Free-For-All Friday 7/8/11
Decatur Metro | July 8, 2011Feel free to use this post to make comments and ask questions about local issues not discussed here over the past week. Comments close Monday.
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This week’s Free-For-All Friday is sponsored by Fido’s Finery…
Show off your neighborhood pride with these handmade bottlecap dog tags. Available neighborhoods includes Decatur, Oakhurst, Kirkwood, Avondale, L5P and East Atlanta.
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Good morning!!
I’ve lived here for years and nobody has ever been able to tell me the reason for the cement ring in the middle of Adair Park. It looks like a small racetrack. It makes no sense but it was handy for teaching my kids to ride their bikes. Anyone know why it was originally put there?
i always assumed the squirrels had their own roller derby when no one was around
That would be so awesome!
maybe it was it part of one of those really dangerous but totally fun spinners. you know, the ones like 8 kids could ride at once while one person pushed them till they fall off or get sick? so sorry the kids of today have to miss out on that fun.
That fits. They still exist but in a cheaper, smaller version–you stand, rather than sit on them.
There’s one at Glenlake Park. And yes, kids still go too fast and fall off.
Nope its a really big oval, not a circle. It’s strange.
I’m very curious too. Our too-dainty-for-grass dog views the oval as a welcome break from nature, but I’ve always thought it strange a big chunk of cement appearing in the green open space of the park.
Those dog tags are really nice. Beautiful dog too.
They have cool dog tags and key fobs. Check their website
Thinks Decatur is the BEST place to live. How lucky we all are.
after carpooling with the wife for a few months, finally found a car i like. picked up an old 80s bmw 6 series. wooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!
I had a boss once who had one of those. He said everyone, including BMW, knew that the transmission was the weak link, so best wishes for yours.
My dad had one of those years ago. Cool car. Enjoy and best of luck, but the repairs will not be cheap. It’s probably not easy to find parts for the old 6 at this point.
lol i’m not worried, i’ve had 6 80s 3 series and a 80s 5 series i’ve restored/worked on/ daily drove for the past decade, so if anything happens I can handle it, and while some parts are hard to find, the 83-89 6 series is built on the same platform as the 5 series so a lot of things are interchangable which makes for less worries.
now i just need to find the miami vice theme and put it on cd and start wearing pastel shirts and sportcoats!
Are you Sonny or Crocker?
Betty?
I’m guessing you meant Tubbs or Crockett as in Ricardo Tubbs and Sonny Crockett!
Oh yeah. I knew that.
Jeez, y’all. Rain on parades, much?
That’s not rain, it’s transmission fluid
I was thinking the same thing. The man is happy about his car and y’all pee all over it!
Though, J_T, that was funny.
this is so hilariously awesome. i remember watching the show every week, so so great
Joe is sunshine personified! Rain on his parade & he’ll create a rainbow! :0)
haha yep.
ain’t no one gonna break my stride!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28KobNbbI2s
oh man check out that stasche.
LOVE IT!!!
Gosh… you have a theme car, tv show, and song… I need to get crackin’!!!
I would like to tell people that I recently got a home energy assessment from Wellhome through the Decatur Wise and GA Power rebate programs. The assessment was $49 (regularly $99). I then got the work done that they recommended and I am THRILLED. While they (supposedly) made my house much more energy efficient by getting rid of all sorts of air leaks I had, the best part is that they spray foamed my basement / crawlspace ceiling and so MY HOUSE NO LONGER SMELLS LIKE MY STINKY BASEMENT. I have struggled for years with this problem and I’m glad it’s finally solved.
Anyway, I’m not trying to sound like an advertisement, but I am really happy with how they’ve improved my home (and likely health, due to better air quality) and so encourage anyone to check them out. was my contact here.
http://www.wellhome.com/blog/2011/06/decaturwise-%E2%80%93-helping-homeowners-improve-their-home%E2%80%99s-efficiency/
http://www.decaturga.com/index.aspx?page=595
You had me at “no longer smells like my stinky basement.” We have a horrible problem with that. I always assumed that we were stuck with it by virtue of living in an old house. You’ve given me hope! I will have to investigate.
Great! If you want to see what they did for me, I’m at aphilosopher at gmail
Ah, yes. I remember the plucky but ill-fated rat who died in our crawlspace … right under a vent, no less. Our critter service guy had the perfect solution — his son, a really thin apprentice with bad sinuses.
How does the basement spray foam work around the pipes, ducts and cable wires we have running across the ceiling of our crawl space (under the floor of the house)? Does anything have to be removed before the treatment or will the foam make it difficult to do repairs to the pipes in the future? I picture everything buried in great stuff!! Can you give a rough approximation of cost for just the spray foam treatment?
I suppose it depends on the layout of your basement / crawlspace / whatever (such as whether wires and pipes are really on the ceiling or not), but they just kinda moved wires and stuff away to spray the stuff (or however it came out), so I don’t think it’ll . I don’t think it’s just like “Good stuff” or whatever from a can: they had huge canisters and Hazmat suits to put it in. I am often DIY but am glad I wasn’t with this.
I will check on the price when I get home.
Does anyone have a “whole house dehumidifier”? I only learned of them the other day: they go in line with your HVAC system. An AC united dehumidifies, but apparently not all that well and not as cost effectively as a dedicated dehumidifier. I’m wondering if anyone has any experience with these. Thanks.
a correctly sized central ac unit should also be dehumidifying adequately
possibly in fall or spring, if you take a lot of showers, or something else that
puts water into the air, and you don;t want it to be colder, a dehumidifier would
be nice to dry without cooling
but they are like $1500!
in summer the cooling is usually also desired, so just run the AC
the dehumidifier isn;t going to save energy
they are just basically air conditioners that don;t bother to dump the excess heat outside – it stays in the house
in winter, at least, if you happen to need additional drying, the heat is welcome
in summer, it isn;t – the AC just has to get rid of the heat that the dehumidifier puts in
you could also, in fall or spring, just open the windows
wle
Had to give a shoutout to Avondale Estates for the awesome fireworks display on the 4th. I think they set their fireworks off a bit early to avoid the coming storm. They definitely went off before dusk (or what I consider to be dusk). Great display and a great parade that day.
That is one cute dog up there.
OK, time for a CONFESSION and the first of probably many questions I’ll have in the next few weeks. For about the past year and a half I have lived not only outside the City of Decatur but also outside *GASP* the perimeter! It was not by choice, mind you, but the real estate market and family obligations have made the woman and I exiles in suburbia for eighteen looooong months. Of course, we always wanted to and planned to return to Decatur at some point and, as some of you know, I still read DM daily and could not help myself when snarky comments and retorts were called for. Alas, even as the personal situations freed us to move back, we began to despair that we would never find an acceptable house in our price range and so we resigned ourselves to living “near Decatur”, maybe in Medlock, maybe in East Lake, maybe even in Kirkwood or East Atlanta.
But then a miracle happened and, by the grace of God and/or an awesome real estate agent (Conner Allred and connercan-dot-com, you rock!), we fell into an unbelievable deal within the city limits. We are under contract and if all goes well with the inspection today (ahem, not so subtle plug for positive thoughts and good vibes to be sent our way ) we will be the newest residents of the Clairemont Great Lakes neighborhood by the end of the month. Hell, by “goes well” I really only mean that the foundation is not compromised and there’s no imminent danger of the damn thing imploding so it’s looking pretty good.
Fortunately, after almost 20 years in the area, I’ve got most of the needs covered with a good local contractor, electrician, plumber, etc…, most of whom are also good friends. However, we are suddenly realizing that there’s a bunch of small stuff that we will need to figure out, which brings me to my first question for you guys (assuming you’ve actually read this far):
What’s the best cable/satellite/internet combo for the area. I know that when I lived in Oakhurst, it seemed that the best reception/connection varied from street to street. So, for the folks on the northside, I’d love to hear what your experiences are. I could live without television but the woman cannot and we both absolutely need reliable and fast internet connections and we will need to have wireless. I’m assuming some kind of bundle will be the best deal but I’m most interested in what provider is best for each separate task.
Thanks!
Welcome home!
Thanks, Siv! (Geez, trying saying *that* ten times fast)
I had cable with comcast for years, neighbors on either side both have sat tv, however 3 yrs ago wife and i dropped cable, just using netflix instant on the xbox/ps3 connected to the big tv, however, since then we added the hulu plus (both netflix and hulu are available on both the xbox 360 and the sony ps3, i recommend the sony ps3 as it has the best blu-ray player out there (which sony always has firmware updates should it need it, i.e. 3d blu-ray) and built in wireless) and we haven’t looked back since, so figure 40-60$ for internet depending on provider and netflix has a streaming only option for 7.99/mo and hulu is the same, so 16$ and more tv than we could ever watch. be it complete series of tv shows, mini-series, movies, independent movies & tv shows. now granted i do have the same tv plugged into the cable outlet even though i don’t have a cable service, but this is because comcast does not encrypt local tv channels so i still recieve HD locals through that as i’m too lazy to go buy an antenna.
short of it- hulu+netflix on a ps3 and no cable= same shows/movies but for 16$/mo
I like the way you think Joe. I was lobbying for something of this sort, especially since it would necessitate a PS3, which I do not have Alas, the missus has some strange notion that if she does not see a show when it first airs it’s like she did not see it. I really don’t even watch tv, so I just don’t get it, but it looks like we will be trying this U-Verse thing. I’m just hoping that if I get a good enough deal on the bathroom renovation she will look the other way when I buy a gaming system anyway!
Do you have ideas on who would be good to hire for a bathroom renovation? We need one badly, badly, badly, but the big guys seem to want larger projects and I’m worried about hiring a handyperson type–insurance? experience? access to materials?
I have a good friend who has a small business and does great work on things like that. He doesn’t really advertise and gets most of his business from referrals and word-of-mouth but I’m not sure he’d want me to put his info on here. I can ask him if it’s OK, or else you can send me an email ([email protected] ; I think enough people here know me anyway so what the hey) and I can give you his contact info. At a minimum, I’m sure he’d be happy to give you a free quote and some ideas about what you can do.
You lived OTP? Are you okay? Did the rash fade?
“Did the rash fade?” Funniest reply that I’ve read on here in a while!
It wasn’t so much a rash as it just hurt when I, you know, OTPeed…But I’ve been told that will also go away when I’m back on a steady diet of Farm Burgers, Brick Store Belgians and late night Jagers at Trackside!
Happy for you. I use Comcast but they dont thrill me. Posting from unincorporated DeKalb.
Thanks! We pretty much hate everything about Comcast as well. And I really thought we would be joining you in unincorporated DeKalb but we are thrilled to have gotten a steal of a deal when and where we least expected it. I just hope the new neighbors don’t hate us for bringing their own values down!
We have AT&T U-verse and love it! And their customer service is top-notch if you ever have trouble.
DARN IT!!! Wish we’d known you were up for grabs! We coulda had a contest to see which neighborhood could land you!
Congrats to you & the missus on your new Decatur home!
Thank you Deanne! It would have been fun to have that contest. Unfortunately, I think it would have turned into a NIMBY situation with each neighborhood trying to stick us somewhere else. I’m just glad that we will be close to the new Walmart!
There might be one or two Oakhursters (one of ‘em’s over in the Market thread acting @ssy) who’d pull away the welcome mat, but betcha the rest of us would love havin’ a straight shootin’, good humored snarkin’ neighbor!
what happened last weekend at the corner of clairemont and commerce? power lines were down, water was flowing in the street. . . looked like maybe a car hit a utility pole in front of the drugstore/podiatrist shops? anybody know?
Godspeed Atlantis! Did you watch? Did you get goosebumps?
Did you see the first, Columbia on April 12, 1981? Did you see the Challenger disaster in 1986 or Columbia in 2003? Have you been at Canaveral to watch lift-off live? Or maybe you watched live the first landing on the Moon? Or John Glenn orbiting Earth?
I’m anxious to see what comes next in our space program.
Sadly, I watched the Challenger disaster, live and in person.
I remember, as a child, always wondering how my parents could so clearly remember single long-ago events, such as the assassination of JFK. After that day in 1986, I no longer wondered. I remember every detail as if it were yesterday.
So awful. When the explosion occurred, people didn’t realize at first that something dreadful had happened and kept cheering. Ugh.
Definitely a shared experience for our generation, Token, and you’re right about how the mundane details surrounding the explosion ended up etched on our brains. I can tell you with absolute certainty that, when it happened, I was in my first college apartment between classes, sitting on the couch eating a tuna fish sandwich, watching one of the big three networks on our 12″ b&w TV.
I’m not even sure if I could tell you what I had for lunch yesterday.
The height of Reagan’s cold war propaganda—my 7th grade class immediately surmised the Russians had blown it up.
oh man i remember telling my dad i thought it was the russians
Stayed home from work with a bad cold that day, sleeping with the radio on and must have heard it reported on NPR, later woke up thinking I’d dreamed the whole thing, and was seriously spooked by having conjured up such a dreadful thing in my own head. Wasn’t long before more bulletins were aired. Didn’t have a TV, so huddled with the radio the rest of the day. Photo in the paper the next day looked exactly like the picture in my mind’s eye.
Funny you should ask. My brother’s lifelong best friend, and one of my July 4th guests, was the NASA project manager for the shuttle for years and is still a “rocket scientist” at NASA. He told us that the next big thing, if the president will step aside, is having private companies take the healm for some new exploration (i.e. put up the capital) and NASA will essentially rent space on these adventures via some $$$ and sharing exisiting NASA knowledge, which is worth alot of cash. Currently, Obama (via his space advisor) has recommended that they “explore” asteriods and comets……..which my very very very smart friend chuckled at and folks at NASA aren’t really receptive, so we’ll see. No, this doesn’t call for a political discussion, DM peanut gallery, just sharing some info with you since you asked. NASA is definitely pared down but our family friend sees no end to NASA in the near future and is excited about partnering up with private sector.
Ok, Sharron, you’ve given me goosebumps and are forcing some reminiscence.
I grew up in Tampa in the 60s & 70s. At each launch, we’d head to the porch and watch the little spot rise in the east that was a late Mercury or Apollo launch. We watched the 1st moon landing on an ancient B&W TV and my Dad took pictures – of the TV- Ha! I think I still have those slides.
I was on my way to a meeting in Sarasota when the Challenger went down; many of my co-workers saw it very clearly from our 9th floor office in Tampa. The office was closed that afternoon.
As a girl in the 60s, astronaut was not a career option, but I did have a model Apollo 11 that my Dad and put together!
I’ve been to “the cape” many times (on school field trips, etc) but never to a live launch. I was secretly hoping for a delay in this launch and a last chance to see one live.
I did get to see one launch live from the roof of a customer’s building in downtown Orlando. I also took pictures of the B&W TV during the moon landing and still have the slides, which I have now also scanned.
I also have no desire to start a political debate about the space program! However, I feel I must offer a different perspective on this since the topic is so personal to me. I grew up in Merritt Island (the actual location of KSC – Cape Canaveral is the Air Force side) and my Dad was a NASA engineer with the shuttle and space station programs for 38 years (his entire career). I went to KSC for every launch for most of my early childhood, saw the Challenger explode out my Jr. High classroom window… the space program is obviously a huge part of who I am. I can promise you that not everyone connected to NASA is optimistic about the future. My Dad and many other talented individuals spent years developing a replacement for the shuttle with plans and promises that it would be built to take us back to the moon and eventually to Mars. The design represented a tremendous investment in time, money and pride. Then the President cancelled the program and effectively told them to take their all their hard work and throw it in the trash. We already had a design ready to go, but now the commercial contractors have to start over, which means that American astronauts are not going back into space under their own power for many years (10+). The only option we have in the interim is to hitch a ride with the Russians. Many (estimates are 5,000 to 7,000) NASA employees and contractors will be losing their jobs once the shuttles are dismantled. It is going to be devastating to the economy of my hometown. The commercial contractors who will determine the future of space travel are located out of the state. People will have trouble moving to where the few new jobs are because the housing market there is already crashing in anticipation. So the majority of my friends and family back home are in fact not hopeful at all. We are still somewhere between anger and acceptance. Yes, there is some logic in the commercialization of space… more competition, perhaps faster innovation, certainly some cost savings for tax payers. But I fear the spirit of why we are out there has been forever changed. Will the heart of the US space program still be exploration, discovery, curiosity and human achievement? Or will the focus be satellites, pay to fly programs, profits and cost cutting? Maybe the “dream will continue” but I’m just not sure. No matter what comes of this change, this is definitely the end of an era. Sorry for the length and the drama, but today is a sad day… But I’m glad the last launch went so smoothly… godspeed Atlantis!
I hear your pain and doubts. I feel the same way about “the dream” and now the coming crass commercialism of it all.
Anyone been to Erbert & Gerbert’s?
I had one of their subs at the Arts Fest and was not impressed.
I tried Erbert (overpriced, flavorless), Jimmy Johns (similar and also strangely mushy homogenious), Subway is what it is, but the interactive construction makes up for mediocre meat. That leaves Kroger (doesn’t quite come together as it should). So, at the end of the day you have Publix (brilliant in every way but outside the City) and Mellow Mushroom (they;re great, but not really a sandwich shop). Tried the place under Eddie’s Attic but no memory of what I ate.
Any other candidates?
Bruce
I miss 5th Earl
Jersey Mike’s makes a great sub sandwich, too bad there are none around Decatur (at least that I know of). Duck’s makes good sandwiches but they are pricey. Agree on Publix — very good.
Sawicki’s makes some very solid sandwiches but they are a bit pricier than the chains. We do need to resurrect 5th Earl. Are they put there listening????
put = out, of course. Never did learn to type…
Last I spoke with the owners, they wouldn’t promise to reopen. My own summation of the situation is that the destruction of 5th Earl took a lot out of them, so we shouldn’t hold our breath. However, if they were going to reopen, they’d insist on a similar space. Aren’t many of those left around Decatur.
But they can have the SAME space back! It’s sitting empty just waiting for them. Please come back 5th Earl… I miss you so much!! Anyone know where else can I get a grilled brie and jam sandwich around here?
I second every single word of this comment. RIP the brie and jam sandwich. *sniff*
Sawickis is excellent, friendly, fast…
Corner Pub has excellent sandwiches and I love the chicken salad sandwich at Las Brasas..
Yes, I thought my sandwich was great.
I’m hooked on the Coke freestyle machine they have there. To me, they’re on par with Jimmy Johns, but a bit more convenient than the Decatur location in terms of parking.
E&G’s has a Freestye machine?? I’m definitely going to try it now. Those things are fantastic.
What is a freestyle machine?
This tells you what a Coke Freestyle machine is….Decatur Taco Mac has one also
http://goo.gl/epyOA
Went to Erbert & Gerbert today, had a sandwich and lime coke from the Coke Freestyle machine. I had to wait for it to reboot. That’s right, the coke machine froze up, and not in the way you would think for a coke machine.
Why yes, it was windows based. Why do you ask?
Have enjoyed both sandwiches I’ve had so far at Ebert & Gerbert’s.
I know the site’s still too slow, but is it crashing less for you than yesterday and/or earlier this week?
This is has become a bit of a grueling process, but I sorta feel like a change I made last night may have improved things enough where we may be able to move it soon.
Again, thanks to all for your patience.
It was worse a few days ago*, but I just got the error message again…
*I visited loads on the 4th of July, looking for weather/fireworks updates and kept getting the database error message…
Ditto. Much better but did get one “Database Error…” message today.
I have been unable to access the thread using the Comments link this afternoon, but was able to access it by clicking a recent user’s name on the Home page.
Uh, I just got the error msg too.
DM, are you having issues with your WP plugins?
Having issues with page loads mostly, so I’m trying to determine which plugin(s) are the culprits so we can move the site to its new home without the problems we had the last time. It’s joyous, but at least I have some good help this time!
Why is the print so small on the new site? Since there is no bottom scroll bar for the ads and side listings, I assume this accounts for the smaller font size. For me it is a strain to read.
Hmm…haven’t heard or seen this one before. Anyone else having this issue?
No change here. Using Chrome on a PC. Also checked with Chrome and Safari on a MAC.
Squint – Perhaps a browser or system setting changed in your machine?
No such issue here. Using FireFox 5.0.
Good morning DM. You’re working fine from high in the sky on Delta using inflight Go-Go!
Sharron, I think you may be the inaugural member of the newly established DM Mile High Club. Commenting at 30,000 feet. That’s hot!
Thanks DM and All,
I went to view and made an adjustment. I let my grandchildren use my computer, and the four year old often attempts to fix his problems with the Team Umizoomi site by clicking around randomly. I’ll nip that in the bud.
I’ve never once had a problem with DM on my PC and I’m on ALL of the time. Thought I’d let you know what I use, in case it helps: Firefox (5.0 now), Windows XP 2002 (SP 3). Maybe because I refuse to upgrade Windows, I luck out?
However, I did stop using the mobile version of DM on my iPhone b/c the cache never cleared so every time I opened it, I saw the article about how many snow days the schools were making up. However, that could be my fault — I have no idea how to do much of anything on the phone.
Thanks for working hard on the issue.
does anyone know what was going on last night at Chateau Daisy Apartments on Oakview ? a friend that lives across the street said there were three police cars over there after what sounded like gun shots.
I have an annoying question: Does anyone know (or know how I can find out) how the “handle” section in the north part of the city came to be inside the city limits? As my screen name implies, we live in this part of the city and I’m just curious. It’s very weird that the limits cut through a couple of established neighborhoods and, particularly in the case of Willow Lane, bisect some streets. (Two ends of Willow are in the county, middle is inside CoD.)
If I had to guess, I would think that when this part was annexed the city wanted some minimum number of property owners to make it worthwhile, but it’s very strange how the lines were drawn. I can’t imagine anything like it happening now. One of my neighbors has something like an eighth of her property inside the city limits and pays taxes on it.
I’m a history buff–though my research skills are lacking—and I’ve found out a lot about the history and development of the neighborhood, but not how part of it ended up in the city with most of it in the county. Just throwing it out there in case anyone happens to know. Next I’m going to start pestering some of the older residents over here, the few remaining original homeowners, about what they remember.
You might want to check the archives at the DeKalb History Center.
I live in the section you’re referring to (8 years and counting!) and also have never found out why we’re CoD, although I’m thrilled that we are
What is the recommended way to get rid of paint cans – both empty dried out ones and ones with left over paint? Thanks!
If they are completely dry, just set them out on the curb for the trash folks to pick up on the regular day. If there is paint in them, mix in some kitty litter, stir, and let dry. It may take more than one dose of kitty littler. When everything is dry, set them out on the curb. I take it that you missed Super Trash Day in the last few months.
Hi to the DM community.
I have a proposition.
I want a grassroots campaign to name Volunteer! Decatur as the best volunteer organization in Creative Loafing’s Best of Atlanta survey.
You can help. Vote for it, post it, tweet it, talk to your neighbors.
Here’s the link: http://posting.clatl.com/atlanta/Survey?survey=3283373
I realize there is a lot of competition, but there is something uniquely Decaturish about our program. Help me out?
That’s a WONDERFUL idea. Volunteer! Decatur is one of the things that I love the most about our city. Many of those projects (esp my favorites – MLK and ASOG/Christmas Decatur) galvanize us as neighbors.
Great idea ! I did that yesterday along with shout-outs to several other Decatur favs.
Yes!
Thanks for the support, yall! I’d LOVE to see Volunteer! Decatur beat some of the big guns.
I didn’t like seeing that 3 city of decatur schools had some evidence of cheating on CRCT test scores, luckily it wasn’t as bad as Atlanta, but I was wondering if this concerned anyone else around Decatur.
http://public.doe.k12.ga.us/DMGetDocument.aspx/GA09spr_WTR%20by%20School_Public_FINAL.pdf?p=6CC6799F8C1371F624A4E037F1FCCCEF972A203ADFF3EFA8382E8A05B2E851FB&Type=D
If I’m reading this correctly (which of course I may not be), the % of classes flagged at a school averaged out to be 4.0% per school across the entire state of Georgia. The % of classes flagged at Oakhurst elem was 3.7%, the % of classes flagged at Renfroe middle was 4.2% and the % of classes flagged at Glennwood was 5.3%. Now one of the worst offenders in our vicinity was East Lake elem in APS, and the % of classes flagged there was 42%. Maybe I should therefore not worry at all, especially as my kid will be attending Winona Park soon and the % of classes flagged there was 0%!
I don’t think CSD is in any way compromising our test scores. Erasures are NORMAL, especially when you consider that the pressure these kids are put under in general (although not necessarily in CSD) to perform is immense. These #s don’t concern me in the least. The more important way to assess a school is to spend time there in observation and to talk to neighbors about how happy their kids are and how much they’re learning in our wonderful little school system.
Even though I totally trust 99% of teachers in CSD and feel fairly confident that any erasures in CSD are not indicative of cheating, given what’s happened elsewhere, I’d want a little bit of due diligence in examining any classroom with a higher rate. 3.7% of classes at Oakhurst or 5.3% of Glennwood’s represents one classroom per school, right? I’d want to know that there wasn’t a pattern of that one classroom having some unlikely results, e.g. struggling students who normally test way below grade level who, without any special intensive help or other logical explanation, unexpectedly test as “exceeded”. My guess is that due diligence would find that no problems were uncovered and then all parents could trust their children’s scores. I know that one of my children showed great improvement in CRCT scores and it would be awful if they were not valid and subsequent teachers and our family acted or didn’t act because of false information.
I’m not a fan of NCLB nor CRCT exams. Sometimes our kids get to practice on old CRCT questions and some of those questions make me wonder how bright the folks are who write them or select the material to test. But nonetheless, if they are administered and used to promote children and select them for remediation, then the process, scoring, and dissemination of results should be squeaky clean. I am totally shocked by what reportedly happened in APD. It was an abuse of the children and families who trusted the teachers, principals, and administrators.
I must be a fair-weather environmentalist. I really wasn’t into getting stung by that nest of yellow jackets.
Oh man, DM. Been there and I literally feel your pain. I hope you didn’t get stung too badly.
I’ve learned (the hard way) to run like hell at the very first glimpse of a yellow jacket. They are incredibly aggressive and will chase you down the street, into the house and across the lawn.
The hardware stores sell wasp/yellow jacket spray that reaches about 20 feet. If I remember correctly, the best times to get ‘em are at dusk or in the morning.
Thanks man. Got away with only 4-5 stings. Pretty good considering I didn’t see them coming. And yes, they chased me from the back-end of my property into the street and then into the garage.
Thanks for the spray info. Will be getting on that post-haste.
If you don’t want to walk around with a can of wasp spray, you can also look for products that attract and trap the queen and her minions. Without her, the rest/nest disappear. But I’ve never used one so I don’t know how well they work. Sorry about your stings!
Back in my former life in the suburbs, I was doing some chainsaw work in the backyard when I stepped on a nest. Because I had made the stupid decision to wear shorts, before I knew what was happening I’d been stung about 30 times on the legs. They chased me literally into the house and shower.
I’d like to give a HUGE recommendation for Ralph Bales HVAC service. Our outside unit croaked yesterday and Ralph came out–on Saturday, without charging the weekend rate, and switched out a blown capacitor. Good guy, great work.
Anyone have any recommendations for car camping around Tallulah Falls, GA? I’m going to do some research on the web myself, but a reco from one of you outdoorsy types would be quite beneficial.
Black Rock Mountain State Park is just up the road in Clayton, and it’s a nice back to nature spot. (Haven’t been there this summer yet, so I’m not sure what shape the trails are in from the storms awhile back.)
http://gastateparks.org/BlackRockMountain
(Go up the road a bit further and you can load up on produce at Osage, the roadside stand where the crops are picked 2-3 times daily. My folks also really dig the bbq sold at the stand next door. )
Oops! Just past Clayton. All the towns are a hop, skip, and jump from each other.
It’s Tomlin BBQ. Open Fri-Sun 10:30-4:30 (May-Oct.)
http://www.dillardgeorgia.com/tomlin-barbeque-catering-inc/
And here’s a nice write-up of Osage:
http://www.foodiebuddha.com/2009/08/14/the-super-awesome-osage-farms-agency-tomlins-barbeque-rabun-gap-ga /
Awesome Deanne! This is exactly the type of info I was after. Pretty wife has finally agreed to car camp. Woohoo!
Y’all are going to have a blast! Nothing better than car camping! And the N. GA mountains are about as close to heaven as it gets!
(Don’t forget to bring the comfy bed pad & pillows or to hang your food up high & away from camp!)
The bears can have my food. They just better keep their paws off my growlers!
So, I was finally able to make it over to Ale Yeah! last night. But first we had a very tasty dinner at Isabella’s Cafe next door. This was our first visit there, and we thoroughly enjoyed it.
While dining, I was watching all the people pulling up outside with empty growlers to be refilled. My excitement mounted. Alas, it was not to be. When I told the guy at Ale Yeah! that I wanted to buy a jug and experience my first growler, he said they were out of glass till Monday. #@*&!
who was shooting off the big fireworks last night?
where were they?
it seemed like they were a couple miles west of downtown decatur… (i’m pretty directionally challenged, but located at the southwest tip of decatur in oakhurst).
We heard the same thing from northside. Agree with westerly direction of the sound. I know Chamblee was having fireworks but I think they would be too far away. Braves? But theirs are uually briefer.
braves were out of town yesterday.
Maybe Druid Hills CC?
We were at the botanical gardens last night for the Indigo Girls show and saw them too – looked to be over in the Lenox direction – so maybe it was Chamblee.
Apparently, there are 2 BATS in our attic. It looks like they’re stuck near the vents, but not exactly in our attic, but I still find it disgusting. Anyone experienced this as well? How much do you think this would cost to remove, and any recommendations for pest removal/control companies?
I recommend Action Critter Removal – 678-644-0234. (Got rid of roof rats in the attic and Norway rats in the crawlspace, and sealed up the openings where they were getting in).
Did you know on average a bat will eat 1600 mosquitoes per hour? Do not remove the bats! Buy them their own house on a pole in your garden or send them over here.
Send me the bats! I’ve got the mosquitos.
Does anyone know why Taqueria del Sol is closed even though nothing is on the website and the door states they will be open tonight at 5:30?
They got scared of the competition from Big Tex Cantina and decided to turn TDS into an authentic Neopolitan pizza place.
With a gastropub attached?
And why is Scott below me talking about olive oil in kegs?
Dang! I’m in the wrong thread.
If I had a nickel…
aren’t they always closed Sun/Mon nights?
One cool thing they’ve got going: Kegs of custom blend, aged olive oils that work sort of like growlers. Buy the container full, then come back when it’s done to fill up with something new.
Are you talking about the Oakhurst Market?