You Have Questions, I Have Answers

On days that I really haven’t done much there is not much to blog about. So today I’ll take the opportunity to answer some questions posed to me by the ITP-Reader Community.

Since no one from the ITP-Reader Community has posed questions, I’ll make some up for this blog entry.

To begin…. Greetings from Duncan, South Carolina!

Where The “F” is Duncan, South Carolina?
Well, since you obviously have an aversion to using Google Maps let me take care of that for you.

View Larger Map

Why Are You In Duncan, South Carolina?
Now you asking the right questions…

Duncan, South Carolina is a pit-stop on my way to Raleigh, North Carolina. I’ll be spending the weekend with ITP-readers Lisa and Randy this weekend. I left work last night, fought with Gwinnettians in traffic, and made my way to Duncan by 9pm.

I had a Grand Plan that I had decided against because this being early March I figured that I couldn’t count on good weather. As it turns out, the weather was great but my health notsomuch, so I’m glad that I chose Option “B.”

How’s Your Health?
Hey, thanks for asking. I’d say I’m at 85% right now. I feel well enough to go out of town and have fun. Also important, I feel like I’m beyond contagious, so I don’t fear about passing this along to Lisa who’s got “the preggers.”

That’s Nice, Now About That “Grand Plan?”
Oh yeah.

Like most of the decisions made in my life the decision to stay in Duncan came about through a strange path. Originally I was going to sleep in the Jackmobile (still trying to show it some love). There is a South Carolina State Park nearby and I was planning on staying overnight there by sleeping in the Jackmobile. When I realized that my trip was going to be in early March and the weather can be unpredictable (any remember that it snowed in Atlanta last Sunday?) I chose to stay in a hotel room instead.

The Jackmobile? Are You Not Worried About Its Ignition?
Yep. But, what’cha gonna do? I’ve got AAA so at least I’ve got that going for me.

This stress-relieving pleasure trip was the whole reason that I brought the Jackmobile in early for its 90k service, which I’ve well-documented as being incredibly expensive, last week. Ironic, no?

What Does One Do In Duncan?
Leave.
I’m headed out after a shower and eating a continental breakfast (read “waffle”). I was going to stroll around Duncan for photo opportunities, however I feel okay but not quite that okay. I’m hoping by day’s end that I’ll be feeling at 90-95% by not stressing myself out today.

I Bet You Missed Hell’s Kitchen
Nope. Duncan is close enough to a “real” city to have a Fox affiliate on its cable system. Therefore the first thing I did when I arrived at my hotel room was to turn on Hell’s Kitchen.

It was another “typical” Hell’s Kitchen. Screwing up. Yelling. Screwing Up. Crying. Shut it down!

I’m a little tired of the process however. I agree whole-heartily that Little Miss Cheerleader, who seemingly rips off the general public by charging $300 for her cooking classes, needed to go. However, what’s the point of going through the nomination song-and-dance if Ramsay is only going to send them back into line and fire the person he wants to fire? It all seems overly-contrived to me.

I Heard That Fat Tire Has Made It To North Carolina.
Hmm, I might have heard about this too. I’ll check it out and report back on Monday. 😉

You Remember That You’ll Lose An Hour On Sunday, Right?
Yeah, that’s going to be a bit tough. The drive from Raleigh to Atlanta is long enough, losing an hour beforehand is not going to thrill me.

However, for the long drive I have my first Audible audiobook loaded onto my iPod, so I should be okay. The audiobook to which I will be listening is “A Long Way Down” by Nick Hornby, for all who want to know without having to ask. Get it? “A Long Way Down” because it’s a long way down from Raleigh to Atlanta. Oh never mind! I don’t know why I try sometimes…

What, No Photo Today?
Sorry, got nothing for you there. I didn’t have the opportunity to take any photos of the Grand Metropolis of Duncan. I’ll try and give you two photos on Monday to make up for today.

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – a bit meh
Current Music – listening to Wilco on my iPhone via Pandora
Website Of The Day – Let’s say you wanted a listing of all the Internet’s top stories… “You wanted a listing of all the Internet’s top stories” (well done!), where would you go? Why not All Top? Seems reasonable to me.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – I’m not working today. Let me rephrase that, I’m not headed to the office today.
Exercise (b)Log – nothing

Monthly
Foot Mileage – 2.5 miles, Wheel Mileage – 0 miles
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) – 5 (5) (and holding since I’m not at home)
Vegetarian Days – 4, Carnivorous Days – 1
Marta Rides – 0

March Goals
– Complete all necessary work on my kitchen
– Lose no fewer than one pound
– Run no fewer than 30 miles
– Completely read Softbox Lighting Techniques for Professional Photographers, and Conceptual Blockbusting: A Guide to Better Ideas

2009 Goals
– Reduce my weight to 190 pounds (today’s weight was 199.5 pounds)
– Completely read the book 1001 Paintings You Must See Before You Die
РEarn at least $150 through photography sales in order to cover the cost for the renewal of the Jalape̱o Beach SmugMug account I opened the other day.
– Save $500 for the sole purpose of donating to charitable organizations of my choice
– Attend at least one professional photography workshop

The Unmeasurable
– Continue backing up all data, including the off-site storage
– Become a proficient programmer in Objective-C (iPhone development) and Ruby on Rails (Black Sheep web page concept)
– Do not create a solution for something which is not a problem

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]