I just posted this up on my LilburnDwellings blog. I got a email from Senator Chambliss today outlining options for those in the Atlanta area that have been affected by the floods last week. It details some of the resources available to those that suffered non-insured damages from the floods.
Remember, don’t delay…
Here is the link.
I wrote a post not long ago about how water (uncontrolled) can destroy your house, and how simple things like gutters and paint can protect your investment.
But this isn’t abut anything so trivial…
If you haven’t been paying attention to the news… or you aren’t reading this post in mid to late September (2009), we are having some serious water issues here in Atlanta. The words 100 year flood are making the rounds… and I have NO reason to not believe that. I have been here 20 years and have never seen anything like this.
While out and about today, I saw displaced roads, flooded creeks and rivers flowing over bridges. Those things all happen sometimes, but the word is that there are several HUNDRED roads closed from flooding. And the rain hasn’t stopped.
Here is the important part…
So far there are six people that have died in the floods. Most of them have died in their cars. All of the folks that have died in their cars have died while driving through flooded roadways… and had their cars swept from the road.
Simply, if a creek or river is FLOWING over the road, do drive through it. Sure, you MIGHT make it through if the water is low enough. But you might not. Is it worth it? Not for me…
Stay safe…
I am perfectly willing to admit that I have taken Jeeps through creeks that were fairly deep. Even some that were running pretty fast. But there are a couple of HUGE differences. With the larger tires and lifted suspensions, the vehicle is well out of the water. A standard sedan starts getting pushed by the water as low as six or seven inches. My jeep kept the body clear of the water for almost two feet…
And then there was a “happening” in Kane Creek in Moab, UT. Some friends had a Jeep start to float while crossing the rain swollen creek. The Jeep would have kept floating for a while it not attached by winch cable to a stable object. As it was, it rolled in the creek, and the driver barely escaped a dunking by climbing out the passenger side and jumping to shore. The Jeep was totaled. It could have easily been much worse.
And stay smart…
Today I saw a car parked in the middle of the road after a deep spot (pooled, not flowing). The engine may have been toast (we call it hydro-locked. Water doesn’t compress, so if it gets into the engine, bad things can happen. And the worst thing to possibly do is try to turn the engine over with the starter if it stalls in the water. Instead, get towed out, and then take out the spark plugs. Turn the engine over with the starter (watch out, because gas/water may spray out a few feet). Shoot a little WD-40 in each cylinder and then reinstall the spark plugs. If there are ugly, unnatural sounds, it might be too late, the damage may already be done.
Sounds like good reasons to NOT drive in deep water, huh? Death or mechanical devastation…
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For those that love technology, there are some REALLY cool things coming up in the Atlanta area. For those in real estate that love technology, it is even better…
August 26th, 2009 – Social Media Breakfast – Atlanta: 7:00am to 9:00am, Atlanta Bread Company – Town Center Mall area in Cobb County. We will be talking about social media for business use. As I write this, Ken Cook and I are working up some starter topics… FaceBook Fan Pages and Twitter… and its available tools. This is NOT real estate specific. FREE (you do have to buy your own breakfast)
August 27th, 2009 – Blogging, Social Media, ActiveRain Workshop: 11:00am to noon, Garner Creek at Parkview clubhouse in Lilburn. Blogging and real estate are a great fit, and we, as a profession, have 
been using social networking forever. We will be talking about how to more effectively and efficiently utilize the “free” tools, as well as how to use ActiveRain to pull it all together. This IS real estate specific. FREE
September 24th, 2009 – Social Media Breakfast – Atlanta: 7:00am to 9:00am. Stay tuned for details on location…
September 25th, 2009 – NewMedia Atlanta: This is going to be a real estate/not real estate technology workshop to help all of us better leverage all of the cool technologies to make our businesses really rock. For those of us in real estate, Jeff Turner is going to be a presenter… and whether you are in real estate or not, he rocks. Drop into the site and see all of the other cool speakers. The is NOT real estate specific, but there will be a lot of real estate types in attendance. Not free.
October 9th-10th, 2009 – Bar Camp Atlanta: Please note, this isn’t an REbarCamp, this is a regular Bar Camp. They are starting at 6:00pm on a Friday night and I have NO idea about how it will go… I’ve heard that a sleeping bag is a good idea. This is NOT real estate specific, and there will be a wide variety of technology discussed. 
from Lane’s ActiveRain Blog
That’s right…
Some of you might remember the first Social Media Breakfast – Atlanta event that Ken Cook and I hosted July 23rd at the Duluth Diner in Gwinnett County. There were a lot of folks that just couldn’t make it all of the way over the Gwinnett County…
Event #2 will be in Cobb County…
That’s right, this time we will be meeting at the Atlanta Bread Company near town Center Mall. We will start being social at 7:00am, with a more formal portion of the program running from 7:30 until about 8:30, and everything should be wrapped up by 9:00.
At our first Social Media Breakfast – Atlanta event, we had about 20 folks come out. We had a great discussion about some cool tools as well as social networking etiquette. We will be furthering that discussion at event #2. Of course, the exact topic will be different.
If you aren’t able to attend, we will be using the hashtag #smbatl on Twitter and some other networks.
If you ARE able to attend, we ask that you RSVP on FaceBook or EventBrite. This allows us to give the venue an idea of how many folks we will be having so that they can schedule and plan accordingly. We would love to have you join us…
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In hockey, among the tough guys, there is a common call. When they are getting ready to throw down, they often say “Come and Get it”… Dan Sullivan is a tough guy. As he jokingly says, he earns his money in the penalty box. But that is only the Dan Sullivan that the fans see on the ice.
There is another side to Dan… When he was a kid, he couldn’t afford to go to formal hockey camps. And he wanted to do something about that for youngsters that were coming up now. So, five years ago he started the Come And Get It Hockey Camp.
Dan wonders if his path would be the same if he had been able to go to a lot of camps as a youngster. Maybe he would be known for his skating and shooting prowess rather than as the guy that makes sure nobody takes a cheap shot at his teammates.
Hockey camps aren’t anything new. The Duluth Ice Forum, in Duluth, GA, hosts several each summer. 
But Dan’s camp is a little different. He takes kids of all ages and skill levels. He also doesn’t care if kids can’t afford it… he finds ways to help them come to camp. There are sponsors that give away scholarships and options for reduced fees. As long as the ice fees and food are covered, he is happy with it.
And there is something else different. He knows that most parents have to work, so he structures the camp differently. Kids can be dropped off at 7:30 in the morning and picked up as late as 5:00 in the afternoon. Many camps are only half a day.
And the kids are busy during that time… The camp officially starts around 9:00 with an hour of power skating. The kids then take off the gear and grab a snack. They have off-ice activities (classroom for the older kids, games for the youger ones) until they dress in for the 11:30 to 12:30 stick handling session. After theat, they grab lunch and then work on off-ice physical conditioning… and the little kids watch a movie for part of the time. Finally, there is a scrimmage each day from 3:00 to 4:00. That is three hours of ice time, two hours of off-ice training and some down-time.
At the last camp, the number of skaters had swelled so much that they had to be split into two groups. Dan bought some more ice time and adjusted the schedule so that all of the kids got more ice time. The coaches worked double shifts on the ice to make sure the kids got a great experience.
But there is something else cool about the camp… the other instructors. It isn’t about the money for the the other coaches, either. In fact, these guys fly to Atlanta from all over North America to help with the camp. And they basically volunteer their time. Some play in the ECHL (East Coast Hockey League), some on the NHL. Others are upcomong players that are under contract to NHL teams. A couple have retired from professional hockey. Aside from the Gwinnett Gladiators, Dan’s team, the Atlanta Thrashers, Chicago Blackhawks and Buffalo Sabres were all represented. There were also a couple of Ontario Hockey League (OHL) teams represented as well. 
Coach Dan, Coach Turtle, Coach Josh and the others love working and playing with the kids. It really shows. The kids are worn out every day and ready to go back the next day.
But there is one last thing… There is a code of conduct. Aside from being required to listen to the coaches and act respectably, there is another layer. The big kids are expected to help the smaller kids. they help get them dressed out, they encourage them on the ice and off. They also are expected to act as good examples. And while the word “dude” is over-used in the locker room, other words and concepts that the little guys don’t need in their heads are not. And when the 5 year olds refer to the 16 years olds as “teammates”, we know that the philosophy is successful.
The Come And Get It Hockey Camp has been on the front page of the Gwinnett Daily Post. There are multiple mentions of the camp on the Gwinnett Gladiators’ website as well. When Dan began the camp in Augusta, the NBC affiliate there did a story about it.
Planning will begin shortly for next year’s camp schedule. If you would like to bring the Come And Get It Hockey Camp to a rink near you, or sponsor the camp, let me know and I will pass word to Dan and his staff wife.
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