Inside The Perimeter

Oh that’s right, I didn’t leave The EARL until 1:30am. So why not take a Friday off from work? Great Idea! So I have. Today’s (late morning) post is coming to you from the not-so-palacial estate of mine in the EATL.

Call My Financial Advisor, It’s Time To Change Strategy
If the market research I performed last night is any indication of the future, it’s time to either sink my money into RJ Reynolds, or emphysema clinics. I swear the crowd at The EARL smoked more than any collection of people I have ever been around. Is “lucero” spanish for “light up”?

No matter which way I decide to go, this investment will match well with the tattoo removal parlor industry that I have been investigating.

And Under Which Rock Have I Been Living?
Apparently Lucero has released five cds in the past five years, and I have just found out about them. Hmmm, my bad. From the head bobbing, fist pumping, beer raising, and singing along of the majority of the crowd, I clearly have been out of this loop.

Lucero put on a great show. Starting it off by getting their current single “Sixteen” out of the way with the first song they launched into testosterone-induced rock-n-roll. The hard rocking energy stopped only to thank the crowd and fix some technical difficulties.

Luckily for me there was no happy couple engaging in groping at this concert. Instead I got myself fairly close to the stage (admittedly not hard to do at The EARL) and amused myself by watching this skinny little kid go nuts with every song. I swear at one point I thought he was single-handidly trying to start a mosh pit. Good times, good times.

The opening bands The Honorary Title and Cory Branan were also entertaining.

I probably could have enjoyed The Honorary Title more if I could have stopped thinking about how much the lead singer reminded me of Tobey Maguire with “sleeves”.

I liked Cory Branan’s music as much I can like a “one man with an acoustic guitar” show. To his credit he played the shit out of that thing on his final song and did not remind me of any Hollywood movie star.

Wanna PBR?
The oddest thing to occur to me last night was when out of nowhere a PBR Tall Boy was waived in front of my face. When I turned to see why this was happening the girl holding it said “Want a beer?” I declined. (before you jump to conclusions, read on)

My first thought was that she mistook me for one of the guys she was with. Then I realized that there was no way this could happen, since none of them was wearing a white Polo crew-neck shirt.

Then I thought is she was trying to talk to me. I quickly realized that she was probably half my age and only interested in getting rid of the beer in her hand.

Don’t get me wrong, I am far from paranoid about taking free drink offers. However, an open beer (especially not knowing how long it has been open) from a person I have never seen before in my life is a recipe for disaster.

Besides, at The EARL I am definetly more of a High Life man.

Need A (Legal) CD Fix?
I received an email from Decatur CD alerting me of a sale that they are having this weekend.

25% off all used CDs $8 and up
Lots and lots of new bargain bin CDs, priced between $1 and $6

If you can’t figure out how much an $8 cd costs when 25% percent is taken off, you could always use the Google tip I taught you yesterday.

I’ve got to hand it to Warren over at Decatur CD because I think he understands how to put things in perspective. There is a great joke/jab also embedded in the email

We’re running out of room! We’ve got CDs crammed in so tightly that we’re contemplating stacking CD racks up to the ceiling. Then you could just come and point to the CD you want, and we would get it for you… but no. That would just be… criminal.)

I’ll probably be there. I’ll be the one with the Lucero cd in hand. Who knows, I might finally break down and by that Stephen Malmus cd I have been yapping about for weeks.

Happy Father’s Day
I’m not a father, at least not that I know of! *insert stupid macho laugh here*. Unfortunately, my father has also passed away, so I’ll be spending a quiet Sunday amongst friends, chilling.

If your dad/pops/pa/old man is still with us, don’t forget to wish him a Happy Father’s Day this Sunday.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - recovering second-hand smoke-aholic
Current Music - Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 26 playing The Faint — “Desperate Guys”
Website Of The Day - Want to see what’s playing on Sirius Satellite Radio? Go to It’s On Sirius. They also have a really good database lookup page here.

Off to mow my lawn….

Cheers!
Paulie [eatl/ga]

Downtown

As the lyrics go

When you’re alone
And life is making you lonely,
You can always go downtown
When you’ve got worries,
All the noise and the hurry
Seems to help, I know, downtown

(entire “Downtown” lyrics here)

This Is So Scooterrific!
Yesterday my friend Maigh sent me an email with a link to this survey about scooter rental in downtown Atlanta.

My first thought about this was “I remember doing this on my trip to Key West. Man, that was cool.” Then I remembered that the traffic downtown is so much different from that of Key West, and that someone is bound to get killed on a scooter downtown. Bad, bad idea.

Whilst looking for the scooter link, I stumbled upon these gems…

I’ve Finally Found A Reason To Visit The World Of Coke

This summer the World of Coca-Cola, located in Downtown Atlanta, will offer a taste of Waffle House.

That’s right, fifty years of Waffle House is being celebrated at the WOC. Who would have thunk it?

Go here to see the entire story.

It’s Official: Downtown Atlanta Loves Beach Volleyball!

As the presenting sponsor, Starbucks offered spectators and athletes great samples of their newest beverage, the Mint Mocha Chip Frappuccino Blended Coffee! The Chill Patrol was on hand all weekend with these summer beverages, and Starbucks also provided another beach must-have – bright, yellow beach chairs!

“The Chill Patrol”, PRICELESS! MUHAHA!

Go here to see the entire story.

I wish I had known about this, it might have been a lot of fun. Anyone out there go?

Okay, I Was Going To Pass On This One Since It Had Been Played
On The Bricks, who? We don’t need no stinking On The Bricks! Say it with me, “Downtown Atlanta, Are You Ready To ROOOOOCK?”

That’s right, 99x is bringing free concerts back to downtown — this time at the Underground. They only have a skeleton schedule right now, but Weezer is confirmed, so you know that I will be in attendance for at least one of these shows.

You know the drill… Story here.

That Google Is Some Crazy Shit!
Is it wrong that I use Google as a simple calculator? Don’t believe me? Go to Google (use that link if you wish) and type into the form the following

4.99 * 1.08

You’ll see it return the value of 5.3892 which when rounded up to 5.39 is what you would pay for a $4.99 beer (including sales tax) at the now-defunct Kroger in downtown Atlanta. What, you didn’t hear about this? Maybe you should have read this story…

And A Few Miles East
I will be at The EARL tonight to see Lucero. As is typical with shows at The EARL I am sure that it will go to the wee hours of the morning, so I’ll give you an update sometime in the later morning hours tomorrow.

Happy Anniversary (To My) Jackmobile!
I’ve somehow misplaced the paperwork and I cannot remember the exact day I purchased the Jackmobile (see what old age and alcohol does to you kids) so I’ll decree June 16th the anniversary date for JM and me!

With the exception of the six days she was in the hands of criminals (and the subsiquent fifty-plus days being repaired) JM and I have been together for three years. I think that three years is still an 87 Octane anniversary, so last night I took JM out and filled her with a full tank of petrol.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - scratched and tired
Current Music - Coverville Podcast #99. (I’m digging this Podcast)
Website Of The Day - Atlanta’s Downtown News. This is gold for the ITP crowd!

Cheers!
Paulie [eatl/ga]

Do you know The Who song “The Real Me”? I can’t seem to get it out of my head. Strange, it’s been resident in my head for the last thirty-five years and today it’s decided to be a star.

Have I mentioned recently that my friends are awesome? I really enjoy spending time with them. You kids rock!

‘Incomprehensible Mexican’ Is Now ‘Incomprehensible Japican’
One of my favorite lunchtime establishments has turned the culinary world on its ear. Yesterday my co-workers showed me the new menu from La Sabrosa which now features Japanese dishes in addition to its kick-ass authentic Mexican food. This is not as strange as it initially sounds since the chef spent three years in Japan.

Since they don’t seem to have a website, I’ll give them some props by telling to that they are located in Suntan Plaza on Buford Highway just south of North Druid Hills Road.

Go there! You won’t be sorry. But be forewarned, English is far from their first language — hence the moniker.

What’s That I See?
I like the fact that I can walk to La Sabrosa from my office. On my stroll over there yesterday I saw two motorcycle police sitting on our street targeting their radar at cars travelling on Buford Highway. I assume that this activity is part of the Georgia Highway Patrol’s “100 Days of Summer H.E.A.T.” campaign.

You have been warned!

What’s That I Hear?
While in La Sabrosa I once again heard that radio commercial where they talk about people living OTP (Outside The Perimeter) and ITP (Inside The Perimeter). I’ve got to find a way to get an audio clip of that and link it to this website.

Not Necessarily Must See TV
I don’t like disappoinment. However, two of the shows that I thought would be compelling are turning out to be disappointments.

Hell’s Kitchen, Fox’s RealiTV show about contestants who are being verbally assaulted by Chef Gordon Ramsey seems so contrived. I’ve seen many tv series about Gordon Ramsey and up until this one I had a modicum of respect for the man eventhough he has been constantly portrayed as an asshole. This series has removed whatever respect I may have had. To expect people, some of which have never worked in a restaurant, to run a restaurant’s kitchen and constantly berate them when they fail is asinine.

The Next Food Network Star, Food Network’s RealiTV show in which they seek the next person to host a Food Network show is boooooring. If I can’t stand the contestants as the vie to get their own show, how can I possibly continue to watch them when they have their own show?

And Here Are Some That I Hope Will Be Worthy Of Viewership
Unfortunately, I didn’t get a chance to catch up on Intervention, A&E’s RealitTV documentary-style series, last night. As you can see on A&E’s site,

“Intervention profiles people who are losing the battle with their addictions, and whose friends and families feel the only remaining option is to hold an intervention.”

The first episode that I saw was rather compelling; I hope that the rest live up. Although I’m not so sure that watching Intervention and reading “A Million Little Pieces” (yes, I’m still reading it) at the same time is such a good idea.

I’m still waiting the arrival of Morgan Sperlock’s (star of “Super Size Me”) new series 30 Days on FX. My wait ends tonight and if all is right in the world my dvr will capture it. The jist of the show is that Morgan will live a specific lifestyle for thirty days to see how it feels, much along the same lines as “Super Size Me”. Hmmm, this might make the straight/gay episode rather strange…

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - boob tubed
Current Music - The PK & J Show Podcast. I’m not sure this will stick.. I doubt it will.
Website Of The Day - Become a Reality TV Star

Cheers!
Paulie [eatl/ga]

Two days of sun? What, the temperature is going to rise to ninety-one? Shit, why must is be either raining or sweltering hot? This kinda sucks…

With All This Heat, I Could Use A Hummer
From the folks who brought you the Happy Ending (stout) last year, Sweetwater Brewery has introduced the Summer Hummer. Seems to me that they got it backwards. If I dig back into my far-and-away memory banks, the ‘happy ending’ occurs after the ’summer hummer’.

Meatwad, You’ve Got Some ‘Splaining To Do!!!
Music Midtown 2005 has come and gone. Those who attended have blogged their experiences. The one thing that caught my eye and made my day yesterday was this picture from Used Film.

While I am definitely no Turner whore, I do love me some Adult Swim content, including the Aqua Teen Hunger Force. Brilliant marketing folks, truly brilliant!

Be Thankful That I’m Not A Surgeon
I took my new trusty camera with me to The Fox for the Camper Van Beethoven / Modest Mouse show. Either I don’t know what the fuck I am doing with it (highly possible) or I have the hand-steadiness of a bartender mixing drinks, because almost every picture looks like it was taken from a speeding car. It looks like I’ve got yet another project on my hands (or in my hands as the case is here).

It’s really too bad since we had great seats (Row K, Orchestra Right). Sorry Stacey, I know I promised not to mention how great the show was, but these seats were sweeet.

Two, Two, Two Shows In One!
At the last two concerts I have been “treated” to two shows for the price of one. No, I’m not talking about two bands, I’m talking about watching/hearing the headlining band while the couple in front of me all but has sex. Look folks, if you are going to grope each other constantly, skip the damn concert and get a fucking room, literally.

The Beatiful People in front of me were a bit of a hoot last night. She, who weighed ninety pounds — most of which was hair, was drunk as a skunk (imho) and all over Mr. Wonderful. During the concert they both sat down and I swore that he was about to get his own summer hummer. Thankfully, I was wrong. Nope, instead they whipped out a joint and started smoking. Yeah, because that’s exactly what this girl needed — to get baked. The fact that she didn’t toss her cookies all over the people in front of her surprised me. Later in the show she disappeared for some time, ten minutes or so, and then Mr. Wonderful’s phone rang. I’ll make the assumption here that it was her and she was either sick or lost, because he left immediately. They managed to return later, but not directly in front of me. Too bad, I felt gypped not to get the entire show.

Oh, the music was entertaining too.

Free At Last, Free At Last
Oh thank God, Michael Jackson is a free man(?)! I must admit that I was only a passing viewer of the whole incident, so I don’t have much to say about it. However, it certainly must have been a stressful trial because when he emerged from the courtroom he was as white as a ghost.

Did Someone Say It’s Tuesday?
Fat Joe has another new release? Hasn’t he already released two or three cds this year? Can this material be as good as the stuff on the other releases? Probably not.

What about the release from Backstreet, ah nevermind, I’m not interested.

Today’s CD Release Of The Day goes out to Foo Fighters and their release of “In Your Honor”. Unfortunately for the Fighters of Foo their cd is not at the head of my purchasing queue, I still have a Stephen Malkmus cd to get.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - who am i? what am i doing here?
Current Music - Adam Curry’s Daily Source Code for 13-Jun-05
Website Of The Day - Go see the rest of Used Film’s photos.

Cheers!
Paulie [eatl/ga]

This Big Orange Thing In The Sky
That’s the sun, right? After getting rained on Friday night at the Braves game and drenched while hashing yesterday, I’m here to say welcome back sunshine. I missed you.

Let me guess, it never rained on Music Midtown, right? Yeah, sure it didn’t.

What Is The Purpose Of The Fire Ant?
Yesterday’s hash had us slogging through the swamps of Snellville, Georgia (where I hear that everyone is someone). One of the last thoughts on my mind when I was in the middle of the swamps was “Look out for fire ants.” Why should I? I was in the middle of a fucking swamp, how were they going to get there? With about ten bothersome ant bites on my hands I wish that thought had crossed my mind.

By the way, if you find youself in the middle of a Georgia swamp, they are most likely to be found on downed trees.

Anyone have a good ant bite remedy?

The Million Millipede March
Over the last week I have seen a parade of bugs (centipede, millipede, somethinpede) along the curb where I park my car at work. I only see this in the morning, however. When I go out to my car to go home there is nary a pede in sight — not even a dead one. What gives?

Shuffle != Random
This much I know. On occasion I drop my iPod into Shuffle mode so that I can have continuous playback. I am really shocked at how non-random the playback is. While I rarely hear the same song (I have 4200+ loaded), I often hear the same artists more than once in a given session.

The programmer in me would love to take a look at their code. Open Source, Apple? Please?

Can You Yahoo?
I am starting to feel the frustrations with Yahoo’s email that I felt with Hotmail. I realize that I pay absolutely nothing for their services, but not being able to get to my email is (assumably) a lot like not being able to score crack when a fix is needed.

I dare say that I’d pay Yahoo an annual fee for guaranteed service. I probably wouldn’t pay that much, however.

Happy Birthday!
My friend Mike has a birthday today. I have no clue how old Mike is, but I do know that he is old enough to appreciate the music stylings of Camper Van Beethoven. Mike, if you read this don’t forget to ask for your free birthday beer before we get to see CVB and Modest Mouse.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - bitten and bothered it
Current Music - iPod on Shuffle
Website Of The Day - USA Today article which answers the question “Do Snakes Have Legs?”

Cheers!
Paulie [eatl/ga]

Sit down children and let me impart some knowledge

Always Read The Labels, Part 1
When I reached in to my Drawer O’ Drugs at work yesterday I never imagined that I would have allergy medication that wasn’t of the non-drowsy variety. A short while after ingesting the medication I started feeling very sleepy. I pulled out the box and read these words

“marked drowsiness may occur”

Can I tell you how hard it is to stay awake through meetings when you make this mistake?

Always Read The Labels, Part 2
With drug-induced drowsiness and hungry from skipping breakfast I rallied up the energy to go down to the snack machine in the basement of our building. I don’t hit the snack machine often, it’s far too dangerous to my already-increasing waistline. As I gazed through the glass panel the words “Mini Pound Cake” struck me. Sold! As I stepped back into the elevator and started gnawing the package open, I thought “Man, this is going to be delicious.” The first bite…. dry. Damn It! I turned the package around and noticed that the “Sell By Date” was May 31st; yesterday was June 9th. Damn You Unknown Vending Company!

Meet The Hashers Ignore The Calendar
An impromptu call to play trivia at Raging Burrito in Decatur occurred last night. A quorum of Meet The Hashers met up and managed to take first place! In fact, teams of hashers took the first two places as team “R-U” took second place. Our antics may put our common sense in question, but there is no doubt that we possess a vast quantity of useless knowledge.

I Hear That There Is A Big Music Festival Going On This Weekend
That’s right, Bonnaroo Festival occurs this weekend up in Tennessee. Oh sure, there are two different music festivals occurring here in Atlanta as well, but I figured you already knew about them.

With all my concert-going love it may come as quite a surprise that I won’t be attending any of the festivals this weekend. The days of my tolerance for large-crowd events have come and gone. I realize that I will be missing a lot of good shows, but that is a price that I am willing to pay.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - looking forward to the weekend
Current Music - Adam Curry’s Daily Source Code for 9-June-05
Website Of The Day - Like Music Midtown needs my endorsement…

Cheers!
Paulie [eatl/ga]

Geeks W/Blogs v. Geeks W/Cameras
A lazy night of drinking at the Highlander was what I experienced at the monthly meetup of the Atlanta People With Blogs Who Get Together To Drink. This month’s twist was that we were being matched up with the Atlanta Flickr Group. It was easy to tell us apart. There were those who had cameras that could be placed into pockets, and those who had cameras that couldn’t. Those who had no camera were clearly losers.

Could I Be Any More Allergic To Something Right Now?
My nose is miserable! While nothing seems to be “blooming” right now, I am incredibly disturbed at the amount of sniffling I am doing. I guess it could be that my office is moving in about a month, so everyone is kicking up the dust that has accumulated since we moved in six years ago. I haven’t wiped my nose this much since Forrest Gump was introduced to his son.

If You Are Considering A Career In Chair Bocce
Here is where you don’t want to be.

Yes, that is a floppy hat on my head.
Yes, that is a beer in my hand.
Yes, that spare tire around my midsection is mine, all mine.

What, you’ve not heard of chair bocce? Well, all you need is a bocce ball set, some number of drunks with camping chairs, and a large area filled with obstacles (such as tents). The object of this nonsense is to follow the target ball by throwing from you chair, try to get in the way of everyone, while always keeping in mind to play toward the beer source when mugs run low.

I wish there was a set of overhead time-lapse pictures that chronicled the hours of playing around camp Memorial Day weekend.

Did I mention that beer was involved?

They Put The “L” In Flinch
Last night I dropped by Full Moon Records in Candler Park. You see where this is headed, don’t you?

Well, I was good, at least to a point. I didn’t snatch up the REM cd “Green” that I need to replace the one that was in the car when stolen last year. I didn’t buy any of the early Beastie Boys cds such as “Paul’s Boutique” that my collection lacks. No, instead I rummaged through “Ye Olde Bargain Bin” looking for overlooked gems.

There is a local band called The Finch who, if memory serves me right, used to be called Atticus Finch. I was pleased when I found one of their cds in the bargain bin; the only problem was that I didn’t. I don’t know if it was my nearly forty-year old eyes misreading the cd jacket, the fact that I was mesmerized by the beautiful woman pictured on the cd, or both, but I failed to notice that the cd I purchased was by a band called The Flinch and not The Finch.

In the infamous words of Gilda Radner’s character Emily Litella “Oh, well that’s very different. Nevermind.”

Three dollars, poorly spent.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - sniffling Dixie
Current Music - The Flinch’s CD “Naranga” (don’t bother)
Website Of The Day - My kind of eye chart — courtesy of Men’s Health magazine. (CAUTION: Not necessarily Work Safe)

Cheers!
Paulie [eatl/ga]

I am back in the office, yippee!

Much like George Costanza I’ve always wanted to pretend to be an architect. In fact, I would have tried to become one if I knew that I wouldn’t have smashed all of my models to bits in a midnight fit of rage. Computer software, while frustrating as well, was much easier to repair after fucking it up.

Happy (Would Have Been) Birthday Mr. Wright
From Google’s homage to Frank Lloyd Wright I have realized that today would have been Mr. Wright’s 138th birthday. I have been a lover of FLW’s architecture for a long time. When living in Huntsville, Alabama I visited (although I actually never went inside since it was being lived in) one of his Usonian-designed houses in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. The Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation has done a good job of keeping his legacy alive.

Not The Only Way I Like To Get High
Did you know that Atlanta is home to the 23rd tallest building in the world? This is according to the Official World’s 200 Tallest High-Rise Buildings. Yep, coming in at 1,017 feet tall the building that I will always call the Nations Bank Building (now called the Bank Of America Plaza) is takes the honor.

It’s funny that I have a fascination with skyscrapers since I also have a great fear of heights.

East Atlanta Needs A Waffle House!
Last weekend I needed to feed a Waffle House craving. When a Waffle House craving hits, only a Waffle House breakfast will satisfy.

Did you know that the closest Waffle House to my house in East Atlanta is the one on Cheshire Bridge near I85? (if I am wrong about this, please let me know). That’s a fucking trip-and-a-half for a Waffle House fix!

A few years ago I went to Waffle House’s website to look into franchising one at I20 and Moreland Avenue (I could walk to work!). However, it requires quite a layout of cash, I figured we’d get robbed a million times, and it looks quite hard to open a new Waffle House in the Atlanta area. Bummer!

Six Feet Under, Not The Television Show
The last two times I ate at Six Feet Under in Grant Park I was accompanied by women in whom I’ve had much interest — who soon after decided I was not “It”. So, last night’s trip was all about me, my craving for their catfish tacos, and a hope that I could try out the panorama mode on my new camera by taking a picture of Oakland Cemetery from their upstairs deck.

Two out of three ain’t bad. Due to the weather I had to sit on the bottom floor and couldn’t get a decent shot of the cemetery. Oh well, it’s a good excuse to return at a later date. The catfish tacos were awesome, but the Brooklyn Brown beer was yellow — go figure.

Sir Spam-A-Lot
One of the benefits of moving email addresses every once in awhile is that the spammers lag behind. Being in “the computer industry” I am very skeptical of email from sources that I don’t trust implicitly.

Each of the last two days I have received an email from “info@yahoo.com” sent to one of my Yahoo accounts and delivered into my “Bulk Mail” folder. The first email was entitled “IMPORTANT NOTIFICATION” and the second was entitled “Account Alert”, both if which increase my skepitism.

Anyone else getting these and know if they are safe? I refuse to open them. I still doubt they are.

Another Tuesday Missed…
Argh, I like being timely so I wish that I had time to pop this out yesterday. My CD Pick Of The Week is going to The White Stripes and their release of “Get Behind Me Satan.”

This was a bit of a tough call since Coldplay and Black Eyed Peas both released cds yesterday.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - ass planted firmly in office chair
Current Music - Adam Curry’s Daily Source Code for 07-Jun-05
Website Of The Day - Tall buildings, very tall buildings. The Skyscraper Page.

Cheers!
Paulie [eatl/ga]