I just heard the siren go off and the sky is darkening rapidly. Stay safe everyone.

I was disturbed by the news of Benazir Bhutto's assassination
this morning. When our major ally in the war on terror can't keep it's presidential candidates safe, you have to wonder about the security of their nukes. This doesn't bode well for Pakistani Democracy.

A small montage of the fireworks at PTC last 4th

Been away on business for most of June but I just decided to check in and make sure Fayette hasn't gone to the birds without my blog comments. You'll be be "seeing" me more often.

So my son this morning asks (not ax) me, "What is that awful smell?" To me it smelled like a fried motherboard so I went to see if my computers were ok.

A tree fell by my house last night. A neighbor thinks it's because it's been so dry lately. Luckily no people or property got hurt. But now I'm trying to decide wether to get a chain saw and maybe haul the pieces to the landfill or just find someone to just haul this away for me. I hear the tree hauling places are expensive and I'm cheap. Not a good combo. Renting a Makita from HD for a day is about 62 bucks plus I'd have to haul it myself. Anyone know a inexpensive but good tree service?

I kind of wish Georgia would get rid of the county designation on the license plate tags. Tags make it way too easy to make assumptions about people you really know nothing about.

With the groundbreaking of the new library in Tyrone I thought this might be a good time to vent about library in Fayetteville vs the one in Peachtree City. Now I realize that the Peachtree City branch is newer and that is fine but there are a few other differences that really annoy me.

From today's New York Times:

6 Arrested in Plot to Attack Fort Dix

There are some interesting retail parks coming up in Fayetteville along 92 and 54. I look forward to see what business set up shop there. One thing I am tired of seeing though are Nail Salons. They are everywhere and growing in the new shopping areas like weeds. I realize that I am not the target audience for such establishments but sheesh. There is one newly opened shopping area I'm thinking of in particular that is still half empty but currently reads like this. HAIR -- NAILS - HAIR - TEA. Not that I'm not grateful that the ladies are taking the time to look good but I'd like to see more interesting stores (model/hobby shop?) opening in town. Time for a hair and nail salon moratorium? Thoughts?

I am extremely fortunate that, as a computer programmer, I have been able telecommute from home since I have moved from Columbia, Md to Fayetteville, Ga last summer. I've seen the backups on 74 by PTC and 85/92/54 here in Fayetteville. Now that my company is thinking about opening an office in Atlanta, my "home office" days may be coming to an end soon. I seriously can not understand the self inflicted pain that the suburban counties surrounding Atlanta impose on themselves. In the Washington Metro Area living near a metro station increases housing values. I hear a lot about the "wrong element" coming in through a transportation system. I guess I should distinguish between an all day transport system (like a metro) and a commuter rail/light rail/commuter bus system. The latter only runs one-way and only during rush hour. In the morning the busses or trains go into the city, there is no afternoon service in either direction until the evening rush hour begins. I've been enjoying just such a system for years in Maryland that is known as the MARC. MARC uses the same tracks that CSX and Amtrak use so the cost was minimal. A lot of people here seem to like driving a car for 2 hours to travel 30 miles but I'd prefer to read my paper and sip my coffee and leave the extra miles off of my car. One last thing, what's the deal with this local stigma that "only poor people ride the train" ? Again, I realize that I'm not in Kansas anymore but during rush hour in DC, most of the people you see are well dressed business people riding in from some very wealthy suburbs. The rest of the passengers are students and a few "poor people." Still the trains and stations are clean, transit police are everywhere which adds to the general feeling of safety.

As soon as the asphalt was dry on the new path on Redwine along the edge of Lakemont and Lakeside subdivisions, I had my bike out to test it. Very nice! Having spent the last 20 years in Maryland, I've been spoiled by the paved paths that go seem to everywhere. We saw these paths in action when we were originally looking at houses to buy in PTC. While it was cute to see the golf carts, we decided to settle in Fayetteville instead. The announcement of the new paths in Fayetteville was a pleasant surprise for our family. But even as I rode my bike I began to think about how things would change if people start getting more golf carts in our area. The paths are not that wide so I wonder how sharing the path with motorized vehicles will play out. How is it working out in Peachtree City. Do carts in PTC share paths well with runners, skaters and bikers?