Y]ou really don't want Chinese books with a bunch of crazy Chinese words in them. Why should you take a child's time trying to learn a word that they'll never ever use again?" He conceded some terms, such as "chow mein," might be useful, the San Antonio Express-News reported.

• He said during a 2008 debate over science standards: "Is understanding of evolution 'vital' to the understanding of biology? No."

• Last year he instructed curriculum writers to "read the latest on [Joseph] McCarthy -- he was basically vindicated."

• He described his textbook evaluation process this way to the Washington Monthly: "The way I evaluate history textbooks is first I see how they cover Christianity and Israel. Then I see how they treat Ronald Reagan--he needs to get credit for saving the world from communism and for the good economy over the last twenty years because he lowered taxes."

• He explained why minority groups should be thankful to the majority for civil rights:

• Finally, McLeroy successfully offered an amendment to U.S. history standards to require students to be able to "describe the causes and key organizations and individuals of the conservative resurgence of the 1980s and 1990s, including Phyllis Schafly, the Contract with America, the Heritage Foundation, the Moral Majority, and the National Rifle Association." There is no liberal counterpart clause in the current draft of the standards.

The "good news" is that he was defeated in a recent election
 
Unfortunately, he'll still be serving another year, and the Texas Board will be considering some of his more outlandish proposals.  But at least a dose of sanity has returned to the body with his ouster, and bodes well for the future of public school textbooks.  (Those who are homeschooled, on the other hand, continue to have a harder time finding scientific accurate textbooks).

CNN:

Betty White fans, your prayers have been answered. The former "Golden Girl" will appear on "Saturday Night Live" in the near future, she confirmed to PEOPLE at Elton John's annual Oscars viewing party on Sunday night.

Fans have been clamoring for White, 88, to do "SNL" -- an idea she called "ridiculous" just a few weeks ago -- ever since her comic turn in a Snickers ad during the Super Bowl. One Facebook page devoted to the cause has attracted half a million fans.

When asked by PEOPLE, "Are you doing 'Saturday Night Live'?" she answered, "Yes," even if she remains perplexed by the groundswell of support.

"I don't know why or how," she says, "but it's been wonderful."

White didn't offer any details about the "SNL" gig, and it remains unclear when she will appear -- or what it will entail.

Nice to see a resurrgence in her career.

UPDATE:  Apparently, it's an appearance, not a hosting gig.  Betty is 88, and presumably, would like to see 89.

"Obstructionism," only refers to Democratic minorities opposing Republican proposals.

"Tyranny" is found when an elected Democratic majority passes legislation that Republicans don't like.

"Reconciliation" describes a Senate process that Republicans are allowed to use to overcome Democratic "obstructionism."

"Terrorism" refers to acts of political violence committed by people who aren't white guys.

"Bipartisanship" is found when Democrats agree to pass Republican legislation.

"Big government" describes a dangerous phenomenon to be avoided, except in cases relating to reproductive rights or gays.

"Treason" refers to Democrats criticizing a Republican administration during a war.

"Patriotism" refers to Republicans criticizing a Democratic administration during a war.

"Fiscal responsibility" is a national priority related to keeping our deficit in check, which only applies when Republicans are in the minority.

"Parliamentarian" is a seemingly independent official on the Hill who Senate Republicans are allowed to fire when the GOP disapproves of his/her rulings.

"Government-run health care" doesn't refer to popular government-run health care programs like Medicare.

"The heartland" is the most wonderful place in America, even if no conservative pundit would be caught dead living there.

"Serving your country" is honorable if you're a Republican, but a subject of derision when Democrats do it.

[H/t Steve Benen and Kos]

Daisey Bailey, who was 113 years, 342 days, died Sunday, enjoying only a few hours as the Oldest Living American.  (Well, perhaps "enjoying" is not the right word).

Daisey became the Oldest Living American on Sunday morning when Mary Josephine Ray (of Westmoreland NH), who was then certified as the oldest person living in the United States, died at age 114 years, 294 days.

So now the title has passed to Neva Morris, of Ames, Iowa, at age 113 years, 216 days.  Ms. Morris is understandably nervous.

Full story.

Save the date!

DARTON project consultants take note…

We have scheduled the date for the Q1 2010 DARTON networking mixer!

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

5:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.

Keep on eye on your email inbox for more information!

This is what THE SEVENTH SENSE blog masthead looked like when it began in the Middle Ages:

As I mentioned yesterday, on cruise embarkation day we woke up at around 8 and made it to the terminal pretty early. (Continued…)

Beside Myself, Waiting for Change

I was diagnosed with throat cancer on Tuesday, January 12. I am unemployed and have no health insurance. I intend to get the care I need. My doctor has not turned me down, nor has the hospital for treatment. I anticipate the bills will begin soon and I will not be able to pay them. Prognosis is 80/20 for recovery with radiation and chemotherapy. I have a notion I am going to face something nastier than cancer in my life: bill collectors. So it begins.

My occupation used to be an administrative assistant. The last two positions that paid well were transferred to different states so my job was gone with them. At 59, with the tight job market, I am not getting any offers. And now, with this diagnosis, there really isn't going to be a job.

I've been beside myself with the Democrats not coming together at once to pass healthcare, and I am livid that just a few people held it hostage. I've tried to do my share by signing petitions and beating up Evan Bayh. This was before I knew I was ill. I think Congress should pass some scrap of something. I wanted the public option. I also hoped they would lower Medicare eligibility to 55. That was selfish, of course. Still, they must try to do something, if only to have it to build upon. They are crazy to think this will come around again this generation.

Sarah Hurt, 59
Indiana

There are many more stories of the uninsured at The Nation. Read them if you can take it. The uninsured are your neighbors, friends and colleagues.

Merton’s Voice:

True solitude is the home of the person, false solitude the refuge of the individualist. The person is constituted by a uniquely subsisting capacity to love – by a radical ability to care for all beings made by God and loved by Him.

Go into the desert not to escape other men but in order to find them in God.

Merton, Thomas, New Seeds of Contemplation. New York: New Directions, 1961, p. 53

Prayer:

Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, at your altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God. (NRSV Ps 84: 3)

Because we all need a little humor in our lives. (Strong language warning.)

And now for something completely different. I enjoy shooting sports, but I don't get as many opportunities as I once did. These photographs are from last weekend's Women's ACC tournament in Greensboro, North Carolina.



(Photographs copyright 2010 by Dan Routh)

Via.

Did you know Charlotte in the 2000 Census only had 63-68% participation rates? It’s true. Think about all of the federal money we missed out on because people didn’t return their census!!!!

Lately the 2010 Census Bureau has been hitting the airwaves, billboards and tv ads pretty hard to encourage people to complete the paperwork the Bureau sends. I know I personally got mail yesterday reminding me that the form is on it’s way so you might have also seen that.

They’ve been stressing how important it is that our community get the best shot it can at the $400 billion dollars in federal funding that is on the line. What they aren’t doing is advertising some things as strongly that I feel are just as important. So, here’s my list of the top 5 most important things to know about the 2010 census:

1. It’s important that you report everyone in the household, including infants. The census is only taken once a decade. By the time the next census comes around those babies will be kids and they deserve the benefit of a community with adequate funding while they grow up! Don’t forget to include them!
2. In terms of your privacy, here’s what it’s illegal for the U.S. Census Bureau to publish or disclose:
   

   • Names
   • Addresses including GPS coordinates
   • Social Security numbers
   • Telephone numbers

   Title 13 of the U.S. Code protects the confidentiality of all your information and violating this law is a crime with severe penalties. In addition, other federal laws, including the Confidential Statistical Efficiency Act and the Privacy Act reinforce these protections. * Private information is never published

3. It’s really selfish to refuse to complete the 2010 Census information as a political protest. Why? Because the Census isn’t micromanaged by the Whitehouse. It reports to the Secretary of Commerce. Yes the information reaches the President in a report but those with political qualms with the Nation’s Leadership are hurting their neighbors by denying them the chance at federal money for better  hospitals, improved schools and senior centers, more job training centers, etc. If you don’t like your lot in the community now, it’s definitely not going to improve if you refuse to fill out the census form, regardless of who is in office or what party currently holds the most influence.
4. Since the very first census in 1790, the U.S. Census Bureau has always counted all people, regardless of citizenship status. Which brings us to:
5. The US Census is prohibited by law to give the information you report about your household to Immigration (or any other government agency for that matter).
   

   All Census Bureau employees take the oath of nondisclosure and are sworn for life to protect the confidentiality of the data. The penalty for unlawful disclosure is a fine of up to $250,000 or imprisonment of up to five years, or both.

So, Charlotte, I know you know it’s important to fill out the forms the U.S. Census Bureau sends but the above are not only reasons why but also hopefully shed some light on this national endeavor launched this month. I hope it was helpful!

Additional reading: http://www.census.gov/

Do you know something important I didn’t mention or have an interesting  story about this census?  We’d would love to hear your thoughts in the comments!

FEATURED POST RESPONSE:

Matt Comer, editor @ Q Notes, North and South Carolina’s prominent LGBT media source, left a really informative response to this post! This is definitely another very important thing to know about the 2010 U.S. Census! Thanks Matt!  – Desiree

By Liv
Staff Writer

If you haven't been keeping up lots of people are behind the efforts to bring Google's Internet to Greensboro. Including bloggers like Ed, and Sue, me and many others.

The real question is, because there is a lot of competition out there, and several other cities are actually changing their name to win this competition, will we? Topeka is now Google Kansas, Sarasota is now Google Island... will Greensboro become Googleboro, North Carolina? We hope so.... because we need to spice things up.

Montford.org has what I think is a significant update on the development of plans for one of Asheville's biggest road construction projects, the so-called I-26 Connector project. Montford.org reports that DOT is revising the Asheville-developed alternative route for the road, which is a major step. Note that more information is coming.

Members of the Montford I-26 Working Group met with members of the Asheville Design Center’s (ADC) I-26 Task Force on March 5th to learn details about a meeting in late February between the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT), City of Asheville staff, and representatives from the ADC regarding the I-26 connector.

Stephanie Panciewicz and Bruce Emory from the ADC reported that the NCDOT has been working on making revisions to Alternate 4B, based on community feedback. Included in these changes are plans to bring I-26 under Patton Avenue on the west side of the French Broad River and to shorten the length of the elevated highway as it comes by the Montford neighborhood. These changes have helped to reduce the estimated cost of Alternate 4B by approximately $30 million. Projected costs for the alternatives, not including land acquisition is estimated by the NCDOT as follows:

Alternate 3 – $171 million

Alternate 4 – $225.2 million

Alternate 4B – $264.2 million

The NCDOT has met with North Carolina’s Historic Preservation Office to determine the best way to deal with the highway’s impacts to Riverside Cemetery, and they will incorporate those suggestions into the redesign. Additionally, the NCDOT has dropped Alternate 2 from consideration. There have been no changes made to Alternate 3 since October, 2010.

These recent developments suggest that the NCDOT is listening to the community and is putting real energy into incorporating community feedback. They also appear to be taking Alternate 4B quite seriously, as they are spending time and money to refine 4B. This represents a successful effort on the part of local activists to protect the Burton Street Community and to further the community’s goal of splitting local and highway traffic on the Smoky Park Bridge.

Now that Alternate 4B is being considered as a truly viable alternative, it is time for the City of Asheville, the local press, and local activists to listen and respond earnestly to Montford’s concerns about the impact this plan will have on our neighborhood, including a significant rise in noise and air pollution, and removal of homes on Hill Street, Courtland Place, and Westover Drive.

There will be more information forthcoming from the NCDOT in the next several weeks and months. A new traffic forecast should be completed in March. The traffic study should be pivotal in determining the number of lanes that are required for the project, and this determination could be the most important factor in both the cost to build the I-26 Connector and the potential impacts to all of the neighborhoods that it touches.

A complete noise study will be issued as part of the Supplement to the Draft Environmental Impact Statement, scheduled for release in late spring or summer of 2010. The DOT indicated that findings already show significant noise impacts to 20 historic properties from Alternate 4B. The ADC was not clear on whether this information includes noise impacts to the Montford Hills neighborhood, which is not in the historic district.

"In its haste to create a solar industry, Spain made some miscalculations." Some lessons for NC about how to go solar. Avoid "low-quality, poorly designed solar plants." Mispriced subsidies and speculative fever don't help, either. Yet, despite the pain that...

A new furniture store, Edge, is opening at the corner of College and Lexington. The heavy wood furniture is beautiful. Cool sign, too.

TW talks to RNC chair Michael Steele: "Greensboro was chosen as a battleground to get North Carolina back in the GOP column." No doubt an energized, funded, post-Kindley local GOP could make a difference, but I wouldn't overestimate the meaning...

Leaving NCLB behind: [T]he best predictor of low academic performance is poverty — not bad teachers. What we need is not a marketplace, but a coherent curriculum that prepares all students. And our government should commit to providing a good...

Image link

Tribtoday.com has a story about a significant ceremony at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, a ceremony with at least one Asheville tie.

On Wednesday, the women who served in the Women Airforce Service Pilots of World War II, known as WASP, will be award the Congressional Medal of Honor (most of them posthumously). NPR has a nice story today on the big event.

The Tribtoday.com story focuses on a woman named Marie Marsh, who was trained as a WASP and stationed for a bit in Asheville.

From the story:

The Women Airforce Service Pilots of WWII, known as the ''WASP,'' were the first women to fly American military aircraft and were the catalyst that allowed for the integration of women pilots into the armed services. Because there was a shortage of combat pilots during the early months of the war, WASPs took over some of the stateside military flying jobs to free up hundreds of male pilots for combat duty.

According to the legislation authorizing the Congressional Gold Medal signed by President Barack Obama in July, the women flew fighter, bomber, transport and training aircraft. More than 25,000 American women applied for training, but only 1,830 were accepted and took the oath, while 1,074 of them successfully completed the six-month Air Force training.

...

Marsh was one of seven women in the country to complete the advanced Civilian Pilot Training Program before World War II. She was assigned to the Weather Wing headquarters of the U.S. Army Air Force in Asheville, N.C., and provided courier service to the Pentagon and flight tested aircraft.

So, does anyone know of any women from Asheville who were trained as WASP? Does anyone know the history of women serving in the weather wing of the U.S. Army Air Force in Asheville? Sounds like it would make a great story.

Story from Time magazine:

Coffee aficionados have been asking the question over and over again: is Portland's Stumptown coffee, the most conspicuous exponent of Coffee's "Third Wave," the new Starbucks?

Wait, you haven't heard of the third wave? Get with the program! In cities across America, a new fervid generation of caffeine evangelists are changing the way we drink coffee. They tend to be male, heavily bearded, zealous and very meticulous in what they do. And the coffee they produce is as much an improvement over Starbucks and its rivals as Starbucks was over Taster's Choice. Stumptown didn't make a movement by itself. There's Intelligentsia in Chicago, Counter Culture in North Carolina, and as far back as the '80s some roasters, like David Dallis of Dallis Coffee, were seeking to import beans from single farms, roasting them less rather than more, and generally doing the things that separate this movement from its Seattle-based progenitors in the '70s.

...

Counter Culture has stores, and even training centers, in Asheville and Durham, N.C., Atlanta, Charlotte, New York City and Washington, D.C. But there's just no way any farm-to-cup roaster can open up 60 stores, let alone 16,000+ like Starbucks. But every town can have a little café that, if it doesn't buy its coffee beans from a small farm in Burundi or Costa Rica, at least can buy them from someone who does.

Names are not named, but fingers are pointed. Ginyard said they knew it from the very beginning, the scars that would never heal, the players that would never come together, the instructions that would be hammered into their heads over...

Whatever you do, don't turn your head... he's watching us. Who? Him! Dude with the toothpick; the one who looks like he's ready to rip somebody's lips off. I don't trust him. He seems kinda ... foreign. On second thought, I DO know him: He's Keith Hale, El Ocho's Chief Photojournalist and one of my many bosses. Thirteen years ago this British ex-pat took a downtrodden photog out for cobbler. We talked about storytelling and when dessert was done I felt a wee bit better about a possible return to the world of news. A few weeks later, I arrived home one night to find my wife all excited about a message on the machine. She hit PLAY and an strangely familiar voice filled the kitchen. It was an English accent (by way of Florida) and it said my tape was 'frightfully good'. The rest I don't remember. All I knew was Crocodile Dundee was throwin' me a bone. The very next day, I resigned my hated Promotions gig and a news shooter was reborn. Since then, the man some call 'Hale-Bop' has done me a string of solids: teaching me how to make a soft-box sing, why logo-wear is for losers, and how to properly say the word "right" (ROIGHT!) While I don't want to use my blog to grovel, I did want to give big ups to the man who helped me rediscover my special purpose...

On second thought, hold my camera. I'm gonna go rip his lips off...

I witnessed the reach of the Google search engine after one of my earliest blog posts went online. I don’t know how many people were searching “when you and I were young, Maggie” but I do know that a flock of those who were - found this blog.The story begins in the beautiful Hiwassee River Valley, just beyond the state line in Polk County, Tennessee. There you will find a roadside monument at “

But I appear to be having a severe deficit of motivation.

I’m sure it’ll clear itself up as Spring comes along.

Thanks!

Don’t stop me! I won’t let you. Not after seeing how well these narrow leaf zinnias did last year in my zone 7 NC garden.

I just fertilized and watched them bloom from May till frost. Here they are in October. No pest and no disease.

I’ve pulled most of the things out of my garden but these just kept on blooming. With a track record like that—I’d be nuts not to order them.

They are the happiest things I’ve ever seen. Easy to grow. Just plant them in a pot 6 weeks before frost and you are in business.

Are you convinced yet?

Some people think it is coreopsis–but see the difference? No? I don’t either–but there is. Above is coreopsis ‘Mango Punch’ I think. I have so many it’s hard for me to remember.

I’ve ordered seeds from several places. Everyone has a variety so you’ll just have to check them out from your favorite seed source. Zinnias can be found everywhere. I’m going to grow some in containers this year too.

Filed under: Autumn Color, Fall Container Arrangements, My Gardens, Seeds, Spring