A survey by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg planning Dept

Got some opinions on how Charlotte is being developed? Tell the yokels in charge at the survey link to here.

Being there

I know I have mentioned it before but one of my favorite Youtube searches is the name of the racetrack of NASCAR's most recent race. A couple of days after that race you can usually find some good footage shot from the stands. I like how you get a good feel of what it's like to be at that race from a fan's point of view. I found this nice footage of the last lap of this year's Daytona 500 that demonstrates my point.

Video bowling in a retirement home

OK, if this article doesn't legitimize gaming in the library, I don't know what will. Well, I guess the amazing numbers they rack up for those gaming nights legitimizes gaming more than old people Wii bowling in Chicago. I've been thinking outlould recently that I thought the Nintendo people hit one out of the park when they undercut Microsoft and Sony and built a cheaper system that only played games instead of trying to be the core of your home entertainment system. I was leaning that way and became completely convinced when I talked to a gentleman who had brought his son in to participate in my most recent Madden tourney (which bombed by the way). He essentially said that there was no way he was going to spend $600 on a system his son was going to use in a small room upstairs that had been set aside for the kids. I'll bet this guy will be a Wii next Christmas and not a Playstation 3 or an Xbox 360. I think I may also.

In case you were wondering

Yes, Dick Cheney is still a scum sucking fear mongerer. This from ABC news: "Cheney also had harsh words for Democratic leaders, including Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Rep. Jack Murtha, D-Pa., who says he wants to stop the surge of more U.S. troops into Iraq.

Cheney said Pelosi and other Democrats were pushing a policy in Iraq that would "validate the al Qaeda strategy."

"I think if we were to do what Speaker Pelosi and Congressman Murtha are suggesting, all we'll do is validate the al Qaeda strategy," Cheney told ABC News.

"The al Qaeda strategy is to break the will of the American people, knowing they can't win in a stand-up fight, try to convince us to throw in the towel and come home and then they win because we quit," he said."

Toothless wussy-ass opposition to a failed war policy now validates the strategy of a group that has a small presence in the country they weren't in to begin with? He is a disgrace to his office.

Bit Torrent Goodness

At the bottom of this webpage there is a torrent featuring a song from every headliner at the SXSW shindig down in Austin in March. Over 700 bands and songs. Have fun.

Accessible SF

I've read in quick succession recently two novels by an up and coming SF writer named John Scalzi. I've been reading his blog and he brought up an entry he made a while back concerning entry level SF. Specifically, SF for people that don't read science fiction.

Personally I have always found good science fiction to be entry level science fiction. Every new science fiction (or fantasy) novel has to introduce readers to a new universe and a good writer should be able to do that for a long time SF reader and someone that has never picked up a SF book before. I think Cormac McCarthy's "The Road," Roth's "The Plot Against America" and Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale" all straddle that line nicely.

Him say enemy is us

I have been reading Pat Lang's blog consistently for several months now. He always has something intelligent and nonpartisan to say about current international affairs. I'm pretty sure I've mentioned him before but I just like what he has to say. I'd like to point you towards a piece he wrote for the journal Foreign Policy recently: "...our foreign policy tends to be predicated on the notion that everyone wants to be an American."

Dadgummit

I get home from work around 6:15 yesterday. There is still a nice chunk of the Daytona 500 left and the race is under caution. Cool, I can sit and watch the end of the race before dinner. As the cars come off pit road who is in the lead? Why only my favorite driver, Mark Martin, in his new 01 Ginn Racing Army car. Holy crap, Mark Martin is leading the Daytona 500 with less than thirty laps left? That's huge! It's a dream!

Since this is Daytona and they are racing with evil restrictor plates there was a wreck late in the race. Because of that we had to sit through a green/white/checkered finish which is essentially a two-lap shootout. On the final trek through the trioval on the front stretch Kevin Harvick was able to squeeze by Martin and get a win by less than half a car length. It was agony. Agony! All those years of watching Mark finish second to Gordon and Ironhead for the championship had set me up for a gloriously unexpected Daytona victory. It wasn't to be.

Not only did Mark not win the 500 but he lost to Harvick who is driving Earnhardt's old car. Once again, that former Goodwrench Chevy #3 finishes ahead of Mark Martin. It ain't fair.

The picture below is what I saw mocking me on the cover of the Charlotte Observer this morning when I went to drop "Departed" into the Big Red Box at the Harris Teeter. Sometimes being a Mark Martin fan feels like you're a Cubs fan.



The look on Mark's face right here pretty much mirrors how I was feeling when I watched him not come home with the win when he had the best chance he's ever had at winning the biggest race of the year


More of the agony


Of course, any race that features a car finishing it while sliding on its roof isn't a complete loss


I think it hurts a little less with the cars less dominate in the frame.

Blogging Kitties

Just in case you thought the internets were not completely filled with worthless shit then you should head on over to my cat's blog.

Woe is me

My computer died yesterday. I don't know if it's the motherboard or the power switch and I don't have the know how to find out. I went to both Radio Shack and CompUSA and neither store had replacement switches. I reckon I might have to buy a new case and, if I have to do that, I might as well get a new motherboard anyway. I need a new CPU so I can play Civilization IV. I gots to get it fixed because I have been really enjoying posting MP3's on the blog. I've heard from a couple of people that have downloaded, listened to and enjoyed the music. That's pretty cool. No music for at least a week and probably longer though.

What really bums me out about the computer going tits up is that I was using the computer as the sound system in my room. Now I gots no tunes in my bedroom. I didn't realize how much I counted on that computer for music until yesterday. My room felt like a tomb without the usual jams.

Lie here and shake for a while

A few of the best shows I saw in Charlotte in the early 90's were by the local band called Me and Emma. I saw them a few times at the Milestone and what I remember most vividly are the lights being turned way down, a long haired lead singer snarling his lyrics and a mesmerizing power trio pushing a wall of sound over onto the crowd. What I liked about Me and Emma, what really grabbed me, was the intensity and desperation of the singing and playing without the normal macho agressive stance.

I remember singer and guitar player, Tim MacLean had two guitars with him one night. One was much more beat up than the other. After he slammed the older guitar off the wall behind the stage of club I began to refer to that older guitar as his "throwin' guitar."

I also remember eventually that Tom Montefusco played with Me and Emma a couple times as a second guitarist. Those shows were played with the lights on at the Milestone, a little less chaos but with a much tighter band. Those were special shows.

The MP3 I link to below is the song Shake by Me and Emma. It's off a release called "Muthahutch" that came out in 1992. This song features an very intense ending. It's one of my favorite song endings and puts a perfect exclamation point on the song. It's not even like the song ends, it's more like the narrator just wants the listener to go the fuck away.

For more information on this band you can visit the website of the singer, Tim Maclean. You can also download Me and Emma songs and, if you explore the site a little further, you can download recent material that Tim has recorded.

Me and Emma Shake

Also, I took one of my favorite live photographs at a Me and Emma show at the Milestone around 1993 or 1994. I know I've shown this picture to a lot of people but I'll share it one more time.