Inside The Perimeter

Organize
Clean
Discard

I know that the weather is going to be perfect in Atlanta this weekend. And with that I plan to do a ton of work around the Inside The Perimeter estate (you know, to get it ready for things which may or may not materialize in 2010).

I Went. I Saw. I Ate.
I met up with ITP-Reader Barb and her hubby Allan for lunch at Tasty China yesterday. In tow I had three of my coworkers, all of Asian decent, who mistakenly let me order. Here’s what I chronicled once I returned to the office:

Here’s my post-mortem. I think my coworkers liked the food, although they all agreed that I ordered too much, food which was too spicy, and too much fried food.

For the four of us from my work I ordered two appetizers and three entrees
1a) Dan Dan Noodles (beef)
2a) Hot and Numbing beef rolls

1e) fried green beans
2e) Crispy pork belly (it’s BACON)
3e) Shan City chicken (boneless)

we took food back with us, I may have to eat some of it for dinner — assuming I ever get hungry again!

As always I loved the food, ate too much, and this morning paid for eating too many red peppers.

Oh, and I have a new mantra

With each meal you decide whether you are going to gain or lose weight.

I just need to repeat this a few times each time I sit down to eat.

ITP Flickr Pic
Would be nice if I had one here, huh?

Nuts To Me
This morning I converted a mistake into a benefit. I walked out of my house without my camera gear (no big loss since I don’t seem to be shooting, right?). If I didn’t live in a world where I feared that asshats would break into people’s houses and steal their belongings I may have hopped into the car and drove to work without my gear. However, since I do live in such a world I decided to wait the two or so minutes for my alarm system to “set” before heading back into the house to fetch the gear.

Did you know that Thanksgiving (American-style) is fewer than two weeks away? Did you know that the pecans on pecan trees reach their “ripeness” at this time of year (hence the presence of pecan pies on Thanksgiving tables). Did you know that I have a pecan tree at the end of my driveway?

I took a baggy from my car and headed to my pecan tree and harvested the three-or-so handfuls of nuts, basically all of those that appeared ripe that I could reach. I can’t wait to crack some open and eat one of the beneficial spoils that comes with owning my house.

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – okay, but wishing I were more efficient
Current Music – listening to the “This Week In Photography” podcast
Website Of The Day – If I were taking more photos I’d probably be checking out Imgur which is another photo-hosting website.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – nothing
Morning Weigh-In – didn’t check

Monthly
Foot Mileage – 4.5 miles, Wheel Mileage – 0 miles
Pushups – 0, Situps – 0
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) – 5 (5)
Vegetarian Days – 4, Carnivorous Days – 8
Marta Rides – 0

November Goals
- Not get fired from my job
- Restart work on house, actually making progress this time (note: not successful during August, September, or October)

2009 Goals
- Reduce my weight to 190 pounds (today’s weight was 199.5 pounds)
- Completely read the book 1001 Paintings You Must See Before You Die
- Earn at least $150 through photography sales in order to cover the cost for the renewal of the Jalapeño Beach SmugMug account I opened the other day.
- Save $500 for the sole purpose of donating to charitable organizations of my choice
- Attend at least one professional photography workshop

The Unmeasurable
- Continue backing up all data, including the off-site storage
- Become a proficient programmer in Objective-C (iPhone development) and Ruby on Rails (Black Sheep web page concept)
- Do not create a solution for something which is not a problem

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

Yeah, I just did and I’ll be meeting ITP-Reader Barb for lunch today at said restaurant. WooHoo!

Who Were These Get Up Kids?
Last night I made it down to Masquerade for the Get Up Kids show. (You may remember my referencing realization of the band’s breakup here huh, I can’t find it!).

The night was reap with surprises. First, the ticket for the show was $24(!). $24 for a band who broke up in 2005? $24 for a band which is known by very few people I know?

Well, the place was packed! Apparently the Get Up Kids were huge with a population segment fifteen-twenty years younger than me (also containing many adorable young ladies). I was seemingly one of the very few people who didn’t know and sing every song played by the band last night (RELATED: I’m not a “lyrics” person and know very few songs by heart. I can conjure bass and drum beats, but lyrics are not my forté.).

I really enjoyed the show put on by the Get Up Kids, however I didn’t recognize some of the songs as I have only have two of the bands records, and neither of those is perhaps the band’s biggest success “Something To Write Home About.”

If staring at attractive girls all night wasn’t good enough, the added bonus of the night was that the show was an “early” show which started sometime around 7:30pm EST. About the only downer for the night (other than the $24 entrance fee) was that there was a show taking place in the Masquerade’s “Hell” room whose base thumping was so loud that it shook the floor, causing some grief to both the Get Up Kids as well as Kevine Devine, who opened for them.

ITP Flickr Pic
Nothing. I’m glad I didn’t try to shoot at last night’s Get Up Kids show. I saw a few “pro” photogs there and it didn’t appear that they were having much of a good time.

One Of Those Head In Palm Moments
Last night I wasn’t thinking straight. For some reason I stopped and ate dinner at Moe’s Southwest Grill when I could have gotten a much better, and admittedly more expensive, dinner at Pura Vida. Pura Vida is the tapas restaurant run by former Top Chef contestant Hector Sanchez. I could have had a delicious, sensibly-sized meal right in the neighborhood in which I was headed! Dangen!

RealiTV Update: Top Chef — Please Don’t Tell Me
I’ve not had the opportunity to watch last night’s Top Chef yet. Please don’t spoil it for me.

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – okay, glad to see the sun this morning
Current Music – listening to last week’s “le Show” podcast
Website Of The Day – Who says marketing doesn’t work? I saw an ad for Gifts For Runners on a car while driving to work today.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – nothing
Morning Weigh-In – didn’t check

Monthly
Foot Mileage – 4.5 miles, Wheel Mileage – 0 miles
Pushups – 0, Situps – 0
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) – 4 (4)
Vegetarian Days – 4, Carnivorous Days – 7
Marta Rides – 0

November Goals
- Not get fired from my job
- Restart work on house, actually making progress this time (note: not successful during August, September, or October)

2009 Goals
- Reduce my weight to 190 pounds (today’s weight was 199.5 pounds)
- Completely read the book 1001 Paintings You Must See Before You Die
- Earn at least $150 through photography sales in order to cover the cost for the renewal of the Jalapeño Beach SmugMug account I opened the other day.
- Save $500 for the sole purpose of donating to charitable organizations of my choice
- Attend at least one professional photography workshop

The Unmeasurable
- Continue backing up all data, including the off-site storage
- Become a proficient programmer in Objective-C (iPhone development) and Ruby on Rails (Black Sheep web page concept)
- Do not create a solution for something which is not a problem

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

In the United States November 11th is Veterans’ Day (Rememberance Day in Canada). I want to thank all veterans for the work they have done for this country.

Funny How A “Night At Home” Does Nothing For Me
I spent another long day at the office (expect to hear this often). I arrived home around 8:30pm, in time to kill a spider which I couldn’t determine whether or not was a Black Widow, before doing some minor cleaning, watching thirty minutes of television, do a little reading of Photoshop stuff, and downloading megabytes of software updates before rolling into bed.

ITP Flickr Pic?
Nope.

Look Who’s Making His Bed Again
For about a month I let chaos rule the roost. The other day I decided that it was time to start taking back the mess (how many times has this happened this year?). The first step in this process was to return to making my bed each morning. As you can see from my SuperDuper StatTrack section of the blog I’ve been at it again for three days.

Next up…. Putting shit where it belongs.

Things That Go Thump In The Wee Morning
I heard a thump outside this morning. I don’t think the item causing the sound struck the house, however. I assume the noise was provided by my neighbor’s ancient sweetgum tree which has been dropping large limbs over the past few years.

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – Okay, but not stellar. Harried, so not much time to blog.
Current Music – listening to this week’s “TWiT” podcast
Website Of The Day – I HATE Flash-based websites, especially those which play music. I’m making thie one exception for Bon Apetit Bakery because I really enjoyed a fattening pastry of theirs this morning.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – nothing
Morning Weigh-In – didn’t check

Monthly
Foot Mileage – 4.5 miles, Wheel Mileage – 0 miles
Pushups – 0, Situps – 0
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) – 3 (3)
Vegetarian Days – 4, Carnivorous Days – 6
Marta Rides – 0

November Goals
- Not get fired from my job
- Restart work on house, actually making progress this time (note: not successful during August, September, or October)

2009 Goals
- Reduce my weight to 190 pounds (today’s weight was 199.5 pounds)
- Completely read the book 1001 Paintings You Must See Before You Die
- Earn at least $150 through photography sales in order to cover the cost for the renewal of the Jalapeño Beach SmugMug account I opened the other day.
- Save $500 for the sole purpose of donating to charitable organizations of my choice
- Attend at least one professional photography workshop

The Unmeasurable
- Continue backing up all data, including the off-site storage
- Become a proficient programmer in Objective-C (iPhone development) and Ruby on Rails (Black Sheep web page concept)
- Do not create a solution for something which is not a problem

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

Expect a bunch of rain and scare-tactic news reporting in Georgia again today. Ugh.

One (Not-So-Lucky) Night In Buckhead
I got down to Buckhead early enough to grab a quick bite to eat at Buckhead Pizza. Being “Meatless Monday” I decided to get a house salad (not recommended), garlic knots (highly recommended), and a pint of Yuengling (YMMV).

I decided to park in the pay-lot attached to Buckhead Pizza because I determined that their hourly rate would be much cheaper than the $20 the Grant Hyatt wanted to extract from my wallet. Wasn’t I unpleasantly surprised when at the start of the seminar we were informed of a code to give the parking lot attendant to reduce the $20 parking fee to $8! This would have been fucking awesome information to have before the seminar. My parking wound up costing me $9, which is still more than I wanted to pay, although I still felt justified parking in that lot instead of the Grand Hyatt’s based on the information I had when parking.

The last time I was in the Buckhead Grand Hyatt was ten years ago for a friend’s wedding reception. I didn’t get “lucky” that night and I was hoping that a seminar conducted by a wedding photographer would provide salvation. I was as equally lucky last night as I was ten years ago. While there were more women at this gathering than most photography gathers there’s a funny correlation between the attractive female photographer and her already being married.

The seminar I attended was good, even if the last half seemed as much of a sales pitch as it was marketing information, and didn’t end until 11pm(!). I wish that my luck with winning door prizes were better than that with women, but alas it is not. There must have been twenty giveaways (including two $50 gift certificates to B&H Photo) that people all around me won. Sure, I was not the only one who left empty-handed (I also had to fight the urge to buy a new photography umbrella), but it would have made the night a lot more rewarding.

I was pooped by the time I returned home. It should come as no surprise that I went to bed immediately upon my arrival.

ITP Flickr Pic
No photo today. There has been little inspiration and creativity in my life recently.

RealiTV Update: How Did I Miss The Start Of “The Next Iron Chef?”
Somehow Food Network started another series of The Next Iron Chef without telling me.

Actually, I’m wondering why Food Network has brought this competition back? Has one of the already-anointed “Iron Chefs” decided to retire? While I never expect the winner of Food Network’s “Next Star” show to actually become a star, I did expect that last year’s “Iron Chef” competition would provide the one-and-only needed addition to the Iron Chef team. Looks like I am wrong.

I have two episodes recorded on my lovely Dish Network dvr, but unfortunate I seem to have found out about the season three episodes in. I guess it will be time to scour either Food Network’s site, or Hulu to see if I can watch the episodes I’ve missed.

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – meh
Current Music – listening to a handful of short podcasts — not all at once, of course
Website Of The Day – Digital Pro Talk is David Ziser’s (last night’s presenter) photography blog. It’s jam-packed with good information for photographers
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – nothing
Morning Weigh-In – didn’t check

Monthly
Foot Mileage – 4.5 miles, Wheel Mileage – 0 miles
Pushups – 0, Situps – 0
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) – 2 (2)
Vegetarian Days – 4, Carnivorous Days – 5
Marta Rides – 0

November Goals
- Not get fired from my job
- Restart work on house, actually making progress this time (note: not successful during August, September, or October)

2009 Goals
- Reduce my weight to 190 pounds (today’s weight was 199.5 pounds)
- Completely read the book 1001 Paintings You Must See Before You Die
- Earn at least $150 through photography sales in order to cover the cost for the renewal of the Jalapeño Beach SmugMug account I opened the other day.
- Save $500 for the sole purpose of donating to charitable organizations of my choice
- Attend at least one professional photography workshop

The Unmeasurable
- Continue backing up all data, including the off-site storage
- Become a proficient programmer in Objective-C (iPhone development) and Ruby on Rails (Black Sheep web page concept)
- Do not create a solution for something which is not a problem

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

Whew, it was a strange, and almost strangely productive and fun weekend.

I Wrote A Blog Entry For Atlanta Metblogs
Called “Turning Back Clocks”.

I Fixed My Plumbing _{(Just Not That Plumbing)}
Earlier last week I noticed that one of my toilets had once again developed a leak from its water supply line. I mentioned this last week to when I couldn’t find the proper replacement at Lowe’s.

Friday had such incredibly nice weather that I chose to walk over to the Home Depot at lunch time and was able to find the proper supply line. It was at that time the decision to stay in Atlanta and “get things done” instead of trying to drive down to Warm Springs / Pine Mountain was made.

After doing my laundry I headed home to take care of some plumbing business. I successfully replaced the supply line and inner-workings (using a replacement part purchased months ago). On Saturday morning I was pleased to look at a dry, empty bucket under the toilet and packed up for a day of hashing and camping with a clear conscience.

If only all plumbing issues were that easy to fix.

It’s A Car! It’s A Tent! It’s Both!
On Saturday morning I drove down to F.D. Roosevelt State Park for a day of hashing and a night of camping.

The weather was perfect as we trudged up and down the “Mountain” from which Pine Mountain gets its name. A small, but friendly group of fourteen hashers had a marvelous time attempting to kick the keg of Sierra Nevada purchased for the weekend. There was fear that the task wouldn’t be completed but thanks to the near night-long efforts of a handful of hashers, yours truly not included because I took shelter in the Jackmobile around 12_30am, the task of kicking the keg was completed on Sunday morning.

Here’s a tip for you economy-minded readers. If you decide that you want to purchase a Georgia State Park annual parking pass see if they offer the parking pass bundled with all sorts of other offers like a night of free camping for $45. For some reason when the price of the parking pass alone skyrocketed from $30 to $50 all other pricing stayed the same, therefore the “package deal” which used to cost $15 more than the price of the parking pass alone is now $5 cheaper. Well done, Accounting Team. Well done!

ITP Flickr Pic
We in the Black Sheep Hash really know how to rough it when we camp. Multiple percolators making coffee, Halloween candy, and bacon.

Not pictured : keg of Sierra Nevada

Whatever You Do, Don’t Order The Fried Okra
On the way home from FDR State Park four of us stopped for “Hot Crispy Chicken” in Pine Mountain, GA. Harold and Jill ordered first, I ordered second, and Bill ordered third. As we sat and waited my number was called first. A few minutes later Bill’s number was called. As Jill sat there wondering why hers and Harold’s meal had not been delivered I joked that it was Harold’s fried okra that was slowing things down. When their food finally arrived we all had a good laugh when the guy said “Sorry this took so long, we had to wait on the fried okra.”

Good News: I’m Going To A Photography (Marketing) Seminar Tonight
Bad News: It’s being held at the Grand Hyatt in Buckhead.

Tonight I’ll be attending David Ziser’s Digital Wake Up Call seminar. Unfortunately this will be held at the Grand Hyatt in Buckhead which charges $20 to park (ripoff!). If you have suggestions on where I can park legally for cheaper, I’m all ears.

fwiw – the event runs from 5pm to 10:30pm so MARTA would be a good option for getting there, but maybe not that great for getting back to my car.

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – gob-stopped
Current Music – silence at the moment as I decide to what I care to listen
Website Of The Day – I have a Google Wave account (InsideThePerimeter@googlewave.com) but don’t really know how to use it. Perhaps I’ll read The Complete Guide To Google Wave to figure it out.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – Saturday: hashing, probably 4.5 miles
Morning Weigh-In – didn’t check

Monthly
Foot Mileage – 4.5 miles, Wheel Mileage – 0 miles
Pushups – 0, Situps – 0
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) – 1 (1)
Vegetarian Days – 3, Carnivorous Days – 5
Marta Rides – 0

November Goals
- Not get fired from my job
- Restart work on house, actually making progress this time (note: not successful during August, September, or October)

2009 Goals
- Reduce my weight to 190 pounds (today’s weight was 199.5 pounds)
- Completely read the book 1001 Paintings You Must See Before You Die
- Earn at least $150 through photography sales in order to cover the cost for the renewal of the Jalapeño Beach SmugMug account I opened the other day.
- Save $500 for the sole purpose of donating to charitable organizations of my choice
- Attend at least one professional photography workshop

The Unmeasurable
- Continue backing up all data, including the off-site storage
- Become a proficient programmer in Objective-C (iPhone development) and Ruby on Rails (Black Sheep web page concept)
- Do not create a solution for something which is not a problem

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

The “Plan” was to leave work early and head down to Warm Springs for a few nights of camping with the Black Sheep Hash. Instead I will be working a full day, doing laundry, and then heading home to attempt to fix one of my toilet’s plumbing. Camping will occur for one night, tomorrow night. At least it’s not supposed to rain.

That Meal Might Count For Two Days Of Meat Eating
Last night I met up with ITP-Readers Barb, Sal, and Steve for a wonderful meat-filled meal at Fox Bros BBQ.

We started with some fried mac-n-cheese cubes and a pitcher of Yeungling. I order a “babyback ribs combo” plate (for the “other” meat I chose brisket) with sides of onion rings and cornbread.

The meal was large, and amazingly delicious. I’m sure the others had similar opinions.

Is It Just Me?
Prior to heading to Fox Bros I swung by Lowe’s in Edgewood Retail District to purchase a supply line for my toilet. What I needed was a simple, industry-standard 9″ tube with a 1/2″ fitting on one side and a 7/8″ fitting on the other. Lowe’s had none of these in stock. NONE!

I wound up buying a “one-size fits all” twelve-inch supply line. I’ll be swinging by the Home Depot to see if I can get the proper tube before I attempt to use the one I bought.

Finding empty shelves and peg hooks for the products I seek seems to be a common occurrence these days. Has this been happening to anyone else?

ITP Flickr Pic
The password is : “polarizer”

This is another shot from my trip up to Fort Mountain state park last weekend.

I Can’t Wait To Break Up With This Cough
For nearly a week I’ve had a nasty-sounding, and somewhat irritating cough. Each day I expect it to be gone and think it is, until I start coughing again.

I No Longer Belong In A Zoo
(Warning: I may have mentioned this previously.)

I really like Zoo Atlanta. In fact I liked it so much two years ago that I purchased a two-year membership. That membership expires at the end of this month. At first there was no doubt that I was going to renew my zoo membership, and then I received the information about Zoo Atlanta’s “New” membership plans.

Zoo Atlanta’s newest lowest-priced membership is their “Companion” membership good for two adults; that membership level costs $79 a year. Wait, what happened to a membership for a single person? There is only one of me, and I only go to the zoo to photograph, so I never need a membership that covers two adults at one time. I also don’t feel that $79 is a reasonable “lowest-level” membership for an organization like the zoo. I may go four times a year and don’t think that $20 admission per visit is something to which I wish to agree.

“Cost” is going to be something that I whine about more often as organizations seem to feel that they can continue to raise prices even as people continue to lose jobs in a sagging economy. (see also: Georgia State Parks parking passes being raised from $30 to $50 this year.)

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – bummed
Current Music – listening to the “This Week in Google” podcast. (Yes, it really does exist.)
Website Of The Day – Yesterday ITP-Reader Sarah turned me on to a great nutritional information site called Nutrition Data.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – nothing
Morning Weigh-In – didn’t check, but wish that I had

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

November Goals
- Not get fired from my job
- Restart work on house, actually making progress this time (note: not successful during August, September, or October)

2009 Goals
- Reduce my weight to 190 pounds (today’s weight was 199.5 pounds)
- Completely read the book 1001 Paintings You Must See Before You Die
- Earn at least $150 through photography sales in order to cover the cost for the renewal of the Jalapeño Beach SmugMug account I opened the other day.
- Save $500 for the sole purpose of donating to charitable organizations of my choice
- Attend at least one professional photography workshop

The Unmeasurable
- Continue backing up all data, including the off-site storage
- Become a proficient programmer in Objective-C (iPhone development) and Ruby on Rails (Black Sheep web page concept)
- Do not create a solution for something which is not a problem

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

And it’s all my fault. I didn’t feel like going out last night and that has almost everything to do with the current state of crime in this city. I do not like this.

A Long Day Yesterday
You’d think the cancellation of my 7:30pm meeting of Atlanta Metblogs authors would have freed me up to have much fun. Instead it gave me the proverbial ‘green light’ to stay at work until 8pm and work on getting a development server up and running. Mind you the time spent in the office last night was not 100% work, but it was far from 100% fun also.

When I got home I was pooped. A warm couch and glowing television were my best friends for the rest of my waking hours.

ITP Flickr Pic
I was going for an impressionist look

It’s close, but not perfect.

My Three Days Of Meatless Eating Will Come To An End Tonight
Somehow “Meatless Monday” became “Meatless Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.” I’m not sure why, but it did. Tonight that will come to an end for tonight I meeting some friends and ITP-Readers for dinner at Fox Bros BBQ. Yum!

Hey Look, Glenn Vandy Beth Made The Paper
Okay, it’s just the AJC, but it’s still a daily published periodical.

You hashers out there may remember him as “Rogue Anus” however she has no hash name and goes by the name Vandy Beth.

Here’s the rest of the story.

Whatcha Got For Me?
Admittedly my blog has been lame of late. Give me something about which to do, ponder, opine.

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – coughy. Yeah, I know that’s not a word but it’s the best description of my mood
Current Music – listening to last week’s “TekZilla” podcast
Website Of The Day – I love the “handcrafted” movement that Etsy has cultured. I also love the satirical parody that Regretsy provides.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – nothing
Morning Weigh-In – didn’t check

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

November Goals
- Not get fired from my job
- Restart work on house, actually making progress this time (note: not successful during August, September, or October)

2009 Goals
- Reduce my weight to 190 pounds (today’s weight was 199.5 pounds)
- Completely read the book 1001 Paintings You Must See Before You Die
- Earn at least $150 through photography sales in order to cover the cost for the renewal of the Jalapeño Beach SmugMug account I opened the other day.
- Save $500 for the sole purpose of donating to charitable organizations of my choice
- Attend at least one professional photography workshop

The Unmeasurable
- Continue backing up all data, including the off-site storage
- Become a proficient programmer in Objective-C (iPhone development) and Ruby on Rails (Black Sheep web page concept)
- Do not create a solution for something which is not a problem

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

A Fitting End To Yesterday
It was fitting that my dinner was had at a restaurant called No Mas since I was crying “No Mas! Cantina” all day yesterday.

Instead of doing laundry I chose to meet up with friends ITP-Reader Maigh and Frank at No Mas! prior to spending a little time at Elliott Street Pub. At No Mas! I consumed a few beers along with a vegetarian burrito (note that I currently have more vegetarian days than carnivorous days this month). The food was good, but typical Mexican — at least what I ate.

ITP Flickr Pic
This is the photo that failed to upload yesterday.

As it turned out, it was taking the long road to Flickr because our office’s internet connection has been crappy lately.

My Day Sucked, But I Know Of Someone Who Had A Worse Day
About a week ago an ITP-Reader’s husband was mugged at gunpoint in East Atlanta, not four blocks from my home. While this was certainly horrible news, the asshats put a good scare into him and stole his wallet. Thankfully he was not hurt.

This morning I read that last night she and her husband were held up at gunpoint again this time about four blocks closer to their home while they were walking home from the village a little before 10pm. These criminals are so low that they even stole the couple’s wedding rings last night.

I am certainly sorry to hear friends of mine become victims once, never mind more than once.

As I’ve chronicled in this blog I’ve been the victim of crime twice while living in East Atlanta. Having one of those incidents involve having guns pointed at me I understand the fear and anger that accompanies this sort of violation.

This is not about the economy, this is about low moral standards and a society that allows the innocent to be punished while the criminals get away with a slap on the wrist. This is not a society in which I desire to live.

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – meh
Current Music – listening to last week’s “Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me” podcast
Website Of The Day – Say you are like me and only care for a certain genres of movies and tv shows. If I’m searching for something new I use Jinni to find movies/shows like those I watch.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – nothing
Morning Weigh-In – didn’t check

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

November Goals
- Not get fired from my job
- Restart work on house, actually making progress this time (note: not successful during August, September, or October)

2009 Goals
- Reduce my weight to 190 pounds (today’s weight was 199.5 pounds)
- Completely read the book 1001 Paintings You Must See Before You Die
- Earn at least $150 through photography sales in order to cover the cost for the renewal of the Jalapeño Beach SmugMug account I opened the other day.
- Save $500 for the sole purpose of donating to charitable organizations of my choice
- Attend at least one professional photography workshop

The Unmeasurable
- Continue backing up all data, including the off-site storage
- Become a proficient programmer in Objective-C (iPhone development) and Ruby on Rails (Black Sheep web page concept)
- Do not create a solution for something which is not a problem

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

Goddammit! I was in a great mood going to bed and now it has turned foul.

One of my toilets is leaking again, thankfully it seems to be a bad gasket in the water line — one which I replaced only a few years ago. Seriously, unless something remarkably positive happens in 2010 with my house I am going to put it on the market. I can’t deal with it any longer.

And now, the photo I took this morning is not uploading to Flickr. I’d kill the application and try again of not for the fact that I typed in a lot of information for it and refuse to attempt to recreate it.

So there you have it. Good mood gone. Crappy mood arrived. And I don’t feel like dealing with anything at the moment. I tried to take a silent vow to never post another “someone has pissed in my Cheerios” post because I know that’s not what people want to see/read/hear, but I’m really over it all at the moment.

FML. (Look it up on the internets if you don’t know for what it stands).

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – aggravated
Current Music – nothing
Website Of The Day – none
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – nothing
Morning Weigh-In – didn’t check

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

November Goals
- Not get fired from my job
- Restart work on house, actually making progress this time (note: not successful during August, September, or October)

2009 Goals
- Reduce my weight to 190 pounds (today’s weight was 199.5 pounds)
- Completely read the book 1001 Paintings You Must See Before You Die
- Earn at least $150 through photography sales in order to cover the cost for the renewal of the Jalapeño Beach SmugMug account I opened the other day.
- Save $500 for the sole purpose of donating to charitable organizations of my choice
- Attend at least one professional photography workshop

The Unmeasurable
- Continue backing up all data, including the off-site storage
- Become a proficient programmer in Objective-C (iPhone development) and Ruby on Rails (Black Sheep web page concept)
- Do not create a solution for something which is not a problem

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

A Week Late And Twenty Dollars Short
On Saturday night I joined a couple of photog friends for a trip up to Fort Mountain State Park for an interesting night and then some fairly nice weather in which to shoot.

The ride up there was dark and rainy and we arrived at the park just before the gates closed. Although the sign stated that there was no camping available we ignored that and paid the, now $5, daily parking for a state park. I had planned on buying my annual Annual Parking Pass on Sunday, but upon seeing that the cost has gone from $30 to $50 I decided not to.

While driving around looking for a place to sleep we chatted with some park rangers who told us that many had left the park that day, gave us the code for the camping area, and instructed us to “settle up” the next day. We easily found an open campsite but the “easy” ended there. Not expecting to get a campsite I didn’t bring any wood. Of course all of the wood and leaves in the camping area were wet from the day’s rain, so we were never able to get a fire started no matter how much we tried. Giving up on fire we turned our attention to shelter. Again, not expecting to get a campsite, and only expecting to get a few hours sleep none of us packed a tent. We had driven up there with a tarp and a pickup truck expecting to use them for our shelter. What we didn’t expect was the cold and wind which followed the rain. It was not the worst night of camping sleep that I’ve ever had and for that I can thank the items I did pack — a knit hat, gloves, coat, sleeping bag with a fleece blanket that I use a liner, and my therma-rest.

Sunday was a good morning of shooting, thanks in part to the “extra” hour of sleep, even though that meant the sun would rise earlier and I think that we were probably a week too late for the Fall’s best color.

ITP Flickr Pic
I took a bunch of photos yesterday but was too pooped to process.

This lamp is not called the “HergønLåmpen” (although it should) but is one of the many that you can buy at IKEA.

Stick A Fork In Them, They Are Done
I’m officially giving up on the East Atlanta Deadbeat Dads for this season. Hell, while I’m at it I’m officially giving up on the NY Jets for this season too.

Did Anyone See The Final Score From Saturday’s UGA/UF Game?
Oh wait a minute, I did…

Unfortunately (for me) I didn’t get an opportunity to actually watch much of the game.

Mr. Live Blogger
Tonight I’ll participating in something I’ve never done before. I’ve been granted free admission into tonight’s Wolfmother show at The Tabernacle in order to live-blog, and I presume pimp for, Clear. The show should be much fun, even though I am told that the VIP room in which I will be placed has no line of sight to the stage? What the fuck sort of VIP room is this? Doesn’t any one there understand that the V and I in VIP stand for “Very Important”? Oh well, at least I’ll get in for free.

I don’t know where my night’s work will end up yet but when I do I’ll be certain to mention it.

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – frustrated, but that’s become par for my course these days.
Current Music – “watching” last night’s The Amazing Race
Website Of The Day – I’m no cartographer but I do love maps. The Strange Maps blog always provides me with interesting entertainment.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – nothing
Morning Weigh-In – didn’t check, but wish that I had

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

November Goals
- Not get fired from my job
- Take at least one photo every day
- Restart work on house, actually making progress this time (note: not successful during August, September, or October)

2009 Goals
- Reduce my weight to 190 pounds (today’s weight was 199.5 pounds)
- Completely read the book 1001 Paintings You Must See Before You Die
- Earn at least $150 through photography sales in order to cover the cost for the renewal of the Jalapeño Beach SmugMug account I opened the other day.
- Save $500 for the sole purpose of donating to charitable organizations of my choice
- Attend at least one professional photography workshop

The Unmeasurable
- Continue backing up all data, including the off-site storage
- Become a proficient programmer in Objective-C (iPhone development) and Ruby on Rails (Black Sheep web page concept)
- Do not create a solution for something which is not a problem

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]