Inside The Perimeter

Ok, first off I was disappointed to find out that the Pie Wagon is only open for lunch. How in the world does it stay in business? Not deterred, I managed to find the Pancake Pantry, reportedly a long-time favorite of the Vanderbilt crowd. It was very good, which explained the hard time finding a parking space and the five minute wait for a table on a Thursday morning.

Today’s A Mental Health Day
And I am popping my Apple’s cherry by blogging from Joe’s coffee shop in East Atlanta. Business is a bit on the slow side right now, but I’m enjoying my blueberry muffin and this mondo cup of coffee.

With it being so slow I get to hear all of the surly advice being supplied by Carmen.

Today’s goals are to have fun, exercise, buy groceries, and perhaps buy my first monthly Marta card.

I was scheduled to go to a big hashing camping weekend called NC/SC, but the hectic nature of this week and my desire not to drink myself silly changed my mind. Besides, I’d have to cut the camping short to return for Sunday’s Falcons’ game anyway.

Ooh, the cutest woman I have ever seen in East Atlanta just entered and bought a coffee.

First It’s Children, Now It’s Matrimony
Hmmm, that came out all wrong. I came back to Atlanta to find out that two of my coupled friends have gotten engaged. For what it’s worth I approve of both of these. I know that at least one of the couples has read this space in the past, so if you crazy kids are reading this today I have one suggestion– open bar.

A Very Brady Trainwreck
Has anyone else been watching My Fair Brady? This show is an absolute trainwreck. It’s Yet Another Reality Show, this one follows the lives of forty-seven year old Christopher Knight (Peter Brady) and his twenty-two year old model girlfriend Adrianne Curry. They met where all couples should meet, on the reality show called The Surreal Life. What could possibly go wrong?

EARL+EARL Weekend
Depending on my attitude I might be doing a double booking at The EARL this weekend in place of the camping.

Tonight Magnolia Electric Co. is scheduled to play; tomorrow night’s billing contains Tenement Halls. I think that both will be excellent shows.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - relaxed
Current Music - none. I’d be listening to a podcast right now had I remembered to pack my headphones. Arrgh!
Website Of The Day - Send your future-self a message at FutureMe. I just sent Paulie + 7 days the message “Don’t forget to buy concert tickets for you and the cute woman you met this morning”. Oh crap, the cute woman just left the coffee shop with nary a glance in my direction.

If you ever want a quick glance of the sites I’ve picked for my Websites Of The Day, you can check them out on del.icio.us, my user name is InsideThePerimeter (go figure), and they are all tagged as “blogged.”

Yesterday’s Exercise (b)Log - nothing

Cheers!
Paulie [eatl/ga]

Blogger keeps stealing my text, so if this entry sounds odd you know why. Seriously, I started typing drunk but now it’s Thurdsay morning and I am completely sober.

Here is my night in a nutshell. Long time readers may see a behavioral pattern when I visit Nashville. Deal with it…

Jack’s BBQ
With a return of appetite it was time to eat at Jack’s BBQ.

beer consumed: one Sam Adams

The Beer Sellar
Every time I come to Nashville I see the sign for the Beer Sellar. Ninety-nine beers they claim. Why have I not gone in? This trip would be different, I’d venture in. I was not disappointed.

beer consumed: one Arrogant Bastard Ale

Robert’s Western World
What’s a trip to Nashville without stopping at Robert’s Western World? I swear the same band is playing there every time I enter. However, that’s not a bad thing because I think that those guys are really good.

beer consumed: one Miller High Life ($2.50)

The Bluegrass Inn
Next door: the Bluegrass Inn. I entered at a bad time, during band changes. However, it gave my and my coworker Joe a chance to chat about Nashville and to exchange jabs with the “first day” bartender from the mean streets of Charlotte, Jesse.

Jesse was mad (at least in one five minute period) with the two women from Milwaukee next to us because they were not tipping. We overheard Jesse telling the ladies to avoid Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge.

beer consumed: one Miller High Life ($3.25)

And Finally, Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge
You should have seen this coming right. I hear “don’t go to Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge” and were to I go? Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge.

Truth be told I like Tootsie’s. It was the first bar I encountered on my first trip to Nashville. Of the bands I heard last night the guys jamming on the cramped stage at Tootsie’s were the best. The lead singer looked like Carrot Top, but that sonna bitch could sing and play a mean harmonica. It was time to go when they finished their set.

beer consumed: one Miller High Life ($4.50! I think she ripped me off)

I’m Going To Eat At The Pie Wagon
My hotel room is in eyesight of the Pie Wagon, which I have found out is a breakfast/lunch restaurant. I first saw the Pie Wagon when I ran by it on the half-marathon. For some reason the name makes me laugh, and therefore I must eat there this morning.

beer consumed: none, it’s breakfast

And then I drive back to Atlanta…

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - turning the corner thanks to meds
Current Music - none
Website Of The Day - Maigh calls the Macintosh a paperweight; I call mine the laptop that will keep me from looking like the hunchback of Notre Dame. I think I’ll spend tomorrow downloading software to my friend the iBook by using Wikitosh’s Must Have Mac Software.

If you ever want a quick glance of the sites I’ve picked for my Websites Of The Day, you can check them out on del.icio.us, my user name is InsideThePerimeter (go figure), and they are all tagged as “blogged.”

Yesterday’s Exercise (b)Log - nothing

Cheers!
Paulie [eatl/ga]

Normally I like getting wasted on business trips, this trip is different thanks to this lingering sickness.

Vanderbilt Wins The “Most Annoying” Award
Somebody buy this campus some fucking signs already! Driving to the parking garage was an exercise in circumnavigation because there were no street signs anywhere. The crude map provided was of marginal help as well.

Then there was the parking garage itself. We were directed to park in the “Visitor’s Section”, fair. However, the entrance I first entered had no “Visitor’s Section.” I was forced to exit the parking garage and enter through another entrance. I saw the sign for the Visitor’s Section in which none of the spots were labelled. It gets better. This lot was to cost $5 a day for parking. However, when I tried to leave there was no one inside the booth. There was a permanent-sign that said “Drop Ticket In Box And Gate Will Open.” This seemed odd since I was supposed to pay. Oh well, free parking afterall.

Wal*Mart Prose
From one of the authors found in the bathroom of a Tennessee Wal*Mart at which I had to stop for a Nature Break — “The Hangman Shit Here.” Silly Hangman, once you have completed your shit you have shat. I must take off five points for grammar, please return and correct your graffiti.

Kismet
While sitting in this Nashville hotel I just received an email for the Country Music Half Marathon. How did they know I was here?

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - still under the weather
Current Music - none
Website Of The Day - You should always think about backups. At SunkenCity they show you a way to back up your Flickr photos.

If you ever want a quick glance of the sites I’ve picked for my Websites Of The Day, you can check them out on del.icio.us, my user name is InsideThePerimeter (go figure), and they are all tagged as “blogged.”

Yesterday’s Exercise (b)Log - nothing

Cheers!
Paulie [eatl/ga]

Trivia, Interrupted
I have been a fairly regular trivia player at Taco Mac for the last three or so years. During football season trivia players are asked to arrive and hour earlier so that our festivities are over in time for the start of Monday Night Football. I have always felt like a second class citizen at Taco Mac because of this.

Last night, our trivia game was cut in half so that we could clear out around the start of the rescheduled Tennessee v. LSU football game. Trivia players have become third class citizens.

I have had enough! As of today I shall not be returning to Taco Mac. If my business cannot be appreciated then I shall not give it to them. There are other venues at which I can play trivia on Monday nights and now will be the time for me to explore them.

There was an odd occurrence for me during last night’s game (for which we would have won had I had the chutzpah to stick behind my final answer). Brenan, one of my teammates, brought his sister (half-sister? step-sister?) who happened to sit next to me. She was an extremely beautiful and confident young lady. At one point we were discussing mixed beverages (no, I did not mention yesterday’s Website Of The Day — the iPod Bartender) and I was actually intimidated by her looks. Strange. This has never happened to me before. I feel like I am turning into Woody Allen. Oye!

This One Goes To Eleven
Here’s a mildly interesting piece of trivia. When you type in “Atlanta” into The Weather Channel’s website, you can choose from eleven different states containing a city named “Atlanta.” Aside from Georgia, there are Atlantas in (no particular order) Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, New York, and Texas. Who knew?

N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A, N/A
For the third time this year I have found out that one of my female friends has become pregnant, thus joining the (temporary) non-alcoholic team. My congratulations go out to Lisa, Sandy, and Beth! I suppose I could congratulate their husbands as well, but I’d rather not.

With all this pregnancy going around perhaps it’s good thing that I can’t find a girlfriend.

Happy Birthday Google!
Today Google turns seven. With three of the Googlites cracking Forbes’ Top 400 Richest Americans list there should be quite a birthday party at the Google campus today.

CD Pick Of The Week
Not much on the CD release list excites me today. The new Elbow release could be interesting. However, I’m going out on a limb and selecting Ric Ocasek’s “Nexterday” instead.

Many moons ago a young Paulie rocked to the electronic stylings of The Cars. I was a hard-core Cars fan, who to this day could probably sing 90% of the songs (off tune with some of the lyrics mangled, of course). Ric’s solo stuff has not been the greatest of material, but the man’s got history so I’ll give him the nod.

BLAST!
If you’d rather feel the dvd love today and are a fan of Family Guy I highly recommend checking out today’s release of Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story!. It’s a straight-to-dvd movie created in the time that Family Guy was off the air. I happened into a copy a few months ago and loved it!

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - a little further under the weather
Current Music - Sirius Satellite Radio, channel 26 playing Death Cab For Cutie — “Why You’d Want To Live Here”
Website Of The Day - Yesterday was Pizza Day over on Slashfood; today they made it into my blog! Lucky fucks.

btw- if you ever want a quick glance of the sites I’ve picked for my Websites Of The Day, you can check them out on del.icio.us, my user name is InsideThePerimeter (go figure), and they are all tagged as “blogged.”

Yesterday’s Exercise (b)Log - nothing

Cheers!
Paulie [eatl/ga]

Who’s That Appearing So Youthful?
Had you been one of the few to attend Friday night’s Bob Mould concert you would have seen something rarely witnessed in public — an ecstatically happy Paulie.

What can I say. When Bob launched into some of the H&#252sker D&#252 catalog I was immediately put in the way back machine to a time when I was young and angry. Damn it was fun!

UPDATE:
I took this off of Bob’s Blog

The tour has been interesting so far. We left DC Thursday morning, and played an OK show in Chapel Hill. Atlanta on Friday was great, the crowd was really giving us a lot of energy and encouragement. Very simple formula, folks: you give us love, we give you rock. It also helps when the house is full of old friends, fellow players, and sexy bloggers.

For a second I thought that the “sexy bloggers” linked to me. I guess it could have, but since I don’t play for Bob’s “team” I am glad it didn’t. LOL!!

No Sufjan For You!
In that youthful stage I would have driven over and tried to figure out how to get in to the sold out Sufjan Stevens show at the 40 Watt club in Athens. It would have been my first real trip to Athens as well, which odd since I have lived in Atlanta for over then years I would have guessed that I’d gone there at least once. Alas in my “Grumpy Old Man” state I can’t be bothered to make the trip without a ticket. If I was good at spreading cash around I am sure I could have managed to get a ticket somehow. Oh well, my loss.

Leaf Me Alone
With the lack of September rain my trees have taken to dropping their leaves early this year (and I am losing a considerable number of pecans as well). Yesterday’s exercise (read “lawn mowing”) turned my mower into a leaf mulcher instead of a grass cutter. Oh well, at least the lawn looks pretty. If I could only muster the desire to take care of the other yard chores now.

Speaking Of Yard Chores
I may very soon become one of “those people”, as in those people who own a leaf blower. I really do hate the sound of leaf blowing, and considered those who own them to be too lazy to rake or sweep. However, after 6+ years of home ownership I have come to realize that I will never be motivated to sweep and rake as much as I should.

La Casiiiiita
A well-timed phone call from my friend Glenn got me out of the house yesterday for the first time since Friday night. Glenn, who will be starting a job in downtown, was timing how long it takes to walk from downtown to East Atlanta. He plans to walk to work and frankly I am a bit jealous.

Glenn decided to stop his watch and have a beverage at La Casita in East Atlanta and I was more than happy to walk up and join him. My intention was to have a margarita, but when I saw that the Sunday special was $3 bottles of Negra Modelo, I couldn’t resist ordering beer.

As we sat there (and ran into our friends Amy and Larry) the place filled to the rafters. This is a pleasant sight for an East Atlanta restaurant, however I think that they will need to pick up the service a bit in order to keep people coming back.

Blocked Party
Bloc Party plays in Atlanta tonight. Unfortunately Bloc Party is playing at The Tabernacle, a venue which is under the Ticketbastard stranglehold. The tickets for the show are $20, and the convenience charges and ticket processing charges add up to another $10. I cannot bring myself to support such a broken process.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - a little under the weather
Current Music - Sirius Satellite Radio, channel 26 playing Maximo Park — “Graffiti”
Website Of The Day - Can’t justify buying and iPod just to listen to music and podcasts? Well, add this nugget to the list of things it can do — The iPod Bartender.

btw- if you ever want a quick glance of the sites I’ve picked for my Websites Of The Day, you can check them out on del.icio.us, my user name is InsideThePerimeter (go figure), and they are all tagged as “blogged.”

Yesterday’s Exercise (b)Log - nothing

Cheers!
Paulie [eatl/ga]

Had I known that free and easy WiFi access had yet to make it to Clemson South Carolina I would have hung a “See you all tomorrow” shingle in the window. From the Comfort Inn in which I stayed I could see three access points, all slower than the dialup modems I used ten years ago. I was not allowed access from the university, and didn’t have the time to find a free hotspot.

The Kids Today Could Be My Kids?
Lusting after beautiful college girls is one thing. Realizing that I am old enough to be their father is something completely different. How did I get here? Oh yeah, this is how.

So You Say Atlanta Is Too Far From The Water?
I’ve got two words for you
- Katrina
- Rita

They Should Be Called ‘The Commercial Channel’
The Weather Channel seems to be misnamed. The continually interrupt their long strings of commericials with annoying one-minute weather updates.

Celebrated Summer
Summer is officially over, but tonight is one of the nights that I have been looking forward to. Bob Mould and his new band playing at the Variety Playhouse. Considering I’ve been listening to his music for over twenty years you might call me a fan. Look for me, I’ll be the one in the circa 1994 Sugar t-shirt.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - STOKED!
Current Music - Sirius Satellite Radio, channel 26 playing The Jesus and Mary Chain — “Blues From A Gun”
Website Of The Day - Turn back the clock to simpler times (without having to travel to Clemson), listen to some Old Radio Fun.

btw- if you ever want a quick glance of the sites I’ve picked for my Websites Of The Day, you can check them out on del.icio.us, my user name is InsideThePerimeter (go figure), and they are all tagged as “blogged.”

Yesterday’s Exercise (b)Log - nothing

Cheers!
Paulie [eatl/ga]

Today’s destination is Clemson, South Carolina.

My Dear Love, Netflix
Oh Netflix,

You and I were dear lovers once, exchanging deliveries many times a month. Then the relationship got stale. It was not you, it was me. I was the one neglecting the movies, finding them on shelves, unopened, unloved. I was not worthy of your attention. Then as if to tell me it was time to “fish or cut bait” you raised your rates. I had to call it quits, and you were a gentle sweetheart letting me go with little fanfare and hatred.

Over the last year you have contacted me on rare occassion. Nice letters. Nice offers. I turned my head saying “Not Now” and “It’s Still Too Soon.”

You’re letter the other day touched me deeply. $7.99 a month for the first three months? I’ve since noticed that you’ve once again lowered your price to a $17.99 a month. Hmmm, you look very attractive to me again. Could I convince you to add UMD movies so that we could fool around with a Playstation Portable? No? Oh, you are such a fickle bitch.

You’ve given me to the end of the month and the best I can say right now is “Maybe, baby. Maybe”

Tabernacling
From the worst seat in the house I watched and listened to Keane last night. Well, it wasn’t the worst seat, just the one furthest from the stage.

When Keane launched into “Somewhere Only We Know” I immediately started to chuckle. With Paul McCartney performing a mere few hundred yards away I simply couldn’t get the Keane v. Paul McCartney mashup “Let Keane In” (mp3) off my mind.

Gentlemen, if you have skills let me tell you that a Keane concert is a target-rich environment. I will assume that Coldplay’s show next week will also be well attended by the ladies. Go, do what I am unable to do, meet the women.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - okay
Current Music - none, I am not in the office
Website Of The Day - Think you could build an awesome South Park character? Try your luck at the South Park Studio version 2.0.

btw- if you ever want a quick glance of the sites I’ve picked for my Websites Of The Day, you can check them out on del.icio.us, my user name is InsideThePerimeter (go figure), and they are all tagged as “blogged.”

Yesterday’s Exercise (b)Log - an hour’s walk

Cheers!
Paulie [eatl/ga]

Drinking For The Right Reasons
Abita Brewing Company is trying to help out their brethren who have been affected by Hurricane Katrina. They have released a new brew called Fleur-de-lis Restoration Ale. Here is the opening paragraph from their website

We began crafting this new beer from the moment we saw our brewery had been miraculously spared any major damage from Hurricane Katrina. We are proud to be a Louisiana company and feel blessed that we are still able to produce our product and keep our employees working.

For more information, follow the link above.

What Goes Up, Sometimes Comes Back Down
Oh, I was so excited to see that The Capes are playing Smith’s Olde Bar on September 27th and quickly posted it in the right galley. Later in the day I got around to checking my schedule only to find out that I cannot attend, so I pulled the reference from the galley. Dammit. Oh well, at least I didn’t jump to buy a ticket.

This should be a fun show. I suggest you go.

Baby Steps
Or in my case last night baby pedalling. It took all my inner-strength, but I finally have returned to exercising. Maybe it had something to do with the pants shopping I did earlier in the evening?

Swell, Neat, Keane
Tonight I’ll be “rocking” the Tabernacle at the Keane show. Oh, get over yourself Hater. I’ve seen Keane once already, back when it was really cool. Go hate on Coldplay. To my dismay, and to the pleasure of my friend Stacey, The Zutons are not opening this time around.

CD CD CD
Roll back the calendar a decade or two and today would be a banner day with new releases from Jamiroquai, Def Leppard, Bon Jovi, and Earth Wind and Fire. However, since my calendar says 2005, I can’t recommend any of these.

Today’s pick may be a tie since I know little about either of the bands. I have only heard a song or two from each, but they still look like the most promising in the list I have in front of me. My picks for the day go to Coheed And Cambria with their release of “Good Apollo” and Goldfrapp with their release of “Supernature.”

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - busy busy busy, but I don’t mind
Current Music - Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 26 playing Elbow — “Forget Myself”
Website Of The Day - This is cool, the way life should be. “How We Got Engadged” — Dave and Raina’s adorable collaborative comic.

btw- if you ever want a quick glance of the sites I’ve picked for my Websites Of The Day, you can check them out on del.icio.us, my user name is InsideThePerimeter (go figure), and they are all tagged as “blogged.”

Yesterday’s Exercise (b)Log - 60 minutes on my bike trainer

Cheers!
Paulie [eatl/ga]

Can I Interest You In A Microcosm?
Would you like to know how one becomes forty and single?

On Friday night my “original” plans to go to Alcove fell through. No worries, the new and improved Paulie plays everything by ear and I decided to go to the hash happy hour instead.

After a few hours at the hash happy hour I decided it was time to go, and that I would walk a friend to her car. Wouldn’t you know I made eye contact with an attractive girl on her way to the restroom? (It’s rare for me to look over my shoulder to get an extra look only to find the girl doing the same). What did I do? Kept on walking to my car of course. Guess who went home alone… again.

Burning Man
I am of Irish and German decent, not exactly what you’d refer to as tanning stock. So it is no mystery that when I stripped off my shirt this weekend and exposed my large white underbelly to go swimming some burning would be inevitable. I was right. Luckily I am wise enough to know when to apply sunblock or put my shirt back on, but what burning occurred is still a bit bothersome.

Food For Thought
The reason I was able to spend time swimming and burning was the gritcakes. Still uncertain of my ability to pull these off, I decided to forgo hashing and stay at the house prepping.

While I think that I over-fried them a bit (some were a little beyond Golden, Brown, and Delicious) and had a brainfart on the making of the sauce, most people seemed to find them edible. A big “Thanks” go out to my friends Betsy and Laura who provided a great deal of help with the frying process.

My Car Is Great For Driving, Not So Much For Sleeping
Since I was only spending one night up at the Lake Hartwell campout I decided not to put up a tent, and sleep in my car instead. Generally I can sleep anywhere. While I did sleep, it may have been the worst night of sleep that I have had in a long time. Note to self: don’t do that again!

W00T X 2
It’s a great football weekend for me when my beloved Florida Gators and NY Jets both win. It’s even more enjoyable when they beat the Tennessee Volunteers and Miami Dolphins. What makes beer taste better? The addition on victory.

Nano Nano
There has been a lot of hype the last few weeks over Apple’s announcement of the Nano. Sure it is small and sexy, but 4GB? I can easily fill up 4GB in a the blink of an eye. I think I’d rather sink $250 into a Playstation Portable first.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - burnt and guilty for not mowing my lawn yesterday
Current Music - Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 26 playing The Giraffes — “Man U.”
Website Of The Day - Here is an interesting photography site, the photos by Charles W Cushman.

btw- if you ever want a quick glance of the sites I’ve picked for my Websites Of The Day, you can check them out on del.icio.us, my user name is InsideThePerimeter (go figure), and they are all tagged as “blogged.”

Yesterday’s Exercise (b)Log - nothing, too lazy this weekend

Cheers!
Paulie [eatl/ga]

The title has no relevance to anything in this post. It just happened to be the first phrase that popped into my mind, so it became the title.

Get Your Ass In The Kitchen!
For this little camping outing I will be doing this weekend I have offered to help with the cooking. I learned to cook years ago in order to impress women (seemed like a good idea back then), so I’ve got some skillz. What I didn’t expect to happen was to be assigned something that I have never before attempted– cheesy grits with andouille sausage, covered with a crawfish sauce.

Now is when My Cousin Vinny should be starting to play in your head.

The first task which proved challenging was finding grits in the grocery store. It seemed logical to me that it would be by the flour and cornmeal, but no matter how many times I scanned that section I couldn’t find it. I literally had to walk up and down all of the food aisles in order to find them (I figured that they might be with the oatmeal since most people eat them for breakfast, but I couldn’t find that section either).

The next challenge was making the grits cakes (grit cakes?). The recipe as provided would supply six servings, I was going to attempt to triple this. I’ve found in the past that doubling recipes can be tricky, so tripling one made me a bit nervous. I think that it will be delicious, but I am only done with the first part of the recipe. The remaining cooking of them will occur on site. Besides what do I know, I’ve never eaten grits before.

I’ll give an update on Monday.

And Then A Large Anvil Will Fall Upon My Head
Tonight I am going to a little gettogher at an art gallery called Alcove for a show called Cartoon Madness. The show consists of works done by artists from Cartoon Network. And we all know that I am nothing if not a whore for the Turner Empire.

25% Off Is Simply Criminal
I received an email yesterday from Criminal Records alerting me that they are going to have a sale this weekend to celebrate their anniversary. I know that if I was going to be in town I’d be shopping there this weekend. I advise you to do it in my place (and buy a few things that I need in my collection ’cause Christmas is right around the corner, you know).

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - glad the weekend is nearly here
Current Music - Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 26 playing Sufjan Stevens — “Chicago”
Website Of The Day - Got a Flickr account? Want to put a frame around your pictures? Then try FlickrFrame.

btw- if you ever want a quick glance of the sites I’ve picked for my Websites Of The Day, you can check them out on del.icio.us, my user name is InsideThePerimeter (go figure), and they are all tagged as “blogged”.

Yesterday’s Exercise (b)Log - nothing, no time

Cheers!
Paulie [eatl/ga]