Free-For-All Friday 3/21/14
Decatur Metro | March 21, 2014Feel free to use this post to make comments and ask questions about local issues not discussed here over the past week.
Comments close on Monday
Feel free to use this post to make comments and ask questions about local issues not discussed here over the past week.
Comments close on Monday
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Don’t fail me now, DM Nation… Had a tree limb fall on a 1980s-era, prefab sunroom, taking out a ceiling window. Would be a simple enough replacement except the limb also bent the upper adjacent metal framing of the room itself. To replace the window, the framing needs to be true first.
Anyone have any ideas on who could even do this type of work? The sunroom’s manufacturer is a fact lost to history. Existing sunroom companies are telling me they only repair their own installations. Traditional handymen seem suited to wood work, not metal work.
Thanks!
Unfortunately I do not have a local vendor to recommend, but I think you would want to locate a company that handles “storefront windows”, typically commercial although they usually get into residential.
Hope this helps or maybe someone else will have a direct recommendation.
Good luck!
Have you considered going to the Atlanta Home Show this weekend? There’s one listed sunroom exhibitor, Georgia Sunrooms, but you never know who else there might have a suggestion or contact. The exhibitor list looks impressive.
We also have a nameless prefab sunroom, but between troubles with its roof, age, lack of efficiency, and overall house remodeling hopes, we plan to replace it with a finished version. Long story short, I understand.
Thanks, everyone. And Peter, we’re on the same track you are. We were just expecting to tackle it a few years from now.
To that end, let me ask a new question. Rather than someone who can fix it, I just need someone qualified and credible to provide an estimate of what it would cost to do so. If I have that, I’ll be in a better position to negotiate with the insurance adjuster and maybe gain a good reason to rebuild the room sooner rather than later. Anyone?
Not sure if this would work for you, but have you considered a metal fabricator? Target Metals in Lilburn (770-921-1702 – talk to Ronnie) mostly does industrial work, but I had them make some legs for a desk I built. They do fantastic work and are very reasonable. I don’t think they make house calls, but you could always ask. I’m sure if you took them a design, they could fab a proper frame for someone else to install.
Haven’t heard anything on Suburban Plaza lately… thought they were breaking ground in 2013?
I think this was mentioned the other day on a recent thread, but don’t remember the details, other than Good Growth Dekalb has been successful in using the courts to delay the groundbreaking.
Sorry for the run-on sentence. It’s bad grammar day.
Failure of the senate to vote on the medical marijuana bill passed unanimously by the house that would have helped so many Georgians especially children suffering from seizure disorders.
I replied to the wrong comment. My comment was about politicians.
I’m really disappointed in and embarrassed by Georgia politicians.
+1,000,000,000,000
I am too. Sad and embarrassing session, in my opinion.
Why? I’m not challenging you, I just don’t really follow politics. So I don’t know what they did/didn’t do.
I’m guessing either the guns in church thing or the requirement that financial assistance recipients be drug-tested. As to the latter, it would only be fair if the law also required legislators to be tested before they received their taxpayer-provided wages and compensation.
Speaking of, someone ran the numbers on what it took to run a similar program in Florida, comparing the cost to the savings associated with weeding out all the shiftless junkies crowding the welfare rolls. As it shook out, the anticipated rampant abuse came in at about two and a half percent of applicants and the program ended up costing taxpayers roughly 50 grand.
Since “fiscal discipline” was the purported basis for doing something that would otherwise be considered obnoxious and demeaning of people least equipped to fight back, I wonder what could possibly be the politically palatable basis now? Money well invested to keep people in their place maybe?
As if the welfare state is promoting the advancement of its purported beneficiaries, as opposed to locking them into generational poverty. Keeping them in their place, indeed.
You’re making the mistake of assuming that ridicule of one thing automatically equates to support of something else. I didn’t speak to the pros or cons of the existing system.
Well, you’re right. I apologize for assuming you hold a view you did not express.
But as a general matter I stand behind my view that supporters of our current wlefare state are doing far more harm to its recipients than a drug testing requirement could ever accomplish.
And by the way this is my second lesson in as many weeks re: responding before finishing that first cup of coffee.
Is there proof that the welfare state harms recipients? Not anecdotes, not ideology. Proof. I ask because I’m really curious and am afraid of what the googles will pop up if I went that route.
Warren, there is no proof one way or the other. Mainly because our welfare system is a collection of dozens and dozens of safety net programs that serve different groups of people. TANF (welfare), which has been reduced dramatically since the 90s, and Food Stamps are the most well-known, but they only really make up a part of a much large system. There are dozens of programs that support housing subsidies, workforce training, child-care, transportation assistance and health care. Not to mention Medicaid and Social Security, which are most definitely the biggest part of our county’s safety net.
So take Social Security. It has been extremely effective and keeping low-income seniors in their homes and out of bread lines. Workforce development programs, on the other hand, have mixed results. They are run through multiple federal agencies, each with their own mission and objectives, and rarely working with each other in an efficient manner.
The nuanced complexity of this system is why we typically hear politicians speak about it from an ideological perspective. Its easier than digging deep into the federal bureaucracy, and getting to know the myriad of programs that make up our welfare system.
I doubt there is iron-clad proof in either direction, Warren. If there was, we wouldn’t debate these things; they’d be settled, I suppose.
In any case, the burden should be on supporters of the welfare state to prove its effectiveness, as they are the ones advocating spending trillions on it. And what do we have to show for it? Unsustainable debt, exploding entitlement costs, a shocking and persistent rise in out of wedlock births across virtually all racial classifications, a supposed crisis in income inequality, and a labor force participation rate at or near historic lows. Just off the top of my head. Aren’t these the very sort of problems the welfare state was supposed to prevent or solve? It’s failed.
And of course we can’t ignore common sense. Free money has a corrupting influence on all but the very purest souls. It rarely motivates recipients to stop taking the handouts and move to actual work. Did you read the recent NYT story about Dasani? Her family has received many thousdands of dollars worth of food stamps, cash welfare, government housing, free school lunches, etc. And her parents are just as dysfunctional and unemployed today as the day they first received assistance. They are tragically locked into government dependency.
This is an honest, quick attempt to give you an answer. You may dismiss it as ideology or anecdote if you wish. If you want academic research, then you’ll have to face your fears and use the Google.
You said it, Mister.
“I doubt there is iron-clad proof in either direction, Warren. If there was, we wouldn’t debate these things; they’d be settled, I suppose.”
Heh. Evolution. Climate Change. Homosexuality as a phenotypic trait rather than a “lifestyle choice”… There are a whole bunch of things that you’d think would be settled based on iron-clad proof in one direction, yet there’s still a very vocal minority who would ignore that evidence because they just don’t like it! No idea how this relates to the welfare debate, just found that statement to be funny
Climate change? Really? Did you not get the memo that “Global Warming” was being renamed to “Climate change” solely b/c no one could disprove that climates change.
There you go. There’s no proof that the welfare state is the cause of any of that, DEM. I could point you to many nations with a much more expansive welfare system than ours that have few or none of those problems. Further, our welfare state is not that expansive. We spend less on it, in relative terms, than most first world nations. So how do you explain that? Relatively small welfare state and all those problems when nations with larger welfare states don’t have many of those problems. And again, I’m not looking for anecdotes. But if you are: Scandinavian countries, with huge welfare states, produce entrepreneur classes that rival or exceed ours in relative terms. So maybe its not the welfare state that causes the problems. And certainly, in my mind, in aggregate, there are many more lives saved than destroyed because of our safety net. That’s easy for me to see.
I hope you are including corporate welfare at the top of your list. Otherwise, this is bunk.
The law that passed allows state employees to subject food stamp applicants to drug tests if they believe they are acting suspiciously. So we just empowered a bunch of low-level state employees to make a person-by-person policy decision. I’m sure none of their personal biases will come into play. I’m just sure of it…
Oooooh, just think if a low-level state employee could decide which legislator getting taxpayer-provided wages and compensation was acting suspiciously and needed drug testing…..
In 2012, the Daily Show had a hilarious segment by Aasif Mandvi about Florida’s testing program entitled “Poor Pee-Ple”. Google it, if you haven’t seen it.
Just did. So great. Thanks for the much-needed laugh.
Agreed. Makes you really realize that Georgia, other than the intown Atlanta part, is basically Mississippi.
There’s some good ol’ “progressive” “tolerance”
I don’t have to gladly “tolerate” the annual display of mouth breathing yahoos down at the Gold Dome. All I can do is remember is it is an election year so the race to appeal the the dumb, the racist, the homophobic was more on display than usual. God and guns won’t lose you an election in the rural hinterlands.
Oh man, “progressive” “tolerance” is getting laid on thick around here this morning.
Who said I had to tolerate homophobia? Who said I couldn’t make fun of small town ignorant buffoons? Who said I couldn’t laugh at the seersucker wearing country bumpkin insurance salesmen masquerading as statesmen once a year before they scurry back to their empty rural decaying county?
Great comment, Pyth. Keep ‘em coming.
Why should progressives be tolerant of ignorance, or anything else they don’t believe in, for that matter. That is such a ridiculous statement.
Then why should conservatives be tolerant of things they don’t believe in?
Good thing we all agree on what constitutes ignorance in others. That makes it easier
Warren Buffet isn’t the one who assumed being like Mississippi was bad or derogatory. Saying the rest of Georgia is similar to another rural state is just the truth. Whether that’s good or bad depends on your side of things. I see Pythagoras as the one being intolerant, not Warren Buffet.
Thank you, Cirrus. There are some lovely spots in Mississippi. Pyth you jumped quickly to some mighty large conclusions, and in doing so proved something about yourself, without proving anything about “progressives.” Good work.
Oh Warren, you must be sweating your billion dollar bracket. You love to argue that people are one way but then say you didn’t, like that time when you asked Walrus if he owned a lunch counter in Greensboro, NC in the 1960s, but then tried to say that you weren’t saying he was racist. Just like here, where you agreed with Bulldog that GA politicians are “embarrassing” and “disappointing” and then made your comment that (aside from in-town Atlanta, which is presumably enlightened according to you) the state is just like MS.
Wow.
I think liberals got stuck with the “tolerant” label because there was a time it was considered bold just to ask conservatives to “tolerate” interracial marriage, homosexuality, etc. Now? Screw whether they want to tolerate it or not.
+1 rainbow flag.
I believe WB’s lunch counter question was intended to get a response along the lines of what the other poster said, ‘I believe in the right of a small business owner to refuse service to someone with a different lifestyle.’
And of course, the response was an ad hominem statement of the classiest kind.
So personally attacking someone is the same as stating an opinion on freedom?
But I agree with that last part…
“I see Pythagoras as the one being intolerant, not Warren Buffet.”
As an aside, this could make for a pretty hilarious article on the Onion.
While it hasn’t been stated explicitly, you all of course are only referring to Republican introduced legislation. No mention of the Republican introduced legislation on medical marijuana though, huh? I guess it’s more fun to bash…
And as to the “guns in church” thing – shouldn’t it be up to the church? Why do we need a law against guns in church? I thought libs supported the whole “separation of church and state” concept?
Why is the idea of a gun in a church something the General Assembly needs to consider? Pass a budget. Go home. Stop meddling in social affairs, personal affairs. Pay for better schools. Fix the bridges and highways. Go home. It’s so simple and is never done.
I actually agree with Walrus that it should be up to the church, but my issue is with the real motivation behind these bills, which I believe is not about self-defense, but ideology.
Isn’t the State interfering with what me and a church mutually decide meddling with my personal affairs?
“Why is the idea of a gun in a church something the General Assembly needs to consider?”
Because we should get rid of bad laws, and/or laws that infringe on personal liberties.
Please tell me why you would need a gun in church.
A nice double pump shotgun in the hands of the pastor might increase the tithing that day. Just sayin’…
This made me giggle. Plus think about all the other uses for a gun in church–bad singing, snoring during the sermon, leaving early. I stopped giggling though after this post.
I personally don’t know, but I bet one of the 746 odd people involved in deadly force incidents at their places of worship during the last decade would be able to answer. Except for the 464 that are remaining silent.
So the answer to people getting shot in a holy place is to bring more guns into holy places? Got it. That is some fine logic right there.
Since the rate of defensive gun use in the US is six times that of criminal gun use (1), some people might think so.
——
1 – Crime statistics: Bureau of Justice Statistics – National Crime Victimization Survey (2005). DGU statistics: Targeting Guns, Kleck (average of 15 major surveys where DGUs were reported)
in that report, i see the number of reported crimes involving guns (419k) but nothing about the defensive usage of guns. where does that number come from (2.5 million or thereabouts, based on your 6x figure)? this or another dept of justice study, or somewhere else altogether?
The 2.5 million number comes from “Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, Kleck and Gertz, Fall 1995″.
The Kleck and Gertz report has withstood intense peer review. Even noted anti-gun criminologist Marvin Wolfgang said of it –
“I am as strong a gun-control advocate as can be found among the criminologists in this country. If I were Mustapha Mond of Brave New World, I would eliminate all guns from the civilian population and maybe even from the police. I hate guns–ugly, nasty instruments designed to kill people. . . .
“What troubles me is the article by Gary Kleck and Marc Gertz. The reason I am troubled is that they have provided an almost clear-cut case of methodologically sound research in support of something I have theoretically opposed for years, namely, the use of a gun in defense against a criminal perpetrator. . . .
“I have to admit my admiration for the care and caution expressed in this article and this research. . . . (T)he methodological soundness of the current Kleck and Gertz study is clear. I cannot further debate it.”
what’s the number of unreported gun crimes?
Hard to count unreported things.
Let’s extrapolate from known data and start guessing at a rate 1/6th that of unreported DGUs…
Bad guys are attracted to places where they know law abiding citizens are following ridiculous laws that disarm them?
Please tell me why you need alcohol on Sunday? Or Tuesday? Or a Milky Way on Thursday?
If someone has a concealed weapons permit and a church has no issue with that individual carrying, then why do you or the State get a say in the matter?
And if you recall, a church shooting a few years back was stopped by an individual with a gun.
Finally, I ask again, why do you not have a problem with the State singling out church’s with this kind of protection? I thought you were for the “separation of church and state?”
The medical marry jane thing went down in flames, by the way.
The house failed to vote on the medical marijuana bill that was passed unanimously by the senate. This bill would only legalize certain forms of marijuana like cannabis oil that cannot be used to get high. It would have helped a great number of Georgians, especially children suffering from seizure disorders. It is a sad day for many families in this state.
I’ve seen the pleas from the parents of the kids with the seizure disorders and my heart goes out to them. I can’t begin to imagine how difficult it would be to see your child suffering, know there is something that could help, and be told by a bunch of buffoons “too bad, that’s a slippery slope, and before you know you’ll have folks using it to feel good”. You could tell them to just move to CO, but many parents probably can’t because the same buffoons that decide which plants are scary and which are OK are responsible for the system where health insurance is tied to employers.
I’m curious how big the population who suffers from these seizures is – not for any silly moral or societal cost/benefit analysis, just curious.
Coincidentally, Alabama unanimously passed a bill authorizing a $1 million UAB study that allows suffering children to receive cannabis oil from other states as study participants without fear of breaking the law.
It’s listed on Creative Loafing’s First Slice for today.
Oh, I know. Very unfortunate.
I don’t know that I can agree that these comments were targeted at Republicans exclusively. I have written a certain state senator and democratic candidate for the Governor’s office (whose campaign I have supported) this week regarding HB60. He has also cowed to the gun lobby, in my opinion, and I am not happy with his vote. Nor am I happy that he boasted of his “A rating” from the NRA in a recent article.
My disappointment with the legislature – and representatives from both parties – includes the passage of the aforementioned gun bill and the failures to pass the medical marijuana and autism bills that would have helped countless medically fragile children in our state. I’m sure there are other disappointments, but those are at the top of my list.
On the positive side, they did pass two common sense pieces of MARTA legislation. Quietly, MARTA has actually gained some support among suburban Republican legislators.
@ brianc and anyone else interested: Did you see the article and 7 minute video about the MMPT on Curbed on Mar. 19? The article is titled “Multi-Modal Terminal vision will blow your mind”. The plans have been out for a little while, but the video gives a better idea of the direction. We’ll see, but it would be cool.
Also, remember our discussion about TOD a few days ago? Curbed also had an update on Mar 18 titled “Visuals, Details Surface for Edgewood Mixed Use Project” with renderings about the private mixed-use project proposed / slated for just south of the Inman Park Station. While it isn’t on Marta-owned land, they’d still benefit.
If you mean that Georgia, like Mississippi and most other states, is mostly purple (not starkly red and blue), then I agree with you. Except Georgia actually contains more starkly red precincts than Mississippi does. And guess what– they aren’t concentrated in the rural hinterlands, they mostly lie in the Atlanta exurbs.
I’m just as disgusted as anybody about the shenanigans under the Gold Dome this week. But I think one of the most counter-productive things that goes on out here in the real world is conversations that perpetuate idea of political ideology schisms lining up with geography. It just isn’t so. My own experience bears it out (and that includes close ties in one of the most isolated, rural areas of the state as well as 26 years residing in Atlanta). And so do the numbers from the past several election returns.
Point taken. But just so we’re clear, I never intended my comment to be productive.
Fair enough. As I’ve demonstrated before, the red-blue thing is one of my hot buttons. (Another being people whose hot buttons disengage their own sense of humor.)
“If you mean that Georgia, like Mississippi and most other states, is mostly purple (not starkly red and blue),”
Don’ t know about that. I believe both legislatures have close to super-majorities on the GOP side. And some of the Democrats that are in office are closer to conservative than liberal.
But just because a district elects a Republican representative (who then goes on to pander to the most extreme wings of his/her party because that’s where the money will come from to get re-elected) doesn’t mean a majority of voters in that district cleave to the Republican party line on all issues. The district gets colored red on the map, but there might be (usually are) a lot of blue precincts within the red district. And there’s also plenty of documentation that individual voters, when asked about specific issues, hold many views that do not coincide with the candidate they wind up voting for. Using the media to amplify and exaggerate the degree of ideological polarity among THE PEOPLE is a political strategy that is corrosive to the system. I hate it, even to the point of barking at Warren Buffet, one of my DM heroes.
I will take your super sweet comment in stride and try not to let it impact my performance. However, it may color the fact that I am about to say this:
you just said something that I knew, but I’ve probably ignored to the best of my ability. As said above, it is more fun to make a stark contrast and then bash the other side. But you are so right about the diversity of opinions even in the solid corners of whatever ideology. Your comment will always and forever, from this point forward, improve my thinking and analysis. And while I’ll still have fun staunchly defending one side, even when I know there’s a middle ground, I’ll be careful with assigning too much ideology to a geography.
Yes, of course you are right about that STG. I was just thinking about the make-up of the elected bodies.
One positive piece of legislation passed was the expansion of HOPE full tuition for technical college students maintaining a 3.5 gpa. A few years back HOPE assistance for technical school students was gutted, with half of all technical school students withdrawing after losing assistance. Thanks to Rep Stacey Evans for leading this effort.
Never underestimate the intelligence of a Geogia legislator.
“Never overestimate the intelligence of a Georgia legislator.” There. Fixed it for ya!
Hairspray, the musical, performed by the Decatur High School students this weekend. Shows tonight, Saturday night, and Sunday afternoon. Go see it and support the arts. The students have worked really hard on this production.
Is tonight’s show sold out?
from the DHS web site;
Decatur High School Presents:
Hairspray- The Musical!
Thursday-Saturday, March 20-22 at 7:00 PM
Sunday, March 23 at 2:00 PM
Online tickets are sold out, but a limited number of tickets are available at the box office. The box office opens one hour before each show. Cash or check- $8/student and $12/adult.
It may be sold out online, but I think you could still get tickets at the box office. My children saw it last night and said it was great.
We’ll probably be turning in a ticket for tomorrow (Saturday) night back in because of a friend cancellation (of the date, not the friendship). There’s always hope for a ticket. Maybe there will be scalpers! (Hmmm…)
We saw it last night and it was great! Highly recommend!!
Yard Sale Tomorrow – Saturday, March 22, 9-12
146 Woodlawn Ave
Furniture, general household stuff, lots of toys, baby/toddler clothing
Kid’s Consignment Sale, Decatur United Methodist, today 9 AM-3 PM, tomorrow half-price, 9AM-1PM.
So after you save money there, you can go see Hairspray at DHS tonight, then hit the Woodlawn yard sale (above) tomorrow morning. Alternatively, you can hit the Kid’s Sale tomorrow morning on your way to Woodlawn and then see Hairspray Saturday night or Sunday afternoon.
Phew! I got tired just reading that.
Yeah and don’t forget Electronics Recycling, Decatur Farmer’s Market, church, and sports practices.
Anyone seeing a primary care doctor they love other than Costly & Kara? I don’t have my schedule for more than a month out and that’s how far in advance you need to be able to book with them.
Larry Ray, over at the Atlanta Center for Medicine (near Dekalb Medical). Followed him there from another practice, and I live on the other side of the city now but will stick with him.
+1 for Larry Ray. I started going to him on a Free-For-All Friday recommendation a couple years ago and have had nothing but good experiences with him.
Another +1 for Dr Ray
Anyone have a line on an old wooden TV? I need to make a puppet theater
Not sure if they encourage pickers, but tomorrow is Electronics Recycling Day from 9 to 1 over at the city’s Public Works facility at 2635 Talley St. Good luck!
Thank you. I have a piece of DirecTv garbage I need to toss.
Maybe. Would you be able to pick up and move a very heavy piece of furniture from Lilburn? Very. Heavy.
It’s an old (50’s) tv in a wood cabinet.
And now I am disappointed in and embarrassed by some of the commenters on this board.
My fault. I started a poop storm by asking why. I should have known better.
Not your fault. You have every right to ask why. I just don’t understand why folks use this place to attack each other with personal insults.
To answer your initial question: I’m disgusted that our lawmakers think they should focus on:
1) Guns in houses of worship.
2) Silencers on hunting rifles.
3) Disallowing police to ask someone displaying a weapon for their permit.
There are far more pressing items than these that they should focus on, as AMB points out somewhere up above.
“Silencers on hunting rifles.”
What’s wrong with suppressors on hunting rifles? The entire purpose is to continue to allow hunting in areas that might become sensitive to the report of a rifle.
Unlike Hollywood would lead you to believe, suppressors do not make a gun silent. Far from it. Unless you’re using subsonic ammunition in a .22lr rifle, the report from the projectile breaking the sound barrier alone is still loud enough for you to hear it a ways off.
And it’s not like owning a suppressor is currently illegal or banned in GA, it’s only been illegal for hunting purposes. Suppressors are still controlled under the National Firearms Act, and require fingerprints, a background check, local chief law enforcement officer sign off, a six month waiting period, and a $200 tax stamp to acquire.
Not a lot of criminals running around with $1K suppressors on their stolen firearms.
“Disallowing police to ask someone displaying a weapon for their permit.”
This is only a state codification of what is already illegal under federal law. Federal district appellate courts have already ruled that carrying a firearm alone is not probable cause for detaining an individual.
If anything, this will raise awareness at a local law enforcement level and save your tax dollars from being spent defending federal civil lawsuits brought against local law enforcement agencies for illegal detainment.
And just as a side note, actual criminals do not open carry their firearms.
The hypocrisy abounds. Stop and ask folks to prove they are here legally? How dare you! Stop and ask folks to prove they are carrying legally? Well, hell yes! Hypocrisy/inconsistency frustrates the hell out of me.
-Fyi, I am against both actions.
Agreed. But why are police able to ask to see driver’s licenses based on a traffic stop? Seems to be a pretty similar situation to me.
If they are pulled over for a driving infraction, then I understand. I do not agree with those random road block stops they do.
Yes, after you have already broken some other law. They can’t pull you over without any probable cause and ask you for your license.
Among the many exciting events at the Atlanta Science Festival this weekend-
“Science at Emory: The Lab Changing The World”
TED-style talks by Emory researchers (on icebergs, bees, memory, interstellar chemistry and more) followed by tours of research labs
Saturday, 3/22 2:00-6:00, Emory campus, White Hall 208
http://www.atlantasciencefestival.org/events/event/580
Can anyone recommend a reliable and cost effective wireless data card or similar device. I will be allowed to work remotely more frequently but the catch is that I have to have reliable internet access. Not everywhere that I will be staying has internet access in the resort rooms and I need somewhere quiet for conference calls.
I don’t think my data allowance on my wireless account will support 5 full days of email and internet- and going over can be expensive. I’m looking for something like Clear used to offer before they got bought by Sprint. ATT is offering a free device but their data plan for the device pushes $80/month and that’s pricey for usage every once and a while.
Does your phone work as a hot spot? If so, you might come out ahead by just adding data rather than getting a separate device.
I picked up a Mifi device from Virgin Mobile. I bought on sale but I think they run around $100. Virgin Mobile is pay-as-go data. 1.5 Gb that is go for a month is $25. I believe they use the Sprint network. I’ve been happy with the device and service.
If your phone works as a hot spot, you might want to look into Consumer Cellular. I switched to their service a couple of months ago and have no complaints. It uses the ATT network. It is considerably less expensive because it does not offer unlimited talk or text or data BUT the tiered plans have lots of tiers AND you can move back and forth among different levels as often as you want. You set your usage alerts wherever you want them, and if you’re approaching your threshold you can switch up to the next tier for that month, then switch back down the next month.
Another tiered usage company to look at would be ting.com. on months you don’t use your wireless card it would be $6, then essentially you pay for what tier of data you need.
I appreciate everyone’s help….it appears that my beloved Blackberry won’t support tethering….going to try ting.com or see how close a Boingo hotspot may be to the hotel.
If you’re lamenting the passage of HB60, here’s something that everybody should be happy with. Section 1-10 mandates that courts report those people adjudicated mentally incompetent to the FBI’s National Criminal Instant Background Check System (NICS).
None of the following people – Aaron Alexis (Navy Yard), Adam Lanza (Newtown), James Holmes (Aurora), Seung-Hui Cho (Virginia Tech), Jared Loughner (Tucson), Harris, Kiebold & Anderson (Columbine) were in the NICS prior to their crimes.
At the time of Gabrielle Giffords shooting, Arizona had over 200,00 people who had been adjudicated mentally incompetent, but not reported to the FBI’s NICS.
Section 1-10 of HB60 will hopefully help keep guns out of the hands of those who pose a threat to society.
Thanks for pointing this out.
I’ve been panhandled 3 times in downtown Decatur in the last 5 days.
I was panhandled last night…
Oops, sorry. I think I misunderstood.
Really? Just five years ago three times would have been a typical frequency for one or two days. Now it’s maybe once a week for me (disclaimer: I live downtown and walk it nearly everyday).
Just to be clear, my reply was to Jinny’s comment, not #x#’s “misunderstanding”.
I understood. But if that’s what you’re looking for, you can still get it in parts of midtown.
Has anyone seen the petition to fix DeKalb Ave in Atlanta from the Inman Park Station to the Decatur city limit by implementing a “complete street” plan? (source: ATL Urbanist post about traffic)
I thought it relevant here since it’s a main corridor between Decatur and Atlanta (albeit sometimes dangerous), Decatur has connecting infrastructure plans (cycle track on McDonough, bike lanes on Commerce, road diets, etc.), and it would lead to creating a direct connection between Decatur and the Beltline for cyclists and pedestrians via the Path, dedicated bike lanes, and better connected sidewalks.
Anyhow, regardless of opinion, it’s worth a quick read.
https://www.change.org/petitions/city-of-atlanta-mayor-kasim-reed-fix-dekalb-avenue
Any recommendations for suspension repair on a 1997 Nissan Pathfinder?
I believe the guys at the Pure gas station are Nissan certified mechanics.
Yep
PURE in Decatur works on all cars, but they have a mechanic who is specialized/ certifed for Nissan!
I’m trying to get back to my ” fighting weight” and watching what I eat.
But I just can’t cut back on the wine!
What do they put in that stuff? It’s, like, addictive!
grape juice?
Great free event at the Old Court House tonight from 6:00 to 8:00. Food from 8 caterers (Badda Bing, Sun in my Belly, Fox Brothers, Sawicki’s et al), a DJ, and a great silent auction with lots of affordable stuff. This is the annual meeting of the DeKalb History Center Board of Directors which for the past few years has morphed into a wonderful public party.
I was wondering about this. So you can go in and see if you want to bid on something without paying for a ticket to attend or without buying food? I may have to mosey over although this weekend IS unusually packed as per some earlier posts.
I have mixed feelings on this- I like the idea of bike lanes, particularly connecting to the beltline, but I also drive this everyday during rush hour and appreciate having the extra lane. Turn lanes would help a bit, but no way would they make up all the time lost with eliminating the reversible lane.
Btw, the petitioners should check in withDeKalb County Commissioner Jeff Rader- I think he was pitching something similar to this complete road many years ago, to be a better gateway to DeKalb.
To an extent, I agree, especially since I live on W Howard, or the show, as we call it. Here’s an experience from yesterday, though. I drove to Trader Joe’s in Midtown via DeKalb Ave and Boulevard to avoid Ponce. On DeKalb Ave, there were 2 hairy encounters: one was an SUV from behind that barreled up the reversible lane (wrong direction) past 15 cars or so, to get past someone turning near the Candler Park station. They narrowly avoided colliding head-on with a car from the opposite direction, which had the right of way, swerving cars, etc. Just past the Inman Park station, I almost collided with a car that was driving the wrong direction in the sole westbound lane, all to get around a car turning in the reversible and save a couple seconds.
People everywhere are undisputedly crazy and will continue to be. However, it seems to me that the reversible lane enables crazy people to drive dangerously (or at least rationalize it), while defined lanes would limit them (or send them elsewhere). Personally, I don’t think the driving risk is worth the extra couple minutes. The other infrastructure changes would be an added bonus, especially in connecting with the Beltline. I’m interested to see how they actually design the whole thing, given the street width changes, but willing to consider it. My 2 cents.
I would much rather drive Ponce than Dekalb. The recent changes on Ponce from Moreland/Briarcliff west have made that stretch much better. You still get backed up at Moreland, but at least there is less threat of wrong-way drivers.
Traveling westbound on DeKalb Ave in the afternoon used to be ok but no more. The other day traffic was backed up from Arizona all the way back to the Lake Claire pool. Can take as long to clear that intersection as it used to take to get downtown. Oakdale/Whiteford and Krog are no picnic either.
On a lighter, nonpolitical note: don’t forget to go out to dinner this coming Tuesday night (the 25th) for Decatur Farm to School’s Spring Dine Out from 5pm – 9pm. This is our biggest, bi-annual fundraiser which helps supports programs like the school gardens and school cafeteria nutrition. Not only will you be supporting DF2S, but you will also be supporting some great local restaurants. Our restaurant partners include: Brick Store Pub
Cakes & Ale
The Iberian Pig
Farm Burger
Lawrence’s Cafe
Leon’s Full Service
Matador Cantina
Raging Burrito
Sapori di Napoli
Steinbeck’s
Universal Joint
Wahoo! Grill
Choose one you haven’t tried or visited in awhile and support a great cause. Don’t forget to buy a raffle ticket to win some great prizes, including garden consultations, restaurant certificates and free classes!
Trying to figure out your name. Do you hate ivy that overgrows our yards? Or Ivy League schools?
I hate invasive English ivy that is left to climb and eventually kill trees. We all know that kudzu is invasive, but it’s slightly less insidious than English ivy b/c it dies back in the winter. And for some reason, English ivy still has a nostalgic reputation — garden stores should really stop selling it! If English ivy is climbing up your trees, cut its vines from 2′-4′ swath all the way around the tree base that separates the roots from what’s above. What’s above will die and eventually fall out, and you will have saved your tree! Go Yale!
GO BEARS
BEAT THE VOLS
that is all
Anyone know of dates set for the so-called Neighborhood Cleanup days (aka Trash Amnesty)? Was around April last year so figured it may be coming up soon. Nothing on the City’s Solid Waste page yet.
As previously mentioned , from the City website:
http://www.decaturga.com/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=4832
http://www.decaturga.com/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=4832
Has anybody else seen the new “Cosmos” yet? I luuuurrrrve it SO much! Dr. deGrasse Tyson now has himself a new groupie. *sigh*