Out Of Office

When you read this I’m either on my way to New York or have already arrived.

Today’s Personal Project
Stop worrying about things out of my control.

Today’s Daily Challenge
Resist the urge to check the news one time today.

It’s important to stay current and know what’s happening in our world. However, more often than not, the news highlights the negative aspects of life rather than the positive. Having constant reminders of stressful events can be upsetting. By ignoring the news just once (it will still be there the next time you check for it), you may find yourself maintaining a more positive outlook.

I’m on vacation, this will be super easy. I’ll also resist the urge to check work email. However, my mind is still consumed with my work.

A Really Poor Running Attempt
If I’m to run the 15k in January 2013 for which I have registered I am really going to have to step up my running. Yesterday I did a walk/run/walk with my boss and we petered out after a mere one mile of (mostly uphill) running. Poop.

Good-bye Chumby?
When I left the house yesterday morning my Chumby was reporting an error that it was no longer able to connect to the internet. I shut it off before leaving the house. When I arrived home I turned the Chumby back on, only to be greeted with a system-level error message telling me to turn the Chumby off and on again, and if the problem persists, go to the help section of the website.

I don’t have the time to debug this issue right now, and truth be told, the only special feature I liked about my Chumby was seeing my Flickr photos and weather forecast in addition to the time.

It turns out that:
1) Recently Chumby went out of business, its assets were acquired by another company
2) The database serving Chumbys became full yesterday, causing a service outage.

This morning I used my old iPhone 3G as an alarm clock.

Spend It Like You Have It. And I Have It
In cleaning out my briefcase yesterday I came across two unused gift cards — $50 Amazon, $50 iTunes. Since these cards were doing me no good while sitting unused in my briefcase I decided to apply them to their respective accounts so that I could spend the $100.

ITP Flickr Pic
Rats, the shots I took at the laundromat last night didn’t turn out very well.

And What Are You Doing April 6, 2013?
I ask because I am now double-booked. On Tuesday I bought two tickets for Ira Glass’ performance (talk) at the Ferst Center For The Arts on April 6th, 2013; I did so without checking my calendar.

I mean who has plans for April 6th, 2013 already?

Apparently I do.

I addition to the Glass show I have a ticket for the play “The Fabulous Liptones” at the Theatrical Outfit. Luckily I am a season ticket holder, so I think that I can exchange my ticket for a show on another night at no cost.

10,000 Steps
Yesterday at work we received an email announcing a 10,000-step challenge. By registering we’re being sent a free pedometer. From September 1st to October 16th(?) we have to wear the pedometer and log the number of steps (preferably more than 10,000) each day. I’m not certain if there are any prizes for those who participate, well, other than the potential for losing weight.

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – absent
Current Music – listening to this week’s “Systematic” podcast
Website Of The Day – One Thing Well is a geek’s paradise Tumblr blog. As the name suggests, each entry identifies a tool/app/whatever that does one thing, well.
Mode Of Transportation To Work – n/a
Exercise (b)Log – walking, ~1.9 miles; jogging, ~1.0 miles; walking, ~1.1 miles
Morning Weigh-In – checking again next week

Monthly
Foot Mileage – ~51.3 miles
Wheel Mileage – 0.0 miles
Pushups – 0
Situps – 0
Stairs – 0 flights

Days Of Bed-Making – 1

Vegetarian Meals – 34
Carnivorous Meals – 22
Pancakes Eaten – 2

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

August Goals
– Eat no fewer than forty-five vegetarian meals
– Take at least one load of stuff from my house to Goodwill
– Take unused electronics to recycling center
– Post at least ten new photos during the month (let’s try this again)
– Lose at least two pounds (net weight loss)
– Finish two books (audio or otherwise, comic books do not qualify)
– Not to get sick for the entire month
– Exercise for thirty minutes no fewer than twenty days
– Ride no fewer than 150 miles (might be hard given the amount of travel scheduled this month)
– Walk (or run) no fewer than 75 miles
– Do no fewer than 750 sit-ups
– Do no fewer than 300 push-ups

2012 Goals [will be a little less fluid than last year]
– Get my weight under 200 pounds, or at least whittle myself back down to where wearing a 36″ pant size is comfortable
– Completely read ten books, audio books permissible
– Run Sharpened Stone as a real business
– Save $500 for the sole purpose of donating to charitable organizations of my choice
– Attend at least one professional photography workshop
– Ride in no fewer than five 50 mile or 50K bike rides
– Run in no fewer than one one 10K
– Submit at least one application under the name “Sharpened Stone” to Apple’s iOS store
– Restore the ITP Estate to a condition where it can be put up for sale at any time
– Buy a new iPhone (iPhone 5?), a new iPad (iPad 3?), and MacBook Air [look, not all goals have to be altruistic]

The Unmeasurable
– Continue backing up all data, including the off-site storage
– Become a proficient and profitable programmer in Objective-C
– 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)
– See more live concerts than I did in 2011
– Eat more pancakes
– Drive/Fly somewhere for a real vacation

Books I’ve Read/Heard In 2012

1. Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me — Mindy Kahling
2. Flotsametrics and the Floating World: How One Man’s Obsession with Runaway Sneakers and Rubber Ducks Revolutionized Ocean Science — Curtis Ebbesmeyer
3. God, No! — Penn Jillette
4. The Elephant to Hollywood — Michael Caine
5. Here Comes Trouble — Michael Moore
6. How We Decide — Jonah Lehrer
7. Steve Jobs — Walter Isaacson
8. Death of a Salesman (Penguin Plays) — Arthur Miller
9. Fahrenheit 451 — Ray Bradbury

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]