Inside The Perimeter

I have no ill will toward Winnipeg, things just didn’t work out for us. It was me, not them.

Three days of gray and rainy weather, one very breezy day, followed by a day where I was sick, followed by a few more days of normal days with little spectacular activity.

I chose what should have been a sweet hotel location downtown; little did I know that that downtown wasn’t the cornucopia of activity that I wished it to be. The food in Winnipeg was okay, and even though I eventually finally made it to Alycia’s yesterday for a good lunch, I never found any thing special. Believe it or not, I never made it into one real bar during the entirety of this trip. Thanks to my illness I missed the opportunity to go to the race track. I fell asleep before the big Canada Day fireworks display. I drove miles (kilometers) of road to only find farm land and uninspiring lake views. The bright spot was that I was able to walk to attend two minor league baseball games for which I had great seats.

ITP Flickr Pic
Another shot from my walkabout through downtown Winnipeg.

I was humored by the Kraut King’s positioning at the bottom of this parkade’s (US = parking garage) ramp.

And So On, And So On
Last night I was going to try a bar which is right across the street from the hotel. It’s open from Wednesday through Sunday and on Wed-Sat they also serve Mexican food. The place is called Times Change(d) / High And Lonesome Club and had been on my list of places to hit before leaving.

Last weekend was Winnipeg’s JazzFest weekend so I didn’t bother to try and get in, and last night being the first night it was open since (it was closed on Canada Day) I figured that it was high time I tried it for dinner and a beer.

As I entered the outer door I found a tattered sign which said “private club inquire inside about membership.” The only thing I could think was “Piss off!” and I turned around and left. It seemed to be the fitting end to this trip and I wandered down to Johnny G’s for my fourth dinner in eight nights.

I’ve Never Worked So Much To Get One Meal
I finally made it to Alycia’s. After another long drive through Manitoba farm land I decided to turn the car around and head back to Winnipeg for lunch.

This time I correctly calculated that the day was right, the hour early enough, and the wind just right to eat at Alycia’s.

I ordered the “North End Special.”

What you see are pierogies, cabbage rolls, back bacon (maybe just ham) and in the cups — mushroom gravy, slaw, and sour cream.

The verdict? The food was good, really good in fact. Was it worth the effort? Probably not, but at least I found out.

Sad But True, I’m Looking Forward To Using My iPhone Today
I’ve gone one week without the use of my iPhone. It’s not that I’ve missed using it, but I have become accustom to having a computer in my pocket at all times in order to look up information and get mail.

As friend and ITP-Reader Barb informed me perhaps it was a good thing that I had no coverage. Barb sent me an article about Adam Savage (of Mythbusters) which contained the following:

If you are planning a trip to Canada these days there’s two important things you should remember — first your passport and second to turn off all Internet access on your phone and data card.

Failure to do either of these could put quite the damper on your trip and as Adam Savage of Mythbusters found out cost $11,000.

After a recent trip to Canada AT&T sent Adam Savage a bill for a few hours of Internet usage totaling $11,000 and shut off his phone.

$11,000? Crap, with that sort of money I could fix my plumbing.

I have a two-hour layover in Chicago today, I’ll probably run down the battery using it today.

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – way fat, looking forward to getting back to my routine, scared that I’m waaaaay behind at work and have so little time to prepare for Black Sheep on the 19th
Current Music – listening to the “Daily Giz Wiz” podcast
Website Of The Day – Have a decision to make? Use the decision engine Hunch to help you make the decision.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – n/a
Exercise (b)Log – some walking

Monthly
Foot Mileage – 0 miles, Wheel Mileage – 0 miles
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) – 0 (0)
Vegetarian Days – 0, Carnivorous Days – 2
Marta Rides – 0

July Goals
- Regain interest in my life
- Not get fired from my job
- Plan and lay a successful Black Sheep hash on July 19th

2009 Goals
- Reduce my weight to 190 pounds (today’s weight was 199.5 pounds)
- Completely read the book 1001 Paintings You Must See Before You Die
- Earn at least $150 through photography sales in order to cover the cost for the renewal of the Jalapeño Beach SmugMug account I opened the other day.
- Save $500 for the sole purpose of donating to charitable organizations of my choice
- Attend at least one professional photography workshop

The Unmeasurable
- Continue backing up all data, including the off-site storage
- Become a proficient programmer in Objective-C (iPhone development) and Ruby on Rails (Black Sheep web page concept)
- Do not create a solution for something which is not a problem

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

It took me six days to finally feel like I was on vacation. It’s almost a pity that it all comes to an end tomorrow.

Take Me Back Out To The Ball Game
I was feeling well enough to force myself out into the perfect weather for a morning walkabout. My travels took me until noon at which time I returned to Earls for some lunch, mostly because it was one of the few places open on Canada Day.

Even though things around the hotel were not as crazy during the day time as I expected I didn’t head out the to the horse racing track because the racing started at 1pm an there was no way that I’d be able to eat lunch and then make the drive in time.

My alternative was a 4pm Winnipeg Goldeyes game, which fit well into my schedule as well as my desire to leave the car parked. I scored another great ticket for a game, although not nearly as great as the seat I had on Sunday. So, after about five innings I got up and walked around the stadium. Unfortunately for the locals the Goldeyes gave up five runs in the eight inning, a half inning after they hit two home runs to take a two-run lead.

ITP Flickr Pic
Along my walkabout yesterday I came upon this desk sitting in a parking lot, facing this graffiti. It was rather surreal — so I had to take a photo.

I took about sixty photos on my walk, most of which were rather bland shots that’ll most likely never see the light of day (or screen as the case may be).

What’s Sad About This Trip Is That I’ve Come To Accept Failure
Last night I was pooped after the baseball game. Knowing that sunset in this part of the world at this time of year would mean that the Canada Day fireworks would be occurring a few hours later, I headed to the hotel room to recharge my body’s battery. I feel asleep only to wake up again at 11:30pm to the sound of the fireworks ending.

At least I’ll get another chance at fireworks in a few days, right?

I’m Assuming That Tomorrow Will Be A Really Short Blog
Not only will I be traveling tomorrow, I assume that most of you will be getting the day off to compensate for Independence Day falling on Saturday this year.

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – disappointed
Current Music – listening to Leo Laporte’s “The Tech Guy” podcast
Website Of The Day – I wish that I could come up with an interesting kludge like those shown on There, I Fixed It in order to fix this trip.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – n/a
Exercise (b)Log – walking yesterday

Monthly
Foot Mileage – 0 miles, Wheel Mileage – 0 miles
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) – 0 (0)
Vegetarian Days – 0, Carnivorous Days – 1
Marta Rides – 0

July Goals
Regain interest in my life
Not get fired from my job
Plan and lay a successful Black Sheep hash on July 19th

2009 Goals
- Reduce my weight to 190 pounds (today’s weight was 199.5 pounds)
- Completely read the book 1001 Paintings You Must See Before You Die
- Earn at least $150 through photography sales in order to cover the cost for the renewal of the Jalapeño Beach SmugMug account I opened the other day.
- Save $500 for the sole purpose of donating to charitable organizations of my choice
- Attend at least one professional photography workshop

The Unmeasurable
- Continue backing up all data, including the off-site storage
- Become a proficient programmer in Objective-C (iPhone development) and Ruby on Rails (Black Sheep web page concept)
- Do not create a solution for something which is not a problem

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

I had such high hopes for this trip, few of which seem to be coming to fruition. On the first day that the weather in Winnipeg was perfect, I developed a summertime cold which caused me to abort my plans to go to the horse race track — something I really wanted to do.

(Not So) Happy Canada Day
Today is Canada Day, Canada’s July 4th if you will. Like in the States Canada uses this day as an opportunity to take a day off from work and party.

Because I expect a load of people to head nearby to what is known as The Forks for Canada Day celebrations I’ve decided to sleep in and leave my rental car parked in the hotel parking lot. The last thing I need is to go out and either not be able to get back to the hotel or not be able to find a parking space if I do. If I’m wrong about this and am feeling much better than when I type this (currently 18:36 CDT on Tuesday night) then I may attempt to head back to the race track for an afternoon of gambling.

Regardless I’m looking forward to, health permitting, a full day of photo shooting with a nighttime of photographing fireworks.

For The Second Day In A Row I Held My Tongue Because I’m A Tourist
As I mentioned yesterday I wound up shopping at The Bay in order to get a shirt which had long sleeves. The downtown “The Bay” store is a magnificent relic (seven floors and a basement) of retail history — think back to the days of Atlanta’s downtown Rich’s or Macy’s. I wound up buying two shirts, each of which was on clearance and had an additional 70% price reduction from the lowest marked price. The two shirts wound up costing me $12 CAD. At the time of purchase I was feeling okay so the plan was to wear one to the race track and one tonight for fireworks.

From The Bay I crossed the street to head to the Winnipeg Art Gallery. Why did I wait until the weather was perfect before I went indoors to the gallery? Well, that’s a good question. I wish that I had a good answer.

Before purchasing my ticket I inquired about photography within the gallery to which I was told there was none allowed. I was okay with this and went ahead and purchased a ticket. However I nearly didn’t make it into the gallery since I was carrying what was deemed to be a large bag and that was asked to check it. When my reply (much to my surprise) was “That’s not going to happen. All of my valuables are in this bag.” I was stunned that the woman said “Okay, I’ll just call security and let them know that you are carrying that bag.”

The gallery had a lot of great stuff. However, I nearly lost my shit as I stood in one, very echoing room, trying to appreciate the art and all I could do was hear this young teenage girl blather loudly to one of the security guards who must have been a friend/relative. While I admit that we weren’t in a library it would have been nice if this girl had the decency to keep her voice down, or if the security guard to which she yammered to constantly for at least twenty minutes had told her to keep her voice down. This was another situation that had I been in the US I would have walked up to the yapper and confronted her.

Lest you think that I’m wound too tightly (still) or that I need to adjust my cold medication, here is an example of why I nearly lost my shit. In the rear of this exhibit (which was amazing btw (see today’s Website Of The Day) there was a small room in which a video about the artist’s life was being show. A part of the security guard’s rounds she would occasionally come to the room’s entrance followed on heel by Little Ms. Speakalot. The young girl would continue to talk loudly to the point that I almost could not hear the video.

One other interesting thing about the Winnipeg Art Gallery was that within the confines of their gift shop they have a gallery in which you can purchase, or even rent on a monthly basis, original artwork such as framed paintings and photographs. What a cool idea.

ITP Flickr Pic
Another shot from the zoo. I took a scant few photos yesterday and because of my crappy evening didn’t process a single one.

Some of the animals in the Winnipeg Zoo confused me. A Squirrel? Really? They also had Blue Jays on exhibit. And I waited to see one to make sure that they were the same Blue Jays that I’ve had in my yard for years and not some ginormous variety.

Take Three, They’re Small
I ate at a (horrible) Chinese buffet here for lunch the other day. Inside the fortune cookie, yes they give them out in Canada too, there were three fortunes:

1. “Your ability to work in a group will make tomorrow successful.”
2. “Soon someone new coming into your life will be a best friend.”
3. “Your surrounding friends will take good care of you.”

Interesting, but somewhat disturbing when you append “in bed” to each.

And On The First Day Of The Seventh Month Paulie Vows To Eat Healthfully Again
I feel like a sack of shit. I’d be saying this even if this summertime cold hadn’t smacked my upside the head yesterday. For six months I’ve allowed myself to ignore the simple fact that I am eating myself to complete depression — something I’ve done before. So, even though I’m still on vacation and today is a Nation Holiday in Canada and I’ll get to experience the same one in America in a few days I’m putting the brakes on my poor eating habits.

My month of July is already overbooked so I’m not going to solicit help with exercising — I’ll just have to work that in as best as possible. Starting next Monday (July 6th) I’ll be including daily weigh-ins on the blog to cement the thought that “I am trying to lose weight and need to eat smarter” into my brain.

At What Point Is A Service Fee No Longer “LOW”?
I’ve been doing business with Ticket Alternative. I’ve supported the “little guy” because I have so much disdain toward the fees being charged by Ticketbastard.

On Sunday night I purchased a ticket for The Minus Five at The EARL in September. The ticket’s face value was $15.00 and on top of that Ticket Alternative added a $3.48 convenience fee. Depending on how you do the math, this is a fee of 23% (3.48 / 15.00) or if you want to be generous with the math ~19% (3.48 / 18.48).

Feeling this fee was a bit excessive for a company that touts “LOW convenience fees every day” I tweeted the following on Twitter

@MyTATix: Happy to do business with you (again) but worried that fees are creeping up. $3.48 fee on a $15 ticket to a show at The EARL. :^(

I heard nothing in response to this, and then on Tuesday morning Ticket Alternative posted the following

MyTATixToday (and every day) is LOW convenience fee day at Ticket Alternative!

Meh. I’m calling shenanigans and am wondering how much of a pain in the ass I want to be by pressing the issue further.

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – bummed and somewhat ill
Current Music – silence
Website Of The Day – Joe Fafard is the artist currently on exhibit at Winnipeg’s Art Gallery. His sculptures so amazed me that I purchased his book. CRAP! I just saw that Fafard was at the Gallery last Friday! DANGEN!
Mode Of Transportation To Work – n/a
Exercise (b)Log – walking yesterday

Monthly
Foot Mileage – 0 miles, Wheel Mileage – 0 miles
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) – 0 (0)
Vegetarian Days – 0, Carnivorous Days – 0
Marta Rides – 0

July Goals
- Regain interest in my life
- Not get fired from my job
- Plan and lay a successful Black Sheep trail on July 19th

2009 Goals
- Reduce my weight to 190 pounds (today’s weight was 199.5 pounds)
- Completely read the book 1001 Paintings You Must See Before You Die
- Earn at least $150 through photography sales in order to cover the cost for the renewal of the Jalapeño Beach SmugMug account I opened the other day.
- Save $500 for the sole purpose of donating to charitable organizations of my choice
- Attend at least one professional photography workshop

The Unmeasurable
- Continue backing up all data, including the off-site storage
- Become a proficient programmer in Objective-C (iPhone development) and Ruby on Rails (Black Sheep web page concept)
- Do not create a solution for something which is not a problem

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

But first, let’s start with a one-question quiz…

Q: What has two thumbs and failed to pack any warm clothes for Winnipeg?
A: This guy!

Yeah, it’s gotten a bit, quite a bit, chillier up here than I expected. I’ll assume that packing for Canada during Atlanta’s 98ºF heat wave is an excuse, but I honestly never expected to be cold again this quickly. I’m trying hard not to buy a new fleece or hoodie since I already own too many of each. Dangen!

I’m Such A Juvenile. Oh, And A Bit Of A Dick Too
One of the rivers that slices Winnipeg into its pieces is called the Assiniboine River. I can’t help myself by read that as the “Ass-In-Bone River.”

Yesterday I briefly referred to people around here as “Assholes in Ass-In-Bone.” Many of the neighborhood four-lane roads allow street parking. So, when traveling in the right lane you often need to get over. Yesterday I tried to get in front of some big truck and he nearly ran into the back of my car. As we all started again I got in front of him and had opened a fairly wide gap between us.

I must now admit that traveling in metric speed is giving me grief. I’m afraid of speeding in a foreign land so I started traveling slowly and was looking at the stores I was passing. And then I hear this loud honk from behind me — my “buddy” in the truck. I pulled over and let him by giving him an arm sweep as he did. Had we been in the United States I would have told him what I thought of him and let him know where he could shove that horn.

ITP Flickr Pic
I couldn’t find much to shoot yesterday so I wound up going to the Assiniboine Park Zoo.

I have much to learn in order to properly use this fancy-pants lens and lens extender. I took about one hundred photos yesterday. I deleted about ninety of them.

I’m Wondering If Winnipeg Is The Idaho Of Canada
I came to a realization last night, as I ate dinner at the same restaurant for the third out of four nights — long story, that I’ve had french fries with every dinner that I’ve eaten here. Not only that, each of these meals has come with a huge portion of fries. Don’t get me wrong, I love fries as much as the next person but I will be trying my hardest to eat a dinner tonight that is not accompanied by french fries.

Too Pooped To Take Myself Out To The Ball Game Again
I’d been going all day. With the weather finally clear I considered walking over to the baseball field to take in another Winnipeg Goldeyes game, but was far too tired to put out the effort. I suppose that I also would have felt compelled to bring the camera and attempt to replicate Sunday’s shots (in addition to trying a few new techniques). By the time I finished dinner I had determined that there would be no baseball in my future for the evening.

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – uneasy, this trip has not been very successful at relaxing me — and, my body’s malfunctions are getting me down
Current Music – listening to “The Tech Guy” podcast from Leo Laporte
Website Of The Day – Have you ever needed an older version of a piece of software? Check out Old Version to see if they’ve archived it.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – n/a
Exercise (b)Log – not much

Monthly
Foot Mileage – 4 miles, Wheel Mileage – 0 miles
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) – 25 (25)
Vegetarian Days – 0, Carnivorous Days – 29
Marta Rides – 0

June Goals
- lose four pounds… plain and simple (not going to happen)

2009 Goals
- Reduce my weight to 190 pounds (today’s weight was 199.5 pounds)
- Completely read the book 1001 Paintings You Must See Before You Die
- Earn at least $150 through photography sales in order to cover the cost for the renewal of the Jalapeño Beach SmugMug account I opened the other day.
- Save $500 for the sole purpose of donating to charitable organizations of my choice
- Attend at least one professional photography workshop

The Unmeasurable
- Continue backing up all data, including the off-site storage
- Become a proficient programmer in Objective-C (iPhone development) and Ruby on Rails (Black Sheep web page concept)
- Do not create a solution for something which is not a problem

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

And this place could have been named Windypeg.

I hope that this will be the one and only “Winnipeg Whine” edition of InsideThePerimeter. By the end of this entry you will understand when I make the statements “It could have been worse; I could have gone camping with the hash.”, “It could have been worse; I could have gotten married outdoors on Saturday.”

This is a really long edition of InsideThePerimeter. It’s not because I’ve done so much here, it’s because the weather has been so lousy that I’ve been in my hotel room a lot and have time to write.

It’s All About Change
I’ve mentioned this before, I’m not a fan of change. I’m not talking about Barack O’bama, I’m talking about currency.

In what I can only claim to be a prudent, albeit-annoying-to-me policy, the lowest denomination of paper currency in Canada is the five dollar bill. In addition to the standard penny, nickle, dime, and quarter, Canada produces a $1 coin (the Loony) as well as $2 coin (the Double Loony?).

I hate the jingle jangle of change in my pocket. In the US I’ve been known to drop pennies off as soon as I get them because of my disdain toward change; the rest is kept soley for toll booth and laundry duties. So imagine my frustration when I pay for something in cash Canada and get handed a handful of change in return. Ugh.

And Speaking Of Money, This Town Ain’t Cheap
One other thing I’m noticing is that I am spending a lot of money. I know, I’m on vacation which means that I tend to be a little more loose with my spending like getting a $14 CAD plate of food instead of something more economical. I don’t know why I thought that Winnipeg would be relatively inexpensive, but I was wrong. Not only are all products priced on the high side, there is a 5% Goods and Services Tax as well as a 7% Provincial Sales Tax. In researching these taxes I found that I can apply for a refund, but it seems like a lot of work to get what will most likely amount to no more than $100 Canadian.

I have scored a couple of cheap purchases that have pleased me. In a camera store I found these mini-GorrillaPod-like bendable tripods which will be perfect for point-and-shoot cameras or off-camera flash units — for $10 CAD; that’s 66% off their normal selling price. W00t! On Saturday I went on a brewery tour at Half Pints Brewery, which as it turns out is the only remaining locally-owned brewery in Winnipeg. Coincidentally I was wearing my “All it takes is a liver and a dream.” t-shirt from Carolina Brewery and I felt like that tool that wears an old concert t-shirt to a show to show off how cool he is. Oh well. The tour was your typical small-brewery tour ending with some free samples.

Would It Kill You To Be Open Your Stated Hours?
Since I started researching this trip I’ve been reading about a Ukranian restaurant/caterer called Alycia’s. Alycia’s is about a ten-fifteen minute drive from my hotel. I looked up Alycia’s so that I’d understand how to get to it without getting lost (remember, I still have no cell phone) and found that it closed at 8pm on Saturday night. While that seemed awfully early it wasn’t a deal-breaker since my eating “schedule” has been shattered since I’ve been here (read “I seem to be eating constantly” not “I’ve not been eating, I’ve been losing weight”). At 6pm I left the hotel, and after finally navigating my way to Alycia’s and finding a parking space I made it there by 6:30pm. I think that I even uttered the following aloud, “Oh good, there are people inside! Pierogies here I come!!!!”

And then I see the sign “Sorry, We’re Closed.” and the hours posted confirming that 8pm is the posted closing time, but they are already closed. Dangen!

All I figure is that there food is handmade (as I’ve read) and that they ran out of their portions by 6:30pm. Since everyone raves about the place (purportedly even John Candy during his life) I’ll have to give Alycia’s a go for lunch some day before I depart.

Rain, Rain, Go Away — I Want To Take Photos
On Friday and Saturday the weather was crappy and rainy all day; not so shitty that you think “Hey, I should go to the museum.” but shitty enough to keep me indoors (read “I went every where including Wal*Mart, Best Buy, and a shopping mall — that should tell you how bad things were.”)

The weather yesterday also started fairly lousy, especially if I wanted to get up early and catch a sunrise (which was the case and was denied) but at least the grey skies broke up even if it took 20-30mph winds to do so.

Most of my photography had been put on hold thanks to the rain. On late Saturday night I decided that I should have pushed myself to shoot in hotel itself but by then it was a lost cause.

Rain, Rain, Go Away — I Want To Walk
Winnipeg is an incredibly difficult place for me to drive. The combination of downtown traffic including buses, no right/left/u-turn restrictions, intersection red-light cameras which make me nervous (I’m sure I’ll get at least one ticket mailed to me) and one-way streets which always seem to be going the other way that I need to go have made getting around rather stressful.

I Can’t Seem To Shake This Guy
Yesterday I attended a Winnipeg Goldeyes baseball game. It was a day game and I was able to score an awesome seat on the first row above the visitor’s dugout.

It turns out that the Goldeyes are holding what they are calling “Flashback Fridays” and this past Friday’s and Saturday’s rainouts delay that until yesterday. The player brought back for this “Flashback Friday” was a guy named Brian Duva, who happens to hold many Goldeye records and is the only person to have his number retired by the Goldeyes.

Duva played for Winnipeg for some years and following his playing career went to Georgia State and is currently practicing law in Atlanta at a firm located on Glenridge Drive. Jeez, I come all the way to Winnipeg to see a guy from Atlanta get recognized? Wait… it gets better.

When I got back to the hotel I naturally Googled “Brian Duva Atlanta” to find more information about this guy. It also turns out that Duva played baseball for the University of Florida at the same time I attended the university.

WTF, Yo!?!?!?!

ITP Flickr Pic
Sure, you get a photo too

And Finally For Today, Kudos To Skype
For years I have known about Skype, the software that allows you to place telephone calls via the internet. I’ve installed it on occasion, but have never had a need for it — until this trip.

Since landing in Winnipeg I have no cellphone service at all. No analog phone service, not digital phone service, and certainly no data service. My iPhone has become an almost completely useless device — save for it’s ability to act like a clock, alarm clock, and notepad.

On Saturday I once again install Skype on my laptop, figured out how to create an account — a task made much harder since my standard “real-life” user name has been apparently taken by someone else, added Skype-Out credit to my account, tested my setup, and successfully called my mother’s cell phone to let her know that I was okay (she’s a bit of a worrier).

Kudos to you Skype, for 15¢ you allowed me to do what AT&T wanted at least $5/month to do, and Rogers couldn’t provide for me.

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – FAT. If Winnipeg has any healthy restaurants I’ve yet to find them.
Current Music – listening to last week’s “le Show” podcast
Website Of The Day – If this were a business trip I might be tempted to use the services of False Expense to make sure that I had all of the necessary documentation to get reimbursed for all my expenses.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – n/a
Exercise (b)Log – none, weather has not been amenable

Monthly
Foot Mileage – 4 miles, Wheel Mileage – 0 miles
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) – 25 (25)
Vegetarian Days – 0, Carnivorous Days – 29
Marta Rides – 0

June Goals
- lose four pounds… plain and simple (not going to happen)

2009 Goals
- Reduce my weight to 190 pounds (today’s weight was 199.5 pounds)
- Completely read the book 1001 Paintings You Must See Before You Die
- Earn at least $150 through photography sales in order to cover the cost for the renewal of the Jalapeño Beach SmugMug account I opened the other day.
- Save $500 for the sole purpose of donating to charitable organizations of my choice
- Attend at least one professional photography workshop

The Unmeasurable
- Continue backing up all data, including the off-site storage
- Become a proficient programmer in Objective-C (iPhone development) and Ruby on Rails (Black Sheep web page concept)
- Do not create a solution for something which is not a problem

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

I had no intention of reusing that title, but what else can I say.

First, the service on my iPhone died. Upon arriving in Winnipeg I’ve had no service. This was not an issue when I went to Edmonton a few years ago so I never expected to completely lose all cellphone capabilities (thankfully I packed Jill, so I can still get around without getting too lost.) Yep, my iPhone is one expensive alarm clock right now.

Then, I read that Farrah Fawcett passed away. For those that know me well, you will understand when I say “sure, she was pretty but she was no Dorothy Hamill.” No one else’s death could possibly outrank this.

And then I read that Michael Jackson died at fifty!

I leave the country for one day and the shit hits the fan.

One Break Turns Out For The Better
When I set up my rental car I chose a “compact” vehicle because that was the cheapest. I normally this and don’t actually wind up getting a compact car because of the rental agency’s inability to keep cars available.

At the Winnipeg airport I was assigned a Suzuki Swift, which is a tiny vehicle. That didn’t bother me, but it was a hatchback with an almost non-existent trunk — which when you are toting around some expensive gear is a necessity. Well, as luck would have it, the hatchback wouldn’t open, Jeebus knows I tried, and when the rental car agent also couldn’t get the hatchback to open I was “upgraded” to a slightly larger car. W00t. Look out Winnipeg, I’m a man with a death wish driving a Mazda 3 through your town having no idea where I am going.

ITP Flickr Pic
Did you know that Canada has its own money?

It’s like playing Monopoly here. I wonder how many Queens and Hockey Players it will cost me to get some sort of cellphone service. I don’t need data services, though that would be nice, but I do need to place and receive calls.

I Did What You’d Expect Me To Do. I Drove The Perimeter Highway
After falling asleep for a good three-hour nap yesterday I decided that I’d drive Winnipeg’s Perimeter Highway in order to see what is out there. The answer? Nothing of interest.

I did see the cleanup of a one-car accident (it had flipped into a ditch), and was a little surprised to see traffic lights on the actual roadway (there were few on-ramps) but little else.

It’s supposed to rain today and tomorrow so I don’t know what impact that will have on my “plans” but I’m sure you’ll read about it Monday.

This Version Of Earl’s Just Doesn’t “Get It”
With my Tour de Winnipeg’s Perimeter (it’s French, just like half of the signage here) I decided to get some grub. As I drove to the hotel I noticed a familiar sign for Earl’s which was right across the street from Winnipeg’s Union Station train station (Where am I? Denver?).

Based on Earl’s server-hiring policy I’d best describe Earl’s I’d as a “upscale Hooters.” And what do I get? A dude. This dude seemed nice enough — if I were into dudes, was not a very good waiter, and got a better tip than he deserved because I didn’t have any small denominations of Canada’s funny money.

The food and beverage at Earl’s was decent enough. I had a beef sandwich with au jus (see, I did that French thing again) and a Alexander Keith’s Red Amber Ale, which I just found out is a “regional brand” of Labatt’s Brewing. Both were rather tasty, I just wish they had been server to my by a pretty young lady in a basic black dress.

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – frustrated
Current Music – listening to this week’s “Cranky Geeks” podcast
Website Of The Day – When in Canada eat like Canadians…. eat some Tim Horton’s donuts. (yeah I know, Tim Horton’s also has locations in the US)
Mode Of Transportation To Work – n/a
Exercise (b)Log – nothing

Monthly
Foot Mileage – 4 miles, Wheel Mileage – 0 miles
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) – 25 (25)
Vegetarian Days – 0, Carnivorous Days – 25
Marta Rides – 0

June Goals
- lose four pounds… plain and simple (not going to happen)

2009 Goals
- Reduce my weight to 190 pounds (today’s weight was 199.5 pounds)
- Completely read the book 1001 Paintings You Must See Before You Die
- Earn at least $150 through photography sales in order to cover the cost for the renewal of the Jalapeño Beach SmugMug account I opened the other day.
- Save $500 for the sole purpose of donating to charitable organizations of my choice
- Attend at least one professional photography workshop

The Unmeasurable
- Continue backing up all data, including the off-site storage
- Become a proficient programmer in Objective-C (iPhone development) and Ruby on Rails (Black Sheep web page concept)
- Do not create a solution for something which is not a problem

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

Okay, I’m really off to Winnipeg, but I’m hoping that the interrupted eating schedule that I’ll encounter in conjunction with the amount of walking that I will be doing will help me shed a pound or two.

Look Who Has A Three-Hour Layover…
I know that I didn’t plan to have three hours at Chicago’s O’Hare airport, but United Airlines seemed determine to keep me in their hub as long as they could so my flight this morning left at 6:45am EDT instead of at 7:30am EDT as I had initially selected.

Luckily for me I sprung to life as my alarm sounded at 4:00am as I needed virtually every minute this morning. At first there was the typical last-minute arrangements of clothing gathering and packing. Then, I was convinced that I failed to turn off a ceiling fan that I seldomly use so minutes into my drive to the airport I turned around to satisfy the nagging feeling the uncertainty provided (OCD much?). Then, inexplicably I missed the turnoff for the airport and wasted minutes trying to turn around and figure out how to get to the park-and-ride lot that I normally patronize. And finally, I was the first one onto the park-and-ride bus, but even with five busses queued awaiting passengers we managed to circle the lot looking for more passengers. One such passenger was a lovely, and married, young lady who I noticed was toting a fairly decent tripod. I struck up a short and knowingly useless conversation with the award-winning conversation started “What do you shoot?” (I’m such a smoooth operator.) It turned out that she was headed to New York for a day-trip, and seemed mildly impressed when I explained the trip on which I was embarking.

I Really Should Learn To Learn How To Use My iPhone As A Modem
I know that AT&T has yet to bless iPhone tethering, but WiFi at O’Hare costs $7 for twenty-four hours of access, although I’m considering signing up for their $10 per month option. [update: I just bit on the $10/month option. Hell, I can always cancel later.]

Seriously O’Hare?
For those who knock Atlanta’s Hartsfield Airport need only attempt to make a connection at O’Hare to see how easy it is to get around Hartsfield. Even if your gate is the furthest one away, as mine always seem to by, it’s easy to understand how to get from one gate to another. The trek that I just took led me down a long gate to a tunnel to a walking-sidewalk, up an escalator to another long corridor and around a curve which led me to my concourse which is shared by two lettered gates. By the time I found my gate I felt like I had walked from O’Hare to Chicago’s other airport, Midway. And to make matters worse, it’s uncomfortably warm in here.

ITP Flickr Pic
Last non-vacation shot for the week…

I have my camera with me right now but I’m always worried about shooting in airports.

Dear USPS, Would It Kill You To Do Your Job?
For the second trip in a row it appears as if the US Postal Service is making me nervous. Any time I take a trip longer than two days I put a hold on my mail so that I don’t inform everyone of my absence. I have also been known to start the “hold” a day earlier than necessary to make sure that the Postal Service has gotten my request. Yesterday there was mail in my mailbox… Dangen!. I’m sure that the Postal Service has made a mistake that they’ll certainly correct today. Right? Oh well, I suppose that there’s nothing I can do about this now so I should just stop fretting about it.

The Fruit Of My Labor Was Quite Tasty
Last night I ate the lone jalapeño that my plant has produced. Just the jalapeño? Yeah, I cut it apart and ate it to get a feel for its heat (which was medium) before I headed out to the Midway Pub for dinner. The initial plan I had concocted consisted of make a salsa of the jalapeño, tomato, and cherry hot pepper, which were on my plants but the latter two were just not far enough along for consumption. Oh well, if the plants aren’t completely dead when I return perhaps the vegetables left behind can provide seeds.

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – good, hoping to settle down and start relaxing soon
Current Music – listening to a new audiobook “Outliers” that O downloaded from Audible
Website Of The Day – Boingo Wireless because without them you would not be reading this blog entry right now.
Mode Of Transportation To Work Vacation -my car
Exercise (b)Log – nothing

Monthly
Foot Mileage – 4 miles, Wheel Mileage – 0 miles
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) – 25 (25) [and holding until I return from vacation]
Vegetarian Days – 0, Carnivorous Days – 23
Marta Rides – 0

June Goals
- lose four pounds… plain and simple (not going to happen)

2009 Goals
- Reduce my weight to 190 pounds (today’s weight was 199.5 pounds)
- Completely read the book 1001 Paintings You Must See Before You Die
- Earn at least $150 through photography sales in order to cover the cost for the renewal of the Jalapeño Beach SmugMug account I opened the other day.
- Save $500 for the sole purpose of donating to charitable organizations of my choice
- Attend at least one professional photography workshop

The Unmeasurable
- Continue backing up all data, including the off-site storage
- Become a proficient programmer in Objective-C (iPhone development) and Ruby on Rails (Black Sheep web page concept)
- Do not create a solution for something which is not a problem

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

Today is my last day for this week and next week as well. Somehow my Winnipeg vacation is almost upon me (and thanks to United Airlines I’ll be up at the buttcrack of morning in order to make my flight.)

As luck would have it my sole tomato and first cherry hot pepper are probably two days away from being perfect as well… I guess that it’s true, timing really is everything.

Even though it’s far from Mecca, I’ll be using this getaway to Winnipeg, and the days spent alone, to answer a lot of questions about my life. I do know one question’s answer already however….
< begin ode to Ed McMahon and Johnny Carson >

Carnack places sealed envelope to his forehead.
Carnack: Hmmm, the answer is “No.”
McMahon: The answer is “No.”
Carnack: That’s what I said, “No.”
Carnack tears open envelope and blows into it in order to extract the question.
Carnack: “Will Winnipeg be a candidate to which Paulie will consider moving?”

< end ode to Ed McMahon and Johnny Carson >
I know my loathing for snow and bitterly cold weather and I know that Canada gets its fair share of each.

I don’t think I’ve mentioned it, but I’ve also decided to pass on the activity that convinced me to go this time of year — the Canada Nash Hash. In the end I decided that I really didn’t want to spend three days camping with hashers and that I’d rather make this trip entirely about relaxation and photography. Also, starting tomorrow this will be the only space updated for a while. I have no plans on announcing my trip via Twitter or Facebook because I don’t need to broadcast this information any farther nor do I feel the need to play the “Hey, look at me! Look where I’m going!” game that has become all the rage on social networks.

Greatest. Plan. Evah!
(until I ordered and ate too much food.)

The last time I stopped for a Vietnamese sandwich at Lee’s Bakery on my way home from work I noticed that there was a laundromat next door. A plan emerged!

“The next laundry night I should combine my love of Lee’s Bakery sandwiches with the need to do wash.” I thought. Last night I executed that plan and things couldn’t have been much better.

The laundromat (or “lavandería” as some of the Buford Highway residents may call it) was large, clean, and cheaper than the other two laundromats that I’ve been frequenting since my plumbing fiasco arose. Sure, I wasn’t going to see the Midtown indie-hotties that I’d been seeing at the laundromat across the road from Manuel’s Tavern. Sure, I wasn’t going to see the Emory underage-hotties that I’d been seeing at the laundromat in Toco Hill Shopping Center. But this time I had something better, a cheap, delicious, and quick dinner option.

I loaded my dirty duds into three washing machines that, unlike the machines at the other laundromats, told me that I had exactly twenty-three minutes until they were done. And then I exited one door, entered the next door, and ordered a pair of crazy cheap sandwiches (which were slightly more expensive than they were in the past).

Two sandwiches consumed, I headed back into the laundromat to find the first machine I started already done and the two others close to completion. When the three machines completed I packed up my wet clothes and headed home, belly full of Vietnamese sandwiches.

Fantastico!

ITP Flickr Pic
Back to Old Car City…

This is a top-down view of an old hood ornament. I found it amusing that many ornamental features on cars were shaped like planes. I guess flying was the “big thing” then and that it made the car appear as is if it was so fast that it could fly.

How Much Does It Cost To Use One CCF Of Water In The City Of Atlanta?
The answer is $18.09, unless of course you want to pay online using a credit card because there is now a “processing charge” of $4.50. What a bunch of bullshit.

Because of my inability to wash my clothes or do any real cooking at the house, my water bill is “low” and breaks out like this

• Water Base Charge – $4.63
• Water Usage Charges – $1.81
• Homeland Security Surcharge – $0.15 (this still chafes me!)
• Sewer Base Charge – $4.63
• Sewer Usage Charges – $6.87

This month I’ll begrudgingly write and mail a physical check to make my payment instead of paying online with a credit card as I’ve done for years. Assuming that there is no “processing fee” for paying using a bank draft / electronic check, I’ll start paying using that method starting in July.

Oh yeah, also starting July 1st water and sewer rates will increase by 12.5% in order to help pay for nearly one hundred years of the City of Atlanta’s sewer mismanagement.

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – nervous, and realizing that I have so much shit to do tonight because there will be absolutely no free time tomorrow.
Current Music – nothing because I’m downloading new podcasts
Website Of The Day – Which is “better” A&W root beer or Dad’s root beer? Drake’s Devil Dogs or Little Debbie Devil Cremes? Go to Second Rate Snacks and vote because it’s up to you to decide.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – nothing

Monthly
Foot Mileage – 4 miles, Wheel Mileage – 0 miles
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) – 24 (24)
Vegetarian Days – 0, Carnivorous Days – 23
Marta Rides – 0

June Goals
- lose four pounds… plain and simple (not going to happen)

2009 Goals
- Reduce my weight to 190 pounds (today’s weight was 199.5 pounds)
- Completely read the book 1001 Paintings You Must See Before You Die
- Earn at least $150 through photography sales in order to cover the cost for the renewal of the Jalapeño Beach SmugMug account I opened the other day.
- Save $500 for the sole purpose of donating to charitable organizations of my choice
- Attend at least one professional photography workshop

The Unmeasurable
- Continue backing up all data, including the off-site storage
- Become a proficient programmer in Objective-C (iPhone development) and Ruby on Rails (Black Sheep web page concept)
- Do not create a solution for something which is not a problem

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

There’s a scene in my favorite movie, Glengarry Glen Ross, in which Alec Baldwin discloses the “ABC’s” of sales.

“A.B.C”
“Always”
“Be”
“Closing”

I’ve revised this sentiment for photography. In photography I believe that it should be Alawys. Be. Ready.

And before we get too far, I’ll ask for your forgiveness because today’s blog is entirely about photography. If this doesn’t interest you, skip to the comments and start your own thread for the day. I’ll be working a career fair all day, so I’ll be powerless to retaliate.

Take A Picture, It’d Last Longer
It’s rare that I pre-visualize photographs. Well, I guess I know the look that I’m trying to achieve with each photo, but rarely do I see a scene and automatically know how I’d use it in a photograph; which is what makes this story poignant.

On my commute in to work I drive along Highland Avenue and get stopped by the four-way stop at Elizabeth Street. Across from Fritti / Soto Soto stands a building which I believe is mostly apartment space. In the Winter months when the mornings were dark I’d stop and look at this building. The entry way to this building had a name above it, a name which current escapes me but had a 1940’s sense about it, and a single light which illuminated it.

I saw it. That shot. One person. Leaning against the entry way. Trench coat. Fedora. Lighting a cigarette. Lit with small strobes to strategically highlight his face.

And then it was gone. The building still exists, but the entry way has been altered. On yesterday’s commute I noticed that the cool looking signage with the name is gone. The whole “feel” of the scene has been destroyed. Dangen!

ITP Flickr Pic
I’m short on time today so I’ll copy the story I put up on Flickr below…

Life is funny. Life is frustrating. And for some of God’s creatures Life comes to a tragic end.

Yesterday I was looking at my vegetable garden and saw this group of red insects hanging out on a leaf (look closely and you’ll see that one is larger than the rest). Excitedly, I bounded back into the house for my camera. As I fumbled about failing mightily with my shots, changing lenses, and repositioning my camera in an attempt to get a shot in perfect focus, something amazing happened — this spider performed a sneak attack on the group.

WOW!!!

I continued to shoot and frustratingly I was not able to get anything to rival that found in National Geographic (and those of you who follow me on Twitter or are one of my friends on Facebook now understand my "a good photographer never blames his equipment" statement). However, if you look at the photo on the right you can kind of make out the one insect who lost to the spider, and the others who are scampering away as fast as their six legs can move them.

Take A Picture, It’d Last Longer — Part 2
If you are a photography enthusiast like me then you know that since 9/11 and the “threat of terrorism” there has been a swelling war against photographers. I’ve been told not to shoot in Marta stations, I’ve read stories of people being harassed shooting public utilities and train yards, and have read many a conflict between police and photographers trying to shoot on the streets of England. It’s completely fucked up and out of hand.

What brought this to mind again was the news of the recent fire at the Georgia Theatre in Athens. I had heard that the fire was rather large and envisioned that the structure was completely engulfed in flames and gone forever (which having seen a few shots of the exterior since the fire does not appear to be the case). I started to think about all of the buildings we consider landmarks in our lives, even though the Georgia Theatre is not one for me, and how sad it is that we don’t have photos of all of them and how great it is that we have photos of some.

By nature we are a society driven by change, what will become of the world if we are not allowed to document our history through photography? Not all photographers are terrorists. Can we please return to using our common sense and back off? It’s just photography dammit!

And while we’re at it, I’d like to not have to take my shoes off, be able to carry liquids greater than three ounces, and not have to place all of my toiletries into a plastic bag in order to board an airplane.

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – okay I guess
Current Music – silence
Website Of The Day – While I believe that he can rather polarizing Thomas Hawke takes many great photos and “fights the good fight” for photographers’ rights.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – nothing

Monthly
Foot Mileage – 4 miles, Wheel Mileage – 0 miles
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) – 23 (23)
Vegetarian Days – 0, Carnivorous Days – 22
Marta Rides – 0

June Goals
- lose four pounds… plain and simple (not going to happen)

2009 Goals
- Reduce my weight to 190 pounds (today’s weight was 199.5 pounds)
- Completely read the book 1001 Paintings You Must See Before You Die
- Earn at least $150 through photography sales in order to cover the cost for the renewal of the Jalapeño Beach SmugMug account I opened the other day.
- Save $500 for the sole purpose of donating to charitable organizations of my choice
- Attend at least one professional photography workshop

The Unmeasurable
- Continue backing up all data, including the off-site storage
- Become a proficient programmer in Objective-C (iPhone development) and Ruby on Rails (Black Sheep web page concept)
- Do not create a solution for something which is not a problem

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

The weekend almost went as planned. On Friday evening I made it to Smith’s Olde Bar for the Trampled By Turtles show, but I arrived a little before the doors opened and in the time sitting there waiting for them to open I got depressed and decided to head home. I’m sure that they put on a great show, but because of my mindset I doubt that I would have gotten my money’s worth.

I’m A Cynic, I’m A Convert
When Six Feet Under moved to its new location I was very skeptical of Tin Lizzy Cantina, the Mexican restaurant which took its place. East Atlanta has three Mexican restaurants, so why should I drive to Cabbagetown to get Mexican, and if I’m going to drive there, why not eat at Mi Barrio?

I now have reasons. I met up with my friends David and Victor at Tin Lizzy for drinks and dinner prior to heading to Smith’s as mentioned above. The food and drink were delicious; along with a mass of chips and different dips I ate two tacos — a greek, and a southwestern chicken.

While I didn’t need another Mexican option I’m glad I have one.

Autos, And Ivy, And Snakes, Oh My!
Two out of three ain’t bad in this instance as well. A handful of us met up and drove to Old Car City in White, GA for a morning of shooting old cars. We were warned of snakes in the grass but thankfully none were seen. We identified plenty of poison ivy and thankfully none appears to have gotten to me yet.

ITP Flickr Pic
Strolling around the Old Car City was a great lesson in American Industrial Design from the past seventy years.

This is a hood ornament from a Cadillac which sat in the yard. I’m sure these ornate hood ornaments killed gas mileage, but damn they are cool.

Well, That’s One Way To Lose Weight
I purchased a small bottle of milk this morning. I really should learn to look at expiration date before opening it and taking a swig. YUCK! It turns out that the bottle I selected had a expiration date of June 13th!!!! It should go without saying that I didn’t consume any more, thus saving me about 250 Calories.

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – tired and trying to get my head around all that I have to do this week
Current Music – listening to the “Sound Of Young America” podcast
Website Of The Day – I’m not a girl, but I’m usually hungry so I can still recommend Hungry Girl. One out of two ain’t bad.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – hashing yesterday
Monday Morning Weigh-In – 202 pounds (not good, not good at all)

Monthly
Foot Mileage – 4 miles, Wheel Mileage – 0 miles
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) – 22 (22)
Vegetarian Days – 0, Carnivorous Days – 22 (bacon eaten this morning)
Marta Rides – 0

June Goals
- lose four pounds… plain and simple (not going to happen)

2009 Goals
- Reduce my weight to 190 pounds (today’s weight was 199.5 pounds)
- Completely read the book 1001 Paintings You Must See Before You Die
- Earn at least $150 through photography sales in order to cover the cost for the renewal of the Jalapeño Beach SmugMug account I opened the other day.
- Save $500 for the sole purpose of donating to charitable organizations of my choice
- Attend at least one professional photography workshop

The Unmeasurable
- Continue backing up all data, including the off-site storage
- Become a proficient programmer in Objective-C (iPhone development) and Ruby on Rails (Black Sheep web page concept)
- Do not create a solution for something which is not a problem

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]