Raleigh

Community-focused posts

There are 773 posts filed in Raleigh (this is page 45 of 78).

Free media streaming, solved!

On a happier note, tonight I figured out the last piece of the puzzle of my free media streaming project! I have paired the red5 Flash media server with Adobe Flash Media Live Encoder to create stunning live video, all ad-free. The total cost of my software: $0. It’s just what I’ve been looking for.

I began by downloading and compiling the red5 software on my hosted CentOS server. This involved running a few “yum” commands to install the necessary Java dependencies but that was little challenge. Then I walked away from the project for a bit and when I returned I could not remember how to start red5. After a few more Googles, I discovered red5 had to be started from the /usr/lib/red5 directory on my server.
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Homemade music: don’t try this in Raleigh

My family and I spent Christmas Eve at my parents’ house. After dinner was over, we got out our instruments and played some music, starting with Christmas songs and then moving on to others, like the bluegrass classic Keep On The Sunnyside, as seen on YouTube. It had been a long time since I’d played with my brothers (and dad) and we all had a great time. It reminded me of something I’ve been considering for a while (actually, ever since my daughter Hallie began violin lessons): hosting a regular jam session at the house for anyone who wanted to come over and play.
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Red Hat stays (relatively) put

There were rumors over the past few weeks that Linux pioneer Red Hat was shopping around for new office space, including digs in Massachusetts, Austin, and Atlanta, among others. Today, Governor Purdue announced that Red Hat would be staying in Wake County (though she didn’t say Raleigh, specifically).

A month ago when rumors started swirling I predicted Red Hat would stay, posting this on the WRAL story about the office search:

Red Hat would have a hard time finding anyplace with a better quality of life than it has right here. The company’s executives are savvy enough to know that.”

Sure enough, the first thing out of CEO Jim Whitehurst’s mouth when explaining Red Hat’s choosing to stay was this area’s quality of life. Now, Red Hat just needs to vacate the overpriced Centennial Campus space and hang their hat in downtown Raleigh and then they’ll be in business!

Ah, the price of fame

After making my list of highlights of my community service from the past year I have to mention a strange new phenomenon of late: lots of people now know me and I don’t always know them.

I’ve went down to the municipal building for something earlier this year and gave my name to one of the staffers I had just met. “Oh, so you’re Mark Turner! We’ve heard all about you,” came the cheerful reply. Some treat me like some kind of celebrity. Even cops. City staffers have told me they read my blog on a regular basis, too. It’s a little unnerving knowing that people are talking about me, even if it’s good stuff. (At least, I hope it is!)
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Highlights of 2010: helping out the community

It was a productive year for helping out in the community.

The biggest and most rewarding thing I did as the CAC chair was help organize the first East Raleigh Community Day event along with Ronneil Robinson, Raleigh Police, Raleigh Parks, WakeMed, and others. It was so much fun seeing everyone out and having a good time. I had a silly grin on my face all day long.

Part of the Community Day celebrations included the grand opening of the Police Department Field Office in the Raleigh Boulevard Food Lion shopping center. This was the result of an initiative I took two years ago to work with the city and the property owner to get it done. Now the shopping center is thriving, new businesses moving in, and the neighborhood has a nice local place to shop.
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Black segregation in US drops to lowest in century

This makes me happy.

America’s neighborhoods became more integrated last year than during any time in at least a century as a rising black middle class moved into fast-growing white areas in the South and West.

Still, ethnic segregation in many parts of the U.S. persisted, particularly for Hispanics.

Segregation among blacks and whites fell in roughly three-quarters of the nation’s 100 largest metropolitan areas as the two racial groups spread more evenly between inner cities and suburbs, according to recent census data.

Black segregation in US drops to lowest in century :: WRAL.com.

Downtown deer

One early spring morning this year I was walking the dog on State Street when we stumbled upon three deer across the street from us. The deer made a well-worn beeline to a hole in the fence of the St. Augustine’s campus and bounded into the woods. In July I had another morning sighting, with deer standing near the edge of our front yard.
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Suspect arrested in recent break-ins!

Michael Darnell Green

I got word today that yesterday’s foot chase through the nearby Mordecai neighborhood yielded an arrest of a suspect in the area’s recent burglaries. Michael Darnell Green, age 37, was arrested and charged with numerous offenses, including breaking and entering, possession of burglary tools, possession of stolen goods, and possession of a firearm by a felon, among others. Green has a long history of B&Es, and with his build of 5’10” and weight of 160, he certainly fits the description of the guy my neighbors saw on our front porch when our alarm went off Friday. Police are charging him with at least 9 area burglaries and more are pending, I’m sure.

It goes to show you … don’t mess with East Raleigh!

Neighbor captures video of break-in suspect

Break-in suspect

After our attempted break-in Friday, a friend reminded me of a neighbor’s security cameras outside his home, suggesting his cameras might have filmed the perpetrator. On a whim I asked my neighbor to check his system. Sure enough, his camera did capture video of the suspect on Friday (empty-handed, I might add). The video is here. [some weird M$-proprietary WMV format]

The detective working our case told me today that the fingerprints they recovered from our window are being processed by CCBI. Hopefully, we’ll have an identification of the guy soon. In the meantime, the photo of the suspect has been distributed to all the line officers in RPD’s downtown and southeast districts, and rides in the cab of Engine 7 of the Raleigh Fire Department. It’s good to have friends in uniform!