DeKalb is under a tornado warning until 6:30p, therefore I came home to the sightly eerie – but certainly appreciated – Agnes Scott tornado siren again.

As we’ve noted in the past, Agnes Scott and Emory have the only tornado sirens in whole flippin’ county.

Stay safe all!  These tornado warnings are getting way too frequent.

Thought of this question while I was putting out my trash this week:

How many adults/kids live in your house and how many Pay-As-You Throw garbage bags do you put out on average each week?

Just curious how my trash output compares to my neighbors.

My answer is 2 adults/1 dog, one yellow bag.

Feel free to elaborate.  I have a feeling there will be quite a few pre-kid/post-kid laments.

This story popped yesterday when Forbes ranked the nation’s “emptiest” cities and Atlanta came in third behind housing-hedonist Las Vegas and car-dependent Detroit in terms of vacant rental units and single-family homes.  The AJC’s print edition led with the story in this morning’s paper and does a pretty good job at taking apart the data, citing many local experts.

So, why does Atlanta have more available property than almost every other U.S. city?  The AJC article states that some of it has to do with the vastness of the metro-area (28 counties) and our particularly potent combination of an overbuilt market with a high rate of foreclosures.   From that it sounds to me like Atlanta might just be the victim of its own early 21st century popularity.

But probably the most interesting trend cited is that the census data is also showing that the city’s population is still growing.  Sound impossible?  Apparently, more people are moving in together instead of buying their own property.

This trend helps the AJC article end on a high hote… “As the economy stabilizes, [Emory Prof. Frank] Alexander said, demand should rebound quickly, unlike in No. 2 Detroit, where population has been steadily declining.”

And when will that be?  Unfortunately, people much smarter than myself keep talking more and more about a “lost decade”.

The city’s Linda Harris sends along this announcement about Nectar’s Grand Opening in Oakhurst.  Though Scott informed us the smoothie/panini shop had opened a couple weeks ago, I thought folks might be interested in hearing a couple more details, especially since I can’t find a website for them yet!

NECTAR ARRIVES IN DECATUR

A new concept just landed in Oakhurst Village, Decatur.

NECTAR serves fresh Raw Juices, Smoothies, Handcrafted Panini and Gourmet Ice Cream, all prepared with fresh and premium ingredients.  All the Smoothies are made from fresh frozen fruit with no artificial flavors or colors.

NECTAR Mega Smoothies are excellent blends that mix exotic fruit such as Amazonian Acai, Acerola and Cacao.

NECTAR features a Fresh Juice and Tonic Bar serving Organic Raw Juices made to order and Organic Wheat Grass shots with fresh lemon and ginger.  You may also add “Superfoods” to your drinks which include Lecithin, Organic Flax Seeds, Aloe Vera, Guarana and Kava.

The handcrafted Panini sandwiches are made with artisan bread filled with deli meats, cheese and organic veggies.  Breakfast Panini is served every morning. Vegetarian salad and soup also available daily.

Nectar brings to Decatur and East Side Residents an innovative, hip way to be healthy without sacrificing the taste!