Seems like a bit of an odd day to get married - February 29th - but certainly unique! This wonderful couple, Chris & Bill, chose to rent a lovely house at Wintergreen Resort (about 25 miles SW of Charlottesville) for the weekend and have their ceremony in front of the fireplace with just their closest family in attendance.

This was a first for me but seems like a great idea... a relaxing way to get away for a few days and enjoy the company of your nearest and dearest with lots to do right nearby: skiing & snowboarding, spa services, swimming, hiking, great restaurants and more plus lovely views and time to relax together... sounds good to me!

Chris and Bill found their rental through the very nice folks at Rentals at Wintergreen They were so patient with me when I called for driving directions directions!

Just for fun, I looked up a few facts about Leap Day on Wikipedia... here's what I found:
February 29 is a date that occurs only every four years, in years evenly divisible by 4, such as 1988, 1996, 2008 or 2016 (with the exception of century years not divisible by 400, such as 1900) for the Gregorian calendar, which is most widely used in the world today. These are called leap years, and February 29 is the 60th day of the Gregorian calendar in such a year, with 306 days remaining until the end of that year. February 29 is also known as bissextile day or Leap Day.

Although the modern calendar counts a year as 365 days, a complete revolution around the sun takes approximately 365 days and 6 hours. Every four years, an extra twenty-four hours have accumulated, so one extra day is added to that calendar to keep the count coordinated with the sun's apparent position.

I wonder if Chris and Bill will celebrate their anniversaries on Feb. 29th or March 1st in the years to come.

we come in here to be now.  please you are to be now thanksdontletanyonetellyou: Five is the loneliest because it is shorter. What up Baltimore!watch out space kittens!Duo!

(andy friedman)

Andy Friedman and The Other Failures play at Miller’s on Saturday night. Here’s an e-mail interview that I did with Andy back in January of 2007. Check out some of his tunes here and then go see a great show!

Nailgun: You’ve been working as an artist in various degrees since your were very young. Has it been difficult to balance between paying the bills and pursuing your art? Has it become easier over time?

Andy Friedman: Nothing was ever going to take me from making my art, even if the balance was 80% work and 20% art, at first. The job I got when I was 23, as an office and mailroom assistant in the New Yorker, rescued me from working in a freight elevator and sweeping up vegetables in the Union Square Farmer’s Market. Point is, I didn’t see it as anything other than a day job to pay my rent so I could work on my art at night. That fact that it led to my becoming an art contributor for them, and many other magazines, is a whole other story, but the answer is that at first, yes, it was very difficult to pay the bills and find the balance, but when there’s no choice it’s easy. (more…)

The Virginia Supreme Court has ruled that the General  Assembly overstepped its constitutional authority when it gave the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority (NVTA) the power to raise taxes to fund transportation projects.

NVTA was given the power to levy fees and taxes as part of 2007’s landmark transportation legislation, HB 3202. One of the other major elements of the bill, raising hundreds of millions of dollars through abusive driving fees, will be overturned this year by the General Assembly itself after significant public outcry. That puts the ball back in the court of state and local governments as they continue to search for ways to raise additional funding for road and transit projects. Last week, VDOT’s CFO announced that road construction funds will be down as much as 44% over the next six years.

Under the enabling legislation, NVTA gained the power to impose seven regional taxes and fees, including additional licensing fees and a local sales tax, effective the first of this year. Based on that, the Authority passed a resolution authorizing the sale of $130 million in bonds which would be paid down through the tax revenue.

The court case originated when the Authority sought confirmation from the Circuit Court of Arlington County that bonds it planned to issue would be valid. The Loudon County Board of Supervisors as well as Delegate Bob Marshall filed to oppose the certification, but the Circuit Court ruled last summer in favor of the Authority. Marshall appealed on the basis that NVTA is a political subdivision whose members are not directly elected, and thus the General Assembly unconstitutionally delegated its power to raise taxes. NVTA’s lawyers argued that the General Assembly retained the power to set the rates and could amend them at any time.

“We consistently have held that when the primary purpose of an enactment is to raise revenue, the enactment will be considered a tax,” wrote Justice S. Bernard Goodwyn in the ruling. Goodwyn concluded that because NVTA had the final decision on whether or not to impose the taxes and fees, the General Assembly had in fact delegated its power to tax. The ruling then points to several reasons how the power to tax is specifically reserved to the General Assembly, including Article I, Section 6 of the Virginia Constitution which reads in part:

“that all men . . . cannot be taxed . . . without their own consent, or that of their representatives duly elected . . . “

The ruling also cites Article VII, Section 7, which reads in part:

“No ordinance . . . imposing taxes . . . shall be passed except by a recorded affirmative vote of a majority of all members elected to the governing body.”

The General Assembly can grant cities and counties the power to levy taxes, but the ruling states NVTA is not itself a political jurisdiction. “NVTA is a political subdivision narrowly charged by the General Assembly with the responsibility of addressing certain regional transportation issues in the Northern Virginia localities it encompasses,” wrote Justice Goodwyn.

Any taxes already raised by NVTA are null and void.

In February, the Charlottesville City Council and the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors directed the
Thomas Jefferson Planning District Council to continue with efforts to seek enabling authority from the General Assembly to create a similar transportation funding mechanism for both localities.

Supervisor Dennis Rooker (Jack Jouett) said he would be watching to see how the General Assembly fixes the legislation.  “It’s a decision more of form than substance,” he said in a phone interview with Charlottesville Tomorrow. He said the proposed regional transportation plan for this area might include language that assigns the power to raise additional taxes to the City Council and County Supervisors, rather than to the proposed transit or transportation authority.

“I’ve read the opinion a couple of times, and I don’t think this prevents a regional transportation authority, “ Rooker said. “We’ll just have to do it in a way that complies with the ruling.”

Senator Creigh Deeds (D-25) issued a statement about the ruling that indicated he may seek an increase in the gas tax.

"The decision handed down by the Supreme Court of Virginia today invalidating the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority's taxing ability granted by the General Assembly sends a clear and unmistakable message to legislators in Richmond. We will not solve the transportation challenges facing us if we continue to pass the buck and shirk our responsibilities to lead.”

Sean Tubbs

It’s been out for a couple years, but today I finally tested CSS Vista, a lightweight app that allows simultaneous live-preview of CSS in both Firefox and IE6, a nice alternative to running three separate applications.

CSS Vista does require installation of the .NET framework, but is otherwise simple to set up and painless to use. The only real options are to switch from pane-view to tab-view. The lack of features is actually refreshing.

As Firefox users already know, you can hit CTRL+SHIFT+E to live-preview CSS in the browser window. Many have also tried the IE Tab extension, which tends to crash, or have paid for Browsercam service, which gets progressively less useful as browser standards begin to shape up and support is dropping for outdated browsers. With major changes in order for IE8, I’d be interested to see what happens to paid services which rely on crummy browser standards for income (not that there’s anything wrong with that).

One thing you’ll note about CSS Vista is the narrow CSS pane on the left side. This doesn’t really work if you prefer all your CSS declarations on one horizontal line. I’d also wish for more browser options (IE7 and Safari), but as the creators say, CSS Vista remains in its early stages.

For my uses, CSS Vista comes in handy for last-phase cleanup — correcting minor padding and margin quirks. For building CSS from the ground up, I still prefer Dreamweaver for the speedy auto-fill options:

And if I used a Mac, the decision would be simple: Coda.

The ultimate goal? Write smart stylesheets that work consistently in all browsers — easier said than done, but it can be done. Organize your styles, recycle your classes, do more with less.

David Axelrod is, I repeat, the master of momentum. Obama’s down by just 2 in Ohio with four days to go. Prediction? It’ll be dead even within 48 hours, and Obama will pull ahead the day before the election.

So say The Daily Progress, WCAV and WVIR. From the DP:

The Albemarle County Service Authority is asking residents and businesses of the Crozet area to curtail water consumption for the next few days.
A water line break discovered today is limiting the amount of water available to the area.

Residents are asked to not wash vehicles and delay laundry until early next week.

Restaurants are asked to serve food on paper plates to minimize the number of times they run the dishwasher.

The voluntary water restrictions are a “precautionary measure” to ensure that firefighters have enough water to extinguish any potential fires.

Technorati Tags: crozet

Sitting in OHare waiting for my flight with a buddy and fellow iPhone owner, a stranger sat down and asked if I liked the case for my phone. We moved on to talking about his friends airbook as well as the iPhone version of Facebook.com that is shown on the recent TV ads for the iPhone. Interesting guy and we never would have spoken about a Treo or Blackberry. Funny that way.

I started weekend topics just about a year ago with this topic and a lot has changed about the Charlottesville music scene since them.

Our most well-known local band came back to town to work on a new album and word is it's being mixed and mastered in Seattle. No word on another homecoming gig.

Our most popular indoor concert venue closed and the second most popular venue became the "it" spot for shows. Our resident mogul is renovating a historic theater on the Downtown Mall to fill the gap.

UVa's new basketball arena continues to bring in major touring acts, though I think most students go there for games than for concerts.

I could go on and on about our music scene, but would rather answer your questions. What would you like to know? Reading the entry and comments from last year might be a good jumping off point.

Please keep comments to music. If you have admission questions, they can wait until Monday.

At the Tea Bazaar: Keith Morris (with a band consisting of many notable local musicians), Stratton Salidis (with David Bartok) and Jeff Crawford. 9:30pm.

At Gravity Lounge: Girlfriend in a Coma, a Smiths/Morrissey cover band from Baltimore. Dance party will follow. 7pm.

At R2 (Rapture): The Sometime Favorites and Dear Dear. 9:30pm.

The most poignant thing I've come across in quite some time.

From a Craiglist posting out of San Diego, California:
...................

Carton of Irregular Cat Hats

Hello.

I have a big box of used cat and kitten hats that I have collected over the years for various occasions.

As of recently my cat, Snowman, is no longer living and thus I am forced to get rid of these precious memories.

I would not feel right asking money for them so I am offering the whole box for free.

There are many styles from formal to cute and funny.

There is a variety of 14 different hats total [three are pictured above and below].

I just hope you and your pet can find as much joy in these hats as me and Snowman once did.

E-mail me if you are interested and I will give you my address where you can pick them up.

I can also arrange for a free delivery if you are not too far away.

Thank you,

Patty
...................

[via Caroline]

I read Anna Quindlen’s back page column in Newsweek the other night and, upon finishing it, burst into tears.

I think there’s a chance I’m suffering from pre-separation anxiety.

I have to know, you moms and dads of older kids, how on earth have you coped with kids leaving home? I know, I know — he’ll be back for holidays and such, but I’m just going to miss him so very much.

Construction on the new hotel has begun and it is right in the middle of the downtown mall!  My sister got married a few years ago, 5 to be exact, and family came from all over. Most people were from Georgia, Indiana, and South Carolina, it was a lot of fun to see everyone. Getting all the out of town guests a room where they would be comfortable and entertained was challenging. She felt like she needed to plan something every minute her guests were in town. But, with all the fun activities at the downtown mall there is less pressure to feel like an event planner when friends come in town. Soon, there will even be a new place for them to stay for their overnight visit. Here are the hotels we picked:

Red Roof: Its’ location right next to the Mellow Mushroom and across the street from the UVA campus makes it a great place for guests to stay. They also offered a discount for wedding guests.

The Omni: A great location for guests that were not going to rent a car. You can walk to get coffee in the morning and spend an afternoon on the mall shopping or people watching. Go to a movie on the mall if the weather doesn’t agree with outdoor activities.

The Boars Head In: The perfect destination for guests that wanted more of a vacation than a wedding weekend. Definitely more expensive than the alternate choices, but if you need a vacation, the Boars Head would be a great place to relax. Guests can enjoy massages, 3 course dinners, and breakfast in bed.

The Hook doesn’t have a subscription, so we missed it when UVA alum and one-time Hotseat-sitter Amanda Paige graced the cover of Playboy last September. Click the thumbnail to view the whole thing. According to her MySpace page, Paige is still active with Hugh Hefner and company, and Playboy Promotions still acts as her booking agent. #

It's John T. Flynn weekend at Mises.org, starting with an abridged version of Justin Raimondo's "John T. Flynn: Exemplar of the Old Right" from the Journal of Libertarian Studies and followed by Ralph Raico's great introduction to Flynn's groundbreaking The Roosevelt Myth.

This is especially timely with the deadly Keynesian religion on the rise. High priest Paul Krugman recently resurrected this coprocephalic canard: The fact is that war is, in general, expansionary for the economy, at least in the short run. World War II, remember, ended the Great Depression. The $10 billion or so we're spending each month in Iraq mainly goes to US-produced goods and services, which means that the war is actually supporting demand. Yes, there would be infinitely better ways to spend the money. But at a time when a shortfall of demand is the problem, the Iraq war nonetheless acts as a sort of WPA, supporting employment directly and indirectly.

Bastiat, anyone?

The interim director of the UVA Art Museum, Elizabeth Turner, left, is having a little Final Friday chat this evening between 5:30 and 7:30pm to talk about the museum’s future. But will she address the question everyone is really wondering about: what happened to former museum director Jill Hartz, right, who abruptly disappeared from sight without explanation shortly after Turner’s appointment to the new position of vice provost for the arts was announced December 11?

The Hook was unable to reach either Turner or Hartz, but Hartz is still listed in the university directory. A recording at her university extension idenifies it as Beth Turner’s number.

The minutes from the January meeting of the General Faculty Council do shed a little light. Hartz, who was

Today is a day for remembering, for thinking about loss, for holding hands and sitting with grief. A day for a nod and a bit of a smile to the babies we don't have. Now, as usual, I'm a smidge late, and I can't claim to have suffered from much loss - I've got no dead babies hovering around me, flickering with Might Have Beens. I have only some mourning for the tries that came to nothing, that neither divided nor implanted nor came forth in anyway. But I bow with all compassion to those of you who know more loss than me. I hold your hands and your hearts in mine and I'll sit with you, as I know you'd sit with me.

Cali put out the call and the chorus of the IVP answered with the resounding sound of - well, of hope, if you get right down to it. Here we all are in this ugly fucking boat that's trimmed with Almost and Loss and Might Have Been. But this boat floats on hope and, god damn, the company is good.




It's hard for me to write too much about loss today. Things started out well with coffee being delivered to school and then Sophie and a friend went skateboarding this afternoon, and I heard them through the open front door, laughing that way young girls do. It's warm enough I let my kids at school go outside with their jackets undone. I saw the mountains from the playground. The crocus are up in my neighbor's yard, the all-important sun is out and we are turning the corner to Spring. I feel it.

Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all,

And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.

I ’ve heard it in the chillest land,
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me.

From my girl Emily, of course.

I bet you didn't know that.

Where was this wonderful device when I was little?

If I hadn't sucked on so much schmutz coating the pacifier mom quickly shoved back into my face after I threw it to the floor, I'd have turned out a lot different — no question.

Oh, well, too late for me — but not for your wee one!

Long story short: This nifty soother always falls backward such that it lands on its handle instead of its business end after junior flings it to the ground.

This activates a plastic shield that instantly snaps shut over the nipple, readying it for instant reinsertion sans rinsing and cleaning.

From the website:

AlwaysClean™ Pacifier

Self-closing pacifier closes when baby drops it

BébéSounds® AlwaysClean Pacifier is always clean because the self-closing shield automatically closes when the pacifier is dropped.

Closing before the pacifier hits the ground protects the nipple and keeps it sanitary for your baby.



No matter how many times your baby drops or throws this pacifier, the nipple will stay clean!

Contoured shield is designed to fit your baby’s mouth for maximum comfort.

Ventilation holes on each side of the shield help to prevent irritation on your baby’s delicate skin.

AlwaysClean Pacifier has a silicone nipple, which is recommended to reduce the chance of latex allergies.

For babies 1 day to 6 months old.

....................

Pink or Blue.

$3.

The Ventura County Star reports that three nude pieces have been pulled from an art exhibit celebrating passion after officials determined the pieces were too racy for a gallery in a government building in Ventura, California. Read more.

 

Below are the February notes and summary of the Do Something Charlottesville meeting of February 6, 2008 submitted by Jennifer (thanks Jennifer). Meetings are the first Wednesday of the month at the Downtown Library starting at 6:30 pm (and are scheduled to end about 7:45 pm).

----------

We had another great meeting this week! We polled everyone's interests and came up with a list of broad areas of interest. Unfortunately, we ran out of time, but I think the general consensus was that a loose grouping would be helpful to direct our energies. Everyone brightened at a proposed idea to develop "action items," so we want to build on that before the next meeting.

One of our members, Michael, sent an email asking you to decide which area of interest you'd like to pursue. In the notes below, I listed some of the ideas that have been generated for each of these areas. The next step will be to come up with at least ONE action that each of the groups would like to take. We can organize this by emailing each other or by getting our groups together for coffee. At next month's meeting on Wednesday, March 5, we'll get started with organizing these actions!! Hannah and I will let you know how to get in touch with the people who share your interests before our next meeting.

We didn't have time to cover some housekeeping items at the meeting. You all should have received an invitation to join the our Google Group. This is just a way to stay organized. First of all, having a group email distribution list is easier than adding everyone individually. Also, all of the emails that the group sends will be stored in chronological order. Let us know if you have any questions about this!

INTRODUCTIONS

We had some new people join us this week! Welcome, John Cruickshank, David Dusseau, Frances Lee Vandell, David Steinberg, Chris Wilson, and Shirley Napps.

HOMEWORK

Last month's homework was to send Creigh Deeds a Valentine asking him to support SB446, the Clean Energy Future bill. This bill has been stuck in the Commerce and Labor committee since January 9. Since this is the "Virginia is for Mountain Lovers" week of action, we decided to send Valentines to Governor Kaine asking him to stop mountaintop removal coal mining. Thanks, Kelly, for bringing the supplies!

This month's homework was distributed on a flyer. Dominion's Air Quality Permit is up for review and we need to send in comments or attend one of the public hearings. If you want to travel to Wise County on February 11 or to Richmond on February 19, send an email to the group and we'll try to share rides.

AREAS OF INTEREST (a.k.a., AFFINITY GROUPS)

Information/Education
- Fight misinformation
- Provide consistent, clear and accurate information to the public

Recycling
- Post information at the McIntire center about CFLs
- Get recycling on the downtown mall
- Collaborate with Teri Kent of Better World Betty

Local/State Government
- Analyze new City budget to determine what money could be designated for climate change initiatives
- Engage with the City's Environmental Sustainability Committee
- Present climate change information at local government meetings
- Lobby state and local representatives (support open air burning restrictions, anti-idling measures)

Charlottesville/Albemarle/UVa Coordination and Networking
- Engage student groups in local environmental actions
- Build on initiatives that are taking place in all areas
- Connect resources from each area

Events/Public Outreach
- Host a film festival
- Street theater
- Simulate local mountaintop removal mining
- Earth Day event
- Festival of the Photo
- Concert with local musicians (Trees on Fire is organizing a concert in March)
- Article/Book discussion group

Southwest Virginia
- economic development (local herb farms)
- fighting the Dominion power plant
- fighting mountaintop removal coal mining


RELOCALIZATION

Dawn provided information about the Relocalization movement. She noted that everything the group has discussed is part of Relocalization. She advocated the use of a structure that is already in place, including a website. She invited everyone to learn more about it and decide if this is something that the group would like to pursue.


RESOURCES

Our blog: http://dosomethingcharlottesville.blogspot.com/

(Email Peter with submissions at peter.kleeman@gmail.com)

Virginia General Assembly Legislative Information System (complicated
government website for tracking bills): http://leg1.state.va.us/081/lis.htm

Richmond Sunlight (much easier and fun way to track bills in Va
General Assembly!): http://www.richmondsunlight.com/

Better World Betty (Teri Kent's website for reducing, recycling, and reusing): http://www.betterworldbetty.com/

Relocalization: http://relocalize.net/

The Las Vegas Review Journal reports that the poison Ricin was discovered in a hotel room on Thursday.  

A toxic biological agent was found in a suite on Valley View Boulevard near Flamingo Road on Thursday afternoon, but Las Vegas police said they were not searching for a suspect and nobody was harmed by the substance.

Ricin, a substance used for cancer research that has "no other medical use," was discovered about 3 p.m. by a man who was cleaning out a suite at the Extended Stay America at 4270 S. Valley View Blvd., Joseph Lombardo, a Las Vegas police captain and Homeland Security Bureau chief, said at a news conference about 9:30 p.m.

Police were not sure about the origin of the substance or why it was in the room. The ricin and castor beans, from which ricin is derived, were found in the suite,...

Preliminary tests showed that the substance was ricin, a deadly toxin that can be a powder, a mist or a pellet, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Web site. It also can be dissolved in water.

The AP is reporting today:

Police say a man is in critical condition after the deadly toxin ricin was found in his Las Vegas motel room.

Las Vegas police Lt. Lewis Roberts says the man has been in a coma since he was found in his room at the Extended Stay America Motel on Thursday.

He's one of seven people hospitalized after the ricin was discovered. Police have said most were examined as a precaution.

The CDC website says about Ricin:

   
*  Ricin works by getting inside the cells of a person's body and preventing the cells from making the proteins they need. Without the proteins, cells die. Eventually this is harmful to the whole body, and death may occur.

* Effects of ricin poisoning depend on whether ricin was inhaled, ingested, or injected.

I wonder if there will be anything more about this beyond this week.

Designed by architects David Knafo and Tagit Klimor

of the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, it's going up in Wuhan, China.

Each unit in the apartment tower

comes with its own 100-square-foot trellised hydroponic garden,

expected to yield "... a significant amount of organic vegetables

year-round for a family of four."

“In this skillful lecture, Professor Patrick Winston of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology offers tips on how to give an effective talk, cleverly illustrating his suggestions by using them himself. He emphasizes how to start a lecture, cycling in on the material, using verbal punctuation to indicate transitions, describing “near misses” that strengthen the intended concept, and asking questions. He also talks about using the blackboard, overhead projections, props, and “how to stop.” (via 37 Signals)”

- Video: “How to Speak”

What do you do when youth and inexperience trump media training? You activate your crisis plan.

This is exactly what Ryan Seacrest did last night on “American Idol” when a teen contestant who was voted off visibly broke down on stage. “I can’t sing,” Alaina Whitaker said, in reference to the tradition that eliminated contestants sing a song immediately following their elimination and before leaving the show. Oh no! In the mind of a viewer, the question comes to mind, “What are they going to do now? They aren’t scheduled to go to commercial for two minutes.”

With complete ease, and most likely with a plan for this type of situation already in place, Seacrest was able to offer his own commentary to the eliminated teen and solicit feedback from the judges before offering Whitaker one more opportunity to sing (she took it) and preventing a potentially embarrassing situation from unfolding on national television.

The “American Idol” media trainers appear to be doing a good job – training dozens of young, fresh individuals to maintain their cool in front of millions and millions of viewers. When one of the individuals is unable to reference his or her training, it’s nice to see that a secondary plan is put in motion.

Back when I was a badass 14 year old skateboarder in a gang (which was great), I was a fervent proponent of “skater’s rights” and spoke out vehemently against the police and community elders who treated us like scum-of-the-earth hooligans. Despite the fact that they were right about how much we sucked, it nevertheless made sense to me that they should support the idea of a community skate park. If for no other reason than to cage us all in to one place where we could be watched, it seemed to me like the kind of progressive community program that could eventually, given the right kind of support, have a positive effect on some potentially endangered youth. I know, my bleeding liberal heart is making a huge mess right now.

But now that I’m older and slightly less stupid, this idea still carries weight with me. That’s why, when I see the McIntire  Skate Park being dismantled, I wonder why, what for, and by whom it was decided to take this step backwards. Does anybody know what’s going on? I searched the internet, but everything that came up was very boring.

I should mention that the picture above is not an accurate depiction in any way. Der.

The following tale is not one for the faint of heart. It is a story of ups, downs, hopes, hopes being crushed, sorrow, anger, and success. It is the story of a quest to purchase a microwave. My Mom and I went out to Target to look for a microwave because the motor on our old one had blown out or something. The initial drive was quite a trial. For one thing, we had to first take my nephew