Free-For-All Friday 6/7/13
Decatur Metro | June 7, 2013Feel free to use this post to make comments and ask questions about local issues not yet 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 yet discussed here over the past week.
Comments close on Monday.
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Though it is probably too late for this season, I am looking for a plot in a community garden. Most have long waiting lists. Any ideas? Thanks.
It may not be too late. I just commented a few days ago when I was tending our plot at Oakhurst Garden that there were at least two plots not being used. I originally waited a year for ours, but there may be a couple for the taking right now. Check it out.
Drove past the garden next to the high school this morning. On the chalkboard sign, it said plots available.
I manage the garden and we do have plots available. Call me at 404-374-3990 or come to our work day Saturday morning.
Update from last Friday on getting water service re-established on a purchased, existing home in COD. Thanks to everyone who offered suggestions. After two lengthy phone calls, two faxes of 7 pages each, one email & two business days (Fri PM – Tues); I have water. Still amazed that the switching of water service is so laborious, when the process of changing over of electricity & natural gas can be accomplished via one 10 minute call to each. Thank goodness we were not moving in to our purchased house in Decatur immediately after closing. What happens when someone moves in from out of state? Welcome to Decatur, DeKalb County & Georgia! Oh, you want water too, well that will be one to five business days after you submit an application, the HUD & your driver’s license. “Our goal here @ DeKalb Watershed Mgt is to offer superior customer service. Did I accomplish that goal today?” —- Direct quote. Maybe I expect too much competency.
Hey, cut the government some slack. While it may be awful at providing basic services, it’s really good at monitoring your phone calls and internet searches. That counts for something, right?
I really don’t get the uproar over the phone calls. If the government wasn’t monitoring phone calls, the same people complaining about the monitoring would be complaining that we aren’t doing enough if something catastrophic happened. You can’t have it both ways.
If you don’t have anything to hide, then what does it matter?
I think when you start to add up all the individual incidents that have come out lately, trust in government (not currently that high in the first place) continues to erode. With IRS targeting of certain groups, killing American citizens for suspected terrorist activity, domestically-used drones, Fast and Furious, Verizon’s phone records, using PRISM to access Facebook/Google/Apple/MicroSoft records, etc., people lose confidence in their government.
It’s somewhat disheartening. I don’t have anything to hide, but that doesn’t mean I support any of the government’s actions in these regards.
“So as Americans, we reject the false choice between our security and our ideals. We can and we must and we will protect both. And that is just what you will pledge to do in a few moments when you raise your right hand and take your oath.”
— Barack Obama
I guess what he meant was “hey if you’re not committing crimes, why would you care if we rifle through your phone records and monitor your Facebook page? It’s no big deal. You can totally trust us, we’ll only use your personal information for the right reasons.”
Really? You’re going to play the don’t-have-anything-to-hide card?
Truthfully, I’m still debating where I stand on the surveillance issue. To me, the bigger point is this is the kind of thing that Obama absolutely railed against and was supported loudly for by his voters. Now, as President he not only has not stopped, but has expanded the evil practices and his supporters are neither upset that the practices continue nor that once again he has not followed through on his promises.
It’s not a card. It’s how I feel. I would much rather my phone calls be monitored than turn on the television every day and see another tragedy.
+10. As well, it is not a person or persons looking at this information. It is a supercomputer. Only if a pattern of interest to national security emerges is human nature involved.
+10 here too. And if you don’t like it, don’t blame Obama, blame Congress. They’re the ones who renew this permission regularly.
With respect, that’s a massive cop out. As stated above, Obama was adamantly and vocally opposed to such practices as a candidate, and as president he has continued and EXPANDED surveillance and drone attacks. As executive, he has the power to stop this immediately. he has chosen not to.
Regardless of whether you are for, against, or don’t care, he can’t have a free pass on this.
It isn’t that I completely disagree with Bulldog, but you clearly place a lot more trust in our government than I (or most Americans according to every single poll on the subject) and, with no disrespect intended, I think your position is a bit naive. Who programs the supercomputer? How hard would it be to have this supercomputer look for the word “tax” or “marijuana” instead of “bomb” or “jihad”? Why are you so sure that they only using this technology for national security? Because they say so?
And, I don’t care what Holder says, the surveillance of AP reporters has nothing to do with national security. It has everything to do with controlling the press and/or siliencing critics.
[Damn, now I sound like one of those conspiracy theory nuts, which I am most certainly not!]
“Because they say so” is about right, because other than the standard platitudes about guarding against abuse, the government won’t tell anyone they’re collecting the data or what they’re actually doing with it. They even muzzled Verizon, which is required to turn over its customer data, but legally cannot comment on the matter at all. These recent stories were the product of investigative reporting — you know, the kind the Administration is labeling as potentially criminal in search warrant affidavits these days.
I’d also ask, what is the evidence that an indiscriminate monitoring program of this scale effectively makes anyone safer? Bulldog you may be willing to have your calling info downloaded, but since I am reasonably certain you are not a terrorsist, it doesn’t make me any safer to have Uncle Sam know who you are calling. And I’m not a terrorist, either, so downloading my data isn’t protecting you one bit.
The government has always had the legitimate power to obtain information about suspected criminals. I think it’s remarkable that so many are willing to be monitored by the government on the mere assumption that what they’re doing is providing effective security. As Ben Franklin reportedly said, those who would trade their libery for temporary security deserve neither. And I suspect they’ll get it.
So the government should do nothing? If we have the technological capability to monitor phone records, then let’s use what’s available.
Do you think a TSA agent should let you through the airport security line without checking your bag because he is “reasonably certain” you aren’t a terrorist?
I’m a firm believer that the majority of the people in this world are good. It’s small percentage of bad ones who screw it up for everybody.
Thank you.
Please cite a credible source next time.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/07/opinion/president-obamas-dragnet.html?_r=0
Oh, ok then! They’re not listening to the calls (so far as we know), they’re just “sifting through” (Obama’s words) who we call and how long the calls last. And they are doing that with respect to every customer of Verizon, which is only tens of millions of Americans who are suspected no wrongdoing whatsoever. Good thing that’s not private information. I was worried there for a second! Hey, good thing they’re not secretly monitoring Facebook and Google. Oh, wait . . .
i’m imagining it works like this DEM:
there are lists of phone numbers of known anti-US operatives and terrorist suspects who live in foreign lands, and the NSA is interested in knowing when those numbers are dialed, by whom, and when. the metadata they are presently gathering provides this information, but, as the President said, no wiretapping can occur without a properly obtained search warrant.
seems reasonable to me.
what’s your solution?
It’s great that you are imagining that the program proceeds in a reasonable way, but that’s little comfort. We don’t know how it really works. They won’t tell us. They kept the program secret.
Plus, if they had the numbers of known terrorists, they could subpoena all the calls to and from those numbers. That is not what they are doing. Again, they are “sifting through” the calls of every Verizon customer. That’s about as broad a dragnet as they can possibly cast.
My solution would be to investigate people who are actually suspected of crimes, as opposed to investigating . . . well, damn near everyone.
Experience hath shewn, that even under the best forms [of government] those entrusted with power have, in time, and by slow operations, perverted it into tyranny.-Thomas Jefferson
If the personal freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution inhibit the government’s ability to govern the people, we should look to limit those guarantees.
Clinton
Discuss
I personally do not place much faith in the fact that “they say so,” either. However, conspiracies are born from motivation, not capacity. Every impression I get is that the government and intelligence agencies are concerned about being blamed for not stopping the next tragedy. They are too concerned with covering themselves to indulge in the more prurient intrusion into our personal lives.
Maybe. Then again, just a day after the initial story broke, they have been forced to admit that the have, in fact, read the emails and listened to the phone calls of innocent Americans. By accident, of course. Whoops! But still, you can totally trust them.
http://openchannel.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/06/07/18831985-officials-nsa-mistakenly-intercepted-emails-phone-calls-of-innocent-americans
Would you feel the same way if they came by your house once a month for a thorough search? How about if they put a government issued monitoring device on your car so you can be sent an automated ticket every timr you brake a traffic law (including speeding)? It’s not about having something to hide. It is about the right and expectation of privacy.
Well, since the government isn’t doing either of those things, I don’t see how it is a relevant comparison. Looking at patterns of phone numbers and analyzing data is a lot different than putting a tracking device on property or turning over a house looking for contraband.
Not if you have nothing to hide.
See my first comment. I was responding to your example, which is not at all the same thing as monitoring telephone calls.
The uproar is not over people with GPS devices on their cars or police turning over homes. Those are physical efforts to intimidate and are not at all comparable to electronic efforts to look for patterns.
My problem is that the government is doing this under suspect legal reasoning and, I believe, interpreting the law (in this case, the Patriot Act) far more broadly than what was intended. You might be OK with it but the government needs to at least describe to the American people what it can legally do before doing it. Obama and others keep saying that these programs are under Congressional and judicial scrutiny. But neither Congress nor the judiciary can even talk about this in public and I just don’t trust the government when everything is done in complete secrecy. It’s telling that we are only finding out about this capability of the government through a leak. I am quite disappointed in Obama. He promised transparency and has not delivered.
OK, dsw, so we should just tip off suspected criminals and ne’er-do-wells by telling them exactly what we are doing it and how we are doing it? That’s just as bad as the newspaper running in-depth instructions (with pictures) of how to make an explosive.
The question here is, where do you draw the line? Today it is phone calls, facebook and other hopefully harmless things. We let the government have that, then what or who stops them from deciding to search your home?
I am not okay with the Patriot Act and I am not okay with a so called progressive administration’s continued use of it. Any erosion of civil liberties especially pertaining to privacy is frightening. And I am proudly progressive and believe in the power of government to create a positive society.
Nellie, that is about the most honest response I have seen from a “progressive” on this subject. I don’t care who is the president, this stuff is scary.
i’m not pleased with the intrusion into our privacy either, but, honestly, we haven’t had much privacy for decades: credit card companies, banks, google, and insurance companies (just to name a few) have so much actual and predictive data on us it would make your head spin, so i hold few illusions about my privacy–especially given my openness.
and anyway, i’m more concerned with what businesses will do with my data, than i am the government–at least we have the Constitution and the Bill of Rights as a buffer against wanton infringement, while our protections from corporations are much much weaker.
as it relates to NSA surveillance, i’m reminded of the line from a “Few Good Men”‘, “[we] don’t want to know” what it truly takes to keep us safe. i suspect it’s a very dirty business, and the processes and procedures we are privy to are probably only the tip of the iceberg of our arsenal.
i’m a progressive too, but i balance it with a bit of cynical realism.
i’m more concerned with what businesses will do with my data, than i am the government
___________________
I’ve never understood this opinion. Businesses don’t have the power to confiscate, to imprison, to impose it’s will by the force of a gun. What can business do that is scarier than what a government can do? And you say that we have the Bill of Rights as a buffer, but that’s exactly what we are talking about here – the disregard for the same.
i believe business has far less oversight than government and am staggered by the influence Goldman Sachs, Exxon and Monsanto, for example, wield nationally and internationally and their ability to act with impunity. sure government has the power to imprison corporate villains, but they don’t because government is essentially their handmaiden with reams of legislation being bought and sold by them, while their former employees hold many of the government positions that are intended to regulate them.
the military industrial complex is owned and paid for by corporations and has extraordinary influence on our country’s global defense policy.
the rise of the private prison system is reshaping criminal justice in the US
our political process itself has been perverted by corporate funded PACs, and now the Supreme Court’s ruling that corporations possess the same rights as individuals.
government’s no angel for sure, and has lots of shameful history, but the profit motive and the power large corporations flex makes business far more dangerous, IMO, with my data, than government on a daily basis.
scarily, they’re becoming so interconnected its becoming an Ouroboros, and that may be the scariest thing of all.
Rick, I couldn’t agree more and that is why we should limit GOVERNMENT power. Business cannot do the things you mention If we limit governments ability to aid them.
. . .and some might say we need more government regulation of business as what we’re witnessing is what happens when corporations are allowed to operate without enough constraint.
having been part of several global IT strategy sessions involving consumer data, i feel quite comfortable with my concern.
Bulldog, criminals know exactly what the government can and can’t do. I’m sure they are aware thathe government must have probable cause to get a warrant to conduct a search. And I’m sure terrorists are well aware that the U.S. government can eavesdrop on their electronic communications. That’s how we got bin Laden. We connected his courier’s phone to the house in Abbotabad. But before this, I doubt the average American knew that the government can get access to their phone metadata without a warrant or probable cause and I think they should be aware of that. We need to have a thorough debate over privacy vs. security instead of finding out about these things secondhand and then getting reassurances from the government that basically amount to “trust us.” President Bush ordered warrantless wiretapping of domestic phone calls, which was expressly forbidden by law, and no one has ever been punished in any way for that. So forgive me if I don’t trust the government, no matter who is in office.
Would you feel the same way if they came by your house once a month for a thorough search?
Only if they dust.
Don’t feel like wading into this privacy versus security debate, but I will say that this should be yet another wake up call: people should have ZERO expectation of privacy when using public infrastructure (Internet, phone lines) or forums controlled by private business (Facebook, Google, financial institutions, etc,). Not saying whether that’s right or wrong, just the way it is.
It reminds me of the movie The Lives of Others.
Amazing movie, and you are right- maybe someday we’ll all bereading our NSA files…
Make sure you send record of your experience to each DeKalb Co. Commisioner, the Watershed management team, and perhaps the DeKalb Chamber of Commerce and economic recruiting office… ask for a response to see what they say…
On the upside, your gas and electricity services apparently switched over without any hiccups. And you have moved into a community where several neighbors who don’t even know who you are, took the trouble to look up some old listserve posts and email back and forth among themselves, in an attempt to help out if they could. So maybe, on the whole, it all turned out well.
You are correct & again, I thank everyone who responded with helpful suggestions. I have lived in Avondale for 13 years, attended Decatur First United Methodist for over 10 years & our daughter has attended STM for four years, I have also enjoyed this blog for a number of years. I am well aware of the Decatur “community” and your post & the others are further examples of how much my new neighbors make the Ciity of Decatur such a great place. Thanks again, everyone!
I love chocolate. I really really love chocolate. I want to talk about…you guessed it…chocolate.
So here’s my request for a DM chocolate discussion.
Did I mention I love chocolate?
This is a suggestion, for a single post, just for suggestions.
Also, random not related, has anyone ever donated dog toys? Where? They are washed, clean and in good shape. My gal has 1 favorite baby, and no matter how we try, hide it under every other toy on the planet, she always manages to find that disgusting mangy thing, and she refuses to have anything to do with any of the other ones we have accumulated.
There is an animal rescue place, the name of which escapes me, located in Avondale on a back street kind of behind Skip’s Hot Dogs. I have taken dog and cat toys, accessories, supplies, leftover food. They are a shoestring operation and can use all the support the community can muster.
LifeLine Animal Project!
Well that’s easy– the Dekalb Animal Shelter!
Yep. The shelter will be very glad to take them and they will be greatly appreciated. Lifeline, too.
Aging, +1000 on love of all things chocolate. My input for your discussion is King of Pops chocolate sea-salt popsicle. Holy S**&, it’s amazing!
Sweet baby Jesus YES. I had one for the first time couple of weeks ago and can’t wait to get my paws on another.
Chocolate sea salt is good, but the Arnold Palmer is a true adult popsicle!
I mentioned it last week but I feel compelled to mention it again and voice my frustration now that it is complete: the new basketball court at WP is in a terrible location.
Don’t get me wrong, it is a very nice basketball court. But plopping it down in the middle of the periphery of the field will impact the usability of the field for kids soccer, pick up soccer, ultimate frisbee, you name it. It would have made much more sense to put it closer to the school, maybe right next to the covered pavilion. It would have made even more sense to use one of the existing court spaces.
Not sure I understand. How can something be in the middle of the periphery?
Definition of PERIPHERY
1: the perimeter of a circle or other closed curve; also : the perimeter of a polygon
2: the external boundary or surface of a body
3a : the outward bounds of something as distinguished from its internal regions or center
Have you seen it? If you haven’t seen it, then go take a look. That would make it much easier to have this conversation.
It’s not in the middle of the field, but, because of its placement, it has a similar impact.
I just woke up and read this conversation. Now I am so confused that I am going back to bed. If the NSA hears us talking about the middle of the periphery, they will tell my girlfriend that I actually HAVE met her sister before.
I use the field very often. There is plenty of room for multiple things to happen at the same time. For example, Sunday afternoon there were two groups of adults practicing softball, a group of teenagers, kids, and adults shooting hoops, small kids playing on the playgrounds, and another group of kids playing soccer and running around the field. In the past four years when the YMCA had soccer games none of their fields have been where the court is. It is positioned in a shady spot of the field for the mornings and the noise from the court when it is being played on is absorbed by the hill and trees next to it. There were also 5 cars parked in the parking lot rather than on the street. It is a great addition to the space and the location does not get in the way of anything else happening.
I encourage you try it out for yourself. It is not as bad as it may look to you. Frankly, as someone who uses the field a lot I think it is awesome. Sure people may have to reconfigure how they set up their pick up games of soccer, ultimate Frisbee, or whatever they play but it is possible and there is still plenty of space for everyone.
Getting in early on this one: when my wife complains that drivers are aggressive towards her afternoon group rides there is a problem. On her behalf and all other cyclists, drivers, please cool your jets on your commutes from office to home in the evening.
Thank you! I’m tired of being seen as an inconvenience because I’m on a bike.
Hopefully, the group is following the rules of the road and not riding in a pack. If they are riding several riders abreast, then they have no room to complain.
I suppose it depends upon your definition of several:
Georgia Code 40-6-294(b): Persons riding bicycles upon a roadway shall not ride more than two abreast except on paths or parts of roadways set aside for the exclusive use of bicycles.
Yes, but just because the law allows you to ride two abreast doesn’t make it a smart or courteous idea.
I am fine with 2 abreast as long as it is not 20 abreast (unless wearing costumes; then they are a PARADE and all bets are off!!!).
hopefully, the drivers are following the rules of the road and not speeding, changing lanes without signaling, making less than full stops, driving distracted…. if they are, then they have no room to complain, right?
I was out in Salt Lake City last week where we experienced “Bike Prom,” an early evening ride where everyone was in tuxes, fancy dresses, some alarmingly sincere, others clearly tongue in cheek. There were hundreds of participants, the street was totally clogged, “traffic” (should you define it solely in terms of cars) patterns were disrupted and It. Was. Awesome.
Everyone loved it, including (it appeared) those being delayed. Why? My guess is because culture is a lot more satisfying than expedience.
Which is cool because it is a special event.
It was definitely a special event but it didn’t appear to be sanctioned in terms of its impact on car traffic. There were no efforts to close any streets or any police helping direct. By all appearances, it was just an organic commandeering of public space, just like cars do every day of the year.
I sorta endorse renegade special events. They are happy things and people should encourage happiness.
As a bicyclist I heartily endorse your comment.
As a driver I want to complain about the group ride that took up both lanes of commerce from the underpass at E College all the way to Sycamore, where the single bike in the left lane turned left.
Were they turning on Sycamore Pl or Sycamore St? As a cyclist I could see why the cyclist who was going to turn left and break away from the group went ahead and took the left lane so that they could turn shortly.
In the scheme of it all the time the car spent going slow behind the cyclist who wanted to turn left would have most likely spent the same amount of time sitting at the Ponce red light instead.
In an area of high red light concentration the speed of the car and bike are on average very similar. For example, I was cycling east on Ponce and got stopped at the red light at the PURE station. On green I advanced to the next light to make a right (south) on Commerce. The SUV behind me attempted to pass in that short period of time to make the same turn. He had to stop because cars were stopped in front of him and he was unable to accelerate enough to get around me. Any how he ended up merging in behind me. Upon the right turn he gassed it around me in the open lane. (That is fine he can do what he wants.) Less than a minute later I pull up beside him (he is in the center lane) and joined him at the College/Commerce light. He rolls down his window and no joke says, “Hey, you sure are fast on that bike.” I just smiled and said “thanks, you gotta be in this traffic.” When I ride around a lot of traffic I try to be aggressive enough to establish my place while at the same time being courteous and mindful of the other users of the road (cars).
Left on Sycamore St. The longer distance. It was only .3 miles (according to google maps) But it was long enough to feel inconsiderate to me. http://goo.gl/maps/rE0B1
While motorists should always drive safely around bikers, I wonder why this group is riding in traffic during rush hour. Commuter biking is one thing, but the gist of the comment makes it sound like this is a leisure ride. If this is a leisure bike group, the group is being HUGELY inconsiderate of people trying to get home from work to tend to their responsibilities.
So we can’t exercise during rush hour?
You can. Just be considerate of others. Or, if that is too much trouble, don’t bitch on blogs when people react to your behavior.
Can’t? You can do whatever you want. I don’t think it is smart to execute a group ride at a time when vehicle traffic is at its highest.
6:30 PM is not exactly rush hour.
Let’s talk gardening. I had a wonderful bounty of chicken coop compost this year, and it all got mixed into the raised beds. My plants are huge, and it looks like I am going to have about six million tomatoes. The problem is my summer squash. All the high quality nitrogen in my compost has caused the squash plants to explode with growth. The foliage is amazing, and they are producing very actively, but all of the squash are rotting at the blossom end before fully ripening. I have heard that an abundance of nitrogen can cause this, and that a dose of epsom salts at the base of the plant might help. Do any of y’all have experience with the same problem that you care to share?
My understanding is that blossom end rot is caused by a lack of calcium. Walter Reeves’ says (regarding tomaotes but it applies to other crops as well) :
“The fruit damage is blossom end rot, which is caused by a lack of calcium in the cells at the blossom end of the fruit when it is young. Blossom end rot is not a disease. It won’t spread to other plants.
This condition is typically caused by fluctuating soil moisture. Gardening in pots makes it hard to keep moisture levels constant. A large plant in a small pot may dry the soil completely in one day. You’d almost have to water it in morning and afternoon to keep the soil constantly moist.
When you first see blossom end rot, spray plants with a “blossom end rot spray” containing calcium chloride. The spray won’t cure your damaged tomatoes but it will help protect young ones that haven’t developed the condition.”
I have a contractor friend who grows tomatoes who had a similar problem. He ended up breaking up drywall (which he had ample supply of) and putting it around the plants for the calcium. Best dadgum tomatoes I ever did eat…
When I was growing up, and now as an adult, when I plant my tomatoes I always add a handful of quick lime to the soil. After-the-fact you can also just sprinkle a few spoonfuls of quicklime around the base of the plant (be sure not to allow the lime to actually touch the stem). This works for tomatoes, so I imagine it will work for squash, too.
Forgot to add this…be sure to use Quick Lime (or fast acting lime) and not regular lime or else it won’t dissolve into the soil when watered.
It could just be that your female blossoms have not been fertilized. I was having the same problem with my squash and I did some research. Apparently most plants have female flowers first, sometimes with no male blossoms at all. If the female flowers are not fertilized, the fruit will turn brown and fall off. Now that my plants have both flowers (you can tell the male ones because they do not have the little squash “ovaries” on them) I’ve been helping them get busy. Easy to do with a q-tip or brush, or just break off a male flower and peel back the petals and rub it all over the female flowers’ inside parts. It helps if you sing Bow-Chika-Wow-Wow when you do this.
Laughed aloud at that last sentence but I think “Let’s Get it On” would work as well.
Had lunch yesterday at MAR. I had read the Yelp reports regarding the manic opening night, so wanted to give it a try — especially because “coastal Mexican” is right up my alley.
Food appeared quickly. Amazing lobster taco in a handmade squid ink tortilla shell. Pricey for lunch but hey — lobster! The owners shared that they plan to offer a lunch menu soon.
MAR has definitely raised the bar on sophisticated foodie-ing in Decatur.
I was surprised to see a Mar story/ad pop up on the screen in my office elevator this week.
A squid ink tortilla? That just does not sound tasty. Can you describe?
Squid ink tortilla:
– Coal black
– very rich
– slightly orgasmic
I really want to see you eat one of these now….
Squid ink is used primarily as a coloring, not a flavoring. You’ll see it used in pasta most frequently, resulting in a purple-black color. It doesn’t taste like squid. Just think of it as a blue corn tortilla if it bothers you.
So now I have to ask……..how do blue corn tortillas get blue? I should know this after living in New Mexico but I don’t.
These come from using blue corn…it’s not from adding coloring.
Dumb question, I know. Why is the corn blue? But blue is an infrequently naturally occurring food color. Even if one includes artificial color, there’s not many blue foods–blueberries, blue corn, blue jello, blue Kool Aid, blue popsicles.
that question plagued scientists for years until food chemists recently discovered the active chemical present in blue foods: “Smurfoflavin”
I realize this is FFAF and frivalous queries are encouraged, but you ARE allowed to go to other sites to look for information you know. There’s this one called Wikipedia…
Also, “blue” corn isn’t actually blue. It’s more purple-black, keeping your observation about the rarity of truly blue foods intact.
Just had a great Torta at Hola! Mar, hola, Chai pani. It is embarrassing how much great food there is in this little town.
Don’t forget the arepas and empanadas at Calle Latina. And we finally got back to Sapori di Napoli after a long hiatus and thoroughly enjoed the Diavolo. But yeah, Chai Pani is the shiznits.
I have been going to Chai Pani so much that when I went in there to work for about an hour the other day (Decatur WiFi is lightening fast in there) I got comped. No wonder I am not losing 2 year old baby weight.
Corn was more colorful (and more nutritious) until we started selecting for sweetness. I found this article very interesting. Be sure and check out the accompanying graphic.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/26/opinion/sunday/breeding-the-nutrition-out-of-our-food.html?pagewanted=all
I have shared this article with many friends. A must read. I bought some dandelion greens last night at an ingles for their phyto nutrients. Honestly don’t know how to prepare them. Ideas?
Eat them like any of your favorite salad greens. They’re super tasty, if a wee bit bitter. I’m partial to bitter greens, so that pleases me.
I just wanted to second that whatever problems they were having at opening seem to have been smoothed out now.
We were a 4 top and ordered several smaller dishes, including several tacos, so it wasn’t easy on the kitchen, and everything came out quickly. The bar was also keeping up.
Copy that. Just had a nice dinner with both food and service hitting their marks.
Electronics Recycling and Document Shredding tomorrow! 9AM-2PM.
Open Arms Dog Rescue, just up the road at 3516 Lawrenceville Hwy in Tucker, is sponsoring this event to benefit their rescue efforts. $10 per car plus $10 per monitor or TV. They will not take console or projection TVs however.
Their facebook page has additional details.
Thanks for this reminder. Just yesterday I had in my hand a bag of old batteries, dead surge protector, etc. and was fretting about when the next recycling opportunity might be.
Check the Decatur Rec. Center lobby. We saw a battery recycling container there the other day. Maybe it is an ongoing service….
Finally culling my vast collection of audio cassettes, weeding out the ones that won’t play in preparation for digitizing the rest. Question: are the tapes and/or boxes good for anything besides dumping into the recycle stream?
Welcome to 2013!
In all seriousness, how is the quality of a digitized audio cassette? I just can’t imagine it sounding that good.
I haven’t actually converted any yet. I got all wound up about it last year or the year before, until I found out it’s necessary to stop & restart the recording for every song, otherwise it records an entire tape side as a single cut. Maybe it can be edited after the fact, but same difference to me, I have little patience for that kind of thing. OTOH, I am getting serious about downsizing my material life; and recently traded cars and new car has no tape deck but does have USB port for MP3 player.
In any case, I kind of prefer that they sound like the tapes, many of which I recorded myself from LPs. Digital music can sound kind of sterile.
Anyhow, I wish the elves would come along and take care of it for me. (The ones that work for free.)
You got your new car! What did you get? My guess is a Hyundai Sonata.
I’m guessing F-150.
Not that I know of. I think recycling is your best (only) option. I recycled several hundred CD jewel cases. Amazing how much room they take up.
DawgFan,
I digitized many of my records (you know, those large round black things with lines on them?) and the files sound exactly like the records. This includes the pops, scratches and skips, of course, but the sound quality (to my mid-40’s ears) is the same. I expect digitizing tapes would show similar results.
Can anyone recomend someone who can come and replace my concrete little pathway to my front door with some nice flagstone or something like that? If you had similar work done, and you were happy, could you give me names and contact information? Thanks so much
Doc, we had a good experience with Jonathan Balmaceda of All Around Construction. Our flagstone pathway came out great, and he was easy to work with. You can reach him at 678-725-1567.
Thank you. I just put a call into him.
Does anybody know which neighborhood in Decatur is harboring the 4-foot monitor lizard?
I just heard about this! A friend told me it was spotted on Columbia, implying that it’s hanging around Midway Woods (my ‘hood). But that might be just reckless optimism on my part.
http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/story/22527041/4-foot
But it doesn’t specify which part of Decatur…
CRCT scores arrived last week, and from what I’ve heard from parents, it’s another great showing by CofD schools.
Any idea when individual school or system-wide averages will be released?
Eeew alert: I had two containers of dried parsley from YDFM. Both were about 1/3 full (bc we didn’t realize there were two). Dozens of small black bugs showed up inside both containers this week. The lids were on tight, there were no other containers with bugs inside, and no bugs anywhere else in the pantry. Check your parsley.
When purchased?
God bless all of you who are organ donors.
And marrow, too!
The idea that what is inside my bones right now could literally cure someone else of cancer is nothing short of amazing. apparently, however, my marrow is too white bread to actually be needed by any one thus far.
Good point about marrow, as well. I’ll look onto it as soon as soon as I can.
Yeah, I always have mixed feelings about the fact that I have been on the bone marrow donor list for years and years and years without ‘nary a call. On the one hand, I’m not eager for a procedure. On the other hand, why is my marrow so useless? So commonplace that it’s no big deal to find that type? Or so bizarre that no one else needs it. For my own sake, I hope the former is true in case I ever need some.
I have been on the bone marrow registry for 16 years and am currently in testing to be a match – so it can happen.
Neat! Good luck to all!
I don’t think anyone on this blog are CURRENTLY organ donors, but I hope everyone has agreed to be a donor at some future date.
“We’ve come for your liver.”
“But I’m using it!”
Good point, although they might be. I’m just grateful to all of you who have checked that box on your drivers license. And hey, Decaturites, isn’t the ultimate recycling effort?
If I may be so nosy, what brings about your random gratefulness for organ donation?
Someone I love just received two new lungs. Made me think about it.
Wow, wishing them the best their new lungs. If you actually stop and think about it, isn’t it truly amazing beyond words what humans can accomplish when they use their powers for good? Taking organs from one human, and actually transplanting them to another for use, unbelievable really. I hope I can do yoga on the beach until I’m 110 and go quietly in my sleep, but if it doesn’t work out quite like that, I have my little red donor heart on my license.
And it’s double motivation to take care of yourself. Whatever gets you, hopefully at least some of your parts will be in good enough shape to rescue somebody else.
Thank you for the kind words, Daydreamer and Smalltowngal. It’s confusing: I feel great joy about my brother’s rapid recovery. At the same time, I know there is a family grieving somewhere over the loss of someone they loved. Just needed to say thank you to somebody, somewhere. I don’t go to church so I figured I would throw it out to the DM community. Poor DM, I’ll bet he never dreamed he’d get an Agony Aunt contributor.
Just saying, organ donation, good thing to do.
Recycle, reuse, etc.
I understand those conflicting emotions and your impulse to express your gratitude. Fair winds to your brother!
Maybe someone has joined a kidney for chain, or donated to a relative. I have a friend doing this for her sister soon- amazing.
Agreed; but what if I only have a piano?
spurred by all of the surveillance discussion here, i used the Freedom of Information Act to get all the data the NSA has been mining on me. was handed a folder containing three printed pages of DM posts, so i asked the agent why there was so little when i post so much.
he said the agents kept falling asleep.
that hurt.
Ouch…I hope they are not on to me, too.
There is a big difference between mining and reading an email. If I search this forum for my name, that is like mining: I am not taking the time to read every posting, I am cheating. If I go to the trouble of reading everything, then I am indeed privy to information that could be misused.
In the billions of emails and phone calls under surveillance, each person is protected from random intrusion by the massive amount of information under observation. What the government would have to be doing is the equivalent of your taking one if those old fashioned phone books and personally reading it A to Z.
Why does every comment I post go to moderation? It’s been going on all weekend.
Because you are being a very bad girl.