Inside The Perimeter

The East Atlanta Beer Festival is tomorrow and not only am I neither volunteering nor attending, I have planned to be elsewhere. What has happened to the Paulie who lived for the Big Drunk? Oh yeah, he got fat as he matured. Besides, my history has proven that I shouldn’t be somewhere that enables over-consumption and is also full of beautiful people.

Here’s a question for you… The cost to get into the EABF is $30 ($35 at the door, and $15 for designated drivers? WTF?). Do you really think that $30/$35 is a reasonable fee for entry? I can buy two quality six-packs for $20 and if I had ten friends over who also also brought differing twelve-packs, then we could have one hell of a beer festival much cheaper. I’m just sayin’.

Read Along With Me
Today’s passage from Notes To Myself.

I want to say something to this person but the fear comes: “I’d better not” (he may misunderstand, he may be in a hurry, ad infinitum). These fears are not based on the present situation, they are based on the past, and I don’t have to be governed by what once went wrong. The two of us are standing here in the present. What is the situation now?

To all who have helped me — Thanks.

May: The Month Which Seemed To Be So Promising
I haven’t done much in the way of exercising this month. Sure, there was the twenty-five-mile ride that started the month, and Twisted Ankle Half Marathon mid-way through, but not much else. That all changes this weekend however. June, my friends, will be my month… unless of course I decide to wait until July.

Speaking of July, check out the public Google Calendar called “ITP Concerts” (wanna guess who created it?) and you’ll see that it look like I’ll be spending a lot of my free time at Variety Playhouse.

I Am An “Idea” Man
I say this because I rarely seem to follow through on the art projects I conceive.

Years ago, before I owned a decent camera, I wanted to do a coffee-table book consisting of photos of the “makeshift” memorials which seemingly began littering America’s roadways in the the 1990’s. The difficulty with this concept is that most of these are erected in dangerous areas (hence the deaths that are associated with them) and it’s not exactly easy to stop, grab the camera, and get a decent shot.

On a trip to Oakland Cemetery last year I decided that I should try to see of I could take 365 photos of Confederate Soldier headstones. If the idea fleshed itself out properly I was going to display the headstone for the soldier on the day he died.

The latest project still parked on launching pad is the “Daily Gas Price” photo. I wanted to chart the rise and fall of gas prices by taking a photo of the same gas station each day. To date I’ve taken zero photos for this project. As an aside the price of gas at that station this morning was $4.09 for regular. We are all screwed! And I should be document this!

To my credit the one project that has started is the “Home Was Where The Hearth Is” project in which I will take photos of free-standing hearths where buildings used to stand beside it. So far there are two photos in the collection, but I intend to stop and take a photo of each one I see from now on.

ITP Flickr Pic
From last weekend’s country tour.

What will this weekend’s country tour produce? Only The Shadow knows…

I’ll Have A Full (and quite expensive) Tank Of Gas, And A Full iPod
I’ve got another OTP destination in mind for this weekend. The destination this week is Moreland, GA where my friends (and ITP readers) Steve and Debbie reside. They are kindly opening up there home for a weekend of festivities including bike riding, running, beer drinking, and bacon eating. I’ll also be toting my camera along searching for shots this weekend.

Did Someone Say Bacon?
When I was up in Summerville, GA a few weeks ago I stopped into the Ingles for supplies. One of the purchased supplies was a twelve-ounce package of what turned out to be some of the tastiest bacon I have ever eaten. Since Ingles doesn’t seem to have any locations ITP I will make an effort to stop into one along my way to/from Moreland. I know that it sounds crazy, but that bacon was fucking awesome!

Life Doesn’t Begin At Forty, It Begins When You Know That Someday It Will End
Harvey Korman died yesterday. Harvey is far from the first celebrity linked to my childhood to have died but for some reason this one struck me harder than most. Maybe it was the joy he brought to my life through his life’s work. Maybe it was the satisfaction I got out of seeing him and Tim Conway perform at The Fox theater a few years ago. Maybe it was the silly feeling I got when I saw him walking around the buffet at the Las Vegas Hilton a handful of years ago. Or maybe it was the realization that we all will follow.

I am forty-two-years old (at least for another seven weeks). I should learn to live today because someday I won’t be given the option.

Have an incredible weekend everybody! And, with any luck, we should all return here on Monday. ‘kay? Thanks!

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - Friday, ah Friday
Current Music - Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 26 playing Death From Above 1979 — “Black History Month”
Website Of The Day - Perhaps while uncluttering my house I will put an item or two up on Keep Or Toss.
Exercise (b)Log - nothing
Monthly Foot Mileage - 25 miles
Monthly Wheel Mileage - 25 miles
Mode Of Transportation To Work - My car
Monthly Marta Rides - 13
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) - 59 (59)

May Goals
1) Run no fewer than 75 miles
2) Ride no fewer than 100 road miles
3) Ride Marta no fewer than ten times (five round-trips)
4) Read at least one book
5) Make my bed every day

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

I am writing this on Wednesday night (while I am watching Top Chef) and early Thursday morning. The reason for my preemptive strike is because I have been assigned another troubleshoot ride-along for work at 8am Thursday morning. So, depending on when you read this I very well may be in some stranger’s house.

Today’s will be real short. If you have a problem with this I suggest that you go back and re-read the supersized edition that I produced yesterday.

Read Along With Me
Today’s passage from Notes To Myself.

Maybe I’d better not talk any more, they may be tired of listening to me. But I am talking because I want to, because it’s doing something for me, not because it’s doing something for them. So the question is do I want to talk some more.

To all who have helped me — Thanks.

I Expected Common Sense And Was Wrong
Last night I went over a friend’s place to watch Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals. He lives in midtown and his address is 704 so I parked around 6th Street because I assumed that 704 would be between 7th and 8th. Not so in Atlanta… After beginning my walk from 6th toward 7th I realized that the house numbers were increasing as expected, but were already in the 800’s! WTF? I turned around and walked nearly three blocks where I finally located 704 nestled between 3rd and 4th Street. Oh Atlanta, how stupid thou can be.

ITP Flickr Pic
The other night I got to hang out with my great friend Maigh and shoot her friend Gwen.

As you can see here and in some of the other photos that I’ve posted to my Flickr Photostream it’s easy to take good shots when you’ve got good models.

RealiTV Update: Top Chef
Top Chef has reached its Final Four!!! After tonight they say good-bye to Chicago and hear toward Puerto Rico.

In the QuickFire Challenge the chefs are taken to a butcher shop so that they can hack up some meat into “tomahawk steaks” and then cook one of them to medium rare for the guest judge’s assessment. Spike has the advantage of coming from a heritage of meat choppers so it is not surprising that he wins. It is also not surprising that his QuickFire win haunts him, now that the contestants no longer win immunity. Also heard in this segment of the show is some really poor audio overdubbing done by Padma. Every once in a while programs attempt to overdub either to correct errors made in the initial shooting, or to add content, and it never ceases to amaze me how poorly it is done.

Next up is the Elimination Challenge. The chefs have to work a night in a steak house restaurant cooking for the guests — nothing like free promotions on Top Chef and a night of free service! The mystery judges for the evening are the winners of Top Chef 1-3 — Harold, Elan, and Hung. Look three men have won in the past, and of the five remaining in Season 4 only two are men; it’s nice to see Bravo stacking the deck. In this challenge Spike figuratively slits his own throat by playing it safe and choosing to redo “tomahawk steaks” and also by selecting frozen scallops. Unlike other RealiTV cooking shows (read “Hell’s Kitchen”) we see that cooking doesn’t have to be disastrous and things go fairly smoothly, with the exception of Spike and his frozen scallops. At the judges’ table we see Stephanie get chosen as the night’s winner (another win for her!) even though King Richard is told that his was the best appetizer and MILFy Antonia is told that hers was the best entree. I guess consistency matters most? I nearly do a spit-take as it appears that Stephanie only wins a book for her efforts, but then they tell her that she’s also won a MacDaddy new kitchen from the folks at GE who have been pimped more times this season than a 65-year-old hooker. Spike and Lisa were determined “worst” (no surprises there, eh?) and once again Lisa’s incredibly poor attitude disgusts me. Spike then figuratively slits his throat for the final time by calling out the restaurant owner for even having frozen scallops in his walk-in cooler! Dude, not smart… Guess who got booted?

So it’s off to Puerto Rico for the Three-and-a-half Chefs. I expect Lisa to get booted immediately leaving the competition left to the three — Stephanie, Richard, Antonia — who were head-and-shoulders (surprisingly no product placement here) better than the rest. Expect one of the women to win this competition because it has been a focal point of the season since Episode #1.

Okay Have To Run Or I’ll Be Late For Job
DANGEN!

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - frustrated
Current Music - listening to Wednesday’s CNET Buzz Out Loud podcast
Website Of The Day - Have you been seeking a good resource for learning more about recycling light bulbs? Look no further than Lamp Recycle
Exercise (b)Log - nothing
Monthly Foot Mileage - 25 miles
Monthly Wheel Mileage - 25 miles
Mode Of Transportation To Work - My car
Monthly Marta Rides - 13
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) - 59 (59)

May Goals
1) Run no fewer than 75 miles
2) Ride no fewer than 100 road miles
3) Ride Marta no fewer than ten times (five round-trips)
4) Read at least one book
5) Make my bed every day

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

Blog posts intrigue me as the tend to evolve while being written. Normally they stay one or two degrees within their intended course and then there are days like today when they spin wildly out of control. Put seat belts on for this one. Keep an open mind. Comment to your heart’s content. Get ready! It’s a Wild and Wacky Wednesday edition of Inside The Perimeter.

Read Along With Me
Today’s passage from Notes To Myself.

If I feel compelled to answer every question, I am the one compelling me.

To all who have helped me — Thanks.

Building A Relationship Can Be So Difficult
Yesterday I went on a second date with my hairstylist. Okay, it was really my second time seeing her professionally and not a date. In many ways it felt like a date — conversation was all small-talk and awkward, I am not sure if we are seeing eye-to-eye, I don’t know if there will be another one, I got no sex out of the deal, and in the end I wound up paying for everything. See, not much different than dating, at least what I can remember…

Kindling Ideas — This Is Going To Get Weird
Yesterday Amazon did a rather insidious thing, they dropped the price of their e-book reader Kindle by $40 to $359. The price drop interests me greatly. I can honestly say that if the Kindle was $200-$300 I’d already have purchased one.

I see the Kindle, or some other e-book reader, as part of the “Readable Branch” of my Digital Lifestyle Transition (something I was planning on rolling out in June and will define below). It all ties into my 2008 Decluttering Initiative (Shit, I am starting to sound like a corporation!) and goes something like this…

Mission Statement:
“In an effort to reduce the amount of items accumulating in my household, beginning 01-June-2008 the purchase of all new media shall be done electronically and digitally. Physical media purchased shall be limited to “used” media — such as second-hand compact discs purchased at stores, items which are not available digitally, or the rare item whose quality is severely diminished by this limitation — such as magazines containing photos as content.”

There are three Branches to this concept:
Readable: The media in this branch consists of books, magazines, etc. The devices used to consume this media shall be computers as well as e-book readers.
Audible: The media in this branch consists of music, podcasts, audible books, etc. The devices used to consume this media shall be computers as well as portable music players such as an iPod.
Viewable: The media in this branch consists of movies, photos, etc. The devices used to consume this media shall be computers as well as electronic displays such as televisions.

Notice the central role the computer plays in this concept; it is the only device which spans all three branches. In 2008 this should probably not be a revelation, but rather as an exclamation of the continuing importance this technology plays in our lives. The computer, or more precisely the mass storage attached to it, will be the “bookshelf” on which all electronic media is stored.

As an individual who controls all of his media purchases why shouldn’t I implement this initiative? Do I really need to own physical copies of media? When was the last time I played a CD? Why should I continue to fill the landfills with the waste generated by producing physical media, or its sales packaging? And before the “Support Your Local Dealer” bandwagon stops at my front door to protest, keep in mind that there are provisions for purchasing media from local resources in order to sustain their efforts for as long as they can be reliably counted as a resource.

Sounds fucking wacky, no? Consider the source.

ITP Flickr Pic
Are “weak chins” the new black? Yesterday I posted this photo of me that I took using the camera on my phone.

It already has more views than the quality photos (imho) I posted a few days before it. What is wrong with the people on Flickr?

RealiTV Update: Hell’s Kitchen
When last we visited Hell’s Kitchen the bumbling chefs had just lost Rosanne — queen of the sauces as thick as her accent (not really but I’ve been waiting to use that line all season). Now we are down to the Magnificent Seven, which if you are an Atlanta hasher you understand my humor.

As if watching the Blue Team lose almost wasn’t enough evidence, this week’s Reward Challenge centers around teamwork. Each team must produce three dishes in three six-minute shifts with only fifteen seconds of communication between shifts. Early on it appears that the Red Team has messed up by improperly cooking chicken (Oh Nooooo! You could KILL someone!) but those clever editors are merely planting a trap. In the end we find out that Gordon loves him some sauces because the Blue Team’s lack of sauces on two of their three dishes costs them the challenge. The winners visit the beach, the losers make time with the bleach (Yes Fox you may steal that line for a future episode.)

For the Elimination Challenge Ramsay rips the menu into shreds and allows the teams to create their own menu for the evening. Comedy ensues when Jen, who lacks no confidence, can’t shut up and creates the majority of the Blue Team’s menu — which Ramsay verbally shreds to pieces. It’s four against three now so the odds that the Blue Team would lose again seem impossible, right? Nope! Even with Matty sweating into the pasta (or as Ramsay accused him of doing) the Red Team was victorious. The Blue Team’s “Sloppy” Petrozza gets to nominate Louross and Jen, and then in a shocking turn of events is told by Ramsay to hand pick the person to be eliminated! As much as I’d liked to have seen Jen get the boot, he correctly eliminates Louross.

Ramsay’s not done with his shenanigans yet though! He puts the fear of Jeebus into Matt by calling him into the firing line, but then cheekily tells each that he’s shaking up the teams. Ramsay recreates the all-men Blue Team and the all-women Red Team by executing a one-for-one trade of Matt and Jen. However, we see from the previews that next week they join forces — Red and Blue turn to Black.

Yesterday’s CD Pick Of The Week
On the few occasions (I never spell that word correctly!) that I get a Monday off thanks to a Federal Holiday I seem to have difficulties remembering to mention CD releases upon my return to blogging. Why should yesterday be any different?

Now that I look at the list I see that I really didn’t much that would have landed on my radar. Al Green? John Hiatt? Cindi Lauper? Sam Phillips? Usher? All meh to me.

And before you ask, as of next week this section gets retitled “Digital Download Of The Week.”

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - pretty damn full of myself
Current Music - Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 26 playing Fleet Foxes — “White Winter Hymnal”
Website Of The Day - The thought of creating Paper Toys makes me very happy.
Exercise (b)Log - nothing
Monthly Foot Mileage - 25 miles
Monthly Wheel Mileage - 25 miles
Mode Of Transportation To Work - My car
Monthly Marta Rides - 13
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) - 58 (58)

May Goals
1) Run no fewer than 75 miles
2) Ride no fewer than 100 road miles
3) Ride Marta no fewer than ten times (five round-trips)
4) Read at least one book
5) Make my bed every day

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

At least one that has to care for a yard. This weekend provided ample opportunities for me to do some manual labor around the house, including mowing my lawn, cutting back so shrubs, and cleaning the debris off of my roof; of that list I did none.

Read Along With Me
Today’s passage from Notes To Myself.

My saying “and” and “uh” results from my need to answer immediately, to speak without break, as if taking time to think were embarrassing.

Interpreting the pause is their problem.

To all who have helped me — Thanks.

The Price Of Gas Be Damned, I’m Going Driving!
Saturday morning saw me wake up later than desired but still early enough to make it to Hamburg State Park in the “Golden Light.” The site was beautiful upon my arrival, and the lake was like glass. I snapped a few choice photos and then took a hike around the lake which was unspectacular. Unfortunately I also blew a couple of great opportunities to enhance my People Photography portfolio because I am such a weenie and would ask the people if I could take their photo.

After getting my fill of the park I started on my journey to return ITP. I traveled through the small towns of Sparta and Eatonton, stopping at neither since it was too early for lunch and I didn’t see a whole lot which interested me. I thought I hit a jackpot when I rolled into Monticello because there was some activity going on in their town square. Being very hungry (oddly my two-fortune-cookie breakfast had worn off by noon) I chose to eat before seizing the bountiful photo opportunities. Monticello didn’t seem to offer much in the way of “cuisine”; I saw a standard Chinese take-out, a Blimpie, and then a small cafe. At first I thought I made the wrong decision by choosing the cafe, but as it turned out the hamburger I ate was quite tasty. To my dismay when I was done eating I found out that the majority of the event had broken down and the people had left the square. Dangen!

ITP Flickr Pic
Part of my travels on Saturday included a stop at Hamburg State Park. The lake was like glass until I stepped out onto the dock to shott my shots. Whoops! This is the grist mill that once ground corn to corn meal. This building is now a small museum.

Come to think of it, I have no idea how the two-pound sack of corn meal I purchased on Saturday was ground…

Who Knew The Most Danger Would Occur At The End?
On Sunday I ran the Black Sheep Hash. The hash had a lot going for it — the weather was beautiful, I knew hares Little Easy and BWanA would lay a great trail, the start was relatively near to East Atlanta, and since I had Monday off for Memorial Day I wouldn’t have to worry about drinking too much beer.

The trail was indeed challenging and provided a good time. I even correctly guessed the ending although I didn’t have the guts to shortcut. My difficulty came shortly after I finished trail. Tired and hot, all I wanted was a cold beer. I grabbed a bottle and one of those “bartender’s friend” wine openers and opened a beer. Unfortunately, I also cracked the neck of the bottle and promptly sliced open one of my fingers. (I’ve not had a good six months with kitchen utensils and my hands) The injury is nothing serious but really damn aggravating.

The trail helped identify at least one great photo opportunity. I was going to go out and shoot there yesterday, but a combination of laziness and the thought that I might not want to go hiking in the area with all my gear alone changed my mind.

Crime: It’s The Natural Enemy Of Gentrification (Not Gentrifuckation)
Yesterday a friend of mine had his house broken into and the asshats stole his television. According to a pieced-together time-line the crooks were in and out of his house in fewer than ten minutes.

I have to admit that when I was carjacked nearly four years ago I rationalized the event as an isolated incident. Crime in the “Atlanta Metro area” has no longer become “isolated.” In the past year I personally know at least five people who have either had their homes or cars broken into, or they have been robbed at gunpoint. There are tens-more that I have read about as well. It’s all out of hand and I have seriously considered getting the house ready for sale once the housing market improves. Where would I go? I don’t really know. I do know that crime has really lowered what I perceive as the the quality of living in Atlanta.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - Is it already Tuesday? Cool!
Current Music - Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 26 playing The Raveonettes — “Aly Walk With Me”
Website Of The Day - I normally don’t need anyone to suggest beers to me, but it’s always nice to know that I have Beer Suggest on which to lean in confusing times.
Exercise (b)Log - hashing on Sunday, nothing else
Monthly Foot Mileage - 25 miles
Monthly Wheel Mileage - 25 miles
Mode Of Transportation To Work - My car
Monthly Marta Rides - 13
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) - 57 (57)

May Goals
1) Run no fewer than 75 miles
2) Ride no fewer than 100 road miles
3) Ride Marta no fewer than ten times (five round-trips)
4) Read at least one book
5) Make my bed every day

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

I wish I was announcing the purchase of a new mobile device. Instead, I have been selected to go on a trouble call in McDonough, GA later this afternoon. So I guess that I will be getting a jump on the long weekend?

Read Along With Me
Today’s passage from Notes To Myself.

It could be that if I were afraid to just “be me” I would be naturally funny. It could be that a humorous response does flick through my mind, but fear of what people might think if I just blurted out my thoughts kills it.

To all who have helped me — Thanks.

Nary A Tweet About Trivia
I just realized that today is Friday (durrr) and that no one put out a call to play trivia last night. Huh. I know that I could have been the one to initiate interest, but I normally don’t these days. And for some reason I forgot that yesterday was Thursday. So this is what old age is going to be like….

Going Mobile… In A Good Way
Even with ridiculously high gas prices I’ve decided to go on a road trip tomorrow. Tomorrow morning I’ll be waking up before the crack of dawn and driving to Mitchell, GA to visit Hamburg State Park Why Hamburg? Why not? The plan is to take the direct route to Mitchell, and then when I am ready to return to civilization, take a slow roll through the towns of Sparta, Eatonton, and Monticello. Hopefully I’ll either find a kick-ass restaurant along the way home, or I’ll get back in time to cook up a chicken I started thawing in the refrigerator the other day.

ITP Flickr Pic
Another shot taken for my People Photography class.

This guy is named Greg and he works at Le Petite Marche in Kirkwood who was nice enough to be a subject for Maigh and me.

I Want To Relaunch Jalapeño Beach
Of the many burning desires I possess the one which has been nagging me the most is the fact that I let my photoblog Jalapeño Beach die. Flickr is alright and all, but nothing says “I take photography seriously” like having your own virtual gallery. If I can make the time this weekend I think that I will try to resurrect it.

Been Trying To Figure Out What To Do On My Birthday?
Don’t worry, you still have about two months…

However, the Old 97’s have decided that their gift to me will be to play Variety Playhouse on July 22nd. Tickets go on sale today (and I’d suggest avoiding purchasing from TicketMaster). Guess who will be buying himself one of many early birthday presents?

Have A Happy And Safe Memorial Day Weekend
For the one or two of you who aren’t in America, nor have lived in America, this weekend is Memorial Day weekend. What does that mean? One of my six precious paid holidays, the beginning of our traditional “driving season”, the Indianapolis 500, beer, and in days gone by — parades. It also means that a lot of people will be getting killed on the roads and waterways of America. Be safe. Watch out for the “other” guy. Return Tuesday to read my blog (of course you’ll have at least two entries to read then because I plan to write on Monday). Cheers all!

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - miffed
Current Music - Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 26 playing The Decemberists — “16 Military Wives”
Website Of The Day - This week a great friend lost one of her pups. While Ruben was dog-enough to drink real beer, perhaps you want to start your canine’s drinking habit with Beer For Dogs.
Exercise (b)Log - nothing (again?!)
Monthly Foot Mileage - 25 miles
Monthly Wheel Mileage - 25 miles
Mode Of Transportation To Work - My car
Monthly Marta Rides - 13
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) - 53 (53)

May Goals
1) Run no fewer than 75 miles
2) Ride no fewer than 100 road miles
3) Ride Marta no fewer than ten times (five round-trips)
4) Read at least one book
5) Make my bed every day

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

I am not getting the things I want to do done. When this occurs I usually say that I could not “find” the time. I’ve come to realize that I will never “find” the time and instead am going to have to “make” the time. If I prioritize my desires and tend to those that mean the most to me then I should not be dissatisfied with my efforts. After all, I some how “make” the time to write this blog five days a week.

Read Along With Me
Today’s passage from Notes To Myself.

Profanity fixes the other person’s attention on my words rather than my thoughts.

To all who have helped me — Thanks.

Man, That Was Painful
Luckily the pain to which I refer did not occur at the dentist’s office but rather at Turner Field.

My dental checkup could not have gone much better yesterday. My gums were good, they could find no decay, and I was able to pay using my Health Savings Account debit card. Nice.

I thought for sure that this would mean my entire day would be like puppies and kitties running though a field of lush, freshly-mowed grass.

And then I entered Hell Turner Field. My first astonishment was to find out that my bank WalkAllOverYa was no longer the “Official Money Dispenser At Turner Field” and instead it was now Suntrust. Dangen! My plan to get some greenbacks at the stadium was squashed because I refuse to pay the ridiculous ATM fees in order to get my money. Luckily, everything at the stadium is over-priced so I felt comfortable charging things using my credit card. Wait a minute, that makes little sense… And then the Braves went on to bitch-slap the Mets for the third time in two days. I guess that I can take solace that I am not the guy who was goofing off sliding down a railing and fell to his death. Mark my words, the lawyers are going to be all over this and by next season we will all be caged “for our own good” while walking in the stadium.

ITP Flickr Pic
Another from last weekend.

I need to make time to shoot more.

Kindling An Interest
I’ve come up with a “Killer App” for a Kindle (which is an e-book reader for those of you who have no idea of what I speak), now if Amazon would only reduce the price and improve its ability to read PDF files.

My “Killer App” is using the Kindle as a repository for manuals. Because I buy so many devices and increasingly the manuals for these devices are available electronically, why not have one device (read “a Kindle”) on which I can store them? This would be a godsend when traveling, especially to locales where internet service is sketchy and downloading a manual on demand is not an option.

Oh and I’d also be able to load it up with novels for which I will never “find” time to read.

Oh The Frustrations!
I’ve just paid my AT&T phone bill. I figured that it was the time to strike early and remove my pointless $7.50/month “Inside Wiring Maintenance Plan.” Having searched high-and-low on their website to accomplish this I caved-in and called a customer service representative. Because I was calling right as they “opened” I got someone to pick up the phone immediately. “Smooth sailing!” I thought to myself.

Everything was going swimmingly until this conversation occurred
Rep: “Do you know that you can remove this service online?”
Me: “Yes, I tried everything but never found a way to ‘remove’ it.”
Rep: “Oh, I see. I must tell you that there is a one-time charge for me to do this.”
Me: “Really? How much?”
Rep: “$9.95″
Me: “Yikes. That seems like a rip-off! I’ll see if I can find the way to do it for free.”

After trying to — upgrade my service, buy useless phones, and sign up for internet service — all of which I declined, I hung up the phone. Now I will have to “make” the time today to remove this nonsensical “maintenance plan” from my account.

Is it any wonder why people are increasingly fed up with the greed of companies?

RealiTV Update: Super Size Me
Hell’s Kitchen
Thanks to Hulu I was able to catch up on my Hell’s Kitchen watching.

Matt sliced off the top of one of his fingers? What an idiot! Oh wait a minute… Did I ever have flashbacks… To say I couldn’t watch the show for a moment is a complete understatement.

The cooks on this season are complete buffoons and should never be allowed to run their own restaurant. Old Cheeky Ramsay pulled one out of his bum last night when he told Rosanne that she could return to the line… and then fired her ass! PSYCHE!

I will watch this season to its end mostly because I have already invested so much time watching it.

Top Chef
On to a RealiTV show that I can respect, Top Chef. On last night’s episode Daddy Tom had a “previous engagement” so big, bad Anthony Bourdain returned! Booyah!

The QuickFire challenge of working a diner’s egg station proved to be too much for most of the chefs and milfy-Antonia won the challenge. From the way it was edited she really looked like the only one who seemed comfortable as a short-order cook.

For her “advantage” Antonia got to hand-pick her two partners for Restaurant Wars!!!! In what appeared to be the most one-sided challenge to date Antonia, King Richard, and Stephanie (who I must admit is really growing on me) beat up on Dale, Lisa, and Spike. For her ability to juggle front and back of the house Stephanie won the challenge and was rewarded with what sounded like an awesome trip to Spain. Meanwhile Dale and Lisa duked it out for Top Loser while Sneaky Spike slithered his way into a “it’s not me” corner and watched with a Cheshire Cat grin.

I’m gonna call it now…
Top Three = Stephanie, Richard, Antonia
Winner = Antonia

What says you?

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - harried
Current Music - Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 26 playing Oasis — “Supersonic”
Website Of The Day - My buddy Darren has pointed me to another site where musicians can upload and share their music. I can dig that idea. If you can too then check out Jamendo. (No, I don’t know why it’s called that, I will assume it’s because the domain name was available.)
Exercise (b)Log - I walked about a mile
Monthly Foot Mileage - 25 miles
Monthly Wheel Mileage - 25 miles
Mode Of Transportation To Work - My car
Monthly Marta Rides - 13
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) - 52 (52)

May Goals
1) Run no fewer than 75 miles
2) Ride no fewer than 100 road miles
3) Ride Marta no fewer than ten times (five round-trips)
4) Read at least one book
5) Make my bed every day

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

It’s that time of year again, time for a six-month dental check-up. At least this time I don’t have a bike strapped atop my car so that I can damage my bike rack. I seriously hope that I don’t have to blog about my dental failures tomorrow.

Read Along With Me
Today’s passage from Notes To Myself.

When I swear, I am being something rather than saying something.

To all who have helped me — Thanks.

People Photography Class = FAIL
It saddens me to say but I am not getting much out of this People Photography class at Showcase. The instructor is a really nice guy, perhaps too nice when critiquing students’ work. My real issue with the course is that there is very little teaching occurring. I figure that when I pay $150 to an instructor, he/she should instruct. Instead we spend about an hour-and-a-half looking at shots taken by the people in the class, and then spend the rest of the time looking at shots either taken by previous classes or scanned from a magazine. I could do the same thing for free on the internet.

It goes without saying that I won’t be taking People Photography 2.

Air Conditioning = FAIL
I am hoping for a cool summer because it appears that my air conditioning has failed again. If you turn the clocks back to last summer’s temperatures which were 100+ degrees you’ll remember that I finally caved and had someone come out and “fix” my air conditioning. At that time I knew that the “fix” was merely temporary. I fear the cost of a new air conditioner and all of the additional costs that will undoubtedly occur upon installation. I have the money, but I’d rather spend it on other things.

ITP Flickr Pic
Oh koi!

Given today’s title I really should have uploaded one of my shitty photographs for the sake of the blog.

RealiTV Update: Satellite Dish = FAIL
When I put a new roof on my house four years ago (really, has it been that long?) I took the satellite dish off the roof and planted it near the driveway. Over the past four years trees have matured and, in certain atmospheric conditions (read “rain”), the branches hang down and take away my view of the sky.

Such was the case last night. When I arrived home from photography class, which was followed by an awesome dinner at Little Bangkok, I found out that the branches had made it impossible for my DVR to record Hell’s Kitchen. Dangen!

I even tried using my old trick of recording off a West Coast channel (employment at a satellite tv company has its privileges) but my view of the sky was still obscured at 10pm and I just couldn’t be bothered.

I’ll see if I can watch it tonight using Teh Internets (either legally through Hulu or Fox, or illegally using the popular download technology BitTorrent).

Decluttering = FAIL
My house is an annoying mess. Over the next few months I plan to make another concentrated attempt to rid of the massive amounts of shit that I own. The long-term goal is to reduce the amount by half. Sound crazy? Yes it is, but it will be so rewarding when I am done.

Life’s current path projects me to be an “empty nester” who never had anyone leave his nest. My next home, where ever it shall be, will not be as large as my current house. In fact, if life continues on its current path it’s going to be an awesome bachelor loft which could not possibly hold all of the shit I currently own.

Mets = FAIL
Tonight I’ll be making my first 2008 trip to Turner Field for a Mets v. Braves game. I was all stoked to go to the game until I realized just how bad this Mets team can be. I am debating bringing my camera because I am walking to the stadium from Grant Park. Since I’ve yet to complete the process of getting a personal property insurance policy I just might err on the side of caution. I hate that I have to think this way.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - okay, not perfect, and fearing my dental check-up
Current Music - Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 26 playing The Duke Spirit — “The Step And The Walk”
Website Of The Day - Fail Dogs is a funny blog with photos that are guaranteed to help you forget about your own failures.
Exercise (b)Log - FAIL
Monthly Foot Mileage - 25 miles
Monthly Wheel Mileage - 25 miles
Mode Of Transportation To Work - My car
Monthly Marta Rides - 13
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) - 51 (51)…. no FAIL yet.

May Goals
1) Run no fewer than 75 miles
2) Ride no fewer than 100 road miles
3) Ride Marta no fewer than ten times (five round-trips)
4) Read at least one book
5) Make my bed every day

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

Today marks day fifty (Forty-nine? My accounting got screwy somewhere.) of bed making. While the effort hasn’t revolutionized my life it is nice to go into my bedroom and see it tidy, well at least when I look at the bed.

Read Along With Me
Today’s passage from Notes To Myself.

Last night I started using swear words with Bill when I thought I was sounding nicer than I felt. Evidently I want to swear in order to become more real — or is it to sound more real?

To all who have helped me — Thanks.

Time To Think About Spending
I left work last night and made it back into East Atlanta around 7pm. By that time I was hungry and the thought of preparing something at home didn’t seem appealing.

I stopped into The Midway (again) because I wanted to give their chicken tenders another try, wanted a Lagunitas Censored, and was hoping the cute wait staff was there. I got the chicken and beer at least….

What I realized at the end of the meal was just how damn expensive it’s become to eat bar food. My total for chicken tenders with one beer was $13.50, throw in tax and tip and the bill was nearly $18! Guess who’s about to curb some discretionary spending…

ITP Flickr Pic
This is one of the photos I will submit for critique tonight.

It’s okay but not thrilling me. I wish I could find the magical button to make me happier with my work.

Untraining
I’ve decided that I will be giving my body a recovery period for the next few days. I am slightly hobbled from Saturday’s half marathon (my “official” time was 2:40:07) and think it will be beneficial for me to take it easy for another day or two.

And while the gauntlet to ride the Cartersville Century was thrown at my feet yesterday (by a certain ITP reader) I am going to wait until my recovery period is over before I decide for what I will be training next.

What Are You Doing Memorial Day Weekend?
In chatting with my buddy Darren yesterday I realized that this coming weekend is Memorial Day weekend. (As an aside, I laugh every time I hear Canadians talk about their “May Long Weekend” holiday.) This time last year I was gearing up for my Tour de Arizona. This year I have nothing that exciting on my agenda until August.

In years past I’ve driven down to Newnan for the Atlanta Hash’s Camp Hedon. However, I’ve decided that those days should remain in my past so that is not an option.

I thought about finally making good on my threat to drive myself to Montgomery, Alabama to take in a Montgomery Biscuits baseball game, but unfortunately I just saw that they will not be playing home games this weekend.

Had I not camped last weekend camping could have been an option.

I could spend the weekend doing yard work. HAHAHAHAHAHA!

I just don’t know. Have you any suggestions?

As an interesting historical note, Memorial Day will mark my ninth anniversary of hashing. Perhaps I will make a special appearance at Monday night’s hash.

CD Pick Of The Week
If I was picking this week based on looks alone then my pick this week would be Scarlett Johansson’s “Anywhere I Lay My Head”. But the depth of my pick is deeper than skin-deep (not by much though) so I will consider other options.

Dresden Dolls (you might remember their song “Coin Operated Boy”) have a release today called “No, Virginia.” I’ve heard nothing from it.

Alanis Morrisette, 3 Doors Down, and Donna Summer have new releases today, but I’ve already heard enough from each of them.

The winner for “Best Band Name” today is Drunk Stuntmen who have a new disc released today called “State Fair.”

I guess what I am getting at is that I have no real CD Pick Of The Week this week. I’ve not been listening to a whole lot of Sirius 26 lately and even when I have they’ve been playing “older” tunes.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - fair
Current Music - Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 26 playing Built To Spill — “You Were Right” (my favorite Built To Spill tune)
Website Of The Day - I heard about TT Packs which are one-time use bathroom kits on a podcast. Then I found out that they company marketing them Eye 2 Eye Ideas is an Atlanta-based company. How could I not highlight them?

Exercise (b)Log - nothing
Monthly Foot Mileage - 25 miles
Monthly Wheel Mileage - 25 miles
Mode Of Transportation To Work - My car
Monthly Marta Rides - 13
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) - 50 (50)

May Goals
1) Run no fewer than 75 miles
2) Ride no fewer than 100 road miles
3) Ride Marta no fewer than ten times (five round-trips)
4) Read at least one book
5) Make my bed every day

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

On Saturday I successfully completed my fourth Twisted Ankle Half Marathon. Like I’ve done in the previous two years I tripped on something and fell during the race. Unlike in the past three efforts I managed to run the course in a time faster than three hours! Woo Hoo!

2005: Paul Nuesslein M/39 3:06:53
2006: Paul Nuesslein M/40 3:02:55
2007: Paul Nuesslein M/41 3:00:36
2008: Paul Nuesslein M/42 2:40:06 (unofficial)

The weather was perfect for a run, and I am sure that the past four months of running didn’t hurt either.

Congrats go out to my circle of friends Chad (aka “TLS”), Bill (aka “Highdicker”), Carol (aka “Wine Ho”), Laura (aka “Martha”), Larry (aka “Big Bore”), Thomas (aka “Colonel Cl*t), Sharon, Priscilla (aka “Skin Flute Pie”) for completing the half, and to my craziest friend Little Easy for once again running the full marathon.

Since I’ve run all four Twisted Ankle events I put a bug into the race director’s ear about rewarding five-timers (read “me”) next year. We’ll have to see if anything comes from my suggestion.

Read Along With Me
Today’s passage from Notes To Myself.

Bragging is a half-hidden, matter-of-fact rehearsal of past accomplishments, that I usually slip into the conversation under false pretenses — as opposed to the excited sharing of some recent recognition or achievement with a friend.

To all who have helped me — Thanks.

Missed By *This* Much
Friday night in Summerville was cool, as in chilly. As we walked from our campsite to the race start I passed numerous photo opportunities but for obvious reasons I didn’t have my camera with me. I noted the spots I wanted to shoot in hopes of waking up early the next morning to capture my images. Of course Saturday night was not nearly as chilly as Friday and no fog or morning dew was present on Sunday morning. Dangen!

ITP Flickr Pic
I feel smart occasionally. This sign makes me feel really smart because
1) I know that it is in Georgia, not South Carolina
2) I know that it is not a campground
3) I know that “Cemetary” is misspelled

I passed this sign on my back-roads return to Atlanta after last year’s Twisted Ankle Half Marathon. I was on a quest yesterday to find it again. I would have taken more photos of the cemetery, but as I started to walk around I heard a dog start to bark in the near distance and I saw that it was one of a pack of four unrestrained dogs, so I scurried away.

Today = AFK
If all goes as planned I should be rather busy today. Don’t let this dissuade you from interacting here however. And as I look at the clock I realize that I have to cut things short right now…

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - alright
Current Music - Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 26 playing My Bloody Valentine — “Only Shallow”
Website Of The Day - The GALILEO project is a collection of photos which is archiving a “vanishing” Georgia.
Exercise (b)Log - running, 13 miles
Monthly Foot Mileage - 25 miles
Monthly Wheel Mileage - 25 miles
Monday Morning Weigh-In - I forgot
Mode Of Transportation To Work - My Car
Monthly Marta Rides - 13
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) - 49 (49)

May Goals
1) Run no fewer than 75 miles
2) Ride no fewer than 100 road miles
3) Ride Marta no fewer than ten times (five round-trips)
4) Read at least one book
5) Make my bed every day

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

And I am unprepared on many levels. It’s bad enough that I know that I’ve not trained enough between the ING Half Marathon and now, but I’ve also haphazardly packed my camping gear so I am not 100% sure that I have everything I need.

Read Along With Me
Today’s passage from Notes To Myself.

The need to “build myself up” is probably what makes me, Paul, etc., talk excessively. The fear that I’m not much prompts me on because my experience tells me that in the past the right words have wowed people — “If I can just say the right words these people will like me.”

To all who have helped me — Thanks.

I Am More Than Just A Sports Encyclopedia
Normally my participation in Team Trivia is limited to sports questions and occasionally a music question. Rarely am I called upon to supply a movie answer (with good reason since I average seeing about one movie a year in the theaters), that job usually falls upon the shoulders of Bill or Vandy Beth.

Last night “Meet The Hashers” came one question away from scoring a perfect round. Going into the final question we possessed a three-point lead and then were asked this “Of the movies that have won a Best Picture Oscar, only two have had their plot occur in Los Angeles. Name one of those two.” Bill jotted down a couple of guesses, Vandy Beth a couple of more, and I almost-jokingly wrote down “Crash” thinking that one of those two would have written it down as well. It turns out that they hadn’t, we correctly turned in “Crash” as our answer, and won the battle.

As an aside for fans of Lagunatis Brewing Company’s CENSORED Ale — like many places around Atlanta (or Decatur I guess in this case) Raging Burrito has it on tap, and last night my pint cost me a measly $2.95.

ITP Flickr Pic
From last Saturday’s stroll around Atlanta Botanical Garden.

I like the graphical nature of my shot. The color of the flower is nice, and I am alway intrigued buy the fanciful patterns found in nature.

File Under: “Are You Serious?”
For way too long I’ve let BellSouth / AT&T reach into my pocket and take money. When I connected my phone line (and for the purposes of this argument consider I still need a landline) I was a new homeowner and consented to their $5.95/month “Inside Wiring Plan.” This plan is a unregulated charge so over time it has crept to its current price of $7.55/month and I’ve had enough. Further I’ve finally realized that if anything goes wrong with my phone wiring “inside the house” I have the skills to fix it.

Yesterday I tried to cancel this “feature” using BellSouth’s website. Not surprisingly, they make this task (nearly?) impossible as I could find no way to do it. If looks as if I am going to have to call them to cancel this “feature.” Why am I so sure that they BellSouth will be experiencing “higher than normal call volumes” no matter when I call and will have to wait on hold for a long time just to talk to someone? Dangen!

Chumby Update
In yesterday’s comments Andrew asked how the Chumby was doing.

My experience with my Chumby has been what I expected and frustrating at the same time. As platforms go Chumby is fairly rock-solid, which you’d expect because it’s a Linux-based device. I’ve never had to reboot it (yet) and the only times it’s been off is when the power went out for a while. Upon turning the device on it recaptures the necessary settings and current date and time and is running again.

The widgets for the device are still in their infancy. For example, the baseball scoreboard widget that I have loaded could be extremely useful if it would only go out and fetch the latest data correctly. Also I attempted to load a Twitter widget but could never get it configured correctly.

In my opinion the music interface is clunky. Because my internet access point is far away from Chumby the connection goes in and out so I’ve connected an old iPod to one of the USB ports. There is no granularity for picking music on the iPod which, given the Chumby interface is no less limited than the iPod’s, confuses me. I’ve yet to find a way to play music for a certain length of time so that it will shut off after I go to sleep.

There are only two brightness settings for the Chumby’s display — bright and not-so-bright; why a variable slider wasn’t implemented confuses me.

My final concern with Chumby is that they’ve gotten around to selling advertisements and inserting them into my content stream. The folks at Chumby warn you this is going to happen as a “way to keep the service free” but I envision that this could get out of hand as I have no way of limiting the number, or the amount of time each displays on my Chumby screen. I’d rather pay a nominal fee to have total control, especially since the device itself wasn’t subsidized in any manner.

If You Are Not Camping With Me This Weekend You Are Missing Out
First, I will be making my first attempt to set up my new tent “in the wild.” Can you say “Cheap Entertainment.”? I knew you could.

Tomorrow night I will be using all of my culinary skills to make a campground jambalaya. And as a bonus I promise to add no part of my own appendages into the dish! Yummo!

My goal for the remainder of the year is to camp at least one weekend a month in State Park in Georgia or one of its surrounding states. Even with the price of gas you can consider it to be cheap entertainment.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - okay
Current Music - Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 26 playing Flaming Lips — “Do You Realize??”
Website Of The Day - During my travels I will certainly be consulting Roadside America to make sure I don’t miss out on anything cool. You can be assured that I’ll be stopping to take photos if I find anything interesting.
Exercise (b)Log - nothing
Monthly Foot Mileage - 12 miles
Monthly Wheel Mileage - 25 miles
Mode Of Transportation To Work - My car
Monthly Marta Rides - 13
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) - 46 (46)

May Goals
1) Run no fewer than 75 miles
2) Ride no fewer than 100 road miles
3) Ride Marta no fewer than ten times (five round-trips)
4) Read at least one book
5) Make my bed every day

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]