I Thought That I’d Opened The Kimono

There were no saved drafts in my WordPress account this morning I feared that I may have accidentally published the incredibly raw framework behind today’s blog. This blog is hardly a polished product when published, imagine how ugly things are beforehand.

Can You Hear Me Now?
Since getting my first cellphone in 1999 I’ve had terrible cell coverage at the ITP-Estate. A few years ago AT&T released a device called a MicroCell which reroutes cell traffic to a user’s internet connection and completes the call path using internet bandwidth. It seemed like a viable option for me, but I refused to pay AT&T their $150 ransom required to “improve their network by using my own internet bandwidth.” A couple of months ago AT&T offered me a free MicroCell so I quickly snapped one up.

This is why projects at the ITP-Estate take forever to complete. I wanted to install the MicroCell in a specific location which would require running a new ethernet cable (and have relented to put it somewhere else). In running a new line I considered reconfiguring my entire house network. Each weekend passed and no install occurred. The other night I finally got around to installing the MicroCell in the newly-selected location.

The service thus far has been “okay,” not nearly as good as I hoped, but may finally make my cellphone useable inside the ITP-Estate.

More Talk Of Green
The other night at Taco Mac I looked up at a tv screen and saw that the Chicago Cubs were playing the Cincinnati Reds. However, one thing struck me as strange, the Cubs were wearing dark green. At first I thought the color palate of the television was skewed, but then I realized that it was not. It was obviously not St Patrick’s Day, and no amount of Google searching explained why the Cubs were in green instead of their traditional blue.

Anyone?
Anyone?
Bueller?

ITP Flickr Pic
Hey look, not one photo but two!

I’ve finally made it to Richard Blais’ Flip Burger Boutique. I’ve been meaning to go since it opened, and if anyone can guarantee a similar handful of beautiful girls that were eating there last night, I’d return often.

I had two burgers. The burger pictured here was called “The Local” which was a turkey burger. I also had a burger called “The Butcher” (I believe) which had bleu cheese.

Both burgers were delicious, if not pricey.

Oh, and because I wanted one, and one of the cute girls at another table had one, I finished my meal with a Nutella and burnt marshmallow shake.

The blackness of the marshmallows may be unappealing, but damn it was good!

Talk Nerdy To Me
When I first started developing Objective-C code I couldn’t get my mind wrapped around the concept of “retain counts.” An object’s retain count identifies whether or not the system is allowed to clean up its memory. The other day I experienced a real-world scenario which clarified the concept completely.

Consider two men using the restroom.
At this point a female janitor wants to clean the restroom and knocks on the door.
The two men yell out, which identifies the bathroom as being in use with a retain count of two.
The janitor must wait for both men to leave, thus making the retain count zero, before she can enter to clean the bathroom.
If one man leaves the retain count is reduced to one, but that’s still not good enough for the janitor.
If a new man enters the bathroom before the last man leaves the retain count is increased by one, further delaying the bathroom’s cleaning.
The janitor is free to clean another bathroom, and will try again later knowing at some point the bathroom will be empty when she returns.

That’s how Objective-C retain counts work, and how bathrooms in my office get cleaned mid-day.

You’re welcome.

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – okay, but I feel dumb (iOS development related) and have another big day of work ahead of me
Current Music – listening to this week’s “MacBreak Weekly” podcast
Website Of The Day – Yesterday the world lost a great baseball player who was also a great man when Harmon Killebrew passed away. When I was a teenager collecting autographs Killebrew graciously sent me an autograph in response to a letter I sent to him. I have obviously never forgotten this act of kindness over twenty-five years later. Today I’ll be making a donation to the Harmon Killebrew Foundation. Life is finite. Let’s all agree to start swinging for the fences today.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – nothing
Morning Weigh-In – not checking right now — did you see the milkshake I had last night? 😉

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

Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) – 0 (0)

Vegetarian Days – 0
Carnivorous Days – 17

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

May Goals
– “Completely” recover from the bike crash
– Not to get sick for the entire month
– Not get fired from my job
– Run at least once
– Eat vegetarian no fewer than five days
– Lose three pounds
– Go out on a date with someone else
– Read an entire book, specifically The Laws Of Simplicity

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 one half-marathon
– 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]