Six years smoke free

Six years ago today, I quit smoking. Smoking never really seemed to fit with me. I like the outdoors and fresh air. I like flavorful food. I've regularly exercised my entire adult life. None of those things go well with smoking. Yet, smoke I did. Like many people, I made numerous attempts to quit. Sometimes seemingly successful—a year or two, here or there—but none seemed to stick until this time.

If you smoke and want to quit, you can. I used the quit smoking drug Chantix to get me started and it worked for me. If you find a way that works for you, I can promise you this: Life is better without cigarettes. I know this is the exact opposite of how it feels when you contemplate quiting which has you thinking life without cigarettes is going to be misery. It's not. Quiting might be, for a little while, but after, life is better.

While you are a smoker, the consequences of smoking seem normal; unnoticed. Not until you quit will you understand -- no, that's the wrong word because it's more than mental -- not until you quit will you feel that your body and mind are capable of more energy, more stamina, better concentration, less anxiety and more serenity. It is ironic that, when I smoked, these were often the reasons I lit up: for a boost, to concentrate, to relax. But trust me, those effects are not only fleeting when achieved with tobacco, they are nowhere near as deep or sustained than your body is capable of without cigarettes. In other words, the very reasons you smoke will be better fulfilled by quitting. The reasons you smoke will not be left wanting if you quit. You will not be left to suffer a void. Quite the opposite. Your body will fill in the gap, naturally and more satisfyingly, if you give it a chance. If you give it time.

Incongruous

GREENSBORO, NC -- Downtown Greensboro, Inc. is floating a proposal to add more places for people to sit, read a book or just people watch, according to the News & Record. They are calling them "parkletts." They sound like a great idea to me.

It is unclear how well this idea would work with downtown's city council representative Zack Matheny's ideas for surveillance cameras and his desire "for people that are loitering to know that we’re watching them."

Councilman: Militarize downtown

GREENSBORO, NC -- The News & Record reports district 3 councilman Zack Matheny's ideas for public safety downtown:

“I want there to be an army down here,” he said. “Because I want people who are coming from Winston-Salem, from High Point, from Siler City to know that we mean business. I want cameras downtown. I want people that are loitering to know that we’re watching them.”

Think about a downtown policed by militarized patrols where the city "wants you to know" that lingering a little too long will have you subject to closer secret and remote observation, where all of your movements are subject to being covertly tracked and monitored.

These ideas, were they to come to fruition, would be costly, oppressive, hostile and, worst of all, they would kill downtown.

Thanks Brown Summit Middle School

I had the great pleasure of conducting two sessions on "coding for the modern web" during Brown Summit Middle School's Fall Conference this morning. The students were great and the staff and parent volunteers were very friendly. My hope was that these sixth, seventh and eighth graders would garner some insight into what code is and to comprehend the basic concepts enough to be confident to continue with some independent study if they are interested. I think we succeeded.

Greensboro votes to fund P. R. B. S. while cutting city services

GREENSBORO, NC -- It was sadly ironic that, on a night when Greensboro city council approved a plan to cut city services, they voted to give $35,000 to WFMY for a "marketing initiative." (Story)

Greensboro too often grasps at shortcuts. Rather than doing things, we think we can just manage appearances. To seem, rather than to be is the motto we live by. It's a shame and a fat check to a local TV station for what councilwoman Nancy Hoffman called a great opportunity to "brand" the area is a sign that we remain a city lacking ideas and motivated by desperation. In this case, the desperation is compounded by sloppy thinking.

Even if $35,000 of "branding" has the possibility to net some return on investment, it is not going to happen by marketing on a local TV station to the people who already live here. (Forget too the issue of a news organization accepting money from a government it should cover objectively, that's not something I'd expect to cause a blip on WFMY's ethics radar.)

I could see, maybe, some benefit of marketing the city to people and businesses elsewhere, but how in the world does Greensboro benefit from promoting a brand to itself?

In voting to cut city services, councilman Zack Matheny said it would help the city run more like a business. Where was that business sense on this waste of money to WFMY that passed by a vote of 9 to 0?

P. R. B. S. is what this is and council fell for it in a night of mixed up priorities.