Another Tiring Weekend

I’m so beat you’d think I’d done something crazy like exercise this weekend. How was your weekend?

Today’s Personal Project
Figure out my schedule for the next two weeks.

Today’s Daily Challenge
Recall your favorite subject in high school, and list three reasons why you liked it.

What we enjoy and appreciate says a great deal about ourselves. Recalling a favorite subject of study is a great way to remember that learning needn’t be a chore, but that it can be fun. By breaking away from the assumption that learning – or even work – is a chore rather than a joy, you can break through negative stereotypes and find pleasure in unexpected places. You may even find that you’re inspired to learn more about a specific topic.

I was a bad student in high school, and only marginally better in junior college. It wasn’t until I went to the University of Florida that I started being a “good” student again.

If I had to choose a high school course, my favorite was probably Chemistry.
1. I was good at it and I thought it, especially Organic Chemistry, was interesting.
2. I liked it so much I almost made a career out of it (I possess a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from the University of Florida. It wasn’t until I realized that I’d need a PhD in Chemistry to do any real research that I shifted focus to Computer Science — an alternative choice for major upon entering junior college — and earned a second Bachelor’s degree in it.).
3. I really don’t have a third reason at this time.

Tax Free Fail
On Saturday I went to Target and roamed the store for a while. While there I picked up two pair of shorts (believe it or not, my walking is wearing out a pair of running shoes and some walking shorts) into which I assumed I would fit. Admittedly the shorts are a size that I haven’t comfortably worn in a while, but I’ve been doing a lot of exercise and the shorts contained some stretch, so I was confident that they’d be sufficient.

I was unfortunately very wrong. While I could button the button, the shorts were far too tight standing, never mind making any attempt at sitting.

So along with my umpteenth attempt to start losing weight I now have to return my tax-free-purchased shorts to Target in exchange for a larger size. I’m not sure that I can pull a one-to-one exchange or if I’ll have to return the shorts and purchase the new ones, paying sales tax on the new purchase.

On a positive note I finally located a box of double-twelve dominoes at the Buckhead Target — and they reduced the price a couple of dollars for the set as well! Since realizing that I possessed double-nine dominoes instead of double-twelves I’ve been looking for double-twelves in Target for awhile. For as long as the Perimeter Mall Target has been out of stock you’d swear that domino playing has been sweeping the nation.

ITP Flickr Pic
Rats! After a successful week of posting images I have nothing for today.

If A Tree Falls In Your Back Yard And Your You’re Not There, Does It Make A Sound?
I’d bet it does, because the large limb which fell off my neighbor’s Sweet Gum tree into my back yard, taking off branches of my lone Pine tree and destroying all vegetation in its path must have made a right cacophony when it did.

But I wasn’t there to here it so I am uncertain when the limb came down (my guess is on the Thursday on which I was in Raleigh).

And unlike in previous incidents with this tree my neighbors have not offered to clean up the mess. I probably wouldn’t have noticed the limb (hell, I’d been home for over a week and hadn’t seen it) if not for opening my blinds and wondering why the back yard seemed “brighter” than it normally does. Upon going out onto my deck, and being swarmed by mosquitos (I need a bat house), and peering through the world’s tallest Japanese Maple I saw the limb as well as the section of the tree which used to hold the limb.

So it’s “my” problem (see also: owning a goddamn house). DANGEN! I have a few inquiries out to perform chainsawing / cleanup, and am looking for more referrals for tree services which will take down other tree limbs, before they take down part of my house, for a reasonable price.

Burgers, Drinks, Friends, Top Chef, And Dogs. What More Could One Want?
Last night I headed over to ITP-Reader Betsy’s abode to have dinner with her and a couple of her neighbors before she and I caught up on our Top Chef Masters viewing (I bought the season on iTunes and I bring it over to her house and we watch the episodes via my iPad connected to her TV. Ain’t technology cool?)

We cooked up some burgers on her grill, and devoured them along with some squash and zucchini, baked beans, and chips with French Onion dip (pro tip: a little French Onion dip smeared onto a cheeseburger is outstanding!)

At one point during the Top Chef Masters viewing I was sitting on the couch with Betsy’s 2.5 dogs (Mabel is a small beagle so she only counts for a half-dog) all sleeping on it. I’m glad that I am neither allergic nor afraid of dogs…

I arrived home early enough to knock out a little more of the code I had started writing earlier in the day, but instead closed my eyes and was out for the night (well, I’m an old man, which means I actually woke up several times throughout the night).

I Have Exactly Five Months
Even though the registration fee was kinda steep ($65 + $4 “Registration Fee”!) yesterday I registered for the Hot Chocolate 15K on January 13th, 2013. Consider this my commitment to trying to run again, and if all goes to hell consider this my $69 donation to someone’s bottom line.

And this time I will try extra hard not to let a car pull out in front of me as I ride my bicycle on a day on which I don’t feel like doing my training run.

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – all things considered, pretty decent
Current Music – silence at the moment
Website Of The Day – You say that you never got around to contributing to that cool Kickstarter project but still want to see about buying if? Check out Outgrow Me to see if the product is available for purchase.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – Friday = walking, ~4.9 miles
Morning Weigh-In – shit, I might as well remove this

Monthly
Foot Mileage – ~15.8 miles
Wheel Mileage – 0.0 miles
Pushups – 0
Situps – 0
Stairs – 0 flights

Days Of Bed-Making – 0

Vegetarian Meals – 24
Carnivorous Meals – 12
Pancakes Eaten – 2

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

August Goals
– Eat no fewer than forty-five vegetarian meals
– Take at least one load of stuff from my house to Goodwill
– Take unused electronics to recycling center
– Post at least ten new photos during the month (let’s try this again)
– Lose at least two pounds (net weight loss)
– Finish two books (audio or otherwise, comic books do not qualify)
– Not to get sick for the entire month
– Exercise for thirty minutes no fewer than twenty days
– Ride no fewer than 150 miles (might be hard given the amount of travel scheduled this month)
– Walk (or run) no fewer than 75 miles
– Do no fewer than 750 sit-ups
– Do no fewer than 300 push-ups

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

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) — Arthur Miller
9. Fahrenheit 451 — Ray Bradbury

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]