Inside The Perimeter

I’m a New Yorker by birth and had my parents not moved me to Florida in 1978 when I was twelve then I probably would have remained a New Yorker my entire life. This weekend I spent parts of Saturday and Sunday around the remnants of the Civil War. On Saturday I got about twenty minutes of shooting time in the Confederate section of Oakland Cemetery, and on Sunday I ran around Kennesaw Mountain Battlefield.

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

I don’t want to listen to what you say. I want to feel what you mean.

To all who have helped me — Thanks.

Another Concert Scheduled, Another Concert Skipped
I was supposed to go to The EARL on Friday night to see Shearwater. I really had all intentions of doing so. However, after returning home from a happy hour at Fellini’s near Sandy Springs I felt like ass. I really felt like I was going to hurl so I stayed home.

I am getting peeved at myself for missing another concert. It’s happening too often again.

OMFG!
I was stunned, stunned I tell you, when I realized that I’ve forgotten to blog about this…

Last week I heard that Cheerwine is being introduced into Atlanta stores! Woo Hoo! No more will I have to stock up on my trips to North Carolina. Instead I can use that trunk space to import beer!

ITP Flickr Pic
This is one of three shots that I was able to take Saturday morning before the sky opened up with massive amounts of rain.

I pride myself on being over-prepared, so naturally I had my huge golf umbrella in tote to protect the camera gear.

RealiTV Update: The Next Food Network Star
Before I start, there was a RealiTV related Iron Chef episode last night. On the episode April Bloomfield, who was one of the three Heavy Hitter sous chefs on last week’s Top Chef finale. Bloomfield battled the newest Iron Chef, Michael Simon, and the judges were Michael Ruhlman, Donatella Arpaia, Andrew Knowlton — who were the judges who anointed Simon as the next Iron Chef. You’d think that the there was no way Simon would lose. You’d be wrong.

Following Iron Chef was The Next Food Network Star. While I am starting to get a feel for thes contestants, I still don’t really know much about them. Last night’s episode was a little oddly structured. The contestants had a QuickFire-style Challenge in which they had thirty minutes in which to prepare a potato dish which represented their cooking style. However no winner was declared, and it was left at that.

For their Elimination Challenge they had to concoct their own “product” which they were going to use in a dish, and the pitch to fifty buyers as well as one very special mystery guest (who we knew was Martha Stewart because they pimped the hell out of that on the commercials). Upon seeing Martha Stewart Lisa and Kelsey nearly pee their pants (actually I think that they did pee their pants but Food Network chose not to show us) and Adam does some embarrassing song for her.

At the Judges’ Table we find out what the grand plan of the day’s events were. The winner of the QuickFire was Adam, who made some bacon cheese fries, and he was given immunity. The buyers who tasted all of the samples chose Lisa to be the best and she was given immunity. Of the tastings done by Martha Stewart, Aaron was determined to be the best and was also given immunity. The elimination boiled down to Jennifer and Jefferey. I’ve yet to figure out how they feel who gets booted, and Jeffery got the boot.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - meh, bloated because I need to exercise more
Current Music - Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 26 playing Blitzen Trapper — “Wild Mountain Blues”
Website Of The Day - I’ve only heard about Gather this morning. I’ve not had much time to investigate, but it looks like a good place for NPR-style literature and news.
Exercise (b)Log - running/walking, 5 miles
Monthly Foot Mileage - 10 miles
Monthly Wheel Mileage - 38 miles
Monday Morning Weigh-In - 196 pounds
Mode Of Transportation To Work - Marta
Monthly Marta Rides - 17
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) - 74 (74)
Books To Read To Earn Kindle - 5

June Goals
1) Run no fewer than 75 miles
2) Ride no fewer than 100 road miles
3) Ride Marta no fewer than twenty times (ten round-trips)
4) Read at least one book
5) Make my bed every day
6) Eat out at a bar/restaurant no more than twice in one week

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

Oooooh scaaaaaaaaary.

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

If I ignore the emotional plea and respond only to the words, I will not be communicating with you, there will not be a flow of understanding between us, I will not be feeling you and so I will be frustrated and you will be also. The heart of any conversation is the demand being made on my emotions. If I feel frustrated, that is a good sign I am avoiding the emotions you are trying to communicate — I have not paused long enough to ask, “What do you really want from me?”

To all who have helped me — Thanks.

The Odometer Is Not Broken, I’m Just Not Driving
Since I filled up my tank last Saturday I have logged about fifty-five miles in total. Ah the power of public transportation! Of course I will more than double this on Sunday when I drive to Kennesaw to do a Sunday morning run but I don’t really mind.

Admittedly riding Marta daily has changed my lifestyle. I have not exercised much because it’s too easy for me to bag out of doing it since I am ready to eat when I get home. I am trying to read on the train, but it’s rather difficult for me. For one I don’t read well, and that is exacerbated by the motion of the train. Also, I really need to be seated to read and seats are usually not available when I ride, and then there is the transfer at Five Points…

These Are The People In The Martahood
Two days ago on Marta there was a guy who freaked out D.D.D.Dave and me; he was talkative and kept asking people to move back because he needed “some space.” Um, welcome to the world of public transportation when gas is $4+/gallon my friend.

Last night I all but changed trains because the two girls across from me were playing a game of Hail Mary tennis. For no fewer than five minutes the two sat next to one another, one with her eyes constantly shut, working the rosary beads, uttering Hail Marys. Being raised in a Catholic environment should have hardened me to this, but these two were doing it in such a cult-ish way that I was spooked.

Let There Be Light!
The other morning was a “lights go out day.” When I turned on the bathroom lights one of the three vanity bulbs popped. Later on my drive to the Marta station I pulled up behind another car and realized that one of the Jackmobile’s headlight bulbs had died.

The bathroom light was a piece of cake to replace, especially since I was astonished to find that I had a spare vanity bulb.

While not completely difficult, the replacement of the headlight bulb was a challenge. First, at my local AutoZone they didn’t have the book to help me identify what bulbs I should purchase so I had to find help. Then I had to figure out how the newfangled halogen bulbs are installed. Then, because apparently Honda never expect these bulbs to be replaced, I had to remove some plastic cover and nearly another piece of equipment in order to replace the driver’s side bulb.

ITP Flickr Pic
Me and my shadow…

I don’t know why I like this photo so much, but I do.

Life Without Air Conditioning Is Not So Miserable When The Heat Isn’t So Great
The last two nights have been okay with fans blowing the night’s cooler air into the house. This does not mean that I am going to continue to live without air conditioning. I have made one attempt at calling a company to come out and quote a new system, and they have failed to acknowledge my existence. Harumph!

Who’s Going To A Concert Tonight? This Guy
Tonight I will make my first visit to The EARL in some time (it wouldn’t have been that long if not for me skipping shows). Tonight I’ll be there to see Shearwater. I am debating if I want to bring the camera along or just go and enjoy myself. It’s been about six weeks since I’ve done any concert photography and I want to get back into it, but the thought of not having to worry about my gear, or fight my way to the front also sounds attractive.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - fair
Current Music - Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 26 playing Midlake — “Roscoe”
Website Of The Day - It seems odd to recommend a site called Do I Need A Jacket when it’s so damn hot outside.
Exercise (b)Log - nothing (this must change)
Monthly Foot Mileage - 5 miles
Monthly Wheel Mileage - 38 miles
Mode Of Transportation To Work - Marta
Monthly Marta Rides - 15
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) - 73 (73)
Books To Read To Earn Kindle - 5

June Goals
1) Run no fewer than 75 miles
2) Ride no fewer than 100 road miles
3) Ride Marta no fewer than twenty times (ten round-trips)
4) Read at least one book
5) Make my bed every day
6) Eat out at a bar/restaurant no more than twice in one week

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

I’ll talk more about the Top Chef finale later, but this is what happened last night. I stayed home, defaulting on my Mudhoney ticket, so that I could watch the finale in real-time. As the show came back from commercial to announce the winner of Top Chef my satellite receiver (loaded with Beta software) rebooted! I. Was. Furious! I ran down to the basement and turned on another tv and managed to hear the winner speak, but never really saw the justification for the decision. How frustrating!

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

I talk because I feel, and I talk to you because I want you to know how I feel.

My statements are requests.

My questions are statements.

My trivia is an invitation to be friends.

My gossip is a plea: Please see me as incapable of that. Please respect me.

My arguments insist: I want you to show respect for me by agreeing with me. This is the way / say it is.

And my criticism informs you: You hurt my feelings a minute ago.

To all who have helped me — Thanks.

Things Not To Do On Marta
After waiting out the majority of lightning yesterday I accepted a short ride to the Marta station nearest the office. As I entered the train car I noticed something odd — young (late teen), white, girls and guys of the OTP/Country variety. Obviously they weren’t returning home from work, nor did they act as regular Marta riders.

After some time I saw that one of the guys, who was wearing blue jean overalls with one strap undone, was drinking a Bud Light from a can. I’ll avoid the obvious “tasteless beer” joke and instead focus on the fact that not only is drinking of any sort verboten on Marta, this state has something called “open container laws” and if you can’t separate yourself from your alcohol you should at least be smart enough to put it in a nondescript container. The police officer who either was on the train already, or had been somehow summoned felt the same way. At the next station the drinks were discarded, and I got off a few stops later before I could see if the officer also wound up citing or arresting the guy.

On a brighter Marta note, I ran into D.D.D.Dave on the train yesterday. Actually, he saw me and said hello. Unfortunately this is usually the case as even after telling you the story above I can be rather oblivious to my surroundings whilst riding Marta.

ITP Flickr Pic
Things may be starting to look up.

Yesterday I sent out dire vibes, much like that of a siren warning of impending tornadoes. While I cannot divulge the (one of the) source(s) of my dismay, I think that things may not be as bad as I feared.

RealiTV Update: Top Chef — The Finale
Bravo to Bravo for not making us sit through insufferable recaps where we “remember” all the chefs who were asked to pack up their knives and leave, and then watch the Final Three toss knives into one of those Will It Blend? blenders to symbolize their demise.

No, with the exception of excessive product placement, Bravo takes the high road when it comes to Top Chef. We start the show watching last week’s whine from Lisa about not getting congratulated, then King Richard’s “Congratulations, you won the fucking Bronze Medal.”, and then into the competition.

For the final competition the chefs have to create their own tasting menu consisting of four courses…. including a dessert. They will have two sessions to conceptualize and then execute their plan. To help them they get a sous-chef. Will their sous-chefs be castaways from episodes gone by again? Nope, this time they get Heavy Hitters. It’s at this time that I shed some of my foodie cred by admitting that I only recognize one of the Heavy Hitters and that is Eric Ripert. Two of the Final Three will get to pick which Heavy Hitter with whom they will work. We then find out that Richard and Stephanie have each won four Elimination Challenges (and I believe Lisa won zero) so a tie-breaking knife-pull is in order. Chivalry is not dead as Richard suggests that Stephanie pull first, she get #1 and therefore picks. As I would, because he was the only one I recognized, she goes for Ripert.

With Heavy Hitters assigned it’s game on and the preparation begins. At night’s end we are led to believe that Richard is in the shit (even though he show Ripert a technique that Ripert had never seen before), Stephanie is worried about her dessert, and Lisa is calm, cool, collected, and as annoying as ever.

When the next day arrived the patented Top Chef Curveball is thrown when Chef Tom informs the chefs that their Heavy Hitters have retired and that each chef is on his/her own from here on out. With food now prepared it’s time for judgment! It’s clear that King Richard has dropped the ball. While his food got nods for creativity, it wasn’t the spot-on meal we’ve come to expect. Frighteningly Lisa’s meal got a lot of praise, and for a moment I shuddered to think that she was going to win it all. Stephanie produced some hits and misses. Bravo got their last chance at making money by going to commercial, the chefs returned for the announcement of the winner, and then my fucking tv screen went black!

From what I have seen and heard, Stephanie has become the first woman to be deemed “Top Chef.” I am happy for her because she appeared to earn it. As I’ve watched this competition I do fear for her future however. It appears that she’s packed on a bit of weight… I hope that she realizes this soon and maintains a healthy weight. I don’t know if second and third place were announced. Congratulations Richard, you won either a fucking silver or fucking bronze medal!

And so ends another season of Top Chef.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - cautiously optimistic
Current Music - Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 26 playing I’m From Barcelona — “We’re From Barcelona”
Website Of The Day - My name is Paulie and I am a geek. There, I said it. Now I must admit that I got hooked on watching TWiT Live TV with Leo Laporte last night.
Exercise (b)Log - nothing (although I am getting some mileage walking to/from Marta stations)
Monthly Foot Mileage - 5 miles
Monthly Wheel Mileage - 38 miles
Mode Of Transportation To Work - Marta
Monthly Marta Rides - 13
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) - 72 (72)
Books To Read To Earn Kindle - 5

June Goals
1) Run no fewer than 75 miles
2) Ride no fewer than 100 road miles
3) Ride Marta no fewer than twenty times (ten round-trips)
4) Read at least one book
5) Make my bed every day
6) Eat out at a bar/restaurant no more than twice in one week

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

I used to think that I understood my life. I was beginning to take solace in knowing where it was heading. I don’t anything any longer. Suffice to say that what’s going on is nothing good like falling in love or anything like that. Can’t comment on this more, but it may explain my blog today.

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

Most conversations seem to be carried out on two levels, the verbal level and the emotional level. The verbal level contains those things which are socially acceptable to say, but it is used as a means of satisfying emotional needs. Yesterday a friend related something that someone had done to her. I told her why I though that person had acted the way he had and she became very upset and started arguing with me. Now, the reason is clear. I had been listening to her words and had paid no attention to her feelings. Her words had described how terribly this other person had treated her, but her emotions had been saying “Please understand how I felt. Please accept my feeling the way I did.” The last thing she wanted to hear from me was an explanation of the other person’s behavior.

To all who have helped me — Thanks.

I’ve Got Some Mad Grill Skill
With no break from the heat (and I just realized that the air conditioning company I called yesterday never returned the message I left) it was time to cook outdoors again. Fairly confident that I’d not find another birds nest in the grill, I whipped it around onto the area of the deck that I use for cooking.

On the menu last night? I cooked up some barbecue sauce covered chicken breasts, roasted onions, and roasted potatoes with rosemary. I served that all up with some artisan(ish) garlic clove bread, and a fantastic Coney Island Lager from Shmaltz Brewery. Come to think of it, I should have served this beer with some Nathans hot dogs instead.

ITP Flickr Pic

There’s A Whole New View In Town
I received a head’s up yesterday that Google has just turned on Street View for Atlanta.

Google employs trucks to drive up and down streets taking photos which they then seamlessly stitch together for viewing. It’s really rather cool, but I warn you that it’s rather addicting and will chew up a large portion of your day if you are not careful.

RealiTV Update: Hell’s Kitchen
Hell’s Kitchen started the night with five remaining cooks. Since it was relatively easy math I figured that by night’s end there would be but four. I was sincerely hoping the Jen, Hell’s Kitchen’s version of Cerie, would be the one ousted.

The night stared out with the cooks having to teach The Housewives of Los Angeles how to make a lobster and spaghetti dish. The cooks were not supposed to help, but merely instruct. Jen was caught on camera no fewer than two occasions preparing the dish for her pupil. In the end it still didn’t help her, because she received the worst evaluation from Ramsay. Christina and Corey were in a close race to win, and in the end Ramsay picked Christina. For her victory she got to pick the brain of two chefs from the area — I must admit that I have never heard of them, nor the restaurants for which they own/work. The losers must clean the kitchen thoroughly while Christina gets her time. The camera captures Jen lallygagging and eavesdropping on the conversation, and then eating some of the leftover food on the plates.

Now it’s time for the cooks to prepare for dinner service. For the first time during the season I start to dislike Christina as she can’t keep her mouth shut during prep, spouting culinary knowledge like she’s all of a sudden Susie Knowitall.

As we’ve come to expect, the cooks have a difficult time through the night’s service. Jen and Bobby seem to be catching the most shit from Ramsay during the evening. In the end Christina is declared the winner for the night and nominates the two of them for elimination. Ramsay has each party plead their case, and sadly it’s Bobby who gets the boot.

And then there were four.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - scared, confused, my whole life seems to be off track
Current Music - Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 26 playing The Hold Steady — “Sequestered In Memphis”
Website Of The Day - Shawn Feeney’s BFF Project is really rather neat. He started with sixty-four sets of friends and for each is making a composite sketch of the pair. This process will continue until there is one composite drawing consisting of features from all sixty-four participants
Exercise (b)Log - nothing
Monthly Foot Mileage - 5 miles
Monthly Wheel Mileage - 38 miles
Mode Of Transportation To Work - Marta
Monthly Marta Rides - 11
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) - 71 (71)
Books To Read To Earn Kindle - 5

June Goals
1) Run no fewer than 75 miles
2) Ride no fewer than 100 road miles
3) Ride Marta no fewer than twenty times (ten round-trips)
4) Read at least one book
5) Make my bed every day
6) Eat out at a bar/restaurant no more than twice in one week

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

I watched the weather radar with anticipation and disappointment as last night’s intense rain storm stayed to the West of Atlanta. I was there dreaming of rain and the cooler temperatures associated with it which never arrived.

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

Dislike is a function of need. I want something from you that you do not provide and so I dislike that condition and call you bad. The squirrel who lives behind my cabin becomes furious whenever I empty the garbage. I do not need his approval and his anger amuses me. But if he were my pet and I needed his cooperation then this same anger would irritate me. I do not dislike a stone unless it is in my path, or a cloud unless it rains on me. If I feel in need of something from you then I hear your words only as yes, no, maybe, or irritatingly off the subject. I cannot appreciate you as you are and cannot begin to see the world as you see it.

To all who have helped me — Thanks.

Justifying The Drive
With Marta as a viable commute option and gas prices not coming down any time in the foreseeable future (it was $4.19 for the “cheap” stuff at GhettoShell this morning. Why haven’t I started that art project yet?) I really need to justify driving my car to work these days. I did today, although admittedly my justification is somewhat weak. Today was “delivery day.” I brought food into the office from home, and I had a sweet little package arrive yesterday from the folks at B&H Photo. I also plan on leaving behind my running gear, which is currently in the trunk trunk of my car, so that it is in the office for me tomorrow for my Marta->Car run after work.

How Can I Do This?
Having taken Marta yesterday and hanging at the office until 5:30pm there was no way that I was going to make it back to East Atlanta to run with the Monday night group. Yes, they ran last night.

With the deck still cleared from the weekend’s yard work and the desire to avoid adding heat to the kitchen it was the perfect even to work on my Grill Master skills so I decided to hit up Kroger and do a little shopping. I had twice written a grocery shopping list and of course trusted my memory instead of bringing either into the store. On each of the two lists that I wrote out the same item was on top. Would you believe that was the one item from the list that I forgot to buy? Argh! fwiw - That item is my now-beloved Pillsbury Frozen Biscuits.

As an aside — The other night I made Gorgonzola Biscuit Burgers using cooked frozen biscuits as the bun. Damnation it was delicious!

ITP Flickr Pic
Last night I broke out my grill for the first time in quite a while. After giving it an obligatory outer cleaning I cranked on the gas and was pleased to see it fire up. After about ten minutes of getting the grill super hot to burn off remnants of past grillings I decided to open the storage drawer and saw this.

I was bummed that I decided the fate of this egg and nest. There was no way that it was not disturbed by either the moving of the grill or the intense heat that was near it. I wound up taking a pair of tongs and extracting the nest from the grill and placing it in a potted plant. I have no disillusion that the bird inside the egg has no chance.

On a brighter note, I really love this photo!

Five Books Away From A Kindle
I’ve decided that I will probably buy a Kindle. I was waiting until yesterday to see if Apple would be pulling a magic eBook reader out of its sleeve during the keynote speech of their World Wide Developers’ Conference. They did not, so the Kindle is still the best in show.

However, to make sure that I am not going to piss away $350 I am going to force myself to read five pBooks (that’s paper books) that I already own before making the purchase. To make the challenge a bit realistic the books chosen will be novels and must contain no fewer than 150 pages.

Am I being silly? Perhaps? But I see one of two positive outcomes from this:
1) I don’t read the novels, proving I don’t deserve a Kindle thus saving myself $350.
2) I do read the novels, get rid of five books from my house, and reward myself with a new toy.

Oh, I also get some blogging material out of this stunt as well.

Digital Download Of The Week
Perusing today’s list of new releases on Metacritic two items pop at me.

The Fratellis release “Here We Stand”, which is a followup to their 2006 (2007?) release “Costello Music.” For most, myself included, The Fratellis hit it big when one of their songs was used on an iPod commercial. I will probably want to give “Here We Stand” a complete listen before committing to it.

A band with whom I am a little more comfortable taking a gamble on is My Morning Jacket. My Morning Jacket has a new release today called “Evil Urges.” If you are not game to purchase sound-unheard you can hear it stream on AOL’s Full CD Listening Party

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - okay
Current Music - Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 26 playing My Bloody Valentine — “Sometimes”
Website Of The Day - If you are not satisfied with my musical choices then perhaps you should check out The Sixty-One, another great source for discovering new music.
Exercise (b)Log - nothing
Monthly Foot Mileage - 5 miles
Monthly Wheel Mileage - 38 miles
Mode Of Transportation To Work - My car
Monthly Marta Rides - 10
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) - 70 (70)
Books To Read To Earn Kindle - 5

June Goals
1) Run no fewer than 75 miles
2) Ride no fewer than 100 road miles
3) Ride Marta no fewer than twenty times (ten round-trips)
4) Read at least one book
5) Make my bed every day
6) Eat out at a bar/restaurant no more than twice in one week

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

I spent a lot of time in my basement this weekend. No, it’s not because I bought Guitar Hero and was rocking it solo-style downstairs. It was because because half of the basement is bermed by earth it usually stays 5-10 degrees cooler than the upstairs. With the temperatures getting as high as 85 upstairs the basement was relief even when its temperature reached as high as 80 last evening. I need to do some serious air-conditioning repair/replace research today. It may never get as hot as it did this weekend for the rest of the summer, but if it does I can’t stand to bear it again.

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

I need approval, but no that I’m no longer a child I don’t have to get it from any one person.

To all who have helped me — Thanks.

The Say The Suffering Is Good For The Soul
That’s the only explanation that I can conjure for eight of too meet in East Atlanta Village and embark on a thirty-eight mile bike ride yesterday morning. Like the other imbeciles also out riding before it got “too” hot, we cruised, drank plenty of fluids, and suffered all in the name of making ourselves “healthier.”

The course ridden shared much of my old thirty-eight mile trip that I used to perform often one two three four years ago. Ah memories, how much more pleasant they are than reality. Truth be told I had a good time yesterday. There is a euphoric feeling that I get on a road bike that I don’t get running.

After the ride Brad, Laura (aka Martha) and I rewarded ourselves with a little tucker from Flat Iron. I followed this activity up with a 2.5 hour power nap. Good times.

I’ve Got Ants In My Satellite Dish
Sitting down? No, do so now.

I did yard work this weekend. I mowed the lawns. I used the leaf blower to clean out my carport, sidewalk to the backyard, and the deck. I whacked back a portion of the over grown mystery garden.

This weekend I also discovered two things about my satellite dish. First, it was not receiving all of the channels it could. Second, it was housing and ant colony. I’ve seen ants in the dish before and had been able to evict them with spray. This colony was fully entrenched and had no plans of evacuating. I wound up taking off the entire housing and using brute force and canned air to spray it clean. Sadly reconstructing the dish did not correct my channel problem however, which means that my dish needs to be re-pointed (something I can do) or can no longer “see” one of the satellites due to tree growth. Fear not, I still receive Food Network and Bravo, and can figure out a plan to see Fox so my updates of The Next Food Network Star, Top Chef, and Hell’s Kitchen should not be interrupted.

ITP Flickr Pic
In the High Museum you are allowed to photograph the permanent collection.

This is a portion of a self-portrait done by Chuck Close.

Thirty Days In The Hole
Morgan Spurlock’s show 30 Days has returned to FX. In what I believe was the season premiere Spurlock, a West Virginia native, spends thirty days working as a coal miner. While I’ve never romanticized about a career in a dark, dank hole the episode showed just how shitty it is to be a coal miner. Although the pay for a miner is in the $60k / year territory these people dealing with tough manual labor, hazardous working conditions, and the likely possibility that they will end up suffering black lung as they advance in years.

No thank you.

Unfortunately it doesn’t appear that FX puts full episodes online yet. I’m sure the show is out there some where, if I find it I’ll mention it in today’s comments.

RealiTV Update: The Next Food Network Star
It was another strange episode of The Next Food Network Star last night. The show started off with Robert Irvine of “Dinner Impossible”, who I swore had been let go by Food Network, coming in and waking everyone up at 3am. The nine contestants were split into teams of three and then had to go answer bizarre trivia questions in order to get a meat, a cheese, and a bread, which they would then be using to create a brunch while riding a train.

No the heat didn’t cause delusions, this is really what happened on the show.

As can be expected, a few personalities collided and some of the dishes fell flat on their face while others shined.

Unexpectedly, Lisa, who was one of the bottom two last week, was declared one of the two winners for the day. She and Aaron will be featured in a news rag called USA Weekend (seriously, I know it’s put out by USA Today but I have never seen it).

During this version of Judges’ Table Nipa cracks, utters “I can’t do this any more.” and walks out. Amazingly she is not immediately cast off for acting like a spoiled child when she returns to apologize. The Bottom Two for this week turn out to be Kevin (although I don’t remember why he is chosen — I think it’s got something to do with his “romantic cooking” schtick) and Nima. Surprising to me Kevin gets cut instead of Nima, who gets put on “warning” instead. Weak sauce Food Network. Weak sauce.

Today Is A Big Apple Day
No, not New York, AAPL. Today is the start of Apple’s World Wide Developer Conference. Why should you care? Because often time product announcements are also included. Today most are expecting the announcement of the 3G iPhone. Check the tech blogs, they will have the whole story later.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - warm, wondering how much it’s going to cost to restore air conditioning to my house
Current Music - Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 26 playing The Von Bondies — “C’mon C’mon”
Website Of The Day - This one is for my fellow four-eyes. $39 Glasses sells eyeglasses with lenses for, you’re so smart, $39. It’s not a substitute for visiting an optometrist, but makes for a great way to get a “backup” pair of eyeglasses.
Exercise (b)Log - biking, 38 miles
Monthly Foot Mileage - 5 miles
Monthly Wheel Mileage - 38 miles
Monday Morning Weigh-In - 193 pounds
Mode Of Transportation To Work - Marta
Monthly Marta Rides - 9
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) - 69 (69)

June Goals
1) Run no fewer than 75 miles
2) Ride no fewer than 100 road miles
3) Ride Marta no fewer than twenty times (ten round-trips)
4) Read at least one book
5) Make my bed every day
6) Eat out at a bar/restaurant no more than twice in one week

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

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

If I need your approval I can’t see you.

To all who have helped me — Thanks.

I Got All Cultured And Shit
I jumped off the Marta train last night and walked over to the High Museum to attend the members’ preview of the exhibits that are opening soon. Included in the exhibits are some amazing documentary photography of the Civil Rights movement, and small collections from four of America’s best sub-culture photographers. I carried my camera outside its bag almost begging for confrontation because after all if photography had been denied everywhere none of these exhibits would be possible. Oh, I was proper and did not take any photos in areas where I was not supposed to.

The exhibits were very good, if you are into Civil Rights and/or analyzing photography,if not a bit overwhelming I plan to return at a later date to reexamine, but I will wait until the crowds are non-existent.

ITP Flickr Pic
I uploaded a plethora of photos for you to peruse on my Flickr account. I uploaded the forty best photos that I took on my “Hundred” Photo Walk Wednesday night.

Perhaps my favorite…

The entire set can be seen here, and for the map lovers in the audience each photo has been tagged with an approximate map location where it was taken. Now you know what I did most of last night.

Riding In The Hood
The annual Brownwood Bike Rally in East Atlanta is happening this weekend on Saturday from 9am-2pm in East Atlanta’s Brownwood Park. In addition to the rally there will be a fair, food and beverages, biked rodeo, as well as a stunt bike show. The proceeds from the rally go to the East Atlanta Kids Club.

Perhaps I’ll bring my camera and do a few ride-by shootings.

Riding In And Out Of The Hood
On Sunday I think I am going attempt to kill myself with exercise. Some people I know are gathering early in the morning to do a Stone Mountain ride like those I used to do when I was much thinner. The loop from East Atlanta to Stone Mountain and back is thirty-eight miles. Since I am planning on riding fifty-five miles in a few weeks I probably should join them.

As an added bonus, Sunday is a Black Sheep Hash day! The hash will be the annual Colonel Cl*t Birthday hash. The good Colonel usually lays one hell of a trail and has been the source of many of my wishes to die while hashing. If he ever posts a start I am sure I can expect more “fun.”

Riding Way Out Of The Hood
If you were reading carefully above you saw me write “planning on riding fifty-five miles in a few weeks.” That’s right, I’ll be returning to Cartersville, Georgia for a third time to ride the Cartersville Century (of which I plan to only ride fifty-five). I don’t think that it will kill me, but I am sure that riding that far unprepared will provide plenty of blogging fodder.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - pretty good
Current Music - Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 26 playing Magnetic Fields — “I Think I Need A New Heart”
Website Of The Day - There is a really interesting blog called My Bike Lane that takes and posts photos of people who park in bike lanes. Here’s Atlanta’s page.
Exercise (b)Log - nothing
Monthly Foot Mileage - 5 miles
Monthly Wheel Mileage - 0 miles
Mode Of Transportation To Work - Marta
Monthly Marta Rides - 7
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) - 66 (66)

June Goals
1) Run no fewer than 75 miles
2) Ride no fewer than 100 road miles
3) Ride Marta no fewer than twenty times (ten round-trips)
4) Read at least one book
5) Make my bed every day
6) Eat out at a bar/restaurant no more than twice in one week

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

Wow, was I ever optimistic! My winding walk from the Arts Center station to my car produced nearly forty photos, none of which have been extracted from the camera yet. The walk had an interesting start as I accidentally got off the train at Lindbergh Center, as if I was embarking on a run back to my car, and had to board the next southbound train so that I could start at Arts Center. When I realized that I was going to fall short of my goal I decided to make a pit stop at George’s and have a beer with friends and then continue my journey. I must say that I was pleased with my decision to do so.

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

My friendship with Laurel seems to typify a dialectic that many of my newly-forming friendships go through. At first we saw only each other’s virtues. Now we are seeing only each other’s faults. If we make it through this latter stage then maybe we will see each other and truly be friends.

To all who have helped me — Thanks.

File Under: Cheap Ways I Amuse Myself — Domain Names
I received an email today from one of my web domain registrars GoDaddy asking me to update the contact information for the domains I have registered through them. In the email they listed all of my domain names….
1) I didn’t realize that I have six domain names registered through them
2) They still amuse me. Here’s the list

• eatlga.com
• GamingMantis.com
• StopDropAndPoop.com
• PaulNuesslein.com
• JalapenoBeach.com
• WeeLittleBit.com

If you think that I’ve erred by not including InsideThePerimeter.com or InsideThePerimeter.net, I have not; they are registered with other domain registrars.

ITP Flickr Pic
Consider this to be abstract art

Now look closely at it and see if you can figure out what it is without clicking through to Flickr. Debbie and Steve, you two are disqualified from this game.

File Under: Cheap Ways I Amuse Myself — Twitter
Twitter, when it is up and running, has become a real fun way for me to broadcast bizarre one-liners that enter my head. It’s amazing some of the bizarre things I conjure, some of which are from so far out in left field that not I even understand how they got there.

Sadly, much like fantastic song lyrics, many of these thought are fleeting and never get captured for all to see of hear.

RealiTV Update: Top Chef
There goes the neighborhood!

Every one knew that Antonia, Stephanie, and Richard were that Top Three and that Greasa was just invited along to the finale of Top Chef in Puerto Rico because Bravo had purchased four tickets. And then things went all bent out of shape.

For the QuickFire Challenge the chefs had to play with plantains. Each chef was to produce two plantain appetizers. Stephanie (who looks like she put on about ten pounds in the six month hiatus) won her first QuickFire. Of course there is no immunity tied to these victories now, but she would get an advantage later.

For the Elimination Challenge the obligatory “let’s bring the losers back for more punishment” happened with the return of Dale, Spike, Andrew, and Nikki. Stephanie’s advantage was that she was able to pair the losers with her remaining competition. Not surprisingly she picked Dale, and then assigned Spike to Richard, Nikki to Antonia, and Andrew to Lisa. Also not surprisingly Lisa and Andrew didn’t get along — because Lisa is a surly biatch who gets along with no one! The challenge was to slaughter a whole pig and produce meals from it.

In the end it was King Richard and Stephanie getting all of the accolades and vying for the night’s champion. King Richard was picked as winner and for his efforts won a new car! Wow! (I wonder if he’s been able to drive it around Atlanta and tell people that he won it on Top Chef?)

I knew Antonia’s effort was poor, but I was really hoping that the chefs were tired of seeing Lisa’s scowling mug (has she been on the chopping block each show?) and they’d vote her off. But, as has happened each and every time the chef up there against Lisa has been worse on that giving night and been asked to pack up their knives and get the hell off the show. History repeated itself. My MILFy alter-ego has been kicked off the show.

In true Greasa style she is aggravated that Stephanie and Richard are sad to see Antonia get the boot, and that they don’t congratulate her. Richard fires off perhaps the best one-liner in Top Chef history “Congratulations! You won the bronze medal.”

Next week is the finale. All this time I was expecting Richard to slip up, now I am hoping that he takes it all. If Greasa wins then I don’t know how I will feel about the show; she has been the weakest contestant to make it this far in any of the seasons that I have watched. Stephanie and Richard out-cook and out-class her ten times over.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - hot
Current Music - Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 26 playing The Hold Steady — “Sequestered In Memphis” (sounds good, but can you say “One Trick Pony”?)
Website Of The Day - Why is the internet awesome? Because sites like Cubeecraft make me happy. Cubeecraft produces templates for paper toy characters. I can’t wait to get my hands on some A4 paper.
Exercise (b)Log - walking, ~5 miles
Monthly Foot Mileage - 5 miles
Monthly Wheel Mileage - 0 miles
Mode Of Transportation To Work - Marta
Monthly Marta Rides - 5
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) - 65 (65)

June Goals
1) Run no fewer than 75 miles
2) Ride no fewer than 100 road miles
3) Ride Marta no fewer than twenty times (ten round-trips)
4) Read at least one book
5) Make my bed every day
6) Eat out at a bar/restaurant no more than twice in one week

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

For me they cost about the same right now. With that in mind I opted for a monthly Marta pass today. Watch my Marta riding total rise! Tomorrow I’ll ride the train on three separate occasions as I have a mid-trip-home stop planned for the High Museum.

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

The way to handle praise is honestly. Laurel said, “You are one of the kindest people I have ever known.” I could have said, “I believe I am kind but not as kind as you see me. We have only known each other a short time and I have been putting my best foot forward. After you know me better I believe you will agree I can be as thoughtless as the next guy.”

To all who have helped me — Thanks.

Not All Endings Bring Closure
Last night was the final class of People Photography. Sadly I got little out of it, and worse I wasn’t even given the opportunity to provide feedback in the form of a survey. I believe the instructor really knows his shit, but the way the class is structured doesn’t breed an environment for him to impart knowledge. The class started with nine or ten students, and due to disinterest or conflicting schedules only had six last night. Oh and did I mention that I might be the only one in the class from whom the instructor did not request to have an image for future reference? Apparently my work was not good enough for him. Fug Him!

On the bright side it was nice to see Maigh more often and to have dinner with her a few times. And, I will be glad to reclaim my Tuesday nights again. Perhaps I’ll even start showing up to Atlanta Photographers Guild meetings again…

ITP Flickr Pic
Along the twenty-five-mile bike route I ride when I visit the Moreland Day Spa sits this building. It was kinda neat because the building appeared that it sat all by its lonesome. Now that I think about it, I should have taken a wide-open shot to show its isolation. D’Oh!

And yes, I cheated a bit with the sky; it wasn’t nearly that dramatic.

RealiTV Update: Hell’s Kitchen
Something has finally been served on Hell’s Kitchen and it is justice! After many weeks of wondering why Matt remained on the show he is gone. Next up, Jennifer! Is anyone else surprised how little crap that Petrozza catches from Ramsay? He gets jabbed here and there for being sloppy, but rarely does Ramsay open a full can of shit upon him.

At the beginning of the show we see Teams Red and Blue become one — Team Black.

For the Reward Challenge last night each cook was given a surprise protein and forty-five minutes to produce a dish based on it. The real surprise for me was that it appeared that four out of the six dishes looked edible! Only Bobby’s dish in which the duck was overcooked, and Corey’s lobster soup in which she didn’t use the entire bug were dismissed. In the end it came down to Christina and Jennifer, and against my hopes Jennifer won a trip to Las Vegas where she got to meet last year’s winner Rock. In a perfect world Christina would have joined her, Jennifer was give a choice of companion, and for some reason chose Corey.

An aside: Why I don’t like Jennifer. Jennifer is loud and constantly tooting her own horn as if she was the shit. From this most people would assume that she confident, however I believe that constantly telling people how great you are is a sign of weakness. When you believe others will believe without having to be sold. And now back to your regular programming…

For the Elimination Challenge Team Black muddled their way through another mediocre service at Hell’s Kitchen (or so we are always led to believe). As only RealiTV would do Matt and Christina, who have been fighting like cats and dogs all day, are paired up on the meat station (and I decide to become a vegetarian for the night). Whiny “self confident” whackjob Matt who is certain that he will win, is put up for elimination along with Christina, and then with the self-appointed Corey. It doesn’t take Ramsay long to decide that Matt and his 9.5 fingers should go.

Next week…. MODELS! I can’t wait to watch the binging and purging!

Walk Paulie, Walk
It’s too diggity-dang hot out for me to even consider running tonight. So instead I’ve packed my camera and will attempt to embark on what I am calling a “Hundred Photo Walk” in which I challenge myself to take a hundred photos from the time I get off of the Marta train (okay I might cheat and include anything I take while on Marta) and the time I get back to my car. Am I being over-optimistic? Should I have called it the “Fifty Photo Walk?” Nah! I’ll be alright.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - happy to be in a building with air conditioning
Current Music - Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 26 playing Flaming Lips — “Do You Realize?”
Website Of The Day - DriverSide is a brand new service claiming to help you know all there is to know about your car. Like everything in this world, your mileage may vary.
Exercise (b)Log - nothing
Monthly Foot Mileage - 0 miles
Monthly Wheel Mileage - 0 miles
Mode Of Transportation To Work - Marta
Monthly Marta Rides - 3
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) - 64 (64)

June Goals
1) Run no fewer than 75 miles
2) Ride no fewer than 100 road miles
3) Ride Marta no fewer than ten twenty (ten round-trips)
4) Read at least one book
5) Make my bed every day
6) Eat out at a bar/restaurant no more than twice in one week

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

Since yesterday was the first blog of June had I the proper sleep Sunday night yesterday’s blog would have contained some of this information.

Sunday marked the start my “Digital Media Preferred” initiative. In order to refresh those who have forgotten, I will provide a summary here…

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.

I have also added and altered some of my goals for this month, including placing a restriction on the number of nights that I will allow myself to eat out. As you can imagine this is an effort to spend less of my disposable income on food and alcohol, as well as to reduce the number of calories that I ingest daily.

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

Both Bill and Bob have accused me of wanting to make them my father when I have complimented them excessively. What motivates me to blow up another person bigger than life? Possibly it is because I see this good and want it to be all-in-all. I want to lose myself in it. I don’t know that it’s bad, just excessive. It seems very similar to becoming infatuated with a beautiful woman.

To all who have helped me — Thanks.

ITP Flickr Pics
Three photos from last Saturday’s People Photography Field Day

Laura

It’s fairly simple to take a pleasing photo of her.

Brett & Ashley

I could have done without him. Yes, I think she’s adorable. Yes, they are engaged.

John

Nice guy, currently dating yesterday’s model Liz.

And so ends the People Photography!

I’ve Moved! (To Firefox v3 RC1)
Those who know me well also know of my opposition to change. Therefore it may come as a bit of a surprise to hear that I’ve become a somewhat-early adopter of the next version of Firefox. Yesterday I took the plunge from version 2 to version 3 because I kept hearing wondrous things about the newest Release Candidate.

So far so good, although it’s a bis discomforting to have to alter old habits in order to get the same work accomplished, as well as to see old, familiar websites rendered in a shiny new browser.

RealiTV Update: The Next Food Network Star
With Top Chef winding down I am glad that Food Network has provided me with a substitute. I don’t expect The Next Food Network Star to be as good as Top Chef, but I am hoping that it will satiate my thirst for silly television.

While I think Food Network might believe that they are creating TV stars their track record is not that great. I think of the three previous winners only Guy Fieri, whose shows I’ve never cared for, have made a dent in Food Network’s ratings.

The premise of The Next Food Network Star is very similar to that of Top Chef. In TNFNS the QuickFire Challenges seemed to be replaced by some challenge which is tailored for the Food Network Celebrity appearing that week, and the Elimination Challenges seem to be equivalent.

At first glance most people would think that my favorite is Lisa. It makes perfect sense because I tend to lean toward pretty women with short hair. However, I must admit that while watching the episode I was frightened silly by her.

More complete recaps will be provided in the following weeks.

Digital Download Pick Of The Week
I admit that it’s not as catchy as “CD Pick Of The Week” but if I am going to “Walk The Walk” then I must also “Talk The Talk.”

There are three discs that are being released today that pique my interest — Weezer’s “Weezer (Red Album)”, Shearwater’s “Rook” and Robert Pollard’s “Is Off To Business”.

Because of my new stance toward music I realized that I’d have the ability to actually purchase at least one “disc” prior to blogging and give it a proper listen. Then a funny thing happened… I logged on to Amazon.com and saw that one of the digital downloads (Weezer) was $11 and the other one I wanted (Shearwater) was $10! I don’t know about you, but I am currently having difficulty spending this much money for downloads. It’s my belief that unless the prices begin to drop to reflect the savings created by selling through digital services people will continue to steal or ignore new music. The ball is in your court Music Industry.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - okay
Current Music - Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 26 playing Death Cab For Cutie — “Long Division”
Website Of The Day - Ever wonder what produce is currently in season near you? Check out this cool Seasonal Produce Map on Epicurious.
Exercise (b)Log - nothing
Monthly Foot Mileage - 0 miles
Monthly Wheel Mileage - 0 miles
Mode Of Transportation To Work - My car
Monthly Marta Rides - 2
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) - 63 (63)

June Goals
1) Run no fewer than 75 miles
2) Ride no fewer than 100 road miles
3) Ride Marta no fewer than twenty times (ten round-trips)
4) Read at least one book
5) Make my bed every day
6) Eat out at a bar/restaurant no more than twice a week

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]