Ends And Odds

Well I’m back ITP, and I’m well behind schedule in all facets of my life.

Big thanks to my brother and sister-in-law for putting me up and putting up with me.

Today’s Personal Project
Not to work a ten hour day in an attempt to “catch up.”

Today’s Daily Challenge
Think about the last time you felt upset, and try to recall if you were hungry, tired, or both.

Although we human beings have achieved some great things, there’s no getting around the fact that we’re still animals – and all animals have a need for adequate rest and nourishment! By thinking about how your mood might have been affected by lack of food or sleep, it may help you respond differently to a future situation. For example, you might remind yourself that a problem may not loom as large after a good night’s sleep, or that a conversation may go better after you’ve had something to eat.

A more apropos challenge for me is to try and think of the last time that I was hungry and ask myself if I can recall being upset.

Welcome Back
I made it to the White Plains airport with plenty of time to spare yesterday. My attempt at changing my flight to an earlier departure failed, I was even willing to fork over the $50 change-of-flight fee, supposedly because the flight was “full.” I think it may have had more to do with the fact that I had already checked into my later flight, and the Delta employee didn’t want to bother helping me. Oh well, I was rewarded with a nearly-empty ride home as the 7:00pm flight home was no more than 25% full (except for “First” Class which was packed).

I managed to get into my house shortly after 10:00pm last night and after checking in with mom, eating a dinner consisting of a Cliff Bar and an eight-ounce Gatorade, and doing a bit of unpacking, promptly fell asleep.

ITP Flickr Pic
Only one shot today, because I failed to upload my photos from my camera and iPhone (side note: I cannot wait to upgrade my iPhone and upgrade my “pocket camera” in the process.)

This shot was obviously taken at the Mets game last Saturday. Truthfully it’s a composite of many shots which were stitched together using Microsoft’s (!) iOS app called “Photosynth.”

Pro Tips / Lessons Learned
– New York is hot and muggy in August. I know this, but yet I continue to visit during that time.

– There is a lot to do in New York. Seriously. A lot.

– Duh.

– Even with technology in hand, sometimes the best way to pick a restaurant in New York is to do it in person. I had some good meals while on this trip, in places that I probably would have not chosen if I’d relied on Yelp, etc.

– If you possess the gift of gab a New York visit can be inexpensively entertaining. While waiting for our parking space to become legal on Monday my brother chatted up am man named “Richie” who was in his mid-eighties. Ritchie came to talk to me, told me about a beautiful young woman named Renee from Atlanta with whom he danced at a placed called Papillon the other night, and proceeded to produce a pack of photos which he went through and discussed with us. I should learn a lot from Ritchie, and I should learn to have the balls to ask people like Ritchie if I can take their photograph.

– I don’t take nearly enough photos, and I take too many that are merely “meh” shots.

– If you have time to kill in the White Plains airport (HPN), do not go through security until you have to. Once past security your only food/drink options are from a crappy vendor, or the vending machines.

Back To The Salt Mine
I’m trying to get back into the swing of things, as well as make sure that I don’t wind up working (all of) this long weekend.

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – sweaty and my hip is bothersome from this morning’s walk
Current Music – silence, though I have MANY hours of podcasts to catch up on
Website Of The Day – Looks like I came home to ridiculously skyrocketing gas prices and might resort to checking Atlanta Gas Prices to see who is charging what around town.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – nothing
Morning Weigh-In – 208.6 pounds (but only 33.6 pounds on the Moon according to the scale inside the Museum of Natural History).

Monthly
Foot Mileage – ~58.7 miles
Wheel Mileage – 0.0 miles
Pushups – 0
Situps – 0
Stairs – 0 flights

Days Of Bed-Making – 1

Vegetarian Meals – 43
Carnivorous Meals – 31
Pancakes Eaten – 7

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]