In the vein of yesterday’s post, I was alerted that K92FM is giving away $92 gas cards during its morning show with Doc and Grace later this morning (Friday) and next Friday as well.

To win one, listen to the station and call 407-424-9236 or 1-800-749-9292 between 7am and 8am. If you get through, you’ll get one of the gas cards mailed to you. Doc says he and the morning crew plan to give out as many gas cards as they can during that hour.

Visit K92FM.com for more details.

I know other gas giveaways have been going on around town, but I like that with this one, they mail you a card so you don’t have to waste gas driving to the station and waiting in line for the free gas.

Good luck to y’all and let us know if you end up winning one.

With gas prices creeping over the $4 mark, we all need to look at alternate forms of transportation to save money. One way already in place is public transportation via the Lynx bus system.

Today, Lynx is joining a national program called Dump the Pump, a one-day effort to entice new readers by offering up coupons to ride for free all day.

If you want to give it a spin, simply cut out coupons available in several local publications like the Orlando Sentinel or Orlando Weekly, or you can head on over to golynx.com and print out all the coupons you need for today. While there, you can also look up maps and schedules for all of the Lynx routes.

I’ll be the first to admit that Lynx isn’t perfect, especially to those who live or work on the outskirts of Orlando. And a few more buses along the tourist routes and out to Walt Disney World could boost ridership via visitors to the city (hint, hint Lynx).

But if you can make it work for you, a $44 monthly bus pass is a lot cheaper than filling up your tank several times a week for that amount.

Did anybody else gag up their corn flakes this morning looking at the picture on the front page of the Sentinel, the one of that smug bastard who runs Summit Charter School?

You know, the guy who is accused of taking a fat salary and spending school funds willy-nilly while the educational institution almost went bankrupt?

Man, if ever a dude deserved a punch in the face, it’s him. Turquoise turtleneck and all.

Orlando is a MAD HOUSE! A MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAADHOUUUUUUUSE!

Police nab wild monkey with banana in west Orlando — OrlandoSentinel.com

*Yes, I realize monkeys are not apes. I think they aren’t, at least.

I live in College Park. I notice things. I type.

–Anyone else noticed the serious decline in ice cream available at the Baskin Robbins/Dunkin Donuts on Edgewater? It seems to have changed ownership recently, because all the employees are relatively new, but the real problem is that they just DON’T HAVE ALL THE FLAVORS. Come on, folks–Rocky Road is not some exotic temporary fad. It’s a staple. If you’re out of Rocky Road, you have serious problems as an ice cream-related business.

–I’ve attended a community meeting on this and helped a bit with the efforts, but it can’t hurt to blab here too: Let’s all remember that Princeton and Smith streets are RESIDENTIAL, not two-lane highways where you can show off your need for speed. Posted speed limit is 30. I’d like my kid to be able to play in our front yard someday without being terrified she’s gonna lose her arm to some jerk doing 50 cause he just got off I4 and he’s got to get to 7-Eleven STAT.

–The weekly Farmer’s Market over by Harmoni Grill seems to have slowly tapered off…I remember the first few installments involved a side street closing and the erection of tents. Now it’s just a guy with a guitar playing pop-rock favorites and some meager fruit offerings. It would be neat if this type of event would take off. It would also be neat if I actually supported the event by doing more than walking by it when I’m taking my daughter to the park.

–Jade Bistro: Best Chinese food in Orlando, or best Chinese food outside of China?

So Wal-Mart’s ongoing attempt to dominate the known universe with identical big-box stores where you can purchase both a rifle and some Cocoa Puffs at the same time has hit a minor setback in Central Florida, as their new store over in East Orange will be a “smaller” Wal-Mart:

Wal-Mart originally proposed building one of its Supercenters at the site in 2005, but community pressure prompted the retailer to change its model to a Neighborhood Market, part of its grocery-store chain. The Neighborhood Market is about 40,000 square feet, much smaller than the Supercenter, which could have been up to 250,000 square feet.

Of course, residents are still unhappy, especially those who choose to air their grievances online:

We wanted an up-scale market as a concession and got a poorly run, poorly maintained and low-income venue that has already brought property values down. Thanks Mildred. I am sure you will not shop there - nor will I unless I am on welfare like most of the customers.

Um…yikes!

Just got the latest email newsletter from the Orlando Brewery and they announced an upcoming charitable event called Beer-B-Que, Saturday, June 23, 2007. The 1st Annual Beer-B-Q, Music Festival, and Car Show is being put together by The Orlando Brewery and the Orlando Jaycees and will benefit two charities: Pet Rescue by Judy and the PKZ - Paramore Kids Zone.

The Orlando Brewery is great, my favorite place in Orlando for a cold one by far. I’m partial to their Porter and having Young’s Double Chocolate Stout on tap is never a bad thing either. I’m also a big proponent of anything BBQ, so this sounds like a winning combination to me. Go check it out, I’ll be the guy with the Porter in one hand and a chunk of pig in the other.

Though it sits in the shadow of it’s larger neighbor, San Francisco, San Jose is a mighty urban force all its own. The third largest city in California, San Jose has been rated the Safest Big City in America (500,000+) for five consecutive years.

But why let me tell you about the city, when you can read about it from the people who actually live there?

Metroblogging Orlando sends a hearty welcome aboard to the newest member of our family, San Jose, which you can find at sanjose.metblogs.com.

Two weeks ago, Metroblogging opened up its 52nd local blog for the fine denizens of Pittsburgh, PA. So I’d like to offer a hearty welcome and a “Happy Anniversary” to the newest member of our fine Metroblogging family.

Already, our fellow Metrobloggers have discussed everything from local politics and sports to what connection the recently departed Anna Nicole Smith had to the city. They’re busy and they’re talking.

So if you want to know what’s happening in Pittsburgh, head on over to pittsburgh.metblogs.com and say hello. :)

To go along with our story posted last week on the tornadoes that tore through Central Florida, and how you can help, Wendy Harman of the American Red Cross dropped us a line to let us know that the organization is also accepting donations via mobile texting.

You can now text message a $5 donation to the Red Cross using your cell phone through their Text 2HELP program with the Wireless Foundation. Most wireless carriers are participating including AT&T/Cingular, Verizon, Sprint/Nextel, T-mobile and Alltel.

Text message ‘2HELP‘ (24357) with the word ‘GIVE‘ and the $5 donation will go to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund. This fund allows the Red Cross to provide immediate emergency assistance such as food, shelter, counseling and other assistance to the victims of thousands of disasters each year, like the recent Central Florida tornadoes. And if you’re wondering, Harman says 100% of your donation goes directly to the Red Cross.

Standard text message rates still apply.

I’ve already done it - our fellow Floridians still need our help and this is a quick, easy way to do it.