The scarecrow wants a brain, the tin man wants a heart and the lion wants courage. Johns Creek wants a zip code. They’ve enlisted the help of Congressman Tom Price to guide them down the political yellow brick road. Will the great Oz grant their wish?

I’m torn on this issue of zip codes for the new cities of the burbs. In some ways I think they are going for a vanity zip code, something that could become exclusive like 90210. It’ll be a unique Johns Creek number the country club ladies can get snobby about. Yet in other ways I think the zip code system is partially broken and a new zip code for the city makes stuff function better. First I’ll make the case against a new zip.

Zip codes belong to the post office. They were invented by the USPS and are maintained by them. They exist to make postal delivery more efficient. Zips do not follow political boundaries and never have. Asking the post office to create one or more zip codes exclusively within the boundaries of the city of Johns Creek is not realistic. The USPS has enough problems right now, I’m sure they don’t need political pressure brought down on them by Congressmen for the purposes of city identity.

On the flip side, zip codes are often misused and misunderstood. The post office recognizes a “default place name” for each zip code. Johns Creek is not a default name of any zip code, even though they exist partially in five zips. The USPS agreed to allow Johns Creek to be what they call an “acceptable place name” for four of the five zip codes. That’s not good enough for one big reason…

Poor software design. Yeah, I blame it on the software guys (like yours truly). Many software apps incorrectly assume a one-to-one relationship between zip code and city. So for example, when they see 30022, they assume “Alpharetta, GA” or vice versa. Acceptable place names are often not factored into many software applications. As a result, using a website to find a restaurant or get a weather forecast might not work if you type “Johns Creek” or “Milton” as the location.

So what’s the solution? I’d kinda like to see the USPS change the default place for 30022 and 30097 to Johns Creek. Those two zip codes are mostly in the city limits anyway. I’m sure this change would tick off folks in Alpharetta and Duluth. North Point Mall is in 30022 and I’m sure the businesses near there wouldn’t care for the change.

Or Johns Creek could hope for an outcome similar to what happened in Milton. In their case, 30004 was just about the only zip code in the new city. In 2008 the USPS carved out a new zip code from 30004. This new zip, 30009, is mostly downtown Alpharetta with just a few addresses in Milton. They said the change was for efficiency reasons, yet the line somewhat closely follows the city boundaries. I’m certain there was some political influence involved in this though. What is confusing to me is that 30004 still has a default place of “Alpharetta”. It really should be Milton.

Pulling off something like this in Johns Creek would be more difficult considering that five zip codes are involved. And those five zip codes have four distinct default place names. Is it all worth it? Is this a waste of political capital?

Every Friday, Roots in Alpharetta features an article on food and dining in a series I like to call Foodie Friday.

There is a certain type of restaurant that attracts the country club ladies. These are the older gals with a lot of disposable income that can drop a 20 spot on lunch everyday. I don’t know what these ladies do, maybe meet their scrapbooking friends or something. I like to poke fun at these gals but I’ll say this; they have exceptional taste in restaurants. Pay attention to where they eat, it is bound to be good. I find them at places like Never Enough Thyme and other higher end sandwich joints. I wasn’t surprised to see them here at 52 Bistro either.

52 Bistro opened recently in the old Slice Cafe spot in downtown Alpharetta. Their address, as you might guess, is 52 Main Street yet they can be hard to spot from the road. I find it best to approach the restaurant from Church Street, a small side street off Main. The owners of 52 Bistro also run the Olde Blind Dog Irish Pub in Crabapple.

Awwe, isn’t their building adorable? It is a small little house nestled among trees. In front is a koi fish pond. They are not on the menu. The first floor is a little cramped with a small bar, hostess table, kitchen, dessert display and a few tables. Upstairs, where we sat, looks like a sanctuary of an old church. You’re under the high loft ceiling with two stained glass windows to add color. Off the upstairs is the treetop veranda. I don’t suggest this in the summertime but it is beautiful up there. All in all, this little house turned restaurant is cute, fresh, inviting… and probably several other words that realtors might use.

Let’s get to the food. We started with the seafood risotto fritter appetizers. These were like little baseballs of deep fried seafood goodness. They were cooked perfect, golden brown and delicious. On first impression I thought these would be better with more spice. Then the chili glaze taste started to hit me. Yum.

I ordered a Cuban sandwich, which I tried at Taste of Alpharetta a few months back. They use real roast pork (not deli pork meat), long strips of pickle and bread with the right crunch to it. I don’t want to get in trouble with Cuban foodie purists, so read this next part carefully. Is it an authentic Cuban sandwich? No. Is it the closest you’re going to get to authentic in Alpharetta? Probably. Is it delicious? Definitely!

The rest of the menu contains stuff like flatbreads, sandwiches, a little bit of seafood and lamb. It isn’t a deep menu, but there is enough there to keep me interested for a few more trips.

52 Bistro is a winner. I like the neat little house turned restaurant, friendly and attentive staff, and terrific food. Cubicle dwelling IT folks like yours truly might feel a little out of place among the snooty ladies. It’s totally worth it though.

The call went out. I noticed it twice in the course of the week. First it was in our church bulletin. A few days later I discovered this article in the Neighbor Newspaper. North Fulton Community Charities is in a bind. Cash flow is a little tight in the summer months, which makes providing services a little tough. On top of that, the food pantry continues to have high demand.

This is the greatest paradox of living in the affluent suburbs of Atlanta. Actually it is a double paradox. The fact that there is such demand for assistance may surprise some. Sure, we’re in a prolonged recession. Yet many of our neighbors are not as well off as you might think. Talk to enough volunteers at NFCC and you’ll hear stories of folks in luxury cars asking for help at the food pantry. It’s a paradox. It happens every day. Even in Alpharetta. Even in Johns Creek.

The second paradox is that charities like NFCC struggle financially. It makes me a bit embarrassed quite honestly. We drive nice cars, live in fancy neighborhoods, dine in expensive restaurants but don’t make even small contributions to local charities in need.

I gave a little something after reading this article. It isn’t much at all. I suppose indirectly I’ve helped through my church. Our congregation, like many others in north Fulton, supports NFCC in a lot of ways. But I couldn’t in good conscience write this article without doing something. We’re blessed to live in this area. Please do your part to support local charities in need.

I’m going to rip off a blog idea from fellow blogger Bob Strader. He has a monthly feature called the big number that he posts at the end of each month. His number is usually real estate related but mine will be whatever. They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. I hope Bob takes it that way because I love his blog.

13

The number of ads for cosmetic surgery, BOTOX or teeth whitening procures in the August 2010 issue of Points North Magazine.

Every Friday, Roots in Alpharetta features an article on food and dining in a series I like to call Foodie Friday. This week I continue a summer series reviewing barbecue restaurants in Alpharetta.

Let’s get the positives out of the way first. One Star Ranch is the most authentic-looking barbecue restaurant in Alpharetta. I like to ding Q joints on fake decor that comes across as cheesy. One Star has its share of bling on the walls. Old license plates, rattle snake skins, etc. If you pulled it all off the walls and hung it up in a strip mall space it would look contrived. But given One Star’s dive joint location, I find it completely believable. Maybe that’s a double standard I have. I just really enjoy the look and feel of this restaurant. I also like that they have live blues music from time to time.

But, (and this is a big BUT), the quality of the barbecue here is seriously lacking. I used to kinda like this place years ago, before the barbecue scene in town got competitive. Or put another way, I liked them before Smokejack and ‘Cue considerably raised the bar. I last visited One Star about three years ago. The ribs at that time were fatty and tough. I vowed never to return. I felt they needed another shot before writing a serious review.

On my last visit I stuck with chopped pork with a few sides. The pork comes out a course, thick chop with an average amount of outside meat. They will sauce it in the kitchen so I asked for it on the side. Their sauce, served warm, is a heavy ketchup base that I don’t really care for. The Q itself was a little on the chewy side and lacked flavor. The outside meat has promise, but several bites tasted of soot from the smoker. I struggled to eat half of it. Very disappointing.

For sides I picked stew and jalapeno corn bread. I’ve enjoyed the bread in the past, which has a little kick. On this night it was dry and tasted like it had been reheated. The stew wasn’t bad, the only part of my meal I enjoyed. I’ve heard folks rave about the tub of onion rings. I’ve never had them, might be worth a try.

Maybe judging these guys on pork alone isn’t fair. But to this barbecue fan (with North Carolina roots and Memphis taste buds), One Star doesn’t do it for me. If you’re from Texas and want a feel for a Q joint in that genre, One Star might work. The rest of the menu, with brisket, sausage and beef ribs, round out the Texas feel. I’d come back for a beer and some blues music, but skip the barbecue.

Wanna chew the fat on local barbecue? Leave a comment, email me at lee@rootsinalpharetta.com or catch me on twitter at http://twitter.com/rootsalpharetta.

Last night I sat in the food court of North Point Mall with my kids. Nearby was a sign advertising a promotion for American Girl. I asked my five year old daughter, “Sweetheart, do you know about American Girl?” She knew of them, but had never been in the store. She wasn’t familiar with their products or what they offer. We were literally on top of the store yet she had no clue. A little smile came to my face as inside I was thinking “Mwahahahaahhaha!”

It is significant that Alpharetta has an American Girl store. We are in a small and exclusive club of locations that include Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan. So what is American Girl? It is an evil and diabolical scheme to separate fathers from their money. There have been many such schemes in the past, most recently Build-A-Bear. But American Girl is different and far more sinister. It appeals to a deep primordial instinct in little girls. I’ve never fully experienced the store, but I think the general idea is that girls select a doll that looks like them. Next they dress the doll (and the girl I guess) in matching outfits. You then have tea together in the cafe, get your hair done together, etc. And of course you have to go back each season and update clothes to keep in the current fashion trends. This is way beyond stuffing a teddy bear.

What I’ve managed to accomplish is possibly the finest example of misdirection in suburban fatherhood. I’m sure it has saved me hundreds of dollars in the process. Here’s my secret…

First, start young, before your daughters are old enough to appreciate this store. I don’t know if this works once the cat is out of the bag (and the cash is out of your wallet).

Next, realize that the American Girl store at North Point is downstairs and off the main drag. Never, ever enter the mall near the store. I would go a step farther. Never enter the mall at Sears or Macys. I suggest parking on the second floor of the parking deck and entering at Dillards. From there, stick to the second floor of the mall. You’ll have easy access to the food court. It is safe to descend to the first floor so long as you are past Macys. You can distract your kids with choo choo rides, the soft play area or the other activities down on that end of the mall.

Lastly, utilize the various overpriced cookie stores all scattered strategically on the second floor. Yes, they are your friends. Dangle that carrot in front of them… if you’re well behaved then you can have a cookie on the way out of the mall. Yeah, they are expensive, but a dollar here and there is a small price to pay.

When I was a kid parents bitched about $50 Air Jordans. I don’t want to be the parent griping about dropping C-notes at American Girl. For now my little misdirection plan is working. Sure it is simple. Just let American Girl’s poor location in the mall play to your favor. Never venture over there, even for a latte at Starbucks. You’ll be fine. If you follow these steps you just might avoid being like your parents.

At my job we have lots of ticketing systems. This is pretty common in the IT world. We have applications for submitting tickets for network changes, maintenance requests, software defects, technical support, new employee hiring and firing, etc. We probably have a ticketing system for making changes to other ticketing systems. It sounds like a lot, and sometimes it is. But if you’ve got a good process around the system, it can help your organization in a big way.

How so? It allows for accountability and transparency. When stuff isn’t getting done, there is a record of who is assigned a task with dates, times and notes. And when the process behind the system works, it gives management the tools and metrics to track change. They can also make pretty graphs for their powerpoint presos.

Yesterday the AJC ran a story about the City of Alpharetta and their adoption of SeeClickFix. You can read the article here. The application is basically a ticketing system for citizens to submit minor problems within the city. Think potholes, broken sidewalks, storm drains, traffic lights, stuff like that. Users submit issues through a web 2.0 interface with google maps integration or over a smart phone (iPhone, Blackberry or Android). It is slick technology. <nerd mode off>

Like many, this was the first time I heard of this application, which Alpharetta has quietly been using for a few months. When I first read the AJC article I kinda thought the city developed this on their own. That’s not the case. They have adopted a process around SeeClickFix and have subscribed to its service. At only $100 a month, this was a real bargain for the city.

Yesterday I created an issue in the new system. I reported on a traffic light on Windward Parkway that I think needs to be re-timed. In just a few minutes someone with the city acknowledged the issue and assigned it to the traffic division for research. That in and of itself isn’t a huge deal. I suppose I could have picked up the phone and called the traffic division and accomplished the same thing.

So how is this better? Because I have a ticket. I am issue number 47733. I have a URL, a status, a date, “like” buttons and a section for comments and discussions. I have something I can come back to weeks or months later if nothing is done. In short, I have a visible way to hold the city accountable. If I had just called in my issue, who knows what would have happened. The employee on the other end of the phone could have done nothing. Or more likely than anything, the request might have just gotten lost in the bureaucracy of government.

The system is still pretty young. It will take time to see how well it is adopted and embraced by the city and citizens. As a local blogger you can bet I’ll be watching. In the meantime, I think the City of Alpharetta deserves a lot of praise. In this current political climate, citizens are demanding a lot out of government. Unfortunately that usually manifests itself in the form of ugly campaigns and fighting. What I think citizens truly want is open, transparent and responsive government, not politics. Big kudos to Alpharetta for being the first to leverage this technology.

Every Friday, Roots in Alpharetta features an article on food and dining in a series I like to call Foodie Friday.

If you’re looking for my every Friday article on food and dining… it isn’t here! I’m fortunate to have been offered a guest post on the blog Atlanta with Kid. My article is about eating out with your toddler in Alpharetta. Please swing on over and check it out. Amy’s blog has some terrific ideas for things to do with your kids, many of which are free. Also check out her other blog, The Q Family Adventures Travel Blog.

“You’re getting reorged.” That was all my now former boss told me in the hallway. It wasn’t something I wanted to hear at that moment. Why? For one, I liked my old boss, and I also really needed to go to the bathroom. It wasn’t a good hallway conversation.

“You’ll be reporting to Bruce.” Who? I’d never heard of him. Bruce was new to the company, coming to us from a construction equipment firm where he was a sales VP. It was a strange fit, especially considering that he now had some IT people reporting to him. He shared his resume with the group at our first meeting. This guy was a serious corporate go-getter. He literally rose from the mail room to the big corner office. Bruce’s achievements on his resume, if true, were remarkable. He lived in a fancy gated neighborhood and drove a European sports car. He had a nice looking family, a son active in high school sports and a college-aged daughter who turned a lot of heads. More on his kids later.

But it didn’t take long before Bruce’s management style started to rub people the wrong way. IT guys are used to a laid back atmosphere. Not Bruce. He insisted on a strict professional dress code, right down to the shoes. Core working hours were mandatory and enforced. Flex time? Forget about it! He also insisted on keeping the supply cabinet in his office. Folks hated groveling for paper and pens, having to justify a need for them. The guy was a tyrant. It was like working for R. Lee Ermey. For those of us in IT, it was hell.

It also became apparent that if you didn’t have aspirations of upper management, Bruce didn’t respect you. Being a peon was okay as long as you showed what he thought was a drive to make it to the top. And that drive didn’t leave room for much else. The serious go-getters he was grooming didn’t have time for soccer games with the kids. Even vacation requests were often denied.

Yet one day Bruce confided something to me. It was a short remark, almost made in an off-handed way. He said that he was trying to spend more time with his son and daughter. They were close to leaving home and he felt like he had a lot of lost ground to make up. That was about all he said on the matter, but it stuck with me.

It was an epiphany. I knew I didn’t like Bruce, and I thought he didn’t have anything to teach me career-wise. Was I ever wrong. Bruce taught me a LOT. I learned in that instant that I didn’t want to be a Bruce. How many people look back at the end of their career and wish they’d spent more time at the office? None! I decided to trade a thick resume, big job titles and plaques on the wall for quality time with the kids. It means I’m not going to be a chief technology officer one day. It also means I’m not going to miss things like “Doughnuts with Dad” at my son’s preschool. It means I don’t miss bedtime.

I don’t know what happened to Bruce. The next reorg came and swept me away to a better place. Bruce eventually left the company, hopefully to retire and spend more time at home. But knowing him, he’s probably still trying to conquer the corporate world in another big building full of cubicles. I’m sure he’s still slaving away trying to get another penny added to the EPS this quarter. Hopefully his daughter isn’t out looking for something to replace the father figure she didn’t have.

I’m a conservative. I’m a true conservative. I was a foot-solider in the Reagan Revolution. I’m so far to the right I can’t turn my head left. These are all lines I’ve heard in this election year. Well, the last one I made up, but you get the idea. The election of 2010 has been an amazing one so far. It reminds me a lot of 1994, only more intense. Candidates are tripping all over themselves to come across as conservative. We live in one of the most politically conservative parts of the country, yet politicians are trying to out-conservative each other. It is almost comical to watch.

At the same time I’m puzzled with local government and how very un-conservative their policies seem to be this year. City and county governments around here stomp on the principles of private property rights and limited government with impunity. Here are a few examples…

Forsyth County in the Golf Course Business – Some Republican county commissioners in Forsyth County want to use taxpayer money to purchase a golf course, namely the Lanier Golf Course. Never mind that other privately owned courses in the northern burbs are struggling financially. I’m sure Forsyth County can do a better job running one while still being good stewards of the taxpayer. Fore!

Roswell Denies Cell Tower Request. Milton Rejects Two Cell Towers – This has been written about a LOT. I’ll probably beat on this dead horse in a few months when Roswell and Milton are dragged into court. The odd thing is that fighting cell towers is politically popular among residents even though the law is clearly NOT in the side of the cities. Tea party principles be damned, we’re talking NIMBY! Can you hear me now?

Gwinnett’s New Garbage Plan Takes Effect – Citizens in unincorporated Gwinnett County now have zero choice in which garbage company to use. This isn’t as big a deal to me since many municipalities do the same thing (the City of Alpharetta being one of them). It is more the principle of the matter. In the name of reduced traffic and pollution citizens had a small freedom taken away from them. That stinks.

I could go on with examples of legit zoning applications being rejected for NIMBY purposes, but you get the idea. In 2010 we will hold politicians in Washington and Atlanta to a higher conservative standard. We’ll demand to have it the other way with city and county commissions. We’re not as conservative as we’d like to think here in the northern burbs.