The Members Project

American Express is giving cardmembers the opportunity to decide how to spend its money on a worthy cause (up to $5 million).

$1 will be donated by AMEX on behalf of each cardmember simply by registering at the Members Project site (free).

You then can vote for your project choice from the top 5 finalists (all ideas have been submitted by other cardmembers). My choice is shown below.

Raleigh Named "Fast City"!

Raleigh was just named by Fast Company as a Fast City...one of "30 urban centers that are shaping our future".

FC says:

"This region wrote the original recipe for high-tech clusters: Start with careful planning, add a warm business climate, and top with a high quality of life. But don't forget the brains. Three big universities fuel innovation in biotech, pharma, and computer science."

Stop I-40 Crossover Accidents in Wake County

As many of you know, my friend and colleague George Smith was killed on June 4 when a vehicle crossed over the unprotected median of I-40 in Wake County.

Last week, a similar crossover accident occurred - less than 5 miles from the original scene, also on the westbound lanes of I-40.

Please sign the petition below urging the North Carolina Department of Transportation to take immediate action and install a median barrier!

Sign Petition

Raleigh: Third Hottest Job Market in USA

Raleigh was recently designated as the third hottest job market in the USA by Business 2.0...Charlotte was fourth.

From Business 2.0's Raleigh Ranking:

"Raleigh-Durham remains America's top region for tech workers--and is expected to keep expanding faster than other tech hubs like Boston, San Francisco, and Seattle. Last year the metro matched the job-creation record it set in 2000 by adding 38,000 new positions. "This year is going to come in almost as high," predicts Wachovia senior economist Mark Vitner. Like Washington, Raleigh-Durham has a large public-sector base that helps protect it from economic slumps. But its economy is more diverse than Washington's, with expansion in pharmaceutical manufacturing, biotech, and financial services. Raleigh's cost advantages keep drawing more top employers. This fall Fidelity Investments will open a $100 million tech center that will add 2,000 jobs, and Silicon Valley-based Network Appliance is expanding its operations division here. "Raleigh is cheaper," Vitner says, "and has one of the most highly educated workforces in the country."

Business 2.0 - America's Hottest Jobs

George Smith - Dedication at Duke Gardens

This morning, the Duke community dedicated a planting bed in the Sarah P. Duke Gardens to my colleague and friend, George Smith.

We lost George on June 4, a little over 3 weeks ago (see related entry below).

George loved the Duke Gardens and it was a fitting tribute to honor him permanently in this special place.

Garden for George

Sharper Image - Free $20

From today's USA TODAY, here's a link to save $20 off any $60 purchase at the Sharper Image (can be used online, in-store, or by phone)!

Enjoy

Free $20 Coupon

George Smith - We Will Not Forget You

One week ago today, an unthinkable chain of events occurred.

I left for work, as usual, out of our subdivision and onto I-40 West. Before leaving, I ran back into the house looking for my gym clothes and the XM Radio that arrived the Friday before. As a result, I was running about 5 minutes later than I had wanted to.

Anyway, I eventually proceeded onto the I-40 West ramp. Strangely, I noticed that other cars were reversing up the ramp. I was upset that because I was a few minutes late, I now had to deal with a traffic backup. I almost hit the cars who were in reverse. Bizarre.

Of course, traffic was at a standstill at the bottom of the ramp - unusual for this early in the morning. It was 7:17 AM and emergency vehicles were rushing by me on the right shoulder.

Inching my way along, at 7:37 I had traveled 3/4 of a mile in 20 minutes and had reached the accident site. It looked *very* bad and I tried to snap a picture of the scene (while still stopped) on my Treo 700p. I also looked at the site closely as I finally passed it to the left. I saw a silver car with serious front end damage and remember thinking that someone was seriously hurt - I felt really bad for those involved.

Of course, once I got beyond the scene, I managed to get to work about 20 minutes later (though it took about an hour in total). Stacey called me when I arrived at work to see if I was OK, since she had heard about the accident.

When I got to my office, I immediately began to scour online news sources to find out what had happened. Little did I know what would ultimately end up being revealed.

Details slowly emerged...and a couple of hours later a vehicle and age description of my friend and coworker down the hall, George Smith, were published. My heart sank. I felt sick. I could not believe what was happening. If I had not taken the extra few minutes to go back into the house, it could have been me. The tragic accident had happened at 7:15 AM, only 2 minutes before I entered I-40.

More than anything, though, the realization hit me that Goerge was gone. I cannot describe it as anything other than surreal.

As I drove past the scene today (I went around it the rest of last week), I imagined being George and trying to anticipate the moves of the driver in the opposing lanes across the median. Bottom line? It's impossible. With the traffic volume and speed combination at that hour (very busy but still moving fast), you really can't focus on a specific car that far away without risking hitting the car in front of you. Poor George...he never would have seen the car coming at him.

Over the course of the past week, I served in George's funeral and have had a first-hand experience of the void left behind from his death. Lesson? Life is short, (too short) and I think that most people (myself included) tend to forget that reality. Tomorrow is not guaranteed.

Story (Raleigh News & Observer)

Irish Funeral Blessing - Dedicated to George

Death is nothing at all

I have only slipped away into the next room

I am I, and you are you.

Whatever we were to each other

That we still are.

Call me by my old familiar name

Speak to me in the easy way which you always used

Wear no forced air of solemnity or sorrow.

Laugh as we always laughed at the little jokes

We enjoyed together.

Play, smile, think of me, pray for me,

Let my name be ever the household word that

It always was.

Let it be spoken without effort,

Without the trace of a shadow on it.

Life means all that it ever meant

It is the same as it ever was

There is absolutely unbroken continuity.

Why should I be out of mind because I am

Out of sight? I am but waiting for you

For an interval

Somewhere very near

Just around the corner.

All is well.


Canon Henry Scott Holland (1847-1918)