Inside The Perimeter

I spent whatever “free” time I had this weekend watching tutorial videos from Lynda.com. In fact, I spent so much time watching videos that I forgot to do my Spring maintenance for my bicycle (though I’m happy to say that I did find the time to mow my lawns).

Playing With My Food
It’s a darn good thing that I don’t make my bread by selling bread. On Sunday morning I decided that I was going to bake a loaf of bread using my bread maker, and the new jar of Fleischmann’s Active Dry Yeast (which is different from their Yeast for Bread Machines). I also decided to change things up a bit using powdered buttermilk, instead of the powdered milk I’ve been using in the past. Although the bread it produced was far from pretty and had an interesting crispy ring, it was quite tasty.

Later in the day I decided to experiment with my dinner plans. Last week I purchased a cheap cut of beef, and on Saturday I picked up some carrots, red potatoes, and some rib rub. I dumped them all into my crockpot and heated it (mostly) on low for six hours. Much like the bread the resultant didn’t look all that pretty, but damn it tasted good.

ITP Flickr Pic
Hey, what happened to my photo?

IT SOLD!

On Saturday afternoon I headed over to Castleberry Hill to pick up my artwork from The Granite Room. While there I ran into Owen, who had spotted the Jackmobile parked outside and came in to say hello — cool.

When I walked into The Granite Room I was floored to see an empty space where once was occupied by my photo. W00t! Unfortunately I didn’t sell any of the matted prints, but the sale of the framed print covered my exhibit cost and provided Sharpened Stone, LLC with its first income.

I Doubt I’ll Be As Fortunate Tonight
Tonight is critique night at Roswell Photographic Society. Tonight’s theme is “People” and unfortunately I was unable to produce anything new to exhibit. Even worse, the photo I had intended to submit fell just outside the allowable date range, so since I’m a rule-follower I had to go with “Plan C.” “Plan C” is a good shot, but there’s nothing really artistic about it, so I’m not expecting to receive much love.

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – okay, though I wish I had submitted a better shot for tonight
Current Music – listening to the second episode of this season’s “Top Chef Masters.”
Website Of The Day – I’m not going to say that I’m going to “get behind” Pints for Prostates, but I will say that it seems like a worthwhile organization.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – nothing
Morning Weigh-In – 202 pounds
Pages Of 1001 Paintings You Must See Before You Die Read – 77

Monthly
Foot Mileage – ~4 miles, Wheel Mileage – 0 miles
Pushups – 0, Situps – 0
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) – 17 (17)
Vegetarian Days – 0, Carnivorous Days – 16
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
- 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 Objective-C
- Do not create a solution for something which is not a problem

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

I’m afraid that I must declare war on something I love, because like most of the other things I love, it does not love me back. I am declaring war on food. As I sit here today, somewhere in the neighborhood of 202 pounds, I feel displeased with my body’s figure and composition. If Mother Nature will cooperate I’ll be knocking the dust and cobwebs of the Red Rocket and going for a bike ride sometime this weekend.

I’m really sorry that it had to come to this food. If only you could have convinced my body to burn you more easily so that my pants would fit comfortably…

A Man Walks Into An IKEA
IKEA is a strange place for me. Every time I go to IKEA I have an urge to sell my house and move into a really cool, and much smaller, space. The idea of starting fresh, an idea that dwindles with each passing year, excites me. Perhaps it’s because I’ve come to grips knowing that I’ll most likely be living the rest of my life alone. Or perhaps it’s because I really would like to have all new (and properly functioning) things.

While in IKEA I browsed their picture frames, and failed in my quest to buy another couple of posable mannequins for my collection — I just didn’t see them in the store this time.

Houses Aren’t Built For Maintenance
While strolling the aisles of IKEA it hit me — “Houses are never built for maintenance.”

Think about it, our plumbing and wiring are embedded into walls, or in impossibly-accessible areas like attics or underground. Want to replace something? Be prepared to rip apart your house.

In the amazingly unlikely event that I shall ever build a house (or purchase something cool like a real loft, a Tumbleweed House, or Dwelling Shed) I’m going to make sure that all of the inner-workings are accessible.

I know, I’m weird.

ITP Flickr Pic
Nothing today. Sorry. I’ve not been shooting (duh), nor have I had much time to find anything interesting. Hell, I still have yet to take a shot for Monday night’s Roswell Photographic Society critique (the subject is “people”).

Love Their Food. Hate Their Hood
Last night I met up with ITP-Readers Betsy, Terri and Pat at Pizzeria Vesuvius in “Old Forth Ward.” Pizzeria Vesuvius is in the space once occupied by The Bureau (a restaurant that shall forever be remembered for the night I “dropped the ball” — but that’s neither here nor there at the moment), on Edgewood Drive, a stone’s throw east of The Connector.

To call that stretch of Edgewood as “sketchy” is being polite. I circled the restaurant a good four times looking for a parking space which was not metered (Atlanta has hired a private meter-maid service which is doling out tickets like candy), and not along a side street or in front of a building outside which some of the locals were inhabiting. After parking once I lucked into a spot across the street from the restaurant. At this time I’ll admit that were I not meeting people for dinner, I would have given up on my quest to eat at Pizzeria Vesuvius.

I’m glad that I didn’t give up, however. The group shared two pizzas and some “bread stick things” and all of what I ate was delicious. I was clever enough to apply a $15 Scoutmob coupon toward the bill as well, making the night even better.

After dinner the gang of us made a rather questionably decision to walk up Edgewood from Pizzeria Vesuvius to The Corner Tavern. I like to think that I am a hardened “in-towner” but have to admit that the four/five block walk felt like a really bad idea. Luckily, nothing bad happened.

Perhaps You Could See My Art In Person Instead
Tonight is the last night my piece will be hanging (and for sale) at The Granite Room in Castleberry Hill. Again I’ll mention that The Granite Room is one of the galleries that will be open for the Castleberry Hill Art Stroll.

There will be free wine tonight, if that helps you make up your mind.

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – fat and disgusted with myself
Current Music – silence as I type this
Website Of The Day – I know, blog entries with no photo suck. At least I’m not cheating by heading to Morgue FIle, grabbing a stock image, and pretending that it’s mine.
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 – 77

Monthly
Foot Mileage – ~4 miles, Wheel Mileage – 0 miles
Pushups – 0, Situps – 0
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) – 14 (14)
Vegetarian Days – 0, Carnivorous Days – 13
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
- 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 Objective-C
- Do not create a solution for something which is not a problem

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

I may have one of the world’s slowest metabolisms. I ate a large lunch yesterday (two Banh Mi sandwiches from some place in 99 Ranch) whose name I never remember and never got hungry again yesterday. Post lunch all I consumed were two coffee-bean-sized pieces of chocolate, a beer, and about six Ritz crackers (near 10:30pm). I’m not even hungry now as I consume my one cup of cereal.

I’ll be eating a small lunch today so that I might be hungry when I eat dinner with ITP-Reader Betsy, and perhaps ITP-Reader Tony, tonight.

Two Home Depots, One Man
After work yesterday I ventured over to the Home Depot near work. The plan was to buy a replacement mower blade and air filter for my machine so that I could start doing a little better job of keeping my lawn tidy. I was more than dismayed to realize that this Home Depot had neither of the two components that I needed. I exited quickly and decided to try my luck at the Home Depot on Sidney Marcus.

My luck at the Sidney Marcus Home Depot was exactly the opposite of that at the one near work. Not only was I able to get a replacement blade and air filter, I also purchased some wood putty (to repair holes made by fucking carpenter bees) and a new push broom (to replace the second one I’ve broken my eleven years of home ownership).

While walking through the second Home Depot I remembered the old location (I know, that was not the original location) which also used to have a Fuddruckers inside of it, and at one point was open 24/7. I miss those days.

ITP Flickr Pic
The second of the two shots I’ve published from last Saturday’s “Race for the Cure.” I took this because it encompassed the “Atlantic” engraving on the building.

I finally pulled the camera out of hibernation and hope to be adding to my photo collection soon.

Now That’s Just Mean, Amazon
Not one week after delivering Adobe Photoshop Elements 8 to me, for which I paid $74.99, Amazon sent me an email alerting me that today they are having a One-Day Sale on the software package for $54.99.

As we say in the hash “Fuck you, you fucking fuck!

A Few Updates
Without a bunch of new things about which to talk, why not provide a few updates from past topics.

• I still love my iPad, that’s probably no shocker. So far the apps that I am finding indispensable are “Good Reader,” “Dropbox,” “Kindle,” “Lynda.com” (though I wish they’d produce an iPad app), and believe it or not “Numbers” (though I admittedly am frustrated by it).
• Thanks to Randal Schwartz for updating this space about the “FLOSS Weekly” podcast feed. I read on his Twitter feed (@merlyn) he also announced that the show will be changing its name to “Open Source Weekly.”
• I’m finding it hard to use LastPass. The interface is not as slick as 1Password and it seems to require as least one more click in order to get the information I need.
• I’m having similar struggles unlearning Firefox routines and replacing them with Chrome though I see myself working harder to stay with Chrome than I will with LastPass. And for some reason I can’t get the Web Clipper extension for Chrome to recognize my login information.

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – meh, frustrated at my lack of improvement
Current Music – listening to the first “Top Chef Masters” (huh, they’ve changed the format a bit)
Website Of The Day – Umbrella Today?. I concept so simple that I wish that I had thought of it.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – nothing
Morning Weigh-In – 201 pounds
Pages Of 1001 Paintings You Must See Before You Die Read – 77

Monthly
Foot Mileage – ~4 miles, Wheel Mileage – 0 miles
Pushups – 0, Situps – 0
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) – 13 (13)
Vegetarian Days – 0, Carnivorous Days – 12
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
- 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 Objective-C
- Do not create a solution for something which is not a problem

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

D’Oh! Yesterday while doing some work on a settop box at work I realized that I had recorded five new episodes of Top Chef Masters. Having set up the record timer at work, but forgetting to do so at home meant that I completely forgot that a new season had started (over a month ago!). Unfortunately, no one reminded me either. So now, I have five episodes to catch up on before I can watch tonight’s new episode. This will fill the void left by the conclusion of The Amazing Race.

I Was The Model Of Efficiency
Last night after leaving work I did laundry, ate a Banh Mi sandwich at Lee’s Bakery, wrote part of a song that will never get produced, and filled up the Jackmobile with gas at QT — all in less than a two-hour span. Considering that drying my clothes takes about 50 minutes alone this is pretty impressive to me.

I was stunned when I arrived at home last night to find the house at a chilly 69º F. At first I thought that I had stupidly set the thermostat that low and the air conditioning had run all day. But then I realized that I had not, that it was the combination of cool weather and decent insulation that kept the house that cool all day. Nice!

After settling in by listening to some of the Braves game on the radio as I took care of some paperwork, I headed to bed and crashed relatively early while trying to watch iPhone development videos from Lynda.

Ah the glamorous life of a bachelor….

ITP Flickr Pic
I had to dig into the recent archives for today’s shot. I haven’t been shooting, not that the weather has been all that conducive to outdoor photography.

I’ve been tied up with other matters, and battling a little creative slump as well.

I Thought I Had Lost My FLOSS
For the past two years I’ve been listening to a podcast about Open Source software called “FLOSS Weekly.” Every week FLOSS Weekly would download via Leo Laporte’s podcast feed.

Sometime last weekend I realized that it had been a week or two since I’d seen a new FLOSS Weekly and thought that it had gone the (apparent) way of “The Sunshine Show.” Thankfully I was wrong.

Yesterday I found out that the FLOSS Weekly was no longer co-hosted by Leo Laporte so the podcast had been removed from his feed and separated into a feed of its own.

Apple Got Me Again
So I finally figured out how to transfer my Numbers spreadsheet from my iPad to my Mac. And when I went to open it on the Mac I was disappointed to be greeted with an error message telling me that spreadsheet was not compatible with my iWork ’08 install. DANGEN! So, today I’m expecting the arrival of iWork ’09 (Apple no longer brands the iWork suite with a year) so that my Numbers, Pages, and Keynote documents will be editable on the iPad as well as on my Mac.

Oh, and I decided to cough up the $9.99 for Keynote on the iPad as well.

I guess it’s a good thing that I’m still an Apple shareholder since purchasing Apple products is good for my bottom line as well. (I only wish that I had the chutzpah to have purchased a lot more Apple stock when it was below $100/share.)

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – if I weren’t fat I’d be much better
Current Music – silence this morning
Website Of The Day – Local Dirt is another website which tries to help us buy locally-produced food. I know that it cost more, but I really do think that it’s the right thing to do — and I don’t even own any stock in local farms…
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – nothing
Morning Weigh-In – 203 pounds
Pages Of 1001 Paintings You Must See Before You Die Read – 77

Monthly
Foot Mileage – ~4 miles, Wheel Mileage – 0 miles
Pushups – 0, Situps – 0
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) – 12 (12)
Vegetarian Days – 0, Carnivorous Days – 11
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
- 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 Objective-C
- Do not create a solution for something which is not a problem

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

I am whooped. Hello caffeine, let’s be friends today. Here’s some good news, today’s pollen count is currently 42. W00t!

Three Out Of Three Would Have Been Better
Last night I headed out to Smith’s Olde Bar, specifically to hear a band called Smalltown Mayors. I arrived early enough to have a beer and a wonderful “Fox Bros Cuban sandwich” in the smoky bar prior to heading upstairs for the show. The meal was more expensive than I had hoped, but luckily for me the show was much cheaper than the show, as last night was a “3 For $5″ night at Smith’s on which you get to hear three bands for only $5. Even though the night started a little after 8:00pm, I was only able hang for the first two bands.

When I got inside the (thankfully some-free) music room I grabbed a table next to an older man, who I later found out was one of the Smalltown Mayors’ fathers — had I noticed the “Smalltown Mayors” t-shirt under his suit jacket, I’d have figured it out sooner. I was pleased to hear him tell me that his son’s band was going to be first to play, as it meant that I wouldn’t have to be out until 11:30pm on a Monday night.

Smalltown Mayors put on a good, straight-up rock show which lasted about an hour. I’ll definitely make an effort to see them again sometime in the future.

I decided that since I had a decent table I’d give the second band a listen. The second band of the evening was called Michael C. Smith And The Neighborhood. MCS&TN were more countryesque in their sound, which provided a nice change of pace, especially since they played it rather well.

Because the first two acts had been so good I really wanted to hang for the third band of the night (whose name I never found out). But, since it was already past 10:00pm on a Monday night I knew that I had to be somewhat responsible and head home. Hell, getting up this morning was hard, even with my attempt at responsibility.

ITP Flickr Pic
I joked about this being the flowers I sent my mother for Mothers Day.

Instead, it was a lucky find while heading for dinner at Five Guys Burger And Fries last week.

The Hardest Part Of Using Them Is Remembering Them
I have four, count’em four, reusable shopping bags — two from Target, one from Publix, and one from when I went to see “Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me.” While I don’t especially like having to buy these in order to use them, I think that they are a good idea. I like to think that I’m clever, so I leave each of the bags in the trunk of my car so they’ll be available when needed. The only problem is that I only remember they are in the car when I’m inside the store with a handful of merchandise. DANGEN!

It happened again yesterday as I shopped in Target, except that I only remembered when the cashier asked the guy ahead of me if he wanted a certain item put into a bag.

I guess that I’ll have to improve my memory in order to save the Earth. Do you have a remedy for my malady?

The Glorious Life Of Laundry
Somehow it has been nearly two weeks since I’ve done laundry. As you might imagine I have a bushel to clean and fold tonight, and, I’m not exactly attired in my “Sunday best” today. Actually, if I waited much longer only my “Sunday best” would be clean and I’d be forced to wear it.

I thought about branching out and trying a new laundromat/dinner combination tonight, but I think with the amount of clothes to be laundered that I’ll be better off going to a place that’s familiar. Oh, and I won’t be disappointed by having to eat a Banh Mi tonight either.

Oh, and tonight will also be known as my first laundry night with an iPad. W00t!

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – meh, just not “feeling it” today
Current Music – Listening to Monday’s “The Story” podcast
Website Of The Day – A Not My Type t-shirt is the perfect gift for the typography nerd in your life.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – nothing
Morning Weigh-In – 203 pounds
Pages Of 1001 Paintings You Must See Before You Die Read – 77

Monthly
Foot Mileage – ~4 miles, Wheel Mileage – 0 miles
Pushups – 0, Situps – 0
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) – 11 (11)
Vegetarian Days – 0, Carnivorous Days – 10
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
- 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 Objective-C
- Do not create a solution for something which is not a problem

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

While I don’t believe in “jinxing” I think that I jinxed my secret plan. The secret plan was to drive to Montgomery, AL on Saturday afternoon, finally take in a Montgomery Biscuits ballgame, stay overnight at a hotel, and return on Sunday to run the Black Sheep Hash.

When I woke up Saturday morning I was tired and sore (and hadn’t worked out), made it out to take some rather unspectacular photos at the Race For The Cure, and then returned home where I decided that I just wasn’t up for another excursion and didn’t feel like dropping $150 in the process. At this time I doubt that I’ll ever make it to Montgomery for a Biscuits’ baseball game.

A Night At The Gallery
Friday night’s gallery exhibit was a success, even though I did not sell a single piece. Pity, as I did see people looking at my work in my bin. Perhaps I’ve priced my work too high, I’ll reconsider my pricing if nothing sells again this Friday night when the gallery is part of the Castleberry Hill Art Stroll.

All Decked Out
The deck is stained, and looks really nice.

All that’s left to do is return the bench to its proper corner, though having it in its current place is starting to grow on me. The bench is heavy as a sonnabitch, which is why I’ve not moved it back already. I figured that I’d destroy the stain job if I dragged the bench back to its original place.

If you need any work done at your place, you may want to get a quote from Seth Grad Home Improvement, LLC. (btw, I get nothing from endorsing his work, I was just pleased enough with the job that I want to do so.)

ITP Flickr Pic
On Saturday morning I made it out to the Susan G Komen “Race For The Cure 5k.” I thought that this was going to be a great people-shooting outing for me, but alas my inability to feel comfortable shooting strangers made the outing rather fruitless.

And WTF was with all of the dudes running the race? I understand that guys have friends and relatives who’ve suffered from breast cancer, but I really thought that this was a female-only race.

RealiTV Update: The Amazing Rage — First Class FTW
If you haven’t figured out that there are SPOILERS ENCLOSED, you haven’t been paying attention.

My title today refers to the seat position in a plane over the moral character of those who finished first.

For the longest time last night I thought we were being teased into believing that Team Thing One, Thing Gay One were going to land on the Pit Stop mat only to have their hearts broken when Phil levied a time penalty on them for flying first class. With Team Brokeback so close, this obviously would have given them the win. I was aghast when this didn’t happen.

It wasn’t until this morning that I scoured the internets for the reason that Team Thing One, Thing Gay One weren’t punished:

Teams are required to purchase economy class airfare when they fly, using the credit card provided by the show. Teams may ask the airlines to upgrade their tickets to first or business class as long as they only pay economy fare. Teams may be forbidden from flying on certain airlines or restricted to specific airlines in some cases.

Team Thing One, Thing Gay One were certainly within the rules to move up to first class, however I thought the whole “I put my backpack in front of you, therefore I’m ahead of you in line.” was a classless act; this shady move was the reason I was disappointed that they won.

I was not disappointed to see Team Model Citizens fall way behind and not be a factor in the outcome. The exchange between Brandy of Team LezBeFriends and Caite made me realy uncomfortable; I could feel the vile bitterness spewing from Brandy’s mouth right through my television! Imagine if Team Model Citizens had won it all…

It’s a pity that such a decent season had such childish behavior.

Trying To Take A Shine To Chrome
Today’s blog post is not being written via my iPad, instead it’s being on my MacBook using Google’s Chrome browser. I’ve been a big fan of Firefox since its initial release years ago. However, over the past few releases I’ve been less and less enamored, and like any technology magpie I’ve been distracted by the shiny new Chrome (sorry, that pun could not be avoided).

Also, I’m making inroads into shifting my password management from 1Password to LastPass. While I love the functionality of 1Password, I’m a little perturbed that I have to pay $15 for their iPhone/iPad application when I’ve already paid $40 for the Mac application. I’m a developer, so I know that making apps for the other platforms is not free, however it still bugs me. Instead I’ve chosen to pay $12/year to LastPass and use their functionality on the iPhone/iPad for free. Another reason for my switching is that 1Password doesn’t have an extension for Chrome because the browser is still in beta.

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – sore, more physically than mentally
Current Music – listening to the “This Week in Tech” podcast
Website Of The Day – I like science. However, I think that I might like Fake Science even more.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – nothing
Morning Weigh-In – 203 pounds (somebody needs to restart his diet)
Pages Of 1001 Paintings You Must See Before You Die Read – 77 (somebody needs to restart his reading routine)

Monthly
Foot Mileage – ~4 miles, Wheel Mileage – 0 miles
Pushups – 0, Situps – 0
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) – 10 (10)
Vegetarian Days – 0, Carnivorous Days – 9
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
- 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 Objective-C
- Do not create a solution for something which is not a problem

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

I have huge plans for this weekend, not meet nor propose to the woman of my dreams huge, but huge in my current life’s state way. I hesitate, and probably won’t disclose them all here today as to not jinx myself…

I can say that I’m starting the weekend off by taking the day off from work. W00t! For the third, and final, day Seth is coming over to work on my deck. Today’s work is the second, and final, coat of stain. I must say that it looks great and that I am happy with the job. If the stain lasts as long as it should, and I can figure out a way to rid myself of the carpenter bees who continually drill 3/8″ holes into the wood leaving little piles of sawdust in their wake, I’ll be completely pleased.

Farm Burger — Sloppy, But Delicious
I met up with some friends last night at Farm Burger at 8:30pm for dinner. I normally don’t wait that late to eat, but knowing that Farm Burger is new and popular we knew the place would be packed at an earlier time. We were right. In fact, the place was rather crowded at 8:30pm and it took us about ten or so minutes to make it through the line to order at the counter.

(as a side note, last night’s random hasher sighting was “Dead Root”)

Farm Burger is a “build your own burger” place; you start with a basic ($6) grass-fed beef burger and then add toppings, some of which are free, and some of which are available at a nominal charge, to make the burger your own. Sides of fries and onion rings are available for purchase as well. For the vegetarians out there Farm Burger sells a veggie burger. Oh, they also serve alcohol.

Unlike many burger joints Farm Burger “gets” how to cook meat. At the counter the guy taking my order warned me that all burgers are cooked “medium” unless you specify to have them cook it to “well done.” I was a bit skeptical as I’ve been to many places which have asked my how I want my burger cooked, and regardless of my request have received a well-done burger. Not at Farm Burger! I ordered, and happily (and sloppily) consumed, a burger that was cooked to medium.

If you go, be prepared to wait in line to order, to hope that by the time you are through the line a table in the somewhat small establishment is available, and be ready to take in the plethora of pretty people who are eating at Decatur’s newest restaurant.

I shall return.

It’s An Art Stroll After All
Tonight I have a photo hanging in the in the Granite Room in Castleberry Hill as part of the Atlanta Photography Exhibit’s “Southern Fried Photographers” exhibit.

“How do I get there?” you ask? Good question, here’s a map to 211 Peters Street, Atlanta, GA, 30313:

View Larger Map

The exhibit will actually occur on May 7th and 15th (the second week it’ll be part of the Castleberry Hill Art Stroll), so if you’re itching come buy some awesome photography (others have some good photos too), please come by.

Tomorrow Morning Is All About The Breasts
Tomorrow morning I’ll be hanging around Atlantic Station taking photos of the women running the annual “Race For The Cure” women’s 5k. I’ll be using the opportunity to attempt to get a “People” photograph which I can submit for this month’s Roswell Photographic Society critique.

ITP Flickr Pic
Here is a selection of the photos that I’ll have matted for sale at the photography exhibit.

Honestly, I don’t expect to sell anything, but if I do it’ll be exciting and the money will be put toward the continuation of my photography habit.

Aye, Yi, Yii, Yiii
On Sunday I’ll be attending the Black Sheep Hash‘s ninth annual “Stinko de Mayo” hash.

According to the weather nerds this heat is supposed to break tonight and the weekend’s weather is going to be beautiful. I’m looking forward to what should be a challenging, yet enjoyable hash in some place known as “Austell.”

Making More Investments In Myself
With my day off from work I think I’m going to sign up for one month’s worth of online training from Lynda.com. For my $25 I’m going to try and take in as many iPhone and Photoshop tutorials as I can over the next month. Hell, if I think that I am getting value for my subscription I may even keep paying into the future.

Has anyone out there used Lynda.com before?

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – fair
Current Music – listening to this week’s “Breakfast Club” podcast from CBC Radio 3
Website Of The Day – “The Race For The Cure” is put on annually by Susan G. Komen Foundation (Atlanta).
Mode Of Transportation To Work – not going in today
Exercise (b)Log – nothing
Morning Weigh-In – 200 pounds
Pages Of 1001 Paintings You Must See Before You Die Read – 77

Monthly
Foot Mileage – 0 miles, Wheel Mileage – 0 miles
Pushups – 0, Situps – 0
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) – 7 (7)
Vegetarian Days – 0, Carnivorous Days – 6
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
- 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 Objective-C
- Do not create a solution for something which is not a problem

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

Welcome to the future, friends. I am writing today’s post using my iPad. I assume this will be difficult and won’t contain many links because I know that my TextExpander snippets don’t work on the iPad (yet). What can I say, I’m a glutton for punishment.

Hmmm, I just recalled that WordPress has some buttons to help with the formatting, perhaps I’ll lean on those for help today.

A Strange Cinco
Last night i battled some horrendous traffic to get to my first drinking destination. It took me at least forty minutes to travel from my office near Perimeter Mall to Charlie Mopps on Roswell Rd near 285.

Charlie Mopps, once the first Taco Mac that I frequented, is not much different from the smoky dive of the mid-1990s. While inside I had some serious flashbacks to those days. My feeling of deja vu was probably not helped by the fact that I also knew two people from my “other” lives in the bar (the hasher Dickwoody and a guy named Wade with whom I used to play poker). The inside of Charlie Mopps is about the only thing still similar to the glory days of the 1990s when that short stretch of Roswell Rd was “Party Central” containing Taco Mac, American Pie, $3 Cafe, and Good Old Days. (I severely miss those days, as well as the feeling of hope that accompanied a young, fit male at bars with young, single women.) We only stayed at Charlie Mopps for one drink before heading to the “right” side of the perimeter to go to Five Seasons.

While I certainly like the beer at Five Seasons, as well as some of the attractive ladies who were in attendance, it is a rather pricey place to visit. The four of us shared a couple of appetizers, each had a meal, and had two, or was it three, drinks; the bill was $145. (I can feel the shaking of heads with disgust from people who live in “expensive” cities, but we are dealing with the near-suburbs of Atlanta here.)

ITP Flickr Pic
One more hearth picture for the week. Oh look!

With this photo you get two hearths for the price of one!

I especially like how the hearth on the left has bricks where the roofline of the building was. I guess they didn’t want people to know they had a stone hearth inside?

And Sometimes I’m Just A Glutton
Tonight I’ll be meeting up with some friends at one of Decatur’s newest restaurants — Farm Burger. Farm Burger is one of the new burger joints built upon serving better beef to its customers.

Photos and a review will be a pert of tomorrow’s blog, I’m sure.

Whew, that was tough. Next time I try this I’ll have to use my bluetooth keyboard instead of the virtual keyboard.

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – All futuristic and shit
Current Music – listening to my “CBC Radio 3″ channel on Pandora.
Website Of The Day – I’ve probably never picked Pandora as the WotD. Pandora, built from the Music Genome Project, allows you to set up channels based on bands and it’ll play those bands as well as musically-equivalent bands.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car (eventually)
Exercise (b)Log – nothing
Morning Weigh-In – 200 pounds
Pages Of 1001 Paintings You Must See Before You Die Read – 72

Monthly
Foot Mileage – 0 miles, Wheel Mileage – 0 miles
Pushups – 0, Situps – 0
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) – 6 (6)
Vegetarian Days – 0, Carnivorous Days – 5
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
- 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 Objective-C
- Do not create a solution for something which is not a problem

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

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
- 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 Objective-C
- Do not create a solution for something which is not a problem

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

For the next umteen days there will be at least one thing about iPads. I (somewhat) apologize to you Apple Haters and Luddites. I can’t help it, this device is going to rule my life for a while.

iPad’s Missing Applications?
When iPad was introduced we were told that it would run all of the (non-camera-requiring) iPhone applications. I had heard that iBooks was not pre-loaded on the device, but would be available for download upon launch. What I didn’t realize was that not all of Apple’s seminal iPhone apps would be making the technology leap.

“Where’s Calculator?”
“Where’s Stocks?”
“Where’s Weather?”

I could be heard mumbling loudly as I perused the App Store on Saturday.

I am still confused as to why certain Apple applications are missing. If you have any insight please share the information in a comment.

Sometimes I’m That Guy At Five Guys
Last night I met up with the FlickRPS group for a pre-Roswell Photographic Society dinner at Five Guys Burgers and Fries.

Last night I was the guy who goes to Five Guys and doesn’t order a burger. It wasn’t that I was on a vegetarian day, it was that I wasn’t all that hungry and know that an order of Five Guys’ fries was more than enough to satiate my hunger. I was right.

Last night’s RPS meeting was more interesting than I imagined that it would be. One of the members gave a Photoshop / Photoshop Elements presentation. While he stumbled a bit and didn’t provide a wide spectrum of information he did manage to convince me to upgrade my Photoshop Elements from version 6 to version 8. Now if I could only time the pricing right on Amazon I’ll be golden.

ITP Flickr Pic
Yesterday I pumped up the color. Today, I take it all away. I think I subconsciously picked images which were diametrically opposite to the weather on the day I posted them. Interesting…

For those who’ve ridden past “the tree farm” during the Wilson 100, this is the hearth on the tree farm.

(btw #1 – If you are ever interested in locating one of these hearths, simply click the photo. That will take you to Flickr, and in the bottom right hand corner you’ll see a link to my photo map.)

(btw #2 – If you are ever interested in buying my photos, contact me. Matted (white or black mats are available) photos are priced accordingly:

• 5″x7″ photo, 8″X10″ mat (limited to 100 prints) – $20
• 8″x10″ photo, 11″x14″ mat (limited to 50 prints) – $40
• 11″x14″ photo, 16″xX20″ mat (limited to 25 prints) – $60
• 16″x20″ photo, 20″x24″ mat (limited to 5 prints) – $100

Sorry, but shipping is not included in the prices.)

I Wish The Internet Was Always Accurate
The other day I was searching for a brand of yeast called Red Star; it’s the brand recommended by Öster, the manufacturer of my bread machine.

Lo and behold, Red Star has a website (see above) and on that website they have a store locator. So, I typed in my zip code to find that my local IGA carries the Red Star brand. To say that I find this IGA a little unsettling is an understatement. (ITP-Martha, have you ever gone in there?)

On Saturday I decided to buck-up and go in to purchase some Red Star yeast. Not only did they not have any Red Star yeast, they had no indicators saying that they’ve ever carried, or ever intend to carry, Red Star yeast. Dangen!

I may wind up trying the IGA on Clairmont/Briarcliff (the old Piggly Wiggly) on one of my trips home this week.

If you have a local source of Red Star yeast, or know of a better yeast to use with bread machines, then please share the information in a comment.

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – strange
Current Music – silence as I write today
Website Of The Day – While I don’t agree with all of their choices, Mac|Life’s “99 iPhone/iPad Apps You Must Download” is an interesting list. (Have I mentioned that the iPad is going to rule my life?)
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) – 4 (4)
Vegetarian Days – 0, Carnivorous Days – 3
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
- 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 Objective-C
- Do not create a solution for something which is not a problem

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]