It’s Monday, and though I came into work (and was rather unsuccessful) each day this weekend, I’m declaring today a new start.
Goodbye Daylight Saving Time
If all is right with WordPress ITP-Reader Steve won’t have the opportunity to tell me that the blog’s timestamp is wrong.
On Sunday morning I had one of those weird “Huh” moments when I equated “gaining an hour” in the fall to getting an income tax refund.
I just realized that this “gained” hour is just like a tax refund. The Government is only giving us back what we gave them in the spring.
I published.
To my astonishment one of my friends made fun of me for “just” making this analogy; she told me that her mother has been saying the same thing for years. I’ve never heard the two concepts equated, have you?
Meals With Friends
Twice this weekend I did something that I don’t get the opportunity to do very often — eat with other people. On Saturday morning I met up with three of my Flickr buddies for an early breakfast at the Majestic Diner. The “plan” was to eat breakfast, make a quick stop at the Franklin Street overpass for a shot of the sun rising and lighting up downtown, and then head to the Wings camera swap meet. Breakfast, non-pumpkin pancakes with eggs and coffee, was a rousing success. Franklin Street stop was a bust because of the police who were out in force doing traffic duty for (I assume) some race associated with Chomp and Stomp. I never made it to Wings because of a wreck on the connector northbound which brought traffic to an early-morning snarl.
Last night I had the opportunity to have ITP-Readers Betsy, Debbie, and Steve over the house for dinner and some The Amazing Race viewing. Before heading into the office yesterday I prepared the crockpot with the makings of (an unfortunately bland) beef stew. Debbie and Steve brought over the makings for a wonderful spinach salad, and Betsy brought over a delicious apple pie. Unfortunately ITP-Reader Stacy fell ill and couldn’t make it over.
RealiTV Update: The Amazing Race — Have A Clue
Be warned, I’m providing SPOILERS.
As I found out via a Trivial Pursuit question on Saturday morning Africa is a wide country; this must be the reason The Amazing Race is spending so much time there.
All teams loaded into packed buses and headed to some place in the middle of Africa. Once all teams debused (think “deplane”) they hit what seemed to be a simple Roadblock. Each team had to pick a bicycle and take a person carrying a few fish to one of three locations. Once the fish were delivered they had to take the money earned from this task and hand it over to some guy who would gladly hand them their next clue.
A quick aside: Last night I added something to my life’s “bucket list” — Be one of the people on The Amazing Race who hands the contestants a clue.
Pretty simple Roadblock, right? Well, first there were the Africans who don’t speak English well. Then there was the broken crank suffered by Team WWJD!. And finally there was one of the biggest blunders in The Amazing Race history (not the biggest however, losing one’s passport will always take spot #1), leaving your clue behind and forgetting what you are supposed to do. How could you magnify this blunder? By waiting around and doing nothing! This was the blunder performed by Stone Mountain’s Team Sibling Rivalry as the female member of the team got the money for the fish but didn’t know what to do next because she left the clue with her brother, and then sat in the middle of Africa for awhile hoping that another team will show up.
While Team Sibling Rivalry worked on improving their tans all other teams were done with the Roadblock and headed to their next Detour.
At the Detour all teams except for Team Super Bowl Shuffle decided to row, row, row a tree out to some locals playing drums in the middle of a gigantic lake. (The Amazing Race is starting to sound like one of those Art School films you see at film festivals.) Nothing brings out the petty arguing like rowing a canoe hollowed out tree trunk! And petty arguing we saw from Teams I’m Sorry Who Are You? and Around The World With 80s Dad. Team B-Average Joe didn’t even try long enough to get into a petty argument, instead they finally cashed in the Express Pass that they won way back on Episode 1 also known as “The episode I should have won when I picked Team AARP to be eliminated, but instead it turned out to be the first of three non-elimination legs.” Unfortunately for me, Team AARP took to rowing together like a couple who has been happily married for fifty years and completed the task with ease. As for Team Super Bowl Shuffle they decided to choose the Detour task which involved wading out to a boat and transporting goods and people back to the shore. At first I thought they’d chosen well, but in the end I think that they chose the harder of the two task. Perhaps Marcus couldn’t fit his former-NFL body into a tree trunk?
With the Detour done the teams had to find the “Jamaica Shop” (I don’t believe CBS identified exactly what is sold at the “Jamaica Shop”) where they would have the opportunity to use awesome tablet computer technology in bum-fuck-Africa to U-Turn another team. Teams B-Average Joe, WWJD, AARP, and I’m Sorry Who Are You? all reached the U-Turn and declined to U-Turn anyone. As Team AWW80sD approached the U-Turn they saw Team Super Bowl Shuffle running in the other direction. For some inexplicable reason Team AWW80sD didn’t recognize another team running in the other direction as an indication that they’ve already been to the U-Turn and U-Turned Team Super Bowl Shuffle. Because Team Super Bowl Shuffle had already encountered the U-Turn they were not affected, though I have an idea that next week there may be some animosity between the former NFL tight end and Captain Male Chauvinist (thank you, spell checker!).
Meanwhile, Team Sibling Rivalry finally made it to the Detour… At this point no amount of CBS editing can make us think that they will not finish last. And because CBS has not renamed the show to “The Infinite Race” they are booted from the race.
TAR Game Results:
Yours Truly: Team AARP
ITP-Reader Terri: Team I’m Sorry Who Are You?
ITP-Reader Stacy: Team Around The World With 80s Dad
ITP-Reader Betsy: Team Around The World With 80s Dad
Obviously there were no winners this week as Team Sibling Rivalry appeared to be a very strong team.
Happy (What Would Have Been Your 144th) Birthday, Madame Curie
Had I known that today is the anniversary of Madame Curie’s birth I would have saved the tweet
I’m surprised that no one has opened an Indian restaurant called “Madame Curry”. I’d so eat there.
until today.
When it comes to comedy, timing is everything.
Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – okay, going to be a seriously busy week
Current Music – listening to a recent “This Week in Photography” podcast
Website Of The Day – With my Daylight Saving Time / Income Tax revelation I thought about registering a FairTax.org spoof called FairTime only to find out that someone (in Germany) already owns that domain. Ach, du lieber Gott! or Dangen!
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – Friday: stair climbing, 6 flights; Saturday, nothing; Sunday, nothing
Morning Weigh-In – didn’t check, sure I wouldn’t have liked what I saw
Monthly
Foot Mileage – 0.0 miles
Wheel Mileage – 0.0 miles
Pushups – 0
Situps – 40
Stairs – 30 flights
Consecutive Days Of Bed-Making (Longest Streak) – 0 (0)
Vegetarian Days – 0
Carnivorous Days – 6
Marta Rides To Work – 0
Bike Rides To Work – 0
November Goals
– Lose three pounds
– “Completely” recover from the bike crash (though I’m beginning to this this will never happen)
– Ride my bike no fewer than 100 miles
– Exercise for an hour no fewer than twenty-five days
– Not to get sick for the entire month
– Eat vegetarian no fewer than fifteen vegetarian meals
– Not get fired from my job, nor quit my job
2011 Goals [will be a little more fluid than in past years]
– Reduce my weight by 25 pounds based on the my weight as measured on February 1st
– Completely read the book Daily Negations which I received as a Christmas gift.
– Run Sharpened Stone as a real business — one which does not get penalized.
– Save $500 for the sole purpose of donating to charitable organizations of my choice
– Attend at least one professional photography workshop
– Enter no fewer than three photographic competitions / gallery showings
– Ride in no fewer than five 50 mile or 50K bike rides
– Run in no fewer than two one half-marathon
– Submit at least one application under the name “Sharpened Stone” to Apple’s iOS store
The Unmeasurable
– Continue backing up all data, including the off-site storage
– Become a proficient programmer in Objective-C
– Do not create a solution for something which is not a problem
– Eat smaller portions
Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]
Hmm, just realized that I didn’t write about Saturday night’s phobia fail. No time to append this to today’s blog, return tomorrow to see about what I am talking.
I am so sorry I missed last night. I would have loved to have seen that “ITP-reader Stacy contributed two big bottles of wine” – which was the plan. *sigh* I was NyQuiled asleep before the show even started. AND accidentally deleted it this morning, so thanks for the recap!
*sigh*
It’s going to be a big day of sighs I think….
You were missed and am hoping that you feel better today. CBS streams episodes after the fact so if you really want to watch you can always do that.
I barely stayed awake for TAR, we decided to go hiking at Kennesaw Mtn in the morning, and I realized I need to hike more often, because it was much harder than it should have been. I also remembered I have knee issues when going downhill, I need to get some sort of braces (or ???) to help with that. It was a gorgeous morning for a hike. Then we went to Wild Wing Cafe for way too many beers (& wings) to watch the Falcons game, and then everyone decided it was so nice out, we should go sit on our deck & drink more beers. So, it was tough staying awake, but I did, and the whole time kept thinking, what an idiot – just go back & get your clue & read it!!!!
So sorry you are under the weather Stacy. We were such a small group, we didn’t even make it to the giant screen in the basement. We need to have another gathering for the finale’ and drag some of those other blog lurkers out to dinner…
Now that the time has finally changed, I’m sorry to say I will become good friends with my rollers. I did ride the road yesterday and have to say felt pretty good, so maybe there is something to those trainers. Sufferfest, here I come!
-FP
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that I agreed to host a TAR finale watching. By then (I’m assuming mid-April at the rate they are booting people) my basement will be 100% ready for people. Heck, it’ll be ready whenever the finale happens.
Barb, didn’t you buy hiking poles in Utah? Would those help?
Also, with the colder weather I’m thinking of using my trainer more. I wonder if I, or someone mechanically inclined could figure out how I could make a stationary trainer from the Red Rocket. The front forks are hosed, but the rest may be salvageable for stationary purposes only.
And as a preemptive question: ITP-Reader Jenka, what did you make in your crockpot yesterday?
yes- I did by the trekking poles, and they help a lot, but my knees still hurt a lot when going down hill. I think it is an I T band issue (or so I’ve been told my someone a long time ago)
maybe, just maybe, if the stars are aligned correctly, we would attend a ITP viewing party for the finale……..
If your rear wheel & cranks & shifting works, you would just need to figure out how to prop up the bike in the front, wouldn’t you?
I’m thinking about a crock pot meal very soon, maybe a meatloaf, a co-worker gave me some ground venison last week.
Anticipating being awake way too early today I planned a short early morning run. The time change had no effect on me and I stayed in bed until 6:45.
I’ve been out of sorts since Saturday. I went to the gym and somehow, while doing deadlifts, I gave myself the worst headache I’ve ever had, sharp, stabbing pain over my left eye. It came back during my run yesterday and it keeps coming back, not sure what sort of damage I’ve done to myself this time??
In other exciting news, part of the Columbus River Walk collapsed yesterday, it affects miles 15/18 of the marathon course on Saturday. Talk about timing, good thing it didn’t happen during the race.
I spent much of yesterday in the kitchen, I made more butternut squash soup, some chicken tortilla soup, meatballs and pre-cooked more chicken for the week. If I get more squash in my CSA box this week I’ll have butternut squash soup to spare, my freezer is almost full.
Oh we did go to Chomp and Stomp for a bit, it’s gotten too big and too crowed. I don’t know if we will go next year. We made one loop and left, checked out Octane @ The Jane, the coffee was really good but at $3 a cup not sure if it will be on a regular rotation.
WHOOPS!! That would have made the marathon a bit like a hash!
Indeed. It really sucks for those people who were using the event as a Boston qualifier.
I heard from many sources that Chomp and Stomp was packed. I guess it’s going to be the new Decatur Beer Festival for me — fun in the earlier days when it wasn’t crowded, now an event that I wish not to attend.
Martha, which CSA are you with?
If I don’t go camping this weekend (things are still very iffy) I have a dinner that I intend to make this weekend which I am calling “experimental.” I’ll explain more when it’s made, regardless of the outcome.
I’m with Riverview Farms, ICF has a little different deal with them, we are only doing 7 weeks (compared to the normal 10). Last week’s box contained 4 smallish butternut squash, in addition to the big one I bought at the farmer’s market on Sunday. I’ve made two batches of soup so far, just using whatever I have…the first batch was squash, carrots, zucchini and leftover mashed potatoes. This batch squash, carrots, apples & sweet potatoes. I froze 3 or 4 quarts this weekend. Next time around I’d like to try the meat CSA as well.
The race officials are making plans to have the alternate course certified, if they can’t fix the ‘broken’ course before Saturday. They have been on top of this since it happened.
Well, I had to make do with what slim pickings were in the house when we got home, so I used the last pound of ground pork from my CSA, some chicken, diced tomatoes and onions, a little rice, and some frozen mixed veggies. And a LOT of garlic. It was delicious, and smelled up the house nicely while we recovered from our exhausting trip.
Martha, if you need a repository for unwanted soup and/or veggies, I’m your woman! I eat soup every day, and I love to cook with squash. I’ll take whatever you can’t use, except for sweet potatoes since neither David nor I like them.
You don’t like sweet potatoes? INCONCEIVABLE! 😉
I just returned from a United Way lunch and it was blackend fish over candied sweet potatoes… 2 things I would not have paired. I like them both, but not together.
Blackened and candied should never be paired, imho.
I don’t care for either blackened or candied…
My two favorite add-ins to make mashed sweet potatoes:
1) Chinese five spice and coconut milk
2) chipotles in adobo
Jenka if I get more turnips there are all yours…
Not to mention, sweet potatoes are ALREADY sweet, by definition. Candying them should never be done.
I have a friend who makes a sweet potato casserole every Thanksgiving that’s basically sweet potatoes and 3 types of sugar. The thing is inedible.
Yay, turnips!
It was odd. Normally the chef is pretty good, but I think he missed the boat on this one.
Hahaha, I read the last two comments in reverse order and had quite the chuckle reading “Yay, turnips!” out of context.
Unrelated, I’m on the sixth floor and watching a couple of ladybugs walking along the window. Seems awfully high up for a ladybug.
That’s why I like the sweet, spicy & smoky combo you get by adding the chipotles. I never liked sweet potatoes as a kid, of course the only time we ever had them was at Thanksgiving, covered in marshmallows…bleck!
I’ve only discovered the sweet potato recently…and it was in the form of a fry. Maybe not the best thing for ya… but it was baked and had a nice little side of bleu cheese. Now, that’s a sweet potato eaten correctly!