Inside The Perimeter

I drove home last night using GA400. I rarely do this, but since I left the office late and planned on grabbing dinner at Tin Drum on Sidney Marcus (which is conveniently located near a Target and Best Buy — neither of which had a Wii in stock), I figured I should take the “quick method”. I got into the shortest line at the toll both (why does the shortest line seem to take the longest time to get through?). While waiting I saw the guy at the head of the queue get out of his car, pick up fifty cents from the ground, get back into his car, toss the change into the toll booth basket, and drive off. Is that even legal?

ITP Flickr Pic
Yeah, while in Seattle I passed by Pike’s Public Market

At 8:59pm to be exact.

Free Business Ideas
I have ideas that I am Open Sourcing, that is throwing them out there for others to grab. I am way to busy to do these but I think that they should be done.

- Create a website called “Spoilr” which is dedicated to spoilers for movies, RealiTV, etc.
- Write a book called “The Five People You Will Meet On Facebook”
- Find me a girlfriend
- Create a better search engine for my blog

Whoa? Ramsay Just Did What?
Did you watch Hell’s Kitchen last night? If not, you may want to skip ahead…

Last night the person I picked to win it all for this season’s Hell’s Kitchen was booted by Ramsay. Me really thinks not that Gordon had a thing for Bonnie. I mean, c’mon, Jen had just received a unanimous victory as judged by mothers!

Perhaps Ramsay should have watched some of the video where Bonnie whined and whined while cleaning the dorm. Newsflash! Commercial kitchens are dirtier than their dorm, and they need to be cleaned far more often.

Don’t get me wrong, I love seeing a really cute twenty-six year old woman get far in the game, but I also want to respect the integrity of the contest.

It’s The End Of The Month As We Know It
Or, Two Out Of Three Ain’t Bad.

Since it’s the end of July and I am still typing then I obviously accomplished goal #0, “Celebrate my 42nd birthday.”

If you read yesterday’s post then you should have gleaned that I succeeded with goal #2, “Get my photoblog up and running” (psst… it’s at Jalapeno Beach).

However, the whole march toward writing Ruby on Rails applications fell apart (thanks in part to twelve days of vacation). I will resurrect this goal for August/September. I do want this… a lot.

Return Of My CD Pick Of The Week
Traveling North America caused me to fall away from picking CDs (which would have made nice birthday gifts for me I might add).

As I look at today’s releases on Metacritic I am dismayed to see only two options — Common, and Korn. Look, I’ll be honest with you. I cannot pick either of these so I suggest that you save your cash for a future week. Or you should go buy some beer or wine with the money instead.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - jovial
Current Music - Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 26 playing Midlake — “Roscoe”
Website Of The Day - If you are a fan of The YouTube then you might also enjoy Stupid Videos.
Exercise (b)Log - none, believe it or not I was sore from Sunday’s shenanigans
Mode Of Transportation To Work - My car

July Goals
0) Celebrate my 42nd birthday
1) Get my first Ruby / Ruby on Rails program written
2) Get my photoblog up and running

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

Unfortunately the title doesn’t refer to a slew of things that I wish would end. But, some things are finally getting done and that’s a good thing.

The Simpsons Movie Review
Save your money.

Twenty years ago when I lived in Gainesville, Florida I saw a trailer for what I thought was to be an animated movie. It was about a dysfunctional family called The Simpsons. I later found out that what I watched was not for a movie, but rather for a tv show. I was hooked. Back then it was difficult to watch The Simpsons because Gainesville had no Fox affiliate. As time progressed I moved to cities with Fox affiliates and have been an on-again / off-again viewer of the show.

I walked into the movie theater wanting to love The Simpsons Movie and left disappointed. Sure, it had its moments but they were too few and too far between.

I recommend that any money you planned on plunking down on this movie either be spent on a dvd set of a previous season, or stored away until the dvd of this movie becomes available.

ITP Flickr Pic … Finally
Yes, I finally spent some time at the computer this weekend sifting through photos that I took on vacation.

This was a lodge, whose name I’ve forgotten (if only I had thought to take a picture of that), that we stopped at on the drive from Jasper to Banff. I thought it odd that they would have a tattered flag.

Let’s Get Physical
I woke up late yesterday and had to scramble to make it to the Sunday morning run / drinking fest / Tour de France final stage watching.

Let me get this out of the way quickly. Even though my scale was kind enough to lie to me and tell me that I weigh “only” 201 pounds, it’s a very unattractive gelatinous 201 pounds. I am way out of shape.

Being ill-prepared for physical activities has never dissuaded me from attempting them in the past, so I headed out for a five-mile run, which turned into a five-mile run/walk, which turned into a five-mile walk. Meh. It was what it was.

Knowing that later in the day I’d be embarking on a Black Sheep hash I was not too disappointed that I couldn’t run, and limited myself to two “morning beers”.

The hash started out rather easy, traversing terrain that we have been on before. At some point I followed other hashers into a tunnel which turned pitch-black immediately. At one point I tried to see my hand which was directly in front of my face and couldn’t. Flashlight? I don’t need no stinking flashlight! Let me go on record stating that I do not mind most tunnels. I’m not afraid of the dark and as long as I don’t have to get into situations that are too cramped or dangerous, I’m good to go. Feeling like a blind person I attempted to sing some Stevie Wonder (why couldn’t I remember “Part Time Lover”?) or Ray Charles (Jose Feliciano was completely out of the question) songs, but to the delight of the others in the tunnel I was unable to think of much to sing. (Note, I later found out that one this site’s readers didn’t care for any of my tunnel singing. Phooey on you Miss no-fun-in-a-tunnel hasher. :P)

When we finally exited the tunnel all parties involved were confused because we magically lost trail. Upon finding out where I was, I happily guessed that the hash was ending at the house of one of the hashers who was running yesterday…. until I saw her running in my direction. She confirmed that the hash was not ending at her house and all hopes of finishing on trail were dashed. Seventeen of us wound up getting picked up and being driven to the end.

As it turned out the tunnel was not part of the trail and we little lemmings happily went through it all for no reason. I still say that it was the best part of the trail even if it wasn’t part of the trail.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - frustrated that I am sleeping so late
Current Music - Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 26 playing Lily Allen — “LDN”
Website Of The Day - Somebody finally posted a photo to his new photoblog Jalapeno Beach. The new site will be a little wobbly over the next week or so as I work out some of the kinks, but it’s finally up and running.
Exercise (b)Log - running / walking, 5 miles (finally)
Mode Of Transportation To Work - My car

July Goals
0) Celebrate my 42nd birthday
1) Get my first Ruby / Ruby on Rails program written
2) Get my photoblog up and running

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

My original plan was to take a long lunch and to see The Simpsons Movie at lunch. However, I didn’t wake up until 8am this morning so I am running late.

ITP = ISFJ
I am the beaver, cuckoo ca choo.

According to the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator survey I took I am a Introvert Sensing Feeling Judging type. While some of you may be surprised that I am an “introvert” is makes complete sense to me. The only one that confused my somewhat was that I came out as a “feeling” person.

ISFJ
Quiet, friendly responsible and conscience. Committed and steady in meeting obligations. Thorough, painstaking, and accurate. Loyal, considerate, notice and remember specifics about people who are important to them, concerned with how others feel. Strive to create an orderly and harmonious environment at work and at home.

I’d agree.

It’s Like I Am Waiting For My Photos To Be Developed
I have had enough time to move all of the Seattle / Canada photos to my home computer (including some panicking when I thought that I had reformatted one of the SD cards, thus losing all pictures on it). However, I have not had enough time to tweak them sufficiently to the point that satisfies me before showing them to the public. What was that bit about “thorough, painstaking, and accurate”?

ITP Flickr Pic
And because of that I will resume posting photos on Monday.

Will Big Brother Ever Get Rid Of The Many I Dislike?
Warning: Big Brother 8 Spoilers

After returning from playing Team Trivia I watched the live Big Brother 8 episode time shifted on my Dish Network DVR. I have to admit that the live eviction episodes might be the ones I hate the most, probably because I can’t stand Julie Chen, but also probably because I think they are boring.

Do you think that Jen has had “some work done?” I’m not saying that her mother was unattractive (okay, I really am)… Could it be that Jen got all of those hot, Beverly Hills nanny, modeling looks from her father? What’s the saying? Oh yeah, “The fruit rarely fall far from the tree.”

I was hoping that Kail would still be last night’s target. For a thirty-eight year-old mom she’s actually rather attractive, but I have not liked her since day one and I wanted to see her game end. But nooooo…. they had to go and kick out some guy named Mike. I was hoping this do-nothing would hook up with the other major do-nothing in the house, Jamika, and they would spontaneously explode in the process.

Note to America’s Puppet: Hey Eric take it down a couple of notches, will you? If you are going throw the HoH competition at least make it less obvious.

I am not a long-time BB viewer so help me out here. Have they been decorating the HoH rooms this season as I remember them doing in the past?

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - busy as a beaver; back to “normal” blogging next week
Current Music - none, listening to the Tour de Farce
Website Of The Day - The Simpsons Movie? D’oh!
Exercise (b)Log - none
Mode Of Transportation To Work - My car

July Goals
0) Celebrate my 42nd birthday
1) Get my first Ruby / Ruby on Rails program written
2) Get my photoblog up and running

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

Home again after a long day of planes, trains, and automobiles. All that I need today is a nice slow day at the office. Instead, I will be headed to Suwanee for a long day of management training.

What’s That Password? What’s My Alarm Code?
Twelve days away. On the one hand it seemed like a blink of an eye. On the other hand I gained memories that will last a lifetime. This morning I woke up and didn’t know where I was for a few seconds.

It Feels Like Starting Over
One of the fuckups I suffered in Seattle was accidentally deleting my iTunes library that lived on my laptop. While I tried to re-download most of it, I could not. I also screwed up by putting the library on my laptop’s small hard drive. Anyone out there know how to move an iTunes library to an external drive?

While My Spirits Are Up, So Is My Waist
I have to admit that I did too much drinking and eating during my trip. And for that my waistline has suffered.

I’m no longer “on vacation” so it’s time to start eating better, drinking less, and returning to exercising. Oh boy!

Catching Up On RealiTV
One episode of Top Chef: There would have been two of these watched last night if Bravo had not show some lame reunion show in lieu of a new episode. I am still trying to get a handle on who might win this thing.

Two episodes of Hell’s Kitchen: I watched two whole episodes because I forgot that I had already seen the last thirty minutes of one of those while I was in Seattle. Apparently the pecking order I predicted after watching the last episode was slightly wrong. Because Ramsay thought so much of Julia I was convinced that she would make it to the final three.

One episode of Pirate Master: And as Barb mentioned yesterday it appears that this was the last one that CBS will air. WTF? While I realize that the series is not scoring well in the ratings, would it really kill CBS to run it to its end? I read that the remaining episodes will be available online, but what about those who do not have hi-speed internet, or those like me that can’t stand RealPlayer.

Can you figure what I did most of the night?

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - where am I?
Current Music - none
Website Of The Day - During my training I will receive the results of the Myers-Briggs test that I took recently. Of course I’ll let you know the results. Anyone want to guess?
Exercise (b)Log - none, but I need to start today
Mode Of Transportation To Work - My car — to Suwanee

July Goals
0) Celebrate my 42nd birthday
1) Get my first Ruby / Ruby on Rails program written
2) Get my photoblog up and running

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

I am writing this before the fact, so if it reads a bit weird you now know why. It’s currently 11:18pm MDT and my flight leaves from Edmonton’s International Airport at 07:00am MDT. Not only will I encounter one layover, I will also be losing two hours on the return to Atlanta. My flight is scheduled to touch down in Atlanta after 4:00pm EDT, just in time to put me into rush hour traffic.

A Tale Of Two Connected Trips
If I had to do it all over again, I wouldn’t change a thing.

I spent four days and change in Seattle and never left the city. I spent five days and change (Canadian) in Canada and only slept in the same city twice — on the first and last nights.

My great friend Tamara (shockingly we realized that we have now known each other for fifteen years) drove me all over Alberta showing me much of what it has to offer, allowing me to eat and drink all that I wanted to ingest, letting me join her family for a family reunion, and putting up with my self-centered birthday bullshit.

On Thursday we stayed in her town of Millet, drinking Molson Canadian with Clamato juice (it’s a disgusting combination to my mouth) while putting down chicken wings and the “world’s best” nachos (what do Canadians know about Mexican food? )

On Friday we played all day in Edmonton; attending the Taste of Edmonton (with beer included, of course) and the topping the night off at one of those bars only a bar lover like myself could appreciate called The Commercial.

Saturday was Tamara’s family reunion. While not part of the family I was accepted into the all-day event, ate wonderful pot-luck food, and capped that night off at the bar in her home town of Breton.

Sunday! Sunday! Sunday! (which also happened to be my birthday) we drove to the town of Jasper. Along the way we stopped for a Tim Horton’s donut and coffee, I was treated to beautiful scenery and amazing wildlife including watching an unfortunate mountain goat getting hit by a van traveling in the opposite direction and being launched head-over-hoof. (We believed that it survived, although we didn’t stop to make sure.) My birthday dinner was Alberta steak (yum!) and then many beers at a bar called the D’ed Dog.

On Monday morning we pulled out of Jasper and headed to Banff. Along the way we stopped like tourists (because I was) and took pictures of the Canadian Rockies. In Banff we drank, caught our breath a bit, and then headed out for a night of drinking. Oh, and it was the night I ate poutine.

We brought it all home yesterday while making the return trip to Millet. We toured the Fairmont Banff Springs, stopped at the sulfur springs in Banff, and then drove the back roads back north and east. During the day I ate back bacon (as part of a buffalo burger), Lay’s Ketchup-flavored(!) potato chips, Korean food in the town of Millet, and a donair (an alias for “gyro”) pizza. I also found out that Mountain Dew in Canada, at least at the one location we stopped, was caffeine free. WTF?!

I was fortunate to encounter almost nothing but amazing weather while here. It rained some after we returned from the Banff bars, but for most of the time the skies were blue with white clouds, or at worst gray but dry. Alberta was having a heat wave, but fortunately for all parties the weather cooled slightly for my visit.

Hey, Is That A Television?
For obvious reasons I didn’t watch a whole lot of tv while vacationing. Last night I did sit and watch Big Brother (with a 4:00am wake up call there were no plans to party). I have been oblivious to the goings on in the BB house for over a week, with the exception of hearing that Joe was the one who got ousted last Friday.

Last night I thought that Dick let his emotions get in the way, and was rather disappointed that the Jenious was able to win the Power of Veto and get her neck off from the chopping block.

I had been recording all of my stories to be watched upon my return, but I think that I will just have to get rid of the BB episodes and go forward with it.

I still do not know what happened on Hell’s Kitchen, Pirate Master, or Top Chef, so if you’d do me a solid and not bring them up, I’d certainly appreciate it.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - wonderful regarding the feelings I have about the trip, bummed that it has all come to an end
Current Music - none
Website Of The Day - If I had serious money I’d definitely reward myself by staying at the Fairmont chain of hotels.
Exercise (b)Log - none
Mode Of Transportation To Work - none, I’m headed home

July Goals
0) Celebrate my 42nd birthday
1) Get my first Ruby / Ruby on Rails program written
2) Get my photoblog up and running

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

Sorry about yesterday’s silence. And an advanced sorry for today’s limited entry. I am putting the closing touches on a whirlwind tour of mid-western Canada and have not have much time to blog.

Yesterday my friend Tamara and I drove from Jasper to Banff and did much touring along the way. Also yesterday I successfully located and ate real poutine — and lived to tell about it.

By the time we got back to our hotel it was 12:30am MDT, we had just returned from the bars, and a thunderstorm had rolled in.

Today we head from Banff back toward Edmonton.

I have taken a ton of pictures which I must look at; none of which am I ready to upload.

Regular blogging will occur tomorrow or Thursday.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - great, although I am not looking forward to my flights back to Atlanta
Current Music - only the sound of rain
Website Of The Day - Ah Hell, I didn’t need to fly here and drive all around! I could have just gone to Discover Canada.
Exercise (b)Log - some walking
Mode Of Transportation To Work - None, for I am not at work

July Goals
0) Celebrate my 42nd birthday
1) Get my first Ruby / Ruby on Rails program written
2) Get my photoblog up and running

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

By the time you read this my birthday may have already come and gone.

On July 22nd I became forty-two years old. I am now the answer to everything.

That is all.

Well, now I’ve gone and done it. I’ve crossed the fence and made my way to Edmonton, Alberta.

I nearly fell in love with Horizon Air when they mentioned that passengers over the age of 21 (and I’m now nearly twice that) would be provided with a complimentary microbrew. And then almost as quickly as those wonderful words completed resonating through the plane’s cabin, an announcement stating that we would be traveling through turbulent air, thus canceling any beverage service was made. Dangen!

My Own Amazing Race Moment
With plenty of time to spare yesterday I decided to take the cheapest way to the airport. That turned out to be the Metro Bus. To Seattle’s (actually King County’s) credit they provide a bus service which is reliable. Even better, they provide an internet site which helps you figure out which buses to take to get to your destination, and where you should go to pick up each.

My route was simple enough:
Walk outside my hotel and take the MT358 to 5th / Virginia
Walk to 4th / Stewart and take the MT194 to the airport.

This is where my Amazing Race Moment arrives. You know when the contestants think they have everything planned perfectly and then thanks to crafty editing the show puts up a picture of a sign telling you the viewer that the couple has fucked up?

As I sat at the corner of 4th / Stewart watching buses pass, none of which were the MT194, it finally dawned on me that buses were four corners and that perhaps I chose the wrong one. I finally located the bus sign for the corner on which I was seated, only to find out that my revelation was unfortunately correct.

Wouldn’t you know that as I was walking toward another corner to find the proper bus stop the MT194 whizzed past me and there was no way for me to get to it in time. Sonnabitch!

After consulting the bus schedules I noticed that the MT174 also went to the airport and felt fortunate that it was arriving the where I was standing. Woo Hoo! I asked the bus driver if MT174 indeed went to the airport and he replied “You really want the 194″ to which I answer “Yeah, but I just missed it.” and then he told me to hop in. Let’s just say that the 174 took a slightly more “scenic” route to the airport.

At one point in the long and winding route a man got on the bus and asked my where I was headed. With luggage near me I could say nothing more obvious than “To the airport.”, to which he replied “Oh, you should have taken the 194.” Thanks Einstein.

The morale of this story? If you are going to take a bus to the airport in Seattle, get on the fucking MT194 and save yourself the hassle.

ITP Flickr Pic
Proof that I am in Canada

Bourdain Makes Me Laugh
On my flights I have be ignoring my iPod and choosing to read Anthony Bourdain’s latest book “The Nasty Bits.” The book is decent enough, if not somewhat repetitive for someone like me who has watched every episode his television series.

However, in this book there is a passage that had me rolling. In the chapter which discusses what cooks do after they are done cooking for the evening Bourdain writes

But it’s Atlanta that can lay claim to the best of the best (which is to say worst) chef-friendly dives in America: the legendary Clermont Lounge, a sort of lost-luggage department for strippers, who perform–perfunctorily–on a stage behind the bar. An Atlanta institution, attended at one time by nearly every citizen high and low, the Clermont changes character somewhat after midnight. The seemingly lost and hopeless give way to a hipster/restaurant trade contingent. Control of the jukebox (maintained strictly by the performers until then) is given over to a DJ. Though the dancers remain, there is decidedly nothing at all erotic about the spectacle. Cooks, male and female alike, applaud the Clermont’s legendary headliner, the decidedly Rubenesque “Blondie,” who recently celebrated nearly two decades at the venue. More than one chef and many cooks in Atlanta cherish their personally crushed and autographed can of Pabst Blue Ribbon from the veteran entertainer.

Thanks for noticing, Anthony.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - fine, eh
Current Music - silence
Website Of The Day - If you think you’d like to visit Edmonton Alberta one day, check out Info Edmonton to find out more information about the area.
Exercise (b)Log - none (travel day yesterday)
Mode Of Transportation To Work - None, I amstill on vacation

July Goals
0) Celebrate my 42nd birthday
1) Get my first Ruby / Ruby on Rails program written
2) Get my photoblog up and running

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

Saddened day today and not because it is going to rain. The Seattle portion of the trip comes to an end and I don’t feel that I’ve gotten as much out of this city as I should have (Why did I purchase those travel guides and then ignore them?), but I’ve had a good time nonetheless.

I succeeded in my beer quest! I managed not to repeat any beers on this trip. Here is a recap of my drinking escapades
- Mirror Pond : India Pale Ale
- Alaskan Brewing : Amber Ale
- Full Sail : [I forgot which variety]
- New Belgium Brewery : Fat Tire Amber Ale (not surprised by this are you?)
- Georgetown Brewing : Manny’s Pale Ale
- Pike Brewery : Kilt Lifter Scotch Ale
- Widmer : Hefe Weissen
- Snoqualmie : Copperhead American Pale Ale- Maritime IPA
- Red Hook : ESB (had to, place had no other “locals”)
- Mac & Jack’s : Amber Ale
- Decshutes : Twilight Ale
- Veshon : Old Stock Ale
- Full Sail : LTD #2 (I do not believe the other Full Sail was a LTD #2)

Ideas, Oddities, And Annoyances
I expected Seattle to be Starbucksville. Amazingly, while I did see numerous Starbucks, their presence wasn’t nearly as pervasive as I thought it would be.

Lifesavers advertises a lot in Seattle. Was market research done where Seattle scored lowly? Is it because they are such a nautical city?

I miss having Adobe Photoshop Lightroom for my photo editing. Upon my return to Atlanta I will have a lot of post-processing work ahead of me.

Because I hate Real Player so much I attempted to download Big Brother 8 via BitTorrent. I failed. I am soooooo far behind on my RealiTV.

I also reinstalled VLC on my laptop. Amazingly it doesn’t have to low-volume problem that I complained about iTunes having last week.

Perhaps the worst $2 spent on this trip was buying a one-way ticket to ride the monorail (monorail! monorail! monorail!). It was a Seattle experience I wanted to have, but it was anti-climatic. Easily the worst $12.75 I spent on this trip was on the awful fish and chip dinner that I bought at some Irish pub last night. On the one hand I was insulted at the portion delivered to me. On the other hand I was thankful that they were helping watch my weight.

Four t-shirts and two pairs of underwear have been designated for trash. I was shocked how careful I was not to get anything on my shirts even though I knew that I would never be wearing them again.

ITP Flickr Pic
I dug this one out of the recent archives

This was taken on Sunday at the Mariners game.

The Real Seattle Finally Stood Up
It rained the majority of yesterday, but thankfully the rain subsided for most of the late-afternoon and evening so I was able to get a little camera time in.

In the morning I went to the Seattle Art Museum. While I understood their “No Photography” policy, I nearly paid my $13 entrance fee for no reason. Apparently they also have a “no large bag” policy (they provide a coat/bag/umbrella check service) but since I had all of my camera gear in my messenger bag I was not about to check it. After explaining this to the security guard he begrudgingly let me in as long as I kept the bag closed.

I think that I understand why they don’t allow photography…. some of their art really sucks. Here is one fine example

It is an Ellsworth Kelly, a well-known and respected Modern artist, whose work could be accomplished by people with no talent — like me.

After another Rally Nap I headed out to the waterfront for a long final Seattle photostroll. The (early) evening was concluded with dinner and a few pints, and then a walk back to the hotel. For the first time I understood why the people here wore jackets when in the summer; my walk back was a chilly one.

And From Here?
I am off to Canada where I hope that I have WiFi access. I am not sure because I relinquished control of my agenda to my friend, and native Canadian, Tamara.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - okay, would like more time in Seattle,
Current Music - listening to Adam Curry’s “Daily Source Code” podcast
Website Of The Day - While Seattle is definitely a coffee town, Energy Fiend : Obsessed With Caffeine has them trumped. At Energy Fiend you’ll find the caffeine levels of most drinks available today.
Exercise (b)Log - walking, walking, walking
Mode Of Transportation To Work - None, I am on vacation

July Goals
0) Celebrate my 42nd birthday
1) Get my first Ruby / Ruby on Rails program written
2) Get my photoblog up and running

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

Alternate titles for today
- A Day Without Doughnuts Is Like A Day Without Sunshine
- Hey, Didn’t You Used To Play In Mudhoney?
- Introducing The “Rally Nap”
- I Know That Goddamn “Real World: Seattle” House Must Be Around Here Somewhere!

They say that the third day of the Tour de France (which I have given up following due to the time difference and the lack of tv coverage in the hotel) is the hardest because the riders’ bodies have not quite adjusted to the long hours on the bikes. My vacation, while admittedly a sliver of activity when compared, has had me walking many miles each day and my body is minutely revolting. After a long walk and an aborted attempt at going to the Seattle Art Museum I headed back to my hotel to “rest” for a while and wound up taking at least a two-hour nap, here-to-fore known as the “Rally Nap.” When I awoke around 6:30pm the sun was out (yea!) and my battery had been recharged.

Brother Can You Spare A Dime?
I’ve been a bit harsh on Seattle, but I seriously don’t “get” this town.

I’ve walked a lot of Seattle’s downtown blocks and have been somewhat surprised by the amount of people bumming change — white, black; young, old; clean cut, scruffy — they are everywhere. (Hey, didn’t that guy play in Mudhoney?). I’ve been to many of America’s major cities and nowhere have I seen so much panhandling (psst- Seattle, why don’t you give them all one-way bus tickets like Atlanta did? Wait, are these people transplanted Atlantans?)

To Seattle’s credit the people (Seattleans? Seattlites?) seem friendly enough (must be the Western Canadian influence) and seem to understand that tourism is a big part of their economy — which furthers my confusion with the panhandling.

ITP Flickr Pic
I found this little rubber ducky floating amongst debris last night

Admittedly the ducky is a bit soft in the picture. By the time I found him the light had dimmed considerably and he kept bobbing up and down while spinning around. I’ll be heading back to the waterfront today and hopefully can find him again.

Happiness Is…
There are times when it doesn’t take much to make me smile. Here are some of the most recent.

- Watching a French family eat Yoplait for breakfast. They looked confused. I looked amused. Remind you of home, Pierre?

- More than once I’ve wanted to take out my cellphone in a crowded coffee shop or restaurant and scream “I hate this fucking Windows Mobile phone!!! Why didn’t I buy an iPhone?!”

- I am sitting in my hotel room looking across to the neighboring hotel. I feel like Jimmy Stewart in Rear Window — except there is nothing as exciting going on over there.

Am I Loved Or Hated?
I can’t determine whether I am a hotel maid’s favorite, or least favorite, type of guest. You see, I have had the “Do Not Disturb” hanger on the door since I checked in, and I don’t plan to take it off until I leave. I have plenty of towels and toiletries, and no need to have my bed made so I see no need to allow them into my space. It’s not like I am running a meth lab in here or anything.

Guess I Won’t Be Seeing The Nightwatchman After All
I stumbled around looking for a place to eat dinner having no idea where I should go. After filling my belly with Mama’s Mexican (a chili Colorado burrito) I accidentally located The Crocodile, the bar to which I was planning on going tonight to see The Nightwatchman (Tom Morello of Rage Against The Machine) perform. Much like The Polyphonic Spree I had missed Morello’s show in Atlanta (and Bruce Springsteen was in the crowd goddammit!). But as I passed The Crocodile a guy was putting up a sign saying that the show was sold out. Oh well, I guess if you snooze Rally Nap you lose.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - back to good, trying to figure out what I should do today
Current Music - none
Website Of The Day - Since I’ve been missing Big Brother 8 (And CBS insists on making me use Real Player, which I loathe, in order to watch episodes online. If I walk past their offices here in Seattle again I might give them a piece of my mind.) I’m resorting to the Internets for information. One of the better BB8 sites is We Love Big Brother.
Exercise (b)Log - much walking
Mode Of Transportation To Work - None, I’m on vacation

July Goals
0) Celebrate my 42nd birthday
1) Get my first Ruby / Ruby on Rails program written
2) Get my photoblog up and running

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]