If you attempted to commute anywhere around Perimeter Mall between 4-6pm last night you were undoubtedly frustrated. And I was the douchebag who was laughing his ass off as he attempted to run through your exhaust. Traffic was as bad as I’ve ever seen it in these parts. I guess all of you love birds had to rush home to your sweetiekins so that you could eat dinner and have mad, passionate schmoopieness.
Running At A Blistering Pace
A Garmin FAIL nearly lead to an instant Paulie FAIL. I’m not sure how it happened, but the moment I turned on my Garmin 305 yesterday in order for it to seek satellites I was getting battery low warnings. I thought that I had turned the watch off (and shouldn’t there be an auto-shutoff?) after my last use, but there is a possibility that I did not do so after uploading my data from Saturday. I charged the watch last night using the wall charger, I guess the proof will be in my next attempt to use it.
The traffic last night was gawd awful. The thought of walking over to Taco Mac or Outback for dinner made my skin crawl with the thought of being around couples on Valentine’s Day. So, I decided to make my three-mile waddle (with an additional half-mile of strict walking at the end) even though I knew that my Garmin was probably not going to make it through the entire journey. It was somewhere around the one-mile mark when I stopped (for the first or second time) when I looked down to see the watch’s display blank. Blarg! I meandered the remaining two miles, passing many, many cars, and cutting through stopped traffic along my way.
When I returned to the office and headed into the shower room I noticed that the blister on my left pinky toe had indeed returned (I wore the same “new” shoes but changed sock types in hopes of keeping the blistering down). Dangen!
By the time I showered traffic heading “in town” had subsided so I jumped into the Jackmobile and went to the lavenderia near Las Tortas Locas — but didn’t eat out. Wait, what?!?! That’s right, I didn’t eat out last night. Instead, I had a beer, some sausage slices with mozzarella cheese and bagel chips for dinner.
ITP Flickr Pic
Oh, what a photo failure I’ve become…
I Guess That I Don’t Get Out Much These Days
On Saturday I went into the Virginia-Highland neighborhood for the first time since the last time I got a haircut. Since my last visit one of the neighborhoods stalwarts, Everybody’s Pizza, has closed. Huh! The last time I ate there was during the baseball playoffs when I used my Groupon coupon. Back then the place was packed as I had seen it every other time I ate there.
Noodle fans, you are in luck! Genki Noodle is what is advertised as the next occupant of that space.
Getting My Nerd On Tonight
For the first time in months I’ll be returning to the Atlanta iPhone Developers meetup. Since my last attendance the meeting has moved to a new space, Strongbox West.
Strongbox West is a hip, coworking office that I am interested in checking out even though I know that I have no need for such a space at this time.
Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – fair, better than yesterday but not great
Current Music – just decided to listen to the end of the Mac Geek Gab podcast that I started on my commute in to work
Website Of The Day – Do you like crazy, fairly-cheap deals on strange products? Check out 13 Deals to see if they sell anything that you need or want.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – running/walking (3.5 miles)
Morning Weigh-In – didn’t check
Monthly
Foot Mileage – 23.5 miles
Wheel Mileage – 0 miles
Pushups – 0
Situps – 0
Stairs – 0 flights
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) – 2 (2)
Vegetarian Days – 3
Carnivorous Days – 11
Marta Rides To Work – 0
Bike Rides To Work – 0
February Goals
– Not to get sick for the entire month FAIL
– Not get fired from my job
– Run no fewer than 75 miles
– Lose two pounds
– Go out on a date with someone else
– Read an entire book
2011 Goals [will be a little more fluid than in past years]
– Reduce my weight by 25 pounds based on the my weight as measured on February 1st
– Completely read the book Daily Negations which I received as a Christmas gift.
– Run Sharpened Stone as a real business — one which does not get penalized.
– Save $500 for the sole purpose of donating to charitable organizations of my choice
– Attend at least one professional photography workshop
– Enter no fewer than three photographic competitions / gallery showings
– Ride in no fewer than five 50 mile or 50K bike rides
– Run in no fewer than two half-marathons
– Submit at least one application under the name “Sharpened Stone” to Apple’s iOS store
The Unmeasurable
– Continue backing up all data, including the off-site storage
– Become a proficient programmer in Objective-C
– Do not create a solution for something which is not a problem
– Eat smaller portions
Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]
Damn you Paulie and your ‘deal’ websites…that one is just awesome!!!! Sock monkey hats and WowWee chatterbot dog cat animated computer accessory, I don’t even know what that is but I feel like I should have one!!
I get so flustered anymore, running naked…no GPS. I’ve had that happen to me more than once. Battery life is really a problem with the Garmin (i’m sure others are just as bad)…I think it is suppose to last 7 hours , but I’ve had low battery show up right after finishing a marathon.
Kroger was a freaking zoo last night, lots of flowers and cards in the self-checkout line. I’m glad we stayed in.
I’ll keep posting deal sites to distract everyone from the lack of relevant, actual content in this blog. 🙂
I hope the Garmin thing is not a recurring battery issue. I’ll wait to pass judgment for a little while.
The lavanderia was a zoo also, but for completely different reasons. At least I got all of my laundry (which has increased exponentially with exercise) done.
What did I do for valentines day? I rebuilt the clutch on my motorcycle 🙂 aren’t I romantic?
Laura has the same problem with her Garmin, battery life just sucks. I think the next great technological stride we will see is battery technology. There are so many gadgets that rely on batteries and the life is just horrible.
I want to see an electric car that I can drive to work for a week without having to plug it in. I also want that flying car that we were promised by the Jetsons.
I too have had battery issues with my Garmin. Almost as if the device thinks it has completed charging when it really hasn’t.
Bob, I saw something on TV recently that had GM testing a hydrogen fuel cell. I think that may be as close as you get to zero emission and a week of service. They also showed a battery powered dragster motorcycle!!
Everybody’s closed? Hmmm… methinks that might be more of a lease problem than low business. Though my sights are always focused on Jorges, I don’t recall ever seeing them without a crowd.
-FP
Well, it’s disappointing to hear that all of us are having battery problems with our Garmins. I thought I saw “Battery Charging Complete” on Saturday which is why I was flummoxed yesterday.
I believe the Everybody’s in Emory is still open, though I’ve not driven in that area in months.
A battery breakthrough would be a wonderful thing. Especially if it could translate into fewer batteries and devices getting discarded into landfills.
I left work early…sick. As a result, I missed most of the traffic. Betsy called me later in the evening wondering what the hell was going on. Traditionally, Valentine’s Day and Halloween have ALWAYS been crappy commute days because people want to get home for their evening plans (“schmoopiness” or trick-or-treating, of course).
I got on Georgia Navigator and saw the following wrecks:
1. three lanes blocked on the Perimeter by Ashford-Dunwoody
2. one lane blocked at the GA 400 toll plaza
3. a wreck on the Connector
…and when I was driving home, all lanes were blocked near the Buford Highway exit on 85 North.
So, all in all, it was a perfect storm of bull squeeze.
Do you think it would be a good idea to double the cost of traffic tickets for wrecks caused during rush hour?
Sounds like a great idea Terri.
My Garmin battery lasts me at least 3 months every time, but then again, I only use it once a week or so. Still, though, that’s a good 20 hours of use per charge.
Yes, the Everybody’s at Emory is still open, but I would not suggest driving through until they’re done installing the new traffic circle right outside. It’s been a cluster for months. They should be done sometime this summer or fall.