Inside The Perimeter

Or at least I hope there is one in stock for me to purchase. Not since I purchased my iPhone have I been this excited over spending money on a gadget. I’ve specifically avoided playing with the WiFi version which came out a few weeks ago so I wouldn’t be tempted to purchase one before today’s release of the iPad 3G.

Color Me Confused
I arrived at Variety Playhouse last night at 7:30pm to find the venue set up in the “seating everywhere” configuration (I really wish VP would advertise this prior to the show). Because of my arrival time there was little opportunity to set up for decent photography. As I scanned for seating I also noticed that the crowd was very “different” from those I am accustomed to seeing; they were older, and frankly much fatter, than the hipsters. You would need a Great Big Sea in order to sufficiently wash this crowd. I decided to head to the balcony.

At 8:00pm sharp Corb Lund’s band took the stage and played a thirty-minute set. The crowd sat in near silence as his band performed. I was hoping for more, but the fact that he was opening meant otherwise.

At 9:00pm sharp Great Big Sea took the stage and to my astonishment the audience went nuts. Within the first shanty the crowd was standing, signing, clapping. WTF? This behavior continued for each of the five shanty-like numbers the band performed before I departed (to be honest, the music did not appeal to me). It was like watching some Chastain-like cult. I was not amongst “my” people.

ITP Flickr Pic
Apparently I was so excited that today is iPad Day that I forgot to upload the photo I wanted to post today. Dangen!

As I walked up Euclid Av I noticed numbers painted along the curb, and then I encountered these. That’s right, our Government is planning to nickle, dime, and quarter its way out of debt. Meh. Who else thinks that these parking meter machines will cost the tax payers more money than it generates?

Once again I’m thinking that I need to get the hell out of Dodge.

I Keep Forgetting About Places I Like To Eat
I wound up not eating dinner last night, blame it on a large lunch. However while waiting for Great Big Sea to take the stage I was messing around with Yelp and realized that while I like The Porter and The Vortex, I never think to go to either any longer. Strange.

I think I may need to start reconciling these deficiencies in the very near future.

Are Our Garbage Cans Too Large?
The other day I wheeled a huge green monster to the curb for trash day. Inside said monster was one, lonely, garbage bag. I admit that I am far from “normal” when it comes to trash generation as I eat out far too much, don’t generate much trash, and recycle the hell out of anything that can be recycled.

It all got me to thinking… Why do we have such large garbage cans? When I was a wee little lad we had smaller garbage cans, those metal cans with the lids you could use as a shield for snowball fights. At some point in time Governments said “You know, our constituents are generating a lot of trash. Rather than figuring out ways to reduce this burden on the Earth and future populations, let’s give them huge trash cans that we can empty using mechanical arms.” — and then they went back to figuring out how to bilk us of our money.

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – nervous with anticipation
Current Music – silence
Website Of The Day – I love Dropbox. Dropbox is a way to store data in “the cloud” and have that data get synchronized to multiple computers. I predict that Dropbox will be one of the biggest “killer apps” on the iPad. If you sign up for a Dropbox account and can say that I referred you (my account is “InsideThePerimeter@gmail.com” please do).
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – nothing
Morning Weigh-In – didn’t check
Pages Of 1001 Paintings You Must See Before You Die Read – 52

Monthly
Foot Mileage – 0 miles, Wheel Mileage – 0 miles
Pushups – 0, Situps – 0
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) – 5 (11)
Vegetarian Days – 1, Carnivorous Days – 28
Marta Rides – 0

April Goals
- Not to get sick for the entire month
- Not get fired from my job
- Ride my bicycle no fewer than 100 miles
- Get the Sharpened Stone, LLC moving…

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.
- 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
- Complete my Taco Mac Passport requirement of 125 beers

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]

The word “loser” has many connotations. For some uses (weight) I aspire to be a “loser,” while for others (Life) notsomuch. I am usually not a “thing loser,” so the other day when I could not (nor have I yet) find the earbuds for my iPod I was rather perturbed. I recall having them in Nashville, but cannot recall if I have seen them since. Did I carelessly set them down in the hotel room and leave them behind? I’ve done that once before. I’ve ripped apart my car, luggage, briefcase, camera bag, all to no avail. I’m close to the point of purchasing new ones, if for no other reason than to put this matter to rest.

An Opportunity Wasted
Last night after work I headed down to Binders where I picked up more photography matting/framing supplies (and an overpriced Moleskine-style sketch book). While there I was also able to save 50% (up to $25) off my purchase using Scoutmob (seriously, if you live in Atlanta you should be checking out the deals offered by Scoutmob).

From Buckhead I headed toward midtown so that I could make it there in order to have a fast bite to eat (an unfortunate choice of Moe’s in Colony Square — no other “fast” food place was open). With an hour to spare I decided to sit and have a beer at Table 1280. With an hour to spare I should have entered the High Museum and looked at the art, or perhaps looked for women who were looking at the art.

FAIL!

Alice Was In Wonderland
It’s a shame that I’ve seen “Lookingglass Alice” so close to the end of its run here in Atlanta, because the play was phenomenal. Stop reading this section now if you intend on seeing it.

It may not of hurt that my seat was front row, nearly dead-center.

(I cannot wait until I get a new iPhone, one with an improved camera over the 3G model I have today).

The play, based on Lewis Carroll’s “Alice In Wonderland” opens with young Alice looking into a mirror to find an alternate universe. Immediately the black backdrop is dropped to reveal an entire audience sitting on the stage looking at the audience in the normal seating (a mirror image — get it?!).

Alice drops through the rabbit hole and encounters many, amusing and well-crafted characters such as the Cheshire Cat, Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum, the White Night, Humpty Dumpty, and the Queen of Hearts.

It’s with the Queen of Hearts that our audience got to witness live theater at its greatest! For her first stage appearance the queen is part of an apparatus which must be twenty-feet tall; her dress goes to the stage floor and she is moved about by a person under her dress. At one point “she” was backing up and must have snagged something on the stage for “she” started to tip backward slowly. And then “she” went too far… BAM! The queen had fallen. At first I couldn’t figure out if this was part of the play, but then quickly realized that it was not. The actress playing the queen handled it perfectly, hardly falling out of character as she explained that this was the first time “she” had ever toppled. As the stage director’s voice bellowed from above a cast of stage hands came in to help carry the queen’s apparatus off stage. It was at that point that “Alice” informed us that it was the queen’s birthday, so in the few minutes of non-action we had waiting for everyone to get ready to resume the play, we sang “Happy Birthday” to the queen.

The play is part acrobatics/gymnastics (“Alice” is played by a beautiful, and rather limber, young actress named Lindsey Noel Whiting), part comedy, part amazement. Being in the front row occasionally also meant being included in some of the scenes, as we were so close we almost could not help being involved.

It really appeared that the five actors who performed all of the rolls were having a great time.

I cannot recommend this play highly enough. Hell, had I the time before its closing I might go and watch it again, this time from the stage.

ITP Flickr Pic
Another shot taken at the High Museum last week.

This Bugatti was stunning. Hell, all of the automobiles on display were stunning.

Buying From Amazon Is Like Playing The Stock Market
The other day I was perusing Amazon, just minding my own business when I noticed that Photoshop Elements 8 for the Mac was priced at $69.99 with a $20 mail-in rebate. For $50 I was considering updating my version of Elements 6, but because I’ve been spending a lot of money (with much more waiting to be spent) I decided to hold off.

I went back to Amazon later that day and found that the price of Photoshop Elements 8 had risen to $74.99. WTH? Is Amazon the stock market? Does Amazon follow America’s gasoline pricing habits? Now I’ll certainly be putting of any purchase, at least until the price returns to $69.99.

Tonight, Corb Lund
I’m assuming that The Great Big Sea’s show tonight at Variety Playhouse has not sold out, as I intend to head down to Little 5 Points tonight to purchase a ticket to hear Corb Lund play. Hell, I’ll be sticking around to hear The Great Big Sea as well.

Per usual I’ll probably start the night off with a stop at the Yacht Club, though I might try and change things up a bit and eat somewhere else. Anyone want to suggest a L5P change of pace for me?

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – pretty darn good, especially if today is the day before I become and iPad owner
Current Music – silence at the moment
Website Of The Day – Lenny must be a huge “Alice In Wonderland” fan. Check out Lenny’s “Alice In Wonderland” site.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – nothing
Morning Weigh-In – didn’t check
Pages Of 1001 Paintings You Must See Before You Die Read – 52

Monthly
Foot Mileage – 0 miles, Wheel Mileage – 0 miles
Pushups – 0, Situps – 0
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) – 4 (11)
Vegetarian Days – 1, Carnivorous Days – 27
Marta Rides – 0

April Goals
- Not to get sick for the entire month
- Not get fired from my job
- Ride my bicycle no fewer than 100 miles
- Get the Sharpened Stone, LLC moving…

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.
- 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
- Complete my Taco Mac Passport requirement of 125 beers

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]

It was a brisk 45º F in the heart of East Atlanta this morning — on April 28th! I realize that this morning temperature was an anomaly for these parts this late in the Spring, but it felt really strange to be so chilly today.

What Do You Do With An Empty Propane Tank?
After doing laundry last evening I headed to REI to recycle my empty camping propane tanks and purchase a few more. The only problem was that REI doesn’t actually recycle propane tanks. I could have sworn that I saw a box or sign last year saying that they did. Dangen! As a “member” I wonder if there is a way to convince them to do so, especially since REI touts itself as being such an environmentally conscious company and they happen to sell these hazards.

I’d rather not dispose of these empty tanks by throwing them into the trash (as I’m sure I did so many times in the past) and I’m really not thrilled of the thought of hanging on to them (as my desire is to reduce clutter, not increase it) so I don’t know what to do.

Here is how Coleman suggests dealing with the waste they peddle.

If you have any ideas or suggestions please leave a comment.

On the upside, my 2009 dividend all but paid for my new propane tanks.

ITP Flickr Pic
Well, here they are… my Upchucks.

Sadly this was the only shot out of the fifteen or twenty different shots I took that came out anywhere near “presentable.”

Go Ask Alice
Tonight I’ll be headed to the theatre. This time I’ll be headed to the Alliance Theatre to see a performance of “Lookingglass Alice.” Tonight’s ticket was bought using a Groupon ticket, so I’m interested to see what that gets me.

Yeee Haw!
Last year I was denied the opportunity to see Corb Lund play at Smith’s Olde Bar because of a double booking. I forget which other band I saw that evening, but I was bummed to have to skip one show for another.

This morning my driving route took me past Variety Playhouse and what did I see? Corb Lund is opening up for a band called The Great Big Sea tomorrow night! Scrap any plans I may have made, I’m going to the early show at Variety! This is the third time in recent memory that the band billed as the opener is the band I am interested in hearing.

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – fair
Current Music – silence
Website Of The Day – I checked Earth 911 to see how they suggested to dispose of my propane tanks, but they dealt mostly with the larger ones.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – nothing
Morning Weigh-In – didn’t check
Pages Of 1001 Paintings You Must See Before You Die Read – 52

Monthly
Foot Mileage – 0 miles, Wheel Mileage – 0 miles
Pushups – 0, Situps – 0
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) – 3 (11)
Vegetarian Days – 1, Carnivorous Days – 26
Marta Rides – 0

April Goals
- Not to get sick for the entire month
- Not get fired from my job
- Ride my bicycle no fewer than 100 miles
- Get the Sharpened Stone, LLC moving…

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.
- 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
- Complete my Taco Mac Passport requirement of 125 beers

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]

The Jackmobile is loaded with dirty laundry anticipating tonight’s drive down Buford Highway for laundry and Lee’s Bakery night. Mmmmm, Banh Mi….

I’ve Been Framed
Well, more accurately sent for printing so that I may be matted.

Last night’s major chore was to select a handful of photos, work up some printing templates in Lightroom so that they print to the proper size for matting (these were probably pre-defined but I couldn’t find them), and then place an order with Mpix with “overnight” shipping so that they will be delivered with enough time for me to mat them by Sunday.

Sunday is the “setup” day for this season’s Atlanta Photography Exhibit “Southern Fried Photographers” Show so I have to have everything ready for delivery by then.

The people who developed the standard openings in matting must have been carpenters. You know that a 2×4 does not measure two inches by four inches, right? Well, the same is true for photo matting. A 11×14 mat which is designed to hold an 8×10 photo has an opening which measures 7.5″ x 9.5″. Don’t ask my why, but this slight change in dimension really caused my consternation last evening.

I think that I (may) have worked out a decent workflow for future shows, so this might be the only time that I’ll be this rushed in order to get things ready for exhibit. At least I’m keeping my fingers crossed…

Photogs That Are Fooling Themselves
I have a lot of Flickr contacts. I am often times amazed that some photographers believe people won’t steal or blog their images after they’ve posted them on the internet to sites like Flickr. Some photographers add intrusive watermarks to their shots; others put up stern warnings about theft. Pffft! Give up folks, if it’s a decent shot you should expect people to use it when you put it on the internet. I’m not saying that I want people to take and use my photography without my permission, I’m saying that it’s going to happen regardless of what I say or do. And if I can prove that some company is using my copyrighted photography then I just might take action against them to collect some compensation.

ITP Flickr Pic
Mind bender. I enjoy images that distort reality. It’s probably why I used to be a member of the Salvador Dali Museum in St Petersburg, Florida (and you know that I’ll be attending the “Dali’s Late Works” exhibit when it comes to Atlanta later this year).

“Hey, where’s the photo of those new Chucks?”
Still in the camera that took them.

The Last Gasp Of Gas
On my way home last night I stopped at the Kroger near Emory (and if you need ask why I choose that Kroger then you don’t know me very well). The goal was simple, get some meat and vegetables for meals this week and then out!

I picked up a pack of hamburger meat, and while I did forget to buy pickles I did manage to remember buns. The intention was to split the package of meat into four patties and cook one on the grill.

The propane tank felt like it had about one more burger in it, and I was almost correct. Because of a user error the can ran out with about a minute’s cooking time remaining. While it wasn’t my initial intent I “finished” the burger in the microwave so that I’d be able to eat my creation.

Guess who’s going to be hitting REI after doing some laundry tonight.

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – okay, but things aren’t as rosy as I’d like them to be
Current Music – silence as I attempt to knock out this blog post
Website Of The Day – Sepia Town is an interesting photography / Google Maps mashup where old photos are mapped to the place where they were taken. I hope that this project takes off so that other cities are included.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – nothing
Morning Weigh-In – didn’t check
Pages Of 1001 Paintings You Must See Before You Die Read – 52

Monthly
Foot Mileage – 0 miles, Wheel Mileage – 0 miles
Pushups – 0, Situps – 0
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) – 2 (11)
Vegetarian Days – 1, Carnivorous Days – 25
Marta Rides – 0

April Goals
- Not to get sick for the entire month
- Not get fired from my job
- Ride my bicycle no fewer than 100 miles
- Get the Sharpened Stone, LLC moving…

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.
- 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
- Complete my Taco Mac Passport requirement of 125 beers

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]

My new Chucks are on their maiden voyage today. Perhaps a photo tomorrow.

A Good Day To Be A Quitter
Yesterday’s Black Sheep Hash was intended to be tricky. Tricky it was. In fact, it was so tricky that by the time a handful of us found that we’d been circle-jerked back to the start we decided to read the directions to the end and drive to it.

It was a great day to be out, even if out was in some county way OTP. As we sat at the end of an abandoned cul de sac waiting for those who ran the entire trail to arrive we were treated to beer, the wafting of dead animal stench, and an incensed man who was obviously owed money from a guy named “Chris” who this man was certain that one of us would know. Why wouldn’t I want to pick up and move OTP?

ITP Flickr Pic
Because of Saturday’s amazingly terrible weather a trio of the FlickrRPS photogs headed to the High Museum to take in the “Lure of the Automobile” exhibit.

Surprisingly, “real” cameras are allowed. Unsurprisingly, I found it really difficult to get decent photos especially on a crowded Saturday morning.

RealiTV Update: The Amazingly Stretched Out Race — In Memory Of Pingping
It had been two weeks since the last The Amazing Race. Somehow it felt much longer, and almost a little difficult for me to get back “into” the race. A short recap reminding how much I disliked Team LezBe Friends snapped me back into shape.

Down to the Final Four:

• Team Brokeback
• Team Model Citizens
• Team Thing One, Thing Gay One
• Team Clouseau

with this week’s activity deciding which teams would be in the Grand Finale!

A leg of the race with two Road Blocks? Whoa, those Amazing Race creators are sneaky! Once again all teams were able to catch up because of a single flight. Let’s fly to China…

In China teams must deal with another language that none of them speak, and taxi drivers which may or may not know how to get them to where they need to go.

At the first road block Team Model Citizen arrived first to make some noodles in the presence of the (then) smallest man in the world Pingping. Team Brokeback arrived second and quickly came to the conclusion that noodlin’ wasn’t much different that ropin’ — no problem! While Team Clouseau arrived last they have a little Italian in them do noodlin’ wasn’t very hard for them either.

From the Noodle Block each team whisked their way to a human paperdoll dress up factory where, because there are so many people in China, they have no need for mannequins. Each team had to dress their little China doll up just like the sketch they had to use as a guide. You figure Team Model Citizens and Team Thing One, Thing Gay One would have no difficulty with fashion, but I guess cowboy attire never goes out of fashion and Team Brokeback was able to whip through the challenge.

And now for some chicanery, a second Road Block which must be performed by the slackass who sat out the first Road Block. Again one of the benefits of having Billions of citizens is the ease of finding nearly four hundred who will sit in a stadium on a blustery China day doing nothing more than watching four Americans attempt to assemble puzzles. What Fun! For a second I thought I was watching Survivor. I felt badly for Team Brokeback and Team Model Citizens as their puzzle pieces kept getting picked up blown across the stadium. I was a little nervous when Team Brokeback started undressing and using articles of clothing to hold puzzle pieces in place — only Jeebus knows what China’s obscenity laws are.

Once puzzle assembly and distribution were completed the teams found the mysterious “Metro” and bullet-trained their asses to a ginormous science, history, and General Tsu’s Chicken factory where they found Phil and four adorable China dolls dressed cute little outfits as if we were still in the 1960′s. All I could say was “Mao, oh Mao!”

Team Brokeback finished first, from which we found out that after the race the two brother have no plans to ever see each other again.

Team Model Citizens finished second and were mad that they once again didn’t finish first.

Team Thing One, Thing Gay one came in third.

Team Clouseau finished last and where summarily eliminated from the Race given a stay of execution. Oh for fuck’s sake, can we not continually stretch this season out? CBS, if you want to make this an eighteen-week show then just add a couple more teams already!

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – okay, but still majorly concerned about some things in my life
Current Music – listening to the “This Week in Tech” podcast
Website Of The Day – I never heard of Jailhouse Brewing. Hell, I never even heard of Hampton, GA before. btw – the beer I had on Saturday at Six Feet Under was pretty good, and I found that Jailhouse’s beer is also available around East Atlanta Village.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – nothing
Morning Weigh-In – didn’t check
Pages Of 1001 Paintings You Must See Before You Die Read – 52

Monthly
Foot Mileage – 0 miles, Wheel Mileage – 0 miles
Pushups – 0, Situps – 0
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) – 1 (11)
Vegetarian Days – 1, Carnivorous Days – 24
Marta Rides – 0

April Goals
- Not to get sick for the entire month
- Not get fired from my job
- Ride my bicycle no fewer than 100 miles
- Get the Sharpened Stone, LLC moving…

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.
- 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
- Complete my Taco Mac Passport requirement of 125 beers

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]

Next week marks the end of April (and the availability of the iPad 3G!) and I’ve yet to go a day without eating meat. It’s been some time since I’ve gone an entire month without a single vegetarian day. Perhaps I’ll challenge myself this weekend.

Simple, And Delicious
Last night I took four ingredients — andouille sausage, a can of black beans, a can of Rotel tomatoes, and some cumin, and turned it into an amazingly delicious meal. Had I any sour cream on hand I would have added a dollop and photographed my masterpiece.

I sliced the sausage into coins and while cooking them thoroughly in a 12″ cast iron skillet I put the beans, tomatoes, and cumin into a sauce pan and brought that mixture to a boil. By the time I had boiled away the canning liquid and was left with a thick mass of black beans and spicy tomatoes the sausage had cooked completely. I took a bowl and combined some of the sausage with the beans and ate (after allowing for sufficient cooling, of course).

Has Fuddruckers Become Failruckers?
Yesterday’s beautiful weather convinced me to get out of the office for lunch yesterday. My first thought was to head over to the new Five Guys Burgers, but after fearing that the place would be packed, I changed my mind. Having thoughts of burgers in my mind my next thought was to walk down to Fuddruckers since there would be little fear of it being crowded since it’s spacious. But then I remembered people in my office raving about the Cuban sandwiches from some place in the Perimeter Mall food court so I thought that I’d give that a try; the sandwich was pretty good.

Later yesterday afternoon a co-worker of mine asked me “Did you know that Fuddruckers closed?” She and a couple of other co-workers tried to eat at Fuddruckers yesterday only to find it closed. Apparently Fuddruckers’ parent company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy yesterday.

ITP Flickr Pic
I love shadow as much as I love light.

I Can’t Believe It’s Taken Me So Long
I’ve been an iPhone owner for about eighteen months. With the announcement of iPhone OS 4.0 last week I found out about the upcoming “Universal Inbox” feature.

Yesterday I found out that I’m able to retrieve email for multiple accounts at the same time on my iPhone. I had no idea that I could set it up to retrieve my email from Gmail and Yahoo, I thought that I had to choose between one or the other.

I Still Have The Will To Live, But None For When I Die
I’ll be forty-five years old this year, assuming I make it through July, but have never drawn up a Last Will and Testament. Given the amount of health-related issues I’ve suffered this year and the fact that I have no natural inheritors I’m considering drawing on up in order to cover my assets in case I meet my demise.

Do you have a WIll? If so, did you consult a lawyer to draw one up?

Shooting, And Coding, And Hashing, Oh My!
What you see in the section title is a good summary of my upcoming weekend. I plan to do some photography and some iPhone development coding this weekend. Sunday is a Black Sheep Hash hashing day, and I’ll be doing my darnedest to be there (if for no other reason than to pick up the sign-in sheets that I’m missing so that I can update the Black Sheep stats).

What have you up your sleeve for this weekend?

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – I am being bugged by pain big and small today; I guess a month without medical issues is just too much for me to request.
Current Music – listening to this week’s “MacCast” podcast
Website Of The Day – I am a fan of cartography. Amazing Maps is a blog highlighting amazing maps through history.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – nothing
Morning Weigh-In – checking returns in May
Pages Of 1001 Paintings You Must See Before You Die Read – 52

Monthly
Foot Mileage – 0 miles, Wheel Mileage – 0 miles
Pushups – 0, Situps – 0
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) – 4 (11*)
Vegetarian Days – 0, Carnivorous Days – 22
Marta Rides – 0

April Goals
- Not to get sick for the entire month
- Not get fired from my job
- Ride my bicycle no fewer than 100 miles
- Get the Sharpened Stone, LLC moving…

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.
- 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
- Complete my Taco Mac Passport requirement of 125 beers

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]

Most people complain that they do not get enough sleep. I’m complaining that I get too much. As I finally settled down at 9:30pm to read about iPhone development I quickly became so tired that I couldn’t make it past 10:00pm. Dangen!

Also included in last night’s sleep was a bizarre dream including a conversation containing a nattily-attired man and woman; I only wish I could remember the gist of the conversation.

My Plans Were Almost Upended
Yesterday I declared that “all” I was going to do was leave work, make a stop for gas and food, and head straight home. During the day I received an email from a friend who was in town for one day and having a happy-hour meetup at Brewhouse in Little Five Points.

I considered going to the happy-hour meetup, I really did. That consideration ended when I didn’t leave the office until about 6:00pm, still needing to make my two stops. With traffic moving at a snail’s pace I nixed the idea of getting food, stopping for gas out of necessity, and then heading home where I whipped up a grilled cheese sandwich, turned the Braves game on the radio, and did some computer maintenance. How exciting!

btw – Unleash your inner four-year old by making yourself a grilled cheese sandwich sometime soon. You’ve probably forgotten how much you love them.

fwiw – I’m taking another shot at a “night at home” tonight.

ITP Flickr Pic
Nashville has become a “hockey town.”

This statue in Riverside park has been updated to include a semi-permanent visor and hockey stick.

I Think I’m Breaking Away From Twitter Social Media
A while ago I stopped updating and checking Facebook.

Last week I started ignoring Twitter because I realize that it was taking up too much of my time, had become a platform for people to brag about things they are doing (or more like will be doing), had become a platform on which I whined constantly (and that’s the purpose of this blog!), and will soon be another platform which will be inundated with advertisement.

So far, so good. We’ll see how long I go.

What Would You Like To See In An Electronic Photography Book?
If I ever get my iPhone/iPad chops in order I’m considering making an application which shows photos — think “coffee table book using a different delivery method.” I realize that many people have no interest in purchasing photography books, but there is a niche market that I’d like to try and satisfy.

If you find yourself in that niche, what features would thrill you to the point of buying an eBook of photography?

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – okay I guess
Current Music – listening to the “Net@Night” podcast
Website Of The Day – Salt & Fat, what could be a better combination? Actually, it is a really interesting food/cooking blog.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – nothing
Morning Weigh-In – checking again starting May 1
Pages Of 1001 Paintings You Must See Before You Die Read – 52

Monthly
Foot Mileage – 0 miles, Wheel Mileage – 0 miles
Pushups – 0, Situps – 0
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) – 3 (11*)
Vegetarian Days – 0, Carnivorous Days – 21
Marta Rides – 0

April Goals
- Not to get sick for the entire month
- Not get fired from my job
- Ride my bicycle no fewer than 100 miles
- Get the Sharpened Stone, LLC moving…

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.
- 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
- Complete my Taco Mac Passport requirement of 125 beers

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]

Apple has announced that iPad 3G models will be available in stores on Friday, April 30th. I’m still eying the 64GB model (even with its whopping $829 price tag and not being able to get an employee discount like I can for other Apple hardware). I’ve held off playing with the WiFi-only version because I didn’t want the lure of purchasing it with the 3G so near its release. I. Can’t. Wait.

I’m Still Such A N00b
I returned to the Atlanta iPhone Developers Meetup last night. As I felt the first time, I felt like I was bringing a water pistol to war when comparing my skills to those around me. I know it’s only a matter of time and commitment before I can speak the speak and write iPhone applications in my sleep, but I’m starting to get a little frustrated and concerned at that slow pace of my improvement.

I’ve recently learned that the application that I’ve had in mine has been done, more than once no doubt, but I’m not going to let that stop me from developing it completely in order to learn the whole iPhone development process.

And ladies, if you ever wanted an opportunity to pick up a nerdy dude this is the place to go.

ITP Flickr Pic
When pigs fly…

This is part of the sign for Jack’s BBQ in Nashville. The sign pleases me as much as the food.

Adding Another Day Of “Vacation” To My Schedule
A while back I mentioned that I was going to schedule a block of days at the end of May, beginning of June to dedicate to iPhone/iPad development. That’s still in the works, but yesterday I tacked on the Friday before to that block of days. On Friday, May 28th, I’ll be attending Scott Kelby’s “Photoshop for Digital Photographers” workshop. Sure, I know that I’ll be getting a bit of a sales pitch for Adobe’s Photoshop CS5 (but I have no intention of upgrading) because Kelby will be showing us how great it is and how it makes photographic editing “that much easier” but I think the day-long editing session just might help me clear the Photoshop hurdle which has thwarted me for so long. And besides, what better way of starting a cathartic block of iPhone/iPad development days than with a Photoshop appetizer?

Hell, if all I learn to do is use my Wacom tablet inside of Photoshop then the workshop will be worth it.

A Night At Home
It feels like forever since I went home directly from work and spent the night there. In reality it’s only been about a week.

Tonight I’ll be pointing the Jackmobile in the direction of East Atlanta and only making a couple of quick stops for petrol and food before locking the door behind me and completing some overdue chores. Sure, it’s boring and doesn’t make for great blogging fodder, but what the hell..

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – meh
Current Music – silence at the moment but I have this week’s “MacBreak Weekly” podcast to listen to once I am done.
Website Of The Day – I once again paid to park last night ($6). I wonder if Where To Find Parking has an iPhone app.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – nothing
Morning Weigh-In – checking returns in May
Pages Of 1001 Paintings You Must See Before You Die Read – 52

Monthly
Foot Mileage – 0 miles, Wheel Mileage – 0 miles
Pushups – 0, Situps – 0
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) – 2 (11*)
Vegetarian Days – 0, Carnivorous Days – 20
Marta Rides – 0

April Goals
- Not to get sick for the entire month
- Not get fired from my job
- Ride my bicycle no fewer than 100 miles
- Get the Sharpened Stone, LLC moving…

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.
- 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
- Complete my Taco Mac Passport requirement of 125 beers

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]

Here’s what Wikipedia has to say about dry counties:

Georgia
Georgia prohibits the sale of alcohol on Sundays at retail locations, and has limits on the sale of alcohol at bars/restaurants.

• Brooks County prohibits the sale of alcohol except beer and wine, with no sales on Sunday. The city of Quitman, within Brooks County, has allowed the sale of alcohol other than beer and wine in restaurants only since 2005. The new law was passed by Quitman voters despite fierce opposition from local religious and community leaders.
• Bulloch County was previously a partially dry county, but a referendum in 1998 removed the ban on alcoholic beverages.
• Coweta County is a partially dry county.
• Dawson County, was historically noted for being a heavy Moonshine county but was a dry county until recently with the first package store opening on July 27, 2007.
• Effingham County, near Savannah, Georgia, is a partially dry county. Sale of liquor is prohibited, but the sale of beer and wine is allowed.
• Fannin County is a partially dry county, allowing for the sale of beer in restaurants only.
• Franklin County is a dry county, though several towns within the county are not.
• Murray County, in northwest Georgia, is a dry county, although the city of Eton allows the sale of liquor at a local level.
• Hart County in northeast Georgia is currently a dry county which prohibits the sale of liquor, yet a referendum was voted on in the general election on November 6, 2007 to allow the sale of liquor by the drink.
• Union County is a dry county.
• Upson County is a dry county.
• White County, in northeast Georgia, is a dry county except in the city limits of Helen, Georgia and beer and wine outside of the city limits of Cleveland, Georgia (effective January 1, 2009). In Helen alcohol can be served and sold, and is known to be a DUI trap, as there is only a single route into and out of town, along Georgia State Route 75.

This is also a list of counties to which I shall never move.

Stymied!
It wasn’t just my photo which received little recognition at last night’s Roswell Photographic Society, everyone in our little Flickr contingency got snubbed by last night’s critic.

Oh well, opinions are like assholes. I’ll try again next month.

ITP Flickr Pic
Staying in a hotel is a lot like buying concert tickets from Ticketmaster.

There are taxes and fees for everything! This bill shows a “Hotel Services Fee” of $0.99 for each night I stayed. What the fuck is that? These fees are how my room, which was advertised as “$63 a night,” wound up costing me $75 a night.

A Lesson Re-Learned
I’ve coined a new phrase for my photography — “If you see it, shoot it.” I suppose that this phrase could relate to many things in life, but I’ll stick to its photographic relevance here.

If you think a few months back I mentioned a site that I’d like to shoot but I was afraid that I might get arrested doing so. Well now I can confess that this location was the now-closed Startime Entertainment mini golf course in Roswell, Georgia. I can identify the location now not because I finally got the shots I desired, but rather when I went to check on it yesterday it was halfway through being demolished and paved over. Dangen!

So, I say to those who shoot, “If you see it, shoot it.” because you may not have control over how long of an opportunity you’ll have to do so.

(fyi – this also is relevant to those with children and loved ones.)

I Was About To Gerst
When up in Nashville I drove past a German restaurant called The Gert Haus. Being half German I have a soft spot in my heart for Germany’s artery-clogging cuisine. Unfortunately, I didn’t think to eat there on Saturday night, and I had no hunger as I drove out of town on Sunday.

When I ordered a beer at the bar/restaurant at which I ate on Saturday night the name must have been subliminally wedged into my conscience as I ordered a Gerst, which according to the menu was brewed in Pennsylvania. It turns out that the Gerst Brewery was a long-time brewery in Nashville (until 1953) and today their formula has been sold to the Pittsburgh Brewing Company.

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – fair, being bothered by some stuff
Current Music – silence as I try to knock this post out as quickly as possible
Website Of The Day – allmusic is a really decent blog for, well, all things music. If music isn’t your gig you can also check out their blogs for gaming allgame and movies (allmovie).
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – nothing
Morning Weigh-In – didn’t check
Pages Of 1001 Paintings You Must See Before You Die Read – 52

Monthly
Foot Mileage – 0 miles, Wheel Mileage – 0 miles
Pushups – 0, Situps – 0
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) – 1 (11*)
Vegetarian Days – 0, Carnivorous Days – 19
Marta Rides – 0

April Goals
- Not to get sick for the entire month
- Not get fired from my job
- Ride my bicycle no fewer than 100 miles
- Get the Sharpened Stone, LLC moving…

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.
- 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
- Complete my Taco Mac Passport requirement of 125 beers

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 had an interesting weekend in Nashville, Tennessee.

I Paid More For Parking This Weekend Then I Care To Admit
I spent a grand total of $30 dollars to park my car this weekend.

Friday : free parking (street parking for dinner near Vanderbilt)
Saturday : first lot – $5
Saturday : second lot – $13
Sunday : $12

I am not a fan of paying for parking, but given the situations I found myself in this weekend I needed to do so. There was a chance that I could have parked on the streets of downtown Nashville for free on Sunday, but I figured the $12 would be far less than and parking ticket or towing charge that I would have to pay if I was wrong.

Getting Into My Places Of Choice Was Nearly Impossible
I’ve been to Nashville a handful of times now. By doing so I’ve gathered a number of establishments that I like to frequent when I’m there. In addition to my haunts I thought about trying some new places this time around.

On Friday night I returned to McDougal’s Chicken for some chicken fingers. I’d been directed there before and liked food and laid back attitude, and I wanted to spend time near Vanderbilt University since I figured to be hanging out in downtown on Saturday night. After dinner I located a package store and headed back to my hotel since I knew that Saturday was going to be an early, and long day.

My difficulties began on Saturday. While sitting in the workshop a huge hunger set in and used my iPhone to reference Yelp to find a nearby restaurant. I settled on Varallos Chili Parlor And Restaurant, which had great ratings. I marched up to Varallos, only to find it closed on the weekend. Dangen! My next choice The Chile Burrito Co. was also closed on the weekend. At that point I figured that I’d go to one of my old standards, Jack’s BBQ only to find a huge line winding out the door. Dangen! So, I wound up across the street at a place called Rippy’s BBQ. The food at Rippy’s was good, but not quite what my palate desired. After the workshop on Saturday I decided to grab a beer before heading anywhere to eat dinner. One of my favorite, tucked-away Nashville bars is called the Beer Sellar, which is located under Nashville’s Hooters. As I passed Hooters I noticed it was closed for renovations . Wouldn’t you know that the Beer Sellar, which is located under Hooters, would also be closed for renovations? Dangen! I then headed over to the Blue Grass in where, I was informed the beer cooler was not functioning properly — so I wound up paying $4.50 for a Yuengling.

Folks, Yuengling is not a import. Yuengling is not a craft beer. Yuengling should be priced accordingly, along with PBRs and Miller High Lifes of the world.

On Sunday my attempt to find parking started the day off incorrectly. Around and around I drove looking for a garage that was open to the public early Sunday morning. As the morning continued it was clear that my early-morning breakfast was not going to hold me over until the schedule 12:30pm lunch break (which, due to technical difficulties didn’t happen until 1:00pm). I figured that my best chance at a quick lunch would be at the San Antonio Taco Co. which was a block away from the Marriott Courtyard at which the workshop was held; of course as I strolled down the block I found that it was closed on Sundays. Dangen!

ITP Flickr Pic
This was a happy accident.

I took this photo (accidentally) as I was attempting to take a self-portrait while walking up Broadway in Nashville, TN. That’s my arm in the lower right-hand corner.

The Workshop Was Great
I’ve heard Craig Tanner speak before. Tanner’s path to becoming a photographer is quite interesting so I knew that taking a workshop led by him would be beneficial to me. I was not disappointed. Throughout the weekend Tanner, his workshop co-instructor Marti Jeffers, and guest presented Bryan Allen provided us with good, inspirational information and stories about photography.

I’ve come to the conclusion that I need to do (at least) two things:

1. Shoot a lot more
2. Find workshops that are not for novices

That last point is huge for me. I came to the realization that I sort of “understand” photography and need to be pushed beyond the “Here is how you obtain proper exposure,” “Here is the gear I use” workshops. This is not to say that I’ll never be open to learning more about the technical aspects and techniques of photography, but I don’t feel the need to have any introductory information as a part of a workshop I pay to attend.

As an added bonus for the weekend we got to submit a photo to be critiqued by Tanner. He really liked the photo I submitted,

even saying “Normally I don’t like photos of statues, but I really like this photo.”

Goodbye Ruby Tuesday
I decided to give myself a break last night. I knew that the workshop would end some time around 5:30pm CDT (so really 6:30pm in my targeted time zone), and that driving back to my house would take somewhere around five hours. So, I made an executive decision to take a hotel room in Ringgold, Georgia which is about halfway between Nashville and Atlanta.

Rolling into Ringgold around 9:00pm EDT I figured that all of the non-chain restaurants would be closed, so I figured that I’d break down and get some thing “fast.” I noticed that there was a Ruby Tuesday next to my hotel and thought that a beer with a burger would be delicious. As I entered I notice a bar with beer taps, though when I ordered a Sam Adams the waitress said “I’m sorry, I can’t sell you a beer tonight — this is a dry county.”

WTF?!?!

It’s bad enough we can’t buy alcohol in stores on Sunday, but there are still places in this crappy-ass state that are not completely dry and that can’t sell beer on Sundays in restaurants?

WTF?!?!

Living in the Bible Belt wears me out sometimes.

Wanna Guess What Photo I Submitted For Tonight’s RPS Critique?
I had an interesting opportunity this weekend — submit the same photo to two different critiques. Tonight I’ll get to hear what the critic at Roswell Photographic Society says about my statue photo. Let it be known that I submitted that shot for RPS critique before hearing what Tanner said about it.

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – not bad, though I’m working through some issues
Current Music – listening to this week’s “Car Talk” podcast
Website Of The Day – Huh, I’ve never picked Yelp as a Website Of The Day. Now I have.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – nothing
Morning Weigh-In – couldn’t check
Pages Of 1001 Paintings You Must See Before You Die Read – 52

Monthly
Foot Mileage – 0 miles, Wheel Mileage – 0 miles
Pushups – 0, Situps – 0
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) – 11* (11*)
Vegetarian Days – 0, Carnivorous Days – 18
Marta Rides – 0
* – held in place because I’ve stayed at hotels

April Goals
- Not to get sick for the entire month
- Not get fired from my job
- Ride my bicycle no fewer than 100 miles
- Get the Sharpened Stone, LLC moving…

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.
- 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
- Complete my Taco Mac Passport requirement of 125 beers

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]