If anybody watches Fox 5 news, you may have noticed they”ve started incorporating a “touch screen” gimmick where the anchor is standing in front of a monitor and smacks it to change from graphic to graphic. The funny thing is that anybody with an ounce of sense can see this ain”t really a touch screen … they”re just pounding on a Zenith. As a media guy, this really amuses me. And when the guy in the control room forgets to change graphics when the screen is smacked, that”s just comedy, so I had to grab it:
October 31, 2006
October 28, 2006
Scary
I don”t mean to over-react, but this is seriously some of the scariest shit I”ve ever seen:
FBI returns to “Fake Boarding Pass” guy”s home, seizes computers . Are the feds going to come after me for linking to this?
SEC Week 9 Predictions / Week 8 Recap
With LSU off and just two SEC games of any interest, this is not what we call a stellar Southern Football Weekend. Sure, there”s the annual World”s Largest Outdoor Beating of Georgia, and Tennessee can”t overlook the Cocks, but beyond that it”s a real snoozer of a weekend.
So then … No. 8.5 Florida vs. No. 25.5 Georgia: After five of the worst games Dawgs fans could imagine, it”s easy to call this one an easy Florida win. In fact, I”m going to go watch the game with a Gator buddy in the middle of a bunch of Dawgs just for the entertainment value. But if the Crocs go into this game laughing at UGA”s misfortune, they could get a rude surprise. Georgia winning this game is not out of the question. But I”ll go with the Crocs to be focused and ready. Florida 27 – 20
No. 8.5 Tennessee at No. 30 South Carolina: The Vols and Gators are both facing mid-level SEC East opponents in potential trap games that would derail hopes for the SEC Championship and BCS berth should they lose. But while the Gators are at the end of their tough stretch, the Vols are just starting one. The Cocks this week, followed by LSU and Arkansas. And if Florida wins in their 3:30 game, Tennessee will take the field at 7:45 with hardly a chance left to win the SEC East. South Carolina needs this game badly, not having a decent win yet this year. It wouldn”t be a shocker for the Cocks to pull this one out at home, but I have to go Vols. Tennessee 31 – 20
No 7 Auburn at Ole Miss: The Tigers churn along waiting for Arkansas to get back into SEC play and hopefully lose. Tigers 27 – 9
Vandy at Duke: Put some extra security at the libraries in Durham … the Dores are coming to town. Nowadays Vandy is a much better program than Duke. Dores 24 – 10
Kentucky at Mississippi State: It”s getting really embarrassing for Sylvester down in Starkville. He needs to win a conference game, and this is his last best shot. Bulldogs 18 – 6
UL Monroe at No. 14 Arkansas: The Hogs have another scrimmage weekend before heading in to South Carolina, Tennessee and LSU (MSU is in there somewhere as well). Arkansas 45 – 10
Florida International at Alabama: Please don”t confuse Florida International with Florida Atlantic, South Florida or Central Florida. These are the guys who put that last straw on Larry Coker”s back with that brawl against Miami. And they”re 0-7 in a conference where UL Lafayette is considered a decent team. Tide 49 – 10
Last week, I blew my wishful-thinking pick of Ole Miss over Arkansas, but otherwise got things right. I do think LSU was pretty uninspired in taking out Fresno, but given the weather and lack of fans, I can forgive.
5 – 1 on the week; 53 – 11 on the year.
October 26, 2006
Jeff Notrica makes a promise
Word on the street is that Inman Park Properties head guy Jeff Notrica spent a good part of today chatting about East Atlanta issues with those people who matter in the EACA and business community.
Promises were made. Generally speaking, from what I understand Notrica agreed that he has issues with some of his properties in East Atlanta. And apparently he”s agreed to do something about it. High on the list, apparently, is the demolition of the crack shack on Flat Shoals next to the East Atlanta Antiques building:
And the East Atlanta Lock & Key building (also known now as the East Atlanta Loiter & Drink):
Of course, tearing down his vacant buildings (which attract vagrants) requires permits, and permits take time. Given Notrica”s lack of action in East Atlanta to this point (can you say “John B. Gordon School”?), I”ll believe this when I see it. And I”ll let you know when the buildings come down.
In the meantime, I have a suggestion for Inman Park Properties and Jeff Notrica. The entire area behind the buildings you own on Glenwood Avenue between the Graveyard Tavern and the old Good News Cafe space is a trash-strewn, homeless-living pit of filth. You need no permits to hire a couple of garbage trucks to clean that place up. It could be done tomorrow.
So let”s see if that happens soon. I”ll let you know.
October 23, 2006
Awesome Atari Accessory
The fine folks at Computer Gaming World have opened up their archive of early issues as free PDFs. That”s interesting in itself, as it gets to the notion of online archives of things that were never online, the value of historical information, etc. But what I dove into first was the hunt for hilariously bad products in those early (1983!) gaming mags. And I found a great one:
Fantastic. How did I ever live without this? A few pieces of cheap wood nailed together by some guy in California – and available in “exotic hardwoods” as well – would have been a great place to rest that 2600 joystick. And all for $34.95.
October 21, 2006
A tour of Jeff Notrica’s East Atlanta
As I”ve mentioned before, there”s a man named Jeff Notrica who owns an awful lot of commercial property in the East Atlanta Village. Mr. Notrica has a development company named Inman Park Properties and through that company and various LLCs he controls more than two dozen commercial properties, many of which are currently vacant. At this month”s EACA meeting, Danny Glusman of Inman Park Properties requested that the residents of East Atlanta who do not believe Inman Park Properties is adequately maintaining its East Atlanta properties come up with a “punch list” of items that need attention. So today, the wife and I joined some neighbors to compile the list for Mr. Glusman and Inman Park Properties.
I”d like to present our observations and some pictures for those of you interested in East Atlanta. At the time of this writing, Inman Park Properties has not received this list, but I welcome any comments or rebuttals.
529 Gresham Ave (white storage facility)
- Repair Broken windows by the carport
- Remove loose trash from property
- Remove graffiti
Alley / parking lot behind Glenwood Ave retail strip (between Good News and Graveyard)
- Remove loose trash from property
- Empty overflowing garbage bins behind Pastifico Di Cameli
- Remove graffiti behind Pastifico Di Cameli
- Evidence of urban camping under stairs behind Pastifico Di Cameli; area needs to be secured
- Remove / secure open construction dumpsters in parking lot behind Gravity Pub
- Remove broken glass / window frames between construction dumpsters
- Mow / remove weeds and overgrowth from grassy area behind parking lot
- Add lighting to parking lot
- Evidence of urban camping in grassy area between parking lot and back of Blendz; area needs to be secured
- Post ‘No Trespassing’ and ‘No Loitering’ signs in conspicuous locations on property
There”s so much garbage and dumped trash behind these spaces, it”s hard to pick just one shot. This is an open, unsecured dumpster full of random dumped items.
Also a common theme behind all of these vacant stores is evidence of “urban camping”, which is the nice way Atlanta says bums are living there.
1259 Glenwood Ave (formerly Burrito Art)
- Replace sheets in window with a more uniform, more attractive covering
- Repair exterior damage
1263 Glenwood Ave (formerly Pastifico Di Cameli)
- Business sign is rotting and in danger of falling; please remove
- Remove “patio now open” sign
- Repair exterior damage
1267 Glenwood Ave (former Dollar Tree)
- Remove trash from doorway
- Remove graffiti from windows
1269-B Glenwood Ave (formerly Martini Girl)
* Paint exterior
567 Flat Shoals Ave (tan bldg. next to Kingfisher)
- Replace ‘For Lease’ sign – current sign has been tagged
- Remove trash and leftover construction materials behind building
- Mow / remove weeds and overgrowth behind building
1336-1350 May Ave (vacant lots)
- Remove loose trash on property
- Repair damaged fencing
- Mow / remove weeds and overgrowth
550 Flat Shoals Ave (Tucker Automotive)
- Remove graffiti from sides of building
- Repair broken drive-through gate in back
- Remove vegetation from roof (near back) of building and consider adding gutters
- Remove trash piled along fence adjacent to B&W Market
- Secure door in back of building, adjacent to B&W Market
1321 Glenwood Ave (B&W Market)
- Lot should be repaved
- Remove trash along fence line next to Tucker Automotive and next to 1331 Glenwood
- Evidence of urban camping / theft (bicycle tires, purses, etc) along fence next to T.A. – post no trespassing signs, consider adding security cameras to overlook this property and East Atlanta Lock & Key
- Unsecured fence between B&W and 1331
The B & W market has this amazing pile of trash pinned up against the fence of the property next door (which is also owned by Inman Park Properties)
1331 Glenwood Ave (vacant lot w/mobile home)
- Remove old tires
- Remove rusty oil drums / used oil filters
- Mow / remove weeds & overgrowth
- Remove loose trash from property
- Door / windows on building are unsecured; replace fascia boards and replace locks on doors
- Repair holes in fencing
- Post no trespassing signs
Another common theme is collections of old tires piled up on Inman Park Properties sites. This is one of the best ones.
1335 Glenwood Ave (vacant lot)
- Remove trash
- Mow / remove weeds and overgrowth
1332 Glenwood Ave (white house)
- Remove loose trash from property
0 Haas Ave (SunTrust / Crave parking lot)
- Repair/replace broken fence
- Remove graffiti from light posts
- Remove unused / abandoned newspaper box
- Remove loose trash
487 Haas Ave (vacant lot behind SunTrust/Crave Parking)
- Remove tires (including large tractor tire)
- Remove loose trash
- Mow / remove weeds and overgrowth
- Evidence of urban camping; add lighting, post ‘no trespassing’ signs
538 Flat Shoals Ave (East Atlanta Lock & Key)
- Repave lot
- Remove trash / debris (including grills, chairs, etc, left by urban campers)
- Post no trespassing signs
- Add lighting to parking area; consider adding security camera to patrol this and B&W
The East Atlanta Lock & Key building has become a gathering point for vagrants and generally sketchy-looking people. This will not be a postcard for East Atlanta, but it”s become the reality on this Inman Park Properties site.
462 Flat Shoals Ave (vacant house next to Antique Mart)
- Remove ‘squatters’ and clean trash out of property
- Repair/replace and secure windows and doors; consider adding security system
- Has become a garbage dump site; remove trash and repair / add fencing to prevent recurrence
- Repair rotting exterior boards and repaint exterior
- Remove dead unplanted trees at rear of property
- Remove oil drums / other environmental hazards from rear of property
- Remove graffiti from brick wall
- Mow, remove weeds and overgrowth
- Post no trespassing signs
There are so many problems with this abandoned house owned by Inman Park Properties, choosing one picture is difficult. There are clear signs that vagrants have been living inside; the building is shabby and deteriorating and the backyard has become a large dumping ground. This is among the bigger piles.
442 Flat Shoals Ave (Revolution Tattoo / Dentist office)
- Remove graffiti from sides of building
- Remove loose trash from property
- Repair back door behind dentist office (looks like break-in attempted)
1205 Metropolitan Ave (John B Gordon School)
- Repair open / broken windows
- Mow / remove weeds, overgrowth and dead plants
- Remove large dead tree along Metropolitan
- Remove falling signs promoting loft conversion
- Replace decaying fascia boards
- Remove trees growing inside building
- Replace loose / removed metal window security screens
- Secure open door in back of property (adjacent to BATL-grounds)
- Repair / replace damaged fencing behind Flat Shoals Ave and Brannen Towers
- Repair / replaced damaged fencing along Metropolitan Ave.
- Ensure gate on Metropolitan remains closed at all times; if gate must remain open for UMC parking, consider adding new fencing to separate parking from school building
- Remove trash / debris from behind cinderblock shed
Ah, the John B Gordon School. Inman Park Properties has owned this since 1999. The “coming soon” sign had to be updated to “Spring 2006″, but obviously that didn”t happen. It doesn”t appear a single bit of rehabilitation work has been done on the building. Things are so rundown that there are literally trees growing inside the building and coming out of the windows.
Inman Park Properties is supposed to secure the John B. Gordon School to keep vagrants out. The “No Trespassing” signs are nice, but when they don”t even bother to keep the back door locked, it”s hard to really secure the place.
So that”s our tour of Jeff Notrica”s East Atlanta. We hope this punch list of items to be addressed will be helpful. We”ll be sending the list to Danny Glusman as he requested, and we”ll be asking for updates from Inman Park Properties at the monthly EACA meetings.