Paving in Fallston

They're repaving N.C. 18 in Fallston. Its a minor inconvience now, but the road will be much nicer when crews finish.

No time for lunch?

Evidently people are voting instead of eating. Sub Station II was practically deserted at lunchtime.

Gas for $2.19 a gallon!

I drove through Shelby and upper Cleveland County on Saturday morning. The cheapest gas around was $2.37. The price in Catawba County was $2.25. Sunday evening, I bought gas in Hickory at $2.19 a gallon. I can't remember prices being this low in a long time (even though they're higher here than they are two counties over).

I took a photo with my cell phone camera to prove it.

LOL dogs: Capshun this

I can haz mashed potatoes frum da kfc?

For those of you who haven't seen the Lol Cats and Lol Dogs, you're missing out. Star photographer Brittany Randolph set up this one with Gracie and some potatoes.

Try your hand at captioning the photo a la Lol Dogs in the comments section.

Plz to have capshun? Thx.

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Pumpkin head Gracie really is happy to wear her costume. She knows it makes her cuter and, thus more petable.

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Gracie chills out in her pumpkin hat after pet therapy at Cleveland Pines nursing home on Tuesday.

Lulu and Gracie have learned to change channels

Lulu wasn't in the mood to watch Conan. She evidently prefers Craig Ferguson.

Free stuff for readers!

I received an e-mail that cracked me up last week from a marketing company. They were representing a company called Toilet Tattoos that makes toilet seat decals.

Of all the things to send to journalists for possible publication.

I got a good laugh out of it, then cruised through the company's Web site, http://www.toilet-tattoos.com/, which has all of the decals for sale - holidays, potty training stickers, cute designs. In all fairness, the designs were pretty cute, and if I were one to decorate for holidays, I'd consider it. They definitely are a conversation starter...

So for my blog readers' benefit, I also requested samples to give away.

So here's your chance.

Want to win a cute toilet seat decal?

The first three people to comment on this blog post will win one each. Just make sure to include a way for me to contact you and your name. Employees and independent contractors of The Star or Freedom Communications and their immediate families aren't eligible to win. Sorry!

Raining something larger than cats and dogs

This has been a year of seemingly near-death experiences for me.

Over the summer, I shared my almost deadly experience with a jar of beans with readers, but that story pales in comparison to my adventure earlier this month.

We have a regular group of people who get together on Wednesday evenings for a time to relax and watch television, gossip about community goings-on and to share a meal. Every now and then, we'll take it on the road, so in early October, we decided to go to Maggiano's in Charlotte because I had a $10 off coupon.

It happened to be rainy and driving there made me very nervous. We pulled off the side of the road to make sure everything was OK after hearing a strange noise.

Actually, we did it twice. We were all a little spooked.

What are the odds, in the middle of a drought, for it to rain cats and dogs on a Wednesday night?
Well, it was evidently raining significantly larger animals, too, as you'll see.

We arrived at the restaurant, had a wonderful meal, then walked a few steps over to the Cheesecake Factory and ate dessert. We finished around 11 p.m. and began driving back in the rain.

At which point, I should introduce you to our trusty navigator, Kathryn. She has Google Maps on her BlackBerry.

Unfortunately, she reads them upside down, backwards and sideways.

Our other passengers include Justin and a giant bag of dog food on the other side of the back seat.

The navigator missed a turn.

Then we missed another.

And then she told us to take a right instead of a left, maybe even a left instead of a right. We stopped for gas, asked for directions and got going in the right direction. While we were turning around, Justin attempted to become a backseat driver, or so I thought. Cranky after getting lost and stressed out in the rain, I retorted, “I do have a license, you know.”

Immediate regret (and an apology).

We make it to Matthews.

It’s still dark and rainy, but we’re almost to I-485. We round a curve in a mixed residential-business area and bang — we hear a gunshot from close range, the back window busts and glass flies everywhere.

Scared, I begin calling 911.

“Um, ma’am, I think our car has been shot into,” I tell the operator.

Calm at first, I start shaking on the inside as I pull off at a Mexican restaurant a few blocks away, far enough that the shooters won’t chase us, I think.

We stay in the car until four police cars with K-9 officers in tow come blaring into the parking lot. We all get out and the police begin investigating.

One walks over to the back “shot-out” window.

“Um, ma’am, was this fur here before?”

Fur???

Deer fur.

Embarrassment pelts the three of us and we start laughing hysterically.

It’s not funny, but after the scare we’ve had, it’s hilarious.

And it’s an experience the three of us won’t soon forget.


And the irony of all this is that I started working on a Web page for shelbystar.com that focuses on deer-car crashes only days before my incident.

As if BlackBerries aren't addictive enough

There are some days when I'm glad to be both a Verizon Wireless and a BlackBerry addict. Today, the Associated Press is reporting that RIM, the company that makes BlackBerry, will have a new version out soon - and that its touch-screen is better than that on the iPhone.

Here's what the AP story said:

NEW YORK (AP) _ Research in Motion Ltd., maker of the BlackBerry, is taking on Apple Inc. with a touch-screen phone that puts a new twist on the technology.

RIM is known for its e-mail-oriented phones with large keypads. With the new model announced Wednesday, the Storm, RIM is for the first time giving up the physical keypad in favor of a large screen, just like the one on Apple's iPhone.

But RIM has listened to users who find the iPhone's glass screen awkward to type on because its virtual buttons provide no tactile feedback. The Storm's whole screen is backed by springs, and when pressed, it gives under the finger.

The long-rumored Storm will be available from Verizon Wireless in the U.S. and from Vodafone Group PLC overseas before the holidays, the companies said. No price has been disclosed yet.

In an unusual twist, the phone will work both on Verizon Wireless' network and on Vodafone's, even though they use incompatible technologies. Like a few other Verizon Wireless handsets before it, the Storm will be equipped with radios to handle both networks, making international roaming a possibility. The iPhone, carried by AT&T Inc. in the U.S., can already roam internationally.

The addition of a touch-screen phone to the BlackBerry lineup, the mainstay of e-mail-addicted executives and managers, is a testament to the effect of the iPhone. RIM's share of the U.S. smart-phone market has stayed above 50 percent, but the iPhone has clearly helped expand that market.

Here's how it works, according to AP:

As a Web browser, the Storm more closely emulates the desktop experience than the iPhone does. That's because the screen can distinguish between light touches and firm presses. A light touch can move around a cursor, while a firm press activates a link, much like moving a mouse cursor has a different effect from clicking a mouse button, said Mike Lazaridis, RIM's co-chief executive.