Thanks for this. Not sure how you knew, but we have worked on every house that you presented except one. (we'll get to that one soon enough). Great post. - David Hoggard

Add me. I read this morning's letter about evolution and just shook my head in disbelief. David Hoggard

Apparently there is a new novel out just in time for our summer reading. I'm hearing that two of its main characters are loosely based on the aspirations and machinations of local bloggers, but haven't been able to confirm yet. Anyway... I'm going out and buy it and I'll report back any similarities. Title: Don Quixote.

Damn damning. From the Times article. "Current and former state regulators said the watchdog agency, once among the most aggressive in the Southeast, has been transformed under Gov. Pat McCrory into a weak sentry that plays down science, has abandoned its regulatory role and suffers from politicized decision-making."

That was from Hoggard, BTW. Facebook login is weird.

I am currently in Spain. Austerity is certainly not working here. Spain went into this with almost no national debt and is struggling like crazy. As of today they are at nearly 24% unemployment and climbing. The beer is certainly good at the cafe I'm currently occupying in Esponza, though. People are genuinely glad we are here.

Why indeed. Regarding the exchanges between Gann and others as outlined in linked Yes! post, sounds familiar... "Why dont you come on by the market next saturday and explain it to me." wrote "Dicksmill" (aka Brian Gann)in a comment on this blog. Then, this past Friday, I received a Facebook message from Brian, "personal invite to you for this saturday come on by and see me at the farmers market". Unsure why Brian is so eager for me to "come on by". Threatening? Hard to say. The minutes are accurate right down to the final vote. The Rhino's coverage is intentionally obfuscating the matter for reasons not understood by me. If you will note in the minutes, the part about precluding any new management from kicking anyone out during the first year was brought up before the formal vote. The concern was aimed at both the FCC and GFM groups. We knew there was bad blood between them in equal measures and wanted to make sure that both entities had a cooling off period because the Market needs both factions to become thrive. My motion simply codified the concerns of the committee and was not because we didn't trust GFM to refrain from making sweeping changes; we didn't trust EITHER faction in that regard. We were trying to insure, as best we could, that everyone at least TRIED to work together irrespective of who was awarded the contract and then turned our attention to doing what we were asked to do by Council - namely - choose the best proposal. And to that, I will reiterate: Anyone who actually takes the time to read the proposals as submitted will clearly see that the GFM proposal was head and shoulders above the rest. Just a guess, but I'd bet money that the only reading the majority of our Council has done on the subject has come from the Rhino. That's just nuts.