Inside The Perimeter

This weekend I realize that I am my biggest reclamation project. This stitches come out tomorrow and with that I hope that my skin begins to start laying flat again. It’s still bothersome to lean back in a hard-back chair, and I occasionally feel bothered driving and sleeping. I’m trying to summon patience and optimism, but it’s difficult.

Yesterday’s Daily Challenge
Reach for a red fruit or vegetable.

Red produce is packed with health-promoting antioxidants and beneficial nutrients such as lycopene, which can help prevent cancer, and resveratrol, which helps the heart.

Neil Young Said It Was Better To Burn Out Than To Fade Away
I’m not so sure about this. By the time I left the office on Saturday afternoon, after struggling with code and realizing that I getting closer but still far from done, I was feeling the burnout begin. This is not a good feeling to have. At that time I decided that I would give myself Sunday “off” and see if I could be rejuvenated by Monday morning (not really, but I’m working on it).

I realized part of my “burnout” was the fact that I had to cancel potential social engagements (btw, I’d like to hear how the Wheels O Fire and Run Before You Crawl day went) for work. I’m dedicated. I’m determined. I’m turning forty-seven this year. I need to enjoy life more.

Stop The Insanity!
As I awaited the start of the The Magnetic Fields show at Variety Playhouse on Saturday night the sound system played a song from my distant past (thirty-one years to be exact). I couldn’t quite place the song, but thanks to the Shazam app I was able to see that it was a “deeper cut” from The Psychedelic Furs’ “Talk, Talk, Talk” album (I wish that my friend Mike were an ITP-Reader so I could once again thank him for changing my musical tastes in the early 1980s).

It’s been awhile since I’ve listened to The Psychedelic Furs and I was somewhat (not) surprised to see that never upgraded my (bootlegged) copy of “Talk, Talk, Talk” from cassette to CD, therefore it is not part of my current-day iTunes library. Using Modern Technology I set out to change this by logging onto Amazon.com. I searched for The Psychedelic Furs and found “Talk, Talk, Talk” for $6.99 as a CD, and then was astonished to see that it costs $9.99 to but it digitally. I checked the iTunes store and found it digitally for $9.99 there as well.This makes no sense, no, it makes less than no sense! “Talk, Talk, Talk” is not in my iTunes library today because I cannot condone this pricing strategy.

The Magnetic Fields show was good. There were three distinct ways that it could have been better, including me not choosing a seat directly under an air-conditioning vent. After feeling chilly for over an hour I got out of my chair to find a warmer spot. However, the venue was packed for this show and there was nary a convenient seat in a warmer location to be had — so I left.

Back To Being A Homeowner
My day off yesterday was taken up mostly by yard work (though you’d be hard-pressed to notice a change) and napping. For the first time this season I fired up the lawn mower and pushed it over the weeds and dried leaves. In the “back forty” (an area a deem to make useful prior to pulling up my East Atlanta stakes) I ventured into an area I may have seen once last year. In that area I mowed over the onslaught of “English Ivy” aka “Privet”; it’ll be back, but so will I. I was saddened to see the two cedars planted a dozen years ago have long-since given up the ghost. Before I could tackle the “back forty” I had to lug some fallen branches to the front curb. One branch was actually so large and long (I’ll guess on the order of twenty feet) that I had to cut it into three segments in order to transport it.

With the mowing and the lugging done I brought out the leaf blower and cleaned off the carport, driveway, walkway. My house almost looks presentable. Oh who am I kidding, it looks shitty but less shitty than when I started.

RealiTV Update: The Amazing Race : It’s Time To Ditch The Speed Bump
A SPOILER or two follows
I sat and watched The Amazing Race last night and wondered if I had missed Team Pseudo-Teacher doing their Speed Bump. When they finally had to do it, I once again was Amazed how simple it was — “Take this layout diagram and arrange this artwork the same way”? Seriously? I miss the days when teams spared elimination were forced to give up all of their possessions, save the clothes on their body, and continue to race like that.

Team Border Patrol should know that there are no real alliances in RealiTV, though I too would be miffed if I had a “Gentleman’s” agreement with one of the other teams and they reneged.

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – fair, hoping my back clears up soon
Current Music – silence at the moment
Website Of The Day – Seen an estimate of the US deficit but not sure how much money that really is? Copy the figure into Math Cats’ “Really Big Numbers” and be amazed.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – short walk on Saturday
Morning Weigh-In – 204.8 pounds last Wednesday, no weigh-in this week

Monthly
Foot Mileage – ~7.5 miles
Wheel Mileage – 0.0 miles
Pushups – 0
Situps – 0
Stairs – 0 flights

Days Of Bed-Making – 0

Vegetarian Days – 4
Carnivorous Days – 11
Pancakes Eaten – 3

Marta Rides To Work – 0
Bike Rides To Work – 0

Books I’ve Read/Heard In 2012

1. Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me — Mindy Kahling
2. Flotsametrics and the Floating World: How One Man’s Obsession with Runaway Sneakers and Rubber Ducks Revolutionized Ocean Science — Curtis Ebbesmeyer

April Goals
- Lose at least three pounds (net weight loss)
- Completely recover from my sebaceous cyst surgery
- Exercise for thirty minutes no fewer than twenty days
- Not to get sick for the entire month (may be a moot point as of today)
- Eat vegetarian no fewer than ten days
- Not get fired from my job, nor quit my job
- Follow up with doctors, lawyer, women in whom I have interest
- Go out on a least one date with a woman in whom I have interest
- Watch all of the classes in the 2011 Winter semester of Stanford’s CS193P (iOS Development) course

2012 Goals [will be a little less fluid than last year]
- Get my weight under 200 pounds, or at least whittle myself back down to where wearing a 36″ pant size is comfortable
- Completely read ten books, audio books permissible
- Run Sharpened Stone as a real business
- Save $500 for the sole purpose of donating to charitable organizations of my choice
- Attend at least one professional photography workshop
- Ride in no fewer than five 50 mile or 50K bike rides
- Run in no fewer than one one 10K
- Submit at least one application under the name “Sharpened Stone” to Apple’s iOS store
- Restore the ITP Estate to a condition where it can be put up for sale at any time
- Buy a new iPhone (iPhone 5?), a new iPad (iPad 3?), and MacBook Air [look, not all goals have to be altruistic]

The Unmeasurable
- Continue backing up all data, including the off-site storage
- Become a proficient and profitable programmer in Objective-C
- Do not create a solution for something which is not a problem
- Eat smaller portions
- Start, and continue, to make my own bread using my bread machine as well as using the technique outlined in Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery That Revolutionizes Home Baking
- Read and discard magazines during the month in which they arrive (even digitally)
- See more live concerts than I did in 2011
- Eat more pancakes
- Drive/Fly somewhere for a real vacation

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

Not because of my back, though it’s still not pleasing me, it’s because of my procrastination with my income taxes. Even though I went to my tax preparer in early March my returns were not delivered to me until last Saturday. I should have read the email sent to me because it explained that I needed to print out a form prior to their filing my taxes electronically. Had I read this email I could have printed out the form and taken it to my tax preparer this morning. Instead, without a printer in my house, I’ve had to travel to the office, print out my forms, return to Decatur to return the form to my tax preparer, and then return to the office.

It’s not like I have an abundance of time to take care of shit like this.

So.
Annoyed.

Yesterday’s Daily Challenge
Take a meditation break with a calming word or phrase.

Meditation techniques like finding a calming word (mantra) or phrase and repeating it as you breathe slowly and deeply can help you physically relax and clear your mind. It’s thought that meditation reduces the activity of the sympathetic nervous system, which helps the body get ready to fight or escape a conflict situation. Meditation exercises also seem to increase the activity of the parasympathetic nervous system, which relaxes the body by slowing down the heart and breathing rates, improving blood flow, and increasing digestive juices.

I should practice this a lot today…

That’s All Folks!
Good luck and good fun to those of you riding the “Wheels of Fire” ride tomorrow.
Good luck and good fun to those of you running the “Run Before You Crawl” 5k and pub crawl tomorrow.

If I can find the time I plan to see a couple of concerts this weekend (Gringo Star tonight, The Magnetic Fields tomorrow night). And with any luck I’ll be able to start my lawnmower on Sunday and push it over the weeds which have sprouted.

The rest of the time I’ll be working. At least I won’t have to worry about getting my income taxes done…

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – I really don’t need to tell you that I am annoyed
Current Music – silence
Website Of The Day – Some day very soon I need to take another crack at implementing the Getting Things Done strategy.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – nothing
Morning Weigh-In – 208.4 pounds on Wednesday

Monthly
Foot Mileage – ~7.5 miles
Wheel Mileage – 0.0 miles
Pushups – 0
Situps – 0
Stairs – 0 flights

Days Of Bed-Making – 0

Vegetarian Days – 3
Carnivorous Days – 9
Pancakes Eaten – 3

Marta Rides To Work – 0
Bike Rides To Work – 0

Books I’ve Read/Heard In 2012

1. Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me — Mindy Kahling
2. Flotsametrics and the Floating World: How One Man’s Obsession with Runaway Sneakers and Rubber Ducks Revolutionized Ocean Science — Curtis Ebbesmeyer

April Goals
- Lose at least three pounds (net weight loss)
- Completely recover from my sebaceous cyst surgery
- Exercise for thirty minutes no fewer than twenty days
- Not to get sick for the entire month (may be a moot point as of today)
- Eat vegetarian no fewer than ten days
- Not get fired from my job, nor quit my job
- Follow up with doctors, lawyer, women in whom I have interest
- Go out on a least one date with a woman in whom I have interest
- Watch all of the classes in the 2011 Winter semester of Stanford’s CS193P (iOS Development) course

2012 Goals [will be a little less fluid than last year]
- Get my weight under 200 pounds, or at least whittle myself back down to where wearing a 36″ pant size is comfortable
- Completely read ten books, audio books permissible
- Run Sharpened Stone as a real business
- Save $500 for the sole purpose of donating to charitable organizations of my choice
- Attend at least one professional photography workshop
- Ride in no fewer than five 50 mile or 50K bike rides
- Run in no fewer than one one 10K
- Submit at least one application under the name “Sharpened Stone” to Apple’s iOS store
- Restore the ITP Estate to a condition where it can be put up for sale at any time
- Buy a new iPhone (iPhone 5?), a new iPad (iPad 3?), and MacBook Air [look, not all goals have to be altruistic]

The Unmeasurable
- Continue backing up all data, including the off-site storage
- Become a proficient and profitable programmer in Objective-C
- Do not create a solution for something which is not a problem
- Eat smaller portions
- Start, and continue, to make my own bread using my bread machine as well as using the technique outlined in Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery That Revolutionizes Home Baking
- Read and discard magazines during the month in which they arrive (even digitally)
- See more live concerts than I did in 2011
- Eat more pancakes
- Drive/Fly somewhere for a real vacation

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

I’m scrambling. So. Much. To. Do….

Yesterday’s Daily Challenge
Save money on your next supermarket shopping trip by including economical foods on your list.

A list that contains healthy, economical foods leaves less room for processed, expensive extras in the shopping cart. More importantly, taking the time to think about what you’ll need for healthy, low-cost meals increases the chances that you’ll eat well – without compromising taste or nutrition.

A “supermarket” is a restaurant that sells food you have to prepare yourself, right?

The Color Of Blood
Because of medical problems I don’t wish to discuss in public (imagine that!) I’ve owned blood-colored towels because they do a wonderful job of hiding blood stains.

When I started working out a lot I chose to switch to white towels, and have been using them nearly exclusively since. I didn’t get rid of the blood-colored towels, they just didn’t make it into the rotation very often. The white towels have been instrumental in letting me know when my back is letting go of some blood after showering.

The problem with the white towels is that I have to wash/rinse them immediately when I see blood on them.

The Man In Black
I am the not-so-proud owner of two more black undershirts and two more gray undershirts. Had I been able to buy a package of undershirts containing four black undershirts I’d be the owner of that combination instead.

At sometime nearing 5:00pm I went outside the office and sat on a metal chair with a slatted back. When I stood up there was an immediate feeling that reminded me of getting hit with a small water balloon. Except there were no rapscallions tossing balloons, instead it was the balloon on my back giving up its contents.

I’ll refer to my two stitched areas as “Thing 1″ and “Thing 2.”

Thing 1 was the first to appear, sometime within the past seven years. Thing 1 has been fairly dormant and I had removed because I was going to get cut, so I might as well get cut in two place.

Thing 2 appeared sometime within the last four years. Thing 2 was the cyst which necessitated the immediacy of the surgery be festering and erupting a few weeks ago. Since the surgery Thing 2 has been the one giving me the most grief, swelling and causing me to have my back looked at on Tuesday. Yesterday afternoon Thing 2 dispensed its contents on the back of the black undershirt I was wearing, and onto the red/black plaid shirt that I was wearing over it. Luckily there was no continued bleeding and I was able to walk over to Target to buy the previously-mentioned new undershirts.

Black is a great color for disguising blood.

Not wanting to be left out, Thing 1 has started to flare up and started bleeding after my shower this morning.

I’m wearing another black t-shirt today, and have a spare t-shirt and blood-colored towel with me in case Thing 1 and Thing 2 decide to be continue to be above-the-waist assholes.

I’m Missing My Walks
I’ve not been on a walk since pre-surgery. Part of the problem has been the lack of free time due to work commitments (btw- all “fun” weekend plans of mine have been canceled due to an edict sent down by Upper Management yesterday), as well as the desire to not hinder any possible healing of my back (sweating seems like a bad idea right now).

I miss my walks. Any weight-loss I’ve experienced recently has been because of my lack of beer intake.

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – frustrated
Current Music – listening to last week’s “This Week in Photography” podcast
Website Of The Day – I read that Axl Rose won’t be attending the induction ceremony of Guns N’ Roses induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I should have realized that the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame had a website, but I never considered whether or not it had.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – nothing
Morning Weigh-In – 208.4 pounds yesterday

Monthly
Foot Mileage – ~7.5 miles
Wheel Mileage – 0.0 miles
Pushups – 0
Situps – 0
Stairs – 0 flights

Days Of Bed-Making – 0

Vegetarian Days – 3
Carnivorous Days – 8
Pancakes Eaten – 0

Marta Rides To Work – 0
Bike Rides To Work – 0

Books I’ve Read/Heard In 2012

1. Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me — Mindy Kahling
2. Flotsametrics and the Floating World: How One Man’s Obsession with Runaway Sneakers and Rubber Ducks Revolutionized Ocean Science — Curtis Ebbesmeyer

April Goals
- Lose at least three pounds (net weight loss)
- Completely recover from my sebaceous cyst surgery
- Exercise for thirty minutes no fewer than twenty days
- Not to get sick for the entire month (may be a moot point as of today)
- Eat vegetarian no fewer than ten days
- Not get fired from my job, nor quit my job
- Follow up with doctors, lawyer, women in whom I have interest
- Go out on a least one date with a woman in whom I have interest
- Watch all of the classes in the 2011 Winter semester of Stanford’s CS193P (iOS Development) course

2012 Goals [will be a little less fluid than last year]
- Get my weight under 200 pounds, or at least whittle myself back down to where wearing a 36″ pant size is comfortable
- Completely read ten books, audio books permissible
- Run Sharpened Stone as a real business
- Save $500 for the sole purpose of donating to charitable organizations of my choice
- Attend at least one professional photography workshop
- Ride in no fewer than five 50 mile or 50K bike rides
- Run in no fewer than one one 10K
- Submit at least one application under the name “Sharpened Stone” to Apple’s iOS store
- Restore the ITP Estate to a condition where it can be put up for sale at any time
- Buy a new iPhone (iPhone 5?), a new iPad (iPad 3?), and MacBook Air [look, not all goals have to be altruistic]

The Unmeasurable
- Continue backing up all data, including the off-site storage
- Become a proficient and profitable programmer in Objective-C
- Do not create a solution for something which is not a problem
- Eat smaller portions
- Start, and continue, to make my own bread using my bread machine as well as using the technique outlined in Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery That Revolutionizes Home Baking
- Read and discard magazines during the month in which they arrive (even digitally)
- See more live concerts than I did in 2011
- Eat more pancakes
- Drive/Fly somewhere for a real vacation

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

Things are a little better in the back world. The doctor told me that it appeared that I was healing well and that the swelling was blood pooling up. He pushed a lot of blood and no additional material, from the area yesterday, though it’s swelled some again since. I’m not sure why I’m swelling with blood but I hope this trend ends soon and the swelling subsides. There is a slight bit of bleeding back on my back now (I’m wearing a black undershirt so no one but you gentle readers will ever know), but I’m trying to allow the affected regions to get some air to aid in healing. I’m now scheduled to go back to this doctor next Tuesday to have my stitches removed.

Yesterday’s Daily Challenge
Sit in a chair and alternately raise your left and right knee toward your chest, five times each.

It might be hard to believe that an exercise you can do slowly and while seated could offer health benefits, but it’s true! “Seated marching” strengthens the muscles of your hips, thighs, and lower abdominal core, which improves balance and increases hip flexibility. Also, even though you’re sitting down, your heart rate will increase, giving you a nice aerobic workout.

This reminds me that I need to exercise more…

Twelve Before Nine
Who doesn’t like a movement with a catchy title?

I’ve come to realize that I am not drinking enough water each day so I’ve started a movement called “Twelve Before Nine” for which I will attempt to drink twelve ounces of water before nine o’clock in the morning each day.

Who knows, the extra trips to the bathroom that my increased water intake will create might also help me lose a little weight.

All Work, No Draper
I am in the throngs of coding. I have a one-track mind (well, I am a man so improper thoughts manage to wedge their way in occasionally) and that track these days is an expressway to coding for iOS devices. After a brief stint for some free nachos and Coke (for which I was not charged so I tipped the waitress $5) at Chuy’s I came back to the office to code. While at Chuy’s I’d sketched up a few screens as well as made notes about some algorithms I needed to implement.

I could only manage to stay at work until 8:30pm before the lack of air conditioning and a need to leave convinced me to do so. I worked for about ninety minutes at home prior to falling asleep.

I guarantee you that this app won’t be the best iOS ever written (it’s not like it’s Angry Birds or anything), but it may wind up being the best app (iOS or otherwise) that I’ve written to date.

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – meh, though I’m hoping to improve soon
Current Music – listening to this week’s “Sound Opinions” podcast
Website Of The Day – Major League Baseball is back (see what I did there, I made another “back” reference). I’ve once-again ponied up for the iOS app which allows me to listen to games. I hope that I use this capability more than I have in past years.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – nothing (waiting for the stitches to come out)
Morning Weigh-In – I’ll find out again later

Monthly
Foot Mileage – ~7.5 miles
Wheel Mileage – 0.0 miles
Pushups – 0
Situps – 0
Stairs – 0 flights

Days Of Bed-Making – 0

Vegetarian Days – 3
Carnivorous Days – 7
Pancakes Eaten – 3

Marta Rides To Work – 0
Bike Rides To Work – 0

Books I’ve Read/Heard In 2012

1. Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me — Mindy Kahling
2. Flotsametrics and the Floating World: How One Man’s Obsession with Runaway Sneakers and Rubber Ducks Revolutionized Ocean Science — Curtis Ebbesmeyer

April Goals
- Lose at least three pounds (net weight loss)
- Completely recover from my sebaceous cyst surgery
- Exercise for thirty minutes no fewer than twenty days
- Not to get sick for the entire month (may be a moot point as of today)
- Eat vegetarian no fewer than ten days
- Not get fired from my job, nor quit my job
- Follow up with doctors, lawyer, women in whom I have interest
- Go out on a least one date with a woman in whom I have interest
- Watch all of the classes in the 2011 Winter semester of Stanford’s CS193P (iOS Development) course

2012 Goals [will be a little less fluid than last year]
- Get my weight under 200 pounds, or at least whittle myself back down to where wearing a 36″ pant size is comfortable
- Completely read ten books, audio books permissible
- Run Sharpened Stone as a real business
- Save $500 for the sole purpose of donating to charitable organizations of my choice
- Attend at least one professional photography workshop
- Ride in no fewer than five 50 mile or 50K bike rides
- Run in no fewer than one one 10K
- Submit at least one application under the name “Sharpened Stone” to Apple’s iOS store
- Restore the ITP Estate to a condition where it can be put up for sale at any time
- Buy a new iPhone (iPhone 5?), a new iPad (iPad 3?), and MacBook Air [look, not all goals have to be altruistic]

The Unmeasurable
- Continue backing up all data, including the off-site storage
- Become a proficient and profitable programmer in Objective-C
- Do not create a solution for something which is not a problem
- Eat smaller portions
- Start, and continue, to make my own bread using my bread machine as well as using the technique outlined in Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery That Revolutionizes Home Baking
- Read and discard magazines during the month in which they arrive (even digitally)
- See more live concerts than I did in 2011
- Eat more pancakes
- Drive/Fly somewhere for a real vacation

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

It’s bad enough that my coding is not going well (based in part because I’m suffering from garbage-in-garbage-out syndrome), I don’t need any further interruptions.

Unfortunately I don’t think that I was all “Chicken Little” yesterday about the condition of my back. This morning my white t-shirt had some bloodspotting, the first such occurrence since the bandages were removed, and the swelling under one of the stitched areas doesn’t seem to be retreating. When a small amount of blood appeared on the clean t-shirt that I put on this morning (why I hadn’t checked my back prior to putting on said shirt I’ll never know) I knew it was time to take matters a little more seriously. With the dexterity of a Cirque du Soleil performer and with the aid of a pair of tongs (which I promise I will never use if I prepare food for you, even after I sterilize the shit out of them), I applied anti-biotic cream which I had glooped onto a cotton pad, and then a makeshift bandage (non-stick gauze with some medical tape) onto the affected area. This morning I’ll be calling the doctor to see if I should return to him sooner than the Thursday morning appointment that I have scheduled. I have the sinking feeling that I’ll either be scheduling another surgery, or will have to deal with the new lump which has arisen — neither of which were desired outcomes of this first surgery.

Today I’ve packed a mobile first-aid kit (hydrogen peroxide, triple anti-biotic ointment, gauze, tape, tongs) just in case the worst happens and I need to replace the bandaging I applied this morning.

Have I mentioned how much this sucks? Have I mentioned what a pain in the ass it is to be alone when shit like this happens?

Yesterday’s Daily Challenge
Choose to wear a color tomorrow that can shape your mood, like upbeat yellow or calming blue.

Color has a huge impact on your mood and energy level! Research shows that warm colors like red and yellow say “energy” and “power” and can put in a spring in your step. Cooler colors like blue and green, however, are soothing and more relaxing.

I probably should have tried to complete this today, but I’ve chosen to wear a cranberry t-shirt to cover any blood which may appear today.

Tonight I’ll Have A Double Dose Of Draper
Unless things go horribly wrong today I’ll be relaxing tonight with two episodes of Mad Men.

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – sad
Current Music – listening to the “After Dark” for this week’s “Build and Analyze” podcast
Website Of The Day – You Know You Need A Vacation When.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – nothing
Morning Weigh-In – tomorrow, perhaps

Monthly
Foot Mileage – ~7.5 miles
Wheel Mileage – 0.0 miles
Pushups – 0
Situps – 0
Stairs – 0 flights

Days Of Bed-Making – 0

Vegetarian Days – 3
Carnivorous Days – 6
Pancakes Eaten – 0

Marta Rides To Work – 0
Bike Rides To Work – 0

Books I’ve Read/Heard In 2012

1. Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me — Mindy Kahling
2. Flotsametrics and the Floating World: How One Man’s Obsession with Runaway Sneakers and Rubber Ducks Revolutionized Ocean Science — Curtis Ebbesmeyer

April Goals
- Lose at least three pounds (net weight loss)
- Completely recover from my sebaceous cyst surgery
- Exercise for thirty minutes no fewer than twenty days
- Not to get sick for the entire month (may be a moot point as of today)
- Eat vegetarian no fewer than ten days
- Not get fired from my job, nor quit my job
- Follow up with doctors, lawyer, women in whom I have interest
- Go out on a least one date with a woman in whom I have interest
- Watch all of the classes in the 2011 Winter semester of Stanford’s CS193P (iOS Development) course

2012 Goals [will be a little less fluid than last year]
- Get my weight under 200 pounds, or at least whittle myself back down to where wearing a 36″ pant size is comfortable
- Completely read ten books, audio books permissible
- Run Sharpened Stone as a real business
- Save $500 for the sole purpose of donating to charitable organizations of my choice
- Attend at least one professional photography workshop
- Ride in no fewer than five 50 mile or 50K bike rides
- Run in no fewer than one one 10K
- Submit at least one application under the name “Sharpened Stone” to Apple’s iOS store
- Restore the ITP Estate to a condition where it can be put up for sale at any time
- Buy a new iPhone (iPhone 5?), a new iPad (iPad 3?), and MacBook Air [look, not all goals have to be altruistic]

The Unmeasurable
- Continue backing up all data, including the off-site storage
- Become a proficient and profitable programmer in Objective-C
- Do not create a solution for something which is not a problem
- Eat smaller portions
- Start, and continue, to make my own bread using my bread machine as well as using the technique outlined in Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery That Revolutionizes Home Baking
- Read and discard magazines during the month in which they arrive (even digitally)
- See more live concerts than I did in 2011
- Eat more pancakes
- Drive/Fly somewhere for a real vacation

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

Let’s just say that things aren’t going exactly as I had hoped…

Yesterday’s Daily Challenge
Brush your tongue when you brush your teeth today.

Teeth and gums aren’t the only places in your mouth that collect food particles over the course of the day! Nope, your tongue is also a willing host of icky debris. Brushing your tongue helps to banish bacteria, and this can prevent decay in nearby teeth. A tidy tongue also helps put the brakes on bad breath.

Done.

Everybody’s I’m Working For On The Weekend
To make up for my absence from work on Thursday and Friday I put in full days at the office on Saturday and Sunday. My project is not going great though if I can only manage to focus and put in the many hours it’ll take to get it done I will get the project done on schedule.

Forgetting that I was going to remain alcohol-free this weekend I had a Sweetwater 420 on Sunday at Chuy’s Mexican Restaurant. Oops.

I Did Have Fun At The Party On Saturday Night
On Saturday night I headed over to ITP-Reader Barb’s for her tenth wedding anniversary party. Given my condition I arrived with two bottles of Seagram’s ginger ale and a bag of pork rinds (the tenth anniversary is the pork rind anniversary, correct?). Though I was in some pain it was good to see some people I’ve not seen that often in recent times. My discomfort got the better of me around 9:00pm and I took off and headed back ITP before the gates were closed for the night.

My Easter Treat
Easter has not been a “big” holiday in my adult life. Save for the couple of years people have had me over for an Easter dinner I haven’t done much. Yesterday I tried to beat the Easter church crowd to The Original Pancake House for my breakfast.

As an aside, did you know that The Original Pancake House in Brookhaven (or perhaps Ashford) has closed? Yep, it stood where that massive apartment complex / Publix retail shopping district now stand on Peachtree Industrial Boulevard. I found out the hard way a couple of weekends ago when I tried to go have pancakes at that The Original Pancake House…

Back to yesterday. My arrival was seemingly early enough but many others had the same notion. Because I wanted to read on my iPad while I ate I declined sitting at the counter and was ushered to perhaps the worst table in the establishment — in the wayback by the bathrooms — because it was the only non-counter seating available. I treated myself to three delicious pumpkin pancakes (Easter, smeaster, it might as well be Fall year-round for me) and some coffee.

ITP Flickr Pic
Nothing, with nothing planned nor little time on the horizon.

I Just Wanted To Put My Back Problems Behind Me
It seemed a bit drastic to give up an entire day of my life and a yet-to-be-determined amount of money to rid my back of sebaceous cysts. With their removal I assumed that I’d move one step back to feeling “normal” and could resume doing things I’ve dearly missed, like getting massages.

Big thanks go out to ITP-Reader Betsy again for removing the humongous bandage from my back on Friday; I could have never removed that bandage by myself. Upon peeling away the bandage I got my first look at the nasty stitching which has sealed up the regions which were cut. At that time all looked okay, though the ridges created by the stitching seemed rather large to me. My post-op notes stated that the dressing could be removed on Friday and that it was okay for me to shower that day as well. I hadn’t noticed that in my prescription bag was a severely-used tube of antibiotic ointment — for which it appears I was charged full price, but given the impossibility of me reaching the stitched areas to apply/remove ointment and bandages I’ve taken to showering daily, patting the area dry, wearing clean t-shirts each day and keeping an eye on the affected regions.

I know that it’s only been four days since the operation but things don’t seem to be progressing in the proper direction. Keep in mind that I am not a doctor nor do I have any previous surgical experience on which to lean so my preliminary assessment may be alarmist, or more likely half-glass-full due to what previous experiences life has provided me. However, one of the stitched areas seems to be growing in size, looking a lot like the situation that I went into the hospital to remove. I can’t help but feel that I’ve taken another swing and miss at happiness and I’m not sure that I can take going through the operation process again any time soon.

I’ve scheduled a follow-up appointment with the surgeon on Thursday morning. If things appear to continue to get worse instead of better I might attempt to see him again sooner.

RealiTV Update: The Amazing Race — Into Africa
While I am watching The Amazing Race I have to admit that recently I’ve only been watching in passing. Blame it on my workload and my constant thinking / coding for my project, I’m not spending a whole lot of time doing much else.

I don’t understand why the two “agents,” who are pretending to be school teachers, just didn’t confess that the border patrol dudes were right when they were confronted about their occupation. Seriously, at this point in the race what you do for a living doesn’t matter, unless perhaps you are a multi-millionaire and are worried that teams will work harder to eliminate you because you don’t “need the money.” These two, perhaps the blonde more than the brunette are starting to grate on my nerves more and more each week.

I also don’t understand why Green Glitter Girl can’t shut the fuck up as well as stop crying. Holy shit, grow up!

Last night’s “Courtship” Detour may be one of the weakest detour challenges in TAR history. Jumping in place for one minute? I don’t care if you are 8,000 feet above sea-level, jumping in place for one minute is not that hard, and only takes one minute to complete.

SPOILER ALERT
It couldn’t have been any more obvious that this leg of TAR was going to be a non-elimination leg. Making all teams erect their own sleeping quarters for the night and then eliminating one of them would have been outright cruel. So, I guess I’ll get to have another week of “we’re not cops, we’re school teachers” in my future.

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – very sad and in physical pain to boot
Current Music – listening to last week’s “Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me!”
Website Of The Day – Over the past few years people have been trying hard to get out of the City of Atlanta by creating their own cities (see also Dunwoody, Sandy Springs). The folks over at Ashford Neighbors aren’t so keen about starting a City of Ashford (or being lumped in with Brookhaven either).
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – nothing
Morning Weigh-In – don’t care

Monthly
Foot Mileage – ~7.5 miles
Wheel Mileage – 0.0 miles
Pushups – 0
Situps – 0
Stairs – 0 flights

Days Of Bed-Making – 0

Vegetarian Days – 3
Carnivorous Days – 5
Pancakes Eaten – 3

Marta Rides To Work – 0
Bike Rides To Work – 0

Books I’ve Read/Heard In 2012

1. Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me — Mindy Kahling
2. Flotsametrics and the Floating World: How One Man’s Obsession with Runaway Sneakers and Rubber Ducks Revolutionized Ocean Science — Curtis Ebbesmeyer

April Goals
- Lose at least three pounds (net weight loss)
- Completely recover from my sebaceous cyst surgery
- Exercise for thirty minutes no fewer than twenty days
- Not to get sick for the entire month (may be a moot point as of today)
- Eat vegetarian no fewer than ten days
- Not get fired from my job, nor quit my job
- Follow up with doctors, lawyer, women in whom I have interest
- Go out on a least one date with a woman in whom I have interest
- Watch all of the classes in the 2011 Winter semester of Stanford’s CS193P (iOS Development) course

2012 Goals [will be a little less fluid than last year]
- Get my weight under 200 pounds, or at least whittle myself back down to where wearing a 36″ pant size is comfortable
- Completely read ten books, audio books permissible
- Run Sharpened Stone as a real business
- Save $500 for the sole purpose of donating to charitable organizations of my choice
- Attend at least one professional photography workshop
- Ride in no fewer than five 50 mile or 50K bike rides
- Run in no fewer than one one 10K
- Submit at least one application under the name “Sharpened Stone” to Apple’s iOS store
- Restore the ITP Estate to a condition where it can be put up for sale at any time
- Buy a new iPhone (iPhone 5?), a new iPad (iPad 3?), and MacBook Air [look, not all goals have to be altruistic]

The Unmeasurable
- Continue backing up all data, including the off-site storage
- Become a proficient and profitable programmer in Objective-C
- Do not create a solution for something which is not a problem
- Eat smaller portions
- Start, and continue, to make my own bread using my bread machine as well as using the technique outlined in Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery That Revolutionizes Home Baking
- Read and discard magazines during the month in which they arrive (even digitally)
- See more live concerts than I did in 2011
- Eat more pancakes
- Drive/Fly somewhere for a real vacation

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

I’m glad to report that this is not an automated post which was scheduled for publishing today. No, I’m writing this on April 6th (aka Good Friday) from the comfort of my own bed. I’m recovering fairly well, though the medication administered to me yesterday has continued to leave me in a pseudo-hungover state. My back is a little tender, and I’m trying not to do anything strange which would endanger the integrity of my stitches.

Many thanks go out to ITP-Readers Betsy and Martha who successfully delivered and picked my up yesterday.

In between naps and work I’m hoping to have a fantastic lunch somewhere today.

Today’s Daily Challenge
Lighten your load by cleaning out your purse, backpack, or bag.

Carrying extra weight (especially on one side) interferes with the natural movement of your muscles, bones, and joints. That can lead to serious pain in the back, shoulders, neck, hamstrings, and knees. Don’t carry any bag that weighs more than 10% of your body weight. A handbag should ideally weigh only 1 to 2 pounds (.5 to .9 kilograms).

Talk about timely, I lessened my load by having the sebaceous cysts on my back removed. Seems a little more drastic than they had intended, but hey we all do things in our own way.

Can Anyone Tell Me What Happened Between 1315 and 1615?
After a long time spent in pre-op I was rolled into OR at 1:15pm, where I was administered a drug via my IV which knocked me out completely. When I awoke again around 4:15pm I was in the recovery area being spoken to by an absurdly cute (but married) female nurse.

At this time Martha was called and patiently sat through the post-op instructions which I tried hard to memorize while in my woozy state. I know that I need to call the doctor’s office today and schedule a follow-up for next week. And I’m pretty sure that I’ll be able to have the dressing removed from my back and be able to shower later this afternoon.

ITP Flickr Pic
None, though this will return next week.

Can Anyone Tell Me What Happened Between 1730 and Now?
Miss Martha dropped me off and I went straight to bed. She politely agreed to call me around 8:00pm to see if I needed anything. I don’t think that I was awake for more than five minutes when I dozed off soundly. I had shut my phone off because I didn’t want errant sounds waking me. When I awoke again it was 8:00pm, so I quickly turned my phone on again. As she had promised Martha had called, so I called her back and informed her that all was well.

And then I went back to sleep again…

I awoke a few times during the evening, but had no trouble going back to sleep again immediately.

I Should Have Weighed Myself This Morning
After my Chinese buffet on Wednesday night I had nothing to eat/drink, with the exception of a post-op can of ginger ale and two saltines, until earlier this morning. The only reason I ate this morning was to make an attempt to knock back the hangover feeling.

I’m sure my lack of caloric intake combined with the loss of whatever was removed yesterday must have put me at my lightest weight in some time.

I Look Forward To Seeing Many Of You Tomorrow Night
Tomorrow night there will be a shindig celebrating the tenth anniversary of ITP-Reader Barb and her hubby Allan. I was honored to be an attendee during that weekend’s festivities, and will be equally honored to celebrate it again tomorrow.

Thankfully there will probably no Delicato wine to be had. Thankfully I won’t make a fool of myself by failing twice in the pursuit of women. Maybe not-so-thankfully I think that I might be limited to non-alcoholic beverages.

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – groggy
Current Music – listening to a “Mac Geek Gab” podcast
Website Of The Day – I know little about Daily Motion, but I stumbled upon it while Googling for the Daily Challenge’s website.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – nothing
Morning Weigh-In – haven’t checked

Monthly
Foot Mileage – ~7.5 miles
Wheel Mileage – 0.0 miles
Pushups – 0
Situps – 0
Stairs – 0 flights

Days Of Bed-Making – 0

Vegetarian Days – 2
Carnivorous Days – 3
Pancakes Eaten – 0

Marta Rides To Work – 0
Bike Rides To Work – 0

Books I’ve Read/Heard In 2012

1. Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me — Mindy Kahling
2. Flotsametrics and the Floating World: How One Man’s Obsession with Runaway Sneakers and Rubber Ducks Revolutionized Ocean Science — Curtis Ebbesmeyer

April Goals
- Lose at least three pounds (net weight loss)
- Completely recover from my sebaceous cyst surgery
- Exercise for thirty minutes no fewer than twenty days
- Not to get sick for the entire month (may be a moot point as of today)
- Eat vegetarian no fewer than ten days
- Not get fired from my job, nor quit my job
- Follow up with doctors, lawyer, women in whom I have interest
- Go out on a least one date with a woman in whom I have interest
- Watch all of the classes in the 2011 Winter semester of Stanford’s CS193P (iOS Development) course

2012 Goals [will be a little less fluid than last year]
- Get my weight under 200 pounds, or at least whittle myself back down to where wearing a 36″ pant size is comfortable
- Completely read ten books, audio books permissible
- Run Sharpened Stone as a real business
- Save $500 for the sole purpose of donating to charitable organizations of my choice
- Attend at least one professional photography workshop
- Ride in no fewer than five 50 mile or 50K bike rides
- Run in no fewer than one one 10K
- Submit at least one application under the name “Sharpened Stone” to Apple’s iOS store
- Restore the ITP Estate to a condition where it can be put up for sale at any time
- Buy a new iPhone (iPhone 5?), a new iPad (iPad 3?), and MacBook Air [look, not all goals have to be altruistic]

The Unmeasurable
- Continue backing up all data, including the off-site storage
- Become a proficient and profitable programmer in Objective-C
- Do not create a solution for something which is not a problem
- Eat smaller portions
- Start, and continue, to make my own bread using my bread machine as well as using the technique outlined in Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery That Revolutionizes Home Baking
- Read and discard magazines during the month in which they arrive (even digitally)
- See more live concerts than I did in 2011
- Eat more pancakes
- Drive/Fly somewhere for a real vacation

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

I’ve decided to hold of returning this space back to its “normal” form until tomorrow. I’ll be undergoing my surgery some time this afternoon (scheduled for 1:00pm) and expect to be back to a normal mental state tomorrow. Even though I’m taking the optimistic stance and am expecting all to go well today I’ve planned on taking the day “off” from work tomorrow; that should provide me ample time to write a proper blog for the first time in weeks.

Until then…

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

After a quick bite and a few beers at my new home-away-from-home Chuy’s I returned to the office and worked until 9:45pm (2145 for Barb). I promptly passed out when I arrived home.

I popped out of bed around 6:00am this morning, mind racing, and headed straight into the den so that I could jot down the ideas I had while they were still fresh in my head. Nearly 2.5 hours have passed since and I think that I am 90% complete with my changes, though they are still-untested changes. Now I have to shower and navigate the hopefully-lighter-than-normal Spring Break traffic to the office.

ITP-Readers Betsy and Martha, expect to hear from me this afternoon to confirm tomorrow’s plans.

A Question For You
I’ve felt badly about the neglect this space has received (again) lately. So today I’d like to pose a philosophical question.

Excluding money, are you a “quantity” person or a “quality” person? For instance, would you rather have three bottles of wine which cost $10 each, or a single bottle of wine which costs $30?

I’d love to be a 100$ “quality” person, but the best I can confess to is leaning toward “quality.”

Okay, must get going in order to get my official work day started…

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

Very short on time again. So short that I did not make it to the lavanderia last night and cut what I had hoped to be a 5+ mile walk this morning down to 2.75 so that I could be in the office early. I only wish stress burned more calories…

It’s All About Gratitude
Thank you all for volunteering to help me. ITP-Readers Betsy and Martha, I will contact you about details tomorrow. ITP-Reader Debbie, I appreciate having you as a backup. ITP-Readers Steve and Barb, I’ll see you on Saturday and hope that I will be able to consume alcohol. If not, I will smile ear-to-ear full-calorie Coca-Cola in hand.

Paying It Forward Paid Back
This morning the person (who was identified as a lady by the toll both monitor) ahead of my paid for my toll. It was only $0.50 (the same amount that I gave to a guy for his toll last week) but it made me feel like a million bucks.

Coding, coding, coding….

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]