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DATELINE: ROYAL
OAK, MICHIGAN
The 7th annual Dan
McCarty Texas Holdem Tournament is scheduled for Thursday,
February 20, 2014 at the Star Lanes in the Emagine Theater in
Royal Oak, Michigan. This years event is to raise money for Rock
The Blight, Gleaners,
and Lupus. Registration
is at 6 pm and the games starts promptly at 7 pm. There is a $100 buy-in
with the chance for $50 re-buys. VIP prizes for the finalists.
Players must be 18 to play and must be 21 to consume alcohol. Contact Shannon Gnesda
at sgnesda@uhy-us.com
or call (586) 843-2637 to save your spot! Cash, check or credit card contributions accepted in advance or at the door.
Hope to see you there!
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Sponsorship
opportunities are available. If interested, see flyer
below, and contact Shannon for more details
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DATELINE: ROCK THE BLIGHT
As you may have
noticed in the article, the Metro is supporting another worth
cause, Rock The Blight. Check out the website http://www.rocktheblight.com.
Rock the Blight, which is the
brainchild of some of the McCarty Metro staff and others who are
interested in giving something back to a great city, is an electrifying
event planned for this year to clean up the blight in the city of
Detroit. Artists from music, sports, television and film will come together in a
telethon to celebrate the heritage of one of the great cities in the United States. The event is
also supported by Crain’s Detroit 20/40 Team and major corporations from around the world. The Motor City has helped out Haiti, Louisiana, and New York when they needed it.
America... We need your help! ED NOTE: The McCarty Metro encourages you to
check out the website, and to click the Facebook and Twitter links
a the bottom of that page to help get the word out.
DATELINE: POLAR VORTEX,
MICHIGAN
Temperatures well
below zero at times, and record snow has been the norm for
Michigan in January. In the Detroit area, with over 30" of
the white stuff, eclipsing the record from 1978, shoveling has
been a daily task. With strong winds and below zero temperatures,
that has been a challenge. Metro reporter Mike McCarty sends a
picture that Karen took on January 24 after Mike finished digging
out from all that snow. Mike says "It pays to be a good
neighbor. I went out at 6:20 a.m. to help dig out a private snow
plow that got stuck in drifts. In turn, he cleaned off the bottom
half of my driveway! I stayed out with my shovel and got inside at
8 a.m. Had to cancel a jam, but I think we'll try next week."
On behalf of the Jam, thank you snow.
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3800
MILES TO THE NORTH .... DATELINE: ANCHORAGE ALASKA
Associated Press
A qualifying race for Alaska's Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race has been cancelled due to warm weather, the second mid-distance qualifier to be cancelled.
Race officials called off the Tustumena 200 sled dog race on the Kenai Peninsula on Friday.
The Anchorage Daily News reports (http://bit.ly/1cftNMp) that the run of mild weather and rain wiped out much of the snow in south-central Alaska. Earlier this week, the Northern Lights 300 at Big Lake was also cancelled.
Race director Tami Murray says a dearth of snow and too much water forced their decision.
Reigning Iditarod champion Mitch Seavey topped the field signed up for the Tustumena.
Other events, including a high school cross-country ski race and a fat-tire bike series, were also cancelled.
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The Snow Won't Go
By Mike McCarty
I'm not trying to build the Alamo
Or a privacy wall for my ego.
There's just so much snow
And no place for it to go.
To get rid of it all I'd need a backhoe.
Grand Rapids' snow has been umpteen days straight
With no sign it will abate
Until my back breaks from the weight
Of shoveling; and here's an update:
Again it's starting to precipitate.
It looks like the Mauna Loa volcano
Blew its top and spewed not lava, but snow:
Six-foot piles in my yard and patio,
White stuff past the sill of my window.
Making matters worse, it's one below.
There's only one thing that seems apropos:
An ad from Karen in The Metro:
Please take our snow to the Congo or Rio
Or anywhere, so I can see my spouse once mo'.
-- Snow Shoveler's Widow |
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DATELINE: DEVELOPER SPOTLIGHT
The global organization called the
Applications Developer Alliance rencently spotlighted our own
Austin McCarty on their website. The site promotes resourses to
help build business with a global network of developers. It also
has a legislative and regulatory advocacy and offers industry
information, analytics, and research. Congrats to Austin. Here is
the interview.
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Developer Spotlight: Austin McCarty
Name: Austin McCarty
Location: Detroit, MI
Company: General Motors/OnStar |
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Why did you start coding?
Growing up, my father worked as a network administrator and computer teacher for my elementary school, so I've always been curious about computers. Video games were also really fun for me. It always amazed me that you could interact with something like that, and I'd wonder about how all the layer-upon-layers of technology worked with each other.
However, it wasn't until college that I got actual programming experience starting with Python, then onto C/C++, Java, C#, VB, etc.. It was here that I actually started to code games. My minor at Michigan State was in Game Design and Development, and I loved every minute of it.
What are you working on right now?
At General Motors, I am coding the back end for our mobile app and in-vehicle IHUs. From their phone, a user can pull up live diagnostics on their vehicle (Fuel level, Tire Pressure, Odometer Reading, etc..), act as a long distance Key Fob (Remote Start, Lock/Unlock), or send destinations to your on-board OnStar unit. Specifically, I am working on a troubleshooting tool to test upcoming production vehicles.
Outside of my job, a college friend and I created an LLC, which specializes in making games and apps. We are working on our second mobile application and partnering with an SE Michigan company to build a stat-tracking app with a built-in game. |
Where do you see the industry going in the next 10 years?
For the car industry, we will see a huge push for autonomous vehicles. Already we have self-parking cars, sensors that tell us when we're too close to another vehicle, rear-view cameras, and even Google touting self-driving cars. Right now, you can warm up your vehicle in winter with a remote start from your RemoteLink mobile app, but you never know how far we could go. Maybe someday you could go tell your car to fill up it's tank, and it would. For our new hardware, we're pushing a semi-open interface to allow third party developers to create apps that interface with their vehicle and our services.
For the games industry, we'll be focusing on utilizing a pick-up-and-play model, along with social media tie-ins and a focus on asynchronous multiplayer. People want to be able to play and talk with their friends on their own time, usually when they have a spare moment. But I'd also expect incredibly immerse experiences being developed for the hardcore market with things like the Occulus Rift and Omni.
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Please
remember our cousin Barbara in
your prayers
as she has started treatment to battle cancer.
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DATELINE: GRAND RAPIDS
Karen McCarty upgraded her iPhone to a 5s last month. Mike went with Karen to the phone store, and successfully rebuffed a salesman who tried to sell him a basic cellphone. However, the GR McCartys did agree to make their land line wireless. Mike is now looking to join a Cordless Support Group.
DATELINE: SOCHI, RUSSIA
The Winter Olympics will run Feb. 6-23. Snowboarder Shaun White may be the biggest star for the U.S. Skier Lindsey Vonn is out, but Colorado skier Mikaela Shiffrin, 18, may step up in the slalom. And 10 Detroit Red Wings will be in the hockey tournament, with Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg named as captains of Team Russia and Team Sweden, respectively. Plus Wings Coach Mike Babcock will coach Team Canada. Tune in to NBC stations to watch the drama: Will Russian police thwart terrorist attacks? Will Russian police thwart gay protesters? Will President Putin go topless again? Will the Suscomb 500 be named an Olympic sport?
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DATELINE:
PLANES, TRAINS & AUTOMOBILES
Here are some
of the travel destinations this past month...
Margaret &
Austin traveled to Bend, Oregon to visit Chris, Amanda,
Alexa & Cooper
Steve, Kristen, Megan, & Jenna traveled to Florida to
spend some over Christmastime in the warmth of the sun
Kelly, Steve, Jerry, and Larry traveled to Las Vegas
(picture below)
Jerry traveled to China for business
Amanda celebrated her birthday in Portland, Oregon
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Are you
traveling? Why not send us your destination and pictures. Send
them to submit@mccartymetro.com
| DATELINE:
AUGUSTA, MICHIGAN |
GULL LAKE
XXX TEE TIMES |
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Gull
Lake XXX reservations have been made arriving Tuesday May
20th leaving Friday May 23rd. The cost this year for
four days off golf and three days lodging is $320.51
including tax. The carts are $16 per person per round or
$80 based on playing five rounds of golf. Total cost
$400.51. Currently, we have 11 of 12 confirmed.
The
original Gull Lake event started in 1985 by Rick &
Kelly McCarty, Leo Stebbins and Louie Ayello. Since then,
then event has taken place each spring. Although no
McCartys are in the field this year, several subscribers
are penciled in to play. If interested, shoot me an email,
and I will forward the information along to Mike..
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| Date |
West |
East |
SH
South |
SH
North |
Bedford |
| May
20 |
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12:27pm |
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| May
21 |
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3:00pm |
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9:18am |
| May
22 |
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9:09am |
2:33am |
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| May
23 |
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9:09am |
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We want to hear your questions, comments, rants,
or editorials. Just submit them to soundoff@mccartymetro.com.
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Dear Editor. With all my snow shoveling this winter, my upper body is getting a great workout.
I am worried: Will my shirts be too small in spring? -Fit and Cold in GR
ED NOTE: I am sure Karen
will take care of the shirts like always. I hear she uses an Ancient Chinese
Secret.
Dear Editor. As a Valentine's Day gift for your honey, should I go for quantity over quality in perfume?
- Wondering in Michigan
ED
NOTE: My dad always taught me to go for the "WOW"
factor. No, not the game where we try to keep a paper wad
up in the air with our hands yelling WOW everytime you hit
it, but rather the surprised look of your lady when she
opens that gallon container (with free refill dispenser)
of Jean Nate'.
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| GONE
BUT NOT FORGOTTEN - DECEMBER |
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Nelson Mandela, 95, anti-apartheid activist and politician, President of South Africa (1994−1999), lung infection. Tom
Laughlin, 82, actor (Billy Jack series), complications from pneumonia.
Ray Price, 87, singer ("Heartaches by the Number", "For the Good Times"), pancreatic cancer.
Paul Blair, 69, baseball player (Baltimore Orioles).
James Avery, 68, actor (The Fresh Prince of Bel Air), complications from surgery. Johnny
Orr, 86, basketball coach (University of Michigan).
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| GONE
BUT NOT FORGOTTEN - JANUARY |
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Jay Traynor, 70, singer (Jay and the Americans), liver cancer.
Phil Everly, 74, singer and musician (The Everly Brothers), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Mae Young, 90, professional wrestler, WWE Hall of Fame.
Russell Johnson, 89, actor (Gilligan's Island), kidney failure.
Dave Madden, 82, actor (The Partridge Family, Alice), heart and kidney failure.
Roy Garber, 49, television personality (Shipping Wars), heart attack. Pete
Seeger, 94, folk singer and songwriter ("Turn Turn Turn", "If I Had a Hammer", "Where Have All the Flowers Gone").
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AND FINALLY... JUST
LOOKING AT HIS FACE, I THINK THIS DOG IS INVOLVED IN SOME TYPE OF SEX
SCANDAL
THE McCARTY METRO WILL BE BACK ON YOUR CYBER PORCH IN MARCH
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