Not Making The Grade

As food days go yesterday I earned a ‘D’ — too much, of too bad. Oh well, today is another day.

He’s Working Late
And if any of you read that title and thought “Lone Justice?” give yourself ten bonus points… It’s been nearly twenty-five years (or more?) and I’ve never be able to hear that phrase without internally hearing Maria McKee shout it as she did on that Lone Justice album.

I had to put in a long day at the office yesterday in an attempt to get something done by today (I came close). I didn’t go too crazy however as I decided to leave the office around 7:00pm as the temperature at my desk crept up toward 83ºF.

I decided to skip a standard Taco Mac stop before heading home and stopped for dinner at an undisclosed location on my way back to East Atlanta. [note to self: I need to come up with a list of restaurants that I want to try so that I can reference it on nights like last night. note to others: Any suggestions?] By the time I arrived home it was nearing “late” and all I could do was handle some business and attempt to do some coding before getting frustrated and then passing out around 11:00pm.

Today will be an extremely busy work day, but I’m skipping out after my eight hours are logged.

For Me Developing With Xcode 4 Is Like Doing Surgery Wearing Mittens
When Apple introduced the latest iteration of their development suite (Xcode 4) I was still in my iOS development diapers and didn’t think much of it.

At work we use the previous iteration (Xcode 3) and I’ve come to know the ins and outs of it as I’ve learned to use it over the past year. However at home I’ve already made the leap to the latest and “greatest.”

As I continue to find out as I do development at home it seems as if almost everything has changed with the transition from Xcode 3 to Xcode 4. WTH, Apple? In addition to forcing me to consult the “help” every time I need to do something, Apple has managed to take away features which I’ve come to rely upon. C’mon, folks, don’t do this to us.

Blerg! Blerg! BLERG! These changes have made me a very unhappy developer, especially since I know that iOS 5 is looming on the near horizon and with it brings even more paradigm shifts.

Don’t get me wrong, I love programming and for the most part don’t mind having to learn new technologies. However for me trying to get things done within Xcode 4 is like trying to read a book published in a language I can barely read. And before you ask, it’s not very easy to go backward to reinstall Xcode 3 on my home computer otherwise I’d be doing that today. Besides, everyone else is moving forward and I need to keep up with the pack.

And The Winner Of Tonight’s Ride Is…
The decision to ride tonight has been made. In the name of convenience we’ve decided to ride from Decatur along the Dekalb PATH. So the unnamed mountain bike (the senior statesman in my transportation fleet) is strapped atop the Jackmobile so that I can drive it back down to Decatur for a ride. Were time not a critical factor in my current life I would have tried something nutty like riding my mountain bike all the way to work and then taking MARTA with it to Decatur for the ride. Que sera sera…

Today It’s More Like A Spelling ‘F’ Than A Spelling ‘B’
Some days I struggle with spelling. Today is one of those days (hell, for all I know there are errors above that the talented ITP Grammarians have already caught). Today’s difficulties (which are oddly similar)

• The word describing the region down which food is passed: “t-h-r-o-a-t”
• The word meaning “all the way through, in particular”: “t-h-r-o-u-g-h-o-u-t”

though I oddly had no problems with “though” nor “thought.” All I can say is “Thank Jeebus for spellcheckers (and alert ITP Readers)!”

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – okay, though things are stirring which need my attention
Current Music – listening to this week’s “Coverville” podcast
Website Of The Day – I planned to hold onto highlighting the East Atlanta Strut until Friday’s blog, but I’m in one of those “grab it by the throat” moods. Whatcha doing Saturday? Weather may be perfect. Come drink in my hood and if you see ITP-Reader Tony wish him a happy birthday.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – nothing
Morning Weigh-In – Dang it, I forgot again! Perhaps if I had remembered that I was going to weigh myself today I would have eaten better yesterday.

Monthly
Foot Mileage – 0.0 miles
Wheel Mileage – 99.5 miles
Pushups – 0
Situps – 0
Stairs – 27 flights

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

Vegetarian Days – 1
Carnivorous Days – 12

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

September Goals
– “Completely” recover from the bike crash
– Ride my bike no fewer than 150 miles
– Not to get sick for the entire month
– Not get fired from my job
– Run at least twice
– Eat vegetarian no fewer than five days
– Lose three pounds

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]