Last weekend, Stacey and I went to see the Aviator for my birthday. I have been waiting to see this movie for a while now and am glad that I finally got the chance to see it!
I thought that the movie was well acted, but seemed a bit long. I really enjoy aviation so the storyline was definitely appealing to me. Also, I am not by any means a Leonardo fan but he did a great job in the role of Howard Hughes.
I would highly recommend this movie!
Monday, January 31, 2005
Thursday, January 27, 2005
Running Again!
It has been well over a month since I last ran (at Kiawah Island) on December 11.
Today, I finally got back at it after being cleared last week to run again.
I only ran a couple of hours at the Duke trail today but it does feel great to be back at it! More to come! The 60 degree weather today sure helped to get me motivated!
Today, I finally got back at it after being cleared last week to run again.
I only ran a couple of hours at the Duke trail today but it does feel great to be back at it! More to come! The 60 degree weather today sure helped to get me motivated!
Friday, January 21, 2005
The Worst Commute Of My Life
It all started very innocently yesterday. It was supposed to be a cold day (for NC) with highs in the 20's and a chance of flurries. No accumulation was forecast. Yeah, I know...flurries! So what, you say? Well, that's what I was thinking until yesterday afternoon.
The supposed flurries arrived just before noon. The problem was that these flurries did not go away - they got stronger and stronger, until there was a general heavy snowfall. It lasted for over two hours and ultimately covered not only the grassy surfaces and buildings, but every untreated roadway in the Triangle with over two inches of the white stuff.
Panic ensued.
The first thing to happen was the local schools announcing that they were closing early. Bear in mind that the Wake County Public School System alone is one of the largest systems in the country with over 100,000 students. With this unexpected snow event, where were the students to go and who was to pick them up?
More panic.
Parents heard about the schools closing, looked outside and freaked out. A mass exodus of employees all around the area soon followed, and by 2 PM, everyone and their brother was on the roads. Problem? You bet - no one here knows how to drive in icy or snowy conditions! Bigger problem? The DOT, only expecting flurries, was nowhere to be found. Hundreds of accidents followed and total gridlock soon spread throughout the Triangle like wildfire. Accidents brought traffic to a halt. Authorities could not get to the scenes to clean them up. The DOT now could not spread salt or sand if they wanted to. All major roadways were at a standstill, and most secondary roadways are only accessible from one of these prime thoroughfares (I-40, I-440, I-540, US-70, NC-147, NC-54). All of these roads were now at a dead stop.
What now?
Chaos was now the word of the day. As the afternoon wore on, all remaining commuters decided to hit the roads. They had nowhere to go, however, since those who left early were going nowhere fast. I was one of them. I decided it was better to stay later than leave early and be out with all the idiots.
I checked the WRAL traffic cams before heading out around 4:15. Of course, all the traffic cams on my route showed total gridlock and I heard on the radio to avoid I-40 at all cost. I planned accordingly and decided to go one of the back ways to Raleigh. Apparently, so did everyone else.
As I began my journey onto NC-147, I quickly came to a dead stop after only being on the road for about a mile. Since there was no end in sight to the traffic ahead of me, I decided to exit the highway and head for US-70 Business, another way to get home from Durham. The roads in downtown Durham were in good condition and relatively traffic free. Once I got to the intersection with US-70 Business, however, traffic came to a stop. This road, too, had fallen victim to gridlock. I reluctantly awaited my turn to enter the stopped roadway. This was the only viable alternative. Two hours later, I had traveled as far as Brier Creek, just barely inside of the Wake County line. I assumed it would get better from here. I was wrong. The roads quickly turned to a sheet of ice. Drivers who had been on the roads for hours were now tired. Some, who had slid off the road, abandoned their vehicles - both on and off the roadway. Others who ran out of gas did the same. Others were taking bathroom breaks in the median. Just to give some perspective, it took an hour to get from Brier Creek plaza to the Angus Barn, which is less than a mile.
I ended up taking the Ebenezer Church (aka ice skating rink) shortcut since it had almost been 5 hours when I reached its turnoff. I decided it was worth the risk to avoid probably at least another two hours sitting on the road. There were about 30 abandoned cars/trucks and 4 deer on and off the sides of the road and it was pretty much a solid sheet of ice with patches of black ice thrown in on the bare patches.
By the time I got in the garage, it had been 5 hours and 20 minutes since I pulled out of the Duke parking lot. Unbelievable. My previous record was 3 and a half hours driving to work in Buffalo during a blizzard! Who would have thought that this record would be surpassed by measly flurries? Only in NC!
Unfortunately, I was not the worst case scenario. Others were stuck in their cars for upwards of 12 hours and a coworker of mine took over 7 hours to get home.
See other horror stories at WRAL.com
CNN - Surprise Snow Stuns North Carolina
The supposed flurries arrived just before noon. The problem was that these flurries did not go away - they got stronger and stronger, until there was a general heavy snowfall. It lasted for over two hours and ultimately covered not only the grassy surfaces and buildings, but every untreated roadway in the Triangle with over two inches of the white stuff.
Panic ensued.
The first thing to happen was the local schools announcing that they were closing early. Bear in mind that the Wake County Public School System alone is one of the largest systems in the country with over 100,000 students. With this unexpected snow event, where were the students to go and who was to pick them up?
More panic.
Parents heard about the schools closing, looked outside and freaked out. A mass exodus of employees all around the area soon followed, and by 2 PM, everyone and their brother was on the roads. Problem? You bet - no one here knows how to drive in icy or snowy conditions! Bigger problem? The DOT, only expecting flurries, was nowhere to be found. Hundreds of accidents followed and total gridlock soon spread throughout the Triangle like wildfire. Accidents brought traffic to a halt. Authorities could not get to the scenes to clean them up. The DOT now could not spread salt or sand if they wanted to. All major roadways were at a standstill, and most secondary roadways are only accessible from one of these prime thoroughfares (I-40, I-440, I-540, US-70, NC-147, NC-54). All of these roads were now at a dead stop.
What now?
Chaos was now the word of the day. As the afternoon wore on, all remaining commuters decided to hit the roads. They had nowhere to go, however, since those who left early were going nowhere fast. I was one of them. I decided it was better to stay later than leave early and be out with all the idiots.
I checked the WRAL traffic cams before heading out around 4:15. Of course, all the traffic cams on my route showed total gridlock and I heard on the radio to avoid I-40 at all cost. I planned accordingly and decided to go one of the back ways to Raleigh. Apparently, so did everyone else.
As I began my journey onto NC-147, I quickly came to a dead stop after only being on the road for about a mile. Since there was no end in sight to the traffic ahead of me, I decided to exit the highway and head for US-70 Business, another way to get home from Durham. The roads in downtown Durham were in good condition and relatively traffic free. Once I got to the intersection with US-70 Business, however, traffic came to a stop. This road, too, had fallen victim to gridlock. I reluctantly awaited my turn to enter the stopped roadway. This was the only viable alternative. Two hours later, I had traveled as far as Brier Creek, just barely inside of the Wake County line. I assumed it would get better from here. I was wrong. The roads quickly turned to a sheet of ice. Drivers who had been on the roads for hours were now tired. Some, who had slid off the road, abandoned their vehicles - both on and off the roadway. Others who ran out of gas did the same. Others were taking bathroom breaks in the median. Just to give some perspective, it took an hour to get from Brier Creek plaza to the Angus Barn, which is less than a mile.
I ended up taking the Ebenezer Church (aka ice skating rink) shortcut since it had almost been 5 hours when I reached its turnoff. I decided it was worth the risk to avoid probably at least another two hours sitting on the road. There were about 30 abandoned cars/trucks and 4 deer on and off the sides of the road and it was pretty much a solid sheet of ice with patches of black ice thrown in on the bare patches.
By the time I got in the garage, it had been 5 hours and 20 minutes since I pulled out of the Duke parking lot. Unbelievable. My previous record was 3 and a half hours driving to work in Buffalo during a blizzard! Who would have thought that this record would be surpassed by measly flurries? Only in NC!
Unfortunately, I was not the worst case scenario. Others were stuck in their cars for upwards of 12 hours and a coworker of mine took over 7 hours to get home.
See other horror stories at WRAL.com
CNN - Surprise Snow Stuns North Carolina
Thursday, January 13, 2005
Welcome, Ripley!
Ripley, our new cat, is now home with us (well, sort of - he is currently quarantined in the guest bathroom)!
We picked him up from Second Chance Pet Adoptions here in Raleigh earlier this week.
He is very affectionate and never stops purring! Tasha is not yet a fan, but I think that's primarily because she doesn't quite know what is behind the door.
It could be an evil space alien for all she knows :0)
We are keeping the two of them apart for now so that they can get used to each other slowly instead of throwing them in the ring for a bitchy cat fight.
We picked him up from Second Chance Pet Adoptions here in Raleigh earlier this week.
He is very affectionate and never stops purring! Tasha is not yet a fan, but I think that's primarily because she doesn't quite know what is behind the door.
It could be an evil space alien for all she knows :0)
We are keeping the two of them apart for now so that they can get used to each other slowly instead of throwing them in the ring for a bitchy cat fight.
Tuesday, January 11, 2005
No-Fly List
I found out this weekend when traveling to NY that my name appears on the one of the TSA's "lists", the "Selectee List". Although this is not as bad as being on the full fledged "No Fly List", it means that my boarding pass will be stamped with a special "S", or Scarlet Letter upon checking in - if the airline rep gets the "OK" when they call in for approval to issue it. I will be subjected to additional security measures every time I fly.
This is ridiculous. I am obviously not a threat to this country. This is just another example of how incompetent our government is in dealing with the real terrorist threat.
After doing some research with my friend Google, I was able to determine that the "Selectee List", currently administered by the TSA, is sent to each of the airlines individually on a scheduled basis. It is then up to the airline to import the data into their own reservations systems (i.e. Sabre) and conduct matching of the TSA data to passenger names following their own protocols. The scary part of this is that name matching is the only thing going on here. Would anyone design a database using "name" as a primary key? I don't think so. Why? Because there can be more that one
individual with the same name, so it is not a unique identifier. Apparently this simple logic is lost on the TSA.
My best guess as to why my name appears on this list is that there is another Michael Rogan from Northern Ireland that is an accused terrorist in a car bombing case. He is in custody, however, so I'm not sure why the name would be on the TSA's list.
How does one get off this list, you ask?
Good question. I was rudely told by the US Airways representative at RDU International that she has no information on that, that I would need to contact "the FAA or someone in the government". Gee, thanks for the help. I will laugh at your sorry ass standing in the unemployment line with the other US Airways employees later this week!
In reality, she was actually sort of correct in her idiotic statements. There really is no established procedure to get one's name off either the "No Fly" or "Selectee List". I found several cases of individuals that have been trying unsuccessfully for months or sometimes longer to get their names stricken from the lists. Who has been successful? Well, Sen. Ted Kennedy, for one. But, it took him 3 or 4 phone calls to his connections at Homeland Security to finally get his name removed.
I am not going to let this matter rest until my name is removed from the "Selectee List". It is both embarrassing and humiliating to be subjected to these unnecessary measures in the plain view of other passengers.
I have contacted the TSA to launch an inquiry into why my name appears on their list and have requested my removal. They said that I will be receiving "a letter" in the mail. In the meantime, I just learned that a law was signed into effect just before the holidays that mandates the TSA to allow appeals to names that are on either list.
See Washington Post article on this new law.
Relevant links:
Hundreds Report Watch-List Trials (Washington Post)
Duke University Professor Finds Himself on the 'No-Fly' List (ABC 11 - Raleigh)
Clark County Schools Chief Name on TSA No-Fly List (Channel 3 - Las Vegas)
This is ridiculous. I am obviously not a threat to this country. This is just another example of how incompetent our government is in dealing with the real terrorist threat.
After doing some research with my friend Google, I was able to determine that the "Selectee List", currently administered by the TSA, is sent to each of the airlines individually on a scheduled basis. It is then up to the airline to import the data into their own reservations systems (i.e. Sabre) and conduct matching of the TSA data to passenger names following their own protocols. The scary part of this is that name matching is the only thing going on here. Would anyone design a database using "name" as a primary key? I don't think so. Why? Because there can be more that one
individual with the same name, so it is not a unique identifier. Apparently this simple logic is lost on the TSA.
My best guess as to why my name appears on this list is that there is another Michael Rogan from Northern Ireland that is an accused terrorist in a car bombing case. He is in custody, however, so I'm not sure why the name would be on the TSA's list.
How does one get off this list, you ask?
Good question. I was rudely told by the US Airways representative at RDU International that she has no information on that, that I would need to contact "the FAA or someone in the government". Gee, thanks for the help. I will laugh at your sorry ass standing in the unemployment line with the other US Airways employees later this week!
In reality, she was actually sort of correct in her idiotic statements. There really is no established procedure to get one's name off either the "No Fly" or "Selectee List". I found several cases of individuals that have been trying unsuccessfully for months or sometimes longer to get their names stricken from the lists. Who has been successful? Well, Sen. Ted Kennedy, for one. But, it took him 3 or 4 phone calls to his connections at Homeland Security to finally get his name removed.
I am not going to let this matter rest until my name is removed from the "Selectee List". It is both embarrassing and humiliating to be subjected to these unnecessary measures in the plain view of other passengers.
I have contacted the TSA to launch an inquiry into why my name appears on their list and have requested my removal. They said that I will be receiving "a letter" in the mail. In the meantime, I just learned that a law was signed into effect just before the holidays that mandates the TSA to allow appeals to names that are on either list.
See Washington Post article on this new law.
Relevant links:
Hundreds Report Watch-List Trials (Washington Post)
Duke University Professor Finds Himself on the 'No-Fly' List (ABC 11 - Raleigh)
Clark County Schools Chief Name on TSA No-Fly List (Channel 3 - Las Vegas)
Wednesday, January 5, 2005
Happy New Year!
Happy New Year to everyone! I hope that everyone is ready for 2005 and had a great holiday season!
Is it summer already? It has been unusually warm here in Raleigh for the past week and is expected to reamin this way throughout the 10 day extended forecast. What is unusually warm? How about 75-80 degrees?! Definitely not early January weather...
The National Weather Service says it all:
...RECORD EVENT REPORT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH NC 420 PM EST TUE JAN 4 2004
... RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE SET AT THE RALEIGH DURHAM INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT...
THE HIGH TEMPERATURE AT THE RALEIGH DURHAM INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT FOR JANUARY 4TH WAS 76 DEGREES. THIS BREAKS THE OLD RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE OF 75 DEGREES FOR THIS DATE... WHICH WAS RECORDED IN 1950 AND 1997.
To everyone in Raleigh, enjoy!
Is it summer already? It has been unusually warm here in Raleigh for the past week and is expected to reamin this way throughout the 10 day extended forecast. What is unusually warm? How about 75-80 degrees?! Definitely not early January weather...
The National Weather Service says it all:
...RECORD EVENT REPORT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RALEIGH NC 420 PM EST TUE JAN 4 2004
... RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE SET AT THE RALEIGH DURHAM INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT...
THE HIGH TEMPERATURE AT THE RALEIGH DURHAM INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT FOR JANUARY 4TH WAS 76 DEGREES. THIS BREAKS THE OLD RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE OF 75 DEGREES FOR THIS DATE... WHICH WAS RECORDED IN 1950 AND 1997.
To everyone in Raleigh, enjoy!
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