Don't Back Down

Earlier this week, the Garinger Wildcats broke their 51-game losing streak without playing a down. It seems that both North Mecklenburg and Vance, who the Wildcats played earlier this year, used ineligible players, which will cause them to forfeit their games. The Wildcats played North Meck on August 24, when they lost 41-0 and Vance on September 14, losing 49-0. While I'm sure that they are glad to see the streak end, I would have to imagine that it would be good to see a win on the field. Maybe next week (they lost to Hopewell 49-14 this week).

Meanwhile, the Big Three - Butler, Independence and West Charlotte - seem to be hitting their strides this week. The way that this season has gone thus far, it might only be for a week, but it is certainly better than nothing, as maybe the season has finally started in earnest for these teams.

Read "Garinger Wins Without Playing, Breaks Streak" »

It strikes me as I'm driving down the road (listening to the radio) that perhaps things have gone a bit far when it comes to licensing. Now don't get me wrong, I understand that people want to protect their property - whether it is intellectual property, such as software, or actual property, such as a brand in which they have invested or even a trademark.

But maybe - just maybe - things are a little out of hand when someone isn't allowed to say the name of the local football team or the big game that they play at the end of the year without writing out a check to someone. That's ridiculous. It's not like they don't know who they are talking about. I mean I understand wanting to protect your investment and all, but come on people!

Read "Licensing Gone Awry" »

I tend to work with any number of web hosts on a daily basis through my work as a computer and network consultant, and for the most part, they are all the same. Day in and day out, there is really very little difference between hosts - when everything is running smoothly. What really makes the difference is when things aren't running smoothly, and that's why I've chosen to keep my own sites at pair Networks. Their tagline of World Class Web Hosting may seem to be just a bit of marketing fluff, but I have to say that I'm really sold on it.

Some years ago, when I first ventured online, it was through bulletin boards. As with a lot of people - at least a lot of people that I knew - I started off calling into boards, and later ran one of my own. Often it was an adventure in trying to be popular enough that people came by, but not so popular that people couldn't get in. This analogy actually corresponds quite well to web hosts these days.

Read "The Long and Winding Road to pair Networks" »

Yesterday we visited the 2007 edition of the Festival in the Park - the 43rd go-round of this annual staple at Freedom Park.

As is usually the case for the event, the streets around the park are absolutely packed - so you'll want to be prepared to walk a bit (not to mention walking within the park itself), however this year some churches were supposed to be offering "satellite" parking so that you didn't have to fight the crowds. Park at the church - which cost $5 - and get a ride right to the festival doorstep.

Or you could fight the crowds, park wherever you find a free spot, and walk yourself in. Depending on what you prefer to do, you have plenty of options. We happened to find a free spot on a lawn, just outside the park gates, so our walk was limited to the length of the parking lot (still perhaps half a mile or so - it's a hefty lot). Even if you chose to park yourself without using the shuttle service, the walk wasn't bad - unlike the Charlotte Dragonboat Festival held earlier this year.

Read "43rd Annual Festival in the Park" »

Last night, order was restored to high school football in Charlotte.

The Butler Bulldogs, Independence Patriots and West Charlotte Lions all won.

Alas, all was not quite as it seemed, as there may be troubles still lurking in some of those waters, so we'll have to keep an eye open to see what happens in the coming weeks. But for those of you who have stayed up late to watch the scores and watched nervously, it was at least one week where you didn't suffer heartburn - the teams that were supposed to win did win.

Ready for the details? I've got them for you here.

Read "Butler, Independence and West Charlotte Win" »

Early this week, the New York Times stopped charging for access to parts of the web site. Obviously part of this comes from the fact that online advertising is doing well. Just look at Google to see this - a huge amount of their profit is derived from advertising.

I've long maintained that access to online data should remain open, and it's really irritated me when it doesn't. I strive to keep the archives here available - a feat which isn't easy if I move things around. And I understand that it's not always easy to do if you have as much data as a newspaper or an online portal. But storage is cheap and advertising plentiful. Why shouldn't archives be free?

Read "New York Times Opens Site, Who is Next?" »

Almost two years ago, over a period of roughly six months, I had to deal with Suncom. Fortunately, I never actually had Suncom as a carrier - I had AT&T, which had to divest some assets, which were owned by Suncom, but since the phone I had wasn't carried by Suncom, I was able to get out of the contract. Unfortunately, I had to switch carriers. Then I had to transition away from Suncom.

You'd think that might be all, but it wasn't. It was just the beginning, even though it took over a month. It took another five months, and another series of posts to really sever the ties with Suncom. The problem wasn't really the phone service. Since I was with AT&T, I didn't have an issue. My problem was the customer (dis-)service.

Read "Suncom on the Way Out, T-Mobile on the Way In" »

Just over a week after taking over the top spot in the Sweet 16 from the Independence Patriots, the Butler Bulldogs have lost it. In a game that was delayed from Friday night due to some severe weather that passed through the area (lightning strikes were seen all over town), the West Charlotte Lions have done what didn't seem possible - they have handed the Bulldogs their first loss of the young season.

A number of games Friday night were postponed due to the bad weather. Some, like the Patriots' win over Vance, was called in the third quarter, and not scheduled to be completed (the Patriots were ahead 28-0 at the time, so I guess it was better than continuing the game). But others, like the Lions and the Bulldogs, were games that both teams wanted to complete, so they were rescheduled for later. The game of the week finished last night, on a perfect night for football, made better because it was free (and there was nothing else happening).

Read "West Charlotte Lions Tackle Butler Bulldogs" »

As we were on the way to the lake today, we noticed something next to the road - a turtle! Those of you who have been reading for a while probably realize that we're a bit sappy when it comes to animals in need (we already have four stray dogs), and seeing a turtle along the side of the road trying to decide whether to cross or not, well, it just hits us right in the breadbox. So naturally I made my wife pull over and turn around so we could check him out.

The poor little guy was just sitting there, with his legs all tucked up under the shell, his head barely poking out. I'm not sure if he was just intimidated by all the cars passing by or if he had been hit by someone already - but being that he was on the stripe next to the road, I figured that I needed to at least move him off to the side. Since the kids were in the van, I thought that the least I could do was show them, so I took him so they could see. Luckily, he wasn't too big. The last turtle we saw near the road was a monster - when I tried to move him, I almost lost a hand.

Read "Fluffy Lucky Ogee Wilson Everett, or The Eastern Box Turtle" »

Exactly six years ago today, our country underwent one of the most gut-wrenching moments in its existence. Nineteen people hijacked four airplanes were hijacked. Two of the planes crashed into - and eventually toppled - the world trade centers in New York City. One crashed into the Pentagon in Washington. The fourth crashed into a field in rural Pennsylvania. At this writing, 2974 deaths were directly attributed to the attacks.

It is an easy leap to attribute a huge number of additional deaths to this, as the United States sent a military force to Afghanistan and Iraq. It's quite possible that those tallies will never be accurate, but the numbers are certainly much, much higher - both on our side and on theirs. Whether right o wrong, a number of lives have been lost.

What is interesting to me is that one of the issues with those planes is that the hijackers knew how to turn off the emergency locator beacon in the planes, so that their exact location could not be found. It seem that if you are going to hijack a plane, this would be a really, really good idea. Hijack the plane, and turn off the signal so that no one can find you. Is it hard to do? I don't think so.

Read "Maybe we Should Hide the Emergency Locator Beacon" »

In 1986, I was in high school when I had my first seizure. I was at a friend's house and we were playing Boggle. That's about all I remember. According to him, I sort of half-stood and then leaned over, as if I was playing some sort of other game, and shortly thereafter he realized that I wasn't. That's when he got his mom, who realized that I was having a seizure. I'm glad that she had worked in a day care environment and knew what it was, as I had no idea. It was my first.

I went to the doctor and some time later was diagnosed with epilepsy, which doesn't really help - it just means that you are prone to seizures. Thanks, doc. For the next twenty or so years I took Dilantin of varying strengths. My mom tells me that when I was in high school, I had so much in my that I slept. It may have just been school. I don't really recall. But about eighteen months ago, my neurologist decided that it was time for a change. He suggested Zonegran.

Read "Eighteen Months of Zonegran and I Feel Fine" »