NC gov not the jokester she claims to be

When speaking to the Rotary Club earlier this week, NC governor Bev Perdue suggested we suspend Congressional elections for two years. Her complete statement: (my emphasis)

"You have to have more ability from Congress, I think, to work together and to get over the partisan bickering and focus on fixing things. I think we ought to suspend, perhaps, elections for Congress for two years and just tell them we won't hold it against them, whatever decisions they make, to just let them help this country recover. I really hope that someone can agree with me on that. The one good thing about Raleigh is that for so many years we worked across party lines. It's a little bit more contentious now but it's not impossible to try to do what's right in this state. You want people who don't worry about the next election."

The News & Observer, despite being there and having a recording of the proceedings, reported it as a joke as claimed by Perdue spokeswoman Chris Mackey.

The recording, found within this Daily Caller article, illustrates quite clearly that Bev Perdue was not joking despite the claims of her spokeswoman

It's not particularly surprising a politician like Bev Perdue, herself at the mercy of the voters, would come up with an (unconstitutional?) idea like suspending elections in an effort to shield politicians from accountability for their decisions.

NC BBQ makes national headlines

No, my post on Grill'n & Chill'n BBQ Cook-Off needing more judges hasn't yet gone viral. That is equal parts unfortunate and inexplicable.

No, the national headlines surround a years ago incident when presidential candidate Rick Perry put his foot in his mouth about North Carolina BBQ no less. Referring to some Eastern NC BBQ, he was quoted as saying "I've had road kill that tasted better than that," which of course doesn't sit well with those who take their BBQ seriously.

The whole article in the LA Times is an entertaining read filled with lots of good barbs and one-liners; check it out.

Don't carry east of I-95

Your concealed firearm, of course. At least until the state of emergency is over.

For some reason, when a state of emergency is declared, it becomes illegal for those legally licensed to carry a concealed weapon to do so. See here for some more specifics, although unfortunately the author wasn't quite specific enough to spell our governor's name right.

Per this WECT article, the governor declared a state of emergency for counties east of I-95. Looking at the map, that's a significant swath of territory.

I'm of the opinion that a state of emergency is the ideal time to be carrying a concealed firearm assuming you've got the license to do so. Obviously, there were enough politicians at some point in time who felt otherwise.

Hooray! Gas taxes going up

I heard this on the radio today; they added that it gives us the ninth highest gas tax in the country.

They mentioned that it you'd barely notice it since prices were going down. I'm not so sure that's a good thing.

A snippet:

The North Carolina Department of Revenue increased the variable gas tax by 2.5 cents per gallon, according to AAA Carolinas spokesman Brendan Byrnes. The state gas tax will be 35 cents per gallon effective today.

...

Travelers heading through South Carolina can fill up there, where they’ll find much lower prices, thanks to a state fuel tax that is half that of its neighbor to the north. The Palmetto State’s gas tax is 16.8 cents per gallon, according to AAA.

Hmm, I'm curious what percentage of Waxhaw denizens actually fill up their tanks in North Carolina when South Carolina and the desirable 521 stretch are so very close.

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.

Don't practice engineering without a license

Getting involved sometimes has its consequences.

Here's a story out of Raleigh from last week that's worth reading.



A small snippet:

RALEIGH, N.C. -- A homeowner may face criminal charges in the fight over two traffic signals, after a DOT engineer reported the man practiced engineering without a license.

...

NCDOT said they would look at a second analysis if it came from an independent licensed engineer, but the neighborhood association produced a study of its own.

...

The study clearly shows it was submitted by the residents of North Raleigh. The group used guidelines from a 2009 Federal Highway Administration manual to help them write the study.

Instead of taking a second look at the situation, Kevin Lacy, a state traffic engineer, filed a complaint.

Read or watch the whole thing and let it serve as a cautionary tale -- sometimes those in government, be they politicians or bureaucrats, are not too excited when the rest of us try to get involved.

The News & Observer has a follow-up blog post after Rush Limbaugh apparently discussed the issue on his radio show on Monday. It contains support for both sides from professional engineers (one can only hope they are properly licensed). It's worth reading as well if the matter interests you. And for the information junkies in Waxhaw, here's an earlier post with more comments from Kevin Lacy, the state DOT engineer who filed the charges.

Amazon 1, NC 0 ... so far

Per an AP article:

RALEIGH, N.C. - North Carolina tax collectors have ended a court fight with Amazon.com and its customers after clarifying that demands for purchasers' data don't include the titles of the books and other products.

The lawsuit originally filed by Amazon in its hometown of Seattle was closed late last month after a settlement between North Carolina's Revenue Department and seven North Carolina residents represented by the American Civil Liberties Union.

The Revenue Department's future requests for data from Internet retailers will clarify that tax collectors don't want the titles or other identifying information of the books, movies or music sold, according to a copy of the settlement the agency provided Wednesday.

It'll be interesting to see how Amazon defends itself against North Carolina's grubby tax collectors' next attempt to squeeze more money out of its citizens when it requests a more limited amount of information, focusing more on total dollars spent at Amazon and not on items purchased.

Keep your fingers crossed.