Single Point Of Failure

I think I put myself closer to death last night by playing racquetball for ninety minutes than I ever have in the past.

Or maybe it’s the pollen.

Or the unseasonably cold weather.

Whatever the reason I was completely spent last night as Hank and I went over to Taco Mac after playing. I stayed out much later than I wanted to and when I finally went “to bed” I tossed and turned all night long inflicting pain upon myself as I have not done since the early days after the big bicycle accident a few years ago.

My drive in to work added pollen-induced suffering.

And I’ve now made it into the office which is currently a chilly 66.4°F. [Update at 10:00am: It’s a balmy 67.1°F in the office, and I am still wearing my fleece.]

Tough start.

Today’s Daily Challenge
Share the number-one thing you do to ensure you get a good night’s sleep.

Getting sufficient sleep is one of the most important things we can do for our health, but with millions of adults complaining of insomnia, we clearly can use some help getting those zzzs! By sharing your sleep tip and reading how others do it, you may get some good ideas that you can use tonight.

If you’ve been paying attention you know I have nothing to say here.

All Eggs, One Basket
If you’ve followed me for a while you know I am a bit of a stickler for making backups of my data. I regularly back up my laptop to a portable USB drive and I routinely backup my working source code to a USB flash drive. Data stored in three places. Fail-safe, right?

Imagine my surprise the other night when I realized that, while I was diligent in storing my data in three places, I was an idiot for keeping all three copies in my briefcase. One swift theft of my briefcase and all of my data would be gone.

Thankfully I have realized this before it ever happened and have rectified my deficiencies by storing one copy my data at the office at all times. If the worst ever happens it will suck, but at least it won’t be a devastating loss.

Sound The Alarm, I Bought New Sneakers
Okay, it’s not that big of a deal and I thankfully did not set off Sport Authority’s anti-theft alarm when I walked out with the new “cheap” ($50) sneakers that I will wear while playing racquetball.

The alarm came later.

With time to spare before heading into the gym I took a much-needed cat nap in my car. Wouldn’t you know that as soon as I unlocked the door from the inside the Jackmobile’s car alarm started sounding. Ugh. This situation always proves to be nerve wracking to me as my key fob doesn’t always perform and I am left standing there looking like a big idiot who doesn’t know how to turn off his car’s alarm system. Thankfully this did not happen yesterday so I only looked like a small idiot.

Today’s Personal Project
If I feel better by this afternoon I will head to George’s.

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – not great, and completely unprepared for this unseasonably cold weather both outside and inside the office
Current Music – silence at the moment
Website Of The Day – Last night I registered for the newly-announced CocoaConf that will be held in Atlanta in December. The CocoaConf Fall tour includes stops in Columbus Ohio, Las Vegas, Seattle, Boston, and Atlanta. Ideally I’d travel for these conferences as I did with Austin but that really drives up the expense, especially when you are stuck with a gas-guzzling car.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – racquetball, ~90 minutes
Morning Weigh-In – Arg, I keep failing to jump on the scale

Monthly
Foot Mileage – ~0.0 miles
Wheel Mileage – 0.0 miles
Gym Visits – 3 (3 cardio)

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

April Goals
– have European trip plans in place, if not 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
– walk no fewer than 75 miles

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

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]