Blog posts intrigue me as the tend to evolve while being written. Normally they stay one or two degrees within their intended course and then there are days like today when they spin wildly out of control. Put seat belts on for this one. Keep an open mind. Comment to your heart’s content. Get ready! It’s a Wild and Wacky Wednesday edition of Inside The Perimeter.
Read Along With Me
Today’s passage from Notes To Myself.
If I feel compelled to answer every question, I am the one compelling me.
To all who have helped me — Thanks.
Building A Relationship Can Be So Difficult
Yesterday I went on a second date with my hairstylist. Okay, it was really my second time seeing her professionally and not a date. In many ways it felt like a date — conversation was all small-talk and awkward, I am not sure if we are seeing eye-to-eye, I don’t know if there will be another one, I got no sex out of the deal, and in the end I wound up paying for everything. See, not much different than dating, at least what I can remember…
Kindling Ideas — This Is Going To Get Weird
Yesterday Amazon did a rather insidious thing, they dropped the price of their e-book reader Kindle by $40 to $359. The price drop interests me greatly. I can honestly say that if the Kindle was $200-$300 I’d already have purchased one.
I see the Kindle, or some other e-book reader, as part of the “Readable Branch” of my Digital Lifestyle Transition (something I was planning on rolling out in June and will define below). It all ties into my 2008 Decluttering Initiative (Shit, I am starting to sound like a corporation!) and goes something like this…
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.
As an individual who controls all of his media purchases why shouldn’t I implement this initiative? Do I really need to own physical copies of media? When was the last time I played a CD? Why should I continue to fill the landfills with the waste generated by producing physical media, or its sales packaging? And before the “Support Your Local Dealer” bandwagon stops at my front door to protest, keep in mind that there are provisions for purchasing media from local resources in order to sustain their efforts for as long as they can be reliably counted as a resource.
Sounds fucking wacky, no? Consider the source. 😉
ITP Flickr Pic
Are “weak chins” the new black? Yesterday I posted this photo of me that I took using the camera on my phone.
It already has more views than the quality photos (imho) I posted a few days before it. What is wrong with the people on Flickr?
RealiTV Update: Hell’s Kitchen
When last we visited Hell’s Kitchen the bumbling chefs had just lost Rosanne — queen of the sauces as thick as her accent (not really but I’ve been waiting to use that line all season). Now we are down to the Magnificent Seven, which if you are an Atlanta hasher you understand my humor.
As if watching the Blue Team lose almost wasn’t enough evidence, this week’s Reward Challenge centers around teamwork. Each team must produce three dishes in three six-minute shifts with only fifteen seconds of communication between shifts. Early on it appears that the Red Team has messed up by improperly cooking chicken (Oh Nooooo! You could KILL someone!) but those clever editors are merely planting a trap. In the end we find out that Gordon loves him some sauces because the Blue Team’s lack of sauces on two of their three dishes costs them the challenge. The winners visit the beach, the losers make time with the bleach (Yes Fox you may steal that line for a future episode.)
For the Elimination Challenge Ramsay rips the menu into shreds and allows the teams to create their own menu for the evening. Comedy ensues when Jen, who lacks no confidence, can’t shut up and creates the majority of the Blue Team’s menu — which Ramsay verbally shreds to pieces. It’s four against three now so the odds that the Blue Team would lose again seem impossible, right? Nope! Even with Matty sweating into the pasta (or as Ramsay accused him of doing) the Red Team was victorious. The Blue Team’s “Sloppy” Petrozza gets to nominate Louross and Jen, and then in a shocking turn of events is told by Ramsay to hand pick the person to be eliminated! As much as I’d liked to have seen Jen get the boot, he correctly eliminates Louross.
Ramsay’s not done with his shenanigans yet though! He puts the fear of Jeebus into Matt by calling him into the firing line, but then cheekily tells each that he’s shaking up the teams. Ramsay recreates the all-men Blue Team and the all-women Red Team by executing a one-for-one trade of Matt and Jen. However, we see from the previews that next week they join forces — Red and Blue turn to Black.
Yesterday’s CD Pick Of The Week
On the few occasions (I never spell that word correctly!) that I get a Monday off thanks to a Federal Holiday I seem to have difficulties remembering to mention CD releases upon my return to blogging. Why should yesterday be any different?
Now that I look at the list I see that I really didn’t much that would have landed on my radar. Al Green? John Hiatt? Cindi Lauper? Sam Phillips? Usher? All meh to me.
And before you ask, as of next week this section gets retitled “Digital Download Of The Week.” 🙂
And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood – pretty damn full of myself
Current Music – Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 26 playing Fleet Foxes — “White Winter Hymnal”
Website Of The Day – The thought of creating Paper Toys makes me very happy.
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) – 58 (58)
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’m used to geek speak when reading your blog, but the corporate geek speak is a little unnerving.
A guy I met at school in Colorado spoke about downloading bike races from Europe using a device called Popcorn… have any experience with that? Or is that only a windows widget?
-FP
I’ve heard of Popcorn but have not done much research into it yet.
HEY! I’m a FLICKRer! There’s nothing wrong with me!
As a member of the print industry, I can think of many reasons not to go completely electronic though, in honesty, most are for convenience and nostalgia and only one is to keep me in a paycheck.
Can you take an e-book reader in the bathtub? Out on a boat? (well, sure, you CAN…but not without risk.) Read it while you’re grumpily waiting for a rude individual who is over an hour late, then toss it in the backseat of the car and not worry about someone breaking in to steal it? Loan it out to a friend and not worry about when you’ll see it again? Read at dinner without worrying about spilling bacon or beer on it? Never worry about the batteries dying when you have 2 hours left on your plane ride and 12 chapters to go? And does an eBook have that crisp, clean smell of new ink and paper? Or capture the feel of walking into a bookstore and touching all the crisp pages on new releases?
🙂 I’m old school, I guess. I’m all for my iPod instead of CDs, but I just can’t let go of my printed books and magazines.
Yes, you can read your Kindle on a plane… yes, you can ready your Kindle on a train… yes, you can read your Kindle in a tub… yes, you can read your Kindle while getting a rub??? (weak, I know)
Can I just say fifty times… I LOVE MY KINDLE!!!!!! Bought it in December, received it in January. Have not bought a paper book since. I still get some magazines. I’m careful in the bathtub, but then again, I’m also careful with books in the bathtub. I eat with it, I drink with it. I carry it with me almost everywhere I go. I don’t really worry about theft because it’s either with me or “the thief isn’t going to know what it is. I have split a small amount of fluid on it & it wiped right off, no problems. The battery life is about 5 days, unless I stupidly leave the wireless on. Every once in a while I forget to charge it, but it only takes about 1/2 an hour to fully charge. Maybe less. I was really amazed at that part.
My best friend bought a Kindle on the same Amazon account so we can share the books with each other. That’s pretty cool, too.
Paulie – I’m like you — downsizing like crazy over the past few years. There was a point in my life where I had an entire room, with bookshelves on every wall, filled with books, in my house. And Stacy — I’m also like you — love to browse bookstores, smell the paper. I still browse, but now I buy on the Kindle. I’m down to one bookshelf with my most special favorite books, like Don Blanding’s “Vagabond House”…
if only I could get Allan on this Kindle bandwagon…… but I’m sure we will always have a room of books, and he likes hardbacks too, so those take up even more space.
Stacy (Cheese), notice that I’ve never mentioned getting rid of that time-consuming hobby of watching television. You know, that hobby that pays my mortgage? 😉
I’m not looking to eliminate all paper and printing. Much like converting to the metric system we tried “paperless offices” and failed. Unlike most Americans I am looking to move into a smaller rather than larger domicile when I next move. Therefore there will literally be less room in my life for books, cds, dvds, etc.