Free-For-All Friday 12/18/09
Decatur Metro | December 18, 2009Feel free to use this post to make comments and ask questions about local issues not discussed here in the past week.
Comments are generally closed on Monday.
Feel free to use this post to make comments and ask questions about local issues not discussed here in the past week.
Comments are generally closed on Monday.
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Here’s a comment / question for those who use self-copy/print/shipping shops in the area:
I have been using FEDEX Office (formerly Kinkos) next to Eagle Eye books and my experience is that the staff are not usually very helpful. It’s expensive too, but I would not mind the cost if I otherwise received good service. Last week it was just unpleasant dealing with them.
Does anyone have other print / copy shop recommendations?
Decatur Atlanta Printing on Swanton Way. Locally-owned, great folks, easy to get to and park, and they do good work. Their prices seem in line, although I can’t say I’ve done a lot of comparison shopping.
http://www.decaturatlantaprinting.com/
Ditton Daren’s recommendation. The folks at Decatur Atlanta Printing do great work and they’re big supporters of the community. Every year they print the Decatur Tour of Homes ticket and all the ancillary materials gratis. They’re convenient, too.
For many years we have used Mail Bag at Church & N Decatur near Moe’s. Locally minority owned and always helpful.
I use Decatur Atlanta printing as well, and their prices are reasonable. They are also very quick and friendly. I don’t know if they do shipping, though.
Here’s another: Does anyone regularly purchase Decatur Dollars for gifts? As best I can tell from a recent introduction, if you’re not a Decatur First Bank customer, the process is really kind of a pain. You have to sign-in at the bank and wait for a Personal Banker; then you have to show ID even though they insist you pay in cash; then they give you a card and envelope that doesn’t even show the amount on it.
Maybe I just caught the process on a bad day. Any other experiences? I don’t want to write it off if it’s normally something good.
I bought some the other day at the Kroger branch and didn’t find it onerous. I don’t remember signing in or showing ID. But then, my memory is pretty bad, so maybe I did. I didn’t have to wait for a personal banker–unless the woman behind the counter was the personal banker. yes, I got a print out of the amount on paper, not on the card, but that doesn’t bother me. i would guess the whole transaction took 5 to 10 minutes.
I saw some at TASTE for sale last week.
Scott, thank you for your comment about the process of purchasing Decatur Dollars at Decatur First Bank. We would like to make the experience smoother for folks who are not depositors with the Bank. The identification requirement you mention, however, is not Decatur First Bank policy, but is in place in order to follow Federal regulations concerning cash transactions for non-customers. Recording it is a little more complicated than when cashing a check, so we have our customer service reps handle the transaction, keeping the teller line moving.
Not to be a completely shameless huckster or anything, I suggest you stop by and open an account with Decatur’s home town Bank. We’d like to get to know you.
If I can be of help to you or any other Decatur Metro reader, please call me at 404-373-1000. Have a wonderful holiday.
Best,
Jack Regan
Decatur First Bank
I went to the main branch on Wed morning to buy two cards for my child’s wonderful teachers and the process was smooth. I did have to show ID and wait a bit. But other than that, no complaints.
Anyone know how much rain we’ve had this year…? Must be close to some kind of record…
The last figure I saw a week or so ago was officially 65+ inches, the 7th most on record, but real close to being the 5th most, which we will certainly get to today.
Funny – we were talking about that same thing last night. I’d love to see a graph that shows 2009 rainfall totals by month vs. all time average vs. average of previous 3-5 years (with the drought). I’m sure it’d be really wacky.
Not necessarily a graph, but a “Scorecard” is available here:
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/ffc/?n=rainfall_scorecard
I just saw that the official amount is now almost 67 inches, 3rd highest, and we might even make it to 2nd by the end of the years. It would be a real long short to break the #1 record, though.
Anyone know if 2nd Avenue will ever be repaved at the intersection of 2nd & Oakview Rd?
That is a known longstanding problem. I don’t think it’s a question of simple repaving. The underlying structure needs to be completely taken out and rebuilt. New pavement would look just like the intersection looks now in a short period of time.
Does anyone have an update on the ‘urban farm’ project between 2nd and 3rd Avenues in Oakhurst? There was a public meeting back in September, but I haven’t heard a peep about it since.
Was walking around the square yesterday and noticed a new business about to open in the old Wordsmith spot. The sign said coffee, jewelry, and something I can’t remember. A weird combination…speaking of unusual combos, I wonder how the ice cream and classic car place is doing.
Brianc,
I spoke with the landlord a few months ago about this tenant. Don’t expect much. This will be your typical urban schlock shop catering to downtown courhouse workers and jurors. Think downtown Atlanta Five Points style, baby!
From the looks of the signage on the windows, you will be able to get almost anything there from coffee to bling.
That’s a shame, considering what a prime spot that is during events and festivals. But it beats an empty space. Must say I’m surprised this spot got leased before the one on Ponce (the old Atlanta Bread Co.).
“Must say I’m surprised this spot got leased before the one on Ponce (the old Atlanta Bread Co.).”
Location, location, location.
BTW, nothing is happening at the old ABC except the Stop Work order posted on 10/14 is still there.
Actually.. the ‘stop work’ notice is still on ABC’s door, but underneath is another sign that says “Demo Only”. and there are people in there on occasion. They evidently committed the mortal sin of not getting it permitted before starting work but perhaps are allowed to demo while getting the plans approved.
I suspect that what happened was that the original permit was issued for “Demo only”, but they started doing some construction, which was clearly not demolition and that produced the Stop Work order. I did see workers carrying sheetrock in while the supposed demo was in progress.
Considering the rent that building has to be charging, I can’t imagine the forthcoming shop will be too chintzy, regardless of what’s available, can it? Otherwise, it’d only be open a couple of months…but maybe that happens here more often than I know.
The space has sat empty for more than a year, its a big space, and with the former Shop of Stories/ice cream place below Eddie’s empty as well, I bet you’d be surprised at how inexpensive the rent would be there.
Since we’re on the subject of customer service, I just have to give a shout out to the staff at the SunTrust in downtown Dectur. I went in yesterday, was greeted by 3 people and on my way out was told to have a nice day by another 3. There were other people in the bank and everyone got the same cheerful greeting and fast service. It was a nice change of pace and actually got me closer to the holiday spirit despite running errands and battling traffic.
What time of day were you at the SunTrust? Glad you had a good experience. It is certainly smile-inducing when you go inside a bank or a retail store and the employees seem to be happy that you’re there without making you feel like you need to buy something otherwise all that cheery disposition was for nothing.
I for one have had mind-numbingly tedious experiences at the Suntrust drive-thru lately. One day I had to wait in line around 20 mins (not exaggerating), which is pretty surprising. The following week, I went inside and there was no wait! Guess they should have more than one person manning the drive-thru “tubes”.
A few weeks ago there was a thread about the local news report on auto shops that blasted the Decatur Goodyear. Since I joined in bashing them in that thread, I figured I should relate the great experience I had since then. Based on recommendations both here and the Mechanics Files on the Car Talk website, I brought my car to Certified Auto on Clairmont. I knew my car had some serious issues and was trying to decide whether I should fix them or cut bait and get a new one. Vic told me exactly what was wrong, didn’t try to sell me on anything extra and told me that, frankly, he’d use this as an excuse to get a new car if I wanted.
In the end, I decided to fix the car. I wanted to pay cash and figured I’d fix the safety issues first and do the rest a month or so later. We decided which stuff needed to be done first and I left the car in his hands. When I picked the car up, I was first shocked that the invoice was for about $200 less than the estimate. But then I was even more shocked when I asked about some of the work that we planned to do a month later and he told me that after they started working on it they realized that some of it couldn’t wait a month, so they went ahead and fixed it so that I wouldn’t have to worry about it breaking down while traveling over the holidays. He gave me a separate invoice, again cheaper than the original estimate, and told me not to worry about paying for it until later.
Now this work did need to be done, I was going to do it anyway, and would certainly have told him to go ahead and do it and put it on the credit card. He did not have to do this for me. It was my first time there and I could easily stiff him on the extra work that he did. But you can bet I’ll be going back to Certified Auto for any auto issues that arise.
Sorry for the long post, but it seems like every time I post it’s to complain about something so I might as well share a good Decatur experience for once!
re Decatur Goodyear– funnily enough, we got a card in the mail this week that says they are under new management!!
You know, an expose like the one done recently can be the best thing to happen to a place like that Goodyear. They’d be foolish not to shape up or ship out.
I like Certified Auto as well.
Does anyone know the safest way to transport a fresh-not-frozen turkey on a 12 hour road trip?
Um, 12 hours on ice? I guess you’ll know how well it travels anywhere from 12-48 hours after you eat it.
Put some dry ice at the bottom of a cooler and put a couple towels over it (don’t touch the dry ice and don’t let it touch your bird) . Leave it and let the cooler get cold. Move the turkey over with a bunch of closed frozen bottles of water. Use a 5day cooler if you can.
Just get an even fresher bird, force feed it a couple of Cuba’s relaxing agents and strap the gobbler in a child’s car seat and drive like hell.
Assuming you plan to cook this bird after you arrive, use the trip to brine the turkey. I always brine my turkey for 12 hours in a cooler in brine with ice and not one person to whom I’ve served it has died yet. Submerge the bird in brine (1/2 cup kosher salt + 1/2 cup sugar per gallon of water/ice) in a cooler when you head out the door and when you arrive, it will be perfectly brined. Take it out of the cooler, pat dry, place uncovered on a rack over a sheet pan and put in the fridge overnight. Drying out the skin this way ensures it will be crispy when roasted.
Thanks guys! You don’t hear from me again, the turkey did it!
Dittto on the Brined turkey. I’ve been using Alton Brown’s ‘recipe’ for about 4 years now and its a lovely browned juicy turkey on every occasion. He uses vegetable stock instead of water, some pepper corns, candied ginger, and allspice berries:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/good-eats-roast-turkey-recipe/index.html
I would pack it like you do fish. Surround the turkey with bags of crushed ice in a cooler.
Crushed ice not cubes? More surface coverage?
Hmmm… Crushed ice will melt faster, but cube ice won’t pack as efficiently. Tough call.
Heat and moisture equal bacterial growth. Start with a dry, cold turkey, Pack crushed ice around the turkey to keep the cooler as cold as possible without getting the turkey wet. If you have a good cooler with a tight seal, the temp should stay well below what is needed for spoilage.
Along the way when you make a ‘pit stop’, pour out melt water and add ice if necessary.
How about dry ice? They sell it at Publix.
Dry ice is great, but beware: if you pack it all around the item you’re trying to keep cool, it will freeze it a bit. Just get a couple blocks, put them in the bottom of the container you want to carry the bird in, and lay a couple of dishtowels over them. Put your bird on top, cover the container (but not tightly), and it’ll be just like a little portable fridge. The ice will evaporate after about 8 hrs after it’s taken out of its plastic & exposed to air.
Anybody know what’s going on in Decatur this new years?
Also with dry ice, leave plenty of ventilation. That’s frozen carbon dioxide and it will displace oxygen and leave you breathless in a bad way.
And of course, don’t touch the dry ice with bare hands! Wear insulated gloves or use tongs to keep from getting burned.
Does anyone know a resource for finding short term furnished rentals in the Decatur area?
The various neighborhood email lists often have postings for such rentals.
OK, well, what are those lists and how would one get on one. I will also be looking for a short-term rental (February until who knows, as we try to sell a condo!)
Try Craigs list, check Emory’s (open to all) off campus housing https://housing.emory.edu/off-campus/search_results.cfm?search_type=all
Go to groups.yahoo.com, search on the neighborhood name (Oakhurst, Winnona Park, Midway Woods, etc.)
My basement.
Nevermind… misunderstood the question. If you know anyone at CDC, they have rentals posted all the time by people going out of the country on short assignments.
Every dead horse needs a kick now and then, just to make sure…..Visited Saba in Oakhurst for the first time this weekend, and had to laugh. No sooner had we sat down than a moderately piercing child-shriek was heard. The next 10-15 minutes saw quite a lot of darting back and forth between tables and the toy box area, accompanied by some whining and loud fretting. But then the children’s hour apparently ended–we had arrived after 7:30–and things calmed down. The food and the service were very good. If we’d tried an hour earlier, though, it wouldn’t have been worth it. Santa’s watching!
Mmmm… Saba. I think I’ll take my toddler there tonight. Thanks for the reminder, thelmalu!
Re advertising on DM: I really like the banner: “Reasonable Rates, High Traffic, Lots of Eyeballs”. The other two banners I’ve seen are great too “Be Where Decatur Is” and “DM Readers Shop Locally, Dine Locally, and Come Here Daily”. However, when I click on any of the banners, I get the “Page cannot be displayed” message. DM might be losing potential advertisers this way.
Thanks so much for the feedback Karass. When I first put those ads up, I’m pretty sure I tested them and they worked. Not sure what happened but I will make sure to fix!
You’re so welcome. Vocal, engaged folks have their value even if you don’t agree with them all the time!
Fixed it! Thanks again Karass!