ATL 10/22/07 - Metropolis, TA

Me and my little bro, October, 1977. Martha Stewart won't publish her landmark book "Entertaining" for 5 more years, but I've already got a leg up on over-the-top decorating by incorporating ping pong eyes and a potato nose in my jack-o-lantern. Once a dork, always a dork.
Views from Metropolis
Trees Atlanta / Beltline Project - Before and After

ART/LOCAL/DROUGHT/NEIGHBORHOOD/WEB NEWS

ART NEWS - Our own amazing local (and by "local", I mean like downstairs) pianist Jason Sherwin is playing at Vinyl, starting 7:00 PM, Wednesday, October 24th. Check it out!

Lance Bass at Outwrite, Thursday, 10/25. Learn from Lance - if you miss this, you'll be "Out of Sync".

Gershwin at ASO this weekend, 10/25, 26, 27. American in Paris...sigh.

Zap Mama at Variety Playhouse 10/26. International harmonies...something we need more of.

Dia de Muertos @ Atlanta History Center this Sunday, 5:00 PM. Honor your ancestors.

Oakland Cemetery nighttime tour, Oct 26-27, 7-11 pm. Bring your flashlight!

LOCAL NEWS - While the news is full of mortgage woes, the average price of a house in Fulton County, Georgia, is actually up 5% from last year to $258,000. Go Midtown!

DROPPED SLOGAN - "Opening Day" dropped as Atlanta changes pitch. -ajc- While I am against changing changing slogans "mid-stream" as it were, it's not like that "Opening Day" crap ever caught on. The next new slogan - "City Lights, Southern Nights" - is more than a little Glen Campbell, but better.

DROUGHT NEWS - It's raining! ...and it made the news on "Good Morning America". Dianne told us that even if we get the predicted 1.0 inch of rain, it's only enough water for 1 day in Atlanta. I question their math (surprise!). Our normal, annual rainfall is 50 inches and that gives us more than a 50-day water supply, so I'm thinking their calculations are a touch simplistic. Maybe the volume resulting from 1 inch of rain on the surface of Lake Lanier would be equivalent to a 1 day's supply without outdoor water restrictions, but that doesn't take into account the water falling upstream and coming down the 'Hooch into the lake, water going into the water table around the lake, and water going directly into the 'Hooch downstream of the lake, reducing the need for water release from the lake.

WATER USAGE - S. and I had a shower competition this week, but even before showering, it takes 1 gallon of water running into the tub before the hot water shows up (captured in a bucket to water the plants).

We ran the dishwasher on "NORMAL" and "ENERGY SAVER DRY", using 6 gal. To do the dishes in the sink, assuming you fill each sink about 2/3** (one for soapy water, rinse, then one for sterilizing water) would be 8+ gallons. The dishwasher conserves water...unless you save the sink water in a dishpan and use that to water plants.

Then we washed clothes...yikes!

The tally:

1.0 gal - Running water in shower to get hot water
1.6 gal - Flushing toilet
6.0 gal - Washing dishes in dishwasher on "Normal"
7.0 gal - Showering (S. - no fair...he has less to wash)
8.0 gal - Washing dishes in sink
10.0 gal - Showering (me - 6'3" is a lot to wash!)
18.0 gal - Washing clothes (small load)
40.0 gal - Washing clothes (ex. large load)

NEIGHBORHOOD NEWS - 14th Street Bridge update --> monster large, very cool graphic of the project! - pdf - It looks like:

1) New Ramp to 10th St Southbound - Traffic coming south on I-75 & I-85 will still exit onto the "Techwood" access road. You will stay right to ramp up to 14th, or pass under the new 14th Street bridge to ramp up to 10th. (Currently, you ramp up to 14th, wait at a light, and either turn onto 14th or continue through to 10th.)

2) New Ramp to 17th St Northbound - A new exit from I-75/85 Northbound, after the 14th Street Bridge, will merge with Williams Street and a reconfigured 16th street, to ramp up to a new intersection with 17th Street on the east side of the 17th St bridge.

BELTLINE PROJECT - I took "before and after" photographs chronicling this past Saturday's "First Beltline Project" - the clearing of a 1.7 mile section of kudzu, trash, and mud. -ajc- Every 22-mile public transportation project starts with a single step!

WEB NEWS - This big funny ha-ha <chad vader>

** MATH - ( 8" H x 14" W x 15" D at 231 cu. in. per gallon = 7.27 gallon capacity)