Orange orbs over Cork, Ireland

Remember those mysterious floating flares I saw over Raleigh the night of Bluegrass Wide Open in September? I never did figure out what they were, nor did the city’s 911 center have any records of anyone calling about them. Yesterday, though, I came across this video someone took that shows what is purportedly fiery orange orbs descending over Cork, Ireland in December 2012.

Now, I don’t know if these are UFOs, flares, Chinese lanterns, or simply some fancy video editing. Providing there’s no photographic trickery involved, the objects are extremely bright, probably flying at a low altitude, and seem to appear out of nowhere instantly. What’s more, they look exactly like what I saw floating at a distance back on that September night.
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Rock Band Invites 11-Year-Old Guitarist Onstage

This kid’s got chops. I love how nonchalant he remains.

Fisher and his dad waited four hours to nab seats in the front row at the Midland Theatre. And then during the concert, Fisher suddenly graduated from his spot in School of Rock in Millard, Neb. to center stage at a big-time rock ‘n’ roll show, WOWT-TV in Omaha reported.Steel Panther called him up on stage.The band asked Fisher if he was nervous. In front of thousands of fans, he said no — and with that launched into “Eruption,” the iconic electric guitar instrumental by legendary six-string master Eddie Van Halen.Not more than a few seconds into the flurry of notes the Steel Panther guys were visibly impressed…

via Rock Band Invites 11-Year-Old Guitarist Onstage — What He Does Next Blows Away the Band and the Audience | Video | TheBlaze.com.

We need to talk about TED | Benjamin Bratton

A critical (and much-needed) look at TED.

Instead of dumbing-down the future, we need to raise the level of general understanding to the level of complexity of the systems in which we are embedded and which are embedded in us. This is not about “personal stories of inspiration,” it’s about the difficult and uncertain work of demystification and reconceptualisation: the hard stuff that really changes how we think. More Copernicus, less Tony Robbins.

Keep calm and carry on “innovating” … is that the real message of TED? To me that’s not inspirational, it’s cynical.

via We need to talk about TED | Benjamin Bratton | Comment is free | theguardian.com.

Jacob Appelbaum explains why the NSA’s spying concerns us all

Cory at BoingBoing puts it best:

Sunday’s Snowden leaks detailing the Tailored Access Operations group — the NSA’s exploit-farming, computer-attacking “plumbers” — and the ANT’s catalog of attacks on common computer equipment and software — were accompanied by a lecture by Jacob Appelbaum at the 30th Chaos Communications Congress. I have seen Jake speak many times, but this talk is extraordinary, even by his standards, and should by watched by anyone who’s said, “Well, they’re probably not spying on me, personally;” or “What’s the big deal about spies figuring out how to attack computers used by bad guys?” or “It’s OK if spies discover back-doors and keep them secret, because no one else will ever find them.”

Also, see Der Spiegel’s sidebar feature for a look at the source documents.

Highlights of 2013: Activism

Frank Eaton films Hallie

Frank Eaton films Hallie


2013 turned out to be a big year for activism. As soon as our Republican governor took office, our right-wing state legislature went to town dismantling state government (that is, except for a few juicy positions given to the governor’s cronies). A lot of citizens of our state are hurting now and instead of working to assist them, our state leaders are piling on the pain.

Times like these require standing up and being heard. That’s why our family attended a number of Moral Monday protests in Raleigh. That’s why we aren’t letting these guys off the hook come election time.

Hallie also got involved with activism this year, helping assemble the iMatterYouthNC climate rally and march on Halifax Mall. It took a lot of work and could have used more participants but at the very least it was an education in how these things are done. Hopefully it will spur other kids to join the cause, too.

Cyst-free

Pre-op selfie

Pre-op selfie


My oral surgery went off without a hitch this morning. It was easier than I anticipated. I’ve had a few other oral surgeries, mostly as a teen and mostly to move teeth around, but I can say that this was the easiest. Within ten minutes of me arriving this morning, Dr. Upton was operating.

I was wrong about the anesthesia being the kind that knocked me out. Instead I was somewhat conscious but feeling no pain. I remember catching a glimpse of the cyst as it came out of my mouth and remember the dentist tying the sutures. It was like my perception was slowed a few seconds back from real-time and though I was being led out to my car I felt able to stand. The effect was not unlike what it feels like to get a mild concussion, able to perceive the moment but retaining very little.
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Highlights of 2013: Playing music

The Highlanders

The Highlanders

One of the biggest and most welcome changes has been my renewed enthusiasm for music. After our Highlanders gigs and our trip to Wisconsin (and the Bluegrass Festival in Raleigh) I have picked up my guitar almost every day. I hope to get more time playing, especially playing with my family or others!

Highlights of 2013: Solar PV installation

Solar PV deck

Solar PV deck

The year 2013 will be memorable for our installation of solar PV cells on our home. We had discussed going solar two years before we made the call to Southern Energy Management to get it done. In March we signed the contract and, once the permits were obtained, the panels went up in May.

We had a few bumps at the beginning when our inverter malfunctioned. The inverter is the heart of a PV system and ours would frequently send a jolt of overvoltage into our home wiring. After SEM came out and replaced the inverter everything has been working fine. Things have been running so smoothly we tend to forget that we’re a power station.

I blogged about my experiences with solar PV, which led to my friend Scott Huler pointing his Scientific American blog readers to my site. I enjoyed the attention and the extra blog traffic!

Our system doesn’t cover our complete electricity needs but it’s great to be reducing our footprint as much as we are.

Highlights of 2013: Neighborhood changes

Oakwood_North_construction_begins-3
This past year was notable for the changes in our neighborhood. We learned late in 2012 that the Oakwood North subdivision was coming to the Weatherford property across the street from us. Construction was rumored to begin in May 2013 but nothing ever seemed to happen, other than surveyors markers going up on the property. It wasn’t until October that the bulldozers finally came, making short work of the ten acre property. Our quiet dead-end street has since become quite busy, with construction trucks parking outside our home daily.

Around the same timeframe, our neighbors the Giras began construction of their home behind our home. Their site prep work crews got a little overzealous and cleared trees from our property, which the Giras agreed to replace. Meanwhile, their home was built quite quickly and now is days away from being occupied. Despite the tree-clearing snafu, we look forward to having them as neighbors. We will, however, miss the privacy their wooded lot provided between us and Glascock Street.

All of these changes aren’t necessarily for the worse; they’re just different. We look forward to greeting our new neighbors and introducing more people to the joys of living here.

Highlights of 2013: Giving up the Parks board gavel

It was a great year to be chair of Raleigh’s Parks board. In February, I led what I consider the best meeting I’ve ever led. The energy I from these kinds of meetings will leave me giddily bouncing off the walls for hours. It’s a shame that I get good at this right before I have to turn it over to someone else.

I did get some good park dedications this year, some of which I probably didn’t blog about. In April, I gave what was arguably my best speech at the Neuse River Greenway dedication. I followed that up with a speech at the synthetic field dedication at the WRAL Soccer Complex. Though there wasn’t much of a crowd at this one, it was special because my parents got to witness it.
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