Sunday, August 7, 2011

Sunday's Check This Out!

Tommy Tomlinson - Writes about Inertia, its a good read and won't slow down your Sunday.

"Routines become habits, and habits become ruts that run so deep it's hard to see out. When inertia kicks in, your mind clicks over to autopilot. You could live your life blindfolded. You know exactly where to go." More here.

Cedar's Take - Tomlinson is a treasure, I wish he'd drop some weight as I worry about his health.

I wonder about people like this - "You imagine yourself as a legitimate news outlet but you're just posting unfiltered misinformation from the victim's distraught family members. Your problems go far deeper than a simple reluctance to spell check..."

I don't imagine anything. Cedar Posts runs along most days with 500 or so visitors and 800 page views. On average there are 4 comments for every post. Every once and a while there is a spike in the numbers. Sometimes I know why sometimes I don't.

Comparing Cedar Posts to the Charlotte Observer's 100,000 plus vists everyday and well, that is less than 1%. I have no illusions of grandness.

What I do know is that main stream media is a mess. They have stayed in their comfy world of pressers and stock images too long and the public is looking for a source of information outside of mainstream and a forum for discussion of news on a more relevant scale.

Harper's SouthPark - If you haven't checked out the 3 interactive booths at Harper's you are missing out. T1 Visions of Huntersville has installed the systems sometime ago, which feature interactive menus, games, news and more. The cool stuff is also over at Cowfish SouthPark. All that is missing is a PacMac game.


Provided

Cedar's Take: Harper's is still SouthPark's best deal. Going on year 20 the restaurant is comfortable like a well worn pair of jeans.

Then there is Desi our server. Ha! She's as cute as they come and one of the best. Attentive but not intrusive. Desi rolled right along with Cedar's dry sense of humor Saturday night. While the interactive menu feature is trendy and cutting edge it will not replace Desi.

Bounus - Cedar has been going to Harper's since it opened in 1992. Which was before Desi was born. I suddenly feel old.

Tweet of the Week - From @SnoopDogg "US Economy downgraded #getyomoneyright"

Cedar's Take and Tweet - Obama adopts "Oh No You didn't!" after S&P hijacks Obama "Yes We Can" slogan.

Proof Pakistan Is No Deterrent to Terrorism - 14 Pakistani soldiers were killed when they fired a mortar to try and repel a group of militants but accidentally hit themselves, a government official said.

The incident occurred when the soldiers were traveling in a convoy of three vehicles Monday night near the village of Akakhel in Khyber Agency, said Roshan Khan, a government official in the agency.

Militants fired on the convoy with machine guns and a soldier responded by firing a mortar. Somehow the mortar landed among the soldiers, killing them, Khan said.

Seriously do we need any better reason to cut of funding to Pakistan?

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Cedar,
I just read in the Observer that Gary McFadden was hired back at cmpd, a la Ricky Robbins...after his retirement.

Is he also driving a new Dodge Charger and making $40/hr?

Where does the money come from for this? For these CREATED positions that are "double dipping".

And couldn't these positions be opportunities for young officers at cmpd?

Once again, monroe is creating "jobs" for his "buddies"'
members of his diverse "posse".

When will these kind of "favors" stop???

Seriously, folks, when will enough be enough?

ThaQueenCity said...

To Anon 11:31am

Now here I am going to speak out. Yes, it looks like McFadden is back on the force and THAT is a good thing. He is one of the old timers who knows how to respect the public while doing his job. THAT is called leadership, a quality CMPD is in dire need of! All they have to go by IS Monroe right now, and we all know about his qualifications....

Sorry, I disagree, it is a good thing McFadden will be still be around to help guide the newer guys if nothing else. Who knows, maybe he can help Monroe, but I fear it would take a lot more than McFadden to do that....

Not sure about the double dipping, don't have any info on his pension etc. So I will leave that one alone.

Anonymous said...

We agree to disagree on this.

Creating positions for friends is not kosher.....if he wants to "help" ... let him volunteer his time and expertise. Or he should have just stayed on and not retired....this way he gets his retirement plus the $40/hr. And I imagine a take home car. Not really ethical, IMHO.

Or create positions for EVERY PERSON that retires, not just his "friends"....fair is fair, right?

Anonymous said...

Cedar you are right about Tomlinson on both points.

Anonymous said...

He has been hired back just like Capt Harkey ( a white male) Linda Holmes White female, Capt Kathy Nichols, White female.
This was started under Stephens and it is a Non Issue.

Anonymous said...

Anon 12:00
It may be a non issue to you, Rob....but trust me, others do not share your lack of interest and concern about !

If I am not mistaken, these people were hired strictly for the Watch Commander's Office....and I don't think they had a take home car.....and primo day job.
Nice try!

Anonymous said...

@ 8:39

Harkey is in recruiting. Darrell price is in Rape (W/M) Linda Holmes is in investigations (W/F).
Donna Burgess (W/F) crime prevention.
Know your facts...

Anonymous said...

Anon 3:10
Why are you so intent on W/F, W/M, etc.?

Is it because all of Rodney's "rehires" have been his black male buddies?

And quite frankly, it doesn't matter who started it, it seems Monroe has taken it to new levels, and no matter WHO started it, it is not right.

And the people you mentioned, are they still there, do they have take home cars, and are they being paid 40/hr.?
Facts, please, Rob.

city said...

Here are the hourly police department employees except for crossing guards and similar positions:

Robbins,Ricky Sergeant $40.00
Price,Darrell Sergeant $40.00
Harkey,Donald Captain $40.00
Barnes,Sherry Admin Officer III $37.31
Gomez,Halli Beth Mgt Analyst $37.31
Mathis Jr,Earl F Captain $36.00
Nichols,Edna K Captain $36.00
Skipper,Dickson L Captain $36.00
Miller,Kimberly McGill Criminalist II $33.66
Clark,Sharon Jones Syst Appl Spec II $31.71
Carroll,Donald J Polygraph Examiner $30.00
Elghamrawi,Shereen Criminalist II $28.44
Burgess,Donna D Officer $27.00
Hollifield,Hershel P Officer $27.00
Riedel,Richard E Officer $27.00
Holmes,Linda L Officer $27.00

Anonymous said...

@4:43
I only see one of his Black Male buddies on the list.........
He is just pointing out the holes in your theory.
I agree with Rob. Non Issue

Anonymous said...

I don't know. You'd have to see the number of hours, type of hours and assignments, and whether CMPD cars are assigned to all of those on the list. Also, why is a Sgt. getting paid more than Captains? Also, what other assignments, pay, and connections may be present? Maybe none. Maybe many. You need to see the total picture before being dismissive.

What are all the perks involved in the job--whether they should exist or not?

It's just as dumb as someone who believes that evaluating Rodney's base salary is the way to decide if he is getting too much money in the position he's in. Look at all the compensation, regular and otherwise, before deciding.

Anonymous said...

Anon 5:31
Absolutely correct you are!

And McFadden woud be his second buddy.....where is he on the list?

Anonymous said...

Are all those on that list RETIRED employees of cmpd?

Anonymous said...

The list is simply hourly-paid employees. Someone else will have to say who is retired or not.

McFadden JUST retired, according to reports, so he's not on this list yet--still shown as salaried employee at $66,865 as of June. Unknown at this time (per Walton's letter refusing to comment or investigate anything regarding raises) whether any raise was given in time for retirement. Not known, either, what he will be paid for any work done during retirement, how that work will be doled out, or if he will be allowed to use a CMPD car.

Also unknown is if there are other positions being paid for under, say, grants, or other methods, as special favors which are not listed on this hourly-rate list.