The Big Link

And now, with out further introduction, we present this weeks installment of the
Big Link

One Reason Why Hardee's Will Not Get to the Top of the Fast Food Heap

This week I stopped by Hardee's Asheboro location (457 E Dixie Dr (Hwy 64). Asheboro, NC 27203, Phone: 336-629-4400). The location is convenient to those going to/from the North Carolina Zoo via Zoo Parkway.

I was on my way to work and due to some scheduling difficulty at home had to skip my usual morning meal. As a substitue, I decided on a biscuit and drink from Hardee's drive thru. Little did I realize what would happen...

After declining their offer to purchase a heart thumping, belly busting Loaded Breakfast Burrito I place my order at the New York skyscraper sized outdoor menu board. The order was confirmed and I proceeded around to the drive thru window.

I gave the employee my Debit/Fake Visa card, the employee swiped it and then…
THE WAIT.
30 seconds, 1 minute, 1 minute 30 seconds.
The employee begins to visibly fret, examining the Point-of-Sale terminal. Then, the comment from him "Does it usually take this long?"…
"No", I reply.
(This is where is gets WORSE)
"Well," this Manager (I note) retorts, "we're getting really backed up, it's a busy time of the morning for us and I am going to have to ask you not to use this card here again"
Dumbfounded, I reply "I've used this card here before with no problem. This isn't my problem.
We continue to wait….
Hurriedly, he returns my card and gives my food to me. "I've re-booted the computer. It should go through."
I leave… NEVER TO RETURN to Hardee's again at 457 E Dixie Dr (Hwy 64). Asheboro, NC 27203, Phone: 336-629-4400!

If Hardee's can not prepare Management to effectively deal with the public and glitches with their sub-par Point-of-Sale system they will never standout among the crowded Quick Service Resturant industry except for their "here today, gone tomorrow" Goliath sandwhiches.

Randolph County Gets Bloggin' : Randolph Is Talking

Looks like Randolph Is Talking.
Taking Greensboro's model to less populated areas with a much less modest ambition. Good Luck!

Bad Government Idea: NC Noncitizens Could Get In-State Tuition Break

As reported in the News & Observer article
the N.C. House Bill 1183 would offer illegal immigrants in-state tuition rates at North Carolina's public universities and community colleges.

As a legal citizen and taxpayer of this state I am disgusted that our leaders are even considering a bill that "would allow students who are in the country illegally to pay the lower, in-state tuition rate as long as they meet academic qualifications and have attended a North Carolina high school for at least four years before graduation."

Why am I against this bill? William Gheen, president of the Americans for Legal Immigration PAC
says it best:

"The proposal could penalize children of legal state residents. A lot of North Carolina families have been paying the taxes to build these universities for 100 years," Gheen said. "It is insane to demand that they replace their own kids, in limited classroom space, with foreign nationals -- and ask them to pay for it."

If you are not here legally, do the leg work required to become naturalized citizen then, reap all the benefits.

4/14/05 Update: For the record: My great grandparents all immigrated to the U.S. and went through the naturalization process just as I think the illegal immigrants should.

Another local blogger has something to say about this bill over at The Freeholder.

A NC Senator was kind enough to responsed to my e-mail on this issue:
"I plan to vote against this piece of ill-advised legislation."

Note: I have this reply on file but, I am leaving the attribution anonomous at this point since a Senate vote has not taken place, the bill is still in the House Education Committee and I have not asked permission to quote the Senator.

A Visit to the New Stadium : Greensboro Grasshopper's Game 2

I wasn't going to blog about our family trek to the 2nd game for Greensboro's Grasshoppers (the A affiliate for the Marlins) in the newly completed First Horizon Park but, Dave over at A Little Urbanity got me re-thinking and then, after reading Hogg's Blog I thought I'd wade my way in to the discussion.

Let me say by way of full disclosure: I was part of Action Greensboro up to (and including) the original trip to Chattanooga, TN. (Those that went will remember when it was time to leave we were diverted back into the terminal for a security scan to board our chartered flight.) Not long after the trip I decided I had enough and parted company.

Chattanooga's BellSouth Park... it was nice, well done (on a moderate budget) and quite attractive. The details of that park escape me but, I remember thinking as I stood in the sun on our way in to the Tennessee ballpark "very well done. I wonder how "dolled -up" Greensboro would make theirs?"

Well, in my humble opinion, it would be much like comparing a family sedan to a luxury coupe. Make no mistake, I was impressed by what I saw last night at Greensboro's new First Horizon ballpark but, I'm left with a lingering "what if we remodeled" kind of feeling.

All this aside... my family and I had a wonderful time! Unfortunately, the game was more exciting for the visiting team last night than for the home team (score: 3 -6). Parking was plentiful and traffic (if one can call it that) was a breeze. There is a playground to keep the kids from going stir crazy. Lots of activity between innings (sumo wrestling, bug eating and various foot races) to keep Ms. N amused. The concessions were priced reasonably and the facility was clean.

Our game experience was cut short (top of the 8th) by Ms. N's schedule conflicts (mostly the need for sleep). But, despite this, we'd do it again. We missed the fireworks but, there's always next time!

Airflight and My Grandpa Help Recall Yesterday

Air travel has changed drastically over the years. I remember my first flight. It was from Boston to New York aboard a dual propeller aircraft operated by Allegheny Airlines. Allegheny was a smallish carrier in the Northeast that later became part of U.S. Air.

This flight on Allegheny was nothing like you would experience today. We had seats that were NOT arranged elbow to elbow, sardine-like. Chewing gum was provided to help relieve the pressure change in your ears. The gum probably served a more important purpose, to give you something else to think about other than the constant, mind numbing, hammering of the propellers and engines as we made our way through the skies. Beverage service included cloth napkins. That was air travel.

Grandpa was the one responsible for fostering an early interest in air flight which led to a fascination with space exploration. "Riggie" served as a minesweeper off the Massachusetts coast during W.W. II.

Grandpa’s favorite airplanes were the bi-planes and tri-planes of the W.W. I. In my Uncle’s bedroom, converted to a study, Grandpa had a model of a German tri-plane on a shelf. The times we stayed with my grandparents, I would fall asleep gazing up at the tri-plane from the glow of a lamp fashioned from a Texaco glass globe retrieved from a gasoline pump.

There was one span of time that I recall vividly. It was during a hot New England Summer over a series of Saturdays. Grandpa and I worked on assembling a plastic model kit of an F-16 jet flown by the Air Force. We sipped iced coffee while working on the model in the cool basement of their home. On another occasion, in the Fall, Grandpa made a kite from some wood scraps and a green plastic garbage bag.

Some years passed and my grandparents retired to California. My Grandpa ever the tinkerer didn’t take the traditional approach to retirement. He landed himself a dream job as the repairman of a condo community. If you knew my Grandpa he really had landed his dream job. Grandma has told me frequently over the years that Grandpa spent most weekends painting, wallpapering, switching out screens for storm windows as the seasons changed, tending the lawn or keeping their cars maintained.

During this time my brother and I received a special gift for the holidays... a pair of bi-planes fashioned from aluminum cans. I suspect the cans were rounded up in the course of Grandpa performing his duties as repairman. These gifts were an act of love and a resourceful re-use of available materials. This act of recycling was done long before it became fashionable or necessary to recycle.

My brother’s bi-plane was built from Coors’ beer cans. I learned later that Coors was not distributed east of the Rockies for a long time. This made my brother’s plane all the more of a novelty. My bi-plane was constructed from Budweiser and Pabst beer cans. The bi-planes were ingeniously crafted and included rounded wings with struts and landing gear with wheels, all held together with rivets.

Like my Grandpa, the bi-plane he gave me sits on a shelf in our study and you can find me out in the yard most weekends.

Note: This would have run in the local paper but, due to an error will go to the Editor's "as space allows" pile. Interestingly enough, The Freeholder has something to tell us about airtravel. --Rob