Inside The Perimeter

Once again I’m working on MLK Jr Day. When I worked in Alabama I had the day off as a paid holiday, but ever since moving to MLK Jr’s city of birth — Atlanta, Georgia — I’ve had to work.

It Was A Wonderful Party
Each January the weather is questionable, but that doesn’t stop Little Easy from throwing a great Cajun food party.

This year I made what was loosely called a “Creole Pork.”
- one 3-lb pork loin trimmed of fat, cut into cubes, dredged in a flour/creole seasoning mix
- two medium onions, chopped into multiple sizes
- one green pepper
- one red pepper
- some frozen okra
- two cans of Rotel tomatoes (I used one with green chilis, one with habañeros)

Put all of this into a crockpot and cook on low for eight hours. Eat immediately.

My dish was joined by a delicious cheese plate, gumbo, jambalaya, bacon bread, king cake, and beignets made at the party. To keep the theme Easy purchased a keg of Abita Jockamo to be consumed by all. I must have had a great time as my head was a bit foggy on Sunday morning.

And For My Next Purchase…
It looks like 2010 will be the Year of Replacement.

On Saturday morning I went into the kitchen to wash a couple of dishes I needed to produce Saturday night’s dish that I brought over to Little Easy’s birthday party. Upon washing the dishes I flipped the switch for the garbage disposal and all I got was a loud hum; no spinning of grinding wheels, no grinding of food particles, nothing. Of course in my house nothing is simple, so I think that replacing this is going to be a bit more difficult than I’d like it to be.

The garbage disposal was not the only kitchen item to give up the ghost this weekend. Upon flipping on the light switch the other night the compact fluorescent bulb attached to the switch lit briefly and then with a flourish blew out. I wish I had started the practice of dating these bulbs upon installation so that I know how long they are lasting, because I don’t think they are lasting as long as advertised.

Hell, if I’m replacing all of this maybe I should put my name on a list for a few organ transplants…

ITP Flickr Pic
I didn’t promise a Pulitzer Prize winner…

This is the Moon-Shine Jelly that I traded for at the Whine and Regift party that I held a couple of Saturdays ago.

It Was A Good Day For Hashing And A Better Day For Football
Yesterday I returned to “running” the Black Sheep Hash. The weather was questionable, but I knew that it was going to be a mudfest laid by Little Easy, so there was no concern about staying dry or clean. We were not disappointed…

The start was in a location known as “New Crack City” which is an industrial park on Jonesboro Road just inside the perimeter. This location is not virgin territory for the hash, but we knew that it’d be a fun-filled day. One thing we passed (and partially went through) was a vacated house in what appears to be part of a (old) land fill. The house, which has now gone into disrepair and decay was once a very nice brick single-family home adorned with some nice ironwork. One of the things I love about hashing is the appearance of things like abandoned cars and houses in remote locations.

After a quick circle I headed home for a little football viewing. I watched my beloved NY JETS! flounder during the first half of their game against the San Diego Chargers. Having much to do and not wanting to jinx my JETS! I turned the game off. Wasn’t I pleasantly surprised to see that they managed to come back and win. Next up: Hopefully crushing the dreams of ITP-Reader Martha by beating the Indianapolis Colts.

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – still concerned about my health
Current Music – listening to the “Daily Giz Wiz” podcast
Website Of The Day – One of the things I like most about photography is the DIY aspect of it. DIY Photography helps satiate my appetite for DIY projects.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – Sunday: hashing, 4 miles
Morning Weigh-In – 198 pounds
Pages Of 1001 Paintings You Must See Before You Die Read – 37

Monthly
Foot Mileage – 4 miles, Wheel Mileage – 0 miles
Pushups – 20, Situps – 50
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) – 1 (12*)
Vegetarian Days – 1, Carnivorous Days – 17
Marta Rides – 0
* – because I stripped the bed instead of making the bed

January Goals
- Not get fired from my job

2010 Goals
- Reduce my weight to 185 pounds (starting weight was 198 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
- Enter no fewer than three photographic competitions / gallery showings
- Get the Black Sheep stats out of Excel and online
- Ride in no fewer than two 50 mile or 50K bike rides

The Unmeasurable
- Continue backing up all data, including the off-site storage
- Become a proficient programmer in PHP and CSS
- Do not create a solution for something which is not a problem

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

I’m a 44-year-old man who comes from a history of heart problems. It’s time to start making some changes before it’s too late, assuming it’s not already… Yesterday I restarted taking the six flights of stairs to get to my office instead of taking the elevator.

Oh, The Good Ole Hockey Game
Last night I attended the Thrashers game with a bunch of hashing friends, including but not limited to ITP-Reader Barb. The lot of us lucked out when Leigh Ann scored four great seats in section 102 and we did a little chicanery to get seven people down in that section (Oh don’t worry, there were still plenty of available seats).

The Buffalo Sabres were in town and is the case when an old school hockey club visits Atlanta the house was more than half fans of the opposition. Those folks left happy when the Sabres won the game in overtime.

ITP Flickr Pic
Next week. No, I’m serious! Next week.

I Need To Get Grounded
I’ve made the decision to switch to AT&T U-Verse for my internet and phone service at home. I would have already made the switch if not for a condition for installation.

One of the conditions for installation is that their gateway must be plugged into a properly-grounded three-prong outlet. Much like my chagrin with my plumbing, my electrical wiring leaves more than a little to be desired.

One thing that I have going for me is that the location of my gateway will be in the basement and it could be fairly easy to either convert the outlet into which I currently have my DSL plugged to a grounded outlet, or install a brand new outlet and run a wire to the circuit box.

One thing that I don’t have going for me is that I am not a certified electrician nor an experienced handyman.

Aiiiiiieeee
It’s mid-January which means that it must be time for a Little Easy Birthday Extravaganza and Cajun foodfest. In year’s past I worked up my version of Emeril Lagasse’s jambalaya to bring to the party, but I think tomorrow night I’m going to turn the tables a bit and bring over a pot of uncooked shrimp and some shrimp boil to make on site.

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – concerned still
Current Music – listening to a “net@night” podcast
Website Of The Day – With all of the money I’m spending I’m going to have to refer to Atlanta On The Cheap to .
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – nothing
Morning Weigh-In – 200 pounds
Pages 1001 Paintings You Must See Before You Die Read – 37

Monthly
Foot Mileage – 0 miles, Wheel Mileage – 0 miles
Pushups – 0, Situps – 0
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) – 12 (12*)
Vegetarian Days – 1, Carnivorous Days – 13
Marta Rides – 0
* – because I stripped the bed instead of making the bed

January Goals
- Not get fired from my job

2010 Goals
- Reduce my weight to 185 pounds (starting weight was 198 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
- Enter no fewer than three photographic competitions / gallery showings
- Get the Black Sheep stats out of Excel and online
- Ride in no fewer than two 50 mile or 50K bike rides

The Unmeasurable
- Continue backing up all data, including the off-site storage
- Become a proficient programmer in PHP and CSS
- Do not create a solution for something which is not a problem

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

Anyone catch this morning’s sunrise? Spectacular.

Oh Trivia, You Can Be So Frustrating
Last night I met up with some friends at Matador Cantina for a night of Mexican food and Team Trivia. I started the night off strong by answering the first question:

Q: Which movie had the following actresses performing in it — Reese Witherspoon, Rachel Welch, Selma Blair.

Friends who know me well understand my infatuation with Selma Blair, and to a lesser extent Reese Witherspoon so I quickly had the answer.

Later in the game I answer the the question:

Q: Which current AFC team started out as the Dallas Texans.

and then finally I helped convince the rest of the team that it was Lehman Brothers who filed for bankruptcy in September 2008.

My only real misstep that I made during the night was not going with my gut feeling that it was Tim McCarver who released an album of Jazz standards last year. Instead I went with Joe Buck.

Our team later went on to supposedly incorrectly answer the final question so we wound up winning no money.

The Jackmobile Is Going To See A New Doctor Today
This morning I’ll be taking the Jackmobile into Peach Auto Service (as recommended by ITP-Readers Barb and Martha) for a brake checkup, oil change, and investigation into the SRS light. Not knowing how long this is going to take I’ve schedule the appointment near lunch so that I can either walk to get something to eat, walk to a Marta station, or get one of my work buddies to come down to Buford Hwy for lunch — something that is hard to accomplish as asking a hasher if he/she wants a beer.

Let’s hope that 2010 is a much kinder year than 2009 and that the SRS like is not going to cost me much money to rectify. Paulie’s got a house to fix…

Speaking Of A House To Fix
Good grief…. Could my house be any more problematic?

Yesterday(?) I whined about not talking to the attractive young woman in Lowe’s. Yesterday I visited Home Depot seeing if I could find a replacement faucet for my bathroom sink. Did you know that the two standard spreads for sink faucets are 4″ and 8″? Did you know that the spread for my bathroom sink is 6″? Further my sink’s design is not standard, thus fitting a new faucet even harder.

So now I’m back to the idea of trying to take the faucet assembly apart and rebuild it so that it works flawlessly. This ought to be interesting…

Further complicating matters is that fact that the City of Atlanta installed new RF-readable water meters last year. When doing this they also had the brilliant idea to lock the water meter box, thus removing any chance for the homeowner to turn off the water at the street. DANGEN! Now I’ll have to see if I have a water main shutoff inside the house. If not, add the installation of one onto the list of things to have done by a professional plumber.

ITP Flickr Pic
This space left blank intentionally

Gitting It On My “Kindle”
Yesterday I bought a Kindle version of Version Control with Git: Powerful Tools and Techniques for Collaborative Software Development to be read on my iPhone. So far, so good.

Along with my lack of reading I’ve decided to wait on a Kindle purchasing decision until Apple makes whatever announcement they have planned for January 27th.

Keeping Myself In Check
Last night I finally got around to launching back into “1001 Paintings You Must See Before You Die.” Oddly, the first photo is present on page 12 and the index ends at page 973. How does that work? I guess that means they’ve put two or more photos on one page? How significant can a piece of artwork be if you can’t fill up an entire page with historical information about it?

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – concerned
Current Music – silence at the moment
Website Of The Day – I’m seeking photographic inspiration today from Greg Danbrooke.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – nothing
Morning Weigh-In – 199 pounds
Pages 1001 Paintings You Must See Before You Die Read – 23

Monthly
Foot Mileage – 0 miles, Wheel Mileage – 0 miles
Pushups – 0, Situps – 0
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) – 11 (11*)
Vegetarian Days – 1, Carnivorous Days – 12
Marta Rides – 0
* – because I stripped the bed instead of making the bed

January Goals
- Not get fired from my job

2010 Goals
- Reduce my weight to 185 pounds (starting weight was 198 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
- Enter no fewer than three photographic competitions / gallery showings
- Get the Black Sheep stats out of Excel and online
- Ride in no fewer than two 50 mile or 50K bike rides

The Unmeasurable
- Continue backing up all data, including the off-site storage
- Become a proficient programmer in PHP and CSS
- Do not create a solution for something which is not a problem

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

I have a feeling that I will come to the end of my life wondering where all the time went and why I failed to accomplish more. Then I will remember days like yesterday. I left a somewhat unproductive workday at 5:30pm and headed straight to the laundromat for laundry and dinner. with the colder weather I am forced to dry my clothes, including thick sweaters, longer so that took a little longer than usual. By the time I got home, put my clothes away, and sat down to do some work it was already 9pm. WTF?

Shop Local And Stick It To The Man
For the past few years I’ve been touting the services of Atlanta-based Ticket Alternative which offers online ticket purchases with much more reasonable convenience fees than that other ticket master.

The other day I went to make a purchase from Ticket Alternative for an upcoming show and was some what flummoxed; the ticket’s price was $8 and the service charges for this were $2.25. When I called Ticket Alternative on their TicketMasteresque fee they were quick to respond and explain that it was difficult to offer lower fees on cheap tickets. I applauded them for their explanation and quick response.

Yesterday in the mail I received a small box from Ticket Alternative. Inside the box was a Ticket Alternative t-shirt, coozies and bottle openers. Cool. You can’t buy my love (well, there are women who could) but you can certainly buy my customer loyalty with great customer service.

Oh Bally Total Fitness…
I used to really love working out in your facilities. Once again you are attempting to lure me back into the the gym with your “fantastic” January membership offer. However, when I nearly rejoined a few years ago because I thought that I could return to the Bally Total Fitness on Roswell Road in Sandy Springs I found out that you had just sold that facility and it was being torn down and replaced with a self-storage business (and as an aside doesn’t the presence of an industry that exists for the sole purpose of storing your stuff outside your house indicate that we all own way too much shit?). I don’t even know if you have a facility near Lenox Mall any longer since you moved the one right across from the mall to Lindbergh Center, which was then knocked down a few years later.

You should just give up trying to lure me back because I’m definitely not going to drive over to near Northlake Mall just to work out.

ITP Flickr Pic
Still circling the airport awaiting clearance for landing.

$127 Hurts, But Not As Much As $200
This morning I received my monthly natural gas bill from Scana Energy — $127. Considering I’ve been running my heat much more than I normally would due to my stomach flu and party last Saturday I was fearing a bill north of $200. So, I guess you could say that I was “pleased” that it was “only” $127.

To Drobo Or Not Drobo, That Is The Question
I’m looking a sea of external hard drives that I’ve purchased over the years (not including the two I gave away last year…). For the most part these devices contain hard drives that I consider to be too small (160GB, 250GB, 320GB) for my current data needs (especially once I start shooting again).

A couple of years ago a company called Data Robotics which offers a device they call the Drobo. A Drobo is multi-disk housing which provides data duplication using any combination of SATA disks stored within it. I’ve never knuckled under and purchased one because I’ve always felt that it was too highly-priced for what it offers. But now I’m considering purchasing one to be the one hard drive enclosure to rule them all… Or not…

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – pretty good but afraid I’m not doing enough with my life
Current Music – listening to the “MacBreak Weekly” podcast
Website Of The Day – I’m still not purchasing physical media. Zipidee is another outlet for purchasing digital media.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – nothing
Morning Weigh-In – 199 pounds

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 – 11
Marta Rides – 0
* – because I stripped the bed instead of making the bed

January Goals
- Not get fired from my job

2010 Goals
- Reduce my weight to 185 pounds (starting weight was 198 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
- Enter no fewer than three photographic competitions / gallery showings
- Get the Black Sheep stats out of Excel and online
- Ride in no fewer than two 50 mile or 50K bike rides

The Unmeasurable
- Continue backing up all data, including the off-site storage
- Become a proficient programmer in PHP and CSS
- Do not create a solution for something which is not a problem

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

I spent the majority of last night cleaning up and downloading software to my computers. In the past few days there have been some security patches for the Mac that I’ve needed to install. In addition I downloaded Git, the software that I will use for version control for my personal software development.

Phuket All
When I worked near Buford Highway and North Druid Hills Road I was able to walk to eat lunch at a restaurant known then as Phuket Thai (unfortunately not pronounced the way you want it to be). A couple of years ago Phuket Thai closed its doors and its owners moved to California.

At one point last year I heard rumor that the owners of Phuket Thai had returned to Georgia and opened up a new restaurant in Sandy Springs(?!) called Thai Restaurant Sandy Springs (nowhere near as fun to say as “Phuket”). Yesterday I finally made it over to the new restaurant to eat and I’m glad to announce that the owners are the same as Phuket Thai’s and the food is excellent. As an added bonus the woman at register said that she recognized me as “one of the guys who used to come from the other side of the creek to eat at Phuket Thai.” Needless to say, I shall return.

While I’ll Be Forever Single
Picture this:
A guy is standing alone in the bath/lavatory faucet aisle of Lowe’s looking for a possible replacement for one of his bathroom faucets when a young, attractive (his type), single (no ring) woman walks into the aisle to browse for the
same item. For five minutes these two people stand no further than eight feet away. Not a word is spoken. As you rightly assume, I am the guy.

For no apparent reason I’ve come to feel a magnetism with attractive women. Unfortunately it’s the magnetism experienced when similar poles are pushed together and they struggle to remain apart.

While I didn’t find a faucet that would fit my sink I did manage to find the tubing I desired for my upcoming computer project.

ITP Flickr Pic
Still in the camera.

Vanity Fare
Yesterday I did something that I’m not even sure the nerdiest of nerds are doing these days. Yesterday I registered the top-level domain consisting of the ten digits that make up my Google Voice phone number.

For some reason I get a kick when I think about putting that domain on the business cards that I am designing for myself.

Nerd up!

Hey Hockey Fans, C’mon Down
On Thursday January 21st I’ll be attending the Atlanta Thrashers hockey game against the Carolina Hurricanes. Why is this different than any other game? Because after that professional match I will know a few people who’ll play a game on the same ice. Even better, in order to play both Ralph (aka “One Ball”) and Todd (aka “Dorothy Camel Toe”) are selling discounted tickets for the game. I’m buying one ticket for the $32 section which is being sold for $21 — $5 of which is donated to charity.

If you are interested and committed to attending too leave a comment below and I’ll see if I can hook you up with one of those guys so you can get a discounted ticket as well.

Happy Birthday Greetings!
Today marks the birthday of ITP-Reader Bob, also known to some as “Check My Bags”, amongst other things. I realize that this greeting can in no way top his annual pilgrimage to the Monster Truck Rally this past weekend, but I do what I can.

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – fair
Current Music – listening to Harry Shearer’s “le Show” podcast
Website Of The Day – If you are running a Mac and haven’t checked out MacApper yet then I say that you should do so today.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – nothing
Morning Weigh-In – 198 pounds

Monthly
Foot Mileage – 0 miles, Wheel Mileage – 0 miles
Pushups – 0, Situps – 0
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) – 9* (9*)
Vegetarian Days – 1, Carnivorous Days – 10
Marta Rides – 0
* – because I stripped the bed instead of making the bed

January Goals
- Not get fired from my job

2010 Goals
- Reduce my weight to 185 pounds (starting weight was 198 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
- Enter no fewer than three photographic competitions / gallery showings
- Get the Black Sheep stats out of Excel and online
- Ride in no fewer than two 50 mile or 50K bike rides

The Unmeasurable
- Continue backing up all data, including the off-site storage
- Become a proficient programmer in PHP and CSS
- Do not create a solution for something which is not a problem

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

Or perhaps I’ve just become numb.

One Glass Broken, One Glass Spilled, Now That’s A Party
I have to laugh. On Saturday I had a group of good friends over for a wine and regift party. Knowing the size would be no more than fifteen (fewer attended thanks to icy conditions and family emergencies), as well as knowing that we’d be drinking a lot of red wine, I decided to hold the gathering upstairs instead of the customary party basement. For those who’ve never been to one of my basement parties you should know that it is carpeted with real shag carpeting from the 1960′s; spilling wine on it would be more of a pain in the ass over a tragedy. My decision paid off big time as during the night one wine glass was knocked over and smashed, and the contents of one glass of wine was accidentally launched. The hardwood floor was much easier to clean than the carpet ever would be.

There must have been something in the air this weekend as I managed to break a fairly thick pint glass as I was washing it yesterday.

Over all the party was a big success. I wound up with some bizarre Island Princess karaoke head, which I gladly traded for ITP-Reader Sue’s Moonshine Jelly at the end of the gift exchange. That wacky Island Princess became the hit of the party, though, once Sue opened the package and new batteries were installed. Strange how shit like that happens.

Of all the gifts available the Moonshine Jelly was number two on my want list. ITP-Reader Barb scored a really interesting triplet of “See No Evil,” “Hear No Evil,” “Speak No Evil” monkeys. However, I was never in a position to steal them.

Oh, and with what did I part? That mixer set that I received at the last White Elephant Gift Exchange. Sure it was kind of neat, but I never saw myself using it so what better way to get rid of it than to pass it along.

Introducing The Monday Resolutionist
As we begin the second full week of 2010 I realized that waiting for a new year in order to make resolution makes little sense. So, I’ve decided to see if I can pull off making one resolution each Monday and keep that up through year’s end.

This week’s Monday resolution is to (re)start reading 1001 Paintings You Must See Before You Die at the pace of five pages a night. In a mere two-hundred nights I’ll be done!

ITP Flickr Pic
Believe it or not there are two photos on my camera that I took yesterday. Believe it or not I am waiting on something to arrive before I start cataloging and editing the photos I’ve taken in 2010. Perhaps if I get some time today I’ll take a stab in order to have something available before the arrival of my goods.

J-E-T-S! Jets! Jets! Jets!
Well looky there, the Jets actually won a playoff game! Woo Hoo!

The Jackmobile Is Looking A Bit Clampett Today
This morning I braved the cold and loaded up the Jackmobile with five boxes of stuff that will find their way to Goodwill today. I thought about having a garage sale later this year; I thought about offering up the stuff to anyone who wanted it; but in reality there is nothing of great individual value in any of the boxes so one swift stop at Goodwill later will make me happy. The reclaimed space on the floor, in bookcases, and in closets will also make me happy.

Expect to see me recycle this sentiment in the blog again at some point. This purge was the “easy to part with” stuff. Later in the month / year I will be making another pass or two in order to get ride of the “Really? You don’t need this because you never use this.” goods.

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – okay, not great but okay
Current Music – listening to a KEXP music podcast
Website Of The Day – I still have the shag carpeting. At one time I also had a boatload of Wallpaper from the 70′s too.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – nothing
Morning Weigh-In – 199 pounds

Monthly
Foot Mileage – 0 miles, Wheel Mileage – 0 miles
Pushups – 0, Situps – 0
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) – 8 (8)
Vegetarian Days – 1, Carnivorous Days – 9
Marta Rides – 0

January Goals
- Not get fired from my job

2010 Goals
- Reduce my weight to 185 pounds (starting weight was 198 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
- Enter no fewer than three photographic competitions / gallery showings
- Get the Black Sheep stats out of Excel and online
- Ride in no fewer than two 50 mile or 50K bike rides

The Unmeasurable
- Continue backing up all data, including the off-site storage
- Become a proficient programmer in PHP and CSS
- Do not create a solution for something which is not a problem

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

Fucking Bama.

However pissed I am to finish third instead of first today’s title refers to the fact that I’ll be posting the final five “secrets” of happy people.

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

• Say “So what.”
• Have a purpose. [and name it "Flipper."]
• You have not finished the best part of your life. [Really? I might beg to differ.]
• Money does not buy happiness. [But it sure beats being broke.]
• What does it all mean? You Decide. [The answer is always 42]

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.

ITP Flickr Pic
Our Winter Wonderland was more Winter than Wonderland so no photos were taken.

So Ba Is Much Better Than So So
I met up with ITP-Reader Betsy last night for a little East Atlanta “Vietnamese” food before helping her set up a few things on her PC. So Ba is in the space which was formerly occupied by one of my old East Atlanta favorites La Casita Cantina, who occupied that space after Pasta Thyme had a short run there.

I arrived at 6:30pm to an empty restaurant. Because the restaurant had only opened about six weeks ago I feared that the food was so bad that no one was returning. I’m happy to say that I was wrong. As Betsy and I sat there deciding what to eat and having our bottle of Trader Joe’s wine opened (So Ba has yet to acquire a liquor license so it’s BYOB) young, hipster couples started to fill the space.

Betsy and I split an appetizer order of salt-and-pepper tofu (it was delicious!) and I ordered a broken-rice short-rib dish which was also incredibly tasty. Perhaps my only complaint with the menu is that the prices are higher than their counterparts along Buford Highway.

The only snafu with the night was with the bill. Betsy and I split the bill down the middle and upon trying to figure out what I was going to tip I realized that she got charged for half of the bill and I got charged for the entire bill. I called our waiter over who rightly apologized, and because they’ve yet to master their credit card billing we agreed that I’d get half of my money back in cash. I’m okay with this since it was almost like getting a small cash advance for no fee.

I shall return to So Ba, but probably only when the hankering for Vietnamese strikes me at home as I think that the food produced along Buford Highway is better for the prices charged.

The Only White I Want To See This Weekend Is A White Elephant
Tomorrow I’m hosting a white elephant gift exchange (note to self: clean the house!). The temperatures will be frigid, but the heat works so I’m hoping that all goes off without a hitch.

What will I regift? Only time will tell…

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – okay, glad I made it to work safely, wish I didn’t have to deal with the problems in my life but I’m sure everyone feels that way
Current Music – listening to the “Tips From The Top Floor” photography podcast
Website Of The Day – By now you probably don’t need to know How To Drive On Black Ice, but extra knowledge can’t hurt.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – nothing
Morning Weigh-In – 199 pounds

Monthly
Foot Mileage – 0 miles, Wheel Mileage – 0 miles
Pushups – 0, Situps – 0
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) – 5 (5)
Vegetarian Days – 1, Carnivorous Days – 6
Marta Rides – 0

January Goals
- Not get fired from my job

2010 Goals
- Reduce my weight to 185 pounds (starting weight was 198 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
- Enter no fewer than three photographic competitions / gallery showings
- Get the Black Sheep stats out of Excel and online
- Ride in no fewer than two 50 mile or 50K bike rides

The Unmeasurable
- Continue backing up all data, including the off-site storage
- Become a proficient programmer in PHP and CSS
- Do not create a solution for something which is not a problem

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

Oh, you may think that I’m still bitter about the Alabama Crimson Tide beating my beloved Florida Gators in the SEC Championship thus denying them the chance to play for the National Championship tonight. While you’d be correct, I’ve have a better reason — cold, hard cash. Last night I switched my pick in the College Bowl Pick’em from Alabama to Texas and by doing so made it possible for me to take first place if the Longhorns win. Hook’em Horns! As an added bonus, it appears that I end up in third place even if my selection of Texas is wrong.

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 let others set your goals. [Or eat your french fries.]
• You are a person, not a stereotype. [Nor a monotype.]
• Know what makes you happy and sad. [That's easiest if being sad makes you happy.]
• Keep reading. [I knew I should be reading, but what if reading makes me sad?]
• We must feel needed. [I disagree, I believe we must feel wanted.]

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.

There’s Another Reason Why I’m A Horns Fan Tonight
When I was a wee little lad, okay a teenager, I was a huge fan of Earl Campbell, then the running back for the University of Texas Longhorns. Campbell embodied the style of football a lad who grew up “husky” could appreciate. As such I followed the University of Texas closely and kind of dreamed of attending it.

In the early 1980′s I finally got cable television and watched a lot of ESPN (and MTV for Martha Quinn, but that’s another story) when they were showing things like the College Baseball World Series. Back then (and perhaps still today) Texas was a perennial powerhouse thanks to the likes of their two young pitchers Calvin Shiraldi and Roger Clemens.

The University of Texas is located in Texas’ state capital, Austin.

When I considered moving from Huntsville, Alabama in 1994 there were two cities on my radar — Atlanta, Georgia and Austin, Texas; whichever city provided me with a job opportunity first would win. As you should probably know by now I am a huge fan of live music and Austin, Texas is a hotbed of live music including the humongous SxSW festival. As you also probably know, Atlanta wound up winning the battle.

So there you have it. Am I glad that I am a Florida Gator? Of course! Do I regret moving to Atlanta instead of Austin? No, because you can never predict how life would be different if different paths were chosen.

ITP Flickr Pic
Look for a photo of Atlanta’s snow tomorrow. Yeah. Right.

I Have A New Podcast Addiction — The Story
Last night I began a new podcast addiction, which is good because so many of the ones I’ve relied on for the past four years have gone away, or have become so filled with commercials that they are just like the commercial radio I fled when podcasting began.

Yesterday I was introduced to The Story. The show is hosted by a man named Dick Gordon and is produced by North Carolina Public Radio and is a daily! fifty-minute-long podcast comprised of two “human interest” stories (Shouldn’t it be called “The Stories” then?).

I was introduced through the back door when one of the recent episodes contained a story about Ibarionex Perello who is a photographer whose podcasts I’ve been listening to for some time.

I love it when I luck into things like this…

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – okay
Current Music – listening to a great “KEXP New Music” podcast
Website Of The Day – So you got some cool toys for Christmas / Hanukkah? Use Warranty Elephant to store all of the warranty information. C’mon, you know everything manufactured today is made to break; it’s called “planned obsolescence.”
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – nothing
Morning Weigh-In – 200 pounds

Monthly
Foot Mileage – 0 miles, Wheel Mileage – 0 miles
Pushups – 0, Situps – 0
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) – 4 (4)
Vegetarian Days – 1, Carnivorous Days – 5
Marta Rides – 0

January Goals
- Not get fired from my job

2010 Goals
- Reduce my weight to 185 pounds (starting weight was 198 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
- Enter no fewer than three photographic competitions / gallery showings
- Get the Black Sheep stats out of Excel and online
- Ride in no fewer than two 50 mile or 50K bike rides

The Unmeasurable
- Continue backing up all data, including the off-site storage
- Become a proficient programmer in PHP and CSS
- Do not create a solution for something which is not a problem

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]first

Stepping the scale this morning took the digital dial all the way up to 200.8, a full three pounds more than Monday’s reading. My pants are once again a bit too snug so it’s time to start taking my desire to lose weight a little more seriously…. Goodbye hot chocolate. It was fun while it lasted. Ugh.

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

• Envying other people’s relationships is pointless. [Why don't you tell me something I don't know!]
• Give yourself time to adapt to change. [What if nothing changes?]
• Focus on what really matters to you. []
• Realize that complete satisfaction does not exist. [Wrong! I present to you the chewy, chocolate chip cookie.]
• Surround yourself with pleasant aromas. [Hahahaha!]

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.

Another Perfect Night Of Laundry
Even when I get my plumbing fixed I think I’ll keep up my new laundromat routine. Sure, it takes up about three hours of my week, but in trade it provides me the opportunity to do some reading and eat delicious Banh Mi sandwiches. That, my friend, is a fair trade indeed. About the only problem with the situation is that I get home around 8pm, have to spend another ten-to-fifteen minutes putting clothes away, and by the time I’m done rarely feel like doing much else. Maybe that’s more of a ‘me’ problem than a ‘laundromat’ problem. Hmmm.

ITP Flickr Pic
Just watch. One day I’m going to surprise everybody.

Catching Up With My Movies
I’m not a huge movie watcher, in fact I don’t think that I darkened the doors of a movie theater in 2009. However, I am a born-again Netflix devotee and plan to upgrade my internet connection at home (when have you heard that before) so that I can utilize my Roku box to its fullest. While remaining warm and toasty in bed the other day I managed to catch a couple of flicks that I’ve had on my hard drive.

If you know me well you know that the movies I watch fall in to one of three genres — comedy, animated, documentary.

Monsters vs. Aliens ticks two of those three as it is an animated comedy about Earth “monsters” being used to curtail the attack of aliens. Think “1950′s SciFi ‘B’ Movie” and you’ve got the right idea. While I really loved the storyline and most of the incredible computer-generated animation the one thing that really disturbed me for most of the movie was the lack of attention paid to the lip movements. This was the first time in a while that I was completely disappointed by how many times I noticed that the mouth movement bore no relationship to the words being spoken by the characters.

My Architect (A Son’s Journey) is a documentary about architect Louis I. Kahn, more specifically the attempt of his son Nathaniel to find out who Louis I. Kahn was. Louis Kahn passed away of a heart attack in New York City’s Penn Station in 1974. Nathaniel didn’t know much about his father as he was a bastard son of Kahn’s, who fathered children with three different women, only one of which he married. The movie is an interesting journey of life discovery and twentieth century architectural history.

I think tonight I’ll watch The Hangover to satisfy my need for a good, dumb comedy.

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – a little perturbed with myself
Current Music – listening to a CBC Radio 3 podcast. It’s cold enough outside to make me believe that I’m in Canada.
Website Of The Day – I’m not very “zen” but I may have to start reading Zen Habits.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – nothing
Morning Weigh-In – 201 pounds (looks like my body has remembered how to retain weight)

Monthly
Foot Mileage – 0 miles, Wheel Mileage – 0 miles
Pushups – 0, Situps – 0
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) – 3 (3)
Vegetarian Days – 1, Carnivorous Days – 4
Marta Rides – 0

January Goals
- Not get fired from my job

2010 Goals
- Reduce my weight to 185 pounds (today’s weight was unknown, will start Monday)
- 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
- Enter no fewer than three photographic competitions / gallery showings
- Get the Black Sheep stats out of Excel and online
- Ride in no fewer than two 50 mile or 50K bike rides

The Unmeasurable
- Continue backing up all data, including the off-site storage
- Become a proficient programmer in PHP and CSS
- Do not create a solution for something which is not a problem

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

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 conscientious. [I need to learn how to spell conscientious correctly first.]
• Don’t dwell on unwinnable conflicts.
• Enjoy the ordinary. [But I'm trying to be extraordinary!!!]
• Focus not on the world’s tragedies, but on the world’s hope.
• Get a hobby. [If only I could think of a hobby I enjoyed...]

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.

If It’s Tuesday It Must Be Laundry Day
Now that the holiday season (I do not get MLK Jr Day off, so it’s not a holiday for me) growing smaller in the rear-view mirror it’s time for me to settle back into my routines.

Once such routine, pesky laundry which, since I’ve yet to wrestle with the plumbing, is still being performed at a laundromat. I have the Jackmobile loaded with dirty laundry and will most likely be headed down Buford Highway tonight to wash some clothes and eat some Bhan Mi at Lee’s Bakery.

Good Night Listening To A Great Presenter
Last night I attended the first meeting of the year of the Roswell Photographic Society. As seems to be routine the first speaker of the year is photographer Craig Tanner. Tanner is both an accomplished photographer and entertaining speaker so there is no.

Last night Tanner put on a ninety-minute presentation about taking flattering photographs of people. It was one of the best ninety minutes listening to photography talk that I have ever spent as it was both informative and inspirational. I’m so glad that I made it out last night.

I’ve Become Quite The Teabagger
Wait! That’s not what I meant! Tea. DRINKER!!! Oh geez…

Since last Friday’s bout with food poisoning a stomach flu (too many desperate people were sick on Friday or Saturday for my case to have been food poisoning) I’ve been drinking a lot of tea. Tea is the non-ginger-ale drink of choice for me when my stomach doesn’t feel right, which has been happening a lot since Friday.

ITP Flickr Pic
Hmmm. Really thought that I’d have something by now. However yesterday I discovered a really neat place to shoot, only problem is that I might get arrested for trespassing doing so.

Today I Become Subversive
With the big “CES demo” out of the way (CES is this week, and while I once again didn’t get chosen to go to Las Vegas I did get to work long hours to prepare a demo) I get a little non-coding time on my schedule today. My plan is to learn a content management system (CMS) called “Subversion” so that I can safely back up and record all changes to my source code.

For my next trick I’ll be setting up a CMS at home called “Git,” because many people say that Git is better than Subversion, so that I can begin coding at home. It’s all part of Paulie’s Big Plan.

Sounds exciting, no? Actually, I rather enjoy this shit.

May This Birthday Bring You Much Joy My Friend
Hashing types refer to him as “Fag Pipes,” but ITP readers probably know him better as “Steve.” Today is his birthday.

I met “FP” on my second hash, which it turned out to be his first hash. Many beers have been consumed since that day eleven years ago. The next time I get the opportunity to buy you a beer to celebrate your birthday I shall my friend. Cheers!

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – oddly okay. I still have a annoying pinched nerve in my neck which limits my range of mobility
Current Music – listening to an NPR “new music” podcast
Website Of The Day – Need a new “To Do” manager? Try Teux Deux. (thanks to ITP-Reader John for telling me about this site)
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – nothing
Morning Weigh-In – 198 pounds (knew I’d be gaining as I begin eating again)

Monthly
Foot Mileage – 0 miles, Wheel Mileage – 0 miles
Pushups – 0, Situps – 0
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) – 2 (2)
Vegetarian Days – 1, Carnivorous Days – 3
Marta Rides – 0

January Goals
- Not get fired from my job

2010 Goals
- Reduce my weight to 185 pounds (today’s weight was unknown, will start Monday)
- 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
- Enter no fewer than three photographic competitions / gallery showings
- Get the Black Sheep stats out of Excel and online
- Ride in no fewer than two 50 mile or 50K bike rides

The Unmeasurable
- Continue backing up all data, including the off-site storage
- Become a proficient programmer in PHP and CSS
- Do not create a solution for something which is not a problem

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]