Inside The Perimeter

Yesterday’s lunch consisted of vegetarian hot dogs. Even when I was a 7/7ths meat-eater I consumed few hot dogs. However, I must confess that I really enjoyed the vegetarian hot dogs and at only fifty calories per dog they will remain a staple of my future diet.

And Only My Wallet Suffered
Yesterday’s dental appointment was a complete success; no cavities and the gums “look good.” The only damage done yesterday was the $166 dollar hit to my bank account, but luckily at the last second I remembered to use my Health Savings Account debit card to pay the bill.

Each time I visit my dentist I have a chuckle with the office coordinator Laura because she remembers me as the “Subaru credit card” guy. Laura was stunned to hear that it has been five years since I was involved with the girl for whom I acquired a Subaru credit card in order to help pay for services.

Going Out Of Business: Circuit City = Lame; Linens ‘n Things = Not As Lame
My dentist is located near Cobb Parkway and I-285. After my appointment I drove down Cobb Parkway to partake in some “Going Out Of Business” opportunities.

The ginormous Circuit City was mostly bare and what few interesting camera objects they had remaining in stock were still only 15% off!

Linens ‘n Things, which has already closed down many of their locations, has higher discounts. I picked up a couple of curtains at 50% off (to be used as photography back-drops) and a Polder digital kitchen thermometer for 30% off. I contemplated buying a new suite of bathroom towels as well, also at 30% off, but I decided to gamble and return in a few weeks to see if any stock remains.

ITP Flickr Pic
View from Philips Arena taken on last Sunday afternoon.

Does this look a bit slanted to anyone else?

Top Chef: I Thought That I Was A Goner
On the EAV Buzz we’ve randomly selected Top Chef cheftestants and are following them throughout the season. I have the lone-remaining gay, Lesbian Jamie — heretofore to be referred to as “Gayme.”

In last night’s episode we had recurring Top Chef shill Rocco DiSpirito show up to give away a copy of his new cookbook as well as a case of hand-selected “tools;” tools from a tool how apropos.

For the QuickFire Challenge the cheftestants had to create a one-bite breakfast meal called an amuse bruche (not really but that’s how it sounds to my ears.) amuse bouche. My girl Gayme made some sort of egg sandwich and finished second while flirtatious Leah (and for those keeping score at home this answer is “Yes, I would”) took first place. I was certain this would mean Gayme would be getting the ouster last night.

Next up for the Elimination Challenge the cheftestants had to produce a meal simulating a two-and-half-minute “on camera” presentation. Gayme blundered by undercooking her duck egg, which combined with the frustrations she expressed “on camera” as she failed, she was selected for the Bottom Three. As I watched the episode I called BullShit! because the show is called “Top Chef” and not “Top Television Chef” nor “The Next Food Network Star” and believe that only the quality of the food should be evaluated. However, I should have realized that with Rocco “Appearance Over Substance” DiSpirito this would not be the case. Luckily for Gayme, Alex completely blundered by attempting to create a creme brulee and was told to pack up his fucking knives and leave. Alex didn’t seem to care though because he was scheduled to get married in a month from the time episode’s shooting occurred. I wish I had been a fly on the wall when Alex told his fiance that he’d be off playing Top Chef instead of helping with the wedding.

For some reason (read “shitty cross-promotion”) Top Chef allowed The Morning Zoo at The Today Show choose the episode’s winning dish; now there’s some refined palates. Somehow Ancient Ariane, 41 and who has way too much suntanning time on the shores of New Jersey for my liking, wins the day with some ridiculously easy-to-make salad. Is this Top Chef or Top Sweet Tomatoes Employee? This is a two-peat for the leathery one, which is making me a bit nervous because this may mean she’ll be around for a while after narrowly escaping elimination by the leathery-skin of her nose the first two weeks.

Next week another one of the ladies on my “list” has a bridal shower and for some reason allows the Top Chef cheftestants cater the affair.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Daily
Current Mood – wishing it was Friday
Current Music – listening to Leo Laporte’s “The Tech Guy” podcast
Website Of The Day – Some day I want Jalapeño Beach to be a photoblog which is as cool and filled with awesome photos like the one by Elizabeth Kreutz.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – nothing

Monthly
Foot Mileage – 0 miles
Wheel Mileage – 0 miles
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) – 4 (4)
Vegetarian Days – 3
Carnivorous Days – 0
Marta Rides – 0

Ongoing
Books To Read To Earn Kindle – 4

December Goals
1) Lose no fewer than two pounds
2) Drink no soda
3) Run no fewer than 50 miles
4) Completely read no fewer than one book
5) Write at least one program using Ruby on Rails

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

The title was to be read in the cadence of “Reading, Writing, and ‘Rithmetic.” Anyone? Anyone? Beuller?

Cramming For My Dental Exam
The time has come, and passed actually. I was supposed to have my six-month dental exam and cleaning last week, but due to a hygienist’s doctor’s appointment I was pushed back to today.

Even though I’ve not quite flossed as well as I should have I’m not really fearing today’s exam. However, there have been far too many dental exams that I haven’t feared that have wound up costing me money and set me up for pain. I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

The Water Goes Down The Drain Slow, Slow, Slow
What would a day in this blog be without a plumbing problem? Today’s malady was a very slow shower drain.

You don’t have to tell me — I’m slowly losing my hair. This, along with the various chemicals and soaps I use have clogged the drain of my primary shower.

After my shower this morning I took out a plunger and plungered the heck out of this drain. I must warn you not to do this if you are the least bit grossed out. It. Was. Disgusting. The next step in this morning’s fiasco was to clean the mess that I created with the plunger by scrubbing the shower stall floor.

Unfortunately, plunging didn’t solve the problem so I pulled out the heavy artillery — industrial drain cleaner. I figured “Why not destroy all of the sewer pipes in my house?” Mere seconds after pouring the drain cleaner into the water I heard a muffled “plump” and the water began to flow freely.

This afternoon I shall return to the scene of the crime to inspect this morning’s hard labor.

ITP Flickr Pic
CRAP! I forgot to upload the photo I wanted to use today. Further crapping things up is that it is the photo I planned to upload to Jalapeño Beach as well.

AppleTV Rebooted
I’ve been enjoying my AppleTV since buying it. It makes a nice “alternative” to the collection of my entertainment center devices. However, of late it’s been a little problematic and refusing to take the latest software update offered by Apple. Last night I got fed up enough to revert the box back to its factory settings and start all over again. With one button press all was wiped and with a few network configuration settings the download of the latest software was complete. For the rest of the night I fudged with getting it connected back to my (slightly screwed) iTunes library and syncing the nearly 8000 things in it. Next up…. getting Boxee downloaded and installed so that I can increase the AppleTV’s capabilities.

And now you know why I never got around to doing photo processing. Too many things to do.

Let’s Get Ready To Rumble!
Dear God, what is wrong with me? Today I am mailing in my entry for the
2009 Red Top Rumble 11.5 Mile Run. It’s another event put on by GUTS so I am confident that it will be well organized.

Now it’s (long past) time for me start running again in an effort to actually be properly trained for the run. Having said that, I will not be at George’s tonight. Wednesday sneaked up on me and I didn’t pack any running clothes, and even though I’ll be heading home early I will not want to venture back out to the Highlands. Instead I think that I’ll hang around the nice warm house and do many of the chores that have been haunting me of late.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Daily
Current Mood – okay, but nervous
Current Music – listening to The Candid Frame podcast
Website Of The Day – This one is for the “typesetting crowd” — The (Mostly) True Story of Helvetica and the New York City Subway. I found it interesting, but then again I also enjoyed the documentary “Helvetica”.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – nothing

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

Ongoing
Books To Read To Earn Kindle – 4

December Goals
1) Lose no fewer than two pounds
2) Drink no soda
3) Run no fewer than 50 miles
4) Completely read no fewer than one book
5) Write at least one program using Ruby on Rails

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

Today I’m making a list and checking it twice. On what am I trying to cut back? Well, just like everyone else I’m looking to cut back on expenses, food consumption, and exercise alcohol intake.

I Want An iPhone, I Just Can’t Justify The Cost
My two-year contract with AT&T for my BlackJack ends this month. My mouth has been watering for an iPhone for ages. However, after perusing AT&T’s website I realize that my monthly bill would go from $76 (already way too high for my tastes) to well over $90(!); and that’s after buying the phone for $200 and committing to another two-year contract. Holy crap people, we are getting fleeced!

I think that I am going to look into shifting gears and going backward with cellphone technology by trying to find a phone that is a phone and has text messaging capability, but no internet or camera capability. Does anyone have suggestions? Does anyone think I’m being foolish about this?

Digital TV Converter Coupons Are Here
My coupons are here!
My coupons are here!

And guess what? I’m probably going to try and boost one of the companies whose stock I possess, namely Dish Network. Dish has a digital-to-analog converter called the TR-40 CRA (don’t ask me, I’ve never liked our/their model names) that just so happens to cost $40 (the value of each coupon), I’d just have to pay shipping costs. You’d think I’d have a way to get it shipped to the office for free, but you’d be wrong. I don’t feel badly pimping the TR-40 because it’s been getting really good reviews from the tech blogs.

Of course I’ll critique the D-to-A converter once I have it hooked up to one of my televisions. Stay tuned.

And yes, I still think that if you have at least one television that gets its signal over-the-air that you should sign up for the Government’s Free Coupon Plan. Consider it your tax dollars at work. Remember that the Digital Television Transition will occur in mid-February, it will take about a month for the coupons to be delivered, and that the coupons are only good for ninety days once they’ve been issued to you.

ITP Flickr Pic
You want to know what I find odd about hashers?

They somehow manage to produce cute children.

Love,
Paulie

Digital Download Of The Week
Times are tough. Our own Government has admitted that we’ve officially entered a recession. So rather than suggest you go out and purchase a digital download, I’m going to give you a pointer to a free, and legal, download.

Recently Matt Pond PA has started offering up a free download of what they are calling The Free EP.

I’ve downloaded it. I like it. If you download it and don’t like it, just remember how much you had to pay for it.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Daily
Current Mood – okay
Current Music – Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 26 playing Interpol — “Evil”
Website Of The Day – Have you ever owned a piece of Apple hardware that you’ve wanted to fix yourself? Learn how to do so at iFixIt.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – nothing

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

Ongoing
Books To Read To Earn Kindle – 4

December Goals
1) Lose no fewer than two pounds
2) Drink no soda
3) Run no fewer than 50 miles
4) Completely read no fewer than one book
5) Write at least one program using Ruby on Rails

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

…of the final month of 2008. Forgive me as I consider today the first day of the zeroth month of 2009. Sure, this means I won’t officially get to celebrate the Christmas season, but 2008 has been considerably less than stellar for me so I’m closing the books on the year early.

btw- 7am study session was canceled today, so get ready for a long one.

November: Well, It’s Over…
I missed almost all of November’s goals with the exception of not consuming soda. As has been well documented I didn’t make my running totals and I never got on my bike (it’s still awfully shiny). Because of these two things I didn’t lose any weight, in fact I feel as if I’ve gained some.

I missed my 5/7ths vegetarianism by one day (as it turned out the delicious food provided for Betsy’s birthday party did me in).

Going forward into December I’m going to keep the majority of my personal goals and I’m adding a new wrinkle into the mix. Starting in December, okay this may actually not get started until January 2009, I am going to concentrate on fixing up my house. Each month I plan to focus on a single room, figuring out all of the rooms deficiencies, and then correcting them. Not counting my attic, yards and exterior, and counting the basement as multiple rooms, this effort should have my house in a “sellable” condition by the end of 2009. Do I plan to sell my house next year? No, but I want it to be ready at any given time. Stay tuned…

I’m A Little Miffed At The Atlanta Thrashers
I don’t care that the Atlanta Thrashers lost yesterday; they played hard but in the end lost.

What I do care about is that fifteen of us showed up at the ticket booth together and they wouldn’t cut us a group deal. All of the adult tickets purchased were for full price, even though the building wasn’t even half-full and there was no way in hell that the game was going to sell out. What incentive do I have to support a team that doesn’t do business well and take care of its fans?

ITP Flickr Pics
Dog day afternoon. While waiting for runners to return, and then while we all consumed bacon and beer I snapped a few shots of the pups present.

Here is Reese, who never stays still long enough to get a good frontal shot.

Here are Nibbles and Toby 2, who stay still long enough for a shot only while sleeping.

And then here is Toby, who will pose all day long because for him moving is a spectator sport.

Call me the dog whisperer, although I’m not ready to call myself “back” with my photography.

I’m Cellphoneless
Ack! I’ve done the unthinkable! I’ve left my cellphone at home. So, if you’ve ever wanted to call me and make sure that you don’t actually speak with me then today is your lucky day.

I guess it will be at least one more day before I become an iPhone owner.

The Amazing Race: Back In The USSR
As always, SPOILER ALERT
Are you kidding me? How can you possibly lose your money and passport while on The Amazing Race?

We begin the show with Mom and Dallas taking off first, thanks to their first-place finish in the previous leg. They are followed soon by Ken and Tina, Nick and Starr, and then finally the frats. I smile at them because I am certain that this will be the last time that I see them. Off the teams go, hopping into cabs and heading for a submarine where they are to find an old geezer still trying to live off of the fact that he starred in The Hunt For Red October which came out in 1990. I immediately think of Al Bundy and that time he scored two touchdowns in a high school football game. Sad. I remind myself that I should never again bring up the fact that I was a test chef for Alton Brown‘s first cookbook “I’m Just Here For The Food” about seven years ago.

From the submarine the gang all go to a park which is a cemetery for monuments where they have to count the number of Stalin and Lenin statues present (for those keeping score at home, Lenin beat Stalin 6-2). However, we are not surprised that the Fat Frats got into a cab that takes them to the wrong city park. Poor Dallas can’t tell his Stalin from his Lenin, and he can’t figure out how to read their names on the signs in the Cyrillic which would be hard if not for the fact that they Cyrillic representations weren’t on the clue! After failing to guess the right answer twice and suffering ten minute penalties for each incorrect guess Tina arrives and helps him out. Upon leaving she utters her now-famous catch phrase — “YOU OWE ME!” Christ she is a fucking one-trick pony.

Back on track Dallas gets into a cab and upon leaving it leaves all of his money and passport behind. Fear not though, The Amazing Race camera person managed to capture a shot of it as the cab door closed and then pulled away… Dallas and Toni were left to beg for their The Amazing Race lives. Oddly, Russia is nothing like New York City as people actually give them rubles. Even more oddly, rubles are actually paper money and not the red stones that I’ve always figured them to be.

For once in the Frats’ The Amazing Race lives they do something right. After getting through the Russian version of “So You Think You Can Dance” (although I thought they got generous judging) they seek help from a local with the statue challenge. Not only that, they actually got lucky by correctly guessing the number 62 after thinking that the number was 61. With Dallas and Toni begging for change, and then getting punished for taking the wrong mode of transportation to get a clue, I realize that the Frats may actually survive this round.

Meanwhile Nick and Starr beat every difficult challenge with ease, thanks in part because Nick lives in New York City. Perhaps it’s true that if you can make it there you can make it anywhere. And for no apparent reason I come to the conclusions that Nick is a ballerina and that Dallas’ blunder is going to cost him the opportunity to sleep with Starr. Without a challenge they take first place for this leg… one spot in the Final Three filled.

Surprisingly we see the Frats getting near the end! It’s still light outside and they are racing against Ken and Tina! Not only that, they are going to be in second place because Ken and Tina failed to get the final clue and can’t be checked in! Could it be possible that we will lose “You Owe Me?” We are not that lucky as Dallas’ lost money blunder has cost them a good opportunity at winning one million dollars as the finish in last place and are eliminated from the race.

The season finale is next week when I will finally declare my love for Starr as she will have $500,000 (before taxes) in her bank account.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Daily
Current Mood – fair, searching for my lust for life
Current Music – Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 26 playing White Denim — “Let’s Talk About It”
Website Of The Day – I was going to buy a 3ft cardboard Christmas tree from The Cardboard Christmas Tree until I realized how ridiculous it was to spend nearly $28 (w/ shipping) for a cardboard Christmas tree.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – nothing
Monday Morning Weigh-In – don’t know, I didn’t want to find out

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

Ongoing
Books To Read To Earn Kindle – 4

December Goals
1) Lose no fewer than two pounds
2) Drink no soda
3) Run no fewer than 50 miles
4) Completely read no fewer than one book
5) Write at least one program using Ruby on Rails

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]