Out Of Office

When you read this I’m either on my way to New York or have already arrived.

Today’s Personal Project
Stop worrying about things out of my control.

Today’s Daily Challenge
Resist the urge to check the news one time today.

It’s important to stay current and know what’s happening in our world. However, more often than not, the news highlights the negative aspects of life rather than the positive. Having constant reminders of stressful events can be upsetting. By ignoring the news just once (it will still be there the next time you check for it), you may find yourself maintaining a more positive outlook.

I’m on vacation, this will be super easy. I’ll also resist the urge to check work email. However, my mind is still consumed with my work.

A Really Poor Running Attempt
If I’m to run the 15k in January 2013 for which I have registered I am really going to have to step up my running. Yesterday I did a walk/run/walk with my boss and we petered out after a mere one mile of (mostly uphill) running. Poop.

Good-bye Chumby?
When I left the house yesterday morning my Chumby was reporting an error that it was no longer able to connect to the internet. I shut it off before leaving the house. When I arrived home I turned the Chumby back on, only to be greeted with a system-level error message telling me to turn the Chumby off and on again, and if the problem persists, go to the help section of the website.

I don’t have the time to debug this issue right now, and truth be told, the only special feature I liked about my Chumby was seeing my Flickr photos and weather forecast in addition to the time.

It turns out that:
1) Recently Chumby went out of business, its assets were acquired by another company
2) The database serving Chumbys became full yesterday, causing a service outage.

This morning I used my old iPhone 3G as an alarm clock.

Spend It Like You Have It. And I Have It
In cleaning out my briefcase yesterday I came across two unused gift cards — $50 Amazon, $50 iTunes. Since these cards were doing me no good while sitting unused in my briefcase I decided to apply them to their respective accounts so that I could spend the $100.

ITP Flickr Pic
Rats, the shots I took at the laundromat last night didn’t turn out very well.

And What Are You Doing April 6, 2013?
I ask because I am now double-booked. On Tuesday I bought two tickets for Ira Glass’ performance (talk) at the Ferst Center For The Arts on April 6th, 2013; I did so without checking my calendar.

I mean who has plans for April 6th, 2013 already?

Apparently I do.

I addition to the Glass show I have a ticket for the play “The Fabulous Liptones” at the Theatrical Outfit. Luckily I am a season ticket holder, so I think that I can exchange my ticket for a show on another night at no cost.

10,000 Steps
Yesterday at work we received an email announcing a 10,000-step challenge. By registering we’re being sent a free pedometer. From September 1st to October 16th(?) we have to wear the pedometer and log the number of steps (preferably more than 10,000) each day. I’m not certain if there are any prizes for those who participate, well, other than the potential for losing weight.

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – absent
Current Music – listening to this week’s “Systematic” podcast
Website Of The DayOne Thing Well is a geek’s paradise Tumblr blog. As the name suggests, each entry identifies a tool/app/whatever that does one thing, well.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – n/a
Exercise (b)Log – walking, ~1.9 miles; jogging, ~1.0 miles; walking, ~1.1 miles
Morning Weigh-In – checking again next week

Monthly
Foot Mileage – ~51.3 miles
Wheel Mileage – 0.0 miles
Pushups – 0
Situps – 0
Stairs – 0 flights

Days Of Bed-Making – 1

Vegetarian Meals – 34
Carnivorous Meals – 22
Pancakes Eaten – 2

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

August Goals
– Eat no fewer than forty-five vegetarian meals
– Take at least one load of stuff from my house to Goodwill
– Take unused electronics to recycling center
– Post at least ten new photos during the month (let’s try this again)
– Lose at least two pounds (net weight loss)
– Finish two books (audio or otherwise, comic books do not qualify)
– Not to get sick for the entire month
– Exercise for thirty minutes no fewer than twenty days
– Ride no fewer than 150 miles (might be hard given the amount of travel scheduled this month)
– Walk (or run) no fewer than 75 miles
– Do no fewer than 750 sit-ups
– Do no fewer than 300 push-ups

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

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
  3. God, No! — Penn Jillette
  4. The Elephant to Hollywood — Michael Caine
  5. Here Comes Trouble — Michael Moore
  6. How We Decide — Jonah Lehrer
  7. Steve Jobs — Walter Isaacson
  8. Death of a Salesman (Penguin Plays) — Arthur Miller
  9. Fahrenheit 451 — Ray Bradbury

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

This entry was posted in My Daily Life. Bookmark the permalink.

13 Responses to Out Of Office

  1. Steve says:

    Safe travels today. Tell the Bro we said Hi.

    I had a good run from Georges last night. The temprature was helping, as I don’t think it was anywhere close to 90. Only a few walk breaks- much better than other runs recently.

    Prior to the run, I was napping in the car with the windows open, listening to NPR, and suddenly I noticed the radio stopped playing. WTF? Seems I had my headlights on as well and this managed to suck the life out of my slightly aged battery. After the run, I tried to start the car again but with no luck. Sonya (MC) happened to be parked nearby and I had her give me a jump to get home. Guess I’ll be battery shopping today. What. Fun.

    -FP

  2. Martha says:

    It was only about 75 (according to my car) when I went for my run last night, better but still humid/hot can’t wait for some 50s and 60s.

    I read batteries don’t last as long as they use to because of all the electronics in cars now. I’ve got almost 30K on the Escape (I drive too much) wondering when I’ll need a new one. At least you aren’t stuck somewhere and have to pay for a tow.

    I’m working from home today, so I have a trip for some loops at Stone Mountain on the schedule.

  3. Barb says:

    April 6 2013, I’ll be married 11 years that day. No idea what we will be doing.

    I went for a hike with JoAnna & her beagle out at Kennesaw Mtn last night, it was warm, but not super bad.

    10,000 step challenge – you should be able to win if you keep walking.

  4. bob says:

    Wait, you carry a briefcase? That just does not go with your developer dress (shorts, t-shirt, and flip flops). 🙂

    Car batteries are strange, they just die sometimes without warning. Laura drove to work, ran errands in the morning and all was fine. When she was leaving for lunch it was completely dead.

  5. Barb says:

    Bob – you still going to Blankets tonight? Allan will probbly be joining you, what time should he be there?

    I think I’m going to a SUP demo put on by High Country Outfitters down at the river in Roswell with JoAnna, she wants to buy one (or I hope 2 so I can borrow her extra one) & she wants to see what all the different options are.

  6. Steve says:

    Debbie had a problem a month or more ago over at her trainers farm. She had left the lights on for a little while and it wouldn’t start. She shut everything off and waited a while and it started fine. Last night, I was out for an hour, and it was better but still wouldn’t start.

    I wonder if halogen headlights are a bigger draw on the battery?

  7. John G. says:

    FYI: I have it on good authority the “Chumby server ran out of space…”. So the current outage is inadvertent. BTW: I had the same results when I tried my Chumby. I hear you can flash the Chumby’s firmware and make it…”independent”. If it ever comes to that. Have fun in NYC es 73 de JG

  8. bob says:

    Barb – Blankets is still on, I will be there at 5. There may be some others who will join us so probably be riding by 5:30.

    I still want to try a SUP just to see what the fuss is all about.

    Martha, what is your impression? Good workout? Relaxing stroll?

  9. Paulie [eatl/ga] says:

    Safely in NY.

    Briefcase = Outdoor Life Network (which indicates how old it is) messenger bag.

  10. Jenka says:

    HO. LY. KRAP. Thank you for letting me know that Ira Glass is coming! I LOVE him so much! I’ve seen him do his stage performance (or whatever you call it, I have no idea) several times. The only thing that keeps me from full-on stalker mode is the creepiness. Heh. We should get drinks before the show!

    Emory did that free pedometer/10,000 steps per day thing about 5 years ago. From what I remember, very few people participated.

  11. Martha says:

    Bob a little of both. I think you can make it what you want. Ocean vs. lake vs river, etc…We did about 3 miles (per Garmin) in 90 minutes (on a lake). It was very relaxing but I could feel it by the time we are done. You use a little bit of everything, legs, core, arms…Plus hiking the damn thing from the car to the water 🙂

  12. Paulie [eatl/ga] says:

    I’m here to help, Jenka.

  13. Barb says:

    Steve – you asked, so I answer.
    Sharon & I are mountain biking up at Blankets Creek at about 1400 on Saturday. YOu can join us, but I know that wasn’t the type of ride you were thinking of.

    Sunday is still up in the air, but we will ride somewhere.
    and, you know the Wilson is Sunday (we won’t be there, but if you need to go ride & stop & get snacks)

Comments are closed.