Hashers, Hashers, Everywhere!

(This is the second time I’ve used this title. I really do need to up my creativity. Or, perhaps I need to try and reuse titles all week long.)

As I pulled up to the red light at the corner of Glenwood Av / Flat Shoals Av last night I saw the big “ON IN” outside of Grant Central Pizza East. I was sad not to see a “SV” in front of the ITP Estate, after all I have had the trees trimmed, the house painted, and even mowed the lawn last Friday. This morning I saw an unkicked check (tsk, tsk) in the center of the mini-roundabout at McPherson / Flat Shoals (is there still a “corner” when there is a roundabout?).

I looked for last night’s hash start on the internet this morning but the Atlanta Moonlite site has already moved on to next Monday.

Today’s Daily Challenge
Pledge to eat a snack or meal before your next important conversation.

Feeling hungry is one sign that your blood sugar is low. In a study, researchers found that spouses were more likely to feel annoyed or angry with each other when their blood sugar levels were low. You can head off feelings of aggression or resentment by planning a tough talk with someone for after a meal. Or, put the brakes on a brewing argument and resume your conversation after a snack.

If I had important conversations I’d do this because I love snacking.

Surprise Exercise
When I wrote yesterday’s blog post I had no idea that my boss had his racquetball equipment at the ready and was interested in knocking the ball around for awhile. He set up a court reservation (because my membership is at a level which does not allow such privileges) and we smacked the ball around for about 75 minutes. Admittedly I wasn’t as energetic as I would have liked to have been, but I gave it my best. “Exercise daily.” should be my new mantra.

After racquetball we headed over to The Bird (née Firebird) and had a few pints with some dinner. “Exercise daily and stop drinking beer afterward.” should be my new mantra.

I was home around 9:30pm and by the time I had unpacked and hung my wet workout clothes and towel and settled down with the Tuesday New York Times crossword I was passing out on my bed (yes, I’ve moved back into the bedroom with the warmer temperatures).

ITP Flickr Pic
“Buildings And Trees”

When I was strolling around the High Museum of Art a few weeks back the weather was awesome. This shot still needs a little help with its perspective; some day I’ll get around to fixing it.

Fucking Carpenter Bees
For years the unfinished wood-framed sliding glass door has been a haven for fucking carpenter bees (ha! my fingers instinctively typed “carpenter beers”; drink much?). I wonder what purpose these pests serve, do they pollenate? I’m sure that if I’d spent the time to read the Wikipedia page to which I linked I could find out. Anyway, when I had the house painted last December I also had the sliding glass door stained and thought that I had finally thwarted them. Of course, I was wrong. When I went onto the deck last week I saw that distinctive pile of fresh sawdust that is created by one of these fuckers. Seems as if one ambitious carpenter bee managed to find a corner into which it could bore its hole. Now I need to find some wood putty, fill it, and try to figure out how to match the darker stain color. DANGEN!

Oh Shit, I Was Going To Ride MARTA Today
I was so brain dead this morning that I forgot that I was going to ride MARTA to work today. Oh well, there is always tomorrow.

Demo Done, Survey Started
My demo is in Nashville now in the hands of the demoers (I know, this is not a real word). If I haven’t told you in person at this point I guess that I can announce that this demo will be showing off the potential to control network-connected electrical components (lights, locks, thermostats, etc) via a DISH Network set top box, and potentially other platforms later this year. My iOS app allows you to see the current state of these devices and individually change the state of them (turn lights on/off, lock/unlock locks, set the temperature of your thermostat, etc) either within your house or from a remote location.

My questions to you are:
1) If you haven’t done so already, do you ever see yourself installing network-connected electrical components in your house?
2) How would you use a mobile app to control these?

Today’s Personal Project
I’m thinking about heading down to midtown tonight for the monthly meet up of Atlanta iOS developers.

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – okay, but I have a lot of things to start changing starting today
Current Music – silence at the moment
Website Of The Day – Hang around the people of Asheville, and those that attend LEAF and you are bound to find out about things like the movie OMG GMO.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – racquetball, ~75 minutes
Morning Weigh-In – nope, still too scared to get on the scale

Monthly
Foot Mileage – ~5.6 miles
Wheel Mileage – 0.0 miles
Gym Visits – 2 (2 cardio)

Marta Rides To Work – 1
Bike Rides To Work – 0

May Goals
– have European trip plans carved in stone
– clean my basement to the point where I could have people over
– hire a plumber to fix all of the sinks at the ITP Estate
– go away two of the weekends

2014 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
– 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
– Sell the ITP Estate (tentative)

2014 Goals: Unmeasurable
– Continue to 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)

Books I’ve Read/Heard In 2014

1. “Johnny Carson” by Henry Bushkin
2. “Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative” by Austin Kleon
3. “Chaos: Making a New Science” by James Gleick
4. “What’s So Funny?: My Hilarious Life” by Tim Conway

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]