I stumbled upon Google’s Public Data area. Pretty neat stuff.

And it’s really neat to see how Durham County compares to the rest of the state in unemployment data, particularly during this recession.

And it’s extra-neat to see how Durham County, after lagging behind Wake in employment figures for most of the past two decades, has been faring just a little bit better during the recession.

I think this graph is a nice illustration of how Durham has been great place to live, particularly in the past decade.

(However, mouseover to Wake County in December 1999…1.3% unemployment…holy crap.)

A couple of people recently sent me lists of places to dialyze around Durham.

I’ve found Medicare.gov has a handy search tool for locating dialysis centers.

Here’s a search of dialysis centers within 25 miles of my zip code 27701

Sharing for the benefit of the googlesphere.

Herman doesn’t like the snow so much.

From WRAL.com:
I know people can get excited when they win something. (I.e, Valerie). But winning a biscuit??? Well, WRAL just left out an article at the end of the headline. The link goes here.

I wrote in August about the various thefts from my porch and yard over the past few years. I need to update the tallies. A bunch of yard tools I previously had covered by a tarp in my backyard have now disappeared. I think the tarp was a good deterrent for most of the past year. Unfortunately, when a storm blew the tarp off a few weeks back, I didn’t bother to put it back.

I really don’t want to spend the money for a shed. I think I’ll see if there is a storage bench that is long enough to fit things like rakes and shovels.

Tally of charitable contributions
- 3 plastic rakes (newly taken, 1 rake)
- 1 metal rake (new)
- 1 hoe (new)
- 1 metal toothed-cultivating thingey (new)
- 1 shovel
- 2 semi-working vacuums
- 1 corded hedge-trimmer
- 1 cordless weed-whacker

Total instances of theft: 7
Approximate value of items: $250
Time elapsed: 3 years

Photo from about.com.

I decided to try a desert other than baklava at Apex’s wonderful Greek restaurant XIOS (ΧΙΩΣ).

I tried the kataifi, which the menu describes as:

“Shredded phyllo stuffed with walnuts, cinnamon, nutmeg topped with powdered sugar and light syrup”.

So good!

Just felt like sharing.

No? Then why was a DATA bus rumbling 50 MPH down Green Street @Onslow at 5:55PM today? (The speed limit in 25). I’m amazed that DATA hasn’t killed or seriously injured anyone lately.

I need to get involved with Angry Neighbors with Paintball Guns.

(In addition to bringing addition to the speeding problem in Durham, I also hope to call attention to really bad photoshopping).

I happened to come upon the Wikipedia page for wrecking ball. (Why? I was doing some superfluous Mafia Wars research).

Lo and behold, of all the wrecking balls in the world to use an illustration, this page uses a photo of a wrecking ball in Durham, NC.

What an honor for the Bull City!

Thursday, Herman and I encountered this turtle strolling down the sidewalk near the intersection of Green and Onslow Streets.

Is this an Eastern Box Turtle?