Time To Put Up Or Shut Up

Things are starting to happen. It’s time for me to put up or shut up.

The weather is perfect for jogging (I can’t use the term “running” for what I currently do), now I just have to get myself doing it.

I shan’t be reflecting on the occurrences of 2001-09-11, nor the amount of freedom we have lost since. It is what it is.

Today’s Personal Project
Follow up on the activities which could potentially turn into something good. Unfortunately for you, the ITP-Reader, no details will be available for some time — if at all. Sorry, loose lips sink ships, or so it was said.

Today’s Daily Challenge
Give your arms a stretch: Flex your fingers and hold your arms out from your sides for twenty seconds.

Exploring new ways of moving our bodies can loosen joints and strengthen muscles. This arm-raising exercise targets the deltoid and supraspinatus muscles in the shoulder and upper arm. And by adding finger flexes to the stretch, you activate the nerves and muscles along the pathways from your neck through your fingertips, which can help to increase circulation.

Long Hours Wear Thin Quickly These Days
I was at the office until around 7:30pm last night (Wait, was the first football game on when I left? Yes, I think it was.). My reward for working late was being able to eat some of the pork ribs that I had stewing in the crockpot all day. They were good, but I think I can improve upon the technique and flavor in future attempts.

I arrived home, opened as many cavities in the ITP Estate as I could in order to suck in the cooling air, opened a beer, and promptly vegged out in front of the TV watching football. All attempts at starting a new coding project in order to gain experience for the one I am doing at work were met with violent disdain, and worked a couple “easy” crosswords on my iPad. I think I passed out on the couch some time around 10:30pm and made it into my bed about an hour later. If that ain’t living then nothing is.

ITP Flickr Pic
My brother and I walked past the location of the former Twin Towers, now housing a memorial and the construction of a new “Freedom” tower. My pictures were mediocre at best, so no photo is included today.

Tonight Will Be Different
I hope to be giving myself a reprieve from long hours and join ITP-Reader Betsy for some dinner and television watching. I hear tell that Hell’s Kitchen and Master Chef both ended last night (no spoilers please — though I watched neither) so maybe tonight she and I can watch a couple of our backlogged Top Chef Masters (again, no spoilers please).

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – Better. Yes, better, though I shall count no chickens before they hatch
Current Music – Silence. I think that I shall start listening to music again
Website Of The Day – My one 9/11 reference of the day Matador Network’s “Twenty-Two Things We Miss About Travel Before 9/11. Written last year, applicable today.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – walking, ~4.8 miles
Morning Weigh-In – 204.2 pounds (at least there was no increase, right?)

Monthly
Foot Mileage – ~30.8 miles
Wheel Mileage – ~50.0 miles
Pushups – 0
Situps – 0
Stairs – 0 flights

Days Of Bed-Making – 0

Vegetarian Meals – 15
Carnivorous Meals – 12
Pancakes Eaten – 3

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

September Goals
– Wear “nice” clothes to work at least twice a week, if for no other reason than to have people wonder why I am dressing up. New!
– 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
– 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 100 miles
– Walk (or run) no fewer than 100 miles
– Do no fewer than 750 sit-ups
– Do no fewer than 300 push-ups
– Read a non-techincal book

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]