I know this is a bit late, but I just wanted to say congratulations to Chris and Amanda!
Stacey and I were lucky enough to attend their wedding last weekend in Buffalo. It was great to see all our friends in the area and share in this happy event. It couldn't have been a more perfect day in WNY.
Chris and Amanda are now on their honeymoon in Hawaii (hope you're having fun, guys!). Best wishes in your new life together!
Saturday, July 30, 2005
Friday, July 22, 2005
Off "The List"?
Well, I didn't have much confidence that online check in would work for tonight's flight (none, really).
I decided to try anyway like I always do. Needless to say, I was in shock when the system said my boarding pass was available and I could print it now! Huh? It has only been a week since my last flight and I could not print my pass then.
Maybe the TSA actually fixed the issue and took me off "The List"? Only time will tell...
I decided to try anyway like I always do. Needless to say, I was in shock when the system said my boarding pass was available and I could print it now! Huh? It has only been a week since my last flight and I could not print my pass then.
Maybe the TSA actually fixed the issue and took me off "The List"? Only time will tell...
Tuesday, July 19, 2005
10 Year High School Reunion!
This weekend was my 10 year high school reunion! Going into it, I really had no idea what to expect, but I knew one thing - I had to be there!
After flying into Philly around noon on Friday (flight slightly delayed), I picked up the rental car for the 4-hour drive to Elmira. This turned into a 5-hour drive due to an accident on I-81 near Scranton, PA. Once in Elmira, Stacey and I checked in at the hotel to get ready for the Friday night event, happy hour at the Pioneer Sports Bar (formerly the Old Pioneer).
I ran into a couple of old classmates while parking the car and then went into the bar. Once inside, it was great to see so many familiar faces - many that I haven't seen since graduation day!
We hung out at the OP until about midnight, at which time we went back to the hotel for some shut eye.
On Saturday, we tried to see the family during the day, though it's really hard to spend much time with anyone. Everyone is spread out across the area and we just didn't have much time. Before we knew it, we were out of time and needed to be at the "main event" for the reunion.
This was held at Bernie Murray's, a bar on Elmira's Southside that arguably has the best wings in the area (the Elbow Room is my personal favorite).
A DJ was there and a great buffet dinner was provided for the event. More people were able to make it to Saturday's event and I think we ended up with about half the class in attendance. I think that's a great turnout!
I think that I was able to talk to everyone at the reunion (at least for a while). That was my goal, so I feel good that (I think) I accomplished it. In high school, I was a little on the shy side (which I regret now), but people change and mature and I'm no exception. It was great to see what everyone is up to in their lives. I took some great pictures of those who were able to make it and (with Stacey's help) will get them posted, along with anyone else's who wants to share, to the NDHS alumni site.
On Sunday, we got Wegmans subs for lunch and then visited more family and the Corning Museum of Glass. I haven't been to the museum in about 15 years, so that was great to see again. After leaving the museum, we visited my brother and his family, as well as my dad, and had dinner at Tag's.
On Monday, we decided to leave early in case we ran into traffic on the way back to the Philly airport. This turned out not to be the case, as we made it in the 4 hours it should take. Little did we know we would end up regretting this early arrival. Due to thunderstorms and air traffic control delays, our flight back to RDU was delayed over 3 hours! Since we had arrived early, we spent almost 8 hours in the terminal before boarding our flight. That means that we could have DRIVEN back to Raleigh in only another half hour! Oh well, such is traveling in the summer.
All in all, I had a great time at my reunion and am glad I was able to make the trip. I know of others who really wanted to be there but could not be, so I am especially glad that it all worked out for me to be there!
After flying into Philly around noon on Friday (flight slightly delayed), I picked up the rental car for the 4-hour drive to Elmira. This turned into a 5-hour drive due to an accident on I-81 near Scranton, PA. Once in Elmira, Stacey and I checked in at the hotel to get ready for the Friday night event, happy hour at the Pioneer Sports Bar (formerly the Old Pioneer).
I ran into a couple of old classmates while parking the car and then went into the bar. Once inside, it was great to see so many familiar faces - many that I haven't seen since graduation day!
We hung out at the OP until about midnight, at which time we went back to the hotel for some shut eye.
On Saturday, we tried to see the family during the day, though it's really hard to spend much time with anyone. Everyone is spread out across the area and we just didn't have much time. Before we knew it, we were out of time and needed to be at the "main event" for the reunion.
This was held at Bernie Murray's, a bar on Elmira's Southside that arguably has the best wings in the area (the Elbow Room is my personal favorite).
A DJ was there and a great buffet dinner was provided for the event. More people were able to make it to Saturday's event and I think we ended up with about half the class in attendance. I think that's a great turnout!
I think that I was able to talk to everyone at the reunion (at least for a while). That was my goal, so I feel good that (I think) I accomplished it. In high school, I was a little on the shy side (which I regret now), but people change and mature and I'm no exception. It was great to see what everyone is up to in their lives. I took some great pictures of those who were able to make it and (with Stacey's help) will get them posted, along with anyone else's who wants to share, to the NDHS alumni site.
On Sunday, we got Wegmans subs for lunch and then visited more family and the Corning Museum of Glass. I haven't been to the museum in about 15 years, so that was great to see again. After leaving the museum, we visited my brother and his family, as well as my dad, and had dinner at Tag's.
On Monday, we decided to leave early in case we ran into traffic on the way back to the Philly airport. This turned out not to be the case, as we made it in the 4 hours it should take. Little did we know we would end up regretting this early arrival. Due to thunderstorms and air traffic control delays, our flight back to RDU was delayed over 3 hours! Since we had arrived early, we spent almost 8 hours in the terminal before boarding our flight. That means that we could have DRIVEN back to Raleigh in only another half hour! Oh well, such is traveling in the summer.
All in all, I had a great time at my reunion and am glad I was able to make the trip. I know of others who really wanted to be there but could not be, so I am especially glad that it all worked out for me to be there!
Monday, July 11, 2005
Day at the Beach
I finally made it to the beach this weekend!
Yeah, I know the calendar says July, but it's been busy. At any rate, it was good to finally get there and just relax (if you call GMAT studying relaxing). I wish that I was staying for the whole week.
The water temperature was in the 80's and there were more people there than usual. It's amazing to see the continued growth of the area (Topsail Island). The trip was uneventful with the only exception being I narrowly escaped a speeding ticket on the way back (the highway patrol pulled over the guy that I passed). Note to self: NEVER leave the radar detector at home!
Yeah, I know the calendar says July, but it's been busy. At any rate, it was good to finally get there and just relax (if you call GMAT studying relaxing). I wish that I was staying for the whole week.
The water temperature was in the 80's and there were more people there than usual. It's amazing to see the continued growth of the area (Topsail Island). The trip was uneventful with the only exception being I narrowly escaped a speeding ticket on the way back (the highway patrol pulled over the guy that I passed). Note to self: NEVER leave the radar detector at home!
Friday, July 8, 2005
I-40 Widening Shot Down (Officially)
The finalized 2006-2012 Transportation Improvement Plan (TIP) was released yesterday.
Link
No surprise...the I-40 widening was shot down, and is only programmed for construction in "post years", meaning "some time after 2012". What an outrage!
The thing that really gets me is that they had the nerve to put in the following statement at the beginning of the document:
"The projects in the TIP reflect the voices of our citizens. During the development of this plan, NCDOT held a series of meetings across the state to gater public input. The 2006-2012 tim will help us fulfill Governor Mike Easley's vision for One North Carolina - a state where every community matters and every individual counts."
Yeah, right. Every individual counts? Why is it then that not a single one of the DOT meetings was scheduled in the Traingle Region? The closest was in Rocky Mount. I'll tell you why, beacuse the Traingle is where they took away over $300 million in funding for critical road projects and the DOT was AFRAID to hold a meeting here. Consequently, they scheduled it an hour away to minimize turnout.
The DOT obviuosly does not care about the needs of the driving public in the Triangle Region. Supposedly, the funding was reallocated to rural areas to be more equitable. Screw the rural areas, I say. The Traingle generates far more tax revenue than these areas, and that money should stay here. To neglect our own area for the sake of rural county "X" makes no sense whatsoever.
Great job, DOT. Maybe in 2012, traffic will be stopped all the way to Durham along I-40 due to your incompetence. I hope you take joy in the fact that you are responsible for not only serious traffic delays, but also the deaths of innocent motorists that could have been prevented.
Link
No surprise...the I-40 widening was shot down, and is only programmed for construction in "post years", meaning "some time after 2012". What an outrage!
The thing that really gets me is that they had the nerve to put in the following statement at the beginning of the document:
"The projects in the TIP reflect the voices of our citizens. During the development of this plan, NCDOT held a series of meetings across the state to gater public input. The 2006-2012 tim will help us fulfill Governor Mike Easley's vision for One North Carolina - a state where every community matters and every individual counts."
Yeah, right. Every individual counts? Why is it then that not a single one of the DOT meetings was scheduled in the Traingle Region? The closest was in Rocky Mount. I'll tell you why, beacuse the Traingle is where they took away over $300 million in funding for critical road projects and the DOT was AFRAID to hold a meeting here. Consequently, they scheduled it an hour away to minimize turnout.
The DOT obviuosly does not care about the needs of the driving public in the Triangle Region. Supposedly, the funding was reallocated to rural areas to be more equitable. Screw the rural areas, I say. The Traingle generates far more tax revenue than these areas, and that money should stay here. To neglect our own area for the sake of rural county "X" makes no sense whatsoever.
Great job, DOT. Maybe in 2012, traffic will be stopped all the way to Durham along I-40 due to your incompetence. I hope you take joy in the fact that you are responsible for not only serious traffic delays, but also the deaths of innocent motorists that could have been prevented.
Thursday, July 7, 2005
Message to NCDOT
Below is the message that I sent to the NCDOT regarding the Transportation Improvement Plan (TIP). Hopefully, they get the message since neither of the division representatives responded to my direct email.
Hello,
I am writing to express my opinion regarding TIP Number I-4744, which relates to the widening of I-40 in Wake County from Wade Ave. to US 1/64.
I am dismayed that the DOT has not included the construction of this critical road segment in its draft version of the TIP and hope that it will reconsider this decision, given the extreme daily congestion caused by the bottleneck in this area as well as the number of traffic accidents occurring here.
This project would have a tremendous benefit for the entire Triangle region, and should not be delayed any longer. As a motorist who commutes daily along I-40 from West Raleigh to Durham, I can say that the problems in this area have only become worse in the past several years, and ignoring this critical 3 mile segment of I-40 will be a poor decision going forward, with the area's continued growth.
Thank you for hearing my concern as you work to finalize the TIP.
Hello,
I am writing to express my opinion regarding TIP Number I-4744, which relates to the widening of I-40 in Wake County from Wade Ave. to US 1/64.
I am dismayed that the DOT has not included the construction of this critical road segment in its draft version of the TIP and hope that it will reconsider this decision, given the extreme daily congestion caused by the bottleneck in this area as well as the number of traffic accidents occurring here.
This project would have a tremendous benefit for the entire Triangle region, and should not be delayed any longer. As a motorist who commutes daily along I-40 from West Raleigh to Durham, I can say that the problems in this area have only become worse in the past several years, and ignoring this critical 3 mile segment of I-40 will be a poor decision going forward, with the area's continued growth.
Thank you for hearing my concern as you work to finalize the TIP.
Wednesday, July 6, 2005
Raleigh City Council Meeting
Today I learned that there would be a meeting held at Raleigh city Hall to discuss which Raleigh road projects should be given priority to present to the NC DOT. Despite needing to go to the gym, I thought it was important to voice my concerns at this discussion. Luckily, I was able to go to the gym, get a shower, and make it to City Hall by the 7 PM start time.
I have never been to City Hall or a council meeting before, so I had no idea what to expect. Upon arriving, I picked up a copy of the meeting agenda and discovered that the road project discussion was at the end of the list of items to be covered. Most of the initial items were covered quickly.
When it came time to dicuss the Transportation Imrovement Plan (TIP) priority list, public comment was solicited. I expected many people to give feedback. As I looked around the room, however, NO ONE offered comment. At that point, I decided to go forward and express my concern over the I-40 widening from wade Ave to US1/64. If you have read my earlier post on this subject, you know that it's an important issue for me.
Despite listening to my concern (and agreeing this project is necessary, I think), the city council took the attitude that smaller, more neighborhood-specific projects should be at the top of the list. I think this is beacuse of the smaller dollar amounts required by such projects as well as the fact that they relate to areas well within the city limits.
This is unfortunate, but at least I expressed my opinion to the mayor and city council. Even though this stretch of I-40 runs right along the line of the Raleigh city limits, it is, in my opinion, the most critically needed road project in the Triangle. This is how many people coming to Raleigh travel, and the backups in this area have a definite impact on business and leisure travel to the city. Many Raleigh residents (myself included) experience the severe daily congestion and accidents caused by this 3-mile bottleneck.
After the council meeting had adjourned, I was interviewed by News 14 Carolina (cool) regarding my concerns. You can see the story and video at the following URL:
http://rdu.news14.com/content/top_stories/?ArID=71726
I have never been to City Hall or a council meeting before, so I had no idea what to expect. Upon arriving, I picked up a copy of the meeting agenda and discovered that the road project discussion was at the end of the list of items to be covered. Most of the initial items were covered quickly.
When it came time to dicuss the Transportation Imrovement Plan (TIP) priority list, public comment was solicited. I expected many people to give feedback. As I looked around the room, however, NO ONE offered comment. At that point, I decided to go forward and express my concern over the I-40 widening from wade Ave to US1/64. If you have read my earlier post on this subject, you know that it's an important issue for me.
Despite listening to my concern (and agreeing this project is necessary, I think), the city council took the attitude that smaller, more neighborhood-specific projects should be at the top of the list. I think this is beacuse of the smaller dollar amounts required by such projects as well as the fact that they relate to areas well within the city limits.
This is unfortunate, but at least I expressed my opinion to the mayor and city council. Even though this stretch of I-40 runs right along the line of the Raleigh city limits, it is, in my opinion, the most critically needed road project in the Triangle. This is how many people coming to Raleigh travel, and the backups in this area have a definite impact on business and leisure travel to the city. Many Raleigh residents (myself included) experience the severe daily congestion and accidents caused by this 3-mile bottleneck.
After the council meeting had adjourned, I was interviewed by News 14 Carolina (cool) regarding my concerns. You can see the story and video at the following URL:
http://rdu.news14.com/content/top_stories/?ArID=71726
Sunday, July 3, 2005
CFUNITED : Final Day
Today was my final day in DC. After checking out of the hotel, Stacey and I abandoned our bags, and hit the White Flint Metro.
We debated about going to the Mall to a Smithsonian museum or the music festival they were having, but ultimately decided to go to the National Zoo since we had never been there before.
We got off the Red Line at Woodley Park and had lunch at Chipotle (Mexican). After lunch, we walked a couple blocks up Connecticut Ave to the zoo.
I wasn't quite sure what to expect, given the mixed reviews I had heard in the past. Overall, it was pretty decent. I especially liked the Giant pandas *awesome*!
After the zoo, we took the Metro back to Bethesda to get in the car and head to Wegmans in Fairfax of the Beltway/I-66! You know it...Wegmans! This time, we bought a rolling Igloo cooler and stocked it up with Sahlen's hot dogs, and other assorted Wegmans specialties, of course. This was all after downing a Wegmans sub in the Market Cafe!
After leaving Wegmans, we hauled ass down I-95 (with all the other 4th of July traffic). Despite stopping around Lorton, Fredericksburg, and Ashland due to volume, we made ot from the Beltway to our driveway in exactly 4 hours (not too shabby for 280 miles!)
We debated about going to the Mall to a Smithsonian museum or the music festival they were having, but ultimately decided to go to the National Zoo since we had never been there before.
We got off the Red Line at Woodley Park and had lunch at Chipotle (Mexican). After lunch, we walked a couple blocks up Connecticut Ave to the zoo.
I wasn't quite sure what to expect, given the mixed reviews I had heard in the past. Overall, it was pretty decent. I especially liked the Giant pandas *awesome*!
After the zoo, we took the Metro back to Bethesda to get in the car and head to Wegmans in Fairfax of the Beltway/I-66! You know it...Wegmans! This time, we bought a rolling Igloo cooler and stocked it up with Sahlen's hot dogs, and other assorted Wegmans specialties, of course. This was all after downing a Wegmans sub in the Market Cafe!
After leaving Wegmans, we hauled ass down I-95 (with all the other 4th of July traffic). Despite stopping around Lorton, Fredericksburg, and Ashland due to volume, we made ot from the Beltway to our driveway in exactly 4 hours (not too shabby for 280 miles!)
Saturday, July 2, 2005
CFUNITED : Day 3
I started today with "CFMX Mobile SMS Applications Made Easy". It was interesting to see the possibilities opened with this functionality in CF 7. After this, I attended the House of Fusion's book auction in the sponsor area. I can't believe that more people didn't show up for this! Maybe it was because there was a session going on simultaneously? At any rate, I won a couple of good titles at very good prices. The most valuable to me professionally will be a SQL Server performance tuning book with a cover price of $50 that I won for $20.
Following the book auction, I attended to "CF in Government" session to see if there was anything valuable that would also apply to an educational environment, but there really wasn't. It turned out to be more of a marketing presentation than anything else. But, hey - free CF 10th birthday t-shirt to add to the collection! Lunch was next on the agenda.
After lunch, New Atlanta presented the keynote on Blue Dragon. I haven't really used it before, but it does have a lot of great features and is available for free (with limitations). I especially liked the advanced debugging features that are coming in a future release (most likely not free).
I closed the day with an overview of Farcry, a CF based CMS (free). For being free, Farcry has a ton of functionality and looks like it would be really cool for template driven sites.
The wrap-up was next. The remaining presenters (very few) were honored on stage as well as closing comments. Then came the prize giveways. I didn't win anything (forgot my survey) but Stacey won the biggest prize (a full version of CFMX 7 = $1200) after saying that she never wins anything! Go, Stacey!
Following the book auction, I attended to "CF in Government" session to see if there was anything valuable that would also apply to an educational environment, but there really wasn't. It turned out to be more of a marketing presentation than anything else. But, hey - free CF 10th birthday t-shirt to add to the collection! Lunch was next on the agenda.
After lunch, New Atlanta presented the keynote on Blue Dragon. I haven't really used it before, but it does have a lot of great features and is available for free (with limitations). I especially liked the advanced debugging features that are coming in a future release (most likely not free).
I closed the day with an overview of Farcry, a CF based CMS (free). For being free, Farcry has a ton of functionality and looks like it would be really cool for template driven sites.
The wrap-up was next. The remaining presenters (very few) were honored on stage as well as closing comments. Then came the prize giveways. I didn't win anything (forgot my survey) but Stacey won the biggest prize (a full version of CFMX 7 = $1200) after saying that she never wins anything! Go, Stacey!
Friday, July 1, 2005
CFUNITED : Day 2
Today opened with "Designing and Coding for Search Engines". This session pointed out several issues relating to how to improve your site's ranking, some of which I was aware of, others that I wasn't.
After this, I attended "SQL Server Performance Tuning", which I would say was the most relevant session to my current work projects. I felt like I would be happy if this session went on for the rest of the day, or better yet - a whole week!
The keynote was next - from Microsoft on the future of IIS. MS seems to be incorporating many of the features that Apache has had for years into its IIS 7 release, and it's about time! I particularly enjoyed the ability to monitor individual requests that will be part of the new IIS.
After lunch, I hit the gym again and took a break before going to "Consuming Popular Web Services". It was interesting to see how the incorporation of external data has evolved from screen scraping to SOAP and how everything seems to be moving in the direction of web services.
I closed the day's sessions with another search engine optimization presentation as well as an overview of Flash and .NET integration on the desktop before dinner (cool). After dinner, I went to the blog readers/writers BOF session (a bit late) followed by the CF birthday event on the terrace of the hotel. Free beer and wine, and cake! A busy, but good day!
After this, I attended "SQL Server Performance Tuning", which I would say was the most relevant session to my current work projects. I felt like I would be happy if this session went on for the rest of the day, or better yet - a whole week!
The keynote was next - from Microsoft on the future of IIS. MS seems to be incorporating many of the features that Apache has had for years into its IIS 7 release, and it's about time! I particularly enjoyed the ability to monitor individual requests that will be part of the new IIS.
After lunch, I hit the gym again and took a break before going to "Consuming Popular Web Services". It was interesting to see how the incorporation of external data has evolved from screen scraping to SOAP and how everything seems to be moving in the direction of web services.
I closed the day's sessions with another search engine optimization presentation as well as an overview of Flash and .NET integration on the desktop before dinner (cool). After dinner, I went to the blog readers/writers BOF session (a bit late) followed by the CF birthday event on the terrace of the hotel. Free beer and wine, and cake! A busy, but good day!
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