Geezer

There are 380 posts filed in Geezer (this is page 10 of 38).

Iran’s return of American sailors

Riverine Command Boat (RCB)

Riverine Command Boat (RCB)


Let me start off by saying that last week wasn’t my Navy’s finest hour. When news came in Thursday night that ten U.S. Navy sailors had “drifted into Iran territorial waters” and had been detained, there was a sense of deja-vu. I thought about the collision in 2001 between a reckless Chinese fighter pilot and a Navy EP-3 surveillance plane. Known as the Hainan Island Incident, 24 sailors were detained for eleven days, interrogated at all times of day and night. The incident was George W. Bush’s first international crisis and it wasn’t clear things would be resolved amicably.

The Navy tends to avoid entering unfriendly waters (well … most of the time!). The Persian Gulf (or Arabian Gulf as the USN refers to it) is tiny as far as bodies of water go. Our sailors are well aware of who occupies the eastern shore of the Gulf and know to steer clear of it. That doesn’t mean that encounters between Iranians and Americans don’t still take place. I vividly recall how surreal it was to lock eyes with curious Iranian ferry passengers as they motored slowly by my ship once in the Gulf. It was clear at that moment how ridiculous the bluster of our respective governments was.
Continue reading →

Highlights of 2015: investments in health

Waiting to get my septoplasty

Waiting to get my septoplasty

After returning from Jamaica in August 2014 with muscle twitches that wouldn’t seem to stop I decided it was time to take my health more seriously than I had been, so last year I decided to invest more in my health. I began daily walks at lunchtime at work, doing a circuit around N.C. State’s Centennial Campus for about 20 minutes a day. I installed a fitness tracking app from Google called Google Fit to help me keep pace. My goal was an hour of activity per day and I’m proud to say that I regularly exceeded this. Not only that, but I continue to exercise daily. My current job puts my office a little over a mile away, so I frequently walk or bike to work. I love doing this!

2015 was also the year I took advantage of my health care coverage from the Veteran’s Administration. I had several tests done to determine the cause of the twitching (so far nothing definitive, though several baddies have been ruled out). I have to say I’m impressed with the VA. It gets knocked quite a bit but the people are courteous, I’m always whisked back to see the doctor during my appointments, and the quality of care is good or excellent. The only real concern I have is that the majority of useful appointments must take place at the Durham VA hospital. Raleigh has a VA medical clinic but cannot perform most of the most useful tests or procedures.

Driving to Durham for VA appointments is not convenient for me. I can only imagine what veterans with fewer resources have to put up with.
Continue reading →

Planting flags around Dix Park is so 17th century

Raleigh Planning Commission member Matt Tomasulo recently planted thousands of survey flags to lead people around the Dix Park property.

Dude, planting flags is sooooo 17th century. There are apps for this. Create a Google Map with landmarks at the sites worth seeing. Include links to photographs and, more importantly, open up comments for others to say why these sites are meaningful. I’m all for bringing people out to Dix but they should be out there seeing the beauty of the park and not thousands of plastic flags.

With help from thousands of pink survey flags, one city planning commission member is hoping to bring more people to the former Dix hospital site near downtown.

On Tuesday afternoon, Matt Tomasulo and five volunteers planted 4,399 pink survey flags throughout Dorothea Dix Park, creating small trails that will lead visitors around city-owned portions of the property. Tomasulo called it a simple gesture to say thanks to Mayor Nancy McFarlane and Gov. Pat McCrory for making possible Raleigh’s purchase of the former psychiatric hospital campus.

Source: Raleigh Planning Commission member installs hundreds of flags at Dix Park | News & Observer

The 19th Century plug that’s still being used – BBC News

The BEEB covers Apple’s rumored plans to kill off the phono plug. The story includes a quote from an Apple analyst:

“It feels painful because you’ve got hundreds of millions of devices out there that are using the old standard,” says Horace Dediu, a technology analyst with in-depth knowledge of Apple.

… and …

“Studying Moore’s Law and the history of technology, it’s clear we’re not going to stick around with something analogue for long,” he says. “It’s almost puzzling that it’s taken so long.”

Maybe because analog phone jack technology Just Works? Any guesses why an Apple stock analyst might like this move?

The Sum of Us petition is here, if you care to sign it.
Continue reading →

Sinus surgery healing nicely

I am now on day eight of my septoplasty (a.k.a. surgery to fix my deviated septum). The swelling is gone now, my nose is running but there is only the faintest tinge of blood. We’ve had a few cold days here, though, and the chilly, dry air has been stinging my nose. On our family dog walk last night the pain got pretty bad until I thought to bury my face in the scarf I was wearing. Also, my nose gets tender when I stretch my mouth open (to floss my teeth, for instance). I’m thinking that all these little issues will eventually go away as nose heals.

On the plus side, I am quite able to breathe exclusively through my nose, which is nice, though I haven’t engaged in vigorous physical activity for the requested week after surgery. I have noted an improved sense of smell, which is nice. Also, I have not caught myself snoring so far, which is also good.

Bottom line: I’m doing much better than I thought I would. The pain was not nearly as bad as it could have been. My nose is obviously working better than it was and it will only get better. So far, so good!

Highlights of 2015: CERT lives again

Oakwood CERT members learn basic firefighting

Oakwood CERT members learn basic firefighting


I’ve blogged here before about how much fun I’ve had participating in the CERT program, the Community Emergency Response Team training. I think it is important to get people trained to help themselves when the need arises. In cases of trauma, every minute counts. Medical experts talk about the Golden Hour, when the odds of saving a victim of traumatic injury are greatest. One doesn’t have to be a doctor, but anything that can patch a person up until medical professionals can get there will go a long way towards saving them.

As you know, the first CERT program folded. I had heard rumblings of a new program being bootstrapped in the Oakwood neighborhood. A year passed and I wondered if the effort would succeed. Then in August I got an invite to the training class for the Oakwood CERT team – it was actually happening! About twenty of my neighbors took the training with me and we had great support from Samantha Royster from the North Carolina Department of Public Safety (NCDPS). Everyone left that weekend with some hands-on emergency training as well as a full CERT kit paid for through a generous federal grant.

What’s more, my classmates immediately elected me … president. While I wasn’t in the room, of course. Heh.

Fast forward to mid-December. My company’s foundation looks for non-profits that attract the passion of its employees and those employees are invited to submit grant requests. On the last day of the grant program, I put in a request to fund the Oakwood CERT team and was pleased to learn it was fully granted! It’s a modest grant but it’s one I hope to build on.
Continue reading →

Highlights of 2015: Dix Park, part II

Dix Park proponents at Council of State meeting. L-R, Mayor Nancy McFarlane, City Manager Ruffin Hall, Councilor Kay Crowder, Dix Visionaries member Jay Spain, Councilor Russ Stephenson

Dix Park proponents at May 2015 Council of State meeting. L-R, Raleigh Mayor Nancy McFarlane, City Manager Ruffin Hall, City Councilor Kay Crowder, Friends of Dix Park member Jay Spain, City Councilor Russ Stephenson


2015 was the year that the City of Raleigh finally got the prize it had long sought from the state: the deed to the Dorothea Dix property. In February, the city and state worked out a deal for Raleigh to purchase the property for $53 million dollars. This is far more than the original lease terms (under the first deal that was subsequently torn up by a spiteful General Assembly) and also far more than most state property that gets transferred to local entities. Apparently, Republican leaders in the Gereral Assembly have no problem with burdening people with taxes as long as the urban folk who have to pay.

Anyway, this time the deal got negotiated and signed behind the scenes. The group on whose board I sit, Friends of Dorothea Dix Park (FDDP), was largely kept in the dark about negotiations (though I knew talks were underway). It’s all the same now that the park has been secured, though. I did get to attend the following Council of State meeting on May 5th where the rest of state leaders signed off on the deal. This is my photo of city and Dix Visionaries leaders after the historic event.
Continue reading →

Highlights of 2015: RPD Ridealong

Another highlight was my second ridealong with the Raleigh Police Department, this time with Internet superstar Officer Boyd. I had so much to share about that that waited until I had the time to do it justice with a blog post. Turns out that it took seven months for me to get time, but I finally did it yesterday!

Highlights of 2015: Google Fiber

fiber_house
Also around February, Raleigh got the official word from Google that Google Fiber was coming to the Triangle.

This announcement was really exciting to me after doing what I could over the years to promote broadband competition in North Carolina. For years I maintained the “Bring Google Fiber to Raleigh” Facebook page, posting updates when I got them. I met with city and state officials to keep up with their broadband plans (NC NGN). I took time off of work to attend the Google Fiber announcement and schmoozed with Google Fiber executives at an invitation-only community meet-and-greet.

I was hoping to become a part of the Google Fiber team here but it was not to be. It would’ve been one hell of a gig, so to speak: promoting something I am passionate about and putting to use all the people and political skills I’ve honed over the years. Google had their own ideas of what they wanted, though, and I was super bummed to miss out on the opportunity. It’s probably for the better, in hindsight. I can honestly say that Google hit a home run with the hire of Tia MacLauren as its Raleigh Community Manager, and I am getting crankier in my old age and thus more apt to say what I’m thinking!

Google Fiber trucks haven’t begun rolling in earnest around Raleigh yet but they soon will. No matter what, though, broadband competition has finally come to North Carolina’s cities, and this in itself is a beautiful thing.

Highlights of 2015 – Snowball fight video goes viral


The early months of 2015 were filled with plenty of cold and wet days, with an occasional few snowfalls. Tuesday, February 24th was one of those snow days. Our neighborhood beat officer, the Internet-famous Raleigh Police officer J.D. Boyd, posted in the neighborhood Facebook Page (East CAC), challenging the neighborhood to a snowball fight at nearby Lions Park. Kelly took the kids over to the park to defend the neighborhood honor while I stayed home and worked. Sure wish I had gone, too, because everyone had a great time!

Taunting the neighborhood

Taunting the neighborhood


News and Observer photojournalist Travis Long learned of the snowball fight. He and N&O colleague Jill Knight brought cameras along for the fun. The resulting photos and Jill Knight’s delightful video soon attracted attention from over a million amused citizens from around the world. It was a fun story that lightened up a bleak, cold, seemingly-unending winter.

Hallie and Travis and our neighbor Hannah Frelke were three kids sharing screen time with Officers Boyd and Martucci (who were sledding down the hill on our sleds). The video kept popping up months later. It was fun seeing how far and wide it went.

The video made Officer Boyd a bona fide Internet star and Hallie and Travis enjoyed some fame amongst their friends. In its N&O’s recent end-of-year recap, the paper featured the video again, probably not even knowing that the girl in their screenshot was the same girl also featured in their second most popular story of the year, Hallie’s climate change story. That, my friends, is the topic of its own Highlights post.