Always make sure your mower blade stays safely within the deck itself.
I'm fine, all 5 toes still. Just some minor scrapes and nicks.. but it could have been worse.
Oh, and never accept a mower from a neighbor, no matter how well intentioned, that he has not personally used on his lawn.
And here I was going to podcast for you all today.
Ahh well, photos of the shoe will be forthcoming.
9/18/06
Re-awakened
Sorry for the unscheduled naptime folks, but there are things which take precedence over griping about politics. But now that I have the time again..
Our newly-selected Vice Mayor Mr. David "Fork in the Spoon" Trinkle has something to say. And I'm not sure how this is playing over at Cit.. sorry, Municipal Building.
But what bothers me the most about it is this. He is trying to set the record straight on progress in the city, but in doing so - makes the city look even more short-sighted and unsure of itself than ever.
There are an awful lot of "if"s and unspoken maybes. Sounds like Victory Stadium might be the only major public project to get accomplished this year or next.
School construction not withstanding, but realistically - the funds being used for the renovation of Patrick Henry and William Fleming could have gone to build a 3rd new highschool, and spruce up the 2 old ones.
I don't get it though - but I guess when you have a city council that is not on the clock for the city 24/7, it's hard to focus on priorities. Hard to know whats going on in every sector of the city, especially with the information being filtered through a middle-man (D. Burcham) it's all too easy to just wait for the next report...
This is not to say there is no value to Mr. Trinkle's words, some of his points are interesting - but there is still one major MAJOR issue not being discussed. The boosting of the local tax base..
That one I would like to hear. And all I get is silence.
Our newly-selected Vice Mayor Mr. David "Fork in the Spoon" Trinkle has something to say. And I'm not sure how this is playing over at Cit.. sorry, Municipal Building.
But what bothers me the most about it is this. He is trying to set the record straight on progress in the city, but in doing so - makes the city look even more short-sighted and unsure of itself than ever.
There are an awful lot of "if"s and unspoken maybes. Sounds like Victory Stadium might be the only major public project to get accomplished this year or next.
School construction not withstanding, but realistically - the funds being used for the renovation of Patrick Henry and William Fleming could have gone to build a 3rd new highschool, and spruce up the 2 old ones.
I don't get it though - but I guess when you have a city council that is not on the clock for the city 24/7, it's hard to focus on priorities. Hard to know whats going on in every sector of the city, especially with the information being filtered through a middle-man (D. Burcham) it's all too easy to just wait for the next report...
This is not to say there is no value to Mr. Trinkle's words, some of his points are interesting - but there is still one major MAJOR issue not being discussed. The boosting of the local tax base..
That one I would like to hear. And all I get is silence.
9/12/06
Anyone feeling a little Nero?
Our own Roanoke City Council, represented at the press conference by Gwen and Nelson, have decided that the city should invest more in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Insert joke here.
Actually, this is not an idea that I am totally against. Back in NY, most of the public transit busses are now CNG powered. No real difference in ride or style - reliability runs about the same from what I could tell. I wonder if Valley Metro's next fleet upgrade might be to CNG power? Wouldn't be the worst idea.
That being said, this Greenhouse gas issue, as dubious as the science may be - is hardly important enough to make a huge difference in the lives of Roanoke's citizens.
But meanwhile, in another Roanoke....
Roanoke Rapids, NC - Six months before it is set to open, the Carolina Crossroads complex already is affecting the economy of Roanoke Rapids.
Construction on the nearly $22 million project is creating about 3,000 jobs. Once the complex is running, 3,100 jobs are expected.
Crews have completed the structure of the Randy Parton Theater, which will anchor the musical entertainment development, and are now working on exterior finishes and the interior.
The theater will reflect Parton's talent for design, from the layout of the 1,200-seat auditorium to lighting and sound to a mechanical stage, said Bill Corey, superintendent of the project for J.S. Clark Construction Co.
"Entertainers get on it, then come up to the stage level," he said.
Roanoke Rapids is financing construction of the Randy Parton Theater -- it's the first private project in North Carolina funded with taxpayer money. Parton will make lease payments to the city of about $500,000 a year until the theater is paid off.
_________________________________________________
THAT my friends is something to crow about in a press conference. And yes, it is just off I-95, the coastal version of I-81, only with more bad drivers (and yes, it is possible).
They have the drive, the vision, and the intellegence to build such a thing. The imagination to realize its value to the community, and the bravery to go ahead with a bold plan.
But hey, were going to fight greenhouse gasses!
Is that a fiddle I hear?
Insert joke here.
Actually, this is not an idea that I am totally against. Back in NY, most of the public transit busses are now CNG powered. No real difference in ride or style - reliability runs about the same from what I could tell. I wonder if Valley Metro's next fleet upgrade might be to CNG power? Wouldn't be the worst idea.
That being said, this Greenhouse gas issue, as dubious as the science may be - is hardly important enough to make a huge difference in the lives of Roanoke's citizens.
But meanwhile, in another Roanoke....
Roanoke Rapids, NC - Six months before it is set to open, the Carolina Crossroads complex already is affecting the economy of Roanoke Rapids.
Construction on the nearly $22 million project is creating about 3,000 jobs. Once the complex is running, 3,100 jobs are expected.
Crews have completed the structure of the Randy Parton Theater, which will anchor the musical entertainment development, and are now working on exterior finishes and the interior.
The theater will reflect Parton's talent for design, from the layout of the 1,200-seat auditorium to lighting and sound to a mechanical stage, said Bill Corey, superintendent of the project for J.S. Clark Construction Co.
"Entertainers get on it, then come up to the stage level," he said.
Roanoke Rapids is financing construction of the Randy Parton Theater -- it's the first private project in North Carolina funded with taxpayer money. Parton will make lease payments to the city of about $500,000 a year until the theater is paid off.
_________________________________________________
THAT my friends is something to crow about in a press conference. And yes, it is just off I-95, the coastal version of I-81, only with more bad drivers (and yes, it is possible).
They have the drive, the vision, and the intellegence to build such a thing. The imagination to realize its value to the community, and the bravery to go ahead with a bold plan.
But hey, were going to fight greenhouse gasses!
Is that a fiddle I hear?
9/11/06
one last thing
the final post on 9/11
(there was an image here, but Tripod decided it was being seen to much. Full shot of lower manhattan, towers burning. firetruck on brooklyn bridge heading towards the towers.)
That small truck on the bridge there. Thats Ladder 118, rushing towards the Twin Towers on 9/11. This is the last photo of Ladder 118 in action.
Not one FireFighter on 118 made it home. All hands down. Joseph Agnello, Vernon Cherry, Scott Davidson, Robert Regan, Leon Smith Jr. and Peter Vega.
6 mortal men, determined to do what they can.
If you remember one thing, one single thing about 9/11 - let it be this. Those mortal men, heading for the mouth of hell, and ascending as angels.
(there was an image here, but Tripod decided it was being seen to much. Full shot of lower manhattan, towers burning. firetruck on brooklyn bridge heading towards the towers.)
That small truck on the bridge there. Thats Ladder 118, rushing towards the Twin Towers on 9/11. This is the last photo of Ladder 118 in action.
Not one FireFighter on 118 made it home. All hands down. Joseph Agnello, Vernon Cherry, Scott Davidson, Robert Regan, Leon Smith Jr. and Peter Vega.
6 mortal men, determined to do what they can.
If you remember one thing, one single thing about 9/11 - let it be this. Those mortal men, heading for the mouth of hell, and ascending as angels.
Monday September 11th, 2006
We are awake. Alive. Eyes wide open.
We remember everything.
With pride, honor, dignity, respect
We thank the selfless
2,752 total. 1/2 of which there are no remains for, just the dust that these brave rescuers inhaled endlessly for weeks, which is now killing them - like a 2nd attack.
We remember everything.
With pride, honor, dignity, respect
We thank the selfless
2,752 total. 1/2 of which there are no remains for, just the dust that these brave rescuers inhaled endlessly for weeks, which is now killing them - like a 2nd attack.
9/10/06
unimportant
They are just civil servants right? They have to work just the same as everyone else right? Thats what the general feeling around Roanoke seems to be. Sure, you know they have to fight fires, but who are they to be more important than anyone else?
Well, imagine this was the Wachovia Tower:
On fire, after an attack. People, by the dozens, breaking windows and throwing themselves out to escape the flames. Everyone heading for the emergency exits. 21 floors tall, parking capability of over 700 - probably talking about over 600 employees in the tower.
Now imagine the ground floors look something like this:
Everyone's trying to get out, except this guy.
Cops, Firefighers, EMS... they were all in those two buildings, just as they would be here.
343 FDNY Firefighters
23 NYPD Officers
37 Port Authority PD Officers
Maybe it's time we showed our appreciation for the work the Roanoke Fire/EMS and Police Departments do for us?
23 NYPD Officers
37 Port Authority PD Officers
Maybe it's time we showed our appreciation for the work the Roanoke Fire/EMS and Police Departments do for us?
They might not be perfect, but damned if you'll find one single department anywhere that is.
They need our support, they need higher pay for the dangerous work they do, and they need better support from City Hall, and much less politics so they can do the job they are supposed to do.
Maybe it's time to start asking where DO our tax dollars go, if not to retain Roanoke's Bravest and Roanoke's Finest?
They need our support, they need higher pay for the dangerous work they do, and they need better support from City Hall, and much less politics so they can do the job they are supposed to do.
Maybe it's time to start asking where DO our tax dollars go, if not to retain Roanoke's Bravest and Roanoke's Finest?
Tonight, 7pm at the City Market building.
Come show your support for those who keep us alive.
Show them your grateful.
Come show your support for those who keep us alive.
Show them your grateful.
NY Daily News Editorial on 9/10/01
New York Daily News - http://www.nydailynews.com September 10, 2001 - The world we lost forever
Sunday, September 10th, 2006
Five years ago today, Monday, Sept. 10, 2001, recorded by the chronicles as the final day in the life of a world that used to be and is no more:
Sunday, September 10th, 2006
Five years ago today, Monday, Sept. 10, 2001, recorded by the chronicles as the final day in the life of a world that used to be and is no more:
On the eve of mayoral primaries, after eight years of Rudy Giuliani, a long-shot outsider named Michael Bloomberg appears to be picking up momentum with voters. The Yankees announce a new sports channel called YES. Israel is readying for another no doubt pointless round of truce talks with PLO chief Yasser Arafat. Education-minded President Bush is heading to Florida to read to schoolkids.
Five years ago today: We are not being searched in the subways. We are unalarmed by the sight of valises left on streetcorners. We are not asked to remove our shoes at airport security gates.
Our young men and women are not being blown up daily by roadside bombs in a land far away.
And 2,749 people who work at the World Trade Center or plan to be on airplanes in the morning go safely to their beds, for the last time.
Today, Sept. 10, 2006, these five years along, we remember that world that used to be as a dim and distant place. We were comfortable in that world, most of us; we were confident. "The morning coffee was still cooling," the Daily News wrote two days later, "when our grandest illusion was shattered."
TRIPLE ATTACKS ROCK THE NATION
DEBRIS AND DEATH ENVELOP DOWNTOWN
U.S. SET TO STRIKE BACK
"One day," said The News, "we will think back on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, and remember in crystal detail what we were doing when the first plane crashed into the north tower at 8:45 a.m.
"And we will be amazed that we didn't think it possible before."
Now we are not so naive. Now the unthinkable is always with us, every moment of our lives. We have learned bitterly that pure malevolence roams much of the planet. And for that, we are a wiser and tougher people - and a people both unified and fractured.
Our sons and daughters, our brothers and sisters, our mothers and fathers, they have gone to war now, to an epic clash of civilizations, to a battleground upon which is fought the future. Bravely they go, in the service of the higher ideal, volunteers all. We hail them. We mourn them.
But we have been humbled, and we know that. From an initially jubilant moment of payback in Afghanistan, we are increasingly grieved by one misstep and bumble and embarrassment after another. Our leaders too often frustrate us. Osama Bin Laden is still at large. There is no "Mission Accomplished" in Iraq, far from peacefully settled. The sacred Ground Zero remains a wretched hole, with signs of progress only beginning there. It cannot be said that these have always been the most chest-thumpingly proud five years America has ever known.
It is true that, five years on, there has not been another attack on U.S. soil, and this is not entirely blind luck. Official vigilance has kept the wolves away. The NYPD in particular has done a terrific job. Still, Congress serves up anti-terror funding like so much pork. Video cameras are few and far between in the subways. Our ports are dangerously unpoliced. Border security is a national joke.
And we squander our energies in noisy debates over civil liberties, both those of enemy combatants and those of Americans. Some recoil more at the very idea of offending a captive terrorist's dignity - how perfectly awful of us - than at the prospect of an American city in a heap of smoking cinders. And, minds buried in the olden times before there was popularly known to be such a thing as Islamofascism, before it was understood that medieval barbarians intend to remake all the world as their own golden caliphate, some refuse to recognize that intrusions upon their own personal rights have, in fact, been quite minimal - and that, if and when the gangsters do succeed in striking again, government intrusions will become all the sterner.
If and when. If and when. It was only a few weeks ago that a fleet of bomb-laden jets might well have flown in from Britain.
One day, perhaps, we will look back upon a second 9/11 and remember in crystal detail what we were doing.
And we will be amazed that we allowed it to happen - for we knew full well what kind of new world it was that we were living in, after the old world was stolen from us, the world that still existed five years ago today.
14 dirty words (or 1 word 14 times)
thats the offensive number of times the offensive word FUCK was used by FDNY and the NYPD during the REAL TIME events of 9/11.
Those who have a problem with seeing people in the face of extreme situations using harsh language like that have obviously nothing better to do than sit and bemoan the fact they had to hear something they did not want to hear.
Pardon me, I did not ask to SEE the attacks on 9/11. I did not ask to hear the dead silence of an entire city save only for the sounds of the sirens.
It offended me deeply that someone else decided that I must live through these events, by causing these events.
But the truth of the matter is - when faced with the vast destruction and endless roll of names - there really is only one word.
Fuck.
So to the American Family Association, and those quasi-religious nutballs who I hear talking about the coarse language and images from 9/11 - and how they don't feel the need to be exposed to such things.. Well - not like they are going to be reading my blog anyway..
Fuck off.
Those who have a problem with seeing people in the face of extreme situations using harsh language like that have obviously nothing better to do than sit and bemoan the fact they had to hear something they did not want to hear.
Pardon me, I did not ask to SEE the attacks on 9/11. I did not ask to hear the dead silence of an entire city save only for the sounds of the sirens.
It offended me deeply that someone else decided that I must live through these events, by causing these events.
But the truth of the matter is - when faced with the vast destruction and endless roll of names - there really is only one word.
Fuck.
So to the American Family Association, and those quasi-religious nutballs who I hear talking about the coarse language and images from 9/11 - and how they don't feel the need to be exposed to such things.. Well - not like they are going to be reading my blog anyway..
Fuck off.
9/8/06
I know this might seem a touch long
But read this, if you please.
Just something to think about 5 years out...
You know I will have more to say about it as we approach the day itself, and do not forget that we will be at the memorial service downtown on 9/10.
And to the media:
You can show all the video you want, play 911 calls that have been released, drag up folks who were there when the attacks happened and rake them over the coals for ratings. But you will never come close to those few moments stored eternally in my head - the ones that bring home 9/11 for each of us. You didn't have to be there, or even know the area - It was that feeling of sitting watching the news, total disbelief and gut-churning horror.
5 years later it still lingers. Some of us wait for the other shoe to drop, others have moved on as best they could. But each and every day, there is something - always something that reminds us all. Weather or not we pick up on it is another matter.
But thats all for another post, this is just to show that life continues on.
Just something to think about 5 years out...
You know I will have more to say about it as we approach the day itself, and do not forget that we will be at the memorial service downtown on 9/10.
And to the media:
You can show all the video you want, play 911 calls that have been released, drag up folks who were there when the attacks happened and rake them over the coals for ratings. But you will never come close to those few moments stored eternally in my head - the ones that bring home 9/11 for each of us. You didn't have to be there, or even know the area - It was that feeling of sitting watching the news, total disbelief and gut-churning horror.
5 years later it still lingers. Some of us wait for the other shoe to drop, others have moved on as best they could. But each and every day, there is something - always something that reminds us all. Weather or not we pick up on it is another matter.
But thats all for another post, this is just to show that life continues on.
9/7/06
Some things
First off - Chef K asks me to please point you all in the general direction of his new blog (which is not the one that I started, gave over, then somehow took back) which can be found here: chefkroa.blogspot.com
Something must be bothering him... he seems a bit.. touchy lately.
As for me, I've been busy attempting to find the damn microphone so I can pod again for you, the lucky listeners.
Something tells me one of my evil henchmen hid it on me.
Please bear with us, I promise that by next week we will be back to somewhat normal here.
Of course Forgotten-Roanoke will be out in force this Sunday evening, attending the Regional 9/11 memorial. If the weather co-operates well enough, It might even be the first time in months the Forgotten-Roanoke jacket will be worn out.
And a quick word to city leaders; You have every right to ask for removal of garbage cans from the street in a timely manner, and fine those who do not follow guidelines. That being said - imagine if the cans never wound up there in the first place? Perhaps it's just me - but I would be coming down hard like a biblical rain on the bosses over in the Dept of Sanitation who allow the workers to shove, toss, or outright dump the cans in the street. That is the extreme polar opposite of professional, courtious behavior, and quite frankly - a bad reflection upon the city as a whole.
You allow for citizen complaints of Weeds/Trash violations, but how does one go about changing a system?
Oh right.. thats why Im here..
Remember folks - let's make the Star City shine, again.
Something must be bothering him... he seems a bit.. touchy lately.
As for me, I've been busy attempting to find the damn microphone so I can pod again for you, the lucky listeners.
Something tells me one of my evil henchmen hid it on me.
Please bear with us, I promise that by next week we will be back to somewhat normal here.
Of course Forgotten-Roanoke will be out in force this Sunday evening, attending the Regional 9/11 memorial. If the weather co-operates well enough, It might even be the first time in months the Forgotten-Roanoke jacket will be worn out.
And a quick word to city leaders; You have every right to ask for removal of garbage cans from the street in a timely manner, and fine those who do not follow guidelines. That being said - imagine if the cans never wound up there in the first place? Perhaps it's just me - but I would be coming down hard like a biblical rain on the bosses over in the Dept of Sanitation who allow the workers to shove, toss, or outright dump the cans in the street. That is the extreme polar opposite of professional, courtious behavior, and quite frankly - a bad reflection upon the city as a whole.
You allow for citizen complaints of Weeds/Trash violations, but how does one go about changing a system?
Oh right.. thats why Im here..
Remember folks - let's make the Star City shine, again.
9/3/06
A New Hope (sorry Mr. Lucas...)
100 years ago, crossing Jefferson and Campbell was downright difficult - between the traffic, the muddy streets, and the neverending stream of people hustling about the city - the crossroads of Roanoke was a very hard place to cross.
Shops, stores, merchants, and hotels lined nearly every street in the downtown core. Life was a bustle into the wee hours of the evening, and you'd be hard pressed to find any time you'd not hear some sign of life somewhere.
But that was 100 years ago. Downtown Roanoke today is quiet, for the most part. One block off of Jefferson and Campbell and most days you can hardly find a soul. The city market is still doing strong business - but even that is calm and quiet.
Roanoke has gone from the powerhouse and machinery driving the economy of southwest Virginia to the headquarters for various offices and companies.
Clean, quiet headquarters.
Sure, it can still be tough to cross at Campbell and Jefferson, but usually only when Valley Metro is doing it's departures. And at night, it's nearly noiseless downtown.
Lifeless.
It is time.
In the coming weeks and months, you will be seeing a new Roanoke-Found blog, dedicated to a single thought - single concept;
Make the Star City shine, Again.
Shops, stores, merchants, and hotels lined nearly every street in the downtown core. Life was a bustle into the wee hours of the evening, and you'd be hard pressed to find any time you'd not hear some sign of life somewhere.
But that was 100 years ago. Downtown Roanoke today is quiet, for the most part. One block off of Jefferson and Campbell and most days you can hardly find a soul. The city market is still doing strong business - but even that is calm and quiet.
Roanoke has gone from the powerhouse and machinery driving the economy of southwest Virginia to the headquarters for various offices and companies.
Clean, quiet headquarters.
Sure, it can still be tough to cross at Campbell and Jefferson, but usually only when Valley Metro is doing it's departures. And at night, it's nearly noiseless downtown.
Lifeless.
It is time.
In the coming weeks and months, you will be seeing a new Roanoke-Found blog, dedicated to a single thought - single concept;
Make the Star City shine, Again.
And just when you think you've finally got it...
Story here.
Roanoke Times covered it too..
No offense to Mr. Woody (who looks more than a bit like my grandfather)
but Im sure he has better things to do than spruce up a monument to failure and the
lasting legacy of the Curse of Woodland Park.
Although it does cause me to wonder, if they spruce up the monument - does that
mean the curse is renewed?
Help us all...
Roanoke Times covered it too..
No offense to Mr. Woody (who looks more than a bit like my grandfather)
but Im sure he has better things to do than spruce up a monument to failure and the
lasting legacy of the Curse of Woodland Park.
Although it does cause me to wonder, if they spruce up the monument - does that
mean the curse is renewed?
Help us all...
9/1/06
Try this
Pandora.com
Pick an artist or song you really like, and punch it in. Wait a minute - the system is trying to figure out why you like that song (or artist) and find others like it for you.
On days like today, I like to punch in some Miles Davis, John Coletrane, cool jazz-type stuff for all you hipsters out there.
Then just sit back and let it ride for a while..
I love days like this.
Coming next week (with any luck) the return of the podcast, a site update (now that all hardware is in place again), and some more "on-the-street" work like you have not seen in the past few weeks as we shifted HQ's.
Maybe back over the weekend, maybe not.. see you when I see you.
Pick an artist or song you really like, and punch it in. Wait a minute - the system is trying to figure out why you like that song (or artist) and find others like it for you.
On days like today, I like to punch in some Miles Davis, John Coletrane, cool jazz-type stuff for all you hipsters out there.
Then just sit back and let it ride for a while..
I love days like this.
Coming next week (with any luck) the return of the podcast, a site update (now that all hardware is in place again), and some more "on-the-street" work like you have not seen in the past few weeks as we shifted HQ's.
Maybe back over the weekend, maybe not.. see you when I see you.
8/30/06
I have been trying to find a nice way to put this one
Money is never an easy subject to broach with people, especially people who know they are not making what they should be. All day long I am treated to a litany of "it's a shame they treat us the way they do."
So like I said, I've been searching for a good way to approach the subject, and thankfully.. Mr. Fleitz over at RoanokeFire.com in both the article and the comments finally gives voice to my thoughts.
"Apparently you do not find that odd. Maybe that is the problem with trying to get more money. We have too many people who are perfectly fine making inadequate wages. " (emphasis added)
Exactly. Roanoke is bereft with individuals who are some of the most talented and hard working available anywhere - yet they have had one point pounded into their brains since birth. You are only worth what someone will pay you.
But what someone will pay you is hardly what you are worth to them, but what you accept as pay is hardly half of what you gain for them. And thats where the cycle of worker abuse begins.
When a company keeps payscales low, or inconsistent - the only one who is truly hurt is the company itself. Worker turnover, disloyalty, and unsettled workers (no matter how much you attempt to enforce a "teammate" attitude) lead to loss of goods, services, and time.
Make your choice, accept the crap wages - or make a stand and find someone who is willing to pay, or at least recognize the hard work you do for them.
I could single out businesses that are guilty in this - but it would not matter. Until someone takes a stand, nothing will change.
Nothing.
So like I said, I've been searching for a good way to approach the subject, and thankfully.. Mr. Fleitz over at RoanokeFire.com in both the article and the comments finally gives voice to my thoughts.
"Apparently you do not find that odd. Maybe that is the problem with trying to get more money. We have too many people who are perfectly fine making inadequate wages. " (emphasis added)
Exactly. Roanoke is bereft with individuals who are some of the most talented and hard working available anywhere - yet they have had one point pounded into their brains since birth. You are only worth what someone will pay you.
But what someone will pay you is hardly what you are worth to them, but what you accept as pay is hardly half of what you gain for them. And thats where the cycle of worker abuse begins.
When a company keeps payscales low, or inconsistent - the only one who is truly hurt is the company itself. Worker turnover, disloyalty, and unsettled workers (no matter how much you attempt to enforce a "teammate" attitude) lead to loss of goods, services, and time.
Make your choice, accept the crap wages - or make a stand and find someone who is willing to pay, or at least recognize the hard work you do for them.
I could single out businesses that are guilty in this - but it would not matter. Until someone takes a stand, nothing will change.
Nothing.
8/29/06
wow. just wow.
an actual rendering of the new art museum.
I give up, seriously. No more griping about the waste of space, the loss of revenue, or anything else like that.
No more complaining about the strange mannerisims of the build, or the inherent problems stemming from it (with no regard for surrounding businesses).
Nope - if you can't figure out thats one ugly building, than brother - you deserve it.
Pardon me, whilst I go bleach my eyes.
8/28/06
Observations
Warm, welcoming, and friendly. Not a single neighbor who would not stop to say Hi on the whole street.
They know all about each other (and not just the gossip either), and the story of nearly every house on the block.
They have no intention of leaving this neighborhood, but wish it was more like it used to be. Corner stores, community restaurants, and all the rest.
To talk to them, sometimes turning back the clock is not a bad thing.
According to the wife, we are most likely the 'yuppies' on the block.
At least on this section of it anyway.
She has a way of making me forget the real purpose of moving to this hilltop high above the city, within spitting distance of the Star.
But to me, and rest assured.. this is the perfect opportunity to keep an eye on the city itself.
Still unpacking and assembling devices here at F-R HQ, but interesting things abound. Im hoping to be fully back on daily blogging duty by next week, and start working on the site again by next month.
When the site starts up again, there will be some industrial-sized updates coming down all at once. All of the stuff that has been trapped on the computer for the past 2 months while we secured new HQ will be unleashed. And a good deal of history will come to light.
Look for the post later this week explaining how the City of Roanoke, and the State of Virginia could help YOU find your own HQ.
They know all about each other (and not just the gossip either), and the story of nearly every house on the block.
They have no intention of leaving this neighborhood, but wish it was more like it used to be. Corner stores, community restaurants, and all the rest.
To talk to them, sometimes turning back the clock is not a bad thing.
According to the wife, we are most likely the 'yuppies' on the block.
At least on this section of it anyway.
She has a way of making me forget the real purpose of moving to this hilltop high above the city, within spitting distance of the Star.
But to me, and rest assured.. this is the perfect opportunity to keep an eye on the city itself.
Still unpacking and assembling devices here at F-R HQ, but interesting things abound. Im hoping to be fully back on daily blogging duty by next week, and start working on the site again by next month.
When the site starts up again, there will be some industrial-sized updates coming down all at once. All of the stuff that has been trapped on the computer for the past 2 months while we secured new HQ will be unleashed. And a good deal of history will come to light.
Look for the post later this week explaining how the City of Roanoke, and the State of Virginia could help YOU find your own HQ.
8/25/06
Please, pardon our dust.
Please excuse the mess, as the newly-hired evil henchmen get to work on the new HQ, currently being outfitted with all the latest in user-friendly technology.We will be using this technology to hone in on the City Council, City Of..., County Of.., and certain citizens of...
In other words it will be business as usual here.
History? Oh yes, we will still have history - accurate demonstrations of the city as it was, things uncovered, and all the rest.. just like before. Only now - with 10X the access, 10X the accuracy, and 10X the immersion.
Big things are happening. But please - pardon the dust.
8/22/06
Attention Citizens:
We're back.
There have been some minor glitches along the way - like the power outage last night in SE (had I known the HQ Aquarium was going to be that big a strain... sorry about all that).
And if you will notice, the website itself is down. This is a glitch I am attempting to clear up with Cox, as in the transfer from one HQ to another - somehow all the e-mail addresses were wiped. So, if you have been trying to send me e-mail, roanokeDOTfound@gmailDOTcom is the best way to do it right now.
I'll keep you posted on doings at the new ol' HQ, high on a hill.
Right where I can keep an eye on 'City Hall'.
There have been some minor glitches along the way - like the power outage last night in SE (had I known the HQ Aquarium was going to be that big a strain... sorry about all that).
And if you will notice, the website itself is down. This is a glitch I am attempting to clear up with Cox, as in the transfer from one HQ to another - somehow all the e-mail addresses were wiped. So, if you have been trying to send me e-mail, roanokeDOTfound@gmailDOTcom is the best way to do it right now.
I'll keep you posted on doings at the new ol' HQ, high on a hill.
Right where I can keep an eye on 'City Hall'.
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