Scooby Doo took a bike ride to work with me today

I rode my purple beach cruiser to work today. You may remember that I took it to the bike shop a few weeks ago to be repaired, and even though they didn’t do a very good job, I decided to chance it and give up my car for the day.

It cost me $35 to fill up my VW Golf yesterday, so something has to change.

So I filled up the Scooby Doo book bag my sister gave me a few years ago and hit the streets. It was pretty fun, especially when I was going down hill.

I can’t promise this biking to work thing is going to become a regular part of my routine. First, my bike is one speed, which makes getting up the hills a bit of a challenge (though avid-biker Donald swears it’ll get easier after two weeks). Second, I was a little sweaty by the time I got to the station, and it wasn’t even hot or humid out this morning. So I can’t imagine how icky I’d be during the summer. There’s no shower at work.

It took about 30 minutes, but of course I had to stop and take pictures. I think if I stick with it, I can make it to work in 20 minutes, which isn’t bad.

(I took a pic of my Scooby Doo bag because I think it’s too funny that it’s the only book bag I own).

If any of you can offer some tips on how to bike to work on warm mornings and still manage to look somewhat fashionable, I’m all ears. I know I’ll need a bigger bag, but cramming clothes, shoes, make-up and all my work gear into one bag might become tricky.

Highlights from the Duke v. Belmont game as played by Barbie

Our sports director, Penn Holderness, wanted to find a way to get around an NCAA regulation that says you can’t show highlights from the tournament until all games are over. So on March 20, when Duke beat Belmont in the final seconds of the game, NBC17 couldn’t show highlights on our 11 o’clock show.

But Penn wasn’t going to stand for that. So he recapped the game using dolls including making a stuffed frog play the role of Duke’s Gerald Henderson. You have to see this.

Shred your documents with Ginny from the Blog

If you’re like me and you don’t own a paper shredder, then you probably have stacks of documents filled with stuff you know you should shred, but just haven’t gotten around to.

You could do what I do — tear them up in small pieces and try to throw them out with the coffee grounds or cat litter to dissuade potential identity thieves from digging through your garbage. Or you can come to NBC17’s Shred-it events tomorrow.

The events run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the following Raleigh locations: Edward McKay Bookstore, and the Goodwill drop off centers at Bedford at Falls River and in Eagle Ridge.

I volunteered to work at the Bedford location. So if you want to meet me and drop off some documents, I’ll be the one rocking the green Mardi Gras beads (I’m heading straight downtown for some St. Patty’s Day fun as soon as the event is over).

For more details about what you can and can’t bring, check out the Shred-it Website. I hope to see you there.

Join me for lunch Friday

If you don’t have a lunch date Friday, consider being mine. I’ll be appearing along with some other Raleigh bloggers on a live stream “video snacking” event, and you can watch it all from the comfort of your desk while munching on your sandwich.

Here’s the deal. My co-worker/social media guru Wayne Sutton has invited four Raleigh bloggers to come to the NBC17 studio and appear in a live stream online starting at 12:15 p.m. Friday Feb. 15. Other bloggers appearing on the 30 to 45 minute show are:

* David Millsaps from the New Raleigh Blog
* Jason Peck from North Hills Buzz
* Teri Saylor from Miss Congeniality
* Doug Sutton (no relation to Wayne, but he does work at the station) from Raleigh Native Review

The best part is, if all goes well, you’ll be able to chat with us live. We’ll have our laptops on hand, so if you post some questions in the chat room, we’ll try to ask them on camera. This is the first time our station has done anything like this, so I’m not sure how it’s going to go, but I think it’s an awesome way to bring some attention to hard working local bloggers.

So if you want to watch, log on tomorrow at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/mync

In the meantime, feel free to check out the blogs belonging to our guest bloggers and see if you come up with any questions!

Valentine’s Day around the office

Find out how the ladies of NBC17 fared on Hearts Day:

Live from I-85: Ginny and Wayne return from SoCon08

Wayne takes his turn interviewing me on the drive back from Atlanta. And he catches me off guard with a somewhat controversial question.

Live from I-85: Ginny and Wayne Talk Texting

I’m heading to Atlanta with co-worker and fellow blogger Wayne Sutton. I’ve already read the latest issue of Glamour, blogged about the circus and filled out Valentine’s Day cards. I had to find something else to keep me amused, so I made this video:

So what do you think? Should it be against the law to text while driving? What about talking on your cell phone while driving?

50 Places You Might Not Expect to Find a Gnome

When I’m online and feel the need for a smile, there are a few places I turn to. One of them is the “Gnomadic Gnome” blog, which my co-worker introduced me to a few weeks ago. The photo blog features pictures of Gilbert — a garden gnome sporting an Ohio State outfit — in various places you wouldn’t expect to find a lawn ornament, such as Bourbon Street or a men’s restroom.

Since I work with the photographer behind the gnome-themed blog, I thought I’d let him tell you in his own words how it all got started.

As for the other entertaining things I turn to on the Internet to make me smile … three words: Charlie the Unicorn. What do you turn to on the Web to make you smile?

Check Out How Much Cooler NBC17 Just Got

Tonight marks an extremely exciting day in the NBC17 newsroom. We’re launching our new set. If you’re reading this blog from outside the NBC17 viewing area, don’t worry, you can still see the changes on our daily Web casts.

Our new set allows us to bring the news to you from many different angles, including this one:

Here’s a sneak preview of our new set:

Snake in a Window

I have to wait at the same, ridiculously long red light almost every morning I drive to work. This morning I was feeling pretty grumpy as I waited for the light to turn green. I looked over at the restaurant on the corner and noticed this stuffed snake sticking out of the window above Northside Billiards on Whitaker Mill Road in Raleigh.

I’ve never noticed it before. It made me smile (on a day when I could really use a smile), and I had to snap a shot. I just called the pool hall to find out if it’s always been there, and the guy who answered the phone just said he puts it up every year around Halloween. He just hasn’t taken it down yet. I’m glad he didn’t, because it made my morning.

Do you drive past anything unusual on your commute to work?