La Strada Pizza and Pasta Groupon

There's a Groupon up right now for La Strada Pizza and Pasta in Wesley Chapel. It expires in a little under 4.5 days, although it says a limited quantity is available so I guess it could end sooner.

It's essentially a $10-for-$20 deal. See here for all the gory details.

Of note, La Strada is supporting Siler Presbyterian's July Jamaica Mission Trip. A percentage of each bill on Sundays goes directly to support the mission trip if you mention Siler Presbyterian. While the Groupon is good into November, the mission trip is in July, giving you some idea as to when you'd need to dine there in order to provide support.

It's like killing two birds with one stone: getting a meal at a discount while supporting a good cause. But perhaps killing two birds with half a stone is the more accurate analogy.

Details of the the La Strada Groupon are here if the aptness of this last metaphor is what sold you.

Sky High Sports Groupon

There's currently a Groupon deal for Sky High Sports that essentially gets you two hours of trampoline time for the price of one. Sky High Sports is the place in Pineville with wall-to-wall trampolines.

Some of the specifics:

$9 for two hours of jump time for one person Monday–Thursday (up to an $18 value).
$12 for two hours of jump time for one person Friday–Sunday (up to a $24 value).

The deal expires November 3, 2012 and lasts for another day and a half.

View the deal for all the details.

My kids have been talking about going there for ages, so I picked a couple up for them to use during the summer doldrums or sooner if circumstances require.

Victims of Communism Day

I'll get back to Waxhaw in my next post, but Ilya Somin over at the law blog Volokh Conspiracy has been recognizing May Day as Victims of Communism Day, a way to commemorate the 80-100 million victims of communism. And given the astronomical figures of those killed, it seems something worth remembering.

I've barely cracked open my copy of the Black Book of Communism, but it's the go-to book to learning about the tragic multi-millions who've died in pursuit of the communist dream.

3 dead in Lancaster County car crash

This is a sad and strange story occurring just outside Waxhaw. According to an article in the Herald:

Van WYCK -- The bodies of three people who died in a crash Christmas Eve in Lancaster County were found down a steep embankment by railroad employees Tuesday.

Lancaster County Coroner Mike Morris arrived at the bridge at U.S. 521 and S.C. 75 near the Van Wyck community about 1 p.m. and pronounced the victims – Darrell Christopher Fisher, 48, of Catawba; his sister Jerilyn Fisher, 47, of Rock Hill; Jerilyn Fisher’s son, William Breon Fisher, 16, of Catawba – dead at the scene

Morris said based on talking to family members he and Highway Patrol determined the crash occurred between 11:30 a.m. and 3 p.m. Dec. 24. After checking with the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office, they discovered one of the Fishers’ sisters reported the family members missing.

The car was not visible from the road, he said.

Read the whole thing.

WSOC has more details on this tragedy as well. Plus a video.

Santa Picture Groupon

Since we moved to the Charlotte area, we've been getting pictures with Santa at Carolina Place Mall in Pineville. The Santa there has been the same since 2003, so we've been going back year after year.

This weekend there's a Groupon deal for a photo package with Santa at Carolina Place Mall, Concord Mills Mall, or Monroe Crossing Mall. So if you plan on getting your Santa picture at any of those locations, you may want to consider the following deal.

$11 for Photos with Santa Claus and a Dasher Print Package ($22.99 Value)

The Dasher package gives you (1) 5 x 7 and (2) 3.5 x 5 pictures for $11. We've always just gotten the single 5 x 7 in the past and while I don't remember the specific price, I seem to think it alone was over $11 in years past.

This deal expires Tuesday at midnight, so there's still a couple days to get it if you're interested.

Somewhat local Groupon

Not in Waxhaw mind you, but in Monroe.

It's a deal for a winery tour at the Treehouse Vineyards for 2, 4, or 6 people.

I bought the 6-person version figuring it'd be a fun little trip to drag some friends along with us. So if you're friends with us, then you might want to consider buttering my wife and I up if you want to be selected as one of the exclusives guests to accompany us on this Groupon outing.

The specifics:

For $12, you get a winery tour for two, plus one take-home bottle of wine (a $25 value).
For $22, you get a winery tour for four, plus two take-home bottles of wine (a $50 value).
For $30, you get a winery tour for six, plus three take-home bottles of wine (a $75 value).

The winery-tour outing includes:

* A tour of the vineyard
* A wine tasting
* Wine glasses for each guest

This deal lasts through tomorrow so you've got about 24 hour to take advantage of it if you're interested.

How was the festival weekend?

We were out of town last weekend so we missed Autumn Treasures, the associated BBQ cookoff, and whatever other numerous events were going on.

I hope everyone had as good a time in Waxhaw as we had at the beach. We stayed at a place called Dunes Village which featured an indoor water park, besides the beach that was a stone's throw away. The kids absolutely loved it.

In fact, my youngest told me this evening he liked Myrtle Beach better than Waxhaw. Waxhaw's going to have to work pretty hard to win him back.

Sorry for killing your son

This is somewhat strange story. Samir Khan at one time was a Charlotte supporter of Al Qaeda. He was discovered a few years ago and lived in Charlotte as an outed supporter of jihad for some time.

I eventually read that he had traveled to Yemen, which has become something of a haven for Al Qaeda and its offshoot, Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsular (AQAP).

Another traitorous American, Anwar al-Awlaki, was the leader of this branch of Al Qaeda. Well, apparently these two hooked up and Samir Khan was killed in the strike that took out Anwar al-Awlaki.

Well, the State Department has now called the Khan family to apologize, per a Charlotte Observer article.

See here for some more details. If you want to see the text of the "I Am Proud to be a Traitor to America" article illustrated at the previous link, it appears to be intact here.

It seems odd to apologize to his family given how he openly aligned himself with Al Qaeda, but I suppose that's a consequence of him being an American citizen taken out by an American strike authorized by our president. I can only assume it's a disingenuous apology precipitated by legal and/or political concerns.

Plaza Fiesta playground deal

This is a little outside of town, but for anyone who likes to take their kids to the giant indoor playground at Plaza Fiesta Carolinas near Carowinds, there's a half-off deal running right now in Juice in the City, a Groupon-like website.

$4 for 2 Child Admissions to Happy Zone at Plaza Fiesta

While you won't achieve massive savings from the deal, it will give you a little extra money to spend in the nearby arcade afterwards if you choose.

It appears this deal runs for the next 3.5 days for those interested.

Couple local deals

This isn't in Waxhaw but nearby. LivingSocial has a deal going for the next six days for Sports Connection near Ardrey Kell and 521.

For $7, you get one attraction and a $5 video game card, good for bowling, the bounce room, or Laser Tag. Click here for all the details.

I got four of them and envision our family duking it out for laser tag supremacy. Is there any doubt that I expect to be the last man standing when the dust ultimately settles?

On another note, for those who like City Tavern in Piper Glen, they've got a Groupon deal going through tomorrow -- either $10 for a $20 gift certificate or $20 for a $40 gift certificate. Click here for all the details.

Aw shucks, another Groupon

Aw Shucks has a good Groupon for essentially half off general admission tickets. The specifics are that you can purchase two general admission tickets for $8 and you're allowed to purchase two of this Groupon, so you can get tickets for a family of four for just $16.

We try to head to Aw Shucks once a year (I've posted about last year's trip), so if you've been never been, you're not likely to beat this price. And it's pretty fun, especially if you've got younger kids.

Check out all the details of the Groupon here.

Drug deal gone wrong in Marvin

Apparently a drug deal went bad in the Hunter Oaks neighborhood in Marvin last night. First spice, now weed.

WSOC has the story and video:

MARVIN, N.C. -- A suspected drug deal that ended in a shooting Sunday night has authorities worried about drugs infiltrating a Union County high school.

Cameron Cook, 17, was arrested Monday morning after deputies said he shot 19-year-old David Thomas Powell III three times in a small park in the Hunter Oaks subdivision in Marvin.

...

Luke said the drug deal points to a bigger problem at Marvin Ridge -- an increased drug trade targeting area teenagers.

WCNC has a more detailed story with embeddable video, so as far as I'm concerned, WCNC > WSOC. A snippet before the news clip:

Police collected about $800 worth of pot and other drug dealing paraphernalia at the scene and at least five people were involved in the incident.

...

“We’ve been working on this for awhile and recently the activity had intensified. It was getting to the point where there are fistfights, kicking fights…groups of boys getting larger,” Kelley said.

...

“I feel like we have a front row ticket to a show we do not want to watch," she added.

Cook is charged with possession with intent to sell or deliver marijuana, felony possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia and felony assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury.

Groupon-like deal for Riverbanks Zoo

This isn't Groupon, but something similar.

If you're looking to take the family, friends, or even hard-working under-appreciated local bloggers to the Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia by August 31st, this seems to be a pretty good deal.

4-Pack of Tickets, Plus Gift Shop Discount, at the Riverbanks Zoo and Garden for $23.50 ($47 value)

The only thing holding me back from getting this for the family is the deadline of 8/31/11. It's a pretty busy summer, so I'm not sure we'd get there by that time. I will have to pow-wow with the missus to see what she thinks.

Oh, and one more thing -- you've only got 31 hours left to decide. Bwahahahahah!

UPDATE 9:42 PM: After a lengthy conference between my better half and I (in which I may or may not have laid out a thorough list of pros and cons), we decided to get this one. Nice family day trip.

Chick-Fil-A now open

The 521 Chick-Fil-A previously mentioned opened last Thursday. My wife and I were driving by last Wednesday evening when the tents filling the parking lot threw us for a brief loop before the missus remembered the yearly giveaways at each new Chick-Fil-A opening.

I tried to get a picture on the way back, but my phone camera did not take into account the super speeds at which my wife would driving. And for that, I apologize.

See what I mean? You can just make out a tiny subset of those tents next to the giant leaf air freshener.

It was a sight to see though; a year's worth of Chick-Fil-A is quite a draw. Can anyone clarify what that means? A meal a day? A meal a week?

Celebrate the end of the school year

The Well Fargo Family Fun Fest will take place tomorrow at the Blakeney Shopping Center from 4-9pm. We went last year and had a pretty good time.

I recall the kids getting their pictures taken with Luigi of Super Mario fame as well as a couple Carolina Panthers cheerleaders.

Then there was the rock wall, the bounce slides and obstacle courses.

This year, Kid's Zone Fun passes will run $5, which is a pretty nominal fee to keep them busy for a while. And it goes to a good cause, benefiting the Boys & Girls Club and the Salvation Army.

Bureaucrats run amuk

Can you think of a better title for this?

Can SC save the incandescent light bulb?

South Carolina lawmakers are taking steps to save the incandescent light bulb. The odds of their plan working may be slim, but for lovers of good old-fashioned light bulbs (especially for those in nearby Waxhaw), this is good news. From a Heritage article:

Fed up with the federal government’s ban of the traditional incandescent light bulb, state representatives in South Carolina are pushing for the state to produce and use incandescents solely for its state.

The Incandescent Light Bulb Freedom Act, which unanimously passed South Carolina’s Senate panel, would allow South Carolina manufacturers to continue to sell incandescent bulbs so long as they have “Made in South Carolina” on them and are sold only within the state.

Besides the light being not so inviting, the longevity of the new-fangled CFLs hasn't quite lived up to claims. I've had a couple of them fail fairly quickly.

Which leads us to the second problem - disposal of old bulbs. The mercury inside these bulbs makes for a tedious disposal process -- that is, if you choose to follow the EPA recommendations. For a detailed list of steps in properly disposing of CFL bulbs, go here.

But to give you just a taste, here's the pre-cleanup steps:

Before Cleanup

* Have people and pets leave the room, and avoid the breakage area on the way out.
* Open a window or door to the outdoors and leave the room for 5-10 minutes.
* Shut off the central forced-air heating/air conditioning (H&AC) system, if you have one.
* Collect materials you will need to clean up the broken bulb:
- Stiff paper or cardboard
- Sticky tape (e.g., duct tape)
- Damp paper towels or disposable wet wipes (for hard surfaces)
- Glass jar with a metal lid (such as a canning jar) or a sealable plastic bag(s)

And God forbid the bulb broke in a carpeted room. If so, here's what the EPA recommends:

Future Cleaning of Carpeting or Rugs: Air Out the Room During and After Vacuuming

* The next several times you vacuum the rug or carpet, shut off the H&AC system if you have one, close the doors to other rooms, and open a window or door to the outside before vacuuming. Change the vacuum bag after each use in this area.
* After vacuuming is completed, keep the H&AC system shut off and the window or door to the outside open, as practical, for several hours.

I'm not sure if these speaks more to the dangers CFLs pose or sheer ludicrousness of government agency proposals. Seriously, who would follow all these steps? And if they're essential for safety reasons, why would anyone buy these CFL bulbs? Other than the fact that the federal government will soon be forcing us to.

By the way, in other news, German scientists did some research recently and here's what they found:

Their report advises that the bulbs should not be left on for extended periods, particularly near someone’s head, as they emit poisonous materials when switched on.

Peter Braun, who carried out the tests at the Berlin's Alab Laboratory, said: “For such carcinogenic substances it is important they are kept as far away as possible from the human environment.”

The bulbs are already widely used in the UK following EU direction to phase out traditional incandescent lighting by the end of this year.

But the German scientists claimed that several carcinogenic chemicals and toxins were released when the environmentally-friendly compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) were switched on, including phenol, naphthalene and styrene.

Andreas Kirchner, of the Federation of German Engineers, said: “Electrical smog develops around these lamps.

“I, therefore, use them only very economically. They should not be used in unventilated areas and definitely not in the proximity of the head.”

Who wouldn't want to fill their houses with these glorious light bulbs? Mental note: remove bulbs from kids' room and bedside reading lamps.

I'm rooting for South Carolina in this case.

OT: Marine gunned down by police

This has nothing to do with Waxhaw, but these kinds of stories really get to me. There's been too many instances of militarized police killing innocent people.

And this time an overzealous SWAT team in Arizona gunned down a Marine who did two tours in Iraq.

Read this article if you want to get really worked up.

The day after

Here' s a couple articles on the day after the Mineral Springs train wreck that claimed the lives of two CSX employees.

WCNC's article. Video report below.



Fox Charlotte article. Video report below.

Highway 75 reopened

At least according to my two neighbors who were yelling to each other this morning.

This should help the commute of those of you traveling this route.