gas pain

Atlanta is facing a recurring crisis, with gas stations constantly running out of fuel. I have to drive to the airport tomorrow. I wanted to be sure I didn’t have to worry about re-fueling on my return trip home later this week, so I called six BP stations in my area before hitting the road this morning. I wanted to avoid wasting time on the road. I’m glad I did.

All but one station told me they were out of gas. And the one station not aligning with the others? It was a fast-busy when I called, so I decided to gamble, thinking they may have some. I left pretty early, about 7:15 AM, because I anticipated a ten or twenty minute wait in line. On my way to the BP (which is only about two miles from my house), I passed a line of about 100 cars waiting to get into a QT gas station. I was stunned. It’s one of those things you have to see to believe.

When I arrived to the BP, the line was a lot shorter than the one for QT. Nonetheless, I waited about an hour and fifteen minutes in line, often turning off the car. For whatever reason, BP only had about four pumps active. While waiting, I saw cars enter from behind the station and take closer places in line. I also saw people turn from traffic into the line, taking advantage of the multiple paths available from the road.

Georgia’s Governor believes this is self-induced, but I’m not so inclined to believe him.

filed under: alpharetta, fuel crisis

happy talk like a pirate day

Even though I had quite a bit of head’s up thanks to Sharon’s post earlier this week, it seems no matter how closely I attempt to sound like a pirate, or even type like one, I mostly just sound Irish.

In any case, and whatever flag you fly, have a little fun today and enjoy Talk Like A Pirate Day!

filed under: holidays, pirates

upmost importance

Here’s a grim reminder of what happens when Georgia schools are among the worst in the country and “graduates” begin to enter the workforce.

filed under: education

suddenly a farmer

As evening broke this past Fourth of July, we stood on our deck facing the yard and had a watermelon seed spitting contest. The adults whizzed them a pretty good distance. The kids often shot them a good foot and a half. Never in a million years would ever have expected to find this growing at the base of the deck.

filed under: alpharetta, watermelon

moo-doo economics?

It completely sucks when time travelers get caught and have to explain the situation.

Allegedly, “Richard Anthony Smith” (like that’s a real name), special agent from the United States Illuminati (badge number 0931) was sent to defuse and confiscate a MERV6SS-22AN Soviet-made nuclear warhead hidden in a blue cow sculpture in the basement of the Knoxville Museum of Art.

The mission failed when Agent Smith lodged himself in an air conditioning duct leading from the roof (from which a helicopter dropped him off). Udder Fantasy? I don’t know.

500 years from now the Illuminati probably just made a few typos sending Agent Smith back here, most likely to save the economy. Connect the dots for yourself:

• Knoxville should have been Ft. Knox
• Ft. Knox has all that money
• ~800 DOW point drop in last three days
• COW (should have been DOW)

Oh, and the nuclear bit? Well, even declare war on Russia? I guess If he bonds out with credits, latinum, or quatloo, this conspiracy will be confirmed.

filed under: conspiracy, time

impromptu date

With school back in session, my children are so tired by Friday night, going out to dinner is becoming more trouble than it’s worth. Tonight, we sprung for a babysitter and made a beeline for Sushi Nami. For about the past month or so, we’ve been in at least once a week and usually sit right at the sushi bar. My daughter stands on her chair, watches, and waves to the sushi chefs as she munches down avocado rolls. My son usually sits next to me and has gotten more and more adventurous – he now eats an entire order of cucumber rolls (kappa maki) by himself and is beginning to ask for bbq’ed eel (unagi).

As we walked in, the two hostesses asked at the same time, “where are your kids?” We were seated at the sushi bar and greeted by one of the waitresses we often see, and she asked, “where are your kids?” Not to be outdone, the lead chef walked over to take his station and asked, “where are your kids?” It seems my children have a fan club. We missed having them with us, but at the same time, really enjoyed just getting to be “us” again, even if just for an hour. And instead of ice cream after dinner, we went across the street to the pet store and played with puppies.

filed under: alpharetta, sushi, sushi nami

they said it

These are actual recent quotes from my kids. Where necessary, I made them easier to understand using the attached visual aids.

He Said	She Said
“Can we go see the Incredible Honk?”	“Mmmmm! These Brits are SO, SO good.”
“Here’s a joke, Dad: What’s a Pirate’s favorite restaurant?”	“What are you drinking? Is it Sweet Tea? Is it Beard?”
“I enjoyed eating your sandwich. Would you like it back?”	“Daddy, can I extra-size with you?”

filed under: kids

groundbreaking automotive innovation continued

Alpharetta is clearly the fertile crescent of automotive innovation. Detroit, are you paying attention? You need to send some folks down South. This was parked at City Hall.

Yes, this Lim*OMG is completely encased in black Astroturf. Original. Radical. Rain *or* Shine.

filed under: alpharetta, vehicle