Does Ann Goodnight have billionaire hubby and SAS founder Jim on an allowance?

Does Bev Perdue lie awake pondering becoming Gov during the Great Recession and whisper, "What was I thinking?!?"

These were but a few of the zingers Phil Zachary put to the powers-that-be at the annual meeting of the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday night. Zachary runs Curtis Media, but he's a born entertainer. And he proved it by hosting a zippy, full-scale send-up of "The Tonight Show," complete with a spunky band, Chamber boss Harvey Schmitt as his chuckling sidekick and an A-list series of guests. Raleigh signature giant acorn, Jim Hunt, insurance companies, gamers – Zachary made good sport of them all while hitting the show out of the park.

Content-wise, in-coming Chamber Chair Sepi Asefnia promised to focus on jobs (medical devices got a shot out), education (diversity is a priority) and transportation. Sustainability also got a nod,...

The man is possessed.
The building is joy incarnate.
The future is ready to be ogled ... almost.

The man here is Larry Wheeler, head honcho at the North Carolina Museum of Art. The building is the museum's expansion space. The future arrives for everyone in April, but we got a sneak peek this week.

The epic encounter starts at lunch, with Wheeler describing the creation of a new kind of museum – a social hub that includes great works of art, and embraces recreation, entertainment, food – LIFE. His explanation reminds us of the new Beatles Rock Star. Everyone knows the Beatles. Rock Star lets you discover the Fab Four anew ... and leaves you hooked.

Soon, mere talk isn't cutting it. Wheeler – a bespectacled hurricane of a human being – sweeps us out of the existing museum and into the still-under-construction new building.

To sum up the experience: joy.

Sunlight soaks the 127,000-square foot building – a far...

BILLY: IT'S HIGH TIME A BLOG ABOUT BEING 'SMARTER' TRY TO FIGURE OUT ALL THIS HEALTH CARE COMBAT!!

GREG: MORE TO THE POINT – WHAT THE COMBAT SAYS ABOUT PRESIDENT OBAMA'S WEB ARMY!! ALSO, I NEVER LIKED YOUR SHIRTS OR SHOES!!!

BILLY: WELL, ONE DAY YOU'LL HAVE TO STAND BEFORE A DUDS PANEL IN YOUR GOOFY GET-UPS, TOO!!!

Ok, we'll turn it down – we've all had enough of the hollering. Still, it is fascinating to see how different the political discourse is today compared to how it was imagined by many pundits six months ago. The Prez's net roots army was supposed control the national debate as tightly as Donald Trump locks down his hair. Instead, just the opposite is true. The political process is, at the moment, in the clenched fists of old fashioned event activists – namely the people raising hell at...

We've always been fond of our pal Marsha, but her recent trip to Europe made her ridiculously hot. Marsha, you see, bopped through Italy, Germany and the Czech Republic with a netbook – something we want sooooo bad.

The whole point is mobility. Marsha's Acer computer (us.acer.com) measures only about only eight inches across and balances nicely in her globetrotting little hand. The smaller size means less parts – a plus on the sustainability side. She carried it in her purse most times. The battery chugs along for about seven and a half hours, powering her email exchanges and Web searches. "It totally transformed the way I travel," Marsha says, rubbing it in.

For all this, she paid just under $300 – not cheap exactly, but, as Marsha explained, if she lost it during her adventures, she wouldn't feel crushed. But a crush is precisely what we have on the netbook. And this love will not go unrequited! Stay tuned!

Greg: Billy, I don't really know how to describe what I saw you doing the other day. It was curious, intriguing and something that looked like it could lead to some third degree burns.

Billy: So you caught me either rehearsing my fire-breathing act for the Kiss tribute band OR being, um, ear candled. If it's the second, no need to worry about burns – it was actually a pleasure. Nothing says 'sweet relief' like candling ... especially when you've got swimmer's ear.

Greg: Hmm, and you got this done at our neighbor's office? I always thought that massage therapists like Sherill Laffey, owner of REVIVE, only kneaded, pulled and pushed your muscles until you fell through their massage table.

Billy: Right. And we love to be turned into taffy like that. But Sherill's powers go beyond magic massage fingers. I stumbled in – off balance from having my ears clogged with chlorine and...