Free-For-All Friday 6/3/11
Decatur Metro | June 3, 2011 | 7:00 amFeel free to use this post to make comments and ask questions about local issues not discussed here over the past week.
Comments close 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 Monday.
chris
Chris Billingsley
anniefannie
AMB
LAM
Steve
Steve
Macarolina
J_T
Melissa
DarenW
Chadwick Stogner
Decatur Metro
DarenW
AMB
So I was riding my bike on Scott Blvd. with my kids in a stroller, and we stopped by the Big Tex Cantina. I let my kids run around the joint. Sure it bothered some of the other patrons, but they’re just so darned cute I didn’t have the heart to stop them.
Then we rode by Westchester, where we joined the protest to reopen the school, fire the entire school board, and beg Cynthia Wong to come back to Cakes and Ale. Afterward, we decided to stop by the Super 8 Motel to buy some drugs, then went to McKoy pool to look at all the floating waste.
It was an eventful day, and I noticed something very important; Andisheh STILL hasn’t fixed all the problems.
How can we possibly trust the words of a man who detests cheese?
Still trying to figure out what your new picture is …
You shoulda seen the old one! BBBBad to the Bone!
You didn’t stop at the Dollar Store?
And you seem to have forgotten to ask if anyone was carrying a concealed gun or were recovering from the food at Decatur Diner. You may need to get out again today!
Bwahahaha! Hearted.
Does anyone know a schedule of group bike rides out of Decatur/Avondale? I’m looking to join one. Last night around 6:30, there was a large group heading east on Church Street (Scottdale) towards Stone Mtn.
That would be the “Pizza Ride”. Leaves from Avondale Pizza parking lot every Thursday at 6:30.
Check here for a fairly comprehensive list of rides in the metro area.
http://www.sadlebred.com/atlroadrides.html
The ride that you saw was the pizza ride, starting at Avondale Pizza and heading out to Stone Mountain and back. It is a pretty fast ride, considered strenous in group riding terms. There is also another ride on Thursdays, starting at Mellow Musroom (6:30) and heading on an intown route. It would be considered moderate, but usually breaks up into several groups of varying speeds. There are also rides starting in Decatur on Tuesdays, the first starting at Meltons and would be considered beginner/ moderate. Also, there are two rides starting at Bicycle South. The first has an intown route and is moderate and the other heads out towards Stone Mountain and would be considered strenuous.
On another note, on Sunday morning between about 6:30 and 9:00 or so there will be approximately 1,000 riders coming through Decatur towards Oxford and eventually on to Savannah. These riders are participating in Bicycle Ride Across Georgia (BRAG). Motorists beware.
Note, the pizza ride starts from the OLD Avondale Pizza location which is located off main heading East just past their current.
Check out the Bike South website. Looks like they have a group ride to Stone Mt. next Saturday. http://bicyclesouth.com/articles/ride-event-calendar-pg37.htm
Can someone please make it rain? My tomato plants are getting unhappy and I’m getting tired of watering them.
I find there is a constant sprinkle under my air conditioner. I keep a bucket there to water from.
Lost a key while running Wednesday morning. Retraced my steps and didn’t see it so thought I would ask the awesome people of Decatur and more specifically Oakhurst. I know I had it when I left the Oakhurst Community Garden and headed west on Oakview. Turned down East lake and followed that to the east lake marta station where I turned on Howard. I realized it was missing when I got to Drexel and Howard. (route: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=4551303) Let me know if you happened to pick it up!
MONSTER BASH is this weekend!!!!!!!!!!!
i am firing my exterminator today. They really could care less if I have bugs in my house as long as I pay my quarterly fee. Anyone use a smaller locally owned company?
Dunwoody Pestfree. Very polite and responsive. They will always come out to re-do if you have a problem. (770) 396-6699
Scott Exterminators (404) 767-2847. Owens is our rep and he is awesome!
We use All Good Pest Solutions and they are so nice. They come out in between services for no charge. We have been very happy with their service and have had very few bugs. They also have green products.
I use Cook’s for both houses, have for the past 6 yrs.
http://www.cookspest.com/
On Target Pest Control – Vinny Ferguson
Saw something interesting at an Athens brewpub last week..Hanging on a wall in Trapezze there is a signed, framed photo of District 85 Rep. Stephanie Stuckey Benfield. The caption commends her efforts in 2004 to “lead the charge” to allow high gravity beer in Georgia. Her inscription on the photo? “Drink Liberally.”
+ 1
I’m going to assume this is not the exterminator you’re unhappy with but we really like Arrow exterminators. Kenny, our local tech, will come out anytime we call. He’s knowledgable, professional and an all around good guy.
+1 for Kenny!
I once had a long chat with rep Benfield about that legislation. I always thought it wasn’t controversial, but It was a long hard slog to get it through.
It’s f&*$ing hot.
I think DM scooped CNN!
http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/06/02/georgia.immigration.farm.workers/index.html
If you like rock and roll music and need some Saturday night entertainment this weekend come see Bon Vivants (starring me) at Rail. 10 pm. Free. No smoking.
Original congs? Covers? Some combination of the two?
All original material. We have a couple cover songs, but we haven’t attempted to play them in over a year.
Where can I find summer reading lists for schools in the Decatur area, if they’re available online? A handful are not readily apparent on the school websites. (Thanks!)
For the 4/5 Academy http://glennwood.csdecatur.net/media-center-tabs/
For Winnona Park http://winnonapark.csdecatur.net/forms/School_Forms/Summer%20Reading2011_final.pdf?Templates=RWD&ConfPosition=1
LSOS has a cool summer reading brochure and a rewards based program, just stop by the store to sign up.
The library is having its summer reading program kick off tomorrow at 10am http://www.dekalblibrary.org/kids/vacation-reading-program.html
RMS mailed home with report cards.
When did you get a report card from RMS? We haven’t gotten ours yet.
I haven’t rec’d. Just know the list info was included in the mailing.
My in-laws just moved into town and have a huge pile of professional moving boxes free to first takers. If you are interested, email me directly. They are located downtown Decatur. Thanks!
Interested, but how to email directly? Can pick up at their convenience . . .
Paideia’s are on it’s website under ‘about us’, then ‘library,’ listed by school. (elementary, junior
high…)
And in contradiction to the growth in the number of children in Decatur:
http://yourlife.usatoday.com/parenting-family/babies/story/2011/06/Is-Americas-love-affair-with-kids-waning/47969424/1
Two interesting quotes in the article:
“The share of the population under age 18 dropped in 95% of U.S. counties since 2000, according to a USA TODAY analysis of the 2010 Census.”
“There are now more households with dogs (43 million) than children.”
Unfortunately, dogs don’t pay into social security. But they do gererally behave in restaurants.
True.
Also, dogs only need dog parks, not expensive school systems. They may or may not practice good sidewalk etiquette — like children, it depends on what they’re being taught. Dogs can’t grow up to help cut the grass. Children don’t generally leave icky presents on your lawn if not chaperoned. Both may engage in hysterical, contagious barking when you’d rather not hear it. Both may chase cats who’d rather not be bothered. Sometimes they chase each other. Both are cuter, smarter and easier to tolerate if they belong to you.
“Dogs can’t grow up to help cut the grass. ”
If your dog is anything like mine, you don’t have any grass.
Heck, ya don’t have to put dogs through college– the savings alone are worth it!
I know this is strange but I am desperate. Please, contact me at vicabourque at gmail dot com if you have found an engagement ring specificallly in the East Parkwood Rd/Ponce area. It went missing about 3 weeks ago and I fear I may have left it on my car.
I know not very smart!
http://theringfinders.com/Tim.Moffitt/
Ok…. can someone tell me about the disturbances that took place in the gymnasium lobby the night of DHS graduation?
http://decatur.patch.com/articles/police-arrest-father-at-dhs-graduation
Without pointing any fingers at one side or another, seems like a shame that the altercation couldn’t have been avoided somehow. Poor senior only graduates from high school once in their life. Rules tend to be made for populations, but we live our lives as individuals. A little flexibility is in order sometimes.
“escorted Castle to the ground”
What does that even mean?
It is a convoluted way of saying that they put him down for the purpose of handcuffing him.
I thought this was crazy too-it was his kid’s graduation, after all… I understand they don’t want a bunch of latecomers interrupting things, but one parent? Sounds like what happened was far more distracting than one guy making his way to a seat. And the poor kid: “Remember my graduation, when dad got arrested?”
Am I the only person that secretly hates their high-efficency washing machine?
Is it a front loader that has a rubber flappy ring thingamajig that gets moldy, and if you don’t remediate frequently in the summer with commercial products, gets smelly too? I’ve had one for 10 years and will be glad when it breaks down. It seems counterintuitive to have to regularly wash one’s washing machine. I know that Consumer Reports and others say that they are more water and energy efficient but I find the old-fashioned top loading bucket style more flexible for the diverse things I would like to do with a washer, e.g. dye clothes, soak them, watch what’s going on.
I read recently that leaving the washing machine open will help cut down on the mold/musty smell by allowing air to dry it rather than trapping the moisture in there.
yes – leaving the door open helps. Also, on our 10 year old machine we replaced the “rubber flappy ring thingamajig ” recently hoping for a fresh start…
Good idea. Did you do it yourself or get professional assistance? If you got help, who did you use? Our machine seems to be fine but the RFRT is in sad, sad shape.
I did it myself. It was not too bad in the end but I did have to spend some quality time on google finding the right part number and online copies of the repair manual so I could understand how to disassemble/assemble.
It’s like the high efficiency toilets we HAVE to have by law, but, have to flush twice as much.
DM, I love my front loading washing machine — but always keep the door cracked so it doesn’t smell moldy. The thing I dislike the most is that I can’t throw in something I’ve forgotten late in the cycle (but I can open my door if the machine just started). If I could balance it, I’d be even happier.
MNINS, Two flushes defeats the purpose! Either Home Depot or Lowe’s rank toilets by flush power (I forget where we went). We bought a low-priced, high-flush-power one and need to flush it much less than our two older toilets.
That gives me the perfect excuse to roll out one of my favorite commercials:
I like my front loader a lot. Haven’t experienced the problem Karass mentioned, but I nearly always leave mine open to air dry. It is a nuisance when I drop a sock on the way to the laundry room and can’t toss it in after the cycle has begun. But I think it gets my clothes cleaner, with less wear and tear.
Maybe it’s just ours, but not only does it smell (yes we’ve always left the door open), but it also is real finicky about suds – too much Spray and Wash and say hello to a 2 hour cycle, plus it walks (yes I realize this has to do with the floor but our options are minimal. Whenever we go out and use an old top loader we’re oddly envious.
Mine walks around, too, but I’ve always thought it’s because the laundry room floor is not level and slightly rickety. But maybe it’s the other way around. (But my mother’s top-loader danced around, too, when it wasn’t leveled properly. That was in a new house, no fault of the floor.)
Thank you for clearing up the mystery of why it takes so dang long to wash clothes at my sister’s house! (I tried the white vinegar remedy on her smelly washer, and it worked.)
Folks, If you have an old school washer, baby it! I’d sure love to have my ancient Kenmore back. My new top loader is brutal– it’s so bent on wringing out every drop of water that it wears out the fabric & locks in tiny wrinkles. (Granted it’s an economy model, but it was rated pretty high.)
You should be regularly using tide washing machine cleaner
First time I read your sentence I thought you were doing an imitation of Schwarzenegger endorsing a detergent: “You should be regularly using Tide! Washing machine cleaner!
But then I realized you were probably saying “You should be regularly using Tide Washing Machine Cleaner!”
Thanks for this suggestion. We just tried it. Seems to have done some good.
It would solve all our problems with the beast, but at least it’s breath will be a bit sweeter for a while.
My only complaint has been that it is so gentle on my clothes that I’m wearing the same dress shirts I bought 9 years ago. It’s embarrassing but I can’t bring myself to jettison perfectly good clothes just because I can be seen in old pictures wearing the same thing.
We just got one not too long ago. I am anxiety-ridden about it developing a smell. For now, I wipe it out with a sock each time and leave the door open, and all I can smell is rubber from the gasket. But I fear that before long I will either have or hallucinate odors. Has anyone tried the HE cleaner stuff? I will say that the clothes come out so much better spun that they spend less than a third of the time in the dryer than they did before, which is a huge plus.
Re He cleaners: Yes they seem to work–on the smell, not on the mold stains on the rubber which seem to be there forever even if I use the little scrubber things that come with the HE cleaner kits.
Re leaving door open–probably a good idea but then folks bang into the door and the lightbulb burns out. And I cannot buy Tide/Febreeze/HE in the huge economy size with a spout. And why can’t a nation that can go to the moon and do twitter and Facebook from there come up with a top-loader HE machine that one does not need to be washed and dried carefully? It’s a washing machine, not an angora sweater!
We’ve had one for 7 years with nary a problem. Uses less water and gets the clothes cleaner.
Does that mean you don’t hate it then? Or do you hate it because it does those things?
I really hate ours and miss the top loader. We can’t leave the door open very much or our toddler gets into it or puts things in it (hard to explain but it’s located in the same closet with some his toys so he needs access to the closet or I’d just shut the closet door). it smells no matter what I use to clean it or how much I scrub it, and I will NEVER get another one.
I love the idea of my high efficiency washer more than I love the actual washer.
If you use cloth diapers the he front loader doesn’t get them as clean as a regular washer. And if you have young children who like rocks, be sure to check their pockets before washing their clothes–we had a rock get behind the drum, doing damage in the process.
re: HE washing machine: we just bought the whirlpool cabrio and it is a HE machine, but a top loader. best of both worlds.
We’ve had one of those for over a year now, and it’s great. Like you said, best of both worlds.
The new Rolo McFlurry at McDonald’s is yummy. I’m addicted to any kind of frozen treat in the summer – not very good for my waist line. . .
To the very nice Gentleman that held the door open for me while I tried to get my double stroller through the door at the Raging Burrito…. Thank you very much. i don’t think I said that when I was annoyed with that narrow door!
Okay, I’d really like to change my handle. I really don’t like it. The only reason I have it is the first night I ever logged on, that insipid song with the lyrics “And he KNOWS my name is not Susan” was stuck in my head. And really, my name really isn’t Susan. So, I know I am putting myself out here: what should I change my handle to? Ideas? Be nice!
I pick “Susan”
smarty
I’m with you, NotSusan. If Sarah Palin decides to run for president (barf), I will be quitting the Republican party. Then I’ll have to pick a new handle too.
“Decatur’s Token non-insane former Republican”
Keep the Gravatar in any case for ease of reference.
Bonzo! Bonzo! A nod to your hero & your bug stomping ways!
After I saw your post about recycling, I knew it wouldn’t be long before you ditched your handle
Either of these would suit you: “I heart Obama” or “Granola Peacenik Decatur Hippie, and yes, I only shower once a week!”
Was that you I saw playin Hacky Sack in the Square the other day? Love your new dreads btw…
Anyone else want to try to convince karass to change her gravatar while we’re at it?
Absolutely: it should be a sledge hammer wrapped in a dictionary surrounded by a thesaurus.
Someone’s got to do the heavy lifting!
I couldn’t find an icon for heteronormative.
Don’t over-think it, is my advice. No matter what you choose, somebody in this crowd will eventually make fun with it. (Months ago, somebody associated my screen name with a Journey song that I never liked to start with. Gave me an earworm for days.) Shoot, I think I just gave it to myself again.
Never got the Journey reference until today! Ha! Don’t mind good natured teasing – I’m not hyper sensitve. I’ll think of something and will “announce” it so it will be honest. I know you all will be on edge of your seats all week in pregnant aniticipation. Will not be BloggerFormerlyKnownAsMyNameIsNotSusan. Have a good weekend everyone.
you may also want to avoid “pantsontheground” (see “earworm” above)
You’re welcome for the Journey reference
And to clarify, I wasn’t making fun of your name. It’s just that I can’t see it without that damn song getting into my head. I’m just really glad there aren’t any Mandys or Sharona’s around here!
No worries, I never thought you were making fun. I just never particularly liked Journey, so it was a bit exasperating. Much more exasperating, though, is having songs I don’t like indelibly etched in my brain. Now that everybody controls their own playlists so much, instead of being at the mercy of Top 40 radio, is that still happening, I wonder?
Well, every time I go the back way to the post office I get an Eddy Grant song stuck in my head, so yeah, it still happens. Gonna rock down to…
“Electric Avenue” – now we can all hum along…
“Gave me an earworm for days”
Did it go on and on and on and on?
+1
Hi rock the haus! I’m interested in the moving boxes, but don’t know how to email you directly. D’oh! Hope you see this!
Thanks.
Curious if anyone knows anything about the gas station at the corner on N Candler and Ponce. I’ve seen some people working on the place on and off the past 3 or 4 weeks?
This was discussed here sometime last week – perhaps DM would point you to it.
Found it in FFAF last week, thanks!
http://www.decaturmetro.com/2011/05/27/free-for-all-friday-52711/#comments
I’m considering refinancing my mortgage. I’m concerned that an overly optimistic appraisal for my home value will eat up any savings on my mortgage with a bigger tax bill. Does anyone know if Dekalb County considers refinance appraisals when determining property assessments?
I don’t think they do. I’ve been looking into this process a lot lately, by virtue of an absurdly inflated appraisal I will have to appeal. There is NO rhyme or reason to the county’s appriasals. It is like they pick random numbers out of a hat. They appraised my house at almost 3X what I paid for it late last year. Other houses in my neighborhood are appraised well below sales price, some absurdly so.
Outside appraisals and refi’s have no meaning to the County’s process. They only look at actual recorded sales.
DEM, sounds like you have a case. The County’s website lets you look at sales in your area and you can use those as a starting point. You could also pay for your own appraisal and include that in your appeal.
Anybody know what’s going on with the Spring 2011 Neighborhood Cleanup (a.k.a. Trash Amnesty)? My street is listed but nothing has been picked up on my street as of yet (and there are very few people with anything put out). Did it get rescheduled? Did my neighborhood get skipped (Sycamore Ridge/Lockwood Terrace area)?
If it’s still there, call the sanitation people Monday morning. To my knowledge, the schedules did not change.
Any DM readers willing to board my brother’s cat while he’s away for 6-8 weeks? I’ll pay whatever the customary rate is that includes the boarder providing the food and all supplies. It’s a friendly cat with short hair named Sammy.
You can reply here: http://www.russtaylor.info/home/2011/6/5/cat-boarding.html
Thanks! -Russ
I have two dogs who really, really want me to do this
In-home boarding is obviously preferable for such a long stay. But if nothing works out, I can recommend Brookwood Kennel for cat boarding. They have the nicest setup I’ve seen for cats: completely separated (and sound-proofed) from the dog kennel, each cat has a spacious cage with a window overlooking some bird feeders. The cats are all in one room, but all on the same wall so they can’t see each other. Kennel is owner-operated and you can arrange for your pet to get play time out of their cage with a staff member. I used them for years for both cat and dog. Downside is they are located out in the wilds between Grayson and Lawrenceville. But they do a great job. There may be alternatives closer in these days, when I found Brookwood 10-12 years ago, it was the only decent option I could find, for cat boarding.
“Error establishing a database connection”
I have been having this issue a fair amount here on DM lately. The first few times I thought it may have been my computer and a fluke, but have been noticing it more lately. Am I the only one?
No, I’ve been getting that a lot lately as well. Also, pages seem to get hung up more, waiting for the DeKalb Medical ad to load.
Trust me, it’s REALLY annoying for me. I’m going to hopefully get it looked at this week. Also working on some added features to the site that many of you have asked for!
I just got an error message saying “You are posting comments too quickly. Slow down.” Seriously! I can’t stop laughing.