Inside The Perimeter

I was tempted to put just one word into today’s posts — “Me.”

Goals? Oh, Those Silly Things?
Wow, talk about complete failure. I might as well change 2009 to 2010 and use them again. Let’s take a look, shall we…

2009 Goals
- Reduce my weight to 190 pounds (today’s weight was 199.5 pounds)
No, in fact I think I once again top 200. I’ll find out tomorrow when I get on the scale again.

- Completely read the book 1001 Paintings You Must See Before You Die
Ha! I am nowhere near finishing this book.

- 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.
I made $50 in profit, and I just renewed my SmugMug account for $150. Somebody needs to get cracking…

- Save $500 for the sole purpose of donating to charitable organizations of my choice
I gave until it hurt. I hurt at a lot less than $500 however.

- Attend at least one professional photography workshop
I supposed I could claim that the Digital Days workshop completed this, but it was not what I had intended.

The Unmeasurable
- Continue backing up all data, including the off-site storage
I’ll take credit for this even though my work flow was greatly interrupted by the theft of my iMac.

- Become a proficient programmer in Objective-C (iPhone development) and Ruby on Rails (Black Sheep web page concept)
No on so many levels.

- Do not create a solution for something which is not a problem
I can’t immediately think of an instance when I violated this, but I feel as if I have.

Plumbing? I Don’t Need No Stinking Plumbing?
Okay, I do, if for no other reason that I can’t put my house on the market until it is repaired. Speaking of repairs, my plan to fix all of the problems with a room each month in 2009 so that the house would be sale-ready if so desired in 2010 failed mightily. I am not pleased.

(On the Good side of this I have discovered a good laundromat — even if there is no hope of meeting any women there — and have eaten a lot of sandwiches from Lee’s Bakery).

Fucked Company
Hmmm, somewhere along the way I was going to start my own company so that I could earn a little cash and invest it into more camera and computer gear. Like many of my ideas in 2009 this never came to fruition.

The Show Must Go On, Even If I’m Not In Attendance
I’m glad that I didn’t calculate how much money I pissed away this year on concert tickets that I didn’t use. There were shows that I clamored to see (Dirty Projectors @ Masquerade) and those which I was forced to miss thanks to the Swine Flu (The Baseball Project @ The EARL, Francine Reed @ Eddie’s Attic), and even a show that I forgot was on my calendar (And You’ll Know Us By The Trail Of Dead @ Masquerade).

No Chicago, No Milwaukee, No Joy In Mudville
I am usually not one to cancel travel plans that I’ve made. I had hoped to return to Chicago this year and then take the train up to Milwaukee for my first trip there. A plane ticket was purchase, but never used since I had to scrap the trip due to financial and time constraints.

Thanks to the latest “Fruit of the Boom” plane shenanigans I just may take that long car trip in 2010 that I’ve desired. Who knows, I may make it to those two cities then…

Tune in tomorrow, yes Dakota, there will be a blog tomorrow, and see what I have up my sleeves for 2010.

Before I start my whining / self-deprecating for the next two days let me mention one glaring omission from yesterday’s “The Good” entry. Yesterday I failed to mention my friends and family, and the fact that they treat me better than I could possibly ask.

Muthafuckers!
Without a doubt the worst thing to happen to me this year was having my house burgled back in July.

Gone is my kitchen window (and is still).
Gone is my iMac, the machine I used to edit photographs.
Gone is my Wacom Intuos 3 graphics tablet.
Gone is my faith in humanity.
Gone is my freedom to own nice things without fear of people stealing them.
Gone is my desire to remain in my house.

$2700? You Gotta Be Fucking Kidding Me!
Before taking a trip to Raleigh, NC I decided to take the Jackmobile in for some “routine” scheduled maintenance. The Jackmobile was nearing 100,000 miles so I knew that this was going to be an “expensive” trip, but I never imagined that it was going to cost me about $2700.

Now before you jump my ass again about taking it to the dealer, don’t…

Since that trip to the mechanic the Jackmobile has never quite been the same.

To this day the ignition will occasionally lock up, forcing me to jiggle the gear shift in order to get it to release the key. In fact, this happened again this morning.

A couple of weeks ago the SRS light came on. I know that this is important to have investigated, but as has always been the case in my life I’ve not been able to find a convenient time to take it in for service.

2009, The Year Of Female Remorse
This year started out as if it were going to be grand. I seemed to have possibilities for dating a few women in whom I had much interest. By February each of these young ladies had secured a boyfriend, not me, and I was literally left out in the cold. So began a downward slide of confidence (who knew mine could get lower?) and luck.

At mid-year I was hovering at all-too-frequent lows when I was asked by someone with whom I have never met to meet up. Due to my confused mind and incredibly busy schedule at that time I all-but declined flat out. I’ve since heard that she too has acquired a boyfriend.

I’ve had nary a drop of hope since. Another year, another year alone.

A Waist Is A Terrible Thing To Mind
Even with my lack of running I actually thought that I might actually lose weight this year. In August I had convinced myself to get back on to my bicycle and I was riding again!

Unfortunately, because of the flu, bothersome knees, massive amounts of rain, indifference, and a Christmas trip to mom’s I’ve actually gained weight. DANGEN! Even worse, my waist has grown so large that my (already too-large) pants are tight. DOUBLE DANGEN!

I’ve noticed that even with “taking it easy” my knees don’t seem to be getting any better. Next year may see me visiting a doctor, and may actually force me to undergo the first surgery of my life.

Ich Bin Kein Photographer
While I did manage to sell a photo for profit this year, the theft of my iMac and the lack of time and desire during the second half of 2009 has left me less than a photographer. During the last five months, those months sans iMac, I’ve had no gumption to go out and shoot since it’s such a pain in my ass to post-process them.

I’m hopeful that with the beginning of 2010 I am going to restructure my life to return to a photographic life.

Tune in tomorrow for “The Ugly.”

I’ll be drawing up a Florida trip report later today or this evening.

Somewhat traditionally I’ve used the last the last three blogging days of the year to recap my year in three parts — The Good, The Bad, The Ugly. Today, the “Good.”

I Heard Many Good Things Year
The Live Stuff
This year I attended many great concerts (I’ll leave the ones I’ve missed until tomorrow). I used to keep a convenient list of the shows I’ve seen, sadly those are only contained withing a Google Calendar these days so I’ll have to go by memory.

In chronological order these are the shows that rocked my world this year

• Long Ryders @ The EARL, January 9th
• Fucked Up @ The EARL, January 25th
• Meat Puppets @ The EARL, June 16th
• The Dirty Projectors @ The EARL, July 17th
• Magnolia Electric Co. @ 40 Watt Club, July 22nd
• Jason Lytle / Neko Case @ Ryman Auditorium, July 25th
• Hawk And A Hacksaw @ The EARL, September 25th
• Chatham County Line @ Eddie’s Attic, October 2nd
• Leonard Cohen @ The Fox Theatre, October 20th
• Get Up Kids @ Masquerade, November 11th

The Recorded Stuff
True to my 2008 plan to eschew physical copies of media I purchased nearly all of my music digitally. The year 2009 had few “awesome” albums, but there were a few that I purchased this year that I can see playing for the rest of my days.

In no particular order I offer these purchases as things you should consider purchasing too

• Manchester Orchestra — “Mean Everything To Me” (may actually be a 2008 record but still good enough for my list this year)
• Neko Case — “Middle Cyclone”
• Jason Lytle — “Yours Truly, The Commuter”

Not a bad year. Not a bad year at all.

Ich Bin Ein Programmer Wieder
The time for me to write code has returned. On at least one front my return has been a success, at my job. Considering programming at work pays the bills then this is the one area that means the most.

I have my sites on doing a lot more programming in 2010. Hello passion, it’s good to have found you again.

I Sold A Photo!
Technically I sold two photos, but only one brought me the profits.

The first photo sold this year was at an auction. The second photo sold this year, this one

was purchased by someone during a gallery show. I have to admit that it was a great feeling to have someone buy my photo.

Traveling Man
Oh Canada
The biggest trip this year was my trip to Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. While on the whole the trip didn’t produce much in the way of photography, a theme which would rear its ugly head much in the second-half of 2009, it was an experience. How many people do you know who have gone to Winnipeg? Now you know at least one.

It’s Up To You New York
I spent a great handful of days with my brother and sister-in-law late in the Summer. In addition to spending a lot of quality time with my brother I was able to attend the Frank Lloyd Wright exhibit at the Guggenheim. For those who don’t know, I am a huge fan of Wright’s work.

I Went “Home” For Christmas
Having just returned from a few days in “sunny?” Florida it’s good to be home. Like I said at the outset of this post, I’ll give a complete update later. However, it was great to see my mother. I could tell that she was thrilled to have me around for a few days, which naturally made me feel good.

The Jackmobile Is Still Running
I February my reliable, aging, steed the Jackmobile was diagnosed (look at me describe my car as if it were a person) with $2700 worth of repairs. This was a tough decision for me, but since I still believed in the old chap I sunk the money into it.

The Jackmobile took me all of Georgia, to Raleigh, Charlotte, and Florida this year. I love driving this car, although I can see a change on the distant horizon.

Conclusion
2009 was not a “Good” year. But I’m still here.

Tune in again tomorrow for “The Bad.”

I’ve loaded up multiple iPods for my long drive to mom’s tonight.

Well, Christmas is almost here. Once again I must admit that this Holiday Season was another in a series of letdowns, although seeing my mother will boost my mood. Who knows, I may even convince her to sit for a portrait with me. I’d like to thank the ITP-Readers who have taken me in for Christmas over the past few years to make sure that I wasn’t alone; you are the tops.

Unfortunately this year I failed to watch, or completely watch all of my favorite Christmas movies and specials. Dangen! I did get to “The Santaland Diaries” so at least I’ve got that going for me this year.

Five Of The One Hundred Simple Secrets Of Happy People
I am currently, and deliberately slowly, reading a super-easy read called The 100 Simple Secrets Of Happy People. Each morning I read three of these “secrets.” (Remember when I mentioned exercising my mind?)

Here are five “secrets” on which you can ponder

• Don’t accept television’s picture of the world. [Dude, lay off the TV! The "secret" to my "happiness" is that I can pay my mortgage each month thanks to TV]
• You always have a choice. [If you choose not to decide you still have made a choice.]
• Be agreeable. [Okay]
• Don’t ignore one part of your life. [But ignorance is bliss.]
• Listen to music. [Now you're talking my language.]

You may find this hard to believe, but I’m trying to live my life under the concept that it’s the only one I’ll ever have so I better enjoy it.

All I Want For Christmas Is A New Attitude And Outlook On Life
Santa, I really don’t want a pony, I’d rather a girlfriend with whom I have mutual attraction and hobbies. And if it’s not too much to ask I’d like to regain my faith in Mankind, have a rosy outlook on my future, and understand what I am supposed to do with the rest of my life.

Oh, and a new Mac computer.

I Want To Wish You A Merry Christmas And/Or Happy Hanukkah
I hope that all of you ITP-Readers and your families have a safe, healthy, and happy Christmas and/or Hanukkah.

There won’t be a blog tomorrow. I’m not sure if my mother has teh Internets and I’ll be traveling back to Atlanta on Monday so I doubt that there will be a post on Monday either. However, I do suggest that you come back on Tuesday as I begin my epic “2009: The Good”, “2009: The Bad”, “2009: The Ugly” series to wrap up the year.

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – I have very mixed emotions today.
Current Music – Sirius/XM Satellite Radio, Channel 6004 — “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” by Andy Williams
Website Of The Day – Thanks to the good folks at NORAD (“Shall we play a game?”) we can track Santa’s progress using the NORAD Santa Tracker. Don’t try and track my progress toward Florida as I drive like a ninja.
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) – 10* (10)
Vegetarian Days – 1, Carnivorous Days – 22
Marta Rides – 0

December Goals
- Not get fired from my job

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]

For some reason I’m up early and ready to take on yet another overly-busy day. I wish the day included a trip to get someone to look at the SRS light in my car — you know, before I go for a long drive tomorrow — but it doesn’t. I’ve come to the conclusion that life is too complicated for one.

Five Of The One Hundred Simple Secrets Of Happy People
I am currently, and deliberately slowly, reading a super-easy read called The 100 Simple Secrets Of Happy People. Each morning I read three of these “secrets.” (Remember when I mentioned exercising my mind?)

Here are five “secrets” on which you can ponder

• Take care not to harshly criticize family and friends. [Good advice for this weekend.]
• Some people like the big picture, and other like the details. [Call me Mr. Details.]
• Do the things you are good at. [Like not ending sentence in prepositions.]
• Go visit your neighbor. [Well, one just moved out and I did see one at 5:30am this morning at her mailbox.]
• Smile. [ ]

You may find this hard to believe, but I’m trying to live my life under the concept that it’s the only one I’ll ever have so I better enjoy it.

Ho, Ho, Ho, That Was Funny!
Last night I fought Atlanta’s notorious traffic to make my way to the Horizon Theatre in Little Five Points. I managed to weave my way to L5P in time to have a brisket sandwich and beer at the Yacht Club before attending “The Santaland Diaries.”

In its eleventh year, I’ve now attended twice and wonder why it’s taken me so long to return to see “The Santaland Diaries.” The play, adapted from a David Sedaris short-story, is about Sedaris’ Christmas job as a Macy’s Christmas elf and is outrageously funny. The play was well-performed by a handful of actors and has had some modifications made to update the comedic references. Be forewarned however, that if you sit near the front you may be Crumpet’s victim, the man (or woman?) who is brought onto the stage and humiliated in front of all.

The play runs through January 3rd, 2010. I’m sure the plays this week are sold out, but if you can get to see it before the runs end I highly recommend that you do so.

I Don’t Belong, Especially With The Pretty People
For the first time in recent memory the Horizon Theatre was filled with younger people, many of which were pretty young ladies. Huh. Normally I look around the room and think “Really? I wonder if I’m one of the youngest people in this room?” but not last night.

I sat and listened to a few conversations around me and realized that I just don’t “belong,” especially with those blessed with the “pretty.”

I was reminded of a few other things last night

1. I have no ability to initiate a conversation, especially one involving small talk.
2. I have no “game.”
3. I believe that I will never pair up.

It’s become clearer why I am so at peace when I’m writing code.

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – good, but rushed still
Current Music – listening to last weekend’s “This American Life” which is all about the strange, drunken world of Penn State University.
Website Of The Day – How random? This Random.
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) – 9* (10)
Vegetarian Days – 1, Carnivorous Days – 21
Marta Rides – 0

December Goals
- Not get fired from my job

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]

It’s another crazy-busy-day-which-will-make-for-a-short-blog day…

Five Of The One Hundred Simple Secrets Of Happy People
I am currently, and deliberately slowly, reading a super-easy read called The 100 Simple Secrets Of Happy People. Each morning I read three of these “secrets.” (Remember when I mentioned exercising my mind?)

Here are five “secrets” on which you can ponder

• Be positive. [Fuck that]
• There will be an end, but you can be prepared. [That's thinking positively?]
• How we see the world is more important than how the world is. [Two words... Beer. Goggles.]
• Keep a pen and paper handy. [Or a Dell netbook perhaps?]
• Help the next person who needs some minor assistance. [What if that person happens to stare at me in the mirror?]

You may find this hard to believe, but I’m trying to live my life under the concept that it’s the only one I’ll ever have so I better enjoy it.

The Game’s The Same, But The Atmosphere Is Not
Last night I joined ITP-Reader Barb, her hubby Allan, and our friend Kevin (brother of ITP-Reader Randy) at the old hockey game.

According to those who have attended far more Atlanta Thrashers games than I last night was a “well attended” game. While the game itself was fun, even in a Thrashers lost, there was one thing missing — the Guinness-guzzling fan who was always highlighted at the beginning of the third period.

When I mentioned on Twitter the lack of his presence, I received the following…

BenThrashers – @InsidePerimeter He had some kids and lives in Athens.

Ha! I love the internets!

ITP Flickr Pic
Nothing again today. By now you shouldn’t be surprised.

Hockey Last Night, Theater Tonight
Tonight I’ll be attending the annual performance of “The Santaland Diaries” at Horizon Theatre. It’s been a few years since I’ve seen this adaptation of the David Sedaris short-story and I’m thrilled to be returning.

Normally I’d certainly get down to Little Five Points in time to imbibe in some Fox Bros BBQ or some brisket at the Yacht Club. But today is another busy day of coding so I hope to make it down that way just in time to get quality seating.

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – fair
Current Music – listening to the latest “Jordan, Jesse Go!” podcast
Website Of The Day – This is the twenty year anniversary of the first long-form airing of “The Simpons” Abduzeedo has collected an awesome number of Homer Simpson artwork.
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) – 8* (10)
Vegetarian Days – 1, Carnivorous Days – 20
Marta Rides – 0

December Goals
- Not get fired from my job

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]

Unfortunately sickness overwhelmed me on Friday night so I could not attend ITP-Reader Barb’s “Ugly Holiday Sweater” party. I felt well “enough” to make it to Charlotte on Saturday, but not up to the call of the Black Sheep Hash yesterday.

Five Of The One Hundred Simple Secrets Of Happy People
I am currently, and deliberately slowly, reading a super-easy read called The 100 Simple Secrets Of Happy People. Each morning I read three of these “secrets.” (Remember when I mentioned exercising my mind?)

Here are five “secrets” on which you can ponder

• Accomplish something every day. [Like writing a blog?]
• Be flexible. [I can touch my palms to the floor while standing, with any more flexibility I'd never leave the house]
• Events are temporary. []
• Be your own fan. [I am also my own heater.]
• Join a group. [You are not the first person to tell me that I need therapy.]

You may find this hard to believe, but I’m trying to live my life under the concept that it’s the only one I’ll ever have so I better enjoy it.

The “Second Show” Rule
I’ve come up with a new rule for seeing bands / performers who are doing out-of-the-blue back-to-back shows. The rule is “Catch the first show.”

A few years back I saw the two shows that Bob Mould put on at Eddie’s Attic. The first show was far superior as allergies messed with his voice for the second.

Last year (um, earlier this year?) I saw the first of two shows that The Long Ryders did at The EARL. I actually had a ticket for the second show, but decided that I enjoyed the first so well that I didn’t need the second. I heard afterward that the lead singer all but lost his voice during the second show.

On Saturday one of my 1990′s indie staples, Emmet Swimming, played their second outside-of-Virginia show in ten years….

The day started well. I drove up to Charlotte listening to the new Nick Hornby book “Juliet, Naked” as an audiobook. I made it up to Charlotte with little problem as the New Jill GPS led me directly to my hotel which sat about three blocks from I-85 (right next to a Cracker Barrel, which I would have loved to eaten in but wasn’t that hungry).

I lallygagged around my room for a little while before heading out to find food and the music venue. I suppose that I should have used the New Jill (she needs a better name) as I managed to get turned around and lost on my way to find Amos’ Southend Music Hall. As I wound my way around downtown Charlotte constantly peering at my iPhone which I was then using as my GPS I decided that I’d grab a bite of food near Amos’ so that I wouldn’t have to endure the traffic again.

Much to my surprise there was a really good bar right next to Amos’. Score! I had about an hour to kill so I went in for a beer and a bite.

As I sat there watching football, hockey, and some Charlotte cuties, I heard a familiar voice order a round of drinks. It was Todd, lead singer of Emmet Swimming. I turned and said hello and asked when they were taking the stage (although Todd is far from your standard frail indie rocker I still followed “Don’t shake the hands of guitar players.” rule). Todd answered, asked my name and the asked if I lived in Charlotte. When I answered “No, I drove up from Atlanta today.” he looked genuinely surprised, said, “That’s like a four-hour drive? Wow, thanks.” A minute or two later Todd introduced me to Tamer, the band’s drummer, who then raised his beer and cheered me. If you think that I sound like a Emmet Swimming fan-boy then you are correct. For the six-year period 1993-1999 these guys along with Dayroom were constantly played in my CD players.

Sadly, that may have been the highlight of the evening. It turned out that Scott, the band’s bass player, was feeling horrible and couldn’t play that evening. So, the band made the best of it by playing as a stripped-down triplet, not quite making the wall of sound that I remembered them bringing to their live shows. I could only imagine that he was well the night before in Raleigh and that I should had been dealt the curse of the Second Show.

I thought about hanging around and chatting up the band before listening to Gainesville, Florida’s Colourslide, but the long-day had caught up with me so I headed back to my hotel.

ITP Flickr Pic
Sorry, no shot again today.

Look for an uptick in photos in ’10. I know that I’ve probably said this before, but I have some changes in the works.

RealiTV Update: Survivor – You Are Once Again Dead To Me
I have given up on Survivor before, and after last night’s result I have again.

Clearly being the “best” player in the game is not worth rewarding. Instead, let’s reward the pretty, nice, blonde who smiled big, never created enemies, and rode the coattails of the “best” player.

Fuck that.

Catch Me In Blueland Tonight, Um Wearing Almost No Blue
With the exception of the jeans I’m wearing there is little indication that I’ll be attending an Atlanta Thrashers game tonight — but I will.

In case you see me wearing my brown hoodie, green Better Than Ezra t-shirt, blue jeans, and hiking boots sitting/standing outside of Gorin’s with a ginormous beer in hand then please say hello.

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – sad
Current Music – listening to a KEXP live performance podcast.
Website Of The Day – If you are looking for a little “different” Christmas music go to Sound Opinion’s Christmas and download Andy Cerzin’s “The Cassette Years: Part 2″; it’s free.
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) – 7* (10)
Vegetarian Days – 1, Carnivorous Days – 19
Marta Rides – 0

December Goals
- Not get fired from my job

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]

Ugh. I’m very tired and achy this morning. My nose is running a bit and my stomach uneasy. And I’m going to Charlotte tomorrow. Wait, that last sentence is a good thing!

Tomorrow I’m headed to Charlotte to hear Emmet Swimming perform; this will be the first time since 1999 since I’ve had the pleasure of seeing them.

I had also hoped to announce to them that I managed to get their cover of the Billy Bragg song “Levi Stubbs’ Tears” played on the Coverville podcast, but when I saw the playlist for last night’s down load their version was not included as I was told it would be. Dangen!

Five Of The One Hundred Simple Secrets Of Happy People
Now With Snarky Comments!
I am currently, and deliberately slowly, reading a super-easy read called The 100 Simple Secrets Of Happy People. Each morning I read three of these “secrets.” (Remember when I mentioned exercising my mind?)

Here are five “secrets” on which you can ponder

• Make your work a calling. [Just never let work call you at home.]
• Never trade your morals for your goals. [Good thing that I have none to trade.]
• Don’t pretend to ignore things your loved ones do that bother you. [Stop telling me I need to get a dog!]
• Get a good night’s sleep. [Define "good." Okay, now define "sleep.]“
• Buy what you like. [No problem here, 'cept I can't buy the women I like.]

You may find this hard to believe, but I’m trying to live my life under the concept that it’s the only one I’ll ever have so I better enjoy it.

A Fine TweetUp At The Bar To Be Formerly Known As “The Grange Public House”
Next month The Grange will no longer be The Grange. The ownership and management of the establishment will not change, but The Grange has been dealt a trademark infringement from the evil people at The National Grange. In fact these folks love their trademark defense so much they dedicate an entire page on their site touting their litigation. I don’t know about you, but I fail to see how a bar called “The Grange Public House” in Decatur Georgia infringes on the farming organization called “The National Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry”, but then I’m not lawyer.

Name change withstanding the night was a fun one filled with good chatter with my friends John (aka @HamWithCam), Carissa (aka @Romanlily) and Maigh (aka @Maigh), as well as chatting up a few new folks. I ate a delicious “Scotch egg” liberally washed down with pints of Sierra Nevada IPAs.

ITP Flickr Pic
This is a detail of the stock certificate that I mailed a few weeks ago.

I love the details in this document and was sad to part with it (once I realized that I still held it). However, the small amount of currency which will be exchanged for this document will ease my pain.

It’s Easy To Make Your Bed When You Don’t Sleep In It
After returning home from The Grange last night I hit the couch to catch up on Survivor. Bundled up under a comforter I “closed my eyes for a minute” after the show’s end and lo and behold woke up to the sound of my alarm sounding in the bedroom at 5:00am.

Needless to say my couch slumber made it a little easier to get out of the house on time this morning.

It’s Not A Holiday Sweater, But An Ugly Sweater It Is
If my health doesn’t fail me tonight I’ll be attending an Ugly Holiday Sweater party at the lovely home of ITP-Reader Barb. I perused a few Goodwill stores for an ugly holiday sweater but came up short, so I plunked down a fin for a Cosbyesque sweater that I’ll adorn tonight. I had intended to take a photo of myself wearing this sweater, but I didn’t want to ruin the surprise.

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – drab, not feeling great
Current Music – listing to the “Best of 2009 CBC Radio 3″ podcast
Website Of The Day – While I love 1Password for encrypted password storage it has the limitation that it only runs on the Mac. Last Pass doesn’t have such a limitation so I’m going to start giving it a try this weekend — you know, in case I buy a Dell Netbook.
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) – 5* (10)
Vegetarian Days – 1, Carnivorous Days – 16
Marta Rides – 0

December Goals
- Not get fired from my job

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]

My to-do list grows and shrinks like the tide — but not that nasty tide from Alabama who spoiled my Christmas this year. One problem I’ve had over the years is that the number of to-do lists has also grown and shrunk based on technology. I’m sure “Use pen and paper.” is probably the best answer, but how do you keep track of the things you need to get done?

Five Of The One Hundred Simple Secrets Of Happy People
I am currently, and deliberately slowly, reading a super-easy read called The 100 Simple Secrets Of Happy People. Each morning I read three of these “secrets.” (Remember when I mentioned exercising my mind?)

Here are five “secrets” on which you can ponder

• Think in concrete terms
• Be socially supportive
• Don’t blame yourself
• Be a peacemaker
• Cherish animals

You may find this hard to believe, but I’m trying to live my life under the concept that it’s the only one I’ll ever have so I better enjoy it.

One Load Of Bread Lasts Me About Four Days
I wound up tossing out a chunk of bread a few inches thick yesterday; this was the drying-out remains of my first breadmaking effort. Now before you jump on the “You should have frozen it to use for croutons!” bandwagon let me tell you that the crust on my first effort was a little less-than-stellar, that’s why I disposed of the remains.

This bread was good, but I can see myself tweaking the recipe in the future in order to produce a bread more to my liking. My first step may be to go to the Your Dekalb Farmers Market to buy higher-quality baking supplies. My second step will be to be more organized prior to constructing the mixture that goes in to the bread maker.

ITP Flickr Pic
Sorry, no photo today.

Lately I’ve been spending a loooooot of time at work. And in the hours that I haven’t been working I’ve been passing out while watching Christmas specials under the warmth of my down comforter.

Excuse? No.
Explanation? Yes.

Fighting The Urge To Buy A Netbook
For some geeky reason I really want a Dell netbook. Originally I wanted the Dell Mini 9, but as I decided whether or not to buy it Dell canceled the model. Lately I’ve been thinking about getting a Dell Mini 10v. Both of which were/are “Hackintosh”-able, and both of which had/have an annoyingly 1GB of RAM.

Why? I’m not really sure other than it would be super simple to take with me everywhere I go and be able to do some things that I can’t do on the iPhone very easily — like write a blog post.

What perplexes me is that I’m considering getting one running Windows! Why would I want to do this to myself again??? I’d consider getting on running Linux, but for some reason the one with the free operating system costs exactly the same as one running and old, over-priced operating system.

I’m sure that if I can hold out through Christmas this urge will pass…

It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like My Last Tweetup
Tonight, tonight, whoa ooooh.

Tonight I’ll be at Decatur’s The Grange Public House for the year’s last Atlanta Tweetup. This will also be the last Atlanta Tweetup organized by Maigh, whose decided to lighten her commitment load. I’ll be hitting The Grange around 6:30pm or so in order to grab some food and a pre-Tweetup beverage. Come join us.

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – okay, but a bit sneezy
Current Music – listening to a “Coverville” podcast
Website Of The Day – Atlanta indie band Besides Daniel is offering four free Christmas songs for download. That’s a good enough reason for me to help promote them.

Shit, I just remember that December 17th is Free Shipping Day and I was going to pick this website for the Website Of The Day. Maybe this will make up for not having a photo?
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) – 4 (10)
Vegetarian Days – 1, Carnivorous Days – 15
Marta Rides – 0

December Goals
- Not get fired from my job

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]

This is more like the Christmastime weather I remember.

Five Of The One Hundred Simple Secrets Of Happy People
I am currently, and deliberately slowly, reading a super-easy read called The 100 Simple Secrets Of Happy People. Each morning I read three of these “secrets.” (Remember when I mentioned exercising my mind?)

Here are five “secrets” on which you can ponder

• Learn to use a computer
• Try to think less about the people and the things that bother you
• Keep your family close
• Eat some fruit every day
• Enjoy what you have

You may find this hard to believe, but I’m trying to live my life under the concept that it’s the only one I’ll ever have so I better enjoy it.

You Wanna Rock? I’ll Give You Some Rock
First, a cd suggestion. A few weeks ago I was listening to a KCRW podcast. This podcast was a in-studio session from a band called Anya Marina, named after the band’s leader. The music played during this in-studio blew me away. In fact I enjoyed it so much that I wound up purchasing their latest album “Slow & Steady Seduction : Phase II.” If you are looking for some new music go to Anya Marina’s website and check it out.

Oh and if you want some free Christmas music, twenty free songs in fact, then follow this iTunes link and download them. (I’ve never tried to link to an iTunes album, so I hope that works.)

On the live music scene I don’t have too much planned. On Saturday I’ll be visiting Charlotte, NC to hear one of my old favorites Emmet Swimming perform a rare concert there. And if you are familiar with Charlotte and can recommend a great dinner location I’d certainly appreciate it.

Yesterday I purchased a ticket for the Dead Confederate show at The EARL on January 8th, 2010.

ITP Flickr Pic
I didn’t think to ask my optometrist for a copy of the photo of the inside of my eyeball this year.

so instead a photo of this instrument inside the optometrist’s examination room will have to suffice.

There Must Be A Site
With my pending trip to Florida I started wondering about if they have a State law banning the use of cellphones while driving (they do not). With my pondering I thought “Certainly there is a definitive state-by-state list of cellphone laws on the internet.” but I am unable to find a really good one.

The best list that I found, and I believe that it is up-to-date, is this one I found on Edmunds.com.

Do you have a better suggestion? This information interest me greatly since I think that I’ll be doing a lot of driving next year.

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – disappointed
Current Music – listen to “The Moth” podcast
Website Of The Day – I really need to start exercising again. Perhaps I’ll peruse Yoga Today for inspiration.
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) – 3 (10)
Vegetarian Days – 1, Carnivorous Days – 14
Marta Rides – 0

December Goals
- Not get fired from my job

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]