Inside The Perimeter

Spring has arrived, the weather has finally turned for the better, this man’s thoughts have finally turned to thoughts of exercise, and then I get sick. I don’t know if what came upon me yesterday (and lingering through this morning) was allergy-related, or a quick onslaught of a cold, but whatever it took me down for the count. Fudge….

Beware Of The Questionnaire
On Friday I played phone tag with Atlanta Focus, a company who does market research and generally pays good money to those who participate in their surveys. For this reason I was eager to get in on the survey about which they were trying to contact me.

After finally connecting I was asked roughly seven questions about my lightbulb purchasing habits — a topic that I was certain I would be a good candidate. On the final question I was informed that I was not the target which they sought. It wasn’t getting turned down, but rather the way it was handled that bothered me. You see from the tone of voice that the marketer used when I answered the final question I have a feeling that no matter how I answered it I think that I was not going to be asked to participate in their survey. I think that I was duped into answering their questionnaire for free; that they received all of the information necessary as part of a “pre-screen” which cost them nothing.

I will be less-than-enthusiastic to return their calls next time…

Goodwill Hunting
Before heading to a brief happy hour appearance at Pancho’s on Friday afternoon I kicked around the Goodwill on Buford Highway. To my surprise not only did I manage to find a photography book that looked informative, I managed to pick up two CDs. For $2.75 each I purchased The Flaming Lips’ “The Soft Bulletin”, as well as The Smiths’ “Singles”. Although I was unable to look at the condition of the discs before purchasing, I think that taping the jewel cases shut is Goodwill’s new anti-theft mechanism, both were in decent condition and I was able to rip them to mp3’s with no difficulty.

It’s not often that I actually find CDs that I both want and do not already have. Also, be forewarned that the CD selection can vary greatly depending on the location of the Goodwill store. However, if you find yourself Goodwill Hunting then I suggest you gander at the CD selection. You may be pleasantly surprised.

ITP Flickr Pic
This is Sugar, loyal companion to my friends Lisa and Randy.

I tried to get a good portrait of Sugar looking into my camera, but she would have none of it. This is the best I could do that day.

Should They Change Their Name To The Flying Scone?
On Saturday morning I decided to treat myself to breakfast out. Since Honey’s Kitchen has closed there is not much in the way of breakfast in my hood so I got into my car and headed “somewhere.” Since it was Saturday I figured that there would be no church crowd at The Flying Biscuit so there was a chance that I could be seated without much of a wait. I was right. I wish I had been wrong.

I ordered two eggs (over easy), chicken sausage, potatoes, and a biscuit and washed it all down with coffee. The eggs and coffee were really the only things done right. The chicken sausage was bland. The potatoes were diced and home fried, but most of them were coldish and crunchy — blech. And finally, the biscuit. This was the second worst biscuit that I have had in my life (the first was blogged about here). The biscuit was not hot, its top was hardened, it split in two at a fault line, and when I attempted to spread butter on it, it crumbled in my hand. It was hardly the breakfast that I desired.

I suppose that I could blame this lackluster meal on The Flying Biscuit’s sale to Raving Brands, but in reality I think that the problem runs much deeper.

The Number Of The Count Shall Be Three
obligatory Amazing Race spoiler warning

Team Cha-Cha became Team Bye-Bye last night. Again I question the logic of the race makers. Just where were they supposed to be able to possibly make up thirty minutes in this leg? Their late start nearly cost them straight away with the flight situation, and then once in Guam they were escorted around quite a bit. The Detour seemed to take an equal amount of time as well. It seemed as if the final drive to the Pit Stop was the only place they could have made up time.

Two of the three finalists are all-women teams — one I *heart*, the other, well, notsomuch. I’ll let you figure out which is which.

I know that a “teaser” is just that, but I am anxious to see what happens in order to make Dustin and Kandice come to words. They seemed to be the best of friends with very little friction to this point.

Wrapping Up Another Month
I am now one-third of the way through what is shaping up to be a lousy year. I have no one to blame but myself.

1) Lose two pounds. (starting weight 202 lbs?)
This morning the scale said 200 lbs. I don’t believe it because there is still way to much fat around my belly.

2) Run no fewer than thirty miles.
Is 0 < 30? It is? Then I missed this one.

3) Do twenty push-ups and fifty sit-ups at on Monday, Wednesday and Saturdays.
Completed only sporadically.

4) Read three books, specifically
4a) “722 Miles: The Building of the Subways and How They Transformed New York”
Mid-book.

4b) “Programming Interviews Exposed: Secrets to Landing Your Next Job”
Mid-book.

4c) “50 Fast Digital Photo Techniques”
Scrapped.

5) Take Marta to work at least ten times.
Didn’t make it. I think I rode only six times.

6) File my Income Taxes. (since they are due in two weeks I better get this done)
Done, very painfully done.

7) Wear “nicer” clothes to work at least one day a week.
Two weeks yes, two weeks no.

8\) Cook dinner at home at least two nights a week.
Um, no.

Tomorrow begins a new month, and with it a new list of things to accomplish.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - What’s the opposite of “bright eyed and bushy tailed?” That’s what I am today.
Current Music - Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 26 playing Kaiser Chiefs — “Everything Is Average” (I’d settle for average right now)
Website Of The Day - Pulp Secret is yet another awesome animation blog. This one is dedicated mostly to the comic book scene.
Exercise (b)Log - none
Mode Of Transportation To Work - My car

April Goals
1) Lose two pounds. (starting weight 202 lbs?)
2) Run no fewer than thirty miles.
3) Do twenty push-ups and fifty sit-ups at on Monday, Wednesday and Saturdays.
4) Read three books, specifically
4a) “722 Miles: The Building of the Subways and How They Transformed New York”
4b) “Programming Interviews Exposed: Secrets to Landing Your Next Job”
4c) “50 Fast Digital Photo Techniques”
5) Take Marta to work at least ten times.
6) File my Income Taxes. (since they are due in two weeks I better get this done)
7) Wear “nicer” clothes to work at least one day a week.
8\) Cook dinner at home at least two nights a week.

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

Did I miss an announcement about a new Federal Spring Break Holiday? Traffic this morning seemed unusually light. I am not complaining since I know that everyone will be leaving their work at the same time this afternoon regardless of the time they arrived, so I’ll get my opportunity to be in heavy traffic later.

Paid In Full
They did it to me again. Yesterday I received a bill from Network Medical Providers, or some non-descriptive name like that, the people responsible for DeKalb Medical Center’s billing. Every three months since I visited DeKalb Medical Center in the Virginia-Highlands last August I’ve received a bill for the co-pay for that doctor visit. I paid this co-pay, with a credit card so that I have a record of the transaction, at the end of my visit that day. The first two times I received the bill I threw it away immediately. The next few times I attempted to call them to clear up the matter, but I was never important enough for them to return my messages. This time, and every future time I receive this bill, I will return it to them with the following written upon it

THIS BILL HAS BEEN PAID!
I paid this co-pay at the doctor’s office. You have not returned my calls when I’ve attempted to clear up this matter. Stop sending me this bill!!!

Seriously, I feel like I am being harassed. The only reason I really care is that they might attempt to screw with my credit rating based on this matter.

Next up — State Farm as I try to clear up a matter that I unfortunately created.

That Didn’t Take Long
I received my bank statement in the mail yesterday as well. Not four days after I mailed the Feds a check for my additional taxes due they had cashed it. At least the Government has one efficient department I guess.

ITP Flickr Pic
This is a metaphor for the speed at which I am completing my tasks.

I guess this is better than having road kill be my metaphor.

All I Want To Know Is How They Keep Their Teeth So White
I have a feeling that if I was on Survivor that my teeth wouldn’t have a chance to remain white. I am surprised that there hasn’t been ample product placement for oral hygiene products in the same way that they whored up Dove last night.

Has anyone else felt an amazing amount of apathy toward this cast of castaways? I swear that I’ve gotten to the point that I have no desire to find out what happens to them. There is no drama, no sex, and not much to keep me coming back.

Why was everyone so surprised that Mookie and Alex would look through people’s stuff to see if they had the immunity idol. Shit, I’m surprised that they didn’t steal the idol from Yau Man. I think that it was stupid of him to leave it behind.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - one small step closer to happiness with a long, long way to go however.
Current Music - Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 26 playing Murder By Death — “Brother”
Website Of The Day - Tonight there will be a photography exhibit in Castleberry Hill put on by Atlanta Urban Photography Exhibit. If I choose not to drink myself silly I will be in attendance.
Exercise (b)Log - none; no reason, just none
Mode Of Transportation To Work - My car

April Goals
1) Lose two pounds. (starting weight 202 lbs?)
2) Run no fewer than thirty miles.
3) Do twenty push-ups and fifty sit-ups at on Monday, Wednesday and Saturdays.
4) Read three books, specifically
4a) “722 Miles: The Building of the Subways and How They Transformed New York”
4b) “Programming Interviews Exposed: Secrets to Landing Your Next Job”
4c) “50 Fast Digital Photo Techniques”
5) Take Marta to work at least ten times.
6) File my Income Taxes. (since they are due in two weeks I better get this done)
7) Wear “nicer” clothes to work at least one day a week.
8\) Cook dinner at home at least two nights a week.

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

Getting home and immediately retiring to bed has left a lot of loose ends in my life. Over the next handful of days I hope to tie them all up, clear my calendar, and put organization back into my life so that I don’t feel so disorganized all of the time.

Passwords From Hell
I am a firm believer in changing the passwords for my important accounts regularly. With each iteration I seem to generate “stronger” passwords in order to reduce the chances of identity theft. Feel free to laugh at me if you see me struggle to type my new set of passwords. Seriously, they are neither easy to remember or type…

Has The City Of Atlanta Been Bought By Ticketmaster?
After paying my water/sewage bill online yesterday I read the little pamphlet that accompanied the bill. In it contained this disturbing passage.

Convenience Fee for Online Credit Card Transactions
On February 19, City Council passed legislation to assess a $4.50 convenience fee for online credit card transactions. The ordinance was initiated by the Department of Finance and applies to all City of Atlanta online services. Please be mindful that this fee will be added to your total charge if you pay your water/sewage bill online using a credit card.

What? I understand that there is a cost of doing business, but $4.50 per transaction? That’s fucking highway robbery! Are you taking business advice fromTicketmaster?

Of course I read this pamphlet after I paid my bill…

ITP Flickr Pic
Slowly, very slowly, I am getting my photos organized. Here is one more from last weekend. This is the ferris wheel at the Tweetsie Railroad.

The theme park had yet to open for the season. I was hoping to be able to walk around and shoot photos of an empty theme park to have a “deserted park” series. Sadly this was as close as I could get without getting in trouble.

Speaking of Credit Cards — Give It Away, Give It Away, Give It Away Now
At dinner last night I heard from one of the participants that on Friday night his waitress at Loca Luna had mistakenly given his American Express card away to another patron. The error wasn’t discovered immediately, and by the time he could report the loss the other person had already charged hundreds of dollars at Twisted Taco. If there can by a funny lining to this story, my friend was most disturbed that the person using his card was a lousy tipper. According to the American Express records the guy was only tipping about 12% on the stolen card.

Online Love
I am not talking about Match.com or any such site here. Been there. Tried that. Given Up.

Instead I want to praise two of my favorite online purveyors of toys — NewEgg and Amazon.

NewEgg gets love for being on top of everything when it comes to shipping. A few weeks ago I purchased a portable USB drive and it was shipped to me in fewer than three days at the same cost as their “standard” shipping. Bully for them!

Amazon gets love for automatically rebating me some money because they lowered the price on a product I had just purchased from them. I had no idea that the price had been lowered, they just did this automatically. I wish all retailers would do this.

In the future I will also praise any company that abolishes mail-in rebates. I have one in my queue that needs to be handled pronto, and I am miffed at the number of hoops through which I must jump in order to do so.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - sluggish
Current Music - Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 26 playing Guided By Voices — “Eureka Signs”
Website Of The Day - English Forums helped me understand the error in my grammatical ways yesterday. Normally I’d immediately turn to Grammar Girl, but when I typed in “Was v. Were” into Google English Forums was returned first.
Exercise (b)Log - none
Mode Of Transportation To Work - My car

April Goals
1) Lose two pounds. (starting weight 202 lbs?)
2) Run no fewer than thirty miles.
3) Do twenty push-ups and fifty sit-ups at on Monday, Wednesday and Saturdays.
4) Read three books, specifically
4a) “722 Miles: The Building of the Subways and How They Transformed New York”
4b) “Programming Interviews Exposed: Secrets to Landing Your Next Job”
4c) “50 Fast Digital Photo Techniques”
5) Take Marta to work at least ten times.
6) File my Income Taxes. (since they are due in two weeks I better get this done)
7) Wear “nicer” clothes to work at least one day a week.
8\) Cook dinner at home at least two nights a week.

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

Out of the blue I received a dinner invitation from my friends Stacy and Phil. Dinner consisted of a meat-free, low-carb lasagna which was quite tasty. Although I am certain that it would have tasted much better with them. We sat outside and consumed wine with dinner as we basked in the beautiful weather that is April in Atlanta (or Clarkston as the case was last night).

Call For Mac Tech Help
Is anyone out there an OS X guru? Here’s the strange thing that has happened to me more than once so I am sure that it’s a “feature” and not a “bug”.

On an external LaCie USB hard drive I create a new folder and rename it to “Folder #1″. I then attempt to create another new folder and rename it “Folder #2″, but it’s name gets immediately changed to “Folder #1″ and then stacked on the first. Any folders I attempt to create named “Folder #whatever” also get renamed and stacked.

WTF? If I wanted them all to have the same name, I would have typed it multiple times. In fact, why is it even possible to have folders with the same name inside a folder?

This behavior is completely destroying my new photography post-process workflow.

Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? If you can tell me what is going on, or point me at a link which explains this I’d certainly appreciate it.

ITP Flickr Pic
Here is one shot of the house we rented last weekend. Not too shabby, huh?

btw- the only thing in this picture that the people didn’t own was my tripod which I forgot to remove before taking the picture.

I’ll have more pictures up on Flickr when I become more of a Lightroom Ninja and learn the ins-and-outs of editing and exporting photos.

Stuffing My Face For A Good Cause
Tonight I’ll be shoveling food into my piehole and not caring because 20% of my bill will be donated to Project Open Hand. Tonight is another Dining Out For Life night and many Atlanta restaurants are participating (click that link to find out which are).

Sounds like a great idea, doesn’t it? Go out and treat yourself to a restaurant meal tonight… you deserve it!

I’ll be eating at the Vickery’s in Midtown (I’d have chosen the one in Glenwood Park if I was the organizer) with some of my Flickr friends.

Walking Lighlty
You may notice that my “Walk In My Footsteps” section is really short right now. It’s not that I am failing to update it, but rather there is not a whole lot going on that I wish to attend. If you have entertainment suggestions, feel free to post them in a comment.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - puzzled
Current Music - Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 26 playing Sufjan Stevens — “Chicago”
Website Of The Day - Project Open Hand is an organization which provides food to those with HIV/AIDS, other serious illnesses, and the elderly.
Exercise (b)Log - none
Mode Of Transportation To Work - My car

April Goals
1) Lose two pounds. (starting weight 202 lbs?)
2) Run no fewer than thirty miles.
3) Do twenty push-ups and fifty sit-ups at on Monday, Wednesday and Saturdays.
4) Read three books, specifically
4a) “722 Miles: The Building of the Subways and How They Transformed New York”
4b) “Programming Interviews Exposed: Secrets to Landing Your Next Job”
4c) “50 Fast Digital Photo Techniques”
5) Take Marta to work at least ten times.
6) File my Income Taxes. (since they are due in two weeks I better get this done)
7) Wear “nicer” clothes to work at least one day a week.
8\) Cook dinner at home at least two nights a week.

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

I am back where I belong, ITP. The weekend was fun, but largely uneventful so today’s entry will be short. I’ve got a lot to process in the upcoming days. Perhaps some blogging topics will arise from that.

Putting The Excitement Back In The Boring Drive
This is a tale of two commutes.

On my drive to North Carolina the events which made the drive interesting were mostly created internally. I decided to take the “roads less traveled” and after missing a number of turns for varying reasons I made it up to the mountains in a record (slow) time. Sadly, the reason I chose to avoid much of America’s Interstate System was to see “old” America and hopefully be presented with bountiful photo opportunities. Neither of these materialized.

The return trip to Atlanta had the routine moments of excitement, read “state troopers waiting to pounce like snow leopards in Planet Earth“, as well as some unexpected moments of excitement such as a ladder falling out of a truck in the lane next to me. Luckily neither predator was able to snare the Jackmobile on its journey home.

ITP Flickr Pic
I have plenty to process tonight. Perhaps there will be two tomorrow…

RealiTV Catch Up
I sat and watched both Survivor and Amazing Race last night.

To me Survivor has become completely worn out. With the exception of Yau Man I really could care less about any of the people remaining and this whole secret immunity idol business is stupid. Unless I misheard, one of the teasers last night said that there are only four more episodes remaining? That means that there will be a lot of eliminations soon.

Amazing Race could take a hint from Survivor by getting rid of some of their teams. I like the Cha-Chas, but another non-elimination leg? Come on already… I just may want this season to end so that I don’t have to see Mirna belittle Charla any longer (get it? I said belittle because she’s a midget). I’d say that Mirna could change her attitude when she grows up, but she’s already thirty so I think that she’ll probably be an ass her entire life.

CD Pick Of The Week
Those wacky Arctic Monkeys have a new release today called “”. Since I have not heard much of this on Sirius I should assume that it sucks balls, but instead I will buck that notion and hereby choose it as the CD Pick Of The Week.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - fair, but will need ample time to catch up.
Current Music - Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 26 playing Luscious Jackson — “Naked Eye” (when was the last time you heard that?)
Website Of The Day - If I have to describe what Simple Weather does then the domain name has gone to waste.
Exercise (b)Log - nada
Mode Of Transportation To Work - My car

April Goals
1) Lose two pounds. (starting weight 202 lbs?)
2) Run no fewer than thirty miles.
3) Do twenty push-ups and fifty sit-ups at on Monday, Wednesday and Saturdays.
4) Read three books, specifically
4a) “722 Miles: The Building of the Subways and How They Transformed New York”
4b) “Programming Interviews Exposed: Secrets to Landing Your Next Job”
4c) “50 Fast Digital Photo Techniques”
5) Take Marta to work at least ten times.
6) File my Income Taxes. (since they are due in two weeks I better get this done)
7) Wear “nicer” clothes to work at least one day a week.
8\) Cook dinner at home at least two nights a week.

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

I was happily typing away here in Alpine Escape when my connection went away. Unfortunately, even though I specifically saved my work it was gone when I returned. Too much was entered for me to recreate it, so I am not going to try.

I’ll be back tomorrow…

“In and Out” best describes my behavior over the past twenty-four hours. Last night I went to The EARL to see Captured By Robots! and I just wasn’t into it. I left after four songs. Btw if the sound guy at The EARL is reading this, turn the fucking volume down a bit dude! Seriously this is not “old man” disease talking. I purchased ear plugs for the first time ever, and I saw at least ten other people purchase ear plugs as well.

Shuffling Off To Buffalo Boone
I’ll be in and out of work today as well. I’m headed for a little R&R in Boone, NC. If any has some suggested restaurants and/or photo ops please leave a comment. I probably won’t respond to too much today, but my phone will received comments via email, so I will be able to read them.

Just Out
Wachovia has closed their East Atlanta branch. Bummer. I knew that it was coming because the branch was tiny and Wachovia has just built a new branch in East Lake. I’m just pissed because there is now no convenient ATM for me when I head up to East Atlanta Village.

ITP Flickr Pic
I have no good thematic picture for today.

I was to post a picture of my new iPod Shuffle, but I never got around to taking one.

Stephen Malkmus Is In The Pitchfork Music Festival
Last year’s Chicago trip was built around going to the Pitchfork Music Festival. I just recently found out that Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks are going to be performing at this year’s festival. Dammit! I don’t think that I can wedge in a Chicago trip this year. Double Dammit!

Is ITP Out Of Big D?
It now appears that I won’t be going to Dallas for work. Could there be a Montgomery Biscuits game in my near future after all?

I Have No Idea Who Is Out Of Survivor
Because I went out last night I didn’t get a chance to watch Survivor. Therefore I have no idea what happened. I will guess that Dreamz got booted.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - perturbed because I think that my “crummy” feeling might be something that has been passed around the office. I hope that I shake it quickly so that it doesn’t ruin my weekend.
Current Music - Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 26 playing TV On The Radio — “Province”
Website Of The Day - I wish that there was a In-N-Out Burger between here and Boone, I’d definitely stop for a burger. (I know that this doesn’t finish the chain of links I built this week, but come on, it’s the perfect link for today)
Exercise (b)Log - yard mowing, believe me this was enough
Mode Of Transportation To Work - My car

April Goals
1) Lose two pounds. (starting weight 202 lbs?)
2) Run no fewer than thirty miles.
3) Do twenty push-ups and fifty sit-ups at on Monday, Wednesday and Saturdays.
4) Read three books, specifically
4a) “722 Miles: The Building of the Subways and How They Transformed New York”
4b) “Programming Interviews Exposed: Secrets to Landing Your Next Job”
4c) “50 Fast Digital Photo Techniques”
5) Take Marta to work at least ten times.
6) File my Income Taxes. (since they are due in two weeks I better get this done)
7) Wear “nicer” clothes to work at least one day a week.
8\) Cook dinner at home at least two nights a week.

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

Woo Hoo, I’m moving up! Google “Inside The Perimeter” and I am the first link. This might be expected. However, if you Google “Paulie” I come up #5! Yes! I probably have a long way to go to topple Paulie Walnuts from The Sopranos and that stupid movie about the parrot, but I am trying.

Do You Want To Live Across From A Budding Star?
The house directly across from mine appears to be clearing out. I could never tell if the people who lived there for the past two years or so were renting or owned the house. And, one of the houses next to it is up for sale (for $360k (!) from what I understand). Do you think that this is a statement about my yard work, or perhaps the lack thereof?

I May Have Clapped My Hands For The Last Time
Don’t get me wrong, I thought last night’s Clap Your Hands Say Yeah concert was great (except for the asshats who thought it necessary to hold a loud conversation until my friend David spun around and confronted them). However, I’ve seen the band three times now and that just might be enough for me for awhile.

I took no pictures because I chose not to bring my camera gear. It’s probably just as well, because after a few songs the CYHSY lead singer asked for the lights to be turned down to near darkness. It seemed like a stupid request to me because afterall I was paying to see the band as well hear them play.

Elvis Perkins In Deerland (Ye Olde MySpace link) was the opening act. I enjoyed their set very much, although they were not without some Spinal Tap moments. When they started playing the curtains didn’t open. Perkins quickly responded with a funny line about it being alright because he was shy. When the curtain finally moved only half of it opened completely. Someone had to come out and open it the rest of the way. At some point in the show Perkins admitted that the band was late to arrive to the venue so they were do sound check while playing. He also mentioned that the bassist would normally be seen playing an upright bass however that he couldn’t last night (I am not sure why). The final kicker was when Perkins introduced the name of the band as “Elvis Perkins In Deerland” and not “Elvis Perkins in Dreamland” as it appeared on the Variety Playhouse’s marquee. Even though Elvis Perkins In Deerland has more of a folksy sound I think that their volume was probably set to eleven last night.

ITP Flickr Pic
Speaking of marquees….

Last November when I heard that Kitty Carlisle was performing at the 14th Street Playhouse my first thought was “Wow, I can’t believe that she is still alive.” I don’t have to believe that any longer as she passed away the other day.

If you are under the age of fifty and not a fan of old-time game shows you probably never heard of Kitty Carlisle. Carlisle was a Broadway actress and a fixture of the then New York based tv game shows “To Tell The Truth” and “What’s My Line” as well as others.

This photo has opened a potential Pandora’s Box of problems for me. The other day I questioned my photographic work flow for file manipulation and archiving. This morning I looked for this photo on my “master” hard drive and couldn’t find it. Thankfully, I had already uploaded it to Flickr and may have now nipped a potentially drastic failure in the bud.

The Best Kept Secret In Sports
The Tour de Georgia started a few days ago and winds up in Atlanta on Sunday. Sadly, That is all I know. Oh, I also know that I won’t be able to see any of it live — again.

Round Three?
Tonight I should be headed to The EARL to see Captured By Robots!. Time is my only enemy tonight because I have a shitload to do prior to heading out to play.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - slow
Current Music - Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 26 playing Deerhoof — “Matchbook Seeks Maniac”
Website Of The Day - I couldn’t figure out which to of these were better for continuing the chain, so I give you both — Team Cheddarhead and The Cheddarhead Dictionary.
Exercise (b)Log - none (argh!)
Mode Of Transportation To Work - My car

April Goals
1) Lose two pounds. (starting weight 202 lbs?)
2) Run no fewer than thirty miles.
3) Do twenty push-ups and fifty sit-ups at on Monday, Wednesday and Saturdays.
4) Read three books, specifically
4a) “722 Miles: The Building of the Subways and How They Transformed New York”
4b) “Programming Interviews Exposed: Secrets to Landing Your Next Job”
4c) “50 Fast Digital Photo Techniques”
5) Take Marta to work at least ten times.
6) File my Income Taxes. (since they are due in two weeks I better get this done)
7) Wear “nicer” clothes to work at least one day a week.
8\) Cook dinner at home at least two nights a week.

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

I Went To A Piebald Show And A MC Chris Show Broke Out
Would someone tell me who the hell “MC Chris” is? Would somebody please tell me when the billing order has changed? Thankfully after taking a walk about last night I was back inside of Vinyl in time to find out that Piebald and MC Chris had swapped performing orders. Otherwise I would have been rather pissed off to miss them again. As it turned out my lack of knowledge cost me a decent vantage point from which to shoot, but I may have gotten a few decent photos regardless.

Piebald, a band I always assume that I am the only one who has ever heard of them, drew a decent crowd to the small club. The group of testosterone-driven guys up close seemed to have the best time, with their fist-punching-in-the-air, jumping about and onto the stage, and one guy’s two attempts at crowd surfing (please, crowd surfing was popular before you were born, Son). At least their enthusiasm was not for naught as it seem to encourage Piebald to rock that much harder. I am not record company A&R guy but I cannot figure out why Piebald is not bigger…

There were also a few other upsides regarding last night’s show… The show was “all ages” which meant that no smoking was allowed inside (YAY!). Having Piebald go on second and not having any interest in MC Chris meant that I could leave the venue earlier (Yay, for an old man who must get up to go to work in the morning). The opening-opening band, House Of Blues from Greensboro NC, were petty good — not really my thing though which is why I left to go for a short walk. And finally I arrived too late to get a spot in my $5 lot, so after telling the guy whose lot was $13 (yeah, no way in Hell buddy) I drove around and found free street parking (which meant it was like getting the $4 16oz PBR for free).

Technical photography stuff follows, skip ahead if you have no interest
I thought that the place would be relatively empty, especially since I have never heard of MC Chris nevermind finding out that he’s “big” enough to be the headliner.

I dragged my Nikon D50 and one of my fastest lenses, a Tamron f/2.8 90mm Macro, into the show in hopes of capturing some of the activity. I had a pretty decent vantage point which included a ledge on which I could steady my elbows. However even being very close to the stage (almost too close for the 90mm) with all of its lighting and having my ISO set to 1600 (the highest my Fisher-Price “My First DSLR” can get) things seemed dark. I had forgotten to pack my SpeedLight SB800 and have never been too pleased with the on-camera flash so I made the decision to shoot all night sans flash. I’ve not had time to attempt any post-processing but my gut feeling is that things will be either blurry or amazingly underexposed.

Was It Over When The Germans Bombed Pearl Harbor?
Sure the Thrashers are now down three games to zero in a best of seven series to the Rangers. But who is ready to count them out? Me, that’s who. The Thrashers made a decent run this year but obviously are not good enough to go any further. The scary thing is that they are currently the oldest team (in terms of average age) in the NHL.

ITP Flickr Pic
Here’s a shot that’s definitely not underexposed because it was taken inside my home-built shadow box.

If you don’t recognize it, it is the remnants of a Sweetgum ball. These things have consumed half of my back yard and I am starting to wonder how much fun it would be to see if they burn.

Round Two
Tonight I will be hitting the Clap Your Hands Say Yeah show at Variety Playhouse. I know that CYHSY are so “last year” and that their current release “Some Loud Thunder” doesn’t hold a candle to their debut, but I still like them. I’m contemplating taking my camera, but after last night’s effort I am not sure that I will.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - tired
Current Music - Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 26 playing Apples In Stereo — “Can You Feel It?”
Website Of The Day - Twitter -> TwitterVision -> CheddarVision, a website where you can watch cheese age. I shit you not. Tune in tomorrow to see if I can keep this name link going.
Exercise (b)Log - walking, ~4 miles
Mode Of Transportation To Work - My car

April Goals
1) Lose two pounds. (starting weight 202 lbs?)
2) Run no fewer than thirty miles.
3) Do twenty push-ups and fifty sit-ups at on Monday, Wednesday and Saturdays.
4) Read three books, specifically
4a) “722 Miles: The Building of the Subways and How They Transformed New York”
4b) “Programming Interviews Exposed: Secrets to Landing Your Next Job”
4c) “50 Fast Digital Photo Techniques”
5) Take Marta to work at least ten times.
6) File my Income Taxes. (since they are due in two weeks I better get this done)
7) Wear “nicer” clothes to work at least one day a week.
8\) Cook dinner at home at least two nights a week.

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

I don’t know what hit me last night, but whatever did took me out for the count. My last recollection of the evening was watching a bit of television around 8:00pm. I woke up around 11:00pm and promptly returned to sleep waking again around 4:30am.

TV Worth Watching Before The Content Providers Become Complete Assholes
There are some really ugly video DRM rules coming into effect on June 1st (again more on December 31st) which aggravate the hell out of me so I’ve decided to get my fill of HDTV before the Studios force us to play by their rules. I can’t give you the deets on what’s coming, but as I think I may have mentioned previously, it ain’t pretty.

In the meantime I am going to get my fill of watching some of these in HD…

Man Versus Wild - In this series a guy, named “Bear” no less, is dropped into the middle of nowhere and left on his own to get back to civilization. Given that this is somehow being recorded to video I often wonder about its authenticity but on the episode I watched I learned how to create a throwing stick lethal enough to kill a bunny rabbit.

Planet Earth - If you grew up a PBS nerd like me then Planet Earth is right up your alley.

1000 Places To See Before You Die - The only problem with this travel show is that a “pretty-people newlywed couple” travel to the places outlined in the corresponding book in the lap of luxury. Sure, travel to these places would be great if someone else was footing the bill for the entire trip.

While I am on this Travel Channel / Discovery lovefest if someone could help me how to convince Samantha Brown to leave her husband for me I greatly appreciate it.

Doh!
Out with another $100. Last year I signed up for a webhosting plan with a company called BlueHost. At the time I opted for automatic renewal, and long since forgot about that until I received notification that it has been auto-renewed. Doh! Anyone have creative ideas how I can creatively use this hosting until next year?

ITP Flickr Pic
Would have killed them to throw this into the garbage can?

I hate people who litter.

One Of Three This Week
Tonight, tomorrow, and Thursday I am scheduled to attend shows.

Tonight I will be at Vinyl to see Piebald. I will be getting to the show on time tonight because you may remember that the last time I tried to see Piebald I showed up after they had already finished their set (admittedly it was a weird early show at Masquerade).

The Vinyl / The Loft / Center Stage complex will be a buzz tonight because in addition to the Piebald show, Atlanta’s own Manchester Orchestra (MySpace link) will be opening for Brand New in Center Stage.

CD EP Pick Of The Week
This will probably be on of seven times I get to pick a Robert Pollard release as my “Pick Of The Week.” Today the prolific Pollard releases an EP called “Silverfish Trivia.”

For fans unfamiliar with the name Robert Pollard, he is probably best known being the lead singer of Guided By Voices until they disbanded a year or so ago. Oh who the hell am I kidding, if you didn’t know Pollard’s name you probably also never heard of Guided By Voices either…

Go get this release. You may not like the music but you will be supporting the hardest working man in indie rock.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - okay
Current Music - Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 26 playing The Jam — “Town Called Malice” (imho one of the best songs ever recorded)
Website Of The Day - Yesterday I brought you Twitter, today I bring you a Twitter / Google mashup called TwitterVision a world map showing Twitter activity.
Exercise (b)Log - none
Mode Of Transportation To Work - Marta

April Goals
1) Lose two pounds. (starting weight 202 lbs?)
2) Run no fewer than thirty miles.
3) Do twenty push-ups and fifty sit-ups at on Monday, Wednesday and Saturdays.
4) Read three books, specifically
4a) “722 Miles: The Building of the Subways and How They Transformed New York”
4b) “Programming Interviews Exposed: Secrets to Landing Your Next Job”
4c) “50 Fast Digital Photo Techniques”
5) Take Marta to work at least ten times.
6) File my Income Taxes. (since they are due in two weeks I better get this done)
7) Wear “nicer” clothes to work at least one day a week.
8\) Cook dinner at home at least two nights a week.

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]