Mar
31

Frugal Travel Guy Coming to Raleigh

frugaltravelguyThe Frugal Travel Guy is coming to Raleigh next week for a one-hour discussion about traveling frugally. His real name is Rick Ingersoll and he’ll be at the Capital City Club on Wednesday, April 6, at Noon.

Ingersoll, the author of The Frugal Travel Guy Handbook, is an internationally recognized expert at amassing frequent flier miles, getting airline and hotel vouchers, and a host of other methods that have allow him and his wife to travel the globe for free, or nearly free, for years.

Ingersoll started the blog and speaking engagements to further his mission: to teach others how to do what he does so that they, too, can enjoy traveling for the rest of their lives. He’s especially interested in reaching people who think they can’t afford to travel.

“With my techniques, folks are always amazed at how much traveling they can do for next to no money.” He pointed out that a regular reader of his blog recently reported booking a $980 (Euro) hotel room in Paris for only $75 using FTG’s tips.

Lunch will be served at noon with the presentation and Q&A to follow. Business attire is required.

Mar
31

Which Wich Expanding to North Hills, Brier Creek

which-wich-logoA year and a half ago a little sandwich shop opened in West Raleigh. It had a small following for several months, but for those who have watched the store grow, the secret is obviously out. Dallas-based Which Wich’s store on Lake Boone Tr. is bursting at the seems, so this summer expect Ted, Brandon, and the crew to expand to North Hills and Brier Creek. The North Hills store will be located to the left of the Q-Shack, and will finally deliver a much-needed blow to McAllister’s.

Mar
31

Raleigh Meat House Location (Possibly) Opening Today

The long-awaited arrival of The Meat House may come today. As of late this morning the store was unsure of their status today, but will definitely be open tomorrow. The Meat House is a New Hampshire-based butcher shop that stocks an impressive array of fresh meats as well as specialty groceries. While it may be a chain, there is a large stock of local foods.

While the fresh meats are impressive, perhaps the best offering at The Meat House is the marinated meats. Swing by and try the burgundy-marinated beef tips.

The Meat House Raleigh location is in Quail Corners Shopping Center, in the former Eckerd’s location. The center is at the intersection of Falls of Neuse and Millbrook roads. The store is open daily from 9am-7pm.

Mar
31

Parkopedia Helps To Scout Parking

parkopediaHave you wondered where to park in places like downtown Raleigh? Factors such as hourly rates, height restrictions, and lighting can be important factors in addition to location. Thankfully Parkopedia offers a Wikipedia approach to parking opportunities. There is not real-time availability information, but most other factors are included in its Google Maps mashup.

Mar
30

Mitch Fatel Coming to Goodnight’s

fatel It looks like Kevin Nealon will not be at Goodnight’s this weekend. We still get a real treat, however, as the second-funniest Mitch to ever walk the planet is returning to Goodnight’s. Mitch Fatel will take the stage for this weekend beginning Thursday. (This one is definitely rated “R”)

Mar
30

Taylor Swift Returning to RBC Center

TSwiftOn Thursday, November 17, Taylor Swift will return to the RBC Center. This one sold out in minutes last year, so if you are interested, be ready to pounce on tickets.

Note: Tickets will go on sale Friday, April 8, at 10am at Ticketmaster outlets.

Mar
29

Geek Dad Coming to Raleigh Library

geekdadFans of the Geek Dad will surely descend upon the Raleigh Express Library (across Fayetteville St. from WTVD) tomorrow (Wednesday) at Noon. The Geek Dad will be here speaking and demonstrating a few projects from his upcoming book, Geek Dad’s Guide to Weekend Fun. The event is free and open to the public. Vouched parking for the Express Library is available at 216 W. Cabarrus St.

Mar
29

Rush Concert Postponed

bigrushThe Rush concert originally scheduled for Friday (4/1), has been moved back one night to Saturday, April 2. Doors remain 6:30 pm with show time at 7:30 pm.

Tickets for the previously scheduled performance will be honored at the rescheduled date.  Fans requiring a refund may do so at point of purchase.

Mar
21

Journey, Foreigner, Night Ranger Coming to TWC

On Saturday, August 20, Journey is coming to Walnut Creek. Opening are Foreigner and Night Ranger. If you were ever a Journey fan, you’ll enjoy them today. Steve Perry is missing, however replacement singer Arnel Pineda sounds exactly like him, and the band is really tight. Foreigner is still guitarist Mick Jones and replacements, and the lineup is almost the same as what he brought to Cary last year (drummer Brian Tichy is replaced by Jason Sutter). Night Ranger is one of my guilty 80’s pleasures. The core members of Jack Blades (bass, lead vocals), Kelly Keagy (drums and “Sister Christian” singer…among other songs), and Brad Gillis (lead guitar) are joined by Joel Hoekstra (guitar) and Eric Levy (keyboards).

If you haven’t seen Gillis or Schon play guitar live, you are really missing out. Tickets are on sale at Ticketmaster outlets.

Mar
15

Follow NCSU Coaching Candidates on TV

Today Sidney Lowe officially resigns from his coaching post at N.C. State University, casting a new light on the NCAA and NIT tournaments for NCSU fans seeking the right coach. Back in January I posted a list of coaches who are fairly young and finding success at smaller schools. Some of these coaches continued to have excellent seasons, and others didn’t.

Let’s revisit this list, however, with the tournament schedules in mind. The list appears in the order in which each coach’s team will play over the next four nights.

Format: Name (school) – Sagarin Computer Ranking, Tourney Seed, Air Time (Network)

Season Over (No Bid or Tourney Loss)

  • Fred Hoiberg (Iowa St) – #87
  • Ron Everhart (Duquense) – #75
  • Randy Bennett (St. Marys-Cal) – #43, NIT 2-seed. 11p (ESPN2) – Lost by 1 in 1st round

Wednesday

  • Gregg Marshall (Wichita St) – #64, NIT 4-seed. 7p (ESPN2)
  • Tad Boyle (Colorado) – #49, NIT 1-seed. 9p (ESPN3.com)
  • Ken Bone (Wash. St) – #55, NIT 2-seed. 10p (ESPNU)

Thursday

  • Blaine Taylor (ODU) – #39, NCAA 9-seed. 12:40p (truTV)
  • Chris Mooney (Richmond) – #36, NCAA 12-seed. 4:10p (TBS)

Friday

  • Mark Turgeon (Texas A&M) – #33, NCAA 7-seed. 4:10p (TBS)
  • Chris Mack (Xavier) – #35, NCAA 6-seed. 7:27p (truTV)
  • Mark Fox (Georgia) – #52, NCAA 10-seed. 9:45p (CBS)

Advancing, Next Game TBA

  • Cuonzo Martin (Missouri St) – #73, NIT 3-seed. 8p (ESPN3.com)

If you would like to add these events to your Google Calendar, simply follow the link below.

GoogleCal

Mar
15

McCreery One of Idol’s Favorites

mcreeryGarner’s Scotty McCreery is making a big impact on this season of American Idol. He may resemble Clay Aiken, but his voice is decidedly different. Entertainment Weekly posted their odds for each contestant and have the 17-year old, deep-voiced country crooner finishing third, with 6-1 odds on winning it all. The story is found on page 48 of this week’s issue.

With the Canes making a push to the playoffs and with Duke and Carolina entering the NCAA tournament in the top 8, and with McCreery’s showing thus far, it looks like we may have a busy Spring in Raleigh.

Idol airs Wednesday at 8pm.

Mar
15

TTA Adds Free Wi-Fi to Buses

ttaRiding the TTA just got a lot more productive. Forty two of the system’s buses now have free wi-fi service. There is no registration fee, however users will have to accept the Terms of Service agreement. The signal is orginates in the front of the bus, so sit there for better service. Only the buses sporting the “Wi-Fi Onboard” logo have the service, and these buses will be rotated through the routes. So, there is no guarantee that your trip will have Wi-Fi service currently, but chances will even improve as the system adds the service to more buses in the future.

Just as a reminder, the TTA is the regional transit system that efficiently connects popular destinations in Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, and RTP. There is a free park-and-ride lot near the NC Museum of Art, which offers excellent service to destinations in the western part of the triangle (more on that later!)

Wi-Fi FAQ

Mar
14

Subscribe to Gogo’s Google Calendar for Complete NCAA Tournament Action

2011-Final-Four-logoIt’s NCAA tourney time and you guessed it! Gogoraleigh is your source for importing calendar events for all of the games. It is a Google Calendar which contains all 36 First Round games. Keep following it, though, as the next round games will be added as soon as they are determined. Subscribe in Google Calendar, on your Android Phone, iPhone, iPad other capable device!

The two area teams playing include:

  • UNC vs. Long Island – Friday at 7:15 pm (CBS)
  • Duke vs. Hampton – Friday at 3:10 pm (truTV)

This year’s tournament will be broadcasted on four different networks for the first time. The games will appear in Raleigh on these Time Warner Cable Channels:

SD

  • CBS – 3 and 105
  • TBS – 34 and 302
  • TNT – 26 and 301
  • truTV – 44 and 313

HD

  • CBS – 1105 and 5.1
  • TBS – 1302
  • TNT – 1301
  • truTV – 1313
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