Oh, I Have A Blog To Write?

For the time being I am working at home today. I’m waiting on Seth from htmla (aw fuck, it looks like the latest version of TextExpander is not working in Firefox), Seth Grad Home Improvement to pressure wash my deck. The weather, though it’s supposed to be balls-hot for a couple of days, is cooperating well enough to have the deck pressure washed and stained (two coats) over the next few days.

I Must Be Broke, Because I’m Out Of Checks
My mother swears that many years ago she knew a woman who was convinced that as long as she had checks remaining that she had money in the bank.

I am down to my last check. I don’t know how I let this happen. Even worse, I have two checks to write in the near future.

Hmmm, I found some checks from the now-defunct NetBank. Anyone want to cash one of those? 😉

In the past I used to be on top of these sort of things. I guess that I write about one check a month on average these days so the lack of checks didn’t seem like an imposing crisis.

Of course I was ticked to find out that I am unable to order checks online from my current bank because I “hadn’t ordered checks online in the past two years.” WTF? What does one thing have to do with the other?

Somebody Remind VW That The Game Is Called “Slug BUG” (Or “Punch Bug” As Others Have Suggested)
I guess it was during the Super Bowl when I first saw the new Volkswagen commercial where the people punch each other when VWs pass by. If you are like me, and bless you if you are, then you are bothered that these people are playing the “Slug Bug”/”Punch Bug” game when the car is not a VW Beetle. Perhaps I’m bothered when corporations use our childhood games for their commercials, but more likely I’m bothered that they are not following the rules of the game.

ITP Flickr Pic
Since I’m changing venues today I’ve decided to give you all a break from free-standing hearths as well.

This is a closeup of a bust in the High Museum. fwiw- I love this photo.

Numbers Is Not Ready For Prime Time
I hate to say it, but I currently feel as if I’ve been duped out of $9.99 by Apple for the Numbers spreadsheet app for iPad. I’ve been trying to construct a decent spreadsheet to track my photo printing, matting, and framing costs as well as any income derived from their sales.

I’ve crashed Numbers on more than one occasion. (btw – I hate the word “occasion” because I never spell it correctly the first time.)

I’ve tried desperately to set up column formatting so that currency and dates are recorded the way I want them to be. I set up the formatting for a column, but then when I enter a value into a new cell the formatting is ignored.

The final straw came last night as I tried to add column headers to some new tables that I’ve added to the spreadsheet. I’d type a column header and it’d disappear. I’d retype the header, accept the entry, and it’d disappear. I’d retype the header, accept the entry, and it’s disappear.

Three strikes. You’re OUT!

To pile on the insult I tried to upload the spreadsheet I created to iWork.com (the mechanism Apple provides for file sharing) and I cannot figure out how one logs onto the service! I’ve tried with each of my two Apple accounts (personal and business) and neither work.

I guess today I’ll figure out how to use Google Docs on my iPad.

It’s Cinco de Mayo, Who’s Going To Be Drinking At An Irish Pub Today?
Perhaps me, depending on how long Seth is here today.

It’s all part of a tradition, which I stole from my friend Sandy, that I am trying to resurrect. The tradition is simple really, just follow these two simple rules

1. On St. Patrick’s Day drink at a Mexican bar
2. On Cinco de Mayo drink at an Irish pub

Sure, you’ll be missing the crowds of beautiful people who are out celebrating the “holiday,” but you’ll also get a lot better service wherever you wind up.

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – now frustrated that TextExpander is not working for me (and that I’m feeling fat)
Current Music – listening to the “MacBreak Weekly” podcast
Website Of The Day – You’ve bought a fancy-pants iPad and now want to protect it with a case? Check out iPad Case Finder to see the options available to you.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – nothing
Morning Weigh-In – 200 pounds
Pages Of 1001 Paintings You Must See Before You Die Read – 67

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

May 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 further

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
РEarn at least $150 through photography sales in order to cover the cost for the renewal of the Jalape̱o 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 Objective-C
– Do not create a solution for something which is not a problem

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]