As I sit in bed under two sets of covers in a room being additionally heated by a space heater, inside a house that’s mildly heated by natural gas the Wunderground tells me that it is 24.9° F outside.
Brr, fucking BRR!
I’d like to stay where I am all day but I have some big fish to fry in preparation for the next three days at CocoaConf which starts tomorrow.
Today’s Daily Challenge
List three people who have a positive influence on your mood.
Whether upbeat or crabby, moods are very contagious – they have been shown to be transmitted in milliseconds! Listing who’s great at boosting your mood means you’ll know who to turn to when you need a quick pick-me-up or just want someone to smile along with.
How is a person who has lived alone most of his adult life alone supposed to answer this?
New Shoes For The Sled
Or “New Tires For The Jackmobile” if you wish.
All went well yesterday with getting the final set of new tires for the Jackmobile, and with any luck I will send in and receive the $70 rebate that went with buying four tires. Given that the grand total for tires, labor, and sales tax (can’t forget that!) was over $680 to have $70 returned would be nice.
I complain about the cost of tires and brakes but rarely do I skimp on them because, let’s be honest, if either of these fails in a critical situation the resulting cost is usually much higher.
The tires worked flawlessly as I travelled about 10 miles/hour (on average) on my brutal commute home last night.
ITP Flickr Pic
How about an imaginary photo today.
Imagine yourself snuggled deeply in warm blankets as you lie (I’m going to guess that it’s not “lay”) peacefully in a deep sleep.
That’s not working for you? How about this photo taken by one of ITP-Readers Lisa’s and Randy’s sons then…
“Axe And Log”
Blogging Potential For The Remainder Of The Week
Tomorrow’s CocoaConf schedule starts at 8:30am and runs through 5:30pm. Given that I have to drive to the airport and register before the session stars the likelihood of an morning blog seems remote. I might have a thing or two about which to blog about tomorrow night.
Friday is going to be an off day. The CocoaConf schedule starts early again and the festivities run through 9:00pm, and besides, who’s going to read this space over the weekend…?
Today’s Personal Project
Kill it today! And then go to the westside to try and meet some of my fellow nerds as we freeze our asses off at Monday Night Brewery (see today’s Website of the Day to see why I’ll be there).
Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – nervous
Current Music – listening to some KEXP Live Performances podcasts
Website Of The Day – Tonight I’ll be found at Monday Night Brewing for APIs and IPAs.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – n/a
Exercise (b)Log – nothing
Morning Weigh-In – 214 pounds (November 11)
Monthly
Foot Mileage – ~7.5 miles
Wheel Mileage – 0.0 miles
Gym Visits – 0 (0 cardio)
Days Of Bed-Making – 0
Vegetarian Meals – 13
Carnivorous Meals – 19
Marta Rides To Work – 5
Bike Rides To Work – 0
November Goals
– clean my basement to the point where I could have people over
– hire a plumber, an animal ridder, and a tree person to work on the ITP Estate
– dissolve Sharpened Stone, LLC
– follow up on some critical life details
– walk no fewer than 75 miles
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 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
- Pages 1.7 for iPad (Timestompers Guide) — by Sean Wells
- 60 Mountain Lion Tips — by David Sparks and Brett Terpstra
- The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business — by Charles Duhigg
- The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy — by Douglas Adams
- Amazing Things Will Happen: A Real-World Guide on Achieving Success and Happiness — by CC Chapman
- So Good They Can’t Ignore You: Why Skills Trump Passion in the Quest for Work You Love — by Cal Newport
- Born Standing Up: A Comic’s Life — by Steve Martin
- Who Am I: A Memoir — by Pete Townshend
- Still Foolin’ ‘Em: Where I’ve Been, Where I’m Going, and Where the Hell Are My Keys? — by Billy Crystal
- Unstuff Your Life!: Kick the Clutter Habit and Completely Organize Your Life for Good — Andrew J. Mellen
Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]
It seemed balmy at JEFDSDR when I left at 05:20- 33 degrees. That is a whole hour before dawn, so maybe the temp continued to drop.
“list 3 people who have a positive impact on your mood”- HELLO!! I think all of your devoted ITP blog therapists should be on the short list.
Last night was the 2013 wrap up for the Games. Good words all around, understanding for the F-up’s and good ideas for next year. It was hard passing through downtown at 10:25 last night, knowing I’d be back in 8 hours. Ugh.
Anyone have an idea of a quiet bar in the Buckhead/Lenox/Peachtree Hills area? We’re meeting with the park sales folks for a post mortem and need to hear one another.
Stay warm.
-FP
Steve – Fado? (I think an Irish bar woudl be appropriate, right? LOL)
I’m sure there are plenty – I personally like the Elbow Room, mainly because its an old house that is still there in the middle of all the Buckhead development. Its right across from the Atlanta Fish Market. they have very mimimal parking in the back, so you probably need to find a place on the street.
I don’t think $680 is all that bad for tires, especially sine you will be $70 of that back. Tires are expensive anymore. You probably could have gotten a better deal, but you didn’t get totally ripped off.
About to get moving this morning, well, I did write a blog post so it’s not like the morning has been a total waste. 🙂
Don’t know about bars in that area any longer and I doubt things are much the same as when I was in Buckhead for that dinner tour last year. Fado is really the only place that pops into my mind. Perhaps do a Yelp search?
Steve, you could take a look at this Thrillest article –> http://www.thrillist.com/eat/atlanta/where-to-eat-and-drink-in-atlanta
I forgot to mention, I got new rubber all around a few weeks ago and it makes all the difference- cuts road noise and improves handling!!
Thanks for the ideas!
that’s an interesting list Paulie – but I think most of those spots aren’t in my price range unfortunately.
We are going to a train the servers free dinner at the new Marlow’s Tavern at the Prado tomorrow night. I think they open next week. All they ask is a suggested $10 donation to Special Olympics. I like Marlow’s, so when I got the email I thought, why not see if I can get a reservation.
Interesting, Barb. I’ve had mixed success with Marlow’s but like the chain overall.
I don’t know if you know this, but Sleaze Puppy’s sister is married to John Metz, the owner & head chef. I think they have an interesting menu, not too much, but enough different options that most everyone can find something they’d like. And, they have High Life as their cheap beer, so Allan is happy.
I did not know that. So there is no Marlow’s behind Marlow’s Tavern? Huh.
I just thought it was some reference to Phillip Marlow.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Marlowe
yeah Paul – I have no idea where the name came from, I’ll have to ask Sleaze someday. I’d guess some sort of family name?