Inside The Perimeter

I used to think that I understood my life. I was beginning to take solace in knowing where it was heading. I don’t anything any longer. Suffice to say that what’s going on is nothing good like falling in love or anything like that. Can’t comment on this more, but it may explain my blog today.

Read Along With Me
Today’s passage from Notes To Myself.

Most conversations seem to be carried out on two levels, the verbal level and the emotional level. The verbal level contains those things which are socially acceptable to say, but it is used as a means of satisfying emotional needs. Yesterday a friend related something that someone had done to her. I told her why I though that person had acted the way he had and she became very upset and started arguing with me. Now, the reason is clear. I had been listening to her words and had paid no attention to her feelings. Her words had described how terribly this other person had treated her, but her emotions had been saying “Please understand how I felt. Please accept my feeling the way I did.” The last thing she wanted to hear from me was an explanation of the other person’s behavior.

To all who have helped me — Thanks.

I’ve Got Some Mad Grill Skill
With no break from the heat (and I just realized that the air conditioning company I called yesterday never returned the message I left) it was time to cook outdoors again. Fairly confident that I’d not find another birds nest in the grill, I whipped it around onto the area of the deck that I use for cooking.

On the menu last night? I cooked up some barbecue sauce covered chicken breasts, roasted onions, and roasted potatoes with rosemary. I served that all up with some artisan(ish) garlic clove bread, and a fantastic Coney Island Lager from Shmaltz Brewery. Come to think of it, I should have served this beer with some Nathans hot dogs instead.

ITP Flickr Pic

There’s A Whole New View In Town
I received a head’s up yesterday that Google has just turned on Street View for Atlanta.

Google employs trucks to drive up and down streets taking photos which they then seamlessly stitch together for viewing. It’s really rather cool, but I warn you that it’s rather addicting and will chew up a large portion of your day if you are not careful.

RealiTV Update: Hell’s Kitchen
Hell’s Kitchen started the night with five remaining cooks. Since it was relatively easy math I figured that by night’s end there would be but four. I was sincerely hoping the Jen, Hell’s Kitchen’s version of Cerie, would be the one ousted.

The night stared out with the cooks having to teach The Housewives of Los Angeles how to make a lobster and spaghetti dish. The cooks were not supposed to help, but merely instruct. Jen was caught on camera no fewer than two occasions preparing the dish for her pupil. In the end it still didn’t help her, because she received the worst evaluation from Ramsay. Christina and Corey were in a close race to win, and in the end Ramsay picked Christina. For her victory she got to pick the brain of two chefs from the area — I must admit that I have never heard of them, nor the restaurants for which they own/work. The losers must clean the kitchen thoroughly while Christina gets her time. The camera captures Jen lallygagging and eavesdropping on the conversation, and then eating some of the leftover food on the plates.

Now it’s time for the cooks to prepare for dinner service. For the first time during the season I start to dislike Christina as she can’t keep her mouth shut during prep, spouting culinary knowledge like she’s all of a sudden Susie Knowitall.

As we’ve come to expect, the cooks have a difficult time through the night’s service. Jen and Bobby seem to be catching the most shit from Ramsay during the evening. In the end Christina is declared the winner for the night and nominates the two of them for elimination. Ramsay has each party plead their case, and sadly it’s Bobby who gets the boot.

And then there were four.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - scared, confused, my whole life seems to be off track
Current Music - Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 26 playing The Hold Steady — “Sequestered In Memphis”
Website Of The Day - Shawn Feeney’s BFF Project is really rather neat. He started with sixty-four sets of friends and for each is making a composite sketch of the pair. This process will continue until there is one composite drawing consisting of features from all sixty-four participants
Exercise (b)Log - nothing
Monthly Foot Mileage - 5 miles
Monthly Wheel Mileage - 38 miles
Mode Of Transportation To Work - Marta
Monthly Marta Rides - 11
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) - 71 (71)
Books To Read To Earn Kindle - 5

June Goals
1) Run no fewer than 75 miles
2) Ride no fewer than 100 road miles
3) Ride Marta no fewer than twenty times (ten round-trips)
4) Read at least one book
5) Make my bed every day
6) Eat out at a bar/restaurant no more than twice in one week

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

I watched the weather radar with anticipation and disappointment as last night’s intense rain storm stayed to the West of Atlanta. I was there dreaming of rain and the cooler temperatures associated with it which never arrived.

Read Along With Me
Today’s passage from Notes To Myself.

Dislike is a function of need. I want something from you that you do not provide and so I dislike that condition and call you bad. The squirrel who lives behind my cabin becomes furious whenever I empty the garbage. I do not need his approval and his anger amuses me. But if he were my pet and I needed his cooperation then this same anger would irritate me. I do not dislike a stone unless it is in my path, or a cloud unless it rains on me. If I feel in need of something from you then I hear your words only as yes, no, maybe, or irritatingly off the subject. I cannot appreciate you as you are and cannot begin to see the world as you see it.

To all who have helped me — Thanks.

Justifying The Drive
With Marta as a viable commute option and gas prices not coming down any time in the foreseeable future (it was $4.19 for the “cheap” stuff at GhettoShell this morning. Why haven’t I started that art project yet?) I really need to justify driving my car to work these days. I did today, although admittedly my justification is somewhat weak. Today was “delivery day.” I brought food into the office from home, and I had a sweet little package arrive yesterday from the folks at B&H Photo. I also plan on leaving behind my running gear, which is currently in the trunk trunk of my car, so that it is in the office for me tomorrow for my Marta->Car run after work.

How Can I Do This?
Having taken Marta yesterday and hanging at the office until 5:30pm there was no way that I was going to make it back to East Atlanta to run with the Monday night group. Yes, they ran last night.

With the deck still cleared from the weekend’s yard work and the desire to avoid adding heat to the kitchen it was the perfect even to work on my Grill Master skills so I decided to hit up Kroger and do a little shopping. I had twice written a grocery shopping list and of course trusted my memory instead of bringing either into the store. On each of the two lists that I wrote out the same item was on top. Would you believe that was the one item from the list that I forgot to buy? Argh! fwiw - That item is my now-beloved Pillsbury Frozen Biscuits.

As an aside — The other night I made Gorgonzola Biscuit Burgers using cooked frozen biscuits as the bun. Damnation it was delicious!

ITP Flickr Pic
Last night I broke out my grill for the first time in quite a while. After giving it an obligatory outer cleaning I cranked on the gas and was pleased to see it fire up. After about ten minutes of getting the grill super hot to burn off remnants of past grillings I decided to open the storage drawer and saw this.

I was bummed that I decided the fate of this egg and nest. There was no way that it was not disturbed by either the moving of the grill or the intense heat that was near it. I wound up taking a pair of tongs and extracting the nest from the grill and placing it in a potted plant. I have no disillusion that the bird inside the egg has no chance.

On a brighter note, I really love this photo!

Five Books Away From A Kindle
I’ve decided that I will probably buy a Kindle. I was waiting until yesterday to see if Apple would be pulling a magic eBook reader out of its sleeve during the keynote speech of their World Wide Developers’ Conference. They did not, so the Kindle is still the best in show.

However, to make sure that I am not going to piss away $350 I am going to force myself to read five pBooks (that’s paper books) that I already own before making the purchase. To make the challenge a bit realistic the books chosen will be novels and must contain no fewer than 150 pages.

Am I being silly? Perhaps? But I see one of two positive outcomes from this:
1) I don’t read the novels, proving I don’t deserve a Kindle thus saving myself $350.
2) I do read the novels, get rid of five books from my house, and reward myself with a new toy.

Oh, I also get some blogging material out of this stunt as well.

Digital Download Of The Week
Perusing today’s list of new releases on Metacritic two items pop at me.

The Fratellis release “Here We Stand”, which is a followup to their 2006 (2007?) release “Costello Music.” For most, myself included, The Fratellis hit it big when one of their songs was used on an iPod commercial. I will probably want to give “Here We Stand” a complete listen before committing to it.

A band with whom I am a little more comfortable taking a gamble on is My Morning Jacket. My Morning Jacket has a new release today called “Evil Urges.” If you are not game to purchase sound-unheard you can hear it stream on AOL’s Full CD Listening Party

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - okay
Current Music - Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 26 playing My Bloody Valentine — “Sometimes”
Website Of The Day - If you are not satisfied with my musical choices then perhaps you should check out The Sixty-One, another great source for discovering new music.
Exercise (b)Log - nothing
Monthly Foot Mileage - 5 miles
Monthly Wheel Mileage - 38 miles
Mode Of Transportation To Work - My car
Monthly Marta Rides - 10
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) - 70 (70)
Books To Read To Earn Kindle - 5

June Goals
1) Run no fewer than 75 miles
2) Ride no fewer than 100 road miles
3) Ride Marta no fewer than twenty times (ten round-trips)
4) Read at least one book
5) Make my bed every day
6) Eat out at a bar/restaurant no more than twice in one week

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

I spent a lot of time in my basement this weekend. No, it’s not because I bought Guitar Hero and was rocking it solo-style downstairs. It was because because half of the basement is bermed by earth it usually stays 5-10 degrees cooler than the upstairs. With the temperatures getting as high as 85 upstairs the basement was relief even when its temperature reached as high as 80 last evening. I need to do some serious air-conditioning repair/replace research today. It may never get as hot as it did this weekend for the rest of the summer, but if it does I can’t stand to bear it again.

Read Along With Me
Today’s passage from Notes To Myself.

I need approval, but no that I’m no longer a child I don’t have to get it from any one person.

To all who have helped me — Thanks.

The Say The Suffering Is Good For The Soul
That’s the only explanation that I can conjure for eight of too meet in East Atlanta Village and embark on a thirty-eight mile bike ride yesterday morning. Like the other imbeciles also out riding before it got “too” hot, we cruised, drank plenty of fluids, and suffered all in the name of making ourselves “healthier.”

The course ridden shared much of my old thirty-eight mile trip that I used to perform often one two three four years ago. Ah memories, how much more pleasant they are than reality. Truth be told I had a good time yesterday. There is a euphoric feeling that I get on a road bike that I don’t get running.

After the ride Brad, Laura (aka Martha) and I rewarded ourselves with a little tucker from Flat Iron. I followed this activity up with a 2.5 hour power nap. Good times.

I’ve Got Ants In My Satellite Dish
Sitting down? No, do so now.

I did yard work this weekend. I mowed the lawns. I used the leaf blower to clean out my carport, sidewalk to the backyard, and the deck. I whacked back a portion of the over grown mystery garden.

This weekend I also discovered two things about my satellite dish. First, it was not receiving all of the channels it could. Second, it was housing and ant colony. I’ve seen ants in the dish before and had been able to evict them with spray. This colony was fully entrenched and had no plans of evacuating. I wound up taking off the entire housing and using brute force and canned air to spray it clean. Sadly reconstructing the dish did not correct my channel problem however, which means that my dish needs to be re-pointed (something I can do) or can no longer “see” one of the satellites due to tree growth. Fear not, I still receive Food Network and Bravo, and can figure out a plan to see Fox so my updates of The Next Food Network Star, Top Chef, and Hell’s Kitchen should not be interrupted.

ITP Flickr Pic
In the High Museum you are allowed to photograph the permanent collection.

This is a portion of a self-portrait done by Chuck Close.

Thirty Days In The Hole
Morgan Spurlock’s show 30 Days has returned to FX. In what I believe was the season premiere Spurlock, a West Virginia native, spends thirty days working as a coal miner. While I’ve never romanticized about a career in a dark, dank hole the episode showed just how shitty it is to be a coal miner. Although the pay for a miner is in the $60k / year territory these people dealing with tough manual labor, hazardous working conditions, and the likely possibility that they will end up suffering black lung as they advance in years.

No thank you.

Unfortunately it doesn’t appear that FX puts full episodes online yet. I’m sure the show is out there some where, if I find it I’ll mention it in today’s comments.

RealiTV Update: The Next Food Network Star
It was another strange episode of The Next Food Network Star last night. The show started off with Robert Irvine of “Dinner Impossible”, who I swore had been let go by Food Network, coming in and waking everyone up at 3am. The nine contestants were split into teams of three and then had to go answer bizarre trivia questions in order to get a meat, a cheese, and a bread, which they would then be using to create a brunch while riding a train.

No the heat didn’t cause delusions, this is really what happened on the show.

As can be expected, a few personalities collided and some of the dishes fell flat on their face while others shined.

Unexpectedly, Lisa, who was one of the bottom two last week, was declared one of the two winners for the day. She and Aaron will be featured in a news rag called USA Weekend (seriously, I know it’s put out by USA Today but I have never seen it).

During this version of Judges’ Table Nipa cracks, utters “I can’t do this any more.” and walks out. Amazingly she is not immediately cast off for acting like a spoiled child when she returns to apologize. The Bottom Two for this week turn out to be Kevin (although I don’t remember why he is chosen — I think it’s got something to do with his “romantic cooking” schtick) and Nima. Surprising to me Kevin gets cut instead of Nima, who gets put on “warning” instead. Weak sauce Food Network. Weak sauce.

Today Is A Big Apple Day
No, not New York, AAPL. Today is the start of Apple’s World Wide Developer Conference. Why should you care? Because often time product announcements are also included. Today most are expecting the announcement of the 3G iPhone. Check the tech blogs, they will have the whole story later.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - warm, wondering how much it’s going to cost to restore air conditioning to my house
Current Music - Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 26 playing The Von Bondies — “C’mon C’mon”
Website Of The Day - This one is for my fellow four-eyes. $39 Glasses sells eyeglasses with lenses for, you’re so smart, $39. It’s not a substitute for visiting an optometrist, but makes for a great way to get a “backup” pair of eyeglasses.
Exercise (b)Log - biking, 38 miles
Monthly Foot Mileage - 5 miles
Monthly Wheel Mileage - 38 miles
Monday Morning Weigh-In - 193 pounds
Mode Of Transportation To Work - Marta
Monthly Marta Rides - 9
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) - 69 (69)

June Goals
1) Run no fewer than 75 miles
2) Ride no fewer than 100 road miles
3) Ride Marta no fewer than twenty times (ten round-trips)
4) Read at least one book
5) Make my bed every day
6) Eat out at a bar/restaurant no more than twice in one week

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

Read Along With Me
Today’s passage from Notes To Myself.

If I need your approval I can’t see you.

To all who have helped me — Thanks.

I Got All Cultured And Shit
I jumped off the Marta train last night and walked over to the High Museum to attend the members’ preview of the exhibits that are opening soon. Included in the exhibits are some amazing documentary photography of the Civil Rights movement, and small collections from four of America’s best sub-culture photographers. I carried my camera outside its bag almost begging for confrontation because after all if photography had been denied everywhere none of these exhibits would be possible. Oh, I was proper and did not take any photos in areas where I was not supposed to.

The exhibits were very good, if you are into Civil Rights and/or analyzing photography,if not a bit overwhelming I plan to return at a later date to reexamine, but I will wait until the crowds are non-existent.

ITP Flickr Pic
I uploaded a plethora of photos for you to peruse on my Flickr account. I uploaded the forty best photos that I took on my “Hundred” Photo Walk Wednesday night.

Perhaps my favorite…

The entire set can be seen here, and for the map lovers in the audience each photo has been tagged with an approximate map location where it was taken. Now you know what I did most of last night.

Riding In The Hood
The annual Brownwood Bike Rally in East Atlanta is happening this weekend on Saturday from 9am-2pm in East Atlanta’s Brownwood Park. In addition to the rally there will be a fair, food and beverages, biked rodeo, as well as a stunt bike show. The proceeds from the rally go to the East Atlanta Kids Club.

Perhaps I’ll bring my camera and do a few ride-by shootings.

Riding In And Out Of The Hood
On Sunday I think I am going attempt to kill myself with exercise. Some people I know are gathering early in the morning to do a Stone Mountain ride like those I used to do when I was much thinner. The loop from East Atlanta to Stone Mountain and back is thirty-eight miles. Since I am planning on riding fifty-five miles in a few weeks I probably should join them.

As an added bonus, Sunday is a Black Sheep Hash day! The hash will be the annual Colonel Cl*t Birthday hash. The good Colonel usually lays one hell of a trail and has been the source of many of my wishes to die while hashing. If he ever posts a start I am sure I can expect more “fun.”

Riding Way Out Of The Hood
If you were reading carefully above you saw me write “planning on riding fifty-five miles in a few weeks.” That’s right, I’ll be returning to Cartersville, Georgia for a third time to ride the Cartersville Century (of which I plan to only ride fifty-five). I don’t think that it will kill me, but I am sure that riding that far unprepared will provide plenty of blogging fodder.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - pretty good
Current Music - Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 26 playing Magnetic Fields — “I Think I Need A New Heart”
Website Of The Day - There is a really interesting blog called My Bike Lane that takes and posts photos of people who park in bike lanes. Here’s Atlanta’s page.
Exercise (b)Log - nothing
Monthly Foot Mileage - 5 miles
Monthly Wheel Mileage - 0 miles
Mode Of Transportation To Work - Marta
Monthly Marta Rides - 7
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) - 66 (66)

June Goals
1) Run no fewer than 75 miles
2) Ride no fewer than 100 road miles
3) Ride Marta no fewer than twenty times (ten round-trips)
4) Read at least one book
5) Make my bed every day
6) Eat out at a bar/restaurant no more than twice in one week

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

Wow, was I ever optimistic! My winding walk from the Arts Center station to my car produced nearly forty photos, none of which have been extracted from the camera yet. The walk had an interesting start as I accidentally got off the train at Lindbergh Center, as if I was embarking on a run back to my car, and had to board the next southbound train so that I could start at Arts Center. When I realized that I was going to fall short of my goal I decided to make a pit stop at George’s and have a beer with friends and then continue my journey. I must say that I was pleased with my decision to do so.

Read Along With Me
Today’s passage from Notes To Myself.

My friendship with Laurel seems to typify a dialectic that many of my newly-forming friendships go through. At first we saw only each other’s virtues. Now we are seeing only each other’s faults. If we make it through this latter stage then maybe we will see each other and truly be friends.

To all who have helped me — Thanks.

File Under: Cheap Ways I Amuse Myself — Domain Names
I received an email today from one of my web domain registrars GoDaddy asking me to update the contact information for the domains I have registered through them. In the email they listed all of my domain names….
1) I didn’t realize that I have six domain names registered through them
2) They still amuse me. Here’s the list

• eatlga.com
• GamingMantis.com
• StopDropAndPoop.com
• PaulNuesslein.com
• JalapenoBeach.com
• WeeLittleBit.com

If you think that I’ve erred by not including InsideThePerimeter.com or InsideThePerimeter.net, I have not; they are registered with other domain registrars.

ITP Flickr Pic
Consider this to be abstract art

Now look closely at it and see if you can figure out what it is without clicking through to Flickr. Debbie and Steve, you two are disqualified from this game.

File Under: Cheap Ways I Amuse Myself — Twitter
Twitter, when it is up and running, has become a real fun way for me to broadcast bizarre one-liners that enter my head. It’s amazing some of the bizarre things I conjure, some of which are from so far out in left field that not I even understand how they got there.

Sadly, much like fantastic song lyrics, many of these thought are fleeting and never get captured for all to see of hear.

RealiTV Update: Top Chef
There goes the neighborhood!

Every one knew that Antonia, Stephanie, and Richard were that Top Three and that Greasa was just invited along to the finale of Top Chef in Puerto Rico because Bravo had purchased four tickets. And then things went all bent out of shape.

For the QuickFire Challenge the chefs had to play with plantains. Each chef was to produce two plantain appetizers. Stephanie (who looks like she put on about ten pounds in the six month hiatus) won her first QuickFire. Of course there is no immunity tied to these victories now, but she would get an advantage later.

For the Elimination Challenge the obligatory “let’s bring the losers back for more punishment” happened with the return of Dale, Spike, Andrew, and Nikki. Stephanie’s advantage was that she was able to pair the losers with her remaining competition. Not surprisingly she picked Dale, and then assigned Spike to Richard, Nikki to Antonia, and Andrew to Lisa. Also not surprisingly Lisa and Andrew didn’t get along — because Lisa is a surly biatch who gets along with no one! The challenge was to slaughter a whole pig and produce meals from it.

In the end it was King Richard and Stephanie getting all of the accolades and vying for the night’s champion. King Richard was picked as winner and for his efforts won a new car! Wow! (I wonder if he’s been able to drive it around Atlanta and tell people that he won it on Top Chef?)

I knew Antonia’s effort was poor, but I was really hoping that the chefs were tired of seeing Lisa’s scowling mug (has she been on the chopping block each show?) and they’d vote her off. But, as has happened each and every time the chef up there against Lisa has been worse on that giving night and been asked to pack up their knives and get the hell off the show. History repeated itself. My MILFy alter-ego has been kicked off the show.

In true Greasa style she is aggravated that Stephanie and Richard are sad to see Antonia get the boot, and that they don’t congratulate her. Richard fires off perhaps the best one-liner in Top Chef history “Congratulations! You won the bronze medal.”

Next week is the finale. All this time I was expecting Richard to slip up, now I am hoping that he takes it all. If Greasa wins then I don’t know how I will feel about the show; she has been the weakest contestant to make it this far in any of the seasons that I have watched. Stephanie and Richard out-cook and out-class her ten times over.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - hot
Current Music - Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 26 playing The Hold Steady — “Sequestered In Memphis” (sounds good, but can you say “One Trick Pony”?)
Website Of The Day - Why is the internet awesome? Because sites like Cubeecraft make me happy. Cubeecraft produces templates for paper toy characters. I can’t wait to get my hands on some A4 paper.
Exercise (b)Log - walking, ~5 miles
Monthly Foot Mileage - 5 miles
Monthly Wheel Mileage - 0 miles
Mode Of Transportation To Work - Marta
Monthly Marta Rides - 5
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) - 65 (65)

June Goals
1) Run no fewer than 75 miles
2) Ride no fewer than 100 road miles
3) Ride Marta no fewer than twenty times (ten round-trips)
4) Read at least one book
5) Make my bed every day
6) Eat out at a bar/restaurant no more than twice in one week

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

For me they cost about the same right now. With that in mind I opted for a monthly Marta pass today. Watch my Marta riding total rise! Tomorrow I’ll ride the train on three separate occasions as I have a mid-trip-home stop planned for the High Museum.

Read Along With Me
Today’s passage from Notes To Myself.

The way to handle praise is honestly. Laurel said, “You are one of the kindest people I have ever known.” I could have said, “I believe I am kind but not as kind as you see me. We have only known each other a short time and I have been putting my best foot forward. After you know me better I believe you will agree I can be as thoughtless as the next guy.”

To all who have helped me — Thanks.

Not All Endings Bring Closure
Last night was the final class of People Photography. Sadly I got little out of it, and worse I wasn’t even given the opportunity to provide feedback in the form of a survey. I believe the instructor really knows his shit, but the way the class is structured doesn’t breed an environment for him to impart knowledge. The class started with nine or ten students, and due to disinterest or conflicting schedules only had six last night. Oh and did I mention that I might be the only one in the class from whom the instructor did not request to have an image for future reference? Apparently my work was not good enough for him. Fug Him!

On the bright side it was nice to see Maigh more often and to have dinner with her a few times. And, I will be glad to reclaim my Tuesday nights again. Perhaps I’ll even start showing up to Atlanta Photographers Guild meetings again…

ITP Flickr Pic
Along the twenty-five-mile bike route I ride when I visit the Moreland Day Spa sits this building. It was kinda neat because the building appeared that it sat all by its lonesome. Now that I think about it, I should have taken a wide-open shot to show its isolation. D’Oh!

And yes, I cheated a bit with the sky; it wasn’t nearly that dramatic.

RealiTV Update: Hell’s Kitchen
Something has finally been served on Hell’s Kitchen and it is justice! After many weeks of wondering why Matt remained on the show he is gone. Next up, Jennifer! Is anyone else surprised how little crap that Petrozza catches from Ramsay? He gets jabbed here and there for being sloppy, but rarely does Ramsay open a full can of shit upon him.

At the beginning of the show we see Teams Red and Blue become one — Team Black.

For the Reward Challenge last night each cook was given a surprise protein and forty-five minutes to produce a dish based on it. The real surprise for me was that it appeared that four out of the six dishes looked edible! Only Bobby’s dish in which the duck was overcooked, and Corey’s lobster soup in which she didn’t use the entire bug were dismissed. In the end it came down to Christina and Jennifer, and against my hopes Jennifer won a trip to Las Vegas where she got to meet last year’s winner Rock. In a perfect world Christina would have joined her, Jennifer was give a choice of companion, and for some reason chose Corey.

An aside: Why I don’t like Jennifer. Jennifer is loud and constantly tooting her own horn as if she was the shit. From this most people would assume that she confident, however I believe that constantly telling people how great you are is a sign of weakness. When you believe others will believe without having to be sold. And now back to your regular programming…

For the Elimination Challenge Team Black muddled their way through another mediocre service at Hell’s Kitchen (or so we are always led to believe). As only RealiTV would do Matt and Christina, who have been fighting like cats and dogs all day, are paired up on the meat station (and I decide to become a vegetarian for the night). Whiny “self confident” whackjob Matt who is certain that he will win, is put up for elimination along with Christina, and then with the self-appointed Corey. It doesn’t take Ramsay long to decide that Matt and his 9.5 fingers should go.

Next week…. MODELS! I can’t wait to watch the binging and purging!

Walk Paulie, Walk
It’s too diggity-dang hot out for me to even consider running tonight. So instead I’ve packed my camera and will attempt to embark on what I am calling a “Hundred Photo Walk” in which I challenge myself to take a hundred photos from the time I get off of the Marta train (okay I might cheat and include anything I take while on Marta) and the time I get back to my car. Am I being over-optimistic? Should I have called it the “Fifty Photo Walk?” Nah! I’ll be alright.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - happy to be in a building with air conditioning
Current Music - Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 26 playing Flaming Lips — “Do You Realize?”
Website Of The Day - DriverSide is a brand new service claiming to help you know all there is to know about your car. Like everything in this world, your mileage may vary.
Exercise (b)Log - nothing
Monthly Foot Mileage - 0 miles
Monthly Wheel Mileage - 0 miles
Mode Of Transportation To Work - Marta
Monthly Marta Rides - 3
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) - 64 (64)

June Goals
1) Run no fewer than 75 miles
2) Ride no fewer than 100 road miles
3) Ride Marta no fewer than ten twenty (ten round-trips)
4) Read at least one book
5) Make my bed every day
6) Eat out at a bar/restaurant no more than twice in one week

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

Since yesterday was the first blog of June had I the proper sleep Sunday night yesterday’s blog would have contained some of this information.

Sunday marked the start my “Digital Media Preferred” initiative. In order to refresh those who have forgotten, I will provide a summary here…

Mission Statement:
“In an effort to reduce the amount of items accumulating in my household, beginning 01-June-2008 the purchase of all new media shall be done electronically and digitally. Physical media purchased shall be limited to “used” media — such as second-hand compact discs purchased at stores, items which are not available digitally, or the rare item whose quality is severely diminished by this limitation — such as magazines containing photos as content.”

There are three Branches to this concept:
Readable: The media in this branch consists of books, magazines, etc. The devices used to consume this media shall be computers as well as e-book readers.
Audible: The media in this branch consists of music, podcasts, audible books, etc. The devices used to consume this media shall be computers as well as portable music players such as an iPod.
Viewable: The media in this branch consists of movies, photos, etc. The devices used to consume this media shall be computers as well as electronic displays such as televisions.

Notice the central role the computer plays in this concept; it is the only device which spans all three branches. In 2008 this should probably not be a revelation, but rather as an exclamation of the continuing importance this technology plays in our lives. The computer, or more precisely the mass storage attached to it, will be the “bookshelf” on which all electronic media is stored.

I have also added and altered some of my goals for this month, including placing a restriction on the number of nights that I will allow myself to eat out. As you can imagine this is an effort to spend less of my disposable income on food and alcohol, as well as to reduce the number of calories that I ingest daily.

Read Along With Me
Today’s passage from Notes To Myself.

Both Bill and Bob have accused me of wanting to make them my father when I have complimented them excessively. What motivates me to blow up another person bigger than life? Possibly it is because I see this good and want it to be all-in-all. I want to lose myself in it. I don’t know that it’s bad, just excessive. It seems very similar to becoming infatuated with a beautiful woman.

To all who have helped me — Thanks.

ITP Flickr Pics
Three photos from last Saturday’s People Photography Field Day

Laura

It’s fairly simple to take a pleasing photo of her.

Brett & Ashley

I could have done without him. Yes, I think she’s adorable. Yes, they are engaged.

John

Nice guy, currently dating yesterday’s model Liz.

And so ends the People Photography!

I’ve Moved! (To Firefox v3 RC1)
Those who know me well also know of my opposition to change. Therefore it may come as a bit of a surprise to hear that I’ve become a somewhat-early adopter of the next version of Firefox. Yesterday I took the plunge from version 2 to version 3 because I kept hearing wondrous things about the newest Release Candidate.

So far so good, although it’s a bis discomforting to have to alter old habits in order to get the same work accomplished, as well as to see old, familiar websites rendered in a shiny new browser.

RealiTV Update: The Next Food Network Star
With Top Chef winding down I am glad that Food Network has provided me with a substitute. I don’t expect The Next Food Network Star to be as good as Top Chef, but I am hoping that it will satiate my thirst for silly television.

While I think Food Network might believe that they are creating TV stars their track record is not that great. I think of the three previous winners only Guy Fieri, whose shows I’ve never cared for, have made a dent in Food Network’s ratings.

The premise of The Next Food Network Star is very similar to that of Top Chef. In TNFNS the QuickFire Challenges seemed to be replaced by some challenge which is tailored for the Food Network Celebrity appearing that week, and the Elimination Challenges seem to be equivalent.

At first glance most people would think that my favorite is Lisa. It makes perfect sense because I tend to lean toward pretty women with short hair. However, I must admit that while watching the episode I was frightened silly by her.

More complete recaps will be provided in the following weeks.

Digital Download Pick Of The Week
I admit that it’s not as catchy as “CD Pick Of The Week” but if I am going to “Walk The Walk” then I must also “Talk The Talk.”

There are three discs that are being released today that pique my interest — Weezer’s “Weezer (Red Album)”, Shearwater’s “Rook” and Robert Pollard’s “Is Off To Business”.

Because of my new stance toward music I realized that I’d have the ability to actually purchase at least one “disc” prior to blogging and give it a proper listen. Then a funny thing happened… I logged on to Amazon.com and saw that one of the digital downloads (Weezer) was $11 and the other one I wanted (Shearwater) was $10! I don’t know about you, but I am currently having difficulty spending this much money for downloads. It’s my belief that unless the prices begin to drop to reflect the savings created by selling through digital services people will continue to steal or ignore new music. The ball is in your court Music Industry.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - okay
Current Music - Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 26 playing Death Cab For Cutie — “Long Division”
Website Of The Day - Ever wonder what produce is currently in season near you? Check out this cool Seasonal Produce Map on Epicurious.
Exercise (b)Log - nothing
Monthly Foot Mileage - 0 miles
Monthly Wheel Mileage - 0 miles
Mode Of Transportation To Work - My car
Monthly Marta Rides - 2
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) - 63 (63)

June Goals
1) Run no fewer than 75 miles
2) Ride no fewer than 100 road miles
3) Ride Marta no fewer than twenty times (ten round-trips)
4) Read at least one book
5) Make my bed every day
6) Eat out at a bar/restaurant no more than twice a week

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

Yes, I am juvenile.

Read Along With Me
Today’s passage from Notes To Myself.

There is something about compliments that scares me. Part of the reason may be that I am afraid of getting something that can subsequently be taken away. I put myself in the hands of this other person if I let my emotions lean on his statement. Another reason: I am being put on the spot and now must watch my actions to keep him thinking this way about me. Another: There is a part of me that knows I am not as good as his compliment implies. Another: I have often been insincere when saying similar things.

To all who have helped me — Thanks.

A 1:00am Bed Time Is Damaging To Early Blogging
Welcome to the “Late Edition” of Inside The Perimeter. After grabbing a few winks here and there while watching tv, and then dealing with warm weather (no a/c) I finally went to sleep at 1:00am. Needless to say I wasn’t very chipper when the alarms went off at 5:30am, and I finally managed to get going by 7:00am.

Weekends Are Made For Allergies Fun
Friday night seems so long ago I don’t recall what I did! Must not have been noteworthy, so I’ll move along…

On Saturday morning I woke early and headed out for my long day. I started the day photographing, first capturing a shot of some secret project that I’m working on, then meeting up with Maigh at Piedmont Park to get a jump start on our People Photography Field Trip. With the Green Market and the Peachtree Jr 5k the park was buzzing with activity even that early in the day. Maigh and I shot until the Field Trip began and then teamed up to shoot the models as well.

With little time to rest I then headed home to get my bicycle so that could head down to Moreland for more fun and festivities. Saturday afternoon saw three of us head out for a twenty-five-cum-twenty-eight mile ride. After a dunk in their pool we cooked dinner, played dominoes, and (I can speak only for myself) drank way too much beer and wine.

On Sunday we all gathered for a run in the country. However, given my physical state on Sunday morning I chose the “Never Leave Camp” approach for fear of tossing my cookies. Now tossing one’s cookies is perfectly acceptable in the city, but country-folk don’t take too kindly to it. After dealing with an incredibly aggrovating allergy attack (ITP needs pollution to survive), eating a wonderful brunch and finishing our game of dominoes, I realized that it was nearly 4pm and I decided it was time for me to return to where I belonged. I drove the majority of our bike route looking for all of the scenic shots I’d seen on the past two rides, but sadly the lighting was crap and didn’t get much. One thing I did “get” was a squirrel in the town of Turin, who made the poor decision of running into the road under my car — city squirrels are so much faster.

ITP Flickr Pic
Maigh brought a couple of people for us to abuse that the People Photography Field Day. This is one of her friends Liz.

On the day I shot a lot of run-of-the-mill portraits. I was trying to think “outside the box” but only this, and one other of similar theme really pleased me. I will say that it was nice to have someone act as a lackey (mostly Maigh for me when I shot, and me for Maigh when she shot) to hold diffusers and reflectors in order to remove unpleasing shadows.

If $4/Gallon Gas Doesn’t Increase Marta Ridership, What Will?
On Friday I stopped at QT and put nearly $55 worth of gas into my car. I had the big trip to Moreland on the schedule and I didn’t want to have to deal with finding gas stations in unfamiliar areas.

One of the affects of charing $55 to my credit card for gas is that I realized that I needed to ride Marta more often. Getting up late this morning cemented this idea because I didn’t want to deal with the flood of traffic that was undoubtedly going to be on Atlanta’s roadways.

I was more than a little surprised to arrive at the parking lot for Marta to find it mostly empty. For a second I had a pleasant thought that today wasn’t Monday after all and that I’d be able to return home and go back to sleep, but alas I quickly snapped back to reality. One of the other pleasant Marta surprises today was that I saw photographer-extraordinaire Romanlily on the train. Truth be told she actually saw me, because I was more-than-half asleep holding up the corner of the train-car this morning.

I Once Again Understand Why Southern Migration Increased Upon The Invention Of Air Conditioning
Ugh. I’ve loved and lost. Most of the times when I whine about lost love it refers to women, today however it refers to air conditioning. On the bright side at least I know how to regain air conditioning, it’s just a matter of breaking the budget and calling up a service. In the future I will be easy to spot. I’ll be the guy riding Marta holding a package of Ramen noodles.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - good but sore from bike riding, alcohol consumption, and poor genetics
Current Music - Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 26 playing Built To Spill — “Strange”
Website Of The Day - I won’t need a service such as Rate Beer for the next day or two, but that shouldn’t stop me from letting you know about it.
Exercise (b)Log - nothing…. in June
Monthly Foot Mileage - 0 miles
Monthly Wheel Mileage - 0 miles
Mode Of Transportation To Work - Marta
Monthly Marta Rides - 1
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) - 65 (65)

June Goals
1) Run no fewer than 75 miles
2) Ride no fewer than 100 road miles
3) Ride Marta no fewer than ten times (five round-trips)
4) Read at least one book
5) Make my bed every day

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

The East Atlanta Beer Festival is tomorrow and not only am I neither volunteering nor attending, I have planned to be elsewhere. What has happened to the Paulie who lived for the Big Drunk? Oh yeah, he got fat as he matured. Besides, my history has proven that I shouldn’t be somewhere that enables over-consumption and is also full of beautiful people.

Here’s a question for you… The cost to get into the EABF is $30 ($35 at the door, and $15 for designated drivers? WTF?). Do you really think that $30/$35 is a reasonable fee for entry? I can buy two quality six-packs for $20 and if I had ten friends over who also also brought differing twelve-packs, then we could have one hell of a beer festival much cheaper. I’m just sayin’.

Read Along With Me
Today’s passage from Notes To Myself.

I want to say something to this person but the fear comes: “I’d better not” (he may misunderstand, he may be in a hurry, ad infinitum). These fears are not based on the present situation, they are based on the past, and I don’t have to be governed by what once went wrong. The two of us are standing here in the present. What is the situation now?

To all who have helped me — Thanks.

May: The Month Which Seemed To Be So Promising
I haven’t done much in the way of exercising this month. Sure, there was the twenty-five-mile ride that started the month, and Twisted Ankle Half Marathon mid-way through, but not much else. That all changes this weekend however. June, my friends, will be my month… unless of course I decide to wait until July.

Speaking of July, check out the public Google Calendar called “ITP Concerts” (wanna guess who created it?) and you’ll see that it look like I’ll be spending a lot of my free time at Variety Playhouse.

I Am An “Idea” Man
I say this because I rarely seem to follow through on the art projects I conceive.

Years ago, before I owned a decent camera, I wanted to do a coffee-table book consisting of photos of the “makeshift” memorials which seemingly began littering America’s roadways in the the 1990’s. The difficulty with this concept is that most of these are erected in dangerous areas (hence the deaths that are associated with them) and it’s not exactly easy to stop, grab the camera, and get a decent shot.

On a trip to Oakland Cemetery last year I decided that I should try to see of I could take 365 photos of Confederate Soldier headstones. If the idea fleshed itself out properly I was going to display the headstone for the soldier on the day he died.

The latest project still parked on launching pad is the “Daily Gas Price” photo. I wanted to chart the rise and fall of gas prices by taking a photo of the same gas station each day. To date I’ve taken zero photos for this project. As an aside the price of gas at that station this morning was $4.09 for regular. We are all screwed! And I should be document this!

To my credit the one project that has started is the “Home Was Where The Hearth Is” project in which I will take photos of free-standing hearths where buildings used to stand beside it. So far there are two photos in the collection, but I intend to stop and take a photo of each one I see from now on.

ITP Flickr Pic
From last weekend’s country tour.

What will this weekend’s country tour produce? Only The Shadow knows…

I’ll Have A Full (and quite expensive) Tank Of Gas, And A Full iPod
I’ve got another OTP destination in mind for this weekend. The destination this week is Moreland, GA where my friends (and ITP readers) Steve and Debbie reside. They are kindly opening up there home for a weekend of festivities including bike riding, running, beer drinking, and bacon eating. I’ll also be toting my camera along searching for shots this weekend.

Did Someone Say Bacon?
When I was up in Summerville, GA a few weeks ago I stopped into the Ingles for supplies. One of the purchased supplies was a twelve-ounce package of what turned out to be some of the tastiest bacon I have ever eaten. Since Ingles doesn’t seem to have any locations ITP I will make an effort to stop into one along my way to/from Moreland. I know that it sounds crazy, but that bacon was fucking awesome!

Life Doesn’t Begin At Forty, It Begins When You Know That Someday It Will End
Harvey Korman died yesterday. Harvey is far from the first celebrity linked to my childhood to have died but for some reason this one struck me harder than most. Maybe it was the joy he brought to my life through his life’s work. Maybe it was the satisfaction I got out of seeing him and Tim Conway perform at The Fox theater a few years ago. Maybe it was the silly feeling I got when I saw him walking around the buffet at the Las Vegas Hilton a handful of years ago. Or maybe it was the realization that we all will follow.

I am forty-two-years old (at least for another seven weeks). I should learn to live today because someday I won’t be given the option.

Have an incredible weekend everybody! And, with any luck, we should all return here on Monday. ‘kay? Thanks!

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - Friday, ah Friday
Current Music - Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 26 playing Death From Above 1979 — “Black History Month”
Website Of The Day - Perhaps while uncluttering my house I will put an item or two up on Keep Or Toss.
Exercise (b)Log - nothing
Monthly Foot Mileage - 25 miles
Monthly Wheel Mileage - 25 miles
Mode Of Transportation To Work - My car
Monthly Marta Rides - 13
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) - 59 (59)

May Goals
1) Run no fewer than 75 miles
2) Ride no fewer than 100 road miles
3) Ride Marta no fewer than ten times (five round-trips)
4) Read at least one book
5) Make my bed every day

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

I am writing this on Wednesday night (while I am watching Top Chef) and early Thursday morning. The reason for my preemptive strike is because I have been assigned another troubleshoot ride-along for work at 8am Thursday morning. So, depending on when you read this I very well may be in some stranger’s house.

Today’s will be real short. If you have a problem with this I suggest that you go back and re-read the supersized edition that I produced yesterday.

Read Along With Me
Today’s passage from Notes To Myself.

Maybe I’d better not talk any more, they may be tired of listening to me. But I am talking because I want to, because it’s doing something for me, not because it’s doing something for them. So the question is do I want to talk some more.

To all who have helped me — Thanks.

I Expected Common Sense And Was Wrong
Last night I went over a friend’s place to watch Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals. He lives in midtown and his address is 704 so I parked around 6th Street because I assumed that 704 would be between 7th and 8th. Not so in Atlanta… After beginning my walk from 6th toward 7th I realized that the house numbers were increasing as expected, but were already in the 800’s! WTF? I turned around and walked nearly three blocks where I finally located 704 nestled between 3rd and 4th Street. Oh Atlanta, how stupid thou can be.

ITP Flickr Pic
The other night I got to hang out with my great friend Maigh and shoot her friend Gwen.

As you can see here and in some of the other photos that I’ve posted to my Flickr Photostream it’s easy to take good shots when you’ve got good models.

RealiTV Update: Top Chef
Top Chef has reached its Final Four!!! After tonight they say good-bye to Chicago and hear toward Puerto Rico.

In the QuickFire Challenge the chefs are taken to a butcher shop so that they can hack up some meat into “tomahawk steaks” and then cook one of them to medium rare for the guest judge’s assessment. Spike has the advantage of coming from a heritage of meat choppers so it is not surprising that he wins. It is also not surprising that his QuickFire win haunts him, now that the contestants no longer win immunity. Also heard in this segment of the show is some really poor audio overdubbing done by Padma. Every once in a while programs attempt to overdub either to correct errors made in the initial shooting, or to add content, and it never ceases to amaze me how poorly it is done.

Next up is the Elimination Challenge. The chefs have to work a night in a steak house restaurant cooking for the guests — nothing like free promotions on Top Chef and a night of free service! The mystery judges for the evening are the winners of Top Chef 1-3 — Harold, Elan, and Hung. Look three men have won in the past, and of the five remaining in Season 4 only two are men; it’s nice to see Bravo stacking the deck. In this challenge Spike figuratively slits his own throat by playing it safe and choosing to redo “tomahawk steaks” and also by selecting frozen scallops. Unlike other RealiTV cooking shows (read “Hell’s Kitchen”) we see that cooking doesn’t have to be disastrous and things go fairly smoothly, with the exception of Spike and his frozen scallops. At the judges’ table we see Stephanie get chosen as the night’s winner (another win for her!) even though King Richard is told that his was the best appetizer and MILFy Antonia is told that hers was the best entree. I guess consistency matters most? I nearly do a spit-take as it appears that Stephanie only wins a book for her efforts, but then they tell her that she’s also won a MacDaddy new kitchen from the folks at GE who have been pimped more times this season than a 65-year-old hooker. Spike and Lisa were determined “worst” (no surprises there, eh?) and once again Lisa’s incredibly poor attitude disgusts me. Spike then figuratively slits his throat for the final time by calling out the restaurant owner for even having frozen scallops in his walk-in cooler! Dude, not smart… Guess who got booted?

So it’s off to Puerto Rico for the Three-and-a-half Chefs. I expect Lisa to get booted immediately leaving the competition left to the three — Stephanie, Richard, Antonia — who were head-and-shoulders (surprisingly no product placement here) better than the rest. Expect one of the women to win this competition because it has been a focal point of the season since Episode #1.

Okay Have To Run Or I’ll Be Late For Job
DANGEN!

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood - frustrated
Current Music - listening to Wednesday’s CNET Buzz Out Loud podcast
Website Of The Day - Have you been seeking a good resource for learning more about recycling light bulbs? Look no further than Lamp Recycle
Exercise (b)Log - nothing
Monthly Foot Mileage - 25 miles
Monthly Wheel Mileage - 25 miles
Mode Of Transportation To Work - My car
Monthly Marta Rides - 13
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) - 59 (59)

May Goals
1) Run no fewer than 75 miles
2) Ride no fewer than 100 road miles
3) Ride Marta no fewer than ten times (five round-trips)
4) Read at least one book
5) Make my bed every day

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]