Meet Joey - he’s a 18-hands Clydesdale and a member of the Express Clydesdales Team.
When the team visited Durham last weekend, we were lucky enough to know where they were staying. so we got a special, personal encounter with these amazing hoses. (see below)
Wednesday morning I rode my bike to work for the first time. It was a nice morning for a bike ride, and it took me about 40 Minutes to get to work - no big deal. However, riding in traffic is really not very enjoyable and many drivers passed me with just a few inches between their right rear-view mirrors and me. I have got to try the Greenway, which might take longer, but it might be more enjoyable. Also, I really need to leave the laptop at work. Riding with a backpack is als a bit of a drag. I think I’ll try it again next week.
Ugh - I’m melting! North Carolina in August is certainly supposed to be hot, but tripple-digit temperatures are still unusual. Yesterday we hit a new heat record for the day and came within one degree of the all-time highest temperature ever recorded at RDU airport. It was 104 Fahrenheit - 40 Deg. Celsius - and still 33 percent humidity! And today we’re in for another scorcher …
The BIG list was abuzz today with interpretations of the new biodiesel tax situation in North Carolina. There were some questions about how these recent changes, like how the tax exemption for homebrew biodiesel will be applied to SVO use. Matt Rudolph, the ED of Piedmont Biofuels explained that under NC law, veggie oil as fuel falls under the definition of biodiesel in Chapter 105/Article 36C of the NC General Statutes. So both the removal of the bond requirement (S540), as well as the tax exemption for personal use (S1272) apply to SVO.
So SVOers can also cheer, as their efforts to use renewable fuels in their vehicles have now become much simplified in NC. Of course none of this is perfect. I think there need to be broader tax exemptions for renewable fuels, a stronger focus on encouraging local, community-based fuel (and other energy) production and an attempt at setting sustainability standards for energy production. This is not easy, as the story of the Senate Bill S1272 illustrates: apparently this was originally a bill intended to clarify the definition of biodiesel. But somehow it morphed into a homebrewer tax exemption. Of course, from our perspective this was a great step in the right direction.
The North Carolina General Assembly has adjourned for this session, and last Thursday the legislators passed S1272: Motor Fuels Tax Exemption for Biodiesel, which removes the requirement to pay road tax on homebrew biodiesel. That’s awesome - a great incentive for homebrewers. Also, legislators changed the tax law to remove the $2000 bond for fuel providers who don’t have more than $2000 in fuel tax liabilities. That’s another step to boost small-scale, local fuel production in NC. I find it a bit puzzling that S1272 does not mention waste veg. oil fuel, though. Especially as this activity, to some degree, was kicked off by reports of an SVO user getting fined $1000 by the state for using un-taxed fuel. But at least the SVOers got the bond requirement removed. That bond was a huge obstacle.
A big thank-you from the biodiesel homebrewers goes to Senator John Snow who represents North Carolina’s 50th Senate District. Sen. Snow sponsored several biodiesel related bills in this session, including S1272. That bill also establishes a study commission to examine the tax implications of alternative fuels and how they should be addressed. The state does need to take a close look at the impact of exempting certain fuels from road tax, and how to deal with non-IC powered vehicles. With the emergence of “fuel diversity” on public highways, it might be a good idea to begin re-thinking the idea of tying road taxes to fuel consumption. It will get increasingly difficult to define “fuel” (think about solar- or flywheel-powered vehicles). Also, I think that we’ll see multi-fuel engines in vehicles in the next 10 years. While the tax-exemption is certainly the right thing to do, and should be expanded to encourage the use of other made-in-NC fuels, the state has a duty, and an interest, to stay on top of these issues.
FOR SALE: SECLUDED COUNTRY HOME WITH BIKETRAIL
Two-bedroom secluded brick ranch with biketrail/walking path and large basement in Bahama (20 minutes North of Duke Campus). The single-track trail is a .33 mile figure eight on the 2.5 acres wooded lot. The trail runs through the forest, crosses the creek and climbs a nice hill. The path lets you fully enjoy the beautiful wildlife and plants occupying the wide variety of habitats on your land. You can hit the trail in the morning for 30 Minutes and still make it to class/work at 9:00 AM on campus (or anywhere in Durham).
More details: The house was built by a contractor for himself and has a lot of cool extras like a wood furnace that is hooked into the duct system and a whole house fan that keeps the place wonderfully cool during much of the year. The house has a terrific kitchen with a huge pantry and large counters with lots of workspace. We just put on a brand new roof and gutters. There is a full basement that is half finished (separate entrance and driveway) and half unfinished workspace (no moldy crawlspace - lots of room for your stuff). The bedrooms (2) are large and full of tree-filtered light. We loved the place and hope you will take a look.
Very reasonably priced at $198.000
Please call our agent (see below) if you’d like to see the house:
Charles Woody (919) 620-0959 or Cell (919) 724-5100
e-mail: cwoodyhomes [at] verizon [dot] net
MLS# 942743
The Story is a syndicated radio show produced at WUNC in Chapel Hill. The show is hosted by Dick Gordon, who interviews people who have an interesting story to tell. Today, they aired the segment where Laura and Agbessi get to tell the story of the library in Yikpa, and the impact it had on their lifes.
Click to listen: mp3
The first part of the program is about a photographer - the interview with Laura and Agbessi starts after 32 Minutes.
Over the years, in conversations about sports, I have always identified myself as a biker - a mountain biker. Not a particularly competitive specimen, I lack the colorful outfit and fancy bike, but I do enjoy very much taking my 17-year-old Simonelli bike on a challenging single-track out in the woods. We’re just a 10-Minute drive down the road from a very nice 7-mile loop at Little River Park, and I try my best to hit the trail regularly.
The problem is that the park manager closes the MTB trails when it is too wet, to prevent damage to the trail and the forest. That is fine - I support that. So I began to just go for a run when the bike trails are closed. There are two nice hiking trails in the park, and they are great for running. The trails wind through a different part of the park, and run along the creeks and rivers in the back part of the park. They offer a totally different view of the land as the bike trails, which climb up a small hill.
So today I ran 5 Miles on those trails, and it was great! Last night thunderstorms moved through the area, and dumped a 3/4 inch (2 cm) of rain. Right now the redbuds and the dogwoods are blooming, and the other trees are breaking out in an ever-so-tender green. It’s been getting pretty warm, and it was 85 Deg. F (29°C) and the humidity this morning was at least 500 percent. Still, it was a fun run and the forest was really beautiful.
Durham is supposedly number 8 of the best places to live in the US:
Yay, Durham - the birthplace of … uh … [CTRL]+[ALT]+[Delete]!??
Last week I undertook a trip to Charlotte, NC, which turned out to be completely for naught. Yet, on my way back to Durham, I took a detour via Winston Salem to have lunch at the Foothills brewery. This little brewery puts out some remarkable brews, and I was quite curious to visit the brewpub to see for myself the place where they produce these fabulous beverages.
Located on Fourth Street in downtown Winston Salem, the brewpub is nice, with a large bar and modern, open spaces. Nothing fancy, but appealing and straight-forward. The menu is also straight-forward and quite beer-oriented. I had “fish and chips” - and it was really good - and a couple pints of their stout. Very tasty, indeed.
Part of my mission was to refill several growlers for a couple of friends. As I am typing this, I am enjoying a glass of Foothill’s Seeing Double IPA - which is my favorite. It’s a very hoppy strong beer - a prime example of a ridiculously overhopped American ale :) with serious kick at 9.5 percent Alcohol. Somehow they manage to make this into an immensely drinkable beer, with a really smooth mouthfeel and pronounced citrus notes.
The thing about Foothills is that they don’t bottle their beers. So you can only get it on tap at some bars around the state. If you want to enjoy the beers at home, you have to get a growler, which is a half-gallon (2 Liter) bottle that is filled at the tap. The growlers are not pressureized, so you cannot keep them for more than a few days. Once you open one, you better finish it up, or the stuff goes flat. So far, that has not caused me any particular problems.
So when I left the brewery with my five growlers, and headed back to Durham, I felt again at peace with the world, despite the futility of my trip to Charlotte.