One-Third Done

Look at the calendar kids, today is May 1st. Therefore, one-third of 2013 is in the books.

Today’s Daily Challenge
Read about signs and symptoms of alcoholism.

Alcoholism is a disease that affects men and women of all ages worldwide; in the United States, there are 80,000 deaths every year that can be attributed to excessive alcohol use alone. The disease has also been linked to violence, social problems, risky behaviors, some cancers, and several other conditions. By reading up on the symptoms, it can give you a better understanding of what alcoholic behavior looks like and how it differs from safe alcohol use.

I’ve heard of this thing called “alcohol” and its negative dangers. Perhaps I should look into this more in depth.

April Wrapup
If I were to grade April I’d give it a “C.”

Sure there were highlights like hanging out with ITP-Reader Jenka while going to see Ira Glass, finding out that I am getting an income tax refund this year, not getting sick again once the early-month’s woes passed, hearing some decent live music, and finally making it to The Argosy.

Conversely, there were equally as many setbacks like hurting my foot, not losing nearly enough weight, drinking too much (which is not nearly as much as I want to drink), working too much, not riding my bicycle, getting frustrated and angry too often, and remaining terminally-single, just to name a few

I’m hoping that May brings better weather, luck, and attitude into my life. If nothing else I have LEAF and the wine tasting at The Shed to look forward to this month.

One Of The Strangest Thing To Ever Happen To Me
I wish that I could say a friendly girl came up to talk to me last night, but no…

If I were tell you the name “Ed Kranepool” would it mean anything to you? Most likely not. Growing up as a Mets fan in Queens, NY the name was familiar to me as Ed Kranepool played for the Mets for my entire childhood.

While listening to the Sunday Puzzle podcast (with Will Shortz, editor of the NY Times Crossword Puzzle) the other day the name “Ed Kranepool” popped into my mind. I was thinking of names that sound as if they are comprised of two distinct things, “Kranepool” = “crane” (sic) + “pool” was the first name to arrive.

During lunch hours a bunch of us sit around and do the NY Times crossword puzzle. Yesterday we started a recent Saturday puzzle and the first clue that I saw was “He played his entire 18-year career with the NY Mets.” Care to venture a guess?

That’s right, “Kranepool”.

C’mon, you have to admit that this is an eerie coincidence. Hell, I’m betting 90% of you had never even heard the name “Ed Kranepool” until today.

It Was Not For A Lack Of Trying
I’ve found one thing that has been ruined by The Beltline — parking for Masquerade.

I made it down to Masquerade with plenty of time to spare before the Black Rebel Motorcycle Club (a band I was stoked to finally see perform) show. Because of the nice public space created by The Beltline the old parking lot in which people used to pay $5 to park is gone. I drove around the area surrounding looking for parking — paid or free — only to find nothing available. While I don’t mind walking, I am always conscientious of the fact that I will be walking back to my car alone, pretty late, in not the greatest of neighborhoods. I decided to give up and see a different show.

My backup plan was to drive into Little 5 Points and catch Surferblood at Variety Playhouse. As I found out when I arrived in Little 5, that show wasn’t at Variety Playhouse, it was at The Goat Farm on the west side of town.

Ugh.

I’d already eaten dinner.
I am trying not to drink alcohol every night of the week.

Fail.

I drove home.

Oh Poop!
Upon admitting defeat I returned home to make the best of a bad situation by watching Sunday’s The Amazing Race. (Programming Note: This week is the finale!)

My positive attitude was quickly overturned when I opened my white MacBook, the one I’ve not been using because I’ve been bringing home my black MacBook each night to work, had drained its battery to the point of no return. Dangen! With the battery in this dead state disconnecting the power cord causes the laptop to die immediately. Of course I Googled for a fix, and I tried them all to no avail.

I have two three four, options (in decreasing desirability / probability):

1. buy a new $130 battery from Apple (this laptop is the last in the user-replaceable battery line)
2. give up on this laptop and get rid of it (the upside is that I have one fewer thing in my life)
3. buy a new laptop (the most expensive option, and not a great option at this point)
4. buy a cheap knock-off battery (the most dangerous option because these tend to burn/explode)

I’m in no rush to make a decision, but I will likely be deciding soon.

ITP Flickr Pic
“Use The Street Name As Your Guide, Folks”

Someone in the cartography community has screwed up the spelling of “Perimeter Center” and has labeled it “Perimiter Center.” I’ve seen this spelling error in Nokia’s Maps, Apple’s Weather app, as well a Yahoo!’s Weather app.

Delivery Day
Today will be another long and stressful (gee, I wonder if I can make it to LA Fitness today?) day at work.

Today is “Delivery Day” during which I must deliver the 1.0 version of an ever-changing library I’ve been working on since February.

I will deliver.
I will not be happy about it.
That is all I will say in public about this matter.

Next!

Today’s Personal Project
Figure out how to make myself happy.

Stats & Goals
Daily
Current Mood – angry about many things
Current Music – silence
Website Of The Day – Last night I added another audiobook to my virtual bookshelf — David Sedaris‘ “Let’s Explore Diabetes With Owls.” Oooh, looks like Sedaris will be making book tour stop at Barnes & Noble in Edgewood Retail District on May 30th — marking my calendar!
Mode Of Transportation To Work – my car
Exercise (b)Log – nothing
Morning Weigh-In – 208.6 pounds on the home scale

Monthly
Foot Mileage – 0.0 miles
Wheel Mileage – 0.0 miles
Gym Visits – 15 (8 cardio)

Days Of Bed-Making – 0

Vegetarian Meals – 42
Carnivorous Meals – 46

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

May Goals
– return ITP-Reader Martha’s coffee percolator to her
– return ITP-Terri’s crutches to her
– not get sick
– lose three pounds
– exercise at least twenty-five of May’s thirty-one days
– finish at least two of the books I am reading
– take at least one box of things to Goodwill
– post at least ten photos in the blog
– drink a lot less alcohol
– prepare a house repair plan and budget

2013 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
– Dissolve Sharpened Stone
– 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

2013 Goals: Unmeasurable
– 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)
– Take two real vacations, perhaps one abroad
– Take a more proactive approach to meeting women (read “stop being such a pussy”)

Books I’ve Read/Heard In 2013

1. Pages 1.7 for iPad (Timestompers Guide) — by Sean Wells
2. 60 Mountain Lion Tips — by David Sparks and Brett Terpstra
3. The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business — by Charles Duhigg

Cheers,
Paulie [eatl/ga]