Unaddressed White Privilege
It is pronounced the same as nemo fee list. ~ maybe we need to use the r word less often, and with more thought and care ~ Which way to go? ~ I bet “Wendy” has her side of the story. ~ supposedly Mr. Whipple/Don’t squeeze the charmin is the most successful ad campaign in history ~ Whoever made this meme has a faulty sense of graphic design. The text on the right should be the same height as the image on the left. ~ Maybe it is time to start up OFFUG… Old Fogeys Fighting Ugly Graphics ~ The War Between the States was incredibly bloody. There were many efforts to honor the fallen soldiers. The Charleston parade seems to have taken place. However, it was not the only time the fallen soldiers were formally remembered. The custom of Decoration Day, later Memorial Day, would have happened with, or without, the Charleston parade. ~ @RoddeyJones Humbling concession speech from @PaulBrounforGA #gapol #GAsen #gagop #gasenate #GaElections ~ What exposure are you using? ~ I thought a homophone was a communications device used in midtown. ~ idk if you don’t hurry up people might forget how to read ~ OK, I don’t deny that the Charleston parade happened. I just don’t think that it was the invention of decoration day. There were people putting flowers on soldier graves throughout the conflict. After a war as horrific as WBTS, the remembrances were inevitable. How important was the Charleston parade? I don’t know. This is commenting on the causes of a holiday that was going to happen, one way or another. This is not “upholding white supremacy.” We might have to agree to disagree on this one. ~ When I started to associate with the Atlanta Faerie Circle, and the related events in Tennessee and North Carolina, it was simply the faeries. I seldom heard the word radical. I am not sure that we need the r word. Isn’t being a faerie radical? Maybe we pay too much attention to the radical part, at the expense of the faerie part. ~ You can do better than this. A post denouncing elementary school graduations. Good grief. The Liberty Alliance is not getting their money’s worth. ~ If you are as proud of your ability to listen as you are of the clever things that you say ~ “Faith is a Christian concept, not a Buddhist one” So much of our thinking is influenced by the Christian religion. So many concepts that are seldom challenged are actually highly questionable. The concept of taking a book, declaring it to be the word of G-d, leads to an obsession with semantics. ~ “Jesus’ s entire journey was the dissolution of his ego and dis-identification with ego needs!” “John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” There is a bit of a contradiction here. People read what they want into the Jesus story. What you say about Jesus says more about you than it does him. The elevation of this speculation to the level of hysterical belief is a formula for madness. ~ Karen Handel was almost elected Governor in 2008. She was endorsed by Sarah Palin. She did not make the runoffs in the last election. ~ Christopher Isherwood has written that it is not the religion that converts the follower, but the ~ There used to be a gas station with a sign, homo gal milk ~ ‘All you left is emoty”. That is pretty clear. In the song “Papa was a rolling stone” they say “All he left us was alone” Some thought this meant a loan, to be paid back with interest. ~ You can’t post this because it has a blocked link ~The content you’re trying to share includes a link that our security systems detected to be unsafe: steaming.com Please remove this link to continue. If you think you’re seeing this by mistake, please let us know. steaming.com/ WARNING!! THIS SITE CONTAINS ADULT MATERIALS OR MATERIALS THAT MAY BE CONSIDERED OFFENSIVE IN SOME COMMUNITIES. YOU MAY NOT … ~ You don’t have to shout. ~ At one time, “Howl” was at the center of an obscenity trial. Today, it is “unaddressed white privilege” and “NEGATIVE BAGGAGE TO CARRY AROUND .” ~ 1- Do you have a link to a version of “Howl” that includes the word that rhymes with trigger? I seriously doubt that Mr. Ginsberg would use that word in a poem. 2- If the reader included a crude racial slur in “Howl”, then a beloved work of art was misrepresented. 3- Bernard that rant says more about you than it does me. ~ Is #joetheplumber coming out as #prochoice? “Your dead kids don’t trump my Constitutional rights” could be the new motto for keeping abortion legal. ~ useless filler to make text block look better ~ Pictures from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”. ~ selah
Positive Attitude Prattle
Somewhere along the line, the boss decides you have a “negative attitude”. From that point on, you are not allowed to complain. It is almost as if it were a gimmick to keep you in line.
A lady named Barbara Ehrenreich agrees that there is entirely too much positive attitude required of people. She wrote a book, Bright-sided: How the Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking Has Undermined America. In one interview, she says “And again, you know, don’t worry about the world. Don’t ask the question about where the cancer comes from. Don’t ask why so many people are not employed, even in good times in our country. And it was the same sort of thing. And that’s when I began to think hey, this kind of operates as a way of quelling discontent, quelling dissent, you know, when you can’t say I’m mad about -whatever. You just have to swallow it and smile.”
Ms. Ehrenreich was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2000. She found herself in a pink tsunami of cheerfulness. The pink teddy bears did not do anything for her spirits. The whole culture of happy talk, about a life threatening illness. grossed her out.
At one point, she was given a tote bag. In it were some crayons. I said, “This is really nice, but what’s with the crayons?” And this woman said to me, “Well, that’s in case you want to write down any of your thoughts.” And I said, “I’m a writer. I don’t use crayons.”
The promotional interviews quoted here were conducted in 2009. This was before the Susan G. Komen foundation hired Karen Handel. During the Planned Parenthood meltdown, some unflattering things came out about the SGK foundation. It probably did not help Ms. Ehrenreich’s attitude.
So the book happened. PG has not read it, but has seen a few reviews and interviews. The New York Times has a great review. It says “America’s can-do optimism has hardened into a suffocating culture of positivity that bears little relation to genuine hope or happiness.”
One interview has a stomach churning comment. It should be noted that this is the lady talking, and that there is no confirmation of this. “Yeah. And here’s something that really horrified me that I learned recently and put in the book, is that some breast cancer support groups expel people who go into metastasis and who are clearly going to die. You can’t be in the group because just your presence might bring other people down.” (A google search of the phrase “breast cancer support groups expel people who go into metastasis ” shows little support for this story. Two front page results involve Barbara Ehrenreich interviews. Skepticism should not be limited to positive motivation.)
Pictures are from The Library of Congress. This is a repost.
Overcoming Our Hair Issues
Another name for this is negative attitude. It is a form of prejudice that is encouraged. ~ @fieldnegro Owning the last place clippers was his punishment when something really wrong went on now he has a first place team ~ This one set the BS detector buzzing. I find it tough to believe that “Peter” is in the first grade. Also, he is a kid. Being worried about getting into college, instead of playing with legos, sounds like a kid trying to learn how to think. However, there is one thing about this post that I find encouraging. No where in the thirteen items do you say to wonder what will happen to your soul when you die, That is definitely something that small children should not be taught to worry about. For that matter, adults need to get over the obsession with life after death. Maybe there are two things good about this post. You made it all the way through without a cheap shot at abortion. That is another subject children, of all ages, don’t need to have pounded into their head. ~ I think the letter from “Mom” is made up. “Peter” is in the first grade. First grade. I might have believed this if he was in junior high, but first grade? How many first graders read blog posts, let alone call the author by a cutesy poo name? There is a fourteenth item for the list. Students should learn critical thinking. Don’t believe everything Mr. Matt says. ~ Add thirty years and you have my opinion of the sixties ~ For once I agree with you. I could probably find some nits to pick here. However, there are plenty of other targets for snark on the innertubes. Has anyone commented on your new format? It has a lot more ads than before. There is also a connection to something called the Liberty Alliance. Have you sold out? I seem to have gotten a popup ad after coming here recently, but cannot be too sure where it came from. I find the authority angle to be interesting. People don’t seem to be confident of themselves, and so need to cite an authority. The authority argument is up there with screaming hypocrisy when it comes to cheap shot tactics. ~ Thank you for thinking of me, but 13 miles in North GA would probably be too much for me. Move the decimal over to the left one notch, and I could do it. ~ With a bit of editing this can be a poem. There are lots of words that rhyme with shithead. ~ It is tough to know what the truth is here. Huge amounts of money are involved. It is possible to create research, and tweak the results, to show whatever you want to show. ~ His name is pronounced TY bee, just like the island ~ There is already too much talk. What people need to do is Listen. ~ I would like that quote a lot more without the name at the bottom ~ The Third Commandment is about the proper use of a sacred name. Using the name of a deity to open a government meeting might not be proper. ~ oh my. that cat has been out of the bag for a long time. we can avoid making it worse, but it is too widely known by now. as a former parking attendant, i can vouch for the unsustainability of the whole shebang the community that cannot be named might need to get out of the gathering business ~ “plenty of those who DO get angry are still acting from a place of naive personal entitlement” People who call out others on their “privilege” and “racism” are often sensitive when you call them out for their attitudes. ~ Maybe the adjective should be turned down two notches. Instead of “the best sign,” say “a sign.” This is not always possible when using other people’s graphics. ~ This article will fire up those who are opposed to abortion. Few minds will be changed. The debate over abortion is mostly preaching to the choir. This toxic rhetoric (i.e.” the self-worshiping death cult known as modern liberalism”) about abortion saves few, if any, babies. ~ Theoiyr’re makes it about G-d. ~ Podcasts have an advantage over text based posts. You can listen in the background while you do other things. ~ This is equal opportunity fun. There is one with FLOTUS Michelle holding a sign… nothing will bring back the children murdered by my husband’s drone strikes ~ Is racism about goofy things said by famous people? That is more fun to discuss than institutional systems of oppression. ~ The ice cubes have a subliminal message. The one on the right clearly spells out X, and the one on the left seems to say S. It is close enough to make you want to buy the whiskey. ~ What about the uncles? ~ The study in this report INDICATE that things are not ideal. The study PROVES nothing. The headline writer at HuffPo should tone down the rhetoric. ~ When urine falls on the ground, it is absorbed into the earth. When urine lands on concrete or asphalt, it sits there until evaporation. ~ anticipation – pigeons await arrival – the george bush statue ~ If people were as proud of their ability to listen as they are of the clever things they say ~ Sheryl Underwood stopped being funny when she called black hair “nappy” and “nasty” on “The Talk” while the audience laughed along. We have enough trouble overcoming our hair issues without Sheryl backpedaling on progress. ~ pictures today are from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”. ~ selah
Adding Text With GIMP
This tutorial is about using gimp to put borders around text. If you are making graphic images, this step allows you to use almost any image as a background. This tutorial is based on the embedded video. There are a few things different in the version in this post. The video has some jivvy music, which some of you will enjoy. Pictures today are from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”.
This process does not always make sense. It is not always logical. Just follow the instructions. If you make a mistake, and something does not work, just close out the window and start over. Keep these instructions handy the first few times you do this. After a while it will be easy.
This tutorial uses GIMP. If you use photoshop, you probably already know how to do this, or how to find someone to show you. If you need to download GIMP, use the link. PG learned how to do this on GIMP 2.6. The latest version is GIMP 2.8. There are a few differences between the two versions. This tutorial will provide instructions for both versions.
01 Open the picture you intend to use as a background. Make sure it is the correct size. On some versions of GIMP, you need to open the Toolbox, and the Tool Options. This is in the Windows menu. You also need to open the Layers dialog window (ctrl+L).
02 Compose the text in a word document. Copy the text.
03 Select Text (t). Draw a rectangle on the picture. Try to start the rectangle as close to the left edge as possible, and go all the way to the right edge. Make sure it is tall enough for the letters. Paste the text into the rectangle. Before pasting in the text, hit the space bar one time. When you make this image larger, it will need room to grow.
04 Choose a font. Choose foreground and background colors. See how big you can make the text before it starts another line. If you have a specific font size, enter that size in the tool options.
05 Before performing the next few steps, click on the status bar of the background picture. You want this to be the selected window. Click on this window before every step. This is important. If you choose a command, and apply it to the wrong window, it will mess things up.
06 Select text from path. In GIMP 2.6, there is a tab on the tool options window, “Path from Text.”. In GIMP 2.8, you choose “Text to Path” from the Layer menu. (alt+L, p).
07 Select “From Path” from Select menu. For GIMP 2.6 use (shift + v). For GIMP 2.8 use (alt + s, o). The two versions use most of the same shortcuts from now on. The text is now coated in flashing dash marks. This has something to do with being selected.
08 Select “Duplicate Layer” from Layer menu. (ctrl + shift + d)
09 Select “Grow” from Select menu. (alt + s, g) The “Grow Selection” window will appear. Type 3 in the highlighted field. If you want to have a bigger border, put a larger number in. Click OK.
10 Select “Fill with BG Color” from Edit menu. (ctrl + .) The Text Editor window should go away now. If the Text Editor window does not go away, something is wrong.
11 Select “None” from Select menu. (ctrl + shift + A) As we mentioned earlier, some of these steps don’t make sense. This is one of those steps.
12 Click anywhere on text. The “Confirm Text Editing” window will appear. Select “Create New Layer”. (alt + n) A layer will be created. It will be a duplicate of the original text. In GIMP 2.6, you will need to manually center the new layer of text. To do this, you will want to enlarge the text 400%. (alt + v, z, click on 400%) (On PG’s machine, the keyboard shortcut 3 will give you a 400% enlargement.) To center this layer of text, select “Move.” (m). Under Tool Toggle, you need to select “Move the active layer.” Choose the drawing option on the left, next to the word “Move.” This is the “Layer” option, as opposed to “Selection” or “Path.” If the Move tool does not work, make sure the right option is selected. This can be confusing.
12a In GIMP 2.8, the new layer of text is automatically centered on the enlarged layer of text.
13 Once the new layer of text is centered, you need to “Merge Down” the layer. Select “Merge Down” from the Layer menu. (d) You will need to do this twice. Where you once had four layers, you will now have two. With GIMP 2.8, you need to select the toolbox. before you hit d twice. (cntrl + b)
14 Move the finished text into place. If it goes at the bottom of the picture, move it to the bottom right hand corner. Place it a few pixels off the bottom. (Most of PG’s images are 720×447 pixels. The bottom of the text is resting on 431 pixels.) Enlarge the view to 400%. Position the right edge of the text flush against the right edge of the picture. Scroll to the left side of the text. Place the cursor over the left edge of the text, and see what the pixel counter says. The first number will be width, the second number is height. Note the position of the left edge of the text. See the location in pixels. Divide the first number in half. Move the edge of the text to this number. Scroll to the right side of the text, and confirm that the distance to the edge of the picture is the same on both sides.
15 Go back to 100% (1). Are you happy with the way this text works with this picture? If you are happy with this look, anchor the text by clicking d. For GIMP 2.6, “Save” the picture. (ctrl + shift + s, type new name) For GIMP 2.8, you will want to “Export” the picture. (cntrl + shift + e, type new name) Note the folder you are saving/exporting the picture to.
15a If you are not happy with the results, you can try another picture. Go to the Layers dialog box. Select Background. Click on the garbage can in the bottom right of the window. Find another picture. Drag the file into the picture. Go to the Layers dialog window. Highlight the layer with the text. Click on the arrow pointing up. If you are happy with this look, “Merge Down” the text (d) and “Save”/”Export” the picture. (ctrl + shift + s, type new name) (ctrl + shift + e, type new name.)
Responsible For Jesus
It was a sunday evening, and there was nothing good to say. Rather than not saying anything at all, PG decided to go into his archives. This post is from May of 2007. It is about responsible behavior, and a religion that does not encourage it. This repost might be hypocritical, but no one forced you to read it. Part two is another rerun. It is written in first person. The pictures, from “The Special Collections and Archives,Georgia State University Library”, need text between them.
It all started when a girl went to a back room with a former boyfriend. Her current bf stormed out of the party, and flipped his car when it went off the road. Being a star quarterback did not prevent the fatal consequences. The local radio whiner had a few things to say. Since alcohol was a suspected factor, the question became, “how do we teach teenagers to drink responsibly?”
PG is a retired drunk, and has a few dozen opinions on this issue. His wandering mind settled on a related subject…Jesus. G-d’s love baby is similar to alcohol. Both are legal, both have potential for good and ill, and neither works for PG. The thought occurred “How do we teach Teenagers to Worship Jesus Responsibly?” Now, this may be the first time those two concepts have been paired like that…Jesus and Responsibility…but it should not be the last.
A central concept in the world of Jesus Worship is the avoidance of responsibility…”Jesus paid the price for my sins on the cross”. While you may feel better to think you are forgiven, that does not help the person who was hurt by your actions. If star the quarterback had run into someone, G-d might forgive him, but this does not help with the medical bills.
Today’s seminar is about the Worshiping Responsibly. It is about having respect for your neighbors who do not agree with you, and do not want to hear about your “salvation”. It is about not creating ill will for Jesus with obnoxious behavior in his name. It is about not dragging Jesus into your personal quarrels, using his name in anger to hurt your neighbor. It is about Responsibility. Your actions have consequences, and just because you are doing it for Jesus does not eliminate that reality.
There are two big reasons why PG is not a Jesus Worshiper. The first one is, he simply doesn’t agree with the teachings. The Bible is not the word of G-d, Jesus was killed because he was a troublemaker. The death, and reputed resurrection, of Jesus has nothing to do with what happens to people when they die. If you don’t agree with the dogma regarding life after death, the Jesus worship church has little to offer you. Christianity is more a scheme for life after death than a religion.
The Second reason is the sorry behavior of Jesus Worshipers. This prevents PG from having a cosmetic, social oriented membership in a church. He does not want to pretend to worship a spirit which causes him misery.
Responsibility is not valued in the Jesus Worship community. Respect for non believers is seen as a sign of weakness. And, while not all Jesus Worshipers are fanatics, many admire and support the loudmouths who give their faith a bad name.
When it comes to belief, moderation is not valued. Fanaticism is admired. There is little responsibility taken. It is just the Jesus talking.
Christopher Isherwood once said, in a magazine interview, that the doctrine of a religion is not as important as the person who tells you that doctrine. (If anyone can find this quote on the internet, please leave a comment with a link.) It is a common belief that religions are about beliefs, but many find that it is the person who draws you into the community. A corollary of this is when you have a bad experience with a person who represents a religion. This person can drive you far away from wanting to have any participation in a religion. The idea that G-d would send a person to hell because he knew an offensive Jesus worshiper is tough to believe.
So much for world affairs. It is time to tell a story, with no moral and no redeeming social value.
In 1980, I was staying at a place called the Sea Haven Hostel, affectionately known as Sleaze Haven. This was in Seattle WA, as far as you can get from Atlanta, and still be in the lower 48. I was working through Manpower, and staying in a semi private room for $68 a month.
There was a Christian group that met in the basement on Sunday Night. Now, as some of you may know, I am a recovering baptist, who hasn’t been to church since 1971. However, the lure of a free meal was hard to resist, so I went to a few meetings.
One night, after doing quality control work on the local beer supply, I cheerfully joined in the discussion. This was the night when I realized that the Bible is not the Word of G-d, a concept that has been very handy in dealing with the clumsy efforts of our Jesus-mad culture to convert me.
They seemed to like me, though, and welcomed me back. Maybe it was the southern accent.
One Sunday, after the dinner was finished , it was time to have a prayer to begin the meeting. I raised my hand. Now, Jesus Worshipers enjoy prayer as entertainment. When they bow their heads, you see them stretching and deep breathing, in anticipation of a good, lengthy, message to G-d.
My message was a bit of a disappointment. Instead of a long winded lecture about Jesus and the magic book, I said what was on my mind. Lord, thank you for letting us be here today.
Jack City Is Number Three
Every year, at roughly the same time as the National Day of Prayer, an internet facility known as Neighborhood Scout publishes a list of bad hoods. This year is no different. NeighborhoodScout’s ® Top 25 Most Dangerous Neighborhoods in America is now available for your enjoyment.
1 East St. Louis, IL (City Center)
2 Jackson, TN (James Buchanan Dr / 1st St)
3 Atlanta, GA (Mcdaniel St SW / Mary St SW)
4 Saginaw, MI (E Holland Ave / E Genesee Ave)
5 Rockford, IL (7th St / E Jefferson St)
6 Memphis, TN (Chelsea Ave / N Claybrook St)
7 Rochester, NY (Orange St / W Broad St)
8 Detroit, MI (Wyoming St / Orangelawn St)
9 Detroit, MI (Broadstreet Ave / Cortland St)
10 Camden, NJ (Whitman Park)
11 Detroit, Mi (W Jeffries Fwy / Seebaldt St)
12 New Orleans, LA (Conti St / Marais St)
13 East St. Louis, IL (Caseyville Ave / N Park Dr)
14 Oklahoma City, OK (NE 36th St / N Martin Luther King Ave)
15 Baltimore, MD (E Oliver St / N Broadway)
16 Cincinnati, OH (Central Pky / Central Ave)
17 Omaha, NE (N 24th St / Ames Ave)
18 Rockford, IL (N Rockton Ave / W State St)
19 West Memphis, AR (E Jackson Ave / Autumn Ave)
20 Chicago, IL (S Indiana Ave / E 60th St)
21 Saginaw, MI (Lapeer Ave / E Genesee Ave)
22 Washington, DC (Atlantic St SE / 4th St SE)
23 St. Louis, MO (Clara Ave / Saint Louis Ave)
24 Chicago, IL (S Pulaski Rd / W Lexington St)
25 Baton Rouge, LA (N Lobdell Ave / Harry Dr)
The protection money paid by New York, Florida, and Texas kept them off the list. If you want to see who is what, the list is there. The site has more information, especially if you subscribe to Neighborhood Scout. Put fresh batteries in your BS detector.
The only Atlanta winner is McDaniel Street & Mary Street. It comes in at number three. This is the site of a popular video. In the film, a young man is beaten by three other young men. The person filming the scene shouts “no faggots in jack city.”
Pictures are from “The Special Collections and Archives, Georgia State University Library”.
The Ride
In the modern workplace, there are subjects you don’t want to talk about. Discussions of religion, politics, race, and celebrity footwear can spark unwanted controversy. The question then arises, what can you talk to people about? What do you have in common with a diverse group of people?
One subject, usually safe for conversation, is your ride in to work. In an freeway crazy place like Atlanta, everyone has a story. Last week, PG took notes on his ride. What follows is the journey one day, from a Brookhaven house to the Vinings office complex. The day is April 30. The next day is May Day. The parade has been cancelled, due to lack of communists.
7:41 am Leave the house. The idea is to report at 8:30 am. You want to allow a few extra minutes for unforeseen problems. The good news is that, in the morning, going west on I285 is against traffic. East bound, or the inner loop, is a traffic nightmare.
7:43 am /0.3 miles Turn the corner on Eighth Street, and the start of New Peachtree Road. In the pre-marta days, Eighth Street went over the tracks to Peachtree Road. When PG was a kid, there was a sign for the railroad crossing. There was no red flashing light.
7:44 am The Southern Crescent passes on the Norfolk Southern line, next to New Peachtree. The train is going to New Orleans. The people on that train are probably having more fun than you.
7:45 am/1.1 miles This is the first red light. You turn left onto Clairmont Road. Peachtree Dekalb Airport is down the hill, across the street. At certain times of the year, you can see the sun rising over the airport on your morning run.
7:47 am/1.4 miles You have gone over the wonderful bridge. In the pre-marta era, to get from the end of Clairmont, to Peachtree Industrial, you had to make a left turn, cross the railroad tracks on a bridge made from telephone poles, and cut through the Krystal parking lot. Now, a bridge takes you over all this. At the end of the bridge, you take a left turn onto Peachtree Industrial Boulevard.
7:48 am/1.7 miles Turn right onto Johnson Ferry. You will probably need to slow dawn for the traffic ahead of you. Welcome to Atlanta.
7:53 am/2.4 miles This is the confluence of Johnson Ferry Road and Ashford Dunwoody Road. When these roads were built, they took farmer Jones to church once a week. Now, they are lined with subdivisions. For some reason, these two busy thoroughfares merge, go forward on two lanes for about a hundred yards, and then split up. There are lots of angry soccer moms making left turns.
7:54 am/2.6 milesWhen you get to the fork in the road, take it. If you lean left here, you head towards Cobb County. This stretch of road is a long downhill run, a bridge over Nancy Creek, (7:56 am/3.7 miles,) and a long uphill climb. This is all on two lanes, with double yellow lines in the middle. The speed limit is 35 mph. At least once a week, there will be an SUV behind you that wants to go faster. This is bad for the composure of everyone involved.
7:58 am/4.5 miles There is a red light at Peachtree Dunwoody Road. You are in Fulton County now. This is the area known as pill hill. There are three major hospitals, and enough medical office buildings to cause insurance apoplexy. The traffic creeps ahead at a stealthy pace.
8:00 am/ 5.0 miles A bridge takes you over Highway 400. You are not the only person who is over Highway 400. At least you are not on it.
8:00 am/ 5.1 miles Turn right onto Glenridge. If you had gone forward at the light, Johnson Ferry would have turned into Glenridge. This can get complicated.
8:01 am/5.3 miles Turn left, and get onto I285. This is exit 26 of the Perimeter. This is a seminal moment of the Atlanta experience. You are no longer ITP, or OTP, but OnTP.
8:03 am/6.2 miles You go under Roswell Road, exit 25. This is the first disappearing lane. The far right lane is exit only. If you are to continue, you must go over one lane.
8:06 am/10.4 miles You cross the Chattahoochee River, and enter Cobb County.
8:07 am/11.1 miles I75 is approaching. I285 splits in two, with one part dedicated to the exchange of vehicles, and the other half going merrily forward. You need to get in one of the two lanes to the left. This is scary for people who like to drive the speed limit. As someone said to PG once, “you gotta be as crazy as they are.”
8:08 am/12.1 miles This is the reunification of I285. Since you get off at the next exit, you need to go from the far left side, to the far right side. You have 1.4 miles to do this. This competitive lane changing is complicated by the appearance of uphill entry ramps. You settle into a lane, and discover a speeding pickup truck making a surprise appearance on your bumper. However tempting alcohol might be at this time, it is not recommended.
8:10 am/13.5 miles You get off I285. Paces Ferry Road is exit 18.
8:15 am/14.7 miles You get through the concrete obstacle course, find a parking spot, and turn the car off. The work day is about to begin.
5:32 pm Start the vehicle. You are the only person that warms the vehicle before driving.
5:40 pm/0.3 miles Get out of the parking deck. Turn onto a side street.
5:42 pm/1.2 miles Turn right, and take a bridge over I285. On snow jam day, this part took 45 minutes. The pace on I285 below is not much faster.
5:44 pm/1.7 miles You are across the street from Cumberland Mall. Turn right.
5:49 pm/3.0 miles You turn left after crossing I75. You go into a series of concrete ramps. They will take you to I285.
5:58 pm/9.1 miles You exit I285 at Roswell Road, exit 25. This is your first opportunity to do so.
6:00 pm 9.8 miles You turn left onto Glenridge Road. You sometimes have to wait through a few lights. The idea is to get here by 6:00 pm. It can take a half hour to go the last quarter mile on I285, and go through this light.
6:03 pm/10.3 miles You turn onto a side road, which takes you over Highway 400.
6:07 pm/11.8 miles At the bottom of the hill, you turn left onto Windsor Parkway, and cross Nancy Creek. You will go up a long hill, and the traffic will creep and crawl.
6:13 pm/12.7 miles At the top of the hill you get to a four way stop. This is the reason the traffic continues to progress, however slowly. This is Lynwood Park. It was formerly the oldest black neighborhood in Dekalb County. The location has led to gentrification. It is now another trendy neighborhood, just what Atlanta needs more of.
6:19 pm/13.9 miles Turn left onto Peachtree Road. .
6:21 pm/14.3 miles Turn right under the railroad tracks. You are almost home.
6:23 pm/15.0 miles Home. Pictures are from The Library of Congress
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