Bill's Journal

Karl Hess

2012-02-18T18:02:00.012-05:00

Being a ref is a hard job. You get a lot of verbal abuse. However, pretty much short of being threatened, you have to be able to ignore what the fans yell and you need to concentrate on officiating the game. If you can't do that - then maybe being a ref is not your thing. If you can't stand the heat, don't even go into the kitchen in the first place.

Karl Hess is a basketball official who works ACC games (and other conferences). He ejected two Fans (not players or coaches - FANS) from today's FSU at NC State Game.

Here's the video:

And here is what is purported to be a firsthand account by a Student in the Student Section right behind the incident who claims to have heard everything. This is taken from scout.com / Pack Pride message boards:

Posted: Today 5:24 PM
Googs and Corch Clarification. (Eye witness account)
________________________________________
I know there is already multiple threads talking about this, but I didn't want the actual facts to get lost in them.

I was sitting two rows behind Chris & Tom. If you watch the video I am in the second row of SWPC members. I heard everything, including when another ref called out a student near me for saying "Quit looking at the dance team." The cop came over and just laughed at the comment and said, you are fine you can stay.

Chris and Tom were harmlessly complaining about the ref. No profanity. They had two very young daughters with them and I doubt they would ever cuss with them there. I never saw anything other than just average complaining.

Karl walked over and pointed at them and said, "Get them out of here." He then found a cop and said, "I want you to get them out of here. Those two right there."

If you listen closely to the video you can hear him say the 'those two' comment.

And that was pretty much that. I was right there. I saw it first-hand thats exactly what happened almost word for word.

I was in shock. Someone next to me asked, "why are you so upset? who are those guys?" I responded by pointing to the rafters at their two jerseys. Debbie Yow needs to seriously do something about this.
Last edited Today 5:32 PM by Statefan44

That the two fans were former star NC State players is not the issue.

Any fan should be able to cheer, yell, and opine about the ref's abilities - as long as they do not disrupt play, threaten or endanger others, or behave in a manner that is disruptive to others (such as profanity around other fans, especially children). Short of that - a ref has no place whatsoever to involve himself with, or interact with, any fan. Former player or average Joe - doesn't matter. The ref should officiate the game and ignore everything else.

I don't care how 'good' he is - IF this account is correct - then Karl Hess is a self-aggrandizing, self-absorbed, preening, prima donna who should not be officiating ACC games.

National Anthem

On a more positive note - Nuke and I always make it a point to be at our seats in time for the National Anthem. It's one of those things that makes me feel good - to be able to stand at attention and sing along with everyone else. Today I took this photo:

Dook

2012-02-17T17:26:00.005-05:00

Last night’s loss hurt.

We were up by 19 the first half and 20 the second half.

Unfortunately, State suffers from a self fulfilling reputation. We get into foul trouble; so the refs know we get into foul trouble; therefore they expect us to foul and call any questionable foul on us.

Actually, we are prone to picking up some dumb fouls. But we don’t foul anywhere as much as we’re called for.

Last night it hurt us bad. We were in foul trouble already in the first half – and then about midway through the second half we had a time where we quickly picked up a couple legitimate fouls but were then called for some that weren't quite as real.

With guys having to sit on the bench, we just don’t have any depth beyond 7 players. Couple that with Dook’s really great athletes and momentum shift – and the game slipped away from us. You could see our players getting rattled and panicky.

Bottom line - Dook has overall better athletes, much greater bench depth, a self-fulfilling reputation for not fouling and the Cameron Indoor Stadium home court advantage.

All that is hard to overcome for a team like NC State. Even with a huge lead.

That . . . . and the fact I’m pretty sure Krzyzewski has sold his children’s souls to Satan.

ACC Basketball

2012-02-10T06:36:00.018-05:00

State is doing so much better under Coach Mark Gottfried. We won at Georgia Tech last night.

State has 6 ACC games left. First comes a killer stretch of 3 games -

at #10 Dook (in a three way tie for ACC first place at 8 and 2);
vs. #15 Florida State (in a three way tie for ACC first place at 8 and 2);
vs. #5 Carolina (in a three way tie for ACC first place at 8 and 2).

It's called ACC Basketball. And it's fun. Oh yeah, NC State, at 7 and 3, is in the ACC fourth place.

Two nights ago - Dook and UNCheats played a classic game. UNCheats was up by 10+ the entire second half till 2:15 left in the game. Dook mounted a furious rally to the last second final shot - and - the only lead of the second half for Dook.

What a great game.

Superbowl Weekend Update 2012

2012-02-05T17:03:00.009-05:00

Saturday

Saturday State beat Wake Forest. It was a 1 PM game so Nuke and I went early to the RBC Center Arena Club for brunch. It's really not worth it - more of something to do once in a while. Think Hotel Sunday buffet food and prices. $20 for brunch Saturday. $30 for dinner buffets / night games. Plus $6 beers. You get the idea. I go maybe once a year.

Friday

I have a new project in Fayetteville. It's located less than a mile from LaFayette Memorial Park where mom and dad are buried. I stopped by there Friday and took this photo:

I think the artificial flowers were put there by my aunt and uncle. They're older now and it's more difficult for them to visit grave sites - hence the artificial flowers instead of more frequent fresh flowers.

I'd rather the occasional fresh flowers, but some people prefer some sort of flower (artificial) at the grave all the time. Actually, fresh or artificial, it really doesn't matter. Whatever makes Aunt E and Uncle R happy works for me.

Sunday

Waiting for the Superbowl to start. I'm not a professional football fan. College - Oh Yeah! Pro? No. But I do watch the playoffs.

Weekend Update 1/29/2012

2012-01-29T07:31:00.003-05:00

Pretty average week.

My boss got married this weekend. Drove up to Bahama and then back whereupon I turned right around and Nuke and I went to the Va game at the RBC. Saturday I spent about 6 hours in the car. Yuck.

State got beat up on by UNC Cheating Hill this week. When Carolina plays like they did Thursday, they are the best team in the nation by far.

The UVa at NCSU game last night was exciting - so close. Game ball goes to the referees. UVa couldn't have won the game without 'em.

National Debt

2012-01-25T18:20:00.006-05:00

This video takes National Income (Taxes, Fees, etc.) and scales it down to an individual, somewhat low, annual income amount. And then does similar scaling of the National Debt, Debt Limit and last years "Budget Cuts" for comparison.*

Kind of puts all those huge numbers in proper perspective.

*Take the National numbers and divide by 100,000,000. Yep - divide by (pinky to chin and look right at the camera) One-Hundred-Million-Dollars!

Happy Camper

2012-01-22T12:50:00.006-05:00

I'm watching NC State at Miami. Halftime and State's up by 12.

There's the second half to play. But still . . . .

With new coach Mark Gottfried we're much better than last year with essentially the same team. I had expected us to be a little better, heck, we couldn't get much worse. But we're way better than expected. I've tried to keep from getting too excited - it's early in the ACC and we haven't played Virginia, Dook, UNCheats or Florida State yet. But still - it's getting to the point where I'm kinda like - "Who Are These Guys?"

I know the guys wish they could play the Georgia Tech game over. Inexplicable loss - Especially considering how we've played in all the other games.

Also - yesterday's Florida State at Dook game was awesome with an incredible 0.6 seconds left shot!

I really enjoy ACC and NCAA basketball.

Addendum

State wins 78 to 73.

Next up - at UNCheat Thursday night.

Basketball +Addendum

2012-01-11T06:34:00.007-05:00

I went to school in the late 70's. It was the heyday of NC State Basketball (through the 80's).

Since the late '80's, NC State Basketball has been irrelevant. That includes the mediocrity of the Sendeck coaching era.

I've gotten so used to State being pretty much nothing, that it was hard to get excited with our latest coaching change - although - I did like what I heard at the first annual Basketball Breakfast. Still - I'm a do it first, then talk about it kind of guy.

Well, the warm up season has looked pretty darn good. Including 3 losses that were almost wins. With essentially the same team as last year, we're looking way better. There is clearly some real coaching going on at NC State that hasn't been there for the last 5 years.

The ACC season has started with a win over Maryland. Tonight is Georgia Tech.

I'm beginning to buy in to the new coach. And dreaming that maybe, just maybe, NC State can get back to the way it used to be.

Back in the 1970's before ESPN or Fox Sports - college basketball on TV was unheard of. Except in ACC county where the conference put together its own TV broadcasts via the Jefferson Pilot Network.

Those of us who grew up in North Carolina will remember this -

Addendum

Reality Check. Georgia Tech beat us last night by 9 points. State actually looked like the better team. We just couldn't get shots to go in or force turnovers. Rebounding; play and position in the paint; open shots (which didn't go in); overall State looked better (except our defense which looked weak). But GT kept us off balance enough to win.

However, State never gave up and played to the very end.

So - any talk about State getting to the NCAAs this year is premature. We have to win the home games against GT to win the 10, or more likely 11, ACC games needed to make the tournament.

Last night's loss means we have to make it up somewhere unexpected. Maybe at Dook? At UNCheat? I doubt that's gonna happen.

Frankly, I'm OK with an NIT this year. Heck, I'd be very happy with an NIT this year. It's progress. And even in a loss, I like the way State is playing - as a team.

New Years 2012

2012-01-01T17:09:00.003-05:00

Went to Raleigh's First Night. Wasn't as cold as usual.

Bowl Games

2011-12-27T21:27:00.033-05:00

State held on to win 31 to 24 over Louisville last night in Charlotte.

David Amerson interception and touchdown.

Game Highlights

UNC lost 41 to 24 to Missouri in Shreveport Monday night.

Even though Missouri had already put the hurt on UNC by halftime and Shreveport is a long way from North Carolina - UNC (lack of) fan support was just plain pathetic. On the other hand, the UNC team didn't really show up either.

Christmas 2011 +Addendum

2011-12-25T11:21:00.006-05:00

Archie and Bella visited for Christmas. They brought their pets, H, W and Jason.

Nice low key Christmas.

Right now W and H are over in Cary watching their grandchildren open Christmas gifts. Nuke has just built a fire in the fireplace. I'm writing this post and thinking about taking the dogs for a walk.

The relatives are in New York City and Warrenton, Virginia. Communicating via google chat.

W and H head back to Southport later today with the puppies.

Nuke is staying. Basketball season is about to start in earnest with ACC games in a little over a week.

Addendum

W & H gave me a Martini shaker and Grey Goose for Christmas. Monday I picked up some Noilly Prat and olives. Nuke said it was the perfect martini. I had a vodka and orange juice.

2011 Fall Cruise

2011-12-03T22:12:00.004-05:00

Just got back from a cruise on the Celebrity Eclipse. It was nice. Click here for photos.

Now - on to the important stuff.

State will probably go to the Belk Bowl in Charlotte on December 27th.

Gift Horse

2011-11-20T08:40:00.003-05:00

What a fun day at the football game. The score, 37 - 13 was just about what I expected - only the teams were reversed. Since State was expected to lose, and possibly lose big, I was surprised that the Stadium was filled. Yeah, lots of Clemson Orange, but the faithful Wolfpackers showed up too.

This is going to sound like looking a Gift Horse in the mouth - Why the heck hasn't NC State played every Saturday like we did against Clemson?

The team yesterday was what I was expecting to see before the season started.

Our Defense (finally healthy) has been playing great - it's the Offensive Line that has been sputtering. I'm still not over last week's second half against Boston College. Our defense kept BC to MINUS 2 yards in the second half but our offense couldn't (or wouldn't) score - and we lost.

Yesterday - the offense finally put it together. When the O line protects the quarterback and gives Mike Glennon time - good things happen. And it did.

NC State yesterday could have competed with any team, any team, in the nation.

State must win next Saturday to go 7 - 5 and become bowl eligible. I figure the kids will be up for the game and will come through. Then again, I figured we'd have no less than a 9 - 3 season. So much for what I know / figure.

I'll be on a cruise ship Saturday which won't be carrying the broadcast. Looks like I'll have to sign up for one of the way overpriced internet packages and use it up just to see the game. Grrrrrrr.

Weekend Update 11/13/11

2011-11-13T07:45:00.003-05:00

Went to the basketball game Friday night. State looked really good. Granted, it was against UNC-A, but UNC-A went to the second round of the NCAAs last year and look to be as good again this year. The team appears to be playing like a 'team'. I like Coach Gottfried and his staff.

Saturday watched football. NC State is killing me. Defense played great. QB Glennon is going to get criticized for not producing on late drives, but in reality, he was harassed by BC during the whole game because our offensive line can't protect him.

Bottom line - there is no excuse for losing this game.

Got another basketball game this evening against Morehead State - which also went to the NCAA last year. Should be fun to watch.

Other than some chores and grocery shopping, I didn't do much else this weekend.

Cheetahs Never Prosper

2011-11-05T19:31:00.018-04:00

NC State 13 - UNC 0

Not Photo-shopped - This was shown on the

video screen with about 5 minutes left.

Excellent defensive game. The defense pounced all over UNC quarterback Bryn Renner - who ran his mouth this week along with UNC Coach Withers. Thanks for the extra motivation guys.

Our Offense? Not so much. But enough.

Five straight NCSU wins over UNC.

Sweet!

ESPN Recap

Coffee

2011-11-04T20:40:00.000-04:00

When I'm in Asheville for my Western VA Home construction project, this is where I stop for coffee (and beans to bring home). It's a couple miles down the road from my project (actually in Black Mountain / Swannanoa). I like to stop in just to smell the roasted beans.

Nothing New +Addendum

2011-10-29T11:40:00.008-04:00

Work is pretty typical.

Still waiting for my glasses to be shipped - zennioptical.

Butt surgery recovery is pretty much complete.

Waiting for Saturday College Football to start.

Oh yeah - basketball tickets arrived yesterday. Yaaay!

Addendum

How in the heck was NC State predicted to go 8-4 for sure? With 9-3 or 10-2 a real possibility?

Final Score: Florida State 34 - NC State 0.

Good Grief.

State is now 4-4 with 4 games left. UNC, Boston College, Clemson and Maryland.

We might, might, win 2 of them.

I Don't Believe It Except It Happened

2011-10-22T14:19:00.008-04:00

Running errands this morning - grocery store, haircut, etc. and I'm finally headed home on South US 1 Freeway.

Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye I see, pooft, a wasp comes shooting out of the center AC vent of the dashboard.

And he's pissed. Really, really, pissed. Someone's going to pay for this little journey he's been on - and that someone is me.

So he's trying to sting me around the head and I'm swatting away at him.

At 65 mph on the freeway.

He's finally going for my right ear and I swat the ever loving shit out of him.

Along with the wasp - I get my glasses with the same swat. Which come flying off my face, bounce off the steering wheel, and go flying out the window.

At 65 mph on the freeway.

I. Can't. Belive. What. Just. Happened!

Fortunately, I keep 30 day contact lenses at home - and I've got 3 sets left. So I'm good till I can get some new glasses made.

Also fortunately, the rest of the drive was straight down the freeway with just a mile or so driving the country road to my house. My astigmatism is so bad - I can't even see the dashboard in front of me. It's all just a blur of grey, black and some white. I can't even read the signs along the road. Not talking about the speed limit signs - I'm talking about the big overhead and exit signs.

And - I'm out the hundreds new glasses will cost.

Stupid wasp.

Breakfast With The Basketball Team +Addendum

2011-10-15T11:49:00.019-04:00

Just got back from the first (to become annual) Basketball Tip Off Breakfast at the Arena Club.

AD Yow started off with a candid assessment of where NCSU Sports is - not just basketball but overall. Positive and negative. She acknowledged that Wolfpack Club support is amazing and overwhelming in light of the performance of our teams over the past decade and more.

She gave us the frank report that improvement is a process and won't happen overnight. She concluded with (and I'm paraphrasing) that she's a dog person, but said she was giving away her age by remembering the "Hang In There Baby" poster back in the 70's - paused, and then said to us - "You're the Cat".

LOL

I like candid, straightforward, no bullshit people.

Both Yow and new head coach Mark Gottfried seem to be those kind of folks. I think I like 'em.

Assistant coach Orlando Early sat next to Chip and me. We had a nice conversation. Good people.

My optimism is renewed.

Addendum

Couple of photos from the Raleigh News & Observer. Chip and I are in the second photo. Where's Waldo?

Getting Better

2011-09-29T18:01:00.013-04:00

Recovering nicely. I've been to work this week including a trip to Kinston. Although, Jason drove which turned out to be necessary.

I started out with 2 pain pills every 4 hours. Now I'm down to 1 every 4 hours. This weekend I think I'll cut back to 1 every 6 hours.

Infomercials and Internet

Speaking of pain pills . . .

One should be very careful when taking Percocet or any narcotic pain pill. Driving is a definite no no. Also, you should avoid infomercials and Internet commerce.

Although, I must say, I really like my new Cuisinart coffee grinder. It works wonderfully and is well worth the price. At least I had the sense to order the reconditioned one from Overstock.com.*

Also - Going to the State Basketball Tip Off Breakfast will be fun. It's at the RBC Arena Club. The team will be serving breakfast and Coach Gottfried will give a preview of the upcoming season and have a Q&A session. Though why I ordered 2 tickets is beyond me. Even if Jason is here, he won't get up for an 8 AM breakfast. Maybe Chip will go with me.*

And, I would have donated to Obama's reelection campaign anyway.*

*All done the morning after surgery, still somewhat affected by the general anesthesia combined with a double hit of Percocet.

Yankee Joke

2011-09-24T09:50:00.016-04:00

Calculator, Laptop and Percocet

A Winning Work Combination

Southern joke:

Q: Why are Yankees like hemorrhoids?

A: The ones that come down but go back up – you can tolerate. The ones that come down and stay - can be a real pain in the ass.

I’ve been suffering from a hemorrhoid for the past 18+ months. It’s been quite painful. Finally, my doctor said enough was enough and I had minor outpatient surgery Tuesday.

Not be too indelicate, the tiny blood vessels were weakened and the tissue gave way to tiny micro cuts (or fissures). The pain causes the muscle to spasm which prevents the blood vessels and tissues from ever healing. Which continues to cause pain – which continues to cause spasms. A vicious, painful, circle. The counterintuitive solution is to make a small incision in the muscle, which lessens the spasms and allows the tissue to finally heal up.

Recovery is typically about 2 to 4 weeks.

JTN came up to drive me to and from the hospital and to help look after me. He’s been a great help.

I’ve been working from home since Tuesday and I plan to go into the office starting Monday. At least part time anyway – we’ll see how it goes.

The surgery pain is different. And constant. I’m not much for taking pills but without the pain medication, I’d be in a real world of hurt. I take two pills every four hours. In ten minutes, all pain is gone. The downside – In 20 minutes I’m asleep. It also keeps me loopy pretty much all the time.

Rush is right - Percocet is quite a drug.

Gettin' Whupped Up On

2011-09-23T08:02:00.012-04:00

I don't know what to say about NC State football.

We were supposed to be good this year. Like, really good.

Instead, we've been manhandled by both mediocre Division 1 teams we've played so far (Wake Forest and Cincinnati). I don't know what's going to happen when we start playing good teams.

Our defense has been hit with an unusual number of injuries. But still, we were supposed to have a lot of defensive depth.

The weak offensive line is not giving our QB much time and certainly isn't opening paths for the running game. One bright spot is despite being hurried, harassed and multiple sacks, QB Mike Glennon is playing extremely well. Also, our rookie kickers are doing great too.

I've gone from looking forward to a really great, exciting, season to worrying that the wheels are about to fall off the bus.

Last night: NCSU 14 - Cincinnati 44.

This stat sums up how the game went: NC State - minus 19 yards rushing.

Sheesh.

South Alabama at NCSU

2011-09-18T09:20:00.010-04:00

We won, 35 to 13. Still, it seems like we're not playing as well as we should. I just can't tell if we're going to be a good team or not.

Weather was yucky - chilly and damp. Had a good time though. We tailgated with subway sandwiches and beer and had a good time hanging out.

Afterwards stopped by Sadlacks but the band was already finished playing and starting to pack up their gear. At 9:30. On a Saturday night.

Raleigh rolls up the sidewalks early these days.

Chip, me, Nuke, Dave.

Overall, a nice way to spend a Saturday evening.

ACC Expansion

Practically no one at the game had even heard that the ACC was seriously discussing expansion with Syracuse and Pittsburgh - who delivered 'official' letters of application yesterday. I figured it was a done deal and the letters were just making it official.

Turns out, that's right. The ACC apparently voted (while everyone was at football games) to expand by adding the 'Cuse and Pitt.

All the sudden, possible expansion of the major conferences (ACC, SEC, etc.) is not just speculation but is now gonna happen. The question for the ACC is who will be members / teams 15 and 16?

I predict that real soon there will be four Super-Conferences each with 16 members.

The ACC, SEC, Pac-(16?) and Big (16 made out of the Big 12 and Big 10). That will pretty much capture the top 64 football and basketball programs. Maybe, just maybe, there will be a fifth Super Conference - but that might be a long shot.

I'd also bet that the BCS will align with the pairings of ACC-Orange Bowl, Big Something or Other - Rose Bowl, SEC - Sugar Bowl and Pac-whoever - Fiesta Bowl.

The BCS bowls could continue as they do now with 10 teams in the the four bowl games plus the BCS National Championship Game. Or - the four bowl's eight teams could make up a final four playoff.

The Big (not really) East will slide down and become more like a top mid-major. Kind of like Conference USA.

Overrated

2011-09-11T06:48:00.003-04:00

NC State’s football team is overrated.

Our two games so far have been basically the same. Terrible game plan and execution in the first half - playing catch up in the second half.

In both games we clearly have the better talent and players. But we get man handled in the first and second quarters. The responsibility lies squarely with the coaches.

When you spot the other team a 20 – 6 lead by halftime, that’s hard to overcome in the second half. Still, we darn near pulled it out yesterday at Wake Forest.

Our defense was supposed to carry the offense until new quarterback Mike Glennon got himself established. Well, MG is doing fine. The defense, in the start of both games, couldn’t stop a pee wee team. Especially our defensive secondary. Wake and Liberty passed at will against us in the first halves respectively.

We make adjustments at half time and come out and play really well in the second half. But the way we’re unprepared in the first half is inexcusable. Our coaches had better get their act together.

Notre Dame at Michigan

The Game yesterday was Notre Dame at Michigan.

My goodness, what a barn burner! Three touchdowns in the last minute and 20 seconds. Winning score made with two seconds left. This game will be seen time and again on ESPN Classics.

Both teams wore classic uniforms, a throwback to the early 20th century, 118,000 fans, and a tight, well played game. This is what college football is all about.

The Big House looked awesome under the lights.

9/11

I'm not going to post about today’s anniversary. I’ll let others talk and post.

A heartfelt thank you to my friends FG, JTN and DB for their service in the United State Army and National Guard.

Finally Football +Addendum

2011-09-03T08:15:00.011-04:00

State plays Liberty University tonight. Liberty is a strong Top 20 FCS (Division II) team. I'd rather us play Division 1 teams, but if you're going to play a D2 team, Appalachian, James Madison or Liberty will be in the game right with you. (Just ask Virginia Tech).

I think I'll pick up some KFC and we'll do a little tailgating.

Thrilled to see Russell Wilson getting off to a fantastic start at Wisconsin. In the big scheme of things, Russell going to Wisconsin was the right move. If Russell had given up baseball and stayed at State, we'd be sure to do really good. But at the time, RW was still trying to decided if he wanted to play pro baseball or give his full attention to college football.

That put State's next quarterback Mike Glennon (and Coach O'Brien) in a difficult position. If RW had stayed at State, we'd have an outside shot at playing in the ACC Championship and possibly in the Orange Bowl. Or, more likely, the Peach Bowl.

By transferring to Wisconsin, RW has a legitimate shot at the Rose Bowl or possibly even the National Championship. And that gives MG the opportunity to start his junior and senior season at State and to see how far he can take the Wolfpack.

RW at State might have meant us winning 1 or 2 more games this year than otherwise might be expected. But with the total team package at Wisconsin, RW could go even further. And I expect MG will do quite well in leading the Wolfpack.

Watched the TCU - Baylor game last night. What a thriller.

I love college football.

Addendum

The score (43 - 21) makes it look like State in a walk. Not so. In the first 3 quarters Liberty was beating us in every statistic except for turnovers and the score. In fact, Liberty was only 9 points down with 10 minutes left to play.

Our Offensive Line has got to do a lot better job. They have to protect Glennon (3 sacks) and give him time to throw as well as open up paths for the running backs. If the OL doesn't step up their game, we're in for a long season.

Kicking game and defense is solid as expected.

It all hinges on the offensive line.

Link to ESPN Game Recap and Highlight Videos.

Thanks to Chip, Erica and Dwayne for going to the game with me. We did a little tailgating and had a good time.

Firewood

2011-09-01T22:21:00.009-04:00

Last year when I had my septic field cleared and some leaning trees taken down, I had the tree trunks cut into pieces. Some were stacked in the front yard and some left in the back woods.

I finally got around to hiring a guy with a wood splitter to come in and help me turn the tree trunks into firewood. He split the wood and I hauled and stacked it. Took us several days, working evenings and this past weekend.

Turned out to be a heck of a lot more wood than I had figured. I've measured the stacked wood. There's over 3 solid cords.

For casual use in the fireplace, that's about 3 to 4 years worth.

Kinda Cool

2011-08-23T17:48:00.006-04:00

I was doing some intense number crunching when the building started vibrating. First thought was, hmmm, that's a hell of a truck going by. Then, what the . . . this is an earthquake!

Window blinds moved a little and the flat computer monitor moved a little.

Almost immediately IM's started popping up on my screen and a moment later the phone started ringing.

I think the alarms must have gone off in the Dobbs building. People had evacuated Dobbs and were going back in by the time I took this photograph about 20 minutes later.

All in all, pretty cool.

While over in Japan - people are going: Phffffffttt

Bummer +Addendum

2011-08-21T16:13:00.007-04:00

Mac's Breakfast Anytime is one of my regular breakfast joints. I go there maybe once a month or so.

More often in the fall and winter when JTN comes up for the football and basketball seasons. Mac's is definitely one of his favorite places because 1) JTN is a lazy effer who sleeps late and 2) he can get breakfast there anytime - like - in the afternoon.

I was last there, oh, maybe a month or so ago.

This morning - closed!

Bummer.

Addendum

JTN informs me that the Mac's chain has gone from 11 restaurants down to 5 over the past couple of years.

Says that the Sanford location was losing $250 per day.

How the hell does he (JTN) find this stuff out?!?

Because My Car Radio Told Me

2011-08-08T19:41:00.006-04:00

So - I'm driving to a late lunch today and listening to WCPE. Suddenly my radio goes to static. I look at it and it has switched to the AM band and the clock says it's 12:00 (It was actually around 1:30). Then, as I'm glancing at the radio - the display changes and says "Low Battery".

What?

I just happened to be passing an Advance Auto store (the one on Wake Forest Road inside the beltline) so I pull in to let them check out the battery. The technician hooks up his device and says - "The battery is OK but needs charging - it's your alternator - showing a bad regulator or diode with no output. Your car's electrical system is running off the battery only."

Hmmmm.

So - I head straight over to the Ford Dealership and sure enough - they confirm the alternator needs to be replaced ($509).

I've never had a radio tell me automobile diagnostics before. The Lord works in mysterious ways. Apparently, so does my radio.

2011 NCSU Football Tickets

2011-08-06T11:17:00.014-04:00

My tickets arrived yesterday.

I'm very excited about this year's team. I expect we'll be 8 and 4. It's even quite possible we could go 9 and 3.

Head Coach Maj. Tom O'Brien (USMC Ret.) has got his team where he wants them. Good depth, red shirting freshmen and the types of players he wants.

State was surprisingly good last year. We had a better season than expected. This year is actually the turnaround year on which we start building. That is - starting next year . . . we could have great teams.

Moron

2011-07-29T17:11:00.011-04:00

No, moron. Possible evidence of volcanic activity on the moon does not have an effect on earth's climate change.

Faux News

We "are fucking idiots who pretend to" report - you decide.

Typical Staff Meeting

2011-07-26T17:18:00.005-04:00

There hasn't been much to blog about lately.

So, to kill time and post an entry for the heck of it - here's a couple photos from yesterday's staff meeting.

Our staff meeting is held monthly. Usually takes about 30 minutes to an hour to catch up on items of general relevance to the whole office. Of course, different groups and teams meet as needed to discuss detailed items.

In the photos above, RS and I are discussing a consulting agreement for one of my projects.

I'm the Project Manager in charge of construction of the Western North Carolina Skilled Nursing Home for the NC Division of Veterans Affairs. For the VA Home we took some unused property from the Department of Corrections and (a small amount) from NC State University.

When we were selecting the site a couple years ago, we discovered what turned out to be a hazardous waste landfill. The hazardous waste landfill is not on the site we are building the VA Home. It's down the road a bit on other NCDOC property.

NCDOC was tasked with investigating (and potentially remediating) the haz site. But - NCDOC has been hit hard by budget cuts over the last 2 years and money for non-critical functions (like investigating 60 year old landfills) is scarce.

So - a couple months ago - we (the Department of Administration - State Construction Office) decided to step in.

We scrounged around and found some money. I'm hiring an Environmental Consultant / Geologist to investigate the site. We'll determine what's exactly in the landfill; how deep (quantity) is the waste; install background and downstream sampling and monitoring wells (checking for groundwater contamination / migration); and we'll come up with a game plan on how to remediate or clean up the site.

RS handles contracting for consultants. I picked out a consultant and had them prepare a services proposal and cost schedule. RS turns proposals into State contracts. Once RS and the consultant get the contract finalized - we'll turn loose the drill rigs.

The investigation and services contract will be a shade under $60,000. My boss is trying to find another 5 thousand +/- so I can add in some additional work that I think needs to be done.

The bottom line of course, is to determine what needs to be done with the waste and how much will it cost.

Based on my experience with sites like this and my "eye-balling" of how much material there is to deal with - I'm guessing a full clean up is going to run between $500K and $1.5M.

If I'm lucky and the environmental regulators (NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources) let me average / categorize the waste to non-hazardous levels - then I can take the waste to the local county landfill for the lower estimate. If testing reveals higher haz waste levels - then I'm looking at the much higher cost.

Either way - I want to get the investigation, report and recommendations done by November. That will give time for my various bosses to include the funding request in time for next winter's General Assembly short session (they convene in February - budget committees start meeting sooner).

A typical moment in a typical day at the office.

FYI

The 2 kids sitting behind us are summer engineering interns. These guys are really sharp and have been a great help this summer.

The one on the left (with the emo mop top hair) is a mechanical engineering student at NC State. He's going to cover for me at a monthly construction meeting this Friday. I have to go to Robeson County Friday to handle a sensitive issue that's flared up at the Lumbee Indian Cultural Center (there's a pun in there - I'll leave it up to you to google if you want to know what it is).

Normally I'd get a senior engineer / peer to go to the construction meeting in my place. But this student is so sharp, he can handle any issues that come up or can brief me if larger decisions are needed.

(Note to self - remember to bring in hair clippers - offer to lend to him - recommend No. 4 (1/2-inch) clipper guard)

The other guy is majoring in Environmental Studies and Economics at Elon University. He's been reviewing the past haz waste site investigations and reports and the current proposal. He's been a great help. I wish he were still going to be here when the final investigation gets underway - I'd turn the entire project over to him.

2011 Fourth of July Weekend

2011-07-04T12:18:00.009-04:00

Thought about going to the beach but decided to stick around the house.

Did pretty much nothing. Just the usual routine house chores.

Watched The French Connection on DVD.

Haven't seen it in years. What a great film. Everybody thinks of the train - car chase scene. But it's pretty much the great movie from the '70s classic crime drama era. Character driven; great script and cinematography. Fantastic acting.

The DVD has been remastered in THX Surround. Fortunately, they didn't try to 'clean up' the sound. It was left 'scratchy' like the original movie - just clearer. If that makes any sense.

Anyway - keeping the sound the same matches the gritty feel of the cinematography which captured the grimy look of New York City at that time.

A Note About The Previous Entry

2011-06-24T06:31:00.004-04:00

I've received a couple of emails asking if that is my shop / out building in the photo of the previous entry.

No. It belongs to my neighbor Ken and Karen J.

K&K are great neighbors. Some of the nicest people you'll ever meet.

When they built their shop, they sort of ignored some basics - like - getting a building permit and adhering to local regulations regarding building set backs from property lines.

They were of the opinion they didn't need a building permit since they built the shop themselves (not true). And, since they assumed they didn't have to get a building permit - they also assumed that development / building regulations didn't apply as well. In this case - the requirement that buildings / structures need to be a minimum of 10 feet back from a property line.

K&K are really sweet people. But to be honest, they're not the sharpest tacks in the box.

Their shop is about 18 inches from the property line. They sort of 'eye balled' where the lot line was and lucked out in that they didn't actually build it on my lot.

LOL

If you look at the photo - the tree is on my lot - and the lot line is between the tree and their shop.

They also built a pole barn / open shed to park their RV under in their front yard. Most definitely against sub-division regulations and county ordinances.

When K&K built the RV shed - other neighbors asked me to "speak" to K&K about it. Which I declined to do.

I don't care what K&K do. Even if they break the rules, it doesn't materially affect me.

Yes - the RV Shed does look out of place. Actually - kind of trailer park looking.

But - what the hell. I have more important things in my life to worry about other than if my next door neighbor builds a shed in their front yard or a shop too close to my lot line.

Haze and Deer +Addendum

2011-06-21T17:32:00.024-04:00

There is a large forest fire that's been burning in Dare and Hyde Counties since May 5th - about a month now. News reports have been describing the hazy conditions near the coast. Since the prevailing winds typically go from west to east, we haven't been affected here. Until today.

The winds have shifted and here's what it looks like in Raleigh today:

Keep in mind - Hyde / Dare Counties are about a 3+ hour drive east from Raleigh.

Deer

Yesterday I took this photo of the upper field to the side of my house:

Why?

Here's the cropped closeup:

There's a fifth deer you can't see because of the bushes / trees - but she's there.

I've mixed in a lot of clover with the fescue up there. Clover is a natural fertilizer which returns nitrogen back to the soil. And clover is the preferred salad of deer and rabbits.

Bambi and Thumper dine here all the time.

Critter Addendum

I also saw a Wild Turkey last Monday as I was pulling out of the driveway on the way to work. There's plenty of turkey around. But this was the first time I've seen one in the neighborhood itself.

Still have two raccoons and two possum that come up nightly for the dried cat food (and table leftovers) that I put out.

To keep the food from getting rained on and mushy, I put the bowl in the porch and leave the porch screen door propped open.

Every once in a while, when I pop out to the porch for a cancer stick, the possum will be there. She gets frightened and runs to the porch corner and hides under the outdoor fireplace (the one Charlsanne gave me for Christmas a while back).

This happened again last night. Poor thing - you can see her shivering when it happens. I always leave the porch and go stand on the deck so as to not scare her half to death.

Weekend Update 6/11/2011

2011-06-11T11:05:00.019-04:00

Not a thing worth posting lately.

Work is very busy. Long hours and a lot of travel. I have two buildings under construction (about $30M) and some additional minor projects / buildings (about $5M more). My projects are located in Kinston, Fayetteville, Raleigh and Asheville. I'm spread pretty thin right now.

Just finished watching True Grit. Excellent movie.

Might head out to see Super 8 at the theater this afternoon. Don't know if I'll go to the local theater in Sanford or drive all the way into Raleigh to see it at the IMAX.

Super 8 Addendum

Made the drive into Raleigh to see Super 8 at the IMAX.

Definitely a Spielberg film. While it won't become a classic like Close Encounters of the Third Kind - it is a roller coaster rip roaring fun time.

Think ET meets Cloverfield. In fact, it's the movie Cloverfield would have been if Spielberg had made it.

ET wants to go home. ET does not want to make friends. Do not get in ET's way. He is not, I repeat - NOT - warm and cuddly.

Plot and dialogue driven. So, don't spend the extra for the IMAX. Regular theater should be just fine.

And a head's up. Pay attention to the 'scenes' the kid's shoot. Their movie is played during the credits. Nice little 'film within a film' payoff at the end.

Oh, and a great late '70's pop soundtrack.

Saturday, May 21, 2010 - 6 PM

2011-05-21T18:00:00.002-04:00

Weekend Update 5/15/2011

2011-05-15T16:23:00.012-04:00

Went down to St. James to visit JN, HN and WN. It was nice to get away for the weekend and I had a great time.

Had a great old fashion dinner at the N's home - pork chops, mashed potatoes, and butter beans. I love home cooking.

We also went to a charity cookout. St. James Plantation hosts an annual golf weekend for the military and a fund raiser. For some reason the golfing weekend didn't happen (although they announced it will happen next year) - but the picnic was nice and there was music provided by a local community orchestra.

It was JN's birthday this weekend.

I was in the NCSU bookstore last week getting some engineering grid note pads and there were some poster size photographs of State football games by the entrance. One was a panorama shot of the 2009 State - Carolina game.

Amazingly, you could see me, JN, Chip and Erika clearly in the photo. I bought it and had it matted and framed. Gave it to JN for his birthday present.

Saturday night JN and I drove in to Southport where their "Spring Fling" was going on. Had a good time chatting with folks and listening to some 'big band' music. I didn't take any photos or video - but here's a link to the band that was playing:

The Andrew Thielen Big Band

They were excellent. They played Sing, Sing, Sing. While this isn't them - it sounded just like this:

Just got back home and am doing some chores around the house.

All in all - a really fine weekend.

Thanks

2011-05-05T06:13:00.000-04:00

Thanks to the Armed Forces of the United States of America who defend our lives and freedom - nonstop - day in and day out.

Special thanks to my friends JTN (USA), FG (USA), and DWB (NCNG).

Noisy

2011-04-17T14:51:00.017-04:00

The storm started quite quickly.

I could hear the thunder as the weather approached - then, when it started, the rain was tremendous. I closed the doors to the back deck but left the kitchen door to the porch open.

Within a minute, I heard what sounded like distant rolling thunder that kept going on and on and on. Instantly you know what that sound is - and I headed for the guest bathroom in the middle of the house.

I had grabbed a phone and was talking with Jason asking him if he could hear the noise through the phone when the power and phone went down.

Today, it appears what I was hearing was the storm passing east of where I live. I haven't been over there - but there have been a steady stream of power trucks headed over in that direction.

It appears that the particular storm cell I heard started with touchdowns in Moore County, Sanford, Broadway, passing east of my neighborhood and the Shearon Harris Nuclear Power Plant, then touching down again in Holly Springs. It appears it's the same cell that touched down along Saunders Street in Raleigh, then passing over and through downtown Raleigh and then heading on to NE North Carolina.

The damage in the video is south of me in Sanford itself.

At my house, the whole storm event was over in less than an hour. Unfortunately for for many in NC, the aftermath won't be over for quite a while.

Neil Young

My intended post for this weekend was to have been about going to see Neil Young Friday evening. DB hooked me up with a ticket.

We've seen Neil Young many times. This show was a solo performance. It had some really great moments. Overall though, I'd have to rate the show as OK / Good.

The Durham Performing Arts Center is a wonderful venue.

Enjoy Your Visit

2011-04-09T19:38:00.007-04:00

On behalf of NC State University, its faculty and staff, students, alumni, Wolfpack Club members and Tuffy the mascot dog – let me be the very first to welcome, in advance, the NCAA Investigative Staff to Raleigh.

Call me if y’all need recommendations to some good BBQ joints.

News & Observer - Jim Harrick – Mark Gottfried

Jim Harrick

Coach

2011-04-06T22:37:00.004-04:00

Mark Gottfried is State's new head coach.

My first choice? No.

State's first choice? No.

While Head Coach at Alabama he took the Tide to the NCAA's just about every year. Regularly reaching the Sweet 16 and the Elite 8.

On the down side - Billy Donovan at Florida was Gottfreid's "daddy" beating Alabama at most every meeting - save for a couple of 'Bama upsets.

So - we'll probably continue to lose to Dook and UNC on a regular basis - with the occasional win here and there.

Kind of like a more exciting, new and improved version of Herb Sendek.

He's carrying some off court baggage too.

But maybe he'll turn out to be a man who has learned from his past successes and mistakes and may just turn out to be an excellent coach.

I think we have to give him our full support and see what happens.

AFLAC

NCAA Tournament

2011-03-21T16:52:00.008-04:00

The Big East got a whopping record setting 11 teams into this year's Big Dance.

The ACC, having a down year, only got 4.

Soooo, after the first weekend's rounds, going into the Sweet 16, how is that working out?

The Big East has 2 teams left (18% of teams advancing) and the ACC has 3 (75% of teams advancing).

This includes ACC number 10 seed Florida State stomping Big East number 2 seed Notre Dame 71 - 57. Game was never even close.

The Big East as the power basketball conference?

Yeah, right.

http://foxvzw-sports.mobile.msn.com/en-us/articles.aspx?aid=684092&acid=2&afid=0

State Coaching Search

The message boards are naturally filled with all sorts of rumors and speculation about who will be the next Head Coach.

Things really heated up over the weekend. I suspect that's because State fans are huge basketball fans. Even if we don't have a dog in the hunt this year (or the last five years) we're still watching the tournament. We loves us some bassetball.

Rick Barnes has always been "the" coach that State fans have wanted. Including me - five years ago. Today - I'd pass on Barnes in favor of a younger up and coming coach or, if we go after an established coach, Billy Donovan.

Why do State fans love the idea of Barnes as our next coach? Well, back when Barnes was Clemson's head coach, he never bought into the whole "Dean Smith as the holiest saint of ACC coaches" thing.

Barnes would work the ref's just as hard as ol Dean would and Dean would take umbrage at that. Smith and Barnes got into more than a couple of shouting matches during games. Once, a microphone picked up Barnes telling Smith to Fly Off during one such encounter.

State fans loved it.

Anyway - the boards are full of "It's going to be Barnes" or "It's going to be Sean Miller" and so on.

Two themes on the boards have been consistent: 1) AD Yow has lined up a 'game changer' and 2) It's going to cost big and the Wolfpack Club has green lighted a huge budget. The numbers being floated around are in the $5M range.

The highest paid coach, by far, is Calipari (Kentucky) at around $4M with Donavon (Florida) second at $3.3M.

If the $5M rumors are correct, that leads me to suspect that Yow's target (and already done deal if you believe the boards) is Billy Donavon.

I would love to have Billy D as our head coach.

Possible Coaches

2011-02-28T17:25:00.009-05:00

NC State will be making a coaching change in the next month or so.

Sidney Lowe is an outstanding person and puts his whole soul into coaching - but it just isn't happening for him. Honestly - I think he'd be the best assistant coach in the nation - just not a head coach.

Here's my preferences - for what it's worth - which isn't much.

Young Guns

Young Coaches with the Potential to be Great Head Coaches at a Major Program:

Brad Stevens - Butler University

Gregg Marshall - Wichita State University

(Gregg Marshall was my choice as an up and coming coach to replace Herb Sendek 5 years ago)*

Proven Coaches

Established Coaches at Major Programs who might could be lured to NC State and the ACC:

Billy Donovan - University of Florida

Rick Barnes - University of Texas

(Rick Barnes was my established coach choice to replace Herb Sendek 5 years ago)*

Tubby Smith - University of Minnesota

*Good Riddance Lee Fowler

Our former Athletics Director, Lee Fowler, either did not consider, or get Barnes or Marshall to discuss the NC State job 5 years ago.

In fact, LF basically screwed up the Head Coaching Search all together. While I was glad we ended up giving Sidney Lowe a chance - his selection came about after everyone else felt snubbed, was overlooked or turned us down.

Firing Lee Fowler last year was the best thing NC State Athletics has done in 5 years. We are now in a position to start turning around State's various athletics programs and return to our once proud position and tradition.

Weekend Update February 27, 2011

2011-02-27T09:40:00.015-05:00

Absolutely nothing of importance or interest happening here.

Yesterday I did my annual hot tub cleaning. It’s simple and easy, but time consuming.

You pour a full bottle of cleaning solution in the tub and then run it for about ten minutes. Then you let it soak for at least 3 hours. It cleans out debris and build up in the lines. Actually, I put the solution in Friday night and let it soak overnight.

Then, Saturday morning I drained the tub, refilled it and let it run for about 30 minutes. Then drained it again. By then it was time to leave for the State – Georgia Tech game.

Coach's Q&A after the Georgia Tech Game

Went to the Arena Club for lunch and the game with my friend Dave – which we won.

When I got home, reinstalled the filter and clorine cartridge, refilled the hot tub and put in the usual maintenance items such as enzyme control and water conditioner. It heated up nicely and was ready for use just around dark. Perfect timing for watching the stars for a while.

This morning I had breakfast in Pittsboro and went grocery shopping.

When I got back I filled up the two bird feeders (one seed and one peanuts), had my coffee and read the newspaper in the hammock.

The birds were hanging about in the trees but were too afraid to come to the feeder closest to the hammock (because I was in it). Finally a Downy Woodpecker landed on it to eat. Those guys aren't afraid of anything or anybody.

I should clean house today but I think I’m going to take the day off and do nothing. Maybe get caught up on some reading.

I’ve been slogging through The Guns of August. Tremendous history of World War I but difficult to get through. I usually fall asleep when reading it so it’s taken me over 4 weeks to get through about two thirds of it. Normally a book this length would take me a week – two tops - to read.

Critter Update

2011-02-23T18:32:00.003-05:00

My long time mama raccoon died last year. She had a long run and successfully raised a number of litters.

I've still been putting out food (dried cat or dog food and left overs) on an irregular regular basis. About 3 or 4 times a week. For a while, sometimes the food would get eaten, often not.

Starting about 2 months ago - the food bowl has been empty every morning after I filled it.

I've been keeping watch and what I have now are 2 possums and 2 raccoons who are regular visitors.

There's a large possum and a small possum - both ugly as all get out. Although the little possum is mostly whitish and kind of cute - in an ugly sort of way.

Both raccoons are large and healthy looking but one has a mis-formed tail. Kind of a bobcat type tail. It doesn't look like it was cut off or injured - looks more like a birth defect.

Bob the raccoon (with the bob tail) takes off if she sees me or hears me. The other raccoon is wary but watches me while she eats if I'm on the deck or making noise in the house.

I'll try to get some photos to post.

Sportsmanship

2011-02-20T14:53:00.012-05:00

I live in Lee County, NC.

A couple weeks ago Fayetteville Douglas Byrd High School came to town to play Southern Lee High School.

Douglas Byrd wins. By a lot. DB is a power team so that’s not surprising. Its how the game ended that makes it pretty special.

That night was Senior Night. Douglas Byrd is in the dark burgundy uniforms and leading by about 25 points. Southern Lee is in the white uniforms.

At the start of the video, you’ll see number 20 come in for Southern Lee. He is a special needs student and has been on the team as a manager. He's a senior and as a team member he’s qualified to dress out for the game. The outcome is already decided, so the coach put number 20 into the game.

When Douglas Byrd gets the ball, they try to burn time off the clock or score. As they should.

When Southern Lee gets the ball . . . . Well, just watch the video. And also see how Douglas Byrd, when they realize what’s going on, defends. So to speak.

Remember, Douglas Byrd is in dark burgundy. Southern Lee is in white. And the player to watch is Southern Lee number 20.

Right at the buzzer.

Shiloh General Store

2011-02-11T17:51:00.009-05:00

West of Winston-Salem and a couple miles south of US 421 is Shiloh General Store. The store is part of a very small Amish community centered around Union Grove.

The store also has a sandwich shop / deli. We stopped there on the way back for lunch. I had a ham and Colby cheese sandwich on fresh homemade wheat bread with homemade potato chips and a vanilla soda.

I also picked up some fresh sourdough bread, black cherry jam, peach jam, some candy and a pound bag of handmade pasta shells. They have a tremendous selection of jams.

It appears the upstairs serves as a "Way Station" where Amish lodge overnight when travelling through the area. Typically they utilize "haulers" which are English (non-Amish) who contract long distance driving, usually via van.

You can see the front of the white van at the right of the photo. There was a small U-Haul trailer attached for luggage and such. Looked like a group of about 8 or so travelers including some very polite young children.

I was careful and respectful to avoid having them in the photo.

If you're in the area, well worth the stop. Closed Sunday and Monday.

Shiloh General Store
5520 Saint Paul Church Road
Hamptonville, NC 27020
(336) 468-4789

(Click on the address for a Google map.)

Happy Appy

2011-02-09T18:21:00.000-05:00

Been working at Appalachian State University again this week.

And again, it's been snowing but not as much as two weeks ago - till now. Forecast is for heavier snow starting tonight (Wednesday) and through tomorrow and tomorrow night.

Today I had lunch at McAllister's Deli inside the Student Union. While I was eating I heard singing - so I followed the sound to check it out.

It was a student group singing gospel songs in one of the larger rooms. I think it was part of a lunchtime lecture series. Here's a couple of videos. Sorry about the shaky video - I was holding the camera by hand and couldn't spot a place to set the camera. There's never a handy tripod when you need one.

Also while on campus - one of the buildings I was working at is Raley Hall. Typical academic office and classroom building. Here's a photo of the building. Notice the circular glass block wall.

And here's a cool (I think) shot of the glass wall looking towards the sky.

Excellent Service Call

2011-01-31T16:45:00.014-05:00

Bryan of Rapid Spa Repair (no website) arrived right on time at 1000. He very patiently explained what he was doing and showed me a number of maintenance tasks I can (and should) perform myself.

First off, he told me that yes – Thermospas are worth their high price. The quality of the tubs and enclosures are far better than spas you can buy locally (Thermospa custom builds each spa to customer specifications and ships direct from the factory). And the components (pumps, jets, controls, etc.) are the best / highest quality in the industry. He said that Termospas really are the Mercedes-Benz of hot tubs.

Two lower jets were replaced – they had clogged with debris and build up over time and that’s why they didn’t function. Simple low cost jets – easier to replace than to try to clean.

The leak? I’m embarrassed to say it was so simple I should have seen it myself.

Fittings (black) Were Loose

Over time, fittings that are screwed on simply became loose.

The fitting at the inlet end of the heater was just a tiny bit loose. When the pump was on – suction would seal the fitting. When the pump was off – sometimes the joint would leak, sometimes not. That’s how little the threaded fitting had worked itself loose. From now on I need to hand tighten all the fittings about once a year.

The main control valve in the foot well controls the distribution / pressure of water around the tub. A very small amount of sand / grit had gotten trapped and I couldn’t turn the valve. Bryan showed me how to take out the round handle, remove the valve retainer clip (there's a trick to it) – remove the valve – clean it and reinstall it.

Plus, I should rotate the valve every couple of months which diverts full power to either side of the tub (distributes to both sides in normal use). The additional force of water will blow out / clean out any tiny debris that gets trapped.

Bryan also installed a simple air release valve (a one dollar part) and some tubing to an available port on the pump. By putting that valve in – whenever I drain the tub completely – the valve will vent / release air from the system.

Previously, whenever I drained the tub to change the water – after filling the tub back up – it always resulted in an air lock. I had to take the side panels off to get to a spigot to release the air.

This little valve worked perfectly when we filled the tub back up. Why the *&C% Thermospa (or other manufacturers) don’t install this at the factory is astounding.

He also told me that I could replace the foot well light with an LED bulb.

The LED bulb has four colors and works with the existing switch on the control panel to change the color. It can also be set to rotate between the colors each time you turn the light on or can be set to change colors gradually while it is on.

The LED is controlled by simply turning it on and off (within 30 seconds) to rotate through the different settings. If there is a setting I want it to stay on – simply leave it on for more than 30 seconds and it will keep the last setting in memory when I turn it off.

The LED cost around $25 and he charges $75 to put them in. But he told me where to purchase it and told me how to disassemble the light housing to install it. It’s much larger (diameter) than a regular bulb so it can’t be just plugged in – you have to remove the housing – install it from the front – and then reinstall the housing. In addition to the colors, since it’s LED, it should last a lifetime and never need replacing.

What an excellent service call. The tub is back to operating just like new. Actually better than new as he trimmed some tabs on the main valve so it is less likely to get stuck from debris and installed the automatic air release valve.

And, he gave me a great education in maintenance and service. That alone was worth the cost of the service visit.

If you live in central North Carolina and need a fantastic hot tub service guy - call Bryan at Rapid Spa Repair: 919-630-2389.

Weekend Update - January 30, 2011

2011-01-30T14:15:00.004-05:00

Not much going on here at Casa de Bill.

I worked last week at Appalachian State University in Boone. Pretty setting for a school although I like the setting at Western Carolina better.

It was cold in Boone. Started sleeting Tuesday night; snowed all day Wednesday; a little more sleet and flurries Thursday; and snowed all morning Friday. It was pretty but made getting around problematic.

Today at home, it's in the mid 60's and I've got the doors and windows open. Feels like spring compared to what I was working in just 2 days ago.

Hot Tub

Tomorrow the technician is scheduled to fix the hot tub. Hope that works out – keeping my fingers crossed.

Basketball

State had a 19 point lead over Clemson and ended up losing by 10. I think the stat was we were outscored 48 to 12 in the second half. Saturday – we just stunk it up at UNC.

You can tell the kids are frustrated. You can also tell by watching Coach Lowe's expression and demeanor that he knows this is his last year as head coach.

As I’ve said before – it’s sad.

I predict we will win 2 more games: at Wake Forest and at home vs. Georgia Tech. Maybe we’ll pick up another win somewhere. Possibly at Virginia.

I’ll still be at the games cheering on the team.

Odds and Ends +Addendum

2011-01-21T17:43:00.016-05:00

NC State Basketball

I haven’t been talking about basketball. There’s a reason.

With a top 5 freshman class, State was poised to finally turn the corner in Sidney Lowe’s 5th year as Head Coach.

Combining the new recruits with last year's team which went deep in the NIT - including all ACC senior power forward Tracy Smith, senior point guard Javier Gonzalez and excellent sophomores Richard Howell and Scott Woods (and a solid bench that could start for a lot of teams) - making the NCAA Tournament was a given. We were expected to finish 3rd in the ACC – right behind National Champions Dook and UNC. Getting to the Sweet 16 was a real probability.

Not going to happen.

To date, State is 1 and 3 and tied for 8th place in the ACC. We have dropped 3 “should have won” non-conference games against Division I Tournament caliber teams.

We have 12 ACC games remaining. To get to the NCAA Tournament, we need to go 10 and 2. Maybe 9 and 3.

It will not happen.

Watching the team play – we have amazing talent and ability. Unfortunately, they can’t play as a team. They are not prepared nor coached on how to play the college game.

I have been saying that this was the year we’d find out if Coach Lowe has what it takes to be a Division I ACC coach. I’m afraid the answer is in.

It’s going to be a painful rest of the season.

I’ll be at every game, cheering the kids on and hoping for the best. But what I’ll be seeing is the decline and end of Sidney Lowe’s career as a college Head Coach.

It’ll be sad. No one tries harder or wants State to win as much as Sidney. But it just isn't happening for him.

Even if there is an astounding turn around, that still won't erase the dismal performance we have seen thus far. And the buck stops at the Head Coach's desk.

The obvious choice is Rick Barnes. He was the obvious choice 5 years ago and word is that he was interested in coming to NC State. But our (thankfully) former AD, Lee Fowler, (royally) screwed up the process and Barnes withdrew from consideration.

Hot Tub

The intermittent leak returned last weekend. I’ve drained the hot tub and have an appointment set up with a local guy who is highly recommend – Rapid Spa Repair.

Will let you know what happens.

Darn it – the best time to use a hot tub is when it’s cold. And mine is sitting on the back deck – empty.

:-(

Addendum

Saturday morning - The HVAC guy just left. Replaced a time delay controller on the heat pump. It was cold in this house this morning. Warming up now.

And the rc helicopter I ordered does not work. I'm waiting on a return authorization number from xHeli to send it back for exchange.

When it rains, it pours.

Ice

2011-01-11T15:31:00.005-05:00

We had a pretty good winter storm Monday. Mostly ice at my house. This is what US 1 looked like this morning. I really should have waited a couple hours before driving in to work.

On Deep River Road, there's a curve that always gets very icy and slippery during winter weather. It's a combination of shade and shape and there's always problems there.

I was driving no more than 20 mph and in 4-wheel drive this morning and I got a good bit sideways going through there. In fact, I should have turned around and gone home.

I was thinking - somebody is going to come through here too fast and is going to have problems.

Here's the same spot this afternoon on the way home. If you click on the photo - you can see where people slid off the road (both sides).

4-wheel drive doesn't do much for you when it's solid ice.

Hot Tub +Addendum

2011-01-02T14:17:00.012-05:00

Here’s the background.

When I went on my cruise vacation I turned the hot tub temperature down to 50 degrees to save on electricity.

While I was away, the weather turned unseasonably cold – with nighttime temperatures in the mid to low teens (I think it got down to 14 degrees a couple nights).

When I got back – I went to turn up the hot tub temperature and was dismayed by what I found.

The hot tub had drained down to the filter level (about a foot below the normal fill level). When the water gets that low – the pump sucks in air and you get an air lock in the system (air from the filter since water level drops and the intake can on take in air at that point). The pump runs – but it is running dry – i.e. it is not pumping water – just running.

How long the pump was running (but not pumping water) is anybody’s guess. Days perhaps? Those pumps are not designed to run ‘dry’. That’s a sure fire way to burn out a pump.

So – I threw the main breaker to turn the system off. Then I drained all the remaining water from the hot tub (so it wouldn't freeze and burst the pipes or crack the tub).

Also – I noticed long icicles below the deck under the hot tub. Obviously where water had come from the hot tub and frozen.

Since it was still in the 20’s when I got back – the plan was to wait till warm weather and try and diagnose the problem.

Which was today (Sunday).

I’ve filled up the tub to the proper level, removed the side panels and insulation panels, checked the filters and valves (one valve was partially closed) – and then threw the breaker switch to turn the system back on – and waited to see what happens.

The pump and heater came back on. I ran the system self check code – turned the air pumps on and off. Cycled the water pump from low to high a couple times.

Everything is working properly.

I can’t see any leaks inside the housing.

In short – as far as I can tell – everything is running perfectly.

Which is great. Except that something caused the water level to drop while I was gone – and I can’t figure out what happened.

One idea is a line froze up since I had it set on 50 degrees instead of the usual 100 degrees and maybe a frozen blockage cause the water to pump into the tub and over the side instead of circulating through the system.

Or maybe it’s a super slow leak that I can’t see.

Anyway – I’ve still got the sides off and am going to watch it though out the day.

If nothing unusual shows up – I’ll put the insulation and side panels back on and see what happens over the next week.

It’s supposed to turn cold again with temperatures back into the low 20’s. If it’s a line freezing problem – maybe it will show up.

On the other hand – I’m not going to turn the temperature down just to test my theory. I now think it’s best to leave the temperature at the normal operating setting of 100 degrees. Even if I’m away for a week or two. It’s not worth risking a freezing line and damaging the hot tub just to save a few cents in electricity.

Penny wise and pound foolish.

Addendum 1/10/11

Well, it's been over a week now and the water level has stayed the same and the hot tub has been operating perfectly.

Obviously I'm glad everything is working fine, but the great hot tub mystery remains.

New Years Eve 2010

2011-01-02T09:46:00.001-05:00

A while back, I reserved a room at the Sheraton Hotel downtown for New Year’s Eve. Got a pretty good rate at the Sheraton right on Fayetteville Street at the Plaza where everything happens.

Nuke (still here) and I drove in to town around 3 PM and checked in. First Night Raleigh was starting just about when we got there.

The hotel gave us a great room - overlooking City Plaza and the Main Stage. Pretty cool – lots of music to listen to. Live music is always good – just about no matter what is being played. I can even tolerate modern jazz, if it’s live. For a little while anyway.

Here’s a link to the photos I took.

Watched the Acorn drop twice – first for the Kid’s Celebration and then later at Midnight – along with the fireworks.

Saturday, we checked out and went to the RBC to watch the NC State – San Diego State basketball game.

State won. D’oh.

Hot Tub

When I got back from the cruise, the hot tub water had drained down about halfway – and there were icicles under the deck. Clearly something with the pipes or fittings – not a leak in the tub itself.

I drained the tub and have been waiting for an opportunity to check out the problem.

It’s been sub-freezing since the cruise and this weekend was the first time the temperature stayed warm enough for me to refill the tub and turn it on to see where the leak is.

That's the afternoon plan.

Christmas 2010

2010-12-29T13:02:00.013-05:00

As usual, drove up to NoVa to spend Christmas with the family. Nuke’s parents went to the Left Coast for the Holidays so he drove up with me.

Had a good time.

Got there Christmas Eve and had dinner (again, as usual) at a Chinese restaurant.

Christmas Day - my sister made a traditional English Christmas Dinner – roast beef, roast vegetables, Yorkshire pudding, etc. It was great.

It snowed in North Carolina during the weekend so we delayed our drive back by one day. Went out to Warrenton Virginia to spend the evening with my brother (CA) and sister-in-law (BA). Had a great time there too.

The next day we headed back to the Greater Moncure Metro Area.

CA and BA also had other guests while we were there. A friend of theirs and his 7 year old son. The kid, LD, had a remote control helicopter. That thing was a blast to play with.

The next day after I got home, I went by Best Buy. They were sold out and wouldn’t get anymore in for a couple of weeks. I ordered one online.

Football

State played West Virginia in the Citrus Bowl.

What a great, well played game. State won 23 to 7. This is going to sound contradictory, but the game was played much closer than the score. And (here’s the contradiction) – State should have won by an even higher score. Both teams moved the ball well but both defenses made huge stops to prevent touchdowns. State’s defense was just better than West Virginia’s.

It's a good day to be a Wolfpack Fan.

Unfortunately, I’ve picked up a head cold – again. Dammit.

Clocktiques

2010-12-09T18:46:00.000-05:00

The story is, my dad ‘acquired’ a ship’s clock off the Liberty Ship he came back on from Europe after WWII. Or, it may have come from an uncle who worked at the Newport News Shipyard also during WWII. Either way, it’s my dad’s clock and it came to me after he died.

Around 5 or 6 years ago I took it to a clock shop in Cary for cleaning and maintenance. It came back broken and has never worked since.

I subsequently took it to two other shops – no one was able to fix it. I also contacted two different shops on the internet. Neither was willing to fix it and both told me that replacement works were not available.

Then, searching on line, I found a shop called Clocktiques in Wake Forest. The reviews for Clocktiques were all raves.

The reviews are true.

I took the clock in and once I described what had happened – the owner said the main spring may be ‘gummed up’ due to the typical cleaning method - which is to soak the works in a solution in an ultrasonic cleaner. He explained that often the springs will react to the solution and old dirt and debris can also remain trapped and turned into a gunk instead of being cleaned out.

The correct way is to remove the spring and hand clean it.

Anyway, he took the clock and said he could certainly fix it and that it would be about 8 to 10 weeks (he has a LOT of work).

Got it back today.

Here’s what he did: The spring was corroded so it was replaced. Two tuning fork jewels had been replaced at some point in the past with the wrong size and shape jewels. And even those weren’t set in properly. They were glued in instead of being enameled in. Also, the main stem was broken – probably from the ultrasonic cleaning. The replacement stem was handmade as none were available.

It would have been far easier and cheaper to replace the works – but repairing the broken works was important to keep the clock fully original.

End result – completely cleaned, jewels replaced, rebalanced, mainspring and stem replaced.

He did NOT clean the face plate or repaint / enamel the numerals. He said that should NEVER be done as the faceplate, arms and case should be allowed to age and acquire a natural patina.

The clock is beautiful, back in its place on my living room wall, and running perfectly. I'm beyond thrilled.

If you have a rare, expensive, antique or clock of great sentimental value – Clocktiques is the only place to take it for repair and maintenance. It’s expensive – but worth penny.

November Cruise

2010-12-07T18:24:00.002-05:00

Just got back from a cruise. This time for 11 days instead of the usual week. The extra days were great.

The Celebrity Equinox is the most beautiful ship I’ve been on. Very modern / contemporary sleek design.

The clientele was upscale – due to the Celebrity line (and cost) and the fact it was a longer trip. I’d rather travel with these older but active people any day over the “whoo hoo” crowd.

Most of the on board entertainment was sophisticated adult fare – string quartets, jazz combos, big band, piano soloist, etc.

Stops were US Virgin Islands, St. Kitts, Dominica, St. Martin and Barbados.

Overall I liked St. Kitts the best. First time there. It reminded me of Bermuda – but Bermuda of the 1960’s before it became fully developed. Very British, prosperous and not developed – yet.

It’s starting to happen. Their first resort, a Marriott has just opened. There are beautiful beaches on the southeast peninsula which has become accessible by construction of a paved road in the past 4 years. The beach bars there are still rustic – similar to Costa Maya. But that won’t last long. Oh yeah, before the beach we went to an old British fort on top of a mountain at the edge of the ocean. Very nice visit.

Had the most fun on St. Maarten. I’ve been there several times. Always gone to Orient Beach - which I think is the most beautiful beach I’ve been too.

This time we headed over to a little beach near the airport. The end of the runway is literally at the beach. There’s the beach and the sand goes right up to a tiny 2 lane road, then the airport fence and then the runway lights and runway. The planes land and take off right over you.

Dominica (which I’d been to about 15 years ago) is volcanic with high peaks and is mostly rain forest. It has 365 waterfalls and most of the island is preserved as a National Park. But – it’s desperately poor.

We took a cruise line tour and saw a couple of waterfalls and then on to the “resort” beach with volcanic black sand. The fact that this was the “safe resort area” said it all. It’s a row of slum houses / stores / bars on the beach. And I don’t mean US slum – I mean 3rd world slum.

But, the drinks were good, the beach pretty, and it was a nice place to hang out once the beggars and dope dealers finally grew tired of pestering us.

In Barbados we went to a public beach instead of a hotel / resort beach. It’s a National Park beach which the locals use. I like going to local places to get a chance to see the real island / country (albeit brief) rather than always going to the resorts where you’re insulated from real life.

The USVI were the same ol same ol. Been there a dozen times. This time I walked around town sightseeing, bought a dress shirt and spent the rest of the afternoon back on the ship.

Photos are found by following my links to the right.

Or just click here.

Glad to be home. On the down side – while I was gone a pipe burst on the hot tub. I drained the remaining water out of it and will check out the problem later this week.

It’s cold. Unseasonably cold. Forecast to get down to the teens at least 3 nights this week and even colder next week. Yikes!

And that is why one goes on a cruise ship vacation.

Communication

2010-11-23T08:18:00.010-05:00

Email between my brother-in-law (who turns 70 on the 28th) and me. He sent his email to everybody on the family and friends list. I, of course, replied to all. LOL

On Tue, Nov 23, 2010 at 6:26 AM, Adrian C. Havill wrote:

Please, do not mention my birthday to me, others, or the children. Do not send or give me presents. Do not have a waiter stick candle on a cupcake. Get the picture? Am very serious about this. There are consequences. ACH

to"Adrian C. Havill"

ccfamily@####.com

dateTue, Nov 23, 2010 at 8:16 AM
subjectRe: Fair warning
mailed-bygmail.com

No problem. Especially since I don't give a F*%&.

WDS

And this reply showed up from my nephew (ACH's son), ROFL

to"Adrian C. Havill"

ccfamily@####.com

dateTue, Nov 23, 2010 at 9:40 AM
subjectRe: Fair warning
mailing list Filter messages from this mailing list
mailed-byhavill.com
unsubscribeUnsubscribe from this mailing-list

I guess we better cancel the Ann Coulter look-a-like stripper.

Head Cold, Windshield and Movies + Addendum

2010-11-20T07:12:00.009-05:00

First, the head cold is just about over. Still have a lot of congestion but that’s mostly residual along with my ‘all my life’ sinus issues. When I turned 14, along with all the other changes, I started having full time sinus congestion. It was so continuous my parents eventually sent me to the Duke allergy center. Chronic sinusitis – no cure, no fix, just deal with it.

Windshield

Earlier this week I was contacted by SB from Wake Stone Corporation. SB took down what little information I had about the dump truck and offered to try and identify the trucker / company.

Friday, got an email from SB with the trucking company info and contact information. I’ll get in touch with them next week. Honestly, I doubt that the driver will own up to responsibility – but – it sure won’t hurt to call and ask. Heck, I may even be surprised.

I was surprised and very appreciative when I was contacted by Wake Stone (I had sent them an email with a link to my entry about the windshield). Wake Stone is the quarry - NOT the owner of the truck – so it wasn’t any of their responsibility. And frankly, I’m just one guy with a windshield so it would have been easy to ignore my email.

But – the folks at Wake Stone are stand up people and tracked down the trucking company info for me. Now that’s doing the right thing.

I’m very impressed - kudos to the folks at Wake Stone.

Movies

Watched A Serious Man and Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead this week. The Cohen Brother make interesting movies. Serious Man is very very dry Jewish humor. I really enjoyed it – even though I didn’t understand some of the ‘inside’ jokes. Here’s a hint – if you rent this movie – after the end credits the film gives you humorous definitions of a lot of the Jewish idioms and words. Definitely worth going past the credits for.

Before The Devil Knows You’re Dead is an excellent movie. Very distressing to watch. But Seymour Hoffman is a tremendous actor and his role in this movie is outstanding.

Addendum

State 29 - UNC 25

Game was even closer than the score indicates. Carolina had the ball with 50 seconds left and down 2 points. A field goal would have won it. State made the plays that counted. Downing our punt to UNC at the 4 yard line and then sacking Carolina in the end zone for a safety.

State's defense had 7 sacks in the game.

Sunday Night Addendum

Just finished watching Winter's Bone. Incredible writing, story and direction. Unbelievably awesome acting performance by Jennifer Lawrence. Outstanding performances all around. Awful premise and terribly distressing to watch. Five out of five stars.

I Saw It Coming

2010-11-16T17:32:00.020-05:00

Wake Stone Corporation has a quarry on Deep River Road at US 1.

Since I've lived here, about 11 years, I've had two windshields cracked by rocks from the dump trucks leaving the quarry. Today was number three.

The truck pulled out of the quarry behind me but then passed me going north on US 1. I was doing the speed limit, 65 mph; the truck was going a good bit faster. Maybe in the 75 mph range.

The truck started losing rocks as he went over the Haw River bridge. I suspect the rocks were dislodged from the bouncing caused by the joints in the concrete bridge deck. That and the high speed. Even though I was pretty far behind the truck, I'd estimate 400 or 500 feet, my car started getting pelted and I slowed down.

Anyway, I saw the big rock coming. I saw it bounce on the road and then pow - right smack in the middle of the windshield.

Modern safety glass is pretty amazing. It was a good sized rock but it didn't come through the windshield. Scared the silly putty out of me though.

In North Carolina, dump trucks do not have to have license tags on the back of the truck. I remember when the law was changed years ago to exempt dump trucks. The reason / argument was that dump trucks have difficulty keeping license tags on the back due to rough construction sites and the action of the dumping beds. That's complete bullshit. The real reason is so that people like me won't be able to get the tag numbers of the trucks when rocks smash our windshields.

Interesting, they can't keep license tags on the back but there's no problem keeping their rear lights and brake lights attached. Hmmmmmm . . . .

I called the Highway Patrol on my cell but they didn't have any cars in position to come and pull the guy over. The HP officer also checked with the Chatham County Sheriff and the Wake County Sheriff as well - no patrol cars nearby. By this time he was pretty far down the road anyway - due to his speeding.

I did see the truck take the New Hill exit but I kept on heading north to go to work. Besides, the driver would likely deny responsibility anyway.

So, I'm out the $100 deductible (again!) for my comprehensive insurance.

The dump truck was a white International and the name on the side was Mac Trucking.

That's working out to a smashed windshield about every 3 to 4 years.

I'm getting tired of it.

Weekend Update - November 14, 2010

2010-11-14T19:41:00.010-05:00

Still have the head cold, but today I’m feeling somewhat better.

Saturday was the final home football game of the season. We beat Wake Forest pretty soundly. Wake was successful using quick shovel passes in the first half to defend against State’s blitz. But the coaches adjusted and State took over in the second half.

NC State has surprised everybody by exceeding expectations. Heck, preseason State was thought to be a bowl bubble team. Would we be able to manage a 6 and 6 season to become bowl eligible?

Instead, here we are near the end of the season with only 3 losses and a shot at the ACC Championship game. The best games were vs. Florida State and vs. Virginia Tech. Both came down to the final 3 minutes. VT was the slightly better team and won that game. We were the slightly better team and won the Florida State game.

We were the better team in the ECU loss but we dug ourselves way too deep a hole in the first quarter. Still, we overcame the 21 - zip first quarter. Ended up losing in overtime - interception.

The Clemson game? Geez, what to say. We just stunk it up. Lost by 1 point! Should have won by 2 touchdowns, if not more. We were clearly the better team - we just didn't get it done. Offensively we just kept shooting ourselves in the foot every time we had a scoring opportunity to put Clemson away.

Woulda, coulda, shoulda only have 1, maybe 2 losses instead of 3.

Still, we've done way better than anyone, myself included, thought. I'm a happy camper.

The Atlantic Division is tied up between NC State, Florida State and Maryland. FSU plays at Maryland this weekend. State plays at Maryland the following weekend. It's up for grabs and tie-breaker games will likely decide who goes to the ACC Championship game. Of course total ACC wins / loses count - so State needs to win over at Chapel Hill this Saturday.

It was a beautiful day for football. Thanks to FG who drove down from NoVa to go to the game and DB who drove over from Nashville. No, not that one - the one in NC. Nuke came up last weekend and went to the game of course.

Friday was the first basketball game of the season. Nuke and I went but left a little after halftime as I was feeling pretty bad. We have some serious talent. This could be a really fun season for NC State.

Nuke and I have just finished watching The Last Emperor. I’d never seen it. Nuke insisted. Excellent movie.

That’s about all for the update. Still feeling a little under the weather.

Weekend Update - November 7, 2010

2010-11-07T11:30:00.004-05:00

Head cold. I'm really sick. Sore throat, completely stopped up sinuses, headache, joints and muscles aches - the works. Aspirin, orange juice and gargling with salt water to help ease the sore throat.

NC State Football

Lost by 1 point to Clemson. Should not have happened - in fact - State should have won by a lot. Three times we were inside Clemson's 20 and came away with Zero points. With three minutes left in the game TOB decided not to go for it on fourth down and one - totally gutless decision. Still, it never should have come down to that situation in the first place.

Clemson played a sloppy ineffective game, 5 fumbles and 1 interception. But thanks to State's inability to take advantage of scoring opportunities - Clemson won.

I'm really ticked off at this loss. It was totally inexcusable.

Basketball

Season Tickets arrived this week. Looking forward to the upcoming season. I hope we have a good year like we've had in football (Clemson game notwithstanding).

Vote

2010-10-31T09:29:00.003-04:00

I'm going to be out of town next week, so I went to early vote Saturday morning at the Board of Elections in downtown Sanford.

Here in Lee County, we briefly used touch screen voting machines but switched back to the cards where you blacken in the ovals. These things are pretty much foolproof. And, there's a written / paper ballot in case the software malfunctions and you can go back and do a hand count if necessary. Foolproof.

Anyway, there were ballots on both sides of the sheet. When I went up to feed the ballot into the scanner / counter I asked the guy overseeing the scanner if it mattered which side was up.

Election Official: "No. It will read no matter which way you feed it in."

Me: "So it's amphibious! Just like Charles Shackleford."

Election Official: burst out laughing really loud "I'll have to remember that one."

Thursday Night ESPN Football NC State 28 - Florida State 24

2010-10-29T18:34:00.010-04:00

Barn Burner.

Thanks to Chip, my brother Chuck and sister-in-law Brenda for going to the game with me.

NCSSM

2010-10-27T18:38:00.005-04:00

Working this week at the North Carolina School of Science and Math. Enrollment is 680 of the top High School Juniors and Seniors from NC.

Today the school held its fall Faculty and Staff Luncheon and the student Wind Ensemble played.

This is their arraignment of the spiritual We Shall Overcome.

The school has a collection of cameras and recording devices on display in the Performance Hall. Here’s an Edison Cylindrical Recorder.

Christine O’Donnell is a [bleeping] Idiot

2010-10-19T21:54:00.023-04:00

Christine O’Donnell does not believe / know that Separation of Church and State and Freedom of Religion are in the Constitution of the United States of America.

Here’s 8 minutes of video so you can see for yourself. She is not being humorous, not being sardonic or sarcastic and she is not being quoted out of context.

“Where in the Constitution is the separation of Church and State?” @ 2:45.

“You’re telling me that the separation of Church and State is found in the First Amendment?” starting @ 5:25.

By the way Christine, since you’re so ignorant, here’s another little bit of information that might surprise you: The first 10 Amendments are called “The Bill of Rights”.

Rights, Christine; The Bill of Rights! The right to believe and worship as you wish. The right NOT to have government dictate religion.

What a stupid [bleeping] idiot.

Weekend Update October 17, 2010

2010-10-18T06:14:00.006-04:00

Saturday

Typical Saturday – did some house chores and then watched college football.

ECU beat State in overtime. This was a disappointing loss as State clearly did not play well. We let ECU run all over us in the first quarter – 3 touchdowns! Second quarter – State scored 3 touchdowns.

In the second half – nothing. The game goes into overtime and ECU wins after intercepting Russell Wilson for the 3rd time in the game.

We pissed away the ECU game. Granted, State does not have a lot of depth (especially on defense) and midway through the season we’re banged up without a lot of backup. But if we had played our game (and not ECU’s) – we would have won. The kids put out a great effort – the loss was due to poor preparation and coaching (IMHO).

Later Saturday was the annual neighborhood block party / pig picking. Perfect weather – nice and sunny and mild. I forgot my camera so I don’t have any photos. A lot of people were asking about all the clearing I had done on my lot. I joked that I was putting in some trailers to rent out to migrant workers.

Interestingly, a couple (actually 3) of politicians showed up – NC House candidate and a couple of County Commissioner candidates. Being a semi-rural soccer mom and almost totally white neighborhood – the politicians that showed up were of the tea-bagger variety. Well, not tea-baggers, but all 3 were Republicans.

I actually had a nice time talking with these guys. One on one – you can have an intelligent conversation once you get away from the jingoistic campaign crap. One guy though (running for County Commissioner) – well – he’s weird. I mean weird.

Sunday

The Lee County Community Orchestra is pretty good. They play several concerts each spring and fall in Depot Park. Today was their first concert of the fall season.

Sitting outside on a warm sunny afternoon – listening to nice music – great way to spend the day.

Faux News Love

2010-10-11T18:31:00.005-04:00

I despise former Senator John Edwards and anybody associated with him - including his sleazy former aid Andrew Young.

I'm not a fan Fox News either. But here's a little love from Shepard Smith (Ole Miss) of Fox News. Thanks Shepard - and back atcha buddy.

Weekend Update October 10, 2010

2010-10-10T20:56:00.011-04:00

Good week this week. Work is going well and life on the home front is routine – which is good. Had the brakes done on the Focus – 92,000 miles – which is a very long life for brakes. Of course, most of my commute is interstate so the brakes don’t get used or abused.

Went to the Boston College at State game Saturday, of course. State was hitting on all cylinders – offense and defense. In fact, the last meaningless BC touchdown was when State’s bench was in and both teams were expected to just run out the clock. I think it ticked off Coach O’Brien because when we got the kick off – he let reserve quarterback Mike Glennon throw the ball and move down the field. We almost scored another touchdown before time ran out.

It was hot sitting in the sun. The temperature may have been in the mid 80s but it sure felt a lot hotter than that.

Next week State travels down east to East Carolina Teachers College. State will be favored but the Pirates also have a pass oriented offense. Fasten your seat belt - there could be 80 points put up in that game.

Thanks to brothers Dave and John and their mom for going to the game with me.

Printed out the photo taken at the Dook - Army game for Chip, Erica and John. Put them in frames and dropped them off on the way home.

Sunday

Met up with Serxner for breakfast. Then came home and did a little housekeeping and yard work. Nothing special - just another lazy Sunday.

Took some time in the afternoon to watch Julie and Julia on Netflix. 4 stars.

This week I'm going to start power washing the deck. It should be mild when I get home and that will make for more pleasant work. I try to clean the deck yearly. Otherwise it can be a real chore if I miss a year or two.

Woulda Coulda Shoulda

2010-10-04T18:06:00.013-04:00

The NC State – Virginia Tech game was exciting. State honestly looked like the better team. We moved the ball better and our defense didn’t let VT get any long drives till late in the game. But VT made a couple of big plays (kickoff return and interception - both for touchdowns) that made up for their generally average play and at the very end VT made just enough of a defensive effort to win the game.

Also, Virginia Tech managed to stop State at the end of two very long drives - when State was in scoring position. Anytime you leave 2 touchdowns or field goals worth of points on the field – you make winning harder. Combine that with VT’s 2 big touchdown plays – and VT wins.

After the game, Nuke, Erica, Chip and I stopped at Sadlacks for a beer. There was a band playing which was amazingly good. So we ended up staying till the last set.

Have some video of the band and the gang dancing. But Nuke threatened me if I posted the video. He does look like a chicken when he dances. Guess I’ll just hold on to it in case I need to do some blackmail in the future.

Overall - a good, fun, weekend. Would have been even better if State had won.

Don’t Drink the Kool Aid - Yet

2010-09-27T21:22:00.010-04:00

This post is copied from StateFansNation, the web site of the NCSU Athletics lunatic fringe. Of which I am a proud crazy member.

The post captured my feelings almost exactly about this year’s football team. The original SFN post was put up rather quickly (complete with syntax and spelling errors) and needed some editing to better reflect my personal take.

So, with some editing, here’s how I (and SFN) think NCSU fans should handle the current wonderful success on the football field.

Which game is the most important? The next one.

Major Tom O’Brien was hired to win and has found himself, for any number of reasons, unable to accomplish his mission. This season would be a pivotal one where the most rationale fans would be trying to determine whether he was “right” for the Wolfpack and the most fanatical believers in “Operation TOB” would be trying to figure out whether their messiah was a false prophet. TOB needed to start at the basics; stop worrying about the entire season or the fate of the program; he needed to focus on winning the next game and nothing more. The most important game this season would be “the next one”.

NC State’s most important game this season is Virginia Tech this Saturday at home. We must beat Virginia Tech. We have to beat Virginia Tech. The fate of our program for years to come amounts to this one game.

After this week, we must beat Boston College. We have to beat Boston College.

After that - ECU.

Let’s keep our noses to the ground, hunting for our next kill and keep our egos even lower than that. If NC State wins, it will not be because we swaggered and bullied our way to the top, but because we are led with Marine-like discipline to become an elite, efficient, and fear-invoking machine stopping any offense that comes our way and slicing deeply with surgeon-like precision through our opponent’s defense.

Keep humble, Wolfpack. The hunt is going to be long and the prey will be strong. Let’s not concern ourselves with all the other opponents on the schedule. Only concern ourselves with the opponent on the field at the moment. Only concentrate on our next prey.

Respect our opponents.

Be grateful and enjoy the success. Cheer and support our team in all the right ways. Celebrate with humility and grace. Meet adversity and setbacks with determination.

As a team and as loyal Wolfpackers – let's do it - ‘the right way’.

4 and 0 +Addendum

2010-09-26T11:32:00.006-04:00

At the start of the season I honestly thought we’d be 2 and 2 by now. Maybe even 1 and 3. Clearly we’d beat Western Carolina; and though we’d be (and were) underdogs for UCF, Cincinnati and Georgia Tech – I was hoping we’d have an upset win over 1 of them. Overall, I was expecting a .500 season at 6 and 6.

We are 4 and 0.

All 4 wins have been decisive. Yes, we let UCF and GT hang around and try to stage a late game comeback – but in each game we did more than just hold on to win – we finally put them down. We knew our offense would be good - the real surprise - a vastly improved defense.

Today’s game - NCSU 45 – Georgia Tech 28 was as impressive as the score. We dominated.

4 and 0 and our defense can still improve. And will improve – making NCSU even better and better.

Next Saturday Virginia Tech comes to town. VT has stumbled but is still one of the better teams in the nation. Yeah, they dropped out of the top 25 with a stunning loss to a FCS team – but VT is better than a third to half of the teams in the top 25.

If we beat VT Saturday . . . .

Here’s how the rest of the season looks like at this point.

Games / Teams we should be expected to win / beat:

Boston College, @ECU, Wake Forest and @Maryland. Yes, we could also lose a couple of these games. But if we keep playing like we are now – that’s not going to happen. Winning these 4 games gives us a totally unexpected 8 and 4 season.

Games / Teams we should be expected to lose or be very close:

VT, FSU, @Clemson and @UNC.

Right now – the way we’re playing - we could win these games. Win them all? Unlikely. But if we can knock off 1 or 2 of them we’re looking at a 9 or 10 win season – and a serious bowl game.

Next Saturday Virginia Tech comes to Raleigh for a game that is huge for both programs.

Hanging Out Saturday

Hung out with Chip, Erica and John Saturday. Watched the first part of the State – GT game on ESPN and then went to Durham to watch Army at Dook. It was pretty hot. In fact – Saturday set a record high.

Had a good time and then came back to Raleigh and walked around the Hillsborough Street block party. A few bands and some food. Then I drove back to the Greater Moncure Metro Area and finished the evening watching some great games on TV.

Thanks to Chippy for the Dook tickets.

Sunday

Spread some more fescue and clover seed over my septic field early this morning. The extended heat and mini-draught has killed all the grass that started to grow after the field was repaired. We’re having rain today and possibly more rain next week along with cooler temperatures. Hopefully this second round of seeding will be successful.

Oh, did I mention we’ve got a huge game next Saturday against Virginia Tech?

Afternoon Addendum

The AP Top 25 just came out. NC State is ranked 23rd. Miami and NC State are the only 2 ACC teams in the Top 25.

Reruns

2010-09-25T08:58:00.004-04:00

I don't get HBO, Showtime or any of the premium channels. I use Netflix - via DVD and instant download. For 9 dollars a month I can watch anything - anytime.

I've been re-watching Dexter.

What a great, funny show. The writers clearly need some serious psychotherapy.

In a couple hours I'm headed over to Chip and Erika's. We're going to watch the State @ GT game on TV and then go over to Durham and watch Army @ Dook.

It's going to be a full day.

The Future's So Bright - I Gotta Wear Shades

2010-09-23T06:45:00.005-04:00

We're in the midst of Football - but Basketball is just around the corner.

Here's a very good article about NC State's possibilities.

http://collegebasketball.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1129460

Back To Football

Appropos of nothing - I think I've posted this before. But it's a good one and worth a repeat.

Ron Cherry is my favorite ACC Referee. Even though this call is againt State - I still love it.

Ron Cherry calls a Personal Foul:

And here's a little humor from Coach O'Brien's weekly press conference Q&A yesterday. A lot of people think TOB is dull. That's not true - he's actually got an extremely dry / droll sense of humor:

Q. When you look for somebody to fill your fullback spot, what attributes are you looking for and how does Taylor Grant fit that mold?

COACH O’BRIEN: Taylor Gentry is our fullback.

Q. How big of a role has Jon Tenuta played in the defensive improvement you’ve made to this point?

COACH O’BRIEN: I think he’s contributed.

Q. What is the dynamic between he and Mike Archer?

COACH O’BRIEN: It’s very good. Mike’s the coordinator, and does the coordinator job, and Jon’s the linebacker coach, and does the linebacker coaching job.

The Road

2010-09-21T17:17:00.008-04:00

I watched The Road on DVD last night.

An absolutely awesome movie. It's heartbreakingly sad. Therefore, I do not recommend it to anybody. Watch it at your own discretion.

One of the best screenplays and lead acting I've seen in quite a while.

I'm going to go to the library to get the book.

NCSU Football

State is 3 and 0. First time since 2002. We were favored over WCU and underdogs to both UCF and Cincinnati. We won all three games decisively.

Saturday we're at Georgia Tech. I checked the USA Today odds and Tech is an 8 point favorite. Going by our youth and depth - I'd say that's about right. But I wouldn't bet against State. Our offense is every bit as potent as we were last year and our defense has been tremendously better than it was supposed to be.

GT has a flexbone option offense that is hard to defend and a quarterback who is really, really good. State is doing a lot more blitzing this year which leaves the wide receivers open for long completions. You either get to or pressure the quarterback - or you get burned for big plays.

Game time is noon Saturday, on ESPN.

It should be a good one.

Defense

2010-09-12T12:25:00.011-04:00

State's defense won last night's game against the University of Central Florida.

UCF isn't a household name - but they are a solid, and rising, football team. Coached by George O'Leary, they won 8 games last year. They are likely to have an even better record this year and be the Division champion in the Conference USA.

Last year State's defense was awful. Conservative defensive schemes and poor execution. Our offense averaged about 31+ points. That will almost always give you a big winning season. But not when your defense allows 33+ points.

The key to this year's surprising defensive turn around? Jon Tenuta.

I was really excited back in February when O'Brien hired him.

The Pack doesn't get a break though. In 4 short days we play Cincinnati - Thursday night, ESPN.

Cincinnati will be heavily favored. They should be. Cincinnati went 12 - 1 last year losing only to Florida in the Sugar Bowl. The year before last, they went 11 - 3 beating Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl.

We'll give them a good game. It's unlikely we'll win; but it's not out of the question.

HVAC is Fine

2010-09-07T20:32:00.014-04:00

My regular HVAC guy came by today (Pete's Heating and Air Conditioning - Sanford).

To recap - the 72Degrees guy told me I had an electrical house wiring problem. He disconnected the heat pump because he said he was afraid of it causing a fire. Other than that - he had no idea what the problem was. Recommended that my HVAC heat pump be replaced ($ thousands). But first, he said I needed to get an electrician to check out the 'problem' with the house wiring.

He also said the HVAC components under the house were suspect - or rather, quote "I checked under the house - it's a mess down there". Whatever that means.

Oh - and their office called Monday to 'follow up' on my needing a new heat pump. I told them I wanted to have my regular guy look at it first before I committed to spending a lot of $ to replace the system.

First, my regular HVAC guy had to hook back up all the wires the 72Degrees guy left undone.

Once wired back up - a device or relay or something needed to be reset. Refrigerant levels checked out and OK.

Started up the unit - everything is fine.

My guy spent extra time double checking the wiring and such, including double checking things under the house (heat exchanger, etc.). Everything checked out OK. House wiring is fine.

Scroll units (like mine) have fewer parts than traditional compressors and thus are supposed to last longer and are more energy efficient.

Per my guy, my unit has at least another 5 years to go - maybe even 10.

Weekend Update - September 5, 2010 +Addendum +Note

2010-09-05T09:59:00.023-04:00

Note: I've been getting a number of visits via Google Images for the above photo. This is Tuffy, the new mascot at NCSU. She's not a real wolf. She's a Tamaskan - a Finnish breed that looks remarkably like a wolf. Here's an article from the local newspaper about her and a little history of our mascots - including wolves, cows, dogs and a coyote. You'd think with our Ag school heritage and having a Vet School we could tell the difference between a wolf and a coyote. lol

Football season has finally started.

NCSU rolled past Western Carolina as expected. The real topic around town is UNC. Under a cloud of investigations - the Tar Babies went to Atlanta to face LSU on the game of the opening weekend.

With over a dozen prime players left back home in NC - it looked like LSU was going to roll. By halftime, it was all over except for the clock running out. But UNC did not give up - got back in the game - and made for one of the most exciting finishes I've seen in a long time.

With just seconds left - UNC was on the 6 yard line and had 2 chances to score the tying touchdown - the extra point would have won the game. Both incomplete passes were off the fingertips. Oh so close.

There's a lesson here. The cheating thugs and miscreants stayed home. The clean, real "student - athletes" almost (and in spirit and heart) won the game. Had the backups been the ones practicing all through spring and fall camp - UNC would have won the game.

Coach Butch David can institute a change in values and direction and still win big at UNC. He should start by firing John Blake.

My congratulations to UNC on a close game played under very difficult circumstances. Moral victories don't count on the stat sheet - but the good players over at UNC have my respect.

Heat Pump

My AC went out Friday night. Couldn't get through to my regular HVAC guy so I called another company instead. BIG MISTAKE. The guy from 72Degrees seemed inexperienced. He was clearly in over his head at diagnosing the problem. It's OK to not be able to do something - but one MUST recognize their limitations and know when to give up.

The unit was left with wires burned and hanging out. I hope to be able to get hold of my regular guy first of the week.

I hope 72Degrees didn't damage the heat pump beyond what was / is already wrong with it.

Sunday PM Addendum

Holy Moley - Nuke and I watched the Tulsa at ECU game. What a wild offensive game with a story book ending. ECU scores the winning Hail Mary touchdown with 0:00 on the clock for the 51 - 49 victory.

Even though we hate ECU - we were high-fiving the game.

Later, Nuke and I went to City Tap in Pittsboro for dinner and a beer.

The Phone is Smart. Not So Sure About the User :-)

2010-09-02T19:20:00.010-04:00

My nephew (who works for Google) got his mom to switch to a smart phone / PDA.

This is my (very dear) sister who:

Got a website set up for her Marriage Celebrant business and then "forgot" she had it (this LINK goes to a review site - not her 'forgotten' site - lol)
Can't 'download' a simple file sent to her (such as a photo or Word document)
When she can't hear someone on the cell phone (such as in a loud restaurant) turns the speaker phone on in hopes of hearing and sending clearer. Yep - she really thinks that works!
Used to send out mass emails with the subject "blog" containing family updates (like those God awful Christmas letters). Thankfully she's quit doing that.

And so on.

When I saw this cartoon - I started laughing as I immediately thought of her.

Jelly Belly

2010-09-01T19:17:00.016-04:00

Many of us keep treats on our desks at work. Clyde keeps chocolate; Clara keeps peppermints; I used to keep Jelly Belly beans but switched to Jolly Ranchers.

Jolly Ranchers are individually wrapped, so it’s more sanitary.

But Jelly Bellies are tastier and more of a treat – I’ve decided to switch back.

Stopped at the Super Target in Apex on the way home – picked up a 2 lb bag and headed to the checkout.

Cashier (very young and cute) – “How are you this evening?”

Bill – “I’m fine. Hope you are too.”

Cashier – “No, I don’t feel so well.”

Bill – “Sorry to hear that. I hope you’re on the way to feeling better and not the other way around.”

Cashier – “No, it will get worse.”

Bill – “Cold? Those summertime colds can be awful.”

Cashier – putting hand on stomach – “No, not a cold.”

Bill – TOTALLY DENSE & CLUELESS – “The flu! Those are awful too. Take care of yourself. I hope you feel better.”

Cashier - "Ah, it's not the flu either."

Lady Behind Me (middle age), with a grin – “It’s the monthly stomach pain thing.”

Bill – taking change and putting in my walled – “Oohhh! Lalalalalalalalalala. OK, I’m leaving now, bye.”

Cashier and Lady – both laughing and making a show of waving – “Bye!”

And, of course, the other people in line were observing the whole thing and snickering at me too.

Sigh . . . . I am such a doofus sometimes.

Apology +Addendum

2010-08-30T20:31:00.005-04:00

We apologize for Hiroshima.

A thousand times we apologize.

Please - for the love of God - we apologize - take her back already!

Addendum

From the comments posted on youtube - I think these two kind of sum it up:

"....thank you for making the rest of the world get the wrong idea about real artists and making us ashamed to admit our professions or passions."

"I can only imagine how frustrating and insulting this must be to a legitimate, struggling artist who would kill to have an exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art."

Implosion

2010-08-27T17:27:00.013-04:00

At first, the player / agent NCAA investigation over at Carolina looked like an isolated case.

One, maybe 2 players coloring outside the lines – mostly due to youth, immaturity, and generally being dumb asses. Well, Greg Little is more of a thug than a dumb ass – but still – he’s young so I could cut him some slack.

The thing that caught my attention through it all was John Blake still being employed as a defensive coach. Heck, how Carolina even allowed him within the town limits of Chapel Hill, much less actually on the campus of UNC was beyond me.

It was the stuff of good natured ribbing and talking smack to our powder blue brethren and friends.

(FYI - when BobLee refers to lupines and ABCs (Anybody But Carolina) - he's talking 'bout us Wolfies over here in West Rawlie. Oh, and that amphibious dig was pretty cute too)

But then, all of the sudden – this whole brand new academic cheating thing that just exploded – within the last couple days.

What the hell is going on over there? This is not UNC. In the last 3 days we've basically watched the Carolina football program implode before our very eyes.

Honest to God - I really hate seeing this happening.

Two defensive starters (and potential NFL drafts) have been reportedly kicked off the team. And the rest . . . .

The latest unconfirmed reports (as of Friday afternoon) are that 4 players on the vaunted, top 5 nationally ranked defensive starting unit have been cleared. The rest are – and this is the quote – “toast”. This is (or maybe was) a defensive unit that had 5 to 7 for sure NFL draft picks – and possibly more depending on how the season went.

Watching the live press conference last night – I thought Coach Butch Davis was on his way to a heart attack. Chancellor Holden Thorp looked like a deer caught in the headlights. AD Dickie Baddour – he’s trying to keep it together – but that’s a man who’s getting slammed from all different directions – and it shows.

And John Blake is still employed as a UNC defensive coach.

Rivals: Coach - Agent ties probed

The North Carolina Agent Fiasco and the John Blake Stain

John Blake North Carolina Agent Scandal Part II: Meet Agent Gary Wichard

I Wish It Were a Mini Cooper to Play With

2010-08-26T17:38:00.005-04:00

We (our office) are considering a move to mini computers.

I’m playing with one of the HP 310 mini laptops for a few days.

We shifted from traditional desk top computers (keyboard, under the desk computer ‘box’ and monitor) a few years back. Current typical set up is a laptop (which, of course, travels with us when in the field), docking station, monitor and full size keyboard. Basically, we swapped out the under the desk computer with a laptop.

What we’re looking at now is to down size the laptop. No big deal.

However, we’re looking at changing our overall IT services set up.

To combat corruption, over the years (decades actually), NC government has centralized core services such as office supply purchases, vehicle acquisition, etc. This prevents local offices from giving deals to their friends and family. And it applies the power of mass / bulk purchasing to get better prices saving taxpayer dollars.

Of course, as in all things bureaucratic, there are inefficiencies and unintended consequences.

For example – our office pays for ‘turnkey’ IT services. For a fee we get hardware (laptops, monitors, etc.), connectivity (LAN hardware, software, access) and internet access.

Essentially – we pay for email, internet access, maintenance and such and we ‘rent’ our laptops / hardware.

With the move to the HP minis – we will purchase outright the hardware – mini pc’s, flat screen monitors, docking ports, keyboards, etc. We’ll continue to contract with NC IT Services for LAN and internet access / services and server operations and maintenance.

With the purchase of the minis – we’ll contract with Verizon for unlimited cell phone data service for the new mini pc’s. That way, when we’re out of town, we won’t have to search for free wifi – we’ll have access via cell phone towers. This is kind of like ‘bundling’ since we already use Verizon for our cell phones and service.

Even with our one time expenditure for new hardware and the addition of cell phone data service – we will save about $30,000 in the first fiscal year alone! That’s about $500 per person for an office of 60.

The savings comes from no longer ‘renting’ hardware from IT Services. Yep – we are paying a LOT to rent our laptops, monitors, etc.

After the first fiscal year – the savings will be even greater since we won’t be buying totally new equipment each year.

Bottom line – a reduction in annual costs with continuation of existing IT Services provided LAN, email (Microsoft Exchange), internet access, server maintenance and operations PLUS adding cell phone access.

What makes the initial pc outlay sweet is that Verizon / HP is going to make $ on providing bulk cell service for 50+ laptop users. In the same way cell phone providers make money on services (practically giving away their phones) Verizon / HP is giving us a huge discount on the mini pc’s and associated hardware.

Essentially, it’s like phone service. Cell phones are basically commodities – cheap or no cost. Laptops are headed that way as well. The internet access services contract with Verizon will be pretty much the same as a cell phone contract. We get the pc’s cheap – pay for the connectivity service – and every couple years or so – trade in the pc’s for new ones.

Better equipment, expanded service and a big reduction in annual costs – that’s how it supposed to be done.

Thursday, August 19

2010-08-19T21:33:00.010-04:00

Just finished watching Zombieland on DVD.

This is one seriously messed up movie.

3 out 4 stars!

There were a couple of scenes where I was laughing so hard, I almost rolled off the sofa. While simultaneously thinking - "This is soooo wrong".

LOL

I am definitely going to go get a Twinkie tomorrow.

Weekend Update - August 15, 2010

2010-08-16T18:41:00.010-04:00

Friday I worked on campus at NCSU.

Man - If I'd only had this parking spot when I was in school!

(Click for a larger image to see my little grey Focus)

After work, drove up to NoVa to visit the 2 local nephews and 1 Tokyo niece who is in Reston visiting her grandparents. (There are still 2 Chicago nieces who I have yet to lay eyes on!)

Saturday, Nuke, David and I went to the National Air & Space Museum at Dulles Airport. I've been there before but this was the first time for N and D.

They have a lot more planes on display then the last time I was there.

Today (Monday) after work, I stopped to get my tires rotated, balanced and alignment. I do this every 10,000 miles. Naturally, was told that I didn't need the rotation and balance. Instead - I needed new tires. What was supposed to be a quick $80 maintenance errand turned into a $700 visit.

Nothing is ever easy.

Constitutional Freedom

2010-08-09T20:13:00.033-04:00

Generally speaking, I could care less about Proposition 8. Or California, for that matter.

I do care about government. I think it should be as limited as possible. That includes government staying out of people's private lives and not intruding on individual liberties and freedoms. I care about that a lot.

Theodore (Ted) B. Olson

Conservative guest columnist - The Wall Street Journal

Considered a leading Constitutional expert on the Bill of Rights

Self-described Libertarian - advocate for personal freedoms and limited government

Founding member - Federialist Society - "To promote the principles that the state exists to preserve freedom, that the separation of governmental powers is central to our Constitution and that it is emphatically the province and duty of the judiciary to say what the law is, not what it should be."

Appointed by President Reagan - Assistant United State Attorney General - Justice Department

Defense attorney represented President Reagan - Iran-Contra

Appointed by President George W. Bush - Solicitor General of the United States

Finalist (twice) - consideration for nomination as Justice to the Supreme Court of the United States by President Bush (nominated Justices John Roberts and Samuel Alito respectively)

Mr. Olson represented President George W. Bush and argued President Bush’s case in Bush v. Gore before the Supreme Court of the United States - Resulting in the Landmark Decision allowing Florida’s Electoral Votes to be awarded to Mr. Bush – resolving the contested 2000 United States of America Presidential Election

This man "gets it." Oh, and the Judge? A Bush appointee also.

True conservatism - not the teabagger fake conservatism crap.

Part 1

Part 2

About Done

2010-08-08T20:02:00.015-04:00

The lot work is done. There's some stuff the guys will haul away tomorrow or Tuesday. They ran out of room on the truck.

The field is seeded and strawed. Should start to see some grass in about two weeks.

They guys got sick and tired of hauling wood. So they left some in the back woods.

Yep - the stack is taller than me. But then, most things are.

Oh, BTW

At dusk yesterday, Nuke was on the back deck having a smoky treat. Stuck his head in the door and said "Come out here, but be quiet".

We see doe all the time. Everybody sees does all the time.

This was a stag. Fairly young - 2 points - antlers about a foot long or so.

First one I've seen in the yard in at least three or four years.

Food

We ate well this weekend.

Friday night, Hazel fixed old fashioned spaghetti sauce. Tomatoes, mushrooms, onion, ground beef. That with some garlic bread – we were stuffed. (Leftovers Sunday night - yummy.)

Saturday morning I set up a bar-b-que. I dragged the gas grill / smoker into the yard and gave it a thorough cleaning. Went and got the spare tank filled. Made some simple eastern NC vinegar sauce (cider vinegar, brown sugar, kosher salt, red pepper flakes).

I had picked up a whole pork shoulder from Nahunta on the way home from work and put him on the grill around noon.

(BTW – way too much for the four of us. I should have gotten a Boston Butt – about half the size of a whole shoulder. There’s a lot of leftover pork in the freezer.)

I put some water and white vinegar in the drip pan under the shoulder. The drippings combined with the liquid and helped smoke and steam the pork to help it flavor and make it tenderer.

We pulled him off the grill around 1800. Some had bbq sammiches (w/cole slaw); some just had chopped pork. We also had fresh corn on the cob from the Farmer’s Market. Pound cake and ice cream for dessert.

We did some good eating this weekend.

I should have taken photos.

Agility

2010-08-08T10:52:00.020-04:00

Friends Ward and Hazel visited with me this weekend.

They have two Havanese dogs which they are training as Therapy Dogs and one dog is also training to compete in AKC Agility Trials.

They were up for a competition being held in Sanford.

I watched for a while on this morning. It's a really cool avocation and a lot of fun to watch. It's easy to get caught up in the excitement and appreciation of the training and skills. Just like you can "get into" any other sport like football or basketball.

Here are owners / handlers familiarizing themselves with the course before one of the sets of runs.

This is practice area.

This is one of the waiting areas. Kind of like "The Pits" in auto racing.

Folks relaxing before the start of the trials.

And finally, a couple of videos of the competitions.

This first video is almost a good run. Started out great, but the dog lost his focus at the weaving station.

Here's a good run.

Notice the time stamp on this post. I went to the trials, stayed a while, then came home to do chores (yard work) and to post this entry.

Yep - it's just before 1100. The competitions start around 0800. Most of the entrants show up at the venue very early to get set up, practice and prepare. Ward says 0600 is not unusual.

LMAO

2010-08-05T17:31:00.012-04:00

I have a fireplace for which I buy a load of firewood each year.

I get the firewood delivered in the spring so it will have time to season for the following winter.

Here's this year's stack of wood ready for this winter. This is about the amount I'll burn during a typical winter. Sometimes a little less.

When discussing the drain field work and which trees needed to come down, GJ (Maple Hill Farms) said he'd have the guys cut up the usable wood and stack it. Later they'll bring a splitter and spit it up for me.

That's a great idea. Saves the cost of hauling off the wood. Plus - wood to burn.

Today, when I pulled in the driveway - I started laughing so hard my side hurt. The sight that greeted me struck me as "Holy Cow!" funny.

For scale - that stack is taller than I am!

LOL

poo

2010-08-03T18:45:00.036-04:00

Before and almost After photos of my home's drain field area.

First photo taken in May. Notice how nice and full the clover is?

In June, an early heat wave and mini-drought killed off most of it. Second photo taken today after work.

On to the post -

Living in the country means I don't have connection to a Municipal Sewer System. (I do have water via the city / county water system).

The typical rural single house system is a septic tank with drain field.

When I built my house, North Carolina was reacting to a number of large multi-home on-site system failures. These systems were promoted by a "certain" company that was building and installing ground systems serving whole neighbourhoods and communities.

Well - I'm a Civil Engineer and I knew that large scale application of these systems were bull*&%t. Or rather, human*&%t.

Back then I was in private practice. I encountered that "certain" company on a few occasions.

One project was a subdivision where I had to come in and design a municipal system in place of an idiotic (and very expensive - $354,000 as I recall) Rube Goldberg* system the other company / consultant had designed and was trying to foist off on the developer.

My design came in around $225,000. Gravity lines and manholes, duel lift station and force main.

It wasn't that big of a deal subdivision / project at the time. So I'm not exact about my system cost - but 225k is in the ballpark. I do remember that my design also handled over three as many homes as the "idiotic" system.

And - we're talking mid 1990's dollars.

The development / subdivision was (is) in Wake Forest - off US 1 - North of Raleigh.

But - I digress.

A lot of those Rube Goldberg* systems failed and there were some pretty serious repercussions - in terms of both environment and cost.

Heavy regulation followed which trickled down (pun intended) to individual homeowner systems. Which hadn't been a problem. Classic case of overreaction and subsequent over regulation.

Anyway - my house construction got caught in the middle of it.

Instead of a simple septic tank and drain field - my house (under the then "new" rules and guidelines) required a huge drain field, imported dirt (for improved percolation) and the soil scientist identified the ideal drain field location uphill from my house.

Which required a two tank system with pump, equalizing pressure manifold and timed dosing system. It's what's known in the industry as a Low Pressure Pipe (LPP) system.

I built my house 12 years ago. At that time - a simple tank and drain field cost around $2,000 or so. My LPP system cost a whopping $8,000.

LPP systems are classified as 'commercial / public' by definition which means my system has to be "operated" by a licensed operator. In my case, that means the operator comes by twice a year - checks everything out - and sends reports to the County Health Department.

Over time, however, I neglected my drain field. I didn't keep it cut and cleared. Eventually the vegetation took over to the point where I had small trees growing in it. That is BAD. In all capital letters.

The past two weeks - I've been having the field restored. Since there are small PVC pipes just below the ground - you can't go in there and knock things down with a bulldozer. Everything has to be done by 'hand'. Care has to be taken to not damage the pipe system. Machinery has to be specialized and lightweight just for this application.

Fortunately, I've found the perfect company to fix my field - a landscaping company out of Siler City called Maple Hill Farms (no web site).

Those guys have been working carefully for 2 weeks. They are also taking out about a dozen dead and dying trees since they're already here.

The coolest thing was watching them smooth, till, and grind down small tree stumps and roots with a machine that I can only compare to a Zamboni. Except it's for dirt.

Basically the trees and undergrowth have been all cut down by hand. Fine chipped and spread back out. The rest of the weeds, brush, etc. mowed down and spread around. Then the Zamboni thingy mulches / tills / grinds / and smooths the soil.

I'm told my drain field (1/2 acre active field + 1/2 acre reserve field) will end up being a really nice lawn.

Cost so far? $5,850 and counting.

BTW - Eventually sanity returned to the sizing, design, permitting and installation of individual home septic systems.

If my house were built today - it would likely be a regular single tank with a gravity drain field about 2,000 square foot in size.

If the soil really did require an LPP system - the active drain field size would increase to about 3,000 or 4,000 square feet. NOT the 1/2 acre my system has.

Yep - the drain field for my system is about 6 times the size it needs to be. Click on the photo - there's a guy standing in the filed. That will give you an idea of the size.

Sometimes I can be full of s*#@. LOL. But it would take me and a small army to crap enough to need a field that size.

*Note - Speaking of Rube Goldberg and apropos of nothing - here's a happy video:

2010 NCSU Football TIckets

2010-08-02T17:23:00.000-04:00

My season tickets have arrived.

I really enjoy watching college football. I can't wait till September rolls around and the games start.

I'd enjoy it a whole lot more if we could have a winning season.

Quick Update

2010-07-14T18:05:00.002-04:00

It’s been a couple of weeks since I’ve posted. Well, there just hasn’t been anything of real interest going on.

I went to the beach the July 4th weekend. Hung out with Nuke and his folks. A couple of hamburger cookouts, watched fireworks at the Marina and that's about it. Low key, relaxing weekend.

On the home front, the contractors came today and repaired my fireplace / chimney. I had a small chimney fire back in March. Damaged the flue.

They replaced the flue, repaired some cracks in the firebox. Fixed the ventilation fan switch (it hasn’t worked for at least 5 years or more – lol). And did some other maintenance and upkeep items.

These guys were professional. They had everything laid out and ready to go. No wondering around and head scratching – they knew exactly what they were going to do and how to do it.

Job was done in less than 5 hours.

About $2,100 altogether.

Work is pretty much the same. Nothing new or unusual to report.

Let’s see – I’ve booked a cruise for November. Actually I booked it a couple months ago. DB and O are going along with DB’s mom. JTN is going too.

That’s about it.

To Every Season . . . .

2010-06-29T06:46:00.000-04:00

I think my long time raccoon friend has died. She had been looking rather ill and old. Three weeks ago I worked out of town for a few days and since I've returned - I haven't seen her.

But - life goes on. Last night I was sitting on the porch and low and behold - a new raccoon came poking around.

I put some food in the bowl and sure enough - any smart raccoon knows to never pass up a free meal.

It's Like Hockey, But Without the Action

2010-06-27T20:40:00.008-04:00

Quote from my friend Jason. Talk about succinct. LOL

I’ve been watching the FIFA World Cup. Well, trying too anyway. I get bored so I end up doing stuff like unloading the dishwasher, starting a load of laundry, that sort of thing.

And, of course, the 3 teams I had picked to root for are out of the tournament.

America is a Ghana.

England was unable to repel zee Germans.

Argentina evicted Mexico.

If you want to have a good time – find a local Sports Bar (Sparks Mexican Cantina, Horner Blvd) that turns off the TV sound and instead plays the Telemundo radio broadcast.

You can’t help but get excited listening to Andres Cantor . . .

http://deadspin.com/5572603/now-heres-andres-cantor-calling-landon-donovans-gooooooooool

"Halfback passes to the center. Back to the wing. Back to the center. Center holds it, holds it . . . . holds it . . ." - Kent Brockman, The Simpsons

Interesting Graphic +Addendum

2010-06-14T16:42:00.013-04:00

The Deficit has me worried. Really worried.

Actually, I've always kept a bit of an eye on the deficit. Hence, the National Debt ticker I've had on this blog for quite some time.

I ran across this very interesting graphic. Of particular note - Iraq war estimated total and the US Government worst case financial crisis cost (i.e. debt).

Here's the link:

http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/visualizations/the-billion-dollar-gram/

Also - take a look at the 'predicted' cost of the war - back in 2005.

I knew the numbers put out by the Bush Administration, especially Dick-head Cheney and Rumsfeld, were bald faced lies the moment I heard them.

Focus

No, not focus on the debt. My car - Ford Focus.

Wouldn't start this morning. But it didn't behave like a dead battery - it made some very odd electrical sounds and all the dashboard lights and gauges flickered and the needles started dancing around.

No time to mess with it at the moment. Used the truck to get to work.

Came home this afternoon to see if I could jump start it and get it to the Ford Dealer. I've jumped started many cars - I've never had one pop and spark like this one when I tried to hook up the cables. More like a ka-pow rather than a spark.

OK - this is not good. Let's call a tow and have it taken to the Ford Place.

I'll update this entry when I find out what the problem / repair is.

Addendum

The Dealer says it just the battery. I hope that's true - but like I said - I've never had an almost dead battery make the instruments behave like that before.

On the way home from work - I also had wondered if it was just the battery. So, I stopped by Advance Auto in Pittsboro to see if they had the right sized one for it. Yes they did - $92 plus tax. Get the car over to them and they'd put it in free.

Well - when I got the fireworks trying to jump start it - that's when I wondered if it was something more serious.

Bottom line - replacement battery is $189 at the Ford place. This does not include the towing cost.

I expected it to cost a little more at the Ford place. But over twice as much?

That's a rip off.

Wednesday Addendum

Final bill was $156 and change. About $110 for the battery and $30 for labor. Plus some miscellaneous charges. So, not as bad as I was told over the phone - but installation would have been free at Advance Auto.

Thanks to Dave S for helping me shuttle cars back and forth.

Walter +Addendum

2010-06-07T18:03:00.011-04:00

Sir Walter Raleigh used to hang out on the Fayetteville Street Mall - back when it wasn't a street.

Now that Fayetteville Street is once again open to traffic - Walt has moseyed on over to the new Convention Center.

Sometimes he gets dressed up; often wearing a Hurricanes or NCSU jersey. One time I saw him in a chef's outfit when there was some sort of food convention going on.

Also, people will dress him up unofficially. And by people - I mean students / kids.

Driving home today, I noticed he's gone drag. Of course, his poofy balloon pants were always kind of gay anyway.

I don't know if this get up is official or impromptu. Or, it might be left over from KinkyCon held a couple weeks ago.

Addendum

He's dressed up for Komen Race for the Cure.

The street center lines in downtown have been painted pink as well (pink tape actually).

Who Are These People?

2010-05-30T20:45:00.022-04:00

So - I'm driving home from work Friday.

My parking deck exits onto Salisbury Street - which I take (with an eventual cut over to Blount Street) to get to the Beltline / I-40.

Salisbury goes right between the new Marriott (on the left) and the new Convention Center (on the right).

Driving along - I begin to see a few, then more, and then A LOT of strangely - correction - bizarrely dressed people. A few of 'em were, ahh, well - cover up the kid's eyes - if you catch my drift.

The Marriott / Convention Center block - hundreds of 'em.

OMG - it's a Deviated Prevert Convention!

Right here in Raleigh.

Does the Mayor know 'bout this? Has anybody called Gen. Ripper?

Turns out it weren't nothing sinister. Just something called animazement.

Honest to God - I'd never even heard of cosplay before.

To each his own and all. But sometimes - well, just maybe, them Japanese folks don't need to export everything they come up with.

I'm just saying . . .

Hey - I wonder if my friend [#### ####### redacted] was there?

LOL

Tired Raccoon

2010-05-27T17:39:00.010-04:00

This is one of my friends who visit me every afternoon. She, and one other one, live pretty close by.

This one had a bunch of her fur worn off behind her head to the front part of her body. It looked like she had gotten trapped in something and had a hard time getting free. The fur's grown back. But as you can see, she's got a lot of gray.

I think she's getting pretty old. Her behavior seems to be pretty tired - she pants a lot in the heat and she just seems run down all the time.

She's always been a bit neurotic. Extremely skittish - which is a good thing for a raccoon around humans. But she's always been far more nervous than the other raccoons. She's still the same way - but she's gotten a lot slower in the past year or so.

I believe she's had her littler of kitts. She appears to be nursing. I think her den is right in my back yard (heavily wooded) or not far from it. Hopefully she'll be able to raise this year's offspring.

Here's a photo of the other, younger and much healthier looking, raccoon.

I think this one is a female too - but I'm not sure.

This one is far more laid back. Not a pet by any means - but she's far more comfortable around me than the other one.

John Mark Coney for School Board Chairman

2010-05-23T10:32:00.016-04:00

Normally this blog is about ME!!

But I ran across this little item and it’s a bit of a hoot.

In Orange County Florida, candidates for the School Board Chair presented their qualifications at a recent forum. John Mark Coney is running for the position and he had the opening remarks.

So, apropos of nothing (with apologies to Mr. Letterman) – Here (in Top Ten format) are the reasons Mr. Coney should be the next Chairman of the School Board:

(drum roll please)

Number 10 - President Obama should withdraw the nomination of Elena Kagan

Number 9 - Israeli Independence Day

Number 8 - He’s misplaced his Star of David

Number 7 - Isaiah 19:23-25

Number 6 – He’s a math teacher

Number 5 - Sodomy is a crime against God, nature and humanity

Number 4 - Real men don’t wear condoms

Number 3 - Real men don’t pay for abortions

Number 2 - Jesus is King

And the number 1 reason to vote for Mr. Coney for School Board Chairman –

He’s a 53 year old virgin

Cue the music . . . . .

Tea Party-On Garth.