15 Minutes Without Text... Sorta
Jul 23, 2008 at 09:37PM A Poem For Greensboro Developer Roy Carroll
Jul 23, 2008 at 08:38PM High-rise Huckster
He put his name on towers tall
for everyone to see.
Bribed politicians, every one
from penthouse luxury.
Built monuments to honor him
as if he were a god
but only when he segwayed
would he even get a nod.
And while I like Officer Ryan Todd I'd like to thank N&R photographer, Scott Hoffman for this photo of Officer Todd illegally crossing a downtown Greensboro street on his Segway. Perhaps Todd can use this photo the next time he teaches a bicycle safety class to our local elementary students.
Update: Sean has more on GPD Segway Cops.
The Greensboro Chicken Report
Jul 23, 2008 at 04:42PM From today's News & Record:
"And though that might seem a revolutionary concept to the citified — people who use words like “sustainability” and “artisanal” — to Simmons, it’s second nature.
“It would not be a disgrace to go back to that, in my thinking,” Simmons said. “Sometimes you get too high and forget where you came from. That’s my theory.” Please continue reading.
Kudos to Joel Landau.
“Right now a lot of homeowner groups prohibit it,” said planning board member Joel Landau, “just like they prohibit clotheslines. They think it detracts from the appearance. They may just have to get used to it.”
I can't remember a time when the Greensboro home I live in wasn't a mini farm. For people in Greensboro's upper class neighborhoods to deprive poor neighborhoods of fresh food is just plain wrong. I do remember my surprise when my mother explained to me that most people ate vegetables from the grocery store. Even to a 5 year old it seemed a waste of money that could have been better spent on toys.
And yes, considering the current lack of bees nationwide and a worldwide shortage of fish I am considering a hive and a huge tank for my backyard.
Link via Ed Cone.
Yo Ho Woah!
Jul 23, 2008 at 03:45PM Beware the Pirate Muncher
as you sail to your atoll.
The island may be your's to claim
but the muncher takes your soul.
Your crew may sink a thousand ships,
rule every port of call
but when the muncher takes a bite
the pirates always fall.
And you wondered why the pirate has a wooden leg.
Poetry Herpes Is The Least Of My Worries
Jul 23, 2008 at 01:58PM That's one of the problems with Herpes. For some of us the symptoms are nothing more than an annoyance, easily passed off as a heat rash, infected pimples or other minor irritation. The incidents are few and often years apart and for many of us so minor it's easy to believe them something else.
To those of you who I might have passed Herpes to you have my apologies. Had I admitted the truth to myself I would have been up front with you. Sadly, the person most easily convinced is too often the person doing the lying.
Fact is: At this point in my life Herpes really is the least of my concerns as last week I suffered two very minor strokes.
My first known stroke was July 26, 2004. While I forget a lot it's easy to remember the date as it is also my mother's birthday. My daddy died from a stroke a few days after I returned from the hospital. Until a few months ago I'd managed to control my blood pressure, get in better shape and drop over 30 pounds. At 198 pounds I'm now the lightest I've been since I was 19. I doubt that most 52 year old men or women can say the same.
But something changed back about April and I again started having problems with my blood pressure rising. My doctors tried several different drugs with the results being wildly up and down swings in blood pressure. Some days it dropped so low I almost died, and on other days my readings were so high I was risking more strokes. Last Sunday and last Friday I suffered two minor strokes.
On Monday I started a new drug called, Aggrenox, and while my blood pressure is again normal the side effects were enough to send me home from work early yesterday and keep me home today. I'm told the side effects, abdominal pain, back pain, diarrhea, dizziness, fatigue, headache, indigestion, joint pain, nausea and all over body pains might go away someday. Thankfully, while I've been close the vomiting and bleeding have yet to happen.
But even the side effects of the new drug aren't my biggest concern. Missing work is a big concern. There have been days when I managed Salvage America alone and there is no waymyself, my boss or anyone else can do it alone. On any day when both of us are unable to be in the office much goes undone inside and outside of the office, mistakes are made, customers lost and tensions build. I've access to all the company books so I know the extent of the damage.
Then there's the expensive tests my doctors want me to take. I don't even know what all of them are but I'm told they will cost thousands even after the 55% discount Cone Hospital is offering me. We're a small, young business that is barely scraping by with debts out the wazoo and never enough of anything. Even my boss, his wife and two babies are without medical insurance.
I don't know why this always happens to me. Every time I begin to get on my feet a medical bill knocks me down. I've still not paid off the medical incident that put me down and caused me to loose my home in 2000 or the stroke in 2004 and now this.
Fact is: If it wasn't for the trickle of ad revenue this blog brings in I wouldn't even be able to tell you this. So you see, Herpes really is the least of my concerns.
Day Job Blog Confuseus On Blog Layouts
Jul 22, 2008 at 06:39AM Seems as if there's nothing I can do to satisfy the wilted old sage of Confuseus.com.
Confuseus sez, "Poet not satisfied with page layout so him screw it up worse."
Sherry Chandler Explodes The Dog
Jul 20, 2008 at 09:15PM Clever Cleavers
Clever cleavers lie in wait
your fate, they only know
for clever cleavers don’t hesitate
come time to strike a blow.
Beware the clever, lest ye bleed,
and the cleavers with their wit
for if you stand to close to them
they’ll cut you into bits.
My thanks to Sherry Chandler for inspiring this Exploding Dog Poem-- a tribute to Sam the real Exploding Dog. If you’d like to become the inspiration for an exploding dog poem and earn a link back to your website or blog then send a title suggestion to idleblogs (AT) yahoo.com and I’ll do my best to write it. So far I’ve managed 100% so odds are good you’ll get that link.
15 Minutes In Amsterdam
Jul 20, 2008 at 06:23PM Today, on 15MinutePoet.com:
By Fenny Sterenborg
Empty minded
I stare into the distance
the beauty of the scenery
whisks by
while the light wobbling
Please continue reading
Why I No Longer Participate In Greensboro's Recycling Program
Jul 20, 2008 at 08:30AM Like many businesses the largest expense a recycling business faces is the costs associated with transportation-- namely $5.oo per gallon diesel fuel in trucks that get around 5 miles per gallon.
In Greensboro, FRC, the privately owned company that manages Greensboro's recycling doesn't have to pay for transportation costs because mine and your tax dollars are footing the bill. Imagine if taxpayers were picking up the tab for the transportation costs associated with your business. Add that to the fact that the company that handles Greensboro's recycling pays very low wages and offers few benefits and you'll understand the sweetheart deal this company has with the City of Greensboro.
That's not to say I don't still recycle-- I do recycle. As a matter of fact I'm currently recycling things FRC sends to the landfill at taxpayers' expense.
Because all recyclable commodities are currently trading at all-time record high prices I get paid to recycle the products you are paying to haul away. And contrary to popular beliefs, almost everything is recyclable.
If your church, school, non-profit or civic group wants to raise needed funds and practice sustainable living then I highly recommend you pool your resources and get paid to recycle Greensboro. Everything you put in those big brown City of Greensboro recycling cans and more can be sold as recyclable salvage.
World Class Poets Untie?
Jul 19, 2008 at 07:54PM It was with a little help from another world class poet that I found the poet I'm featuring tonight. So despite the fact that this is the slow season for blogging I hope you enjoy today's 15 Minute Poet.
by Jessica Fox-Wilson
I begin writing the book in my head.
Chapter One: Swallow your pride. Tips include:
Ignore the itchy tingling in your skin; erupt
in flashes, then apologize profusely.
His book says we sit in silence
while Janet looks at her open hands.
Chapter Two: Know someone who gets angry
well. Remember your parents yelling
or not and burying their rage. Watch your husband
sit in silence for hours. Feel observed all the time.
Please continue reading.
Know a poet you'd like to see featured at 15MinutePoet.com? Yourself perhaps? If so then contact me.
