Category Archives: Winston-Salem

Hey, the Winston-Salem Journal made bookofjoe!

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I think this might be a sign of the times:  to me it’s a pretty big deal that a Winston-Salem Journal article about a K-9 mold investigating company in Winston-Salem was picked up by Charlottesville, VA blogger bookofjoe.  Why?  Because I can almost guarantee you that bookofjoe has a wider global audience than the Journal, if not more daily readers.

Who’d have thunk just two years ago that a guy working out of his house, by himself, could have a broader reach than a mainstream newspaper that’s part of a larger media company and has the requisite staff of reporters, editors, ad reps, etc.?  Kind of cool.

Bleepin’ Traffic

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I40atrushhourSee that picture to the left?  That’s a picture of I-40 at Peters Creek Parkway at what is considered rush hour in many cities.  That picture represents a huge reason why Celeste and I moved the family here.  You see, we moved from a place, Northern Virginia, that has essentially one day-long rush hour every day, to a place that has a "moseying along" half our in the morning and another in the evening.  You’d be amazed what a difference it makes in your life when you don’t have to plan around traffic.

In case you think I’m exaggerating let me just compare the traffic cameras available online in Winston-Salem via the Winston-Salem Journal’s site and in NoVa via the Washington Post’s site. By my count there are 25 traffic cameras in all of Winston-Salem, but in NoVa there’s that many between the beltway and the southern edge of the I-95 corridor alone.  I was going to count all the camera’s in Northern Virginia, but I just don’t have the time.

I swear getting out of everyday NoVa traffic has dropped my blood pressure by ten points, even though all the barbeque here has added about 15 pounds of pudge to my not-so-svelte frame.  Life is good!

Winston-Salem Bike Chase

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Can someone take a look at this video on Glumbert and tell me if it’s real?  The audio indicates it happened in Winston-Salem on I-40 between Silas Creek Parkway and Stratford Road, but it’s shot from a traffic helicopter and I don’t know that I’ve seen a traffic helicopter in the two years I’ve lived here.  I also don’t recognize the TV station symbol in the lower right hand corner.

Anyway, it’s video of a guy on a bike running from the police and it’s fuzzy enough that I can’t tell if it’s been Photoshop’d or whatever the video version of Photoshop is.  I’d love to know if it’s a real video.

Bloggin’ in Winston-Salem; Blogger Needs Some of That “Carolina Neighbor Code”

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The Winston-Salem Journal ran a front page story on people blogging in Winston-Salem.  I was interviewed as was a woman named Lucy Cash who writes a great blog called Life in Forsyth.  It’s kind of cool to make the paper in any form, but the front page is really cool!

On a sad note, I emailed Lucy to introduce myself and she replied this morning saying that she’d reply in length later but that her father had died this morning.  So what should be an exciting day for her has unfortunately turned very somber.  Anyone who has read her blog knows that her dad has been sick, so I’m guessing she’ll get a lot of what she calls the "Carolina Neighbor Code" which will include home cooked meals and a bunch of hugs and offers of support.  That’s one of the great things about living here.

Forget PTI. Let’s Talk About Smith-Reynolds Airport

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There’s a lot of teeth-gnashing in these parts about the struggling Piedmont Triad International Airport  (PTI), which is losing passengers and flights to Charlotte and Raleigh airports.  Flying out of PTI has gotten bad enough that I’d rather drive the 5 hours to DC and I’m fine driving to Charlotte for flights to more distant destinations, whereas just a year ago I was ecstatic with the cost and convenience of flying out of PTI.

When I was a kid the Smith-Reynolds Airport here in Winston-Salem was still a functioning commercial airport, but now it’s used for general aviation and an air show.  Still it’s runways are large enough to handle any but the largest jets and it is very close to downtown Winston-Salem which is why I think it would be the perfect candidate for an air taxi service.  The FAA just gave the first provisional approval for a VLJ or "very light jet" and there are entrepreneurs getting ready to take receipt of the first VLJs and start their business-oriented air taxi services.  Interestingly two of these companies are based in not-too-far-away Greenville, SC.

Because the VLJs are less than half the cost of the cheapest business jets currently available they are apparently going to allow entrepreneurs to provide air taxi services that are slightly costlier (one company is estimating $1,000 for a 500 mile round trip) than flying commercial but with greater convenience.  Here’s a good article that provides an overview of the likely challenges that the air-taxis will face and how they can overcome them.

If these air taxi services do indeed come to fruition this could be a boon for Smith-Reynolds.  The terminal facilities already exist but there are no commercial airlines to compete with so it wouldn’t take a whole lot to turn the airport into the premier business travel gateway for the Triad.  Add that to the growing bio-tech sector here and I think you have two rather nice spices to add to Winston-Salem’s business development stew.

Another Reason That Forsyth County’s Election Board Was Right

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If you’ve been following the saga of the Forsyth County’s Election Board over the last year or so you’ll remember that the former director of elections left because the board would not support her recommendation that the county adopt Diebold’s paperless ballot system for future elections. In a post last May I linked to several pieces that really made the board’s stance look like a good one and now there’s some new information that show the Diebold machines are even more susceptible to fraud than previously realized and of course that makes the board’s decision look even better.

Hanging chads anyone?

Winston-Salem Journal Expanding Blogs

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It looks like the Winston-Salem Journal is getting ready to launch more blogs and they’re looking for ideas about what they should be blogging about.  Here are some suggestions, although I doubt they’ll be welcome:

  • Where in the World is Vernon? – A blog that covers the escapades of our local gadfly Vernon Robinson.  I think this fits under the category "if it bleeds it leads."
  • What’s Your Church? – A blog that disects the peculiar local custom of asking people what their church is rather than the more ubiquitous US custom of asking what someone does.
  • Where in the World are the Democrats? – A blog that identifies the three or four democrats that live within an hours drive of Winston-Salem and don’t work at the newspaper or within a school system (this includes universities).  Dixiecrats don’t count either.
  • The Nuts on Peanuts – A blog for the thriving "Peanuts" fan club that obviously exists in the area based on the number of people who sent in irate letters about the venerable comic strip being replaced.  This despite the fact that it’s been in re-runs longer than President Bush has been saying "nucular."
  • Chicken Pie – For newcomers and carpetbaggers there’s not enough information on where to find the best chicken pie.  From what I can tell you have to know someone who knows someone who’s great-aunt fixes a hundred a week in her vintage 1956 gas stove.  And she’ll sell them to you for $4 each but you have to pick them up.  We need a guide on how to find these culinary saints.

That oughtta do it for today.

Are We George Mason Alums Readying a Takeover of Winston-Salem?

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After my glut of George Mason University posts due to my alma mater’s run in the NCAA’s which included the vanquishing of the Tar Heels I haven’t really carried the torch much.  But now I find out that Lee Garrity, the new city manager for Winston-Salem, is a fellow GMU alum and I just have to give the Patriots another shout out.

That brings the number of GMU grads I know in Winston-Salem to five if you include me, my wife, our good friends the Figuracions and Mr. Garrity.  Since we GMU grads are inordinately powerful and brilliant I think this bodes well for the community.

Family Member and Winston-Salem Native Makes the Front Page of the Washington Post

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My cousin Adam Good was the subject of a story that was on the front page of the Saturday (July 22, 2006) Washington Post in an article titled "Secure in His Mannyhood: Evolved or an Anomaly, a Male Nanny Enjoys His Job in VA".  There’s even a video with an interview in the online version. (Photo to the left is from the Washington Post article, by Kevin Clark of the Washington Post).

Adam’s a great guy (I’m still tempted to call him a kid) who grew up here in Winston-Salem.  To say he’s smart would be the world’s greatest understatement.  Before we moved here we stayed at my Aunt Debbie’s (Adam’s mom) house during one visit and we had Adam’s old room.  His bookshelves were crammed with books on philosophy, politics, and literature that scared the crap out of me in college and he was reading them in middle school and high school.  He graduated with honors from American University and will be pursuing his masters degree in the near future.

It’s wild to think that a family member is being profiled in one of the nation’s most prominent newspapers and is considered representative of a new "trend" called "mannyhood."  It cracks me up to no end that he’s being compared to Britney Spears’ "manny."  Adam being mentioned along with Britney Spears is extremely funny. Suffice it to say that I seriously doubt that Adam’s music collection contains anything from artists with names like Britney, Avril or Jessica.

And of course it’s entertaining that Adam has to answer the requisite "are you gay?" question (he’s not) as if men aren’t capable of being good child care providers, and I’m sure he gets his fair share of grief from his male friends, but as Adam points out in the article it is no small deal that he’s getting paid good money and he’s living rent free, which is a big deal in DC.  Like I said Adam’s one smart dude.

A side note to a prominent blogger here in North Carolina, Billy the Blogging Poet: Adam is also an accomplished poet and a very good musician.