Thursday, July 07, 2005

God Save The Trees!

If A Tree Falls In Atlanta...
As a (somewhat regular) Trees Atlanta volunteer it tears me up to see how Mother Nature has been uprooting large trees recently.

While I completely understand the fear of a large trees damaging people and property, I just hope that this doesn't spark another round of tree cutting here in Atlanta. We are an Urban Forest, and I hope that we remain one as long as possible.

When Doing Nothing Is The Best Thing To Do
I've been on the go constantly lately. According to my schedule Wednesday is normally a "running" night for me. The imminent arrival of tropical depression Cindy and my own desire to stay at home and relax convinced me to keep ass firmly planted on couch instead last night. A home cooked dinner, some house cleaning, some television viewing, and some internet surfing; oh happy day (or night in this case). Hell, for the first time in ages I didn't even lose power during a storm!

I Want John Basedow To Go Away!
You may know him as the "the Fitness Celebrity guy", or "that guy with the washboard abs and the hair that looks like a rug". Either way, I am tired of seeing John Basedow's commercials for his ab workout. Granted I need a good ab routine to remove the ten pounds of "laundry" that currently cover my washboard stomach, but damn, do I really need to see this guy's commercials at least four times an hour? It drives me crazy!

One Benefit Of Being An Early Riser
I was first in line today down at the DeKalb County Tax Collector's office. First in, first out. W00t! Two hundred seventy dollars later, I have a small square sticker to place on my license plate.

Ye who live in states other than Georgia may not know that we pay dearly for the priviledge to drive on our roads. We have always been told that our ad valorem taxes keep our gasoline taxes lower. We usually have the lowest gas prices in the country, but am I really saving $270 per year in gasoline taxes?

In addition to my ad valorem tax I also had to get an emissions test this year. Because my car is a 2002 model this was the first year that I was required to get one for it. It's an additional $25 per year tax for residents of about a dozen counties in Georgia. Normally, I wouldn't mind this too much because in theory fewer pollution-emitting cars on the roads means better air quality. Today I found out that cars built before 1982 are not required to get an emissions test! Aren't these the cars that would be polluting the most?

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal...
Current Mood - two tasks down, still many to go
Current Music - none, my TV is on OLN to watch the Tour de France
Website Of The Day - This weather has been great for ducks, go get some at Captain Quack.

Cheers!
Paulie [eatl/ga]