Dammit, I Think It’s Going To Rain On My Parade

I need a vacation. I need a reason to smile with the mouth which may be infected or require a root canal. I really could have used a nice, sunny weekend in Florida this weekend. But instead some tropical storm is going to work its way through the state and as of this morning the best I can hope for is 50% chance of thunderstorms on my last scheduled day there. Thankfully I am not a beachgoer so rain won’t fuck up that plan, but I really wanted to kickstart my photography with this trip and consistent rain will destroy that plan. It’s only a forecast, and forecasts are often wrong, so I’ll have to wait to see.

Today’s Daily Challenge
Take five minutes today to unplug from technology and enjoy the scenery instead

Just as your email inbox gets too full, so can your brain! Smart phones, laptops, and TVs all add to audiovisual clutter that our brains must then sort through. Even though these gadgets provide entertainment, they also add stress and can increase the levels of cortisol in the bloodstream. Over time, higher levels of cortisol can damage the heart, cause high blood pressure, and suppress the immune system. Taking time to unplug and enjoy the scenery allows you time to recharge the most important device: you.

Unplug? Are you serious?! 🙂

Traffic Mac
Yesterday was another horrible day for trying to get the hell out of the Perimeter Mall area. I don’t know what was going on yesterday afternoon, but I knew that I was desperately low on gas (bad planning on my part) so all I could stand to do was to drive over to the Perimeter Mall area’s one gas station before deciding to sit out the traffic jam elsewhere. Since it’d been awhile I chose to sit at Taco Mac for a beer and some unhealthy food. By the time I was done traffic had subsided so I was able to head on back to East Atlanta with time enough to relax prior to getting all of my stuff in order.

Man, This Walking Takes Up A Lot Of My Time
I thought that I left the house extremely early, sometime around 5:30am. Because I didn’t fill up my tank at the über expensive solo Perimeter Mall gas station last night I stopped at QT on my drive in this morning. It was a much-needed stop for cash and oil as well, and it also gave me the opportunity to clean the windshield of the Jackmobile.

By the time I got into work, finished my (nearly) five-mile walk, and showered, it was nearly 8:30am. What a time suck! Now I know that if I continue making the commitment to walking (and start to make the commitment to avoid drinking a lot of beer and eating a lot of food) that I might actually accomplish something I’ve wanted to accomplish in some time — lose a significant amount of weight. So I’ve got that going for me…

Tomorrow Will Probably Be A Blog-Free Friday
I have to see how things go.

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – bummed
Current Music – silence
Website Of The Day – One of my “June Secret Projects” that I’ve been doing poorly is to try and teach myself German. I’m going to play around with DuoLingo to see if that helps.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – walking, ~4.3 miles
Morning Weigh-In – not checking

Monthly
Foot Mileage – 19.3 miles
Wheel Mileage – 34.5 miles
Pushups – 0
Situps – 0
Stairs – 0 flights

Days Of Bed-Making – 0

Vegetarian Days – 1
Carnivorous Days – 19
Pancakes Eaten – 3

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

Books I’ve Read/Heard In 2012

1. Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me — Mindy Kahling
2. Flotsametrics and the Floating World: How One Man’s Obsession with Runaway Sneakers and Rubber Ducks Revolutionized Ocean Science — Curtis Ebbesmeyer
3. God, No! — Penn Jillette
4. The Elephant to Hollywood — Michael Caine
5. Here Comes Trouble — Michael Moore
6. How We Decide — Jonah Lehrer
7. Steve Jobs — Walter Isaacson
8. Death of a Salesman (Penguin Plays) — Authur Miller

June Goals
– Post at least ten new photos during the month
– Lose at least two pounds (net weight loss)
– Finish two books (audio or otherwise, comic books do not qualify)
– Exercise for thirty minutes no fewer than twenty days
– Not to get sick for the entire month (may be a moot point as of today)
– Eat vegetarian no fewer than ten days
– Watch all of the classes in the 2011 Winter semester of Stanford’s CS193P (iOS Development) course

2012 Goals [will be a little less fluid than last year]
– Get my weight under 200 pounds, or at least whittle myself back down to where wearing a 36″ pant size is comfortable
– Completely read ten books, audio books permissible
– Run Sharpened Stone as a real business
– Save $500 for the sole purpose of donating to charitable organizations of my choice
– Attend at least one professional photography workshop
– Ride in no fewer than five 50 mile or 50K bike rides
– Run in no fewer than one one 10K
– Submit at least one application under the name “Sharpened Stone” to Apple’s iOS store
– Restore the ITP Estate to a condition where it can be put up for sale at any time
– Buy a new iPhone (iPhone 5?), a new iPad (iPad 3?), and MacBook Air [look, not all goals have to be altruistic]

The Unmeasurable
– Continue backing up all data, including the off-site storage
– Become a proficient and profitable programmer in Objective-C
– Do not create a solution for something which is not a problem
– Eat smaller portions
– Start, and continue, to make my own bread using my bread machine as well as using the technique outlined in Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery That Revolutionizes Home Baking
– Read and discard magazines during the month in which they arrive (even digitally)
– See more live concerts than I did in 2011
– Eat more pancakes
– Drive/Fly somewhere for a real vacation

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]