Sequestered

I have temporarily sequestered myself this morning so that I can attempt to write this post quickly, and then do some design work for my app.

What’s that? You say I’m done because Apple approved the app for sale? Oh no, the real work has just begun…

Today’s Personal Project
Swing by Target and either Sports Authority or Dick’s Sporting Goods (depending on which Target I find myself near later).

Today’s Daily Challenge
Go through your spice rack and throw away old spices that no longer have a strong smell or color.

Bottles of spices are so small that they tend to get packed and moved a lot, or shoved to the back of a drawer again and again. We also may buy a spice for a one-time recipe, never to use it again. Either way, pale paprika and sad sage don’t do anyone any good. By culling your spices, you’ll free up valuable space – and keep dishes spicy, which can help cut down on your use of salt.

I need to do this as one task in the “Renovate Kitchen” project I hope to complete this year. Holy Jeebus, that’s going to be an expensive project…

It’s All Starting To Come Back
The groin was feeling okay yesterday morning, so when I awoke early (as I do so often these days because I fall asleep so early) I headed up to the LA Fitness near work (I found out yesterday that LA Fitness has an iOS app (and probably one for Android too)). After warming up for twenty minutes on a stationary bike (I need to get there earlier in order to get a treadmill or elliptical machine) I headed into the weights area. I started with machines, and then made my way to the free weights in order to do some of the apparatuses like the Roman Chair. As I looked around the free weight area, memories of ancient workouts started to flood my mind. I could see myself doing exercises in Jeanne’s Body Tech as if I had been there yesterday.

I am taking a rest day today because I don’t want to overdo it too early in my return. However, with yesterday’s flashbacks I’ve already planned tomorrow’s workout and have a good idea how I want to spend my three weight-days-a-week.

I think that I wish I had returned to the gym sooner. I think that I am going to like spending time in the gym again.

ITP Flickr Pic
My new SDHC card reader arrived yesterday, so I was finally able to pull my first batch of photos from my new Nikon 1 V1. Here’s a sample:

I’ll need to shoot a lot more to learn this camera’s capabilities and limitations, but the initial impression is that it was a decent buy.

Vintage? Village? Whatever
Yesterday I joined my boss and a former coworker for lunch at Vintage Pizza in Chamblee. At first there was confusion as to whether the place is called “Vintage Pizza” or “Village Pizza” — no thank you Google! I have passed Vintage Pizza many times (especially on foot when I used to walk from the Chamblee MARTA station to Curry Honda to pick up my car) but had never been inside.

I had a salad, huge slice of very-thin-crust pizza, and a Coke (because it came with the lunch special and I needed the sugar hit). The food was really good. I will return, and if you go, get there early (11:30ish) because the place fills up by noon.

“Nobody goes there anymore. It’s too crowded.”
That saying is credited to Yogi Berra and may be my stance on Slider Night at The Shed. After having a beer at the original Taco Mac in VaHi (receiving props from the waiter because I have over 450 beers to my credit) and getting a haircut I wound my way down to Glenwood Park. I was so looking forward to sitting at the bar, eating a slider (or two) and with some roasted brussels sprouts while drinking a beer and chatting up the bartender on duty. It was 7:15pm when I arrived in Glenwood Park so I had no delusion that the bar would be empty, however I was dismayed to see it appear so crowded. As I turned into the tiny parking lot two cars exited. After circling the lot and finding no empty spaces, I drove up the Glenwood-Memorial Connector (I still call it that) and looked through the glass doorway as I drove by. The joint was packed!

I should have looked at this as an opportunity to sell myself in amongst a gaggle of people I’ve never met previously (or so I would assume) but instead I decided to turn around and head home.

I ate the last bit of chili I had in the refrigerator, with a slice of Texas toast (from the bread I made last Sunday) and drank half of a (lousy) beer. My goal was to then read for a couple of hours, but I wound up falling asleep nearly immediately after starting to read. I think my morning workout had finally beaten me.

The Return Of Top Chef Viewing Tonight
For all I know, the current season of Top Chef (Seattle) is about to wrap up. However, ITP-Reader Betsy and I have only watched the first couple of episodes, so I’ll be bringing the trusty iPad over to her place so that we can watch a couple of more tonight.

For a person who works in the “television distribution industry” I find myself not watching much television, and buying what I do watch from iTunes. While at Vintage Pizza yesterday my former coworker mentioned Anthony Bourdain’s “new” (to me) series The Layover (which either just aired an episode, or is soon to air an episode about Atlanta). I had never heard of this previously (I knew that Bourdain’s “No Reservations” had ended) so upon arriving home I purchased Season 1, and subscribed to Season 2 via iTunes (it’s so easy to buy things when you have store credit. see also: Amazon.com).

Wait a minute, didn’t I just complete an app that will allow people to transfer content from their DISH dvr to an iPad? 😉

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – good, not too bothered that I am taking a rest day (from the gym) today
Current Music – silence in my sequestered room
Website Of The Day – Twenty-seven Science Fictions That Became Science Facts In 2012. Go ahead, get your nerd on
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – workout at the gym
Morning Weigh-In – checking again soon

Monthly
Foot Mileage – 0.0 miles (need to do some of this)
Wheel Mileage – 0.0 miles (should keep track on the stationary bike)
Gym Visits – 3

Days Of Bed-Making – 1

Vegetarian Meals – 14
Carnivorous Meals – 13

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

January Goals
– lose five pounds
– walk/run no fewer that 100 miles
– read at least one book
– dissolve Sharpened Stone, LLC
– take at least one box of things to Goodwill
– post at least ten photos in the blog

2013 Goals: Measurable
– Get my weight down to 190 pounds so that I can wear a 36″ waist pants comfortably
– Completely read ten books, audio books permissible
– Dissolve Sharpened Stone
– Save $500 for the sole purpose of donating to charitable organizations of my choice
– Completely run at least one (finally fixed it for good, Jenka!) 10k
– Fix all (or at least most) of the things which are wrong with the ITP Estate

2013 Goals: Unmeasurable
– Simplify, simplify, simplify
– Continue backing up all data, including the off-site storage
– 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)
– Take two real vacations, perhaps one abroad
– Take a more proactive approach to meeting women (read “stop being such a pussy”)

Books I’ve Read/Heard In 2013

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]