Inside The Perimeter

That’s a bastardization of the punch line to the old joke

“How are employees like mushrooms?”
“In order to have them grow the company must keep them in the dark and feed them shit.”

In The Dark I’m Quite The Stud
After eating a lunch of Nick’s Greek Food in Grant Park with a couple of other EAV Buzzers I drove, yes drove, to Atlantic Station to experience Dialog In The Dark.

At first I was really nervous because I saw a man walking around Atlantic Station with a cane and thought “Holy shit, they’re going to turn us loose in the street?” However, my fears were allayed when I found out that the entire exhibition is held in doors in a completely safe environment.

The next thing thing that happened was surreal. While waiting for my group’s start time I saw someone who looked very familiar. The guy, who was with a rather striking young lady, looked a lot like one of the guys in the play that I saw last night. This is the same play through which I found out about Dialog In The Dark via the playbill. As he sat down I asked “May I ask you a strange question? Are you an improv comic?” To which he answered “Yes, why?” At that point I told him that I had seen the show Thursday and that it was their shows responsibility for my attendance yesterday. He was really nice and held out his hand and told me his name was Tim. As we shook hands I told him my name. Yes, I shook his hand — it’s not like he’s one of those frail musician-types, or vegetarian…

The exhibition was cool, but imho could be cooler. You are given a cane and led into a room in which the lights are completely turned off. At that time you are introduced to your group guide, who in our case was very nice woman named Gloria. For about an hour Gloria led us through obstacles faced by blind people on a daily basis. The rooms are completely black and constructed in such a way that one’s eyes never get the ability to adjust and see anything for the entire time. At the end of the tour you are seated in another dark room and chat with your guide, asking questions and whatnot. In the end the guide leads you back into the light, at which time you can see your guide for the first time. I chose not to look however, as I didn’t want to alter the image of Gloria that I had already conjured.

The Return Of The Five-Sevenths Vegetarian
There are four people in this world who remember Fat Paulie of Huntsville, Alabama who in order to drop weight started exercising and eating a diet of vegetarian food five days out of the week, allowing himself meat on the two remaining days if he desired. I’d post a photo of this gentleman, but thankfully no pictures of him exist on the internets. And, none of the four previously mentioned people read this blog — at least to my knowledge.

As of today in an effort to lose ten pounds before Cheddarhead (that’s January 1st to you non-hashing types) I am returning to 5/7 vegetarianism for the foreseeable future. I thought about starting yesterday, but had plans to go and eat a pita for lunch. I thought about starting tomorrow on October 1st, but figured why wait? (Besides, I have something else up my sleeve for tomorrow and needed blogging material for today).

Wish me luck, I’m going to need it. Better yet, wish me good health as that is the real goal. With better health and shape I’ll get lucky — if you know what I’m sayin’…

And do me one favor… when you shake my hand, please be gentile.

ITP Flickr Pic
I do not know if Warren possess “The Gay” or not, but apparently Naomi believes so.

Actually, I’ve met Naomi before and I believe she is being somewhat facetious. (OMG! I just spelled “facetious” correctly on the first shot for the first time in my life!)

Hey, I Forgot To Talk About The Amazing Race
On Sunday night The Amazing Race started again! Woo Hoo!!!! With the exception of that season they did families I’ve loved every season of The Amazing Race that I’ve watched. Who’s with me on this? Who was only mildly surprised to see the aging hippies be the first team eliminated? Which team do you think you’ll like? Which team do you think you’ll hate? Which team do you think you’ll hate, but in the end will like?

Who Knows, I Just Might Go See A Show Tonight
Tonight Jenny Lewis is playing at Variety Playhouse. I’ve held off buying a ticket because I’ve not been sure about my work schedule recently (see also the Okkervil River ticket for Thursday night that I’ve had to give away) and I’m not the biggest Jenny Lewis supporter. However, I’ve not been to a show in weeks, and there are a lot worse acts to shoot with a camera — if you know what I’s sayin’…

Digital Download Of The Week
Two words for you:
1) Ben
2) Folds

Go buy Ben Folds’ “Way To Normal” today. I won’t guarantee that you’ll like it. You pays your money you takes your chances.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - miffed, but I’ll get over it
Current Music - Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 26 playing The Hold Steady — “Stay Positive” (believe me, I’m trying but it’s tough)
Website Of The Day - I’ve been a fan of Camp Eureka for some time. Camp Eureka is summer camp for blind childred.
Exercise (b)Log - running, 4 miles
Monthly Foot Mileage - 19.5 miles
Monthly Wheel Mileage - 136 miles
Mode Of Transportation To Work - my car
Monthly Marta Rides - 0
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) - 19 (110)
Books To Read To Earn Kindle - 4

September Goals
No idea

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

Can I get everyone out there to do something for me? Can I get you all to agree that today is really Sunday and that I don’t have to take time off from work in order to do the things that are necessary today? Let’s just roll the clock back twenty-four hours, okay? That’s not asking much, is it?

Fill Me Up! My Belly, But Not My Gas Tank.
On Saturday I had the pleasure of tasting eighteen chili recipes, twelve brunswick stew recipes, and twelve chunks of cornbread. I was a judge at the Miller Lite Chili Cook-Off!

Chili (in the containers which were brought to the judges)

Cornbread (as left by another judge, who I would have killed to talk to btw; it’s no wonder she stays so skinny if she leaves this much food behind)

As I am wont to do I arrived early. My early arrival allowed me the time to wander the grounds looking at all of the teams who were preparing their concoctions. It was quite entertaining, as each team has a name, my favorite play on words being the team named “The Serranos”). Once the competition started food was served in rounds of six samples. If you break down my numbers above you’ll note that my table did three rounds of chili tasting (some of which were really good, others notsomuch), two rounds of brunswick stew (none of which thrilled me), and two rounds of cornbread (probably the most liberal interpretation on the day’s themes — one of which has something akin to bleu cheese!). For my efforts I received free entry to the event (including the park), enough food to fill my belly, a free t-shirt, a half-cup of Miller Lite (all I could stomach of that), and great afternoon of fun.

ITP Flickr Pic
This has been a common occurrence around these parts.

Here is the line waiting to get to the one gas station in Little Five Points that had gasoline yesterday.

Who Cares About The Drought, There’s No GAS!!!
If the above pictures didn’t paint an image of a “problem” then you weren’t paying attention.

It wasn’t until my commute home on Friday that I realized that the much ballyhooed gas “shortage” in Atlanta was real. As I drove down Briarcliff Road I passed four normally-functional gas stations that had none to sell. Since I had filled my gas tank last Wednesday I blew it off as a temporary affliction.

With plenty of gas in my tank still on Saturday I drove to Stone Mountain and back without even considering topping off my tank.

When I drove to Little Five Points to meet up with a group of Flickrites for a photostroll I started to get concerned. Three different stations had no gas, and the one that did had the line pictured above.

Because of this ridiculous gas crunch I decided to put off going to the Dialog In The Dark exhibition until today. I still plan to take Marta, but at least I am more confident that Marta will run on a more regular schedule today.

Whoops There Goes Another Rubber-Tree Plant
Another one of my banks is going by the wayside. Today the announcement came down that Wachovia is to be consumed by Citigroup. I hope that my money transfers (like the one I initiated Friday) and direct deposits/withdrawals will be completely unaffected. Seriously, this shit is happening so quickly that I cannot continue to stay on top of my financial future — that is if I still have a financial future…

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - feel like I’m going to make it a great day
Current Music - listening to last week’s “Sound Opinions” podcast
Website Of The Day - So much shit is going down that I might have to go to iGourmet and buy myself a nice cheese basket. (This will make more sense tomorrow)
Exercise (b)Log - nothing
Monthly Foot Mileage - 15.5 miles
Monthly Wheel Mileage - 136 miles
Mode Of Transportation To Work - my car
Monthly Marta Rides - 0
Monday Morning Weigh-In - couldn’t take because batteries for scale have not yet completed recharging
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) - 15 (110)
Books To Read To Earn Kindle - 4

September Goals
No idea

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

I am here to say that late posts are not always due to my laziness. While I would have posted a little later than desired this morning because I dropped the Jackmobile at Curry Honda for service, the greater cause of today’s delay was my inability to get to my website this morning.

And Now I Find Out…
It figures that the week after I get my first photo back from Mpix that I;d watch an entire episode of Photoshop User TV that is dedicated to ordering from Mpix. With the tips they provided I bet my picture would look ten times better.

Oh well, next time…

Roll Out The Red Carpet
Last night I showed up to the Woodruff Arts Center and was surprised to see a photographer and a red carpet. All for the first play of the Hertz Stage? Nope. It was the Opening Night of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. Immediately my long-sleeved collared shirt and jeans were considered “under-dressed” as I passed men in tuxedos and women in cocktail gowns.

The play I was to see, The Second City’s “Welcome To Atlanta: Too Busy To Hate / Too Hard To Commute”, was a historical recreation of the best of Chicago’s Second City comedy group skits altered for Atlanta themes along with “new” improv comedy. I should admit that I like improv comedy, but only when performed at the highest level — otherwise I usually cringe. For me the highlights of the show were the rehearsed skits; I felt that the improv skits fell on their face. Be warned that the show is two-hours long with a fifteen-minute intermission. There was also a “bonus” improv-only encore which added an addition thirty minutes to the evening.

As per usual for Atlanta’s theater scene I was in the bottom twentieth-percentile of patron age. I happened to be seated next to an attractive female who was at the show alone, and I once again dropped the ball by not being able to generate small talk. And I wonder why I have been single for so long…

ITP Flickr Pic
Another picture taken while in Denver.

No Hashing For Me, I’ve Got Other Things To Do
Tomorrow I will be one of the judges at the annual Stone Mountain Great Miller Lite Chili Cook-Off. Yep, I’ll be a judge! I know this will devastate my hopes of losing weight this weekend and I’m okay with that.

On Sunday I will be using my eyes and then not using my eyes. I plan to wake early and get some daybreak photography in somewhere at an undetermined/undisclosed location. I then plan to head to Atlantic Station (yeah, I know) in order to participate in the Dialog In The Dark Exhibition. “Dialog In The Dark” is an hour-long tour through an everyday life of that of a blind person.

Dialog In The Dark’s visually impaired guides lead visitors on a journey through a series of darkened galleries created to replicate everyday experiences. Without familiar sight clues, visitors learn to “see” in a completely new way with their non-visual senses.

I’ve always been intrigued by deaf and blind people, but notsomuch of the dumb, and am really looking forward to this exhibition.

Happy Birthday ITP Reader Debbie!
(I must admit it tickles me to death when I use the “ITP Reader” preface).

Happy birthday Debbie, aka “Yes I Wood”! Debbie is one of the proprietors of the Moreland Day Spa and provides one of the best spreads of food that I have ever encountered. Watch out for her though as she is usually the dominoes scorekeeper and miraculously wins quite often. _{(I think she cheats)}

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - looking forward to today’s workday end
Current Music - Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 26 playing Of Montreal — “Id Engager”
Website Of The Day - It’s Friday, let’s all be silly by going to Totally Looks Like.
Exercise (b)Log - nothing
Monthly Foot Mileage - 15.5 miles
Monthly Wheel Mileage - 136 miles
Mode Of Transportation To Work - my car
Monthly Marta Rides - 0
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) - 14 (110)
Books To Read To Earn Kindle - 4

September Goals
No idea

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

Getting out of bed this morning was really tough. I finally made it home from the airport around 12:45am, and since I had woken up in Mountain Time I wasn’t quite ready to go to sleep.

Now That’s The Deadbeat Dad Attitude
As if matters in my fantasy football world couldn’t get worse… I found out yesterday that one of my starting wide receivers, New York Giants’ Plaxico Burress, has been suspended for two weeks for failure to show up for practice on Monday and Tuesday. Yep, it’s going to be a long season.

I Really Need To Start Taking Better Notes
I had so much to say today but am having major difficulty remembering anything.

ITP Flickr Pic
Another from my new animal series called “What Are You Looking At?”

This squirrel and I had quite the modeling session yesterday. I’d walk near her and she’d jump from the garbage can to the nearby tree. Moments later like a crack addict she was back in the garbage can and I was in pursuit of a shot.

Oh So Cultured I Am
Tonight I’ll be headed to the Hertz Stage at Alliance Theater to see “The Second City: Too Busy To Hate… Too Hard To Commute.” This will be the first of three shows that I see at the Hertz Stage as part of the season subscription that I bought a few months ago.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - all things considered, pretty damn good
Current Music - Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 26 playing The Hold Steady — “Sequestered In Memphis”
Website Of The Day - While in Denver I was reminded of Len, the guy who kept calling me Dave. Len was a Kindle advocate and as such has created a podcast about it at The Kindle Chronicles.
Exercise (b)Log - nothing, and the knee still hurts a bit
Monthly Foot Mileage - 15.5 miles
Monthly Wheel Mileage - 136 miles
Mode Of Transportation To Work - my car
Monthly Marta Rides - 0
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) - 13 (110)
Books To Read To Earn Kindle - 4

September Goals
No idea

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

Hello Denver! Are you ready to rock???

Today I’ve woken up in yet another hotel, this time in Denver, Colorado. I’m here just one day for business purposes and return home tonight. Fun!

Denver: Land Of The Lock-Up
Thankfully I am referring to my electronics and not jail. Twice last night I had weird electronic lock-ups.

While driving to downtown Denver, the popular LoDo district, Jill (the popular GPS) locked up; she just stopped updating as we were nearing the exit I needed to take off of I-25. By the time I rebooted her I was completely turned around and had to slither my way to my destination.

This morning my alarm went off, two hours early because I forgot to change the system time on my iBook. To confirm my suspicion that I still had plenty of time to sleep I checked my phone which said “3:49am.” After some amount additional sleep I rolled over and checked my phone which still said “3:49am.” Argh! Luckily after rebooting the phone I realized that I wasn’t running late.

Denver: More Like Deja’nver
It’s hard to believe that three weeks have passed since I was last here. I arrived last night to be given a white Pontiac P6, just like the one I drove around the last time I was here.

Last night I went to dinner at Dixon’s in downtown Denver, just like the last time I was here.

At Dixon’s I ate fish and chips washed down with a Odell 90 Shilling, just like the last time I was here.

But then things changed as I went to Wynkoop Brew Pub (beautiful women….), took a few shots around downtown (would have taken many more if I were solo), and returned to a hotel near the office in which I will labor today.

ITP Flickr Pic
Photos from last night because my old iBook is unable to run Lightroom. Oddly, I had a dream last night in which I purchased a new Macbook. Foreshadowing???

This is Denver’s Union Station (up close as shot from the ground).

Sadly I had a much “better” shot, at least in composition, but not sharp. Bumma!

This is one view of the inside of Union Station

It’s really a neat building and I wish I had the time and equipment to shoot it properly.

Denver: It’s Obviously Going To Keep Me From George’s
While I leave Denver today it should be abundantly clear that the two-hour, thirty-minute flight in conjunction with the loss of two hours in time zone change will keep me from running at George’s tonight. It’s probably going to make for a rough Thursday morning as well.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - pretty good, although the knee still hurts
Current Music - listening to yesterday’s “Buzz Out Loud” podcast from C|Net.
Website Of The Day - Traveling to another state? Need to know their laws about cellphone usage while driving? Check out State Cell Phone Driving Laws. (thanks to Martha for pointing me to this the other day)
Exercise (b)Log - nothing
Monthly Foot Mileage - 15.5 miles
Monthly Wheel Mileage - 136 miles
Mode Of Transportation To Work - a rental car
Monthly Marta Rides - 0
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) - another night in a hotel, therefore it’s not my job
Books To Read To Earn Kindle - 4

September Goals
No idea

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

You may remember yesterday when I mentioned that the outside of my left knee was tender from Saturday’s bike ride. “Pain be damned!” I thought. I decided that I really wanted run last night and run I did. After returning home from the run which was followed by a few beers and some surprisingly healthy food at The Midway Pub last night the inside of my left knee started bothering me. At least beer drinking doesn’t seem to hurt my knees.

When Did It Become The Weather Channel Atlanta Marathon?
I went to send in my application for the Atlanta Thanksgiving Day half marathon and noticed that it’s now The Weather Channel Atlanta Half Marathon. When did this happen? I know that it’s been a few years since I’ve run the race, but I had no idea that it had succumbed to the evils of sponsorship. If only this meant that they’d also lower the admission prices…

The Man Just Keeps Sticking It In
I went online to pay the property taxes due on my house. I filled out all of the necessary information and then found out that there is a 2.5% charge in order to pay by credit card. Dangen! I know that there is a transaction fee for credit card use, but why should I have to pay it for the government? Most other businesses build it into their costs, can’t the government figure out how to do this?

I decided to pay by check. I figured that using a stamp (at whatever that rate is these days) was much cheaper than the $74 charge I was going to incur for using my credit card.

ITP Flickr Pic
Awwwww

Lion cubs having a lazy Sunday at Zoo Atlanta.

Bacon Even A Vegetarian Can Eat
I’ve talked about Bacon Salt in the past. While I have still yet to purchase any, I’ve learned that it is now available in Kroger stores nationwide. Woo Hoo!

And while I have earthly idea how they do it, Bacon Salt is vegetarian-friendly. However, I seriously doubt that it’s kosher.

Digital Download Of The Week
This week is a really easy one for me. Today the new Cold War Kids “Loyalty To Loyalty” is released. I’ve heard a few tracks from this disc and I think, or at least hope, that it will be as strong as their previous efforts.

And to prove that this blog is worthy of your time, I’ll let you know that Amazon is the place to buy it (at least when compared to the iTunes store). At Amazon the download is $9.49 for DRM-free 256kbps music where as at the iTunes store it’s $9.99 for DRM’ed music.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - good, except for that pesky left knee
Current Music - listening to The Daily Giz Wiz podcast
Website Of The Day - Have you ever been to a website and wondered what had changed since the last time you visited it? Use Versionista to help you out.
Exercise (b)Log - running, 4 miles
Monthly Foot Mileage - 15.5 miles
Monthly Wheel Mileage - 136 miles
Mode Of Transportation To Work - my car
Monthly Marta Rides - 0
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) - 12 (110)
Books To Read To Earn Kindle - 4

September Goals
No idea

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

Don’t get me wrong, even the “bad” things which happened to me this weekend haven’t spoiled my new attitude toward Life, but they did produce a couple of speed humps along the smooth road that I am paving.

For Me The Office Was Like Christmas On Friday
At the office on Friday I received my second batch of Moo business cards (the ones with the incorrect ZIP code was unexpectedly the first batch to arrive, my 16″x24″ photo from Mpix, and my refurbished 160GB iPod Classic. It felt like Christmas morning!

The photo looks good. I’d certainly order from Mpix again, although I might go a different route than having it glued onto a stretched canvas. Truthfully I didn’t know what to expect when I chose that option. I think it might have been smarter to either have it glued onto foam-core board, or just get it in a paper form so that I could frame it.

After work I drank three more beers at Taco Mac before meeting up with folks for a few more drinks “in town.” At 11pm I finally called it quits so I could head home and repair my front tire for Saturday’s ride.

Saturday, What A Saturday
There was only one thing that would have made Saturday better, and that was actually talking to any of the abundant pretty women that I saw all day long.

The day started early, although apparently not early enough. I was picked up by Brad at 6:30am for the drive to Cartersville. By the time we arrived at the Budweiser brewery (the start and end point for the ride) there was a traffic jam waiting to park. Brad and I got a later start than we had planned, but the weather was perfect so it didn’t matter much. Believe it or not it is my nature to be polite so as I ride I try to say “Hello” or “Good morning” as I pass people. Such was the case when I passed someone who said “Paulie? Paulie, is that you?” Little did I know I had just passed my good friend Sarah (aka Piss Pour). Too funny! I manage to ride the sixty-six mile ride without any bad luck. My muscles were sore, and started to cramp toward the end, but at least there were no mechanical problems this time out.

After a lengthy “short nap” I managed to rally around 5pm and make it up to the East Atlanta Strut where I met up with new ITP homeowner Betsy (aka Boner Rooter), her boyfriend Chad (aka Always Comes First), with whom I hung out for the remainder of the day and night as we three wound up at Mi Barrio for dinner. While strutting around East Atlanta Village I also ran into many of my neighborhood friends and fellow EAV Buzzers, and finally consumed my first batch of salty-taters.

ITP Flickr Pic
Final home game at Turner Field this year.

Stacy provided awesome tickets in section 107, and I managed to make it all the way to the highest seat for that shot.

Sunday, Not A Bloody Sunday
How bad can a day be when you start out eating breakfast out at a restaurant to which you can walk, go to the zoo to take photos of the animals, and then use a free ticket in section 107, row 12 to a Mets/Braves game? Let me tell you…

Breakfast was good. I’ve eaten better meals at Kasan Red, but I had no real complaints with the meal.

The zoo, full of children and MILFs, was alright until much later when I saw that many of the photos taken, even with the use of a monopod, were not as sharp as I desire. The “best” of these photos will be uploaded during the week.

I tried to give away two of the tickets given to me by Stacy and couldn’t find two Mets fans who needed them. The closest I came was offering them to a young couple who wound up having even better seats! The game was going great as I shot photos, unfortunately many of which were through the “new” security netting which bugged the crap out of me. The Mets scored four runs in two innings although gave up two in as many innings were holding the lead. Around the sixth inning I wandered to the highest point in the stadium (where the above photo was shot), and then bent my glasses removing them from my camera bag (if only I had a camera case… oh wait I did but didn’t use it!). I my attempt to fix my glasses I broke my glasses. Today I’ll be heading out looking for a place to get quick, albeit temporary, replacements.

My plan was to get a training run in upon returning home from the game. Unfortunately my left knee was, and is still, giving me a little bother from Saturday’s ride so I chose not to push myself.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - pretty good, although I wish my scale worked this morning
Current Music - Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 26 playing Matt Pond PA — “Brooklyn Stars” (I wish some of those would head to Queens to help the Mets)
Website Of The Day - Although I am committed I am still having a hard time getting rid of the crap in my house. Perhaps I should start referencing How To Get Rid Of Things.
Exercise (b)Log - Saturday: biking, 66 miles
Monthly Foot Mileage - 11.5 miles
Monthly Wheel Mileage - 169 miles
Mode Of Transportation To Work - my car
Monthly Marta Rides - 0
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) - 11 (110)
Books To Read To Earn Kindle - 4

September Goals
No idea

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

Hi kids! Look who has internet access again! In case you haven’t seen, I posted ITP: The Lost Episode, which is the blog post I prepared for yesterday but never could upload.

Let Me Guess, You’re Sitting In 9C
My boss and I made it to the Melbourne, FL with time to spare yesterday. The airport was incredibly dead so it took no time to get check in. While checking in I decided to look for a better seat, but with nothing better available I stayed with my original selection of 9D.

With time to spare we bellied up to the bar (where I drank more Yuengling) and started a four-way conversation including the bartender and a woman, who happened to be a doctor, at the bar. The doctor was flying to a conference in Destin, FL from Melbourne, FL via Atlanta, GA. After a few yucks the conversation turned to politics. The doctor decided to figure out the political views of my boss and me by querying our profession and ages. She then said, “I’ll need one more piece of personal information.” so I said “Oh what the hell, I’ll never see you again. I like being on the bottom.” (which is not necessarily true, I was just being a smart ass.) Laughs from everyone were abundant. It turned out that my political beliefs were different from the other three people in the conversation so I became the target of inquiries. After I had enough I offhandedly said “Let me guess, you’re sitting in 9C. Aren’t you…” At which point she looked at her boarding pass to find out that she was indeed sitting in 9C.

The flight itself was uneventful as she proceeded to read for the entire one-hour flight as I stared at the clouds (a topic for another day).

Is My Chumby Becoming A Dumby?
When I arrived home last night I found my Chumby in the confused state that it is always in when I am not around to dismiss the alarm of the alarm clock. I dismissed the screen and was confused to watch it have trouble connecting to my wifi network. All efforts to get it to connect to the internet failed (man, is this ever a recurring theme in my life right now.) Bummer. I’ll try to find time this weekend to get it working again, but it will be low on the to-do list.

ITP Flickr Pic
I’m a star! Last night Chris Marquardt posted the latest Tips From The Top Floor video podcast. Look who’s included telling the story of the lost hats in Rocky Mountain National Park.

(btw- this is a screen capture that I took while pausing the video. Admittedly it’s not my best pose, but it makes me laugh.)

While walking through downtown Melbourne, FL yesterday at lunch time I came across this car.

My boss knows about hashing, but still laughed that I stopped to take this photo.

Road Bike Good News, Bad News
Good News: I’m riding part of the Beautiful Backroads Century tomorrow.
Bad News: I haven’t mounted my bike for a few weeks.
Good News: I remembered to locate my extra spare tubes and CO₂ cartridge.
Bad News: I looked at the front tire of my bike and it’s completely flat.
Good News: I have time tonight to replace the tube and tire and make sure it holds air.

Come Strut Your Stuff Tomorrow
Tomorrow is the annual East Atlanta Strut. Sadly I’ll be riding my butt off in Cartersville for the early part of the day, but I just may wander up to the village later for a little fun and frivolity.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - overweight, but ready to turn the corner
Current Music - listening to the MacBreak Weekly podcast
Website Of The Day - I just finished off a box of delicious maple candy from Maple Grove Farms. The candy was a gift from my friend Chrissy who happens to be a Vermont native and proudly distributes her home-state’s crack.
Exercise (b)Log - nothing
Monthly Foot Mileage - 11.5 miles
Monthly Wheel Mileage - 73 miles
Mode Of Transportation To Work - My car
Monthly Marta Rides - 0
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) - 8 (110)
Books To Read To Earn Kindle - 4

September Goals
No idea

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

The following was supposed to be uploaded Thursday, September 18th. However, I never located an internet connection so I couldn’t.

(Originally Title For This Blog: “Hi, My Name Is Paulie And I Am An Internet Addict”)

If the internet access was cheaper or I was spending more time in my hotel room then I would have cracked; I would have paid for the benefit of accessing the internet. While my phone is okay at accessing the internet, it is slow and limited in its capabilities. Hell, I even tried to figure out how to use my Blackjack as a modem, but unfortunately I didn’t have a necessary modem driver for my iBook.

I Will Not Whine About Losing My Wine Opener
While in Colorado I purchased a metal bottle opener which also had a cork screw and a tiny knife attached. I was surprised to hear “BAG CHECK” get yelled when my bag passed through the x-ray machine at Hartsfield because I had forgotten about putting this into my toiletry bag and travel enough to know what not to put into a carry-on suitcase these days. Once the TSA agent started tearing apart my meticulously packed suitcase I remembered the bottle opener, which he found and confiscated because it had the small knife. What has never been confiscated on any of my travels is the metal corkscrew that I also keep in my toiletry bag. Go figure.

I wish I had the guts to pack a plastic knife into my carry-on bag, but don’t want to press my luck with the TSA. It must be alright though, after all plastic “silverware” is what they give you these days when you eat at the airport.

Fatigue, It’s Not Just For Physical Exercise Any More
Today is going to be an interesting day. After getting back into the hotel last night I realized that I had packed up today’s interview schedule, as well as all of the the resumes I collected, into one of the boxes that shipped back to Atlanta yesterday. Oh boy! What a rookie mistake and I’ve been in the recruiting game for years!

Perhaps I’ll start eliminating the mental mistakes once I get myself out performing physical exercise. At least I hope so.

Florida: It’s More Than A State. It’s A Lifestyle.
I remember life in Florida being a bit slower than in other places in which I lived, but I always thought it was because the state was filled with retirees. My attitude has changed. I still think the lifestyle is a bit slow, but I think it has as much to do with the beach life as it does the retirees.

If you’ve been following my Twitter updates then you’ve probably seen me mention Duffy’s — the bar across the street from the hotel in which I am staying. Duffy’s is a sports bar with an amazingly beautiful young female wait staff and 2-for-1 happy “hour” from 4pm-7pm and 9pm-closing nightly.

The Password Is “Mofongo”
Last night’s dinner was at a small Puerto Rican restaurant called El Bohio. El Bohio was a restaurant that my travel companion used to frequent when he lived in Melbourne so he wanted to see if it was still around and as good as it used to be. We were not disappointed.

As I often do when faced with an unfamiliar cuisine, I chose a meal that I’ve never tasted before. Last night I ate “mofongo with fried pork chunks.” As I’ve come to find out, mofongo is a mash of fried plantains, garlic, olive oil, and pork cracklings. The mofongo was served with delicious fried pork chunks, yellow rice, red beans, and a chicken broth.

Anyone (Miguel?) know of a good Puerto Rican restaurant in Atlanta. I know that I will need to eat mofongo again.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - okay, dreaming of exercise
Current Music - listening to the This Week in Photography podcast
Website Of The Day - I’ve not been able to supply you with photos, so I’ll send you to another place with really cool photos — The Boston Globe’s “The Big Picture”.
Exercise (b)Log - nothing
Monthly Foot Mileage - 11.5 miles
Monthly Wheel Mileage - 73 miles
Mode Of Transportation To Work - rental car
Monthly Marta Rides - 0
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) - 7 (110)
Books To Read To Earn Kindle - 4

September Goals
No idea

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

But have had no internet access to upload it. Even the internet access here at Florida Tech is FUBAR.

Go look at the two cameraphone photos I uploaded to Flickr for a good chuckle.