Inside The Perimeter

Don’t look now, Thanksgiving is only two weeks away! Want to guess who will not be prepared to run a half-marathon that day?

The Last Two Nights I’ve Said That I Was Going Out, But Stayed At Home
Perhaps tonight I will say that I am staying at home and go out instead.

Once again I made the choice to spend the night home. I was really hungry, needed a “quick” vegetarian option (getting tired of Mexican though), and since that meant Willy’s or Moe’s. Willy’s won out and was perfect for what I desired. However, while sitting at the Edgewood Retail District’s Willy’s I realized that the likelihood that I would drive over to midtown was very low and I made the call to skip last night’s AtlRUG (Atlanta Ruby User Group) meeting.

“Productivity” was to be the word du jour, however, “panic,” “rest,” “sleep,” and “television” won out instead. That’s okay, I can’t win them all. And, since house-selling is currently not an option I am in no rush to get it prepared to do so.

Computer Upgrading Is Not Hard, But It Is Time Consuming
My decision to “Go Leopard” on my aged iBook and daily-use iMac has caused me momentary heartburn. The install of software onto the “new, refurbished” MacBook was a snap since there were no pre-installed, pre-configured concerns to be had. However, the same is far-from-true for the two machines that I wish to migrate from Tiger to Leopard (Mac operating systems for those not in the know). Sure, Apple provides migration assistance, but I’m more of a “wipe the slate clean and start over” type of guy. This means that I have to make sure that I have all of the serial numbers for installed software handy, and sooner or later am going to have to figure out how to take a snapshot of my iTunes library so that I can reinstall it swiftly and correctly. Oh bother…

Now I remember why I don’t do these sort of sweeping changes often.

ITP Flickr Pic
The last of my “Cute Kid Collection”

Man, now I really need to shoot something tonight since I have nothing in the queue for tomorrow.

Don’t Look Now, Top Chef Is Back!
What a pleasant surprise it was yesterday to be informed that Top Chef was premiering yesterday. I have my peeps at EAV Buzz to thanks for the head’s up.

You bet your big-assed apple there are spoilers to follow!

Seventeen contestants met up in New York. And before the first Elimination Challenge that number would be whittled to sixteen no sooner than you could utter “Big Apple” (peeling). We see a overconfident Savannaher (Savannahite? Savannahole?), Lauren, say “If there are only sixteen jackets then there is one for me.” before she gets unceremoniously chucked off the show like a bad apple. Hell, as Lauren said “I didn’t even get to see the kitchen.” I surmise that she got kicked off the show because she failed to drop enough approved-product references into her sentences; she should have said “I didn’t even get to see the GE SpaceMaker kitchen filled with Glad products!”

Lauren’s ouster was more ironic since she was one of a friend-pair who were so happy to reconnect on the show. You see, Lil’ Ole Hottie Lauren was best buds at the CIA (culinary school not undercover agency) with sweet-faced Patrick. Patrick’s goal was to prove that a young student has the chops to be Top Chef (Chops! Get it?!? Oh, never mind). Want to guess who loses the Elimination Challenge? Well, perhaps Lauren and Patrick can have sleepovers somewhere and watch the remaining fifteen contestants vie for Top Chef status.

As for the cheftestants still on the show, many of them are JackWads^TM. I’ll assess their capabilities as the show progresses.

One more thing from last night…. When I lived in Queens, NY I didn’t remember Jamaica, NY being known for Jamaican food. All I remember was Jamaica Cola, which from my research today had no connection to the neighborhood because it was produced by Canada Dry and is no longer made. I supposed it makes sense for Jamaica to have Jamaican roots, in the same way we associate Chinatown with Chinese and Little Italy with Italians, but I never knew of the association. So know you understand when I mention that I was rather confused when the two chefs who pulled “Jamaica” knives actually cooked Jamaican food.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Daily
Current Mood – okay
Current Music – Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 26 playing Of Montreal — “Id Engager”
Website Of The Day – Some change is bothersome (see my Mac struggles), but some change is welcome (see Change.Gov).
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – nothing

Monthly
Foot Mileage – 12 miles
Wheel Mileage – 0 miles
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) – 13 (13)
Vegetarian Days – 9
Carnivorous Days – 3
Marta Rides – 0

Ongoing
Books To Read To Earn Kindle – 4

November Goals
1) Lose no fewer than three pounds
2) Drink no soda
3) Run no fewer than 75 miles
4) Bike no fewer than 100 miles

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

And I’m just talking about reinstalling software on my laptop after moving from OS X 10.4 (aka “Tiger”) to OS X 10.5 (aka “Leopard”).

Instructions I Can Follow
Yesterday I had a good chuckle at the gas pump. Laughs at the pump had become few and far between due to soaring prices, but this would have made me laugh at any price.

Pump Operation
1. Follow Instructions on Screen

See how easy it is to operate the pump? There is only one step!

So I ask, “Why bother numbering the steps if there is only one step?”

Who Took My Left Of Center?
For as long as I can remember Sirius 26 was called “Left of Center.” Today when I turned the channel on I was confused. It seems as if “Left of Center” no longer has the proper impact. Perhaps they just wanted to change the name a bit, or perhaps a change is afoot due to the Sirius/XM merger, but my beloved Sirius 26 — “Left of Center” is now known as Sirius 26 — “XM U.”

For what it’s worth they still seem to play the same style of music at least.

ITP Flickr Pic
Another from the “Cute Kid Collection”

I still need to shoot more!

No Geekery Last Night, But I Am Going To Try Tonight
I arrived late to the neighborhood in which The Bureau exists in part due to delays caused by software installation and in part due to transposing the bar’s address.

AND GODDAMMIT I WANT MORE BUSINESSES TO INSTALL ADDRESS NUMBERS WHICH ARE CLEARLY VISIBLE TO PEOPLE TRAVELING IN CARS! YOU DO WANT US TO BE ABLE TO FIND YOU, RIGHT?

Sorry, that’s really been nagging me lately.

When I arrived to that part of Edgewood, nary two blocks east of The Connector, there was but one parking space to be had and I lost it while I circled the block to return for it. As I circled the block I noticed very dark streets on which, dare I profile, suspicious individuals wandered. Having been carjacked (at home, I know) and knowing the value of the contents of my trunk last night, I chose not to take chances and headed home.

I hope fate smiles on me a tonight as I am going to attempt to hook up with the Atlanta Ruby Users Group to enhance my exposure to the Ruby language. Am I a nerd? You betcha fucking ass I am!

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Daily
Current Mood – frustrated
Current Music – Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 26 (nee Left of Center) playing MGMT — “Kids”
Website Of The Day – none, I’ve too much to do today.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – nothing

Monthly
Foot Mileage – 12 miles
Wheel Mileage – 0 miles
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) – 12 (12)
Vegetarian Days – 8
Carnivorous Days – 3
Marta Rides – 0

Ongoing
Books To Read To Earn Kindle – 4

November Goals
1) Lose no fewer than three pounds
2) Drink no soda
3) Run no fewer than 75 miles
4) Bike no fewer than 100 miles

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

In case you missed today’s “other” blog entry, I want to warn my early-morning readers that this blog will be showing up a little later on your “doorstep” than it has in the past. I’ve joined a daily 7:00am mentoring group and as such will be unable to blog at that time for the near future.

More Minutiae From The Weekend
This weekend I noticed that Walmart has changed its logo. WALMART! What is going on when one of the nation’s leading retailers undergoes the cost of changing its logo? Think of the cost incurred to do so? Is this really the economic time to execute such a maneuver?

Last Night I Went To Hear Words With A Bunch Of Food Nerds
I arrived in Midtown around 5:30pm last night. The “plan” was to have a beer and some dinner at Taco Mac before the lecture across the street at the Margaret Mitchell House. That “plan” was discarded when I noticed a line forming for the outside the doors which were to open at 6:00pm. I got in line. My early entry into the line got me a primo seat for the lecture, but one thought kept bouncing through my head Why didn’t I bring my camera with me?.

As I watched the crowd file in I also started noticing something depressing. With the exception of one or two of my “type” of women, the number of cute, single women attending the lecture was very low. In fact, the majority of the attendees were nerds! Holy crap I need to change my social circles if I ever want to meet women…

One person I thought I recognized was the night’s “official” photog. If I am correct, she was the same photog who shot my friend Joe’s wedding a few months ago. I should have gone and asked her, but she was busy working…

The lecture was incredible. Alton Brown and Shirley Corriher sat on stage and performed a seemingly unscripted routine of questions and answers that were no less entertaining than Burns and Allen. Shirley Corriher has a child-like enthusiasm for, and a PhD-level knowledge of, food science; her answers were entertaining as well as informative.

Signed books were on sale, and though I had intended to purchase some and have them signed, I couldn’t fathom the thought of waiting in long lines to do so.

ITP Flickr Pic
Shooting children is tough…

…they never seem to stay still.

Eating A Fast, Vegetarian Breakfast Is Really Difficult
I hate the current location of my office. It could be worse, there could be no Marta train nearby, not that I ride the train all that much any longer.

On my drive in today I noticed that I should get gas before returning ITP later today. There is one, and only one, gas station near Perimeter Mall. That station is currently selling regular unleaded for $2.13 per gallon, at least five cents more than stations in my neighborhood — which I consider to be a rip-off zone.

Since I was making a stop for gas and wasn’t going to have much time prior to my mentoring session I thought I’d go inside the Food Mart to purchase a snack for breakfast. Today is a vegetarian day, so I thought I’d be able to pick up a biscuit or breakfast burrito with some coffee. Let’s see…. sausage biscuit; ham, egg, cheese biscuit; burrito with egg and sausage; bacon, egg, and cheese burrito; and that’s it! WTF??? Not a single vegetarian option existed! So, I was forced to pick up a blueberry muffin. The mass-produced muffin was horrible, it was like eating blob of sugar and fat…. I threw half of it into the trash.

An Error In My Accounting
This morning I noticed that had incorrectly added three days to my carnivorous count, when I should have added those days to my vegetarian count. My error has been corrected.

I Have One Hundred Friends On Facebook
Do I really have one hundred friends in “real” life?

And Tonight I’m Going To A NerdFest, And Am Okay With That
Tonight there is an Atlanta Tweet-Up going on down at The Bureau (which, btw is a really shitty name for Googling) on Edgewood. I’ll be sucking down a few brews and snacking on a vegetarian appetizer while doing a little networking. If you want to see me, make sure to get there early as I’ll be heading home at a “respectable” time so that I can test my plumbing by doing some laundry.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Daily
Current Mood – okay
Current Music – listening to Adam Curry’s “Daily Source Code” podcast
Website Of The Day – There’s a lot going on in the world. If you feel you are not getting the straight dope from conventional news outlets, check out World Press for alternate views.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – nothing

Monthly
Foot Mileage – 12 miles
Wheel Mileage – 0 miles
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) – 11 (11)
Vegetarian Days – 7
Carnivorous Days – 3
Marta Rides – 0

Ongoing
Books To Read To Earn Kindle – 4

November Goals
1) Lose no fewer than three pounds
2) Drink no soda
3) Run no fewer than 75 miles
4) Bike no fewer than 100 miles

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

But I cannot promise you an early-morning, daily blog.

For a while I will be attending 7:00am mentoring sessions, therefore my “normal” writing time will be accounted for by something else, so I’ll be shifting the blog-writing time to later in the day.

Sorry about that early-morning readers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

But driving it for six-to-seven hours at a time is rather tiring.

A Lot Of Driving, But A Really Fun Time
Raleigh, or more generally the Raleigh/Durham area, is a really nice place to visit. I’m still not sold on ever living there, as I’ve yet to experience a modicum of snow and wonder about their traffic situation.

From Atlanta the drive to/from Raleigh takes me, He Who Fears Speeding Tickets And Often Sees Cops Pull Onto Roadways After Him, about seven hours. Of course last night there was construction on I-85 South about fifteen miles from the South Carolina / Georgia state line so I got a little extra time behind the wheel than I had bargained for.

The weekend was a nice getaway, complete with spending time with friends, being constantly amazed at the energy output of a near three-year-old child, all while learning the ins-and-outs of vegetarian food ordering, and the wonderful world of Locopops.

Thanks again, Lisa and Randy.

It’s All About The Details With Me
One of the benefits of making a trip to the Raleigh area is that I often get to ride around and not have to drive. On Saturday as we drove along I was looking at all of the cars we passed as we headed to Chapel Hill to shop at A Southern Season a really neat kitchen and food store there. One particular car white caught my eye because it had a British flag bumper sticker and a Minnesota license plate.

After shopping for a while we headed to the American Tobacco Historic District, an old large Lucky Strike cigarette factory and warehouse complex now converted to a hip office/retail complex in Durham, for a snack and adult beverage. Upon leaving the restaurant we walked back to their car in the parking garage where I noticed that the car parked next to theirs was a white car with a British flag bumper sticker and a Minnesota license plate.

Weird.

ITP Flickr Pic
Sugar is the dog of my friends Randy and Lisa

Every time these two have a guest bedroom they go and have another child. Are they trying to send me a message? Before I know it I’ll be sleeping wherever Sugar sleeps when I visit.

The Amazing Race: Good Riddance, Ugly Americans!
SPOILER ALERT!!!
Proving that the term “Ugly American” is not reserved for those lacking physical beauty, I was pleased at punch to see the catty divorcees get the boot on last night’s The Amazing Race. I’m sure that Nick and Starrrrrr will be shown smiling next week…

Nick: “Shape of a huge grin!”
Starrrrrr: “Form of a big ‘Look who’s crying now, bitch?’”

I was having a rollicking good time watching the perfect-zeros get covered in colored powder, while failing to even read the clue. Another incorrect envelope returned, another guttural from yours truly. What in the hell possessed them to try and scare people while in the cab? And then to watch them have a guy bike them around as the tried to find the numbers on the power lines sealed the deal. I was temped to fast-forward to the end of the show to see if they were spared just to try and watch the episode with out having to hope that they’d get eliminated.

Of the remaining teams I think Dallas and mom are my favorites. I can’t pull for the Wonder-Twins, the “You owe us” attitude of Tina has really not endeared her to me (although I was impressed that they managed to finish fourth last night), whiny-boy from NY and his girlfriend do nothing for me, and the frat boys would have a hard time finding breasts in a Hooters.

Hey Smile On My Mac!
Every time I get ready to buy more copies of your software Text Expander the software FAILS! What gives?

This is really fucking annoying!

I’m Paying To Be Lectured Tonight
Tonight I’ll attending a lecture at The Margaret Mitchell House, a first for me. The lecture will be put on by Shirley Corriher in support of her newly-released book “BakeWise.” Also scheduled to appear is Alton Brown which is not surprising since he has had Corriher appear on many episodes of Good Eats.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Daily
Current Mood – meh, questioning everything
Current Music – Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 26 playing Wilco — “What Light”
Website Of The Day – Perhaps it’s because I struggle with my creativity and photography but I love websites dedicated to art and art projects. Environmental Art is cool site I stumbled across this morning.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – nothing
Monday Morning Weigh-In – 201 pounds (man, do I ever fluctuate…)

Monthly
Foot Mileage – 12 miles
Wheel Mileage – 0 miles
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) – 10 (10)
Vegetarian Days – 7
Carnivorous Days – 2
Marta Rides – 0

Ongoing
Books To Read To Earn Kindle – 4

November Goals
1) Lose no fewer than three pounds
2) Drink no soda
3) Run no fewer than 75 miles
4) Bike no fewer than 100 miles

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

This has been a pretty eventful week, let’s go ahead and just coast on into the weekend. Sound good to you? For me this will be a weekend which will be spent elsewhere. Gee, doesn’t that sound familiar? This weekend I’ll be making a trip to Raleigh, NC to visit ITP-readers Lisa & Randy and, hopefully future-ITP-reading son (hey, I plan to do this for a long time).

Life Without A DVR?
As odd as it seems, I will soon be living a life without a DVR. No, thankfully I have not been laid off (at least not that I know), but my super-duper beta box has been tagged for obsolescence and I will have to turn it in. While I am eligible to receive another settop box as part of the engineering beta program, the only models available are non-dvr devices. Yikes! What am I going to do? Watch commercials? NEVER!

It’s True, I’ve Ordered Government-Supported DTV Converter Coupons
In other television-related news I’ve gone and done something that some of you out there should consider. Yesterday I signed up to receive a couple of $40 coupons to be used toward the purchase of digital-to-analog converters for when analog television pretty much goes bye-bye in February (assuming the “deadline” doesn’t get extended, again).

People who subscribe to satellite or cable television should not panic, but if you have that old tv out in the workshop or whatever, and you want to be able to use it after the digital transition then you should consider applying for a coupon. Why not save $40, right? Fuck, for what I paid in taxes this year the Government should be sending me brand new big-screen HDTV digital televisions instead.

To get your coupon(s) head over to the Government’s website for digital television converter coupon distribution.

ITP Flickr Pic
My final shot from last weekend.

Hey look! It’s the weekend! Perhaps I should shoot some shots for next week’s blog.

When I Hear Scratching In My Bedroom I Want It To Be A Person Doing It
The onset of Winter unfortunately has turned into the onset of vermin season in my attic again. Yesterday I failed to mention that I was awakened at 2:00 AM by the sound of some critter making its Winter homestead in my attic. One of the other “opportunities” I now am presented is to go up into my attic, root around, clean up some previously-depositied animal scat using my shop vacuum, and toss out some new poison for my unwanted tenants to consume.

Let’s see….

• soffit replacement
• sewer plumbing / replacement
• living room ceiling repair
• interior plumbing repair
• minor electrical work
• gutter repair after the tree limb fell in August
• and now another swing at animal removal

The tax deduction has been fine, but I don’t think I’m going to make a killing on the selling price when I final get to sell this house. Why do I own a house again?

Something’s Fishy At Amazon
When I received my new French Press last week I was somewhat confused and disturbed by the fact that the packing list included in the box was not for my order. Instead it was for some woman named Susan who lived in Pennsylvania (and damn me for throwing that thing out the other day!). Yesterday I received a strange email via LinkedIn from some guy in Mountain View, California who said that he received a gift for the birth of his new child and my packing list was in the box. Not knowing who I was and seeing that the packing list mentioned a Nissan Insulated Thermos he figured that I’d have the packing list for the gift. He was also trying to figure out who sent he and his wife the gift. I sent him a reply telling him about the packing list in my box, which I had thrown out the day before, and told him that I could be of no further help with his search.

Another curiosity I’ve been seeing at Amazon recently is price fluctuation. Over the past few days I’ve been looking at these small-screen “netbook” laptops and each time I go to Amazon the model I look at seems to have a different price! Unfortunately the price is not always lower either, it’s kinda like playing the stock market.

OS X Leopard Here I Come (Finally, And About Six Months Before “Snow Leopard”)
What better way to test my sanity than to upgrade the operating system, right? With the (now successful) purchase purchase of my newly-refurbished last-generation MacBook I have decided to bring my other Macs up to the latest operating system, Leopard. Of course I choose to do this once I finally get my backup strategy configured to my liking. Hell, this will probably test this strategy to see if I’ve done it right as I’m sure I’ll accidentally be deleting something I want to keep during the upgrade process.

In addition to this my final Windows machine is starting to breath its last gasps of air. The battery for the laptop has given up the ghost and is able to keep the system running for all of about two minutes, and the power connector for AC power is becoming flaky as well; for no reason whatsoever it kicks over to the battery even though I’m still plugged in. I’ll keep the old guy around for a while, but I see my self soon becoming a Mac-only household… at least for as long as I live alone.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Daily
Current Mood – fair
Current Music – Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 26 playing Guided By Voices — “Teenage FBI” LOVE this song!
Website Of The Day – From my office window I can see former CompUSA which is now Total Wine & More. Drinking problem? Drinking in no longer a problem.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – nothing

Monthly
Foot Mileage – 12 miles
Wheel Mileage – 0 miles
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) – 7 (7)
Vegetarian Days – 4
Carnivorous Days – 2
Marta Rides – 0

Ongoing
Books To Read To Earn Kindle – 4

November Goals
1) Lose no fewer than three pounds
2) Drink no soda
3) Run no fewer than 75 miles
4) Bike no fewer than 100 miles

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

It gets a little chilly outside these days.

Of Options I Have A Few
I wish I was speaking of stock options, but I’ll settle for the fact that my personal options are plentiful…

Last night I blew off running at George’s Bar to join a bloggers’ meetup that I’ve been blowing off for well over a year. I met up with Maigh at Bone Garden Cantina which is tucked away in the west-northwest side in an industrial area attempting redevelop itself as a small business/condo area. Given the fact that we were headed to a Mexican restaurant I figured my vegetarian options would be plentiful. I was very wrong. I wound up ordering a $6 cheese quesadilla (have I ever mentioned that I think “quesadilla” translated into English is “ripoff?”) which amounted to little more than a few slices of cheese heated in a 12″ burrito shell, served with small portions of sour cream, lousy guacamole, and pico de gallo. To that I order some refried beans (ok, I know those probably contained lard) and “Mexican” rice, for another $1.75. Overall, my meal was disappointing. And as an added oddity I got sucked into playing team trivia with the bloggers. Not too surprisingly, we won.

Tonight my options are more than plentiful. There’s hockey — the Islanders are in town; but I’m not sure that I’m ready to drink that much tonight. There’s a potential meet up at Brick Store with a dear friend I’ve not seen in a long time. And the only sure thing is that I’ll be dropping by Taco Mac near my office for a beverage or two with coworkers. See? So. Many. Options. No matter how much I bitch and moan about my house, and weight, and whatnot, it does not really suck to be me.

ITP Flickr Pic
I wish that my life was as placid as the lake was on the morning I took this shot.

Currently it flip-flops between a fast-flowing stream and a whirlpool.

The New Refurbished Macbook Has Arrived!
Apple shipped a new computer to me yesterday and unfortunately I had vacated the office before its arrival. It’s in my greedy little hands now, and when time permits this afternoon I’ll crack open the box and attempt to set it up to make sure that this one’s not experiencing problems. Wish me luck.

A Paulie Product Review: The Nissan Insulated French Press
A little while ago I blogged about breaking the French Press coffee maker that I use at work. I pondered a replacement and settled on an insulated metal canister French Press sold by Nissan. This French Press is really good. On the positive side, it holds 32 ounces (what they call “8 cups”) of coffee and keeps the beverage enjoyably warm for much longer than the glass vessel was ever able to. On the negative side, it mesh screen doesn’t seem to keep the grounds out of my coffee as well as the old French Press did.

Over all I’d suggest buying this French Press, especially if I can modify the screen in some way to guarantee that coffee grounds don’t manage to sneak past it.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Daily
Current Mood – fair, wishing my pants weren’t so tight and that my house wasn’t the bane of my existence.
Current Music – Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 26 playing MGMT — “Kids”
Website Of The Day – There is an interesting organization called Humanety who is trying to raise monies for charities through auctioning off one-on-one time with internet celebrities. Currently the auction is with long-time Mad Magazine writer Dick DeBartolo.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – nothing

Monthly
Foot Mileage – 12 miles
Wheel Mileage – 0 miles
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) – 6 (6)
Vegetarian Days – 3
Carnivorous Days – 2
Marta Rides – 0

Ongoing
Books To Read To Earn Kindle – 4

November Goals
1) Lose no fewer than three pounds
2) Drink no soda
3) Run no fewer than 75 miles
4) Bike no fewer than 100 miles

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

If you followed my Twitter account last night you saw that fun that I had at the election’s expense. Today I am going to let it spill into the blog as I bring to you my shallow attempt to be a writer for The Onion for a day. Hope you enjoy…

America Votes For Change, And Then Changes Its Mind
In overwhelming numbers Americans got out the vote and voted for “Change.” However, upon hearing of Obama’s pending victory and seeing him prepare on television for an acceptance speech record numbers of voters returned to the polls asking for a “do-over.”

“Wait a minute, I voted for the black guy?” Florida resident Scott Thriten, 78, was overheard asking the polling volunteer at the local shuffleboard club at which he votes. “That can’t be right! I’m no racist, but McKinney was the only black on the ballot and I made sure that I didn’t vote for her. But don’t get me wrong, I’m no racist. And even though I believe women belong in the kitchen I’m not one of those sexist men either, ’cause I almost voted for that pretty Sarah girl whose last name I keep forgetting.” the Vietnam veteran said further.

In Pennsylvania, another “swing” state, college-Freshman Tiffany Wilson was confused because she thought that “Obama” was “O’bama” the really cute red-headed Irish guy she met at Bennigan’s last St Patrick’s Day. “I tried to go back and see him again to make sure he was the President guy, but that Bennigan’s closed because of this whole bad economy thing, y’know.” Wilson said. “This is so not fair! This is the first time I get to vote for the President and now that I realized who I voted for I can’t go back and change my vote? I hate this country! I’m going to move to another country, like New York, or somewhere.”

Sarah Palin Declares “We’ll Get ‘Em In Two Years!”
Sarah Palin started the somewhat-rare post-election interview sweep on CBS‘ “Super-Early Morning Show” this morning. Admittedly she had not gotten much sleep and was rather disappointed but fielded all questions thrown her way.

However, at one point Palin unexpectedly finished one of her answers with “That’s okay, Johnny (McCain) and I will have another go at them in two years!” Palin seemed rather confused and befuddled when it was explained to her that Presidential elections were only held every four years in the United States. “Huh…” she said “I thought it was like the Olympics. You know, we used to have those every four years too, but now they are on tv every two years instead.”

CBS quickly cut to commercial and representatives for the television network could not be reached for comment for this story.

Starbucks To Launch New Campaign
On the heels of its highly successful “Free Coffee To Those Wearing ‘I Voted’ Stickers” initiative Starbucks is launching a new coffee campaign today.

The new “I Like My Coffee Like I Like My Presidents… Hot And Black” campaign will be rolled out to “blue” states first and then to “red” states by the end of 2008. “Sure it’s going to be controversial.” stated Starbucks’ PR manager Amber Thesis, “But, what other coffee company is going help you get your hands around a hot black Grande that you can put in your mouth?” she added.

Representatives for coffee rivals PJ’s and Caribou could not be reached for comments.

ITP Flickr Pic
No photo today, too busy making fun of everything.

Local Man Disgusted That McDonalds Not Offering Free McRib Sandwich Today
“So I got an email yesterday telling me that if I voted for Obama, and he won, I’d get a free McRib sandwich from McDonalds today.” said Baton Rouge, Louisiana resident Manny Tardeux. “Truth be told, it was the only reason I stood in line for two hours to vote yesterday. And now that I am here (McDonalds) no one’s admitting to know what the heck I am talking about!” followed Tardeux.

According to the popular Internet-Urban-Legend-debunking website Snopes this email chain letter swept the country rapidly yesterday. While the chain letter’s source was unknown at this publisher’s deadline Snopes did go on to reveal that variations on the “McRib Mail” existed and that they would probably plague the Internet for the next few days as Americans pass it around as post-election fodder.

Palin Saddened When Asked If She Kept The Receipts
The $150,000 spent by the Republican Party was well documented. Much of that money was spent on clothing for Sarah Palin’s campaign. However, what Palin failed to realize was that if the McCain/Palin ticket didn’t win the Presidency those outfits would have to be returned. “You did keep the receipts, didn’t you?” Palin campaign-aide Terrence Morton shouted at her today. Clearly upset by Palin’s facial expression Morton followed with “Holy shit, now we’re only going to get store credit and not cash back! What a stupid [redacted] you are!”

Morton could not be reached for further comment upon his dismissal from the McCain/Palin campaign this morning.

My Only “Serious” “Change-Related” Topic Of The Day
Holy shit, you made it this far? Fantastic!

While I have recommitted to attaining a 5/7ths vegetarian diet I have eased some of the restrictions on my liquid intake. I will try not to consume any soda or sugar-laden drink such as lemonade. I will allow myself to return to drinking milk and natural fruit juices in addition to the water/coffee/tea/beer/wine list, however. This morning I am drinking a delicious Orange Juice to celebrate the election results. “You know because like Obama, OJ is a black guy.” I was heard uttering under my breath.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Daily
Current Mood – pretty chuffed with myself
Current Music – Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 26 playing New Pornographers — “Mutiny, I Promise You”
Website Of The Day – You want Change? Play the “Change Maker” game at Fun Brain.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – nothing
Monthly
Foot Mileage – 12 miles
Wheel Mileage – 0 miles
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) – 5 (5)
Vegetarian Days – 2
Carnivorous Days – 2
Marta Rides – 0

Ongoing
Books To Read To Earn Kindle – 4

November Goals
1) Lose no fewer than three pounds
2) Drink no soda
3) Run no fewer than 75 miles
4) Bike no fewer than 100 miles

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

Ramblings of a tired voter….

Another Thing I Learned At Fort Mountain
There is another thing I learned at Fort Mountain State Park last weekend that I forgot to mention yesterday. I learned was how good faux chicken patties can be! I purchased the Boca brand and quite enjoyed the hell out of them. Did I “think” I was eating a real breaded, chicken patty? No, but I didn’t miss eating one either.

Sad To Report, No Brain Power Used Last Night
I tried. Some time around 4:30 pm I started getting stuffy and then that turned into a runny nose with sneezing fits. I tried everything I knew to get the misery to end, but alas nothing worked. I showed up and had dinner and a couple of beers with Maigh and her man, but had to bail well before trivia even started. I was a complete mess.

Instead I headed home and watched a lot of television as I did some laundry while praying my sewage pipes wouldn’t explode.

ITP Flickr Pic
Wish I had uploaded the photo of the “Georgia Voter” sticker I saw plastered on a trash can at Huntsville’s Space and Rocket Center, but I forgot. Instead, enjoy this photo of an illegal immigrant dog.

“Nibbles” as she has been named by “Martha” is part Chihuahua, part somethin-somethin.

Let Freedom Yawn!
My ballot has been cast. I was in line around 6:00 am this morning and it took nearly ninety minutes for me to vote once the polls opened. I counted four women in line with whom I had interest; that may be an all-time high for me.

I refuse to mention for who I voted so don’t even ask. The phrase “Bros Before Hoes” comes to mind, however.

The Amazing Race: SONNABITCH!
I thought that this week we’d see the ousting of that annoying biatch Tina. But nooooooo, we’ve not had a leg of the race on which elimination has been spared, so Ken and Tina remain. Sadly too the rules no longer state that they lose all of their money and possessions except for what they are wearing.

What’s the deal with Starr? Why is it that when ever she does a solo interview (confessional) that she looks like she’s gotten into her mother’s makeup kit? Is she vying to be more of a “ho” than the divorcees?

Next week I predict that the frat boys will completely fuck themselves up and finish just behind Ken and Tina.

Digital Download Of The Week
Don’t bother, go vote instead.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Daily
Current Mood – good
Current Music – Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 26 playing The Walkmen — “The Rat”
Website Of The Day – MTV used to tell you to get out and “Rock the Vote.” They also used to play music videos. If you miss those videos you can now see them online at MTV Music.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – nothing, I was feeling ill

Monthly
Foot Mileage – 12 miles
Wheel Mileage – 0 miles
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) – 4 (4)
Vegetarian Days – 2
Carnivorous Days – 1
Marta Rides – 0

Ongoing
Books To Read To Earn Kindle – 4

November Goals
1) Lose no fewer than three pounds
2) Drink no soda
3) Run no fewer than 75 miles
4) Bike no fewer than 100 miles

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

It was a massacre. The Mystery Mountain 12-Mile Run? No, the 49-10 ass kicking that the Florida Gators put on the Georgia Bulldogs! Wooo Hooo! Go Gators!

Fort Mountain: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly
I spent the majority of my weekend at Fort Mountain State Park in Chatsworth, Georgia. I drove up after attending a happy hour on Friday and returned yesterday afternoon.

The Good
- The race organization was top-notch. Kudos go to GUTS including ITP-readers Sal and Sarah for putting on a well-organized, properly-marked, sufficiently-supported, event. Everyone involved was committed to making this a great event. Now if we could only figure out how to kill off some of the bees.
- I finished.
- Sleeping in my car was wonderful, especially when I figured out the best angle at which to park so that I don’t slide down into the trunk.
- I camped like a champ. Once I do some post-camping trip analysis to figure out which items I need to bring and which ones I do not, things will be even better.
- The fleece throw that I purchased in Bi-Lo whether it cost me $3.33 or $9.99 (it was in a bin labeled 3/$9.99 but I didn’t look at my receipt) was the best thing ever. On Saturday night I was a little cold in my sleeping bag and slipped the fleece down the sleeping bag and was snuggly-warm.

- Fox Bros BBQ’s smoked chicken wings and a half-Tomminator were a perfect meal to end the weekend.

The Bad
- I had to fight people off my campsite on Saturday night. When I returned from sharing a beverage with those staying in the pioneer campsite I was stunned to see a car pulled into my campsite and people putting up a tent. I was furious and asked them what the fuck they were doing? It was clear that they did not have a reservation and were squatting on my site even though I had left a pan, my toothbrush and toothpaste, the cover to my camping chair, a half-gallon of water, and my wood behind. Remember, there was no tent since I wasn’t sleeping in one. After much conversation I got them to pack up their stuff and leave. I was rather worried that they were going to retaliate my anger once I went to sleep, especially since I accused them of removing my name from the campsite leaving me no proof the the site was mine.
- I walked way too much and cramped during the race.

The Ugly
- The altercation with the campsite squatters really took a lot of the fun out of the idea of camping alone and sleeping in my car.
- It took me three hours to finish the race, well behind the rest of the hashers running. Even with my lack of training I really expected to finish under three hours.

ITP Flickr Pic
There’s not much water running up in the mountains, but I found a little.

I probably shouldn’t admit this, but I added the leaves to the stream.

Anyone Go To The Drive By Truckers / The Hold Steady Show Saturday?
Missing that show was one of the casualties of deciding to go to Chatsworth this weekend.

Returning The Defective
On Friday I took my defective Macbook to FedEx Kinkos to be returned. Hopefully this week I will receive a full-functioning replacement.

Last night I opened my latest delivery from Netflix and was bummed to find out that I have been given another broken disc. I quickly reported the problem on their website and dropped it into the mail this morning.

I hate failure, followed very closely by waiting.

Flexing My Brain Muscle Tonight, Not My Leg Muscles
Sure, I could run with the East Atlanta Monday Night Running Group, however tonight I choose not to. Actually I want to give my ankle and knees the chance to recover and have had a long-standing commitment to join with some friends to play team trivia at North Highland Pub tonight.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Daily
Current Mood – Even though I’m slow and I ache I feel great
Current Music – Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 26 playing Oasis — “Falling Down”
Website Of The Day – Want to invite people to a gathering but are sick and tire of using Evite? Give Pingg a chance.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – Sunday: running/hiking, 12 miles
Monday Morning Weigh-In – 198 pounds

Monthly
Foot Mileage – 12 miles
Wheel Mileage – 0 miles
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) – 3 (3)
Vegetarian Days – 1
Carnivorous Days – 1
Marta Rides – 0

Ongoing
Books To Read To Earn Kindle – 4

November Goals
1) Lose no fewer than three pounds
2) Drink no soda
3) Run no fewer than 75 miles
4) Bike no fewer than 100 miles

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]