Springing Ahead

Here's a friendly reminder that most of the US will leap forward an hour at 2am Sunday morning. Remember to update your clock or you will be late to church brunch Black Sheep hashing.

"At the haash, the Black Sheep haaaash"

And Here's Another Good Tip
Most people know that you should check the batteries in your flashlights and smoke detectors (you do have flashlights and smoke detectors, right?) this weekend and again in the Fall when we fall back an hour.

However, a lesser known tip is to change the passwords to important computer accounts such as email this weekend. I bet if I asked ten people to name the last time they changed their email password nine would answer "never" or "I have no idea". It's your privacy, you may want to protect it.

Picasa Es Su Casa?
I've once again started playing with Picasa in an effort to "fix" the darkness of some of my point-and-shoot pics. Here is an early example of my work.


(Daniel, Andy, Paulie -- what a handsome group)

I admit the picture above is far from perfect, but at least you can see us whereas before we were all too dark to even recognize. I think my camera was in "Witness Protection Program" mode when the picture was taken.

I strayed from Picasa when I bought my iBook last year because it is a Windows-Only application. However, with a small virtual stack of photos that need help and me with scant little time to learn a more powerful application that can run on a Mac, I'm ignoring this shortcoming.

Bally Bally High
I've once again become a member of Bally Total Fitness. What can I say, they made me an offer I couldn't refuse. This doesn't mean that I can't workout at other facilities, but I think it will mean the ending of my long-time relationship with Jeanne's Body Tech (a club I've been paying for but not visiting). Maybe if I start working out again I might even lose a few pounds...

Quarterly Report
Today ends the first quarter of 2006. I can't say that it has been the best of times for me. I've failed with almost every initiative that I had for Q1. I wish this was an early April Fool's joke, but sadly it's true. If you'd like to read an April Fool's joke today, go back and read my entry for April 1, 2005.

Mercurial Mr. Mould
What a difference a night makes. If you read yesterday's blog I gushed how much Bob interacted with the crowd. Last night? Notsomuch.

It seemed that Atlanta's early-onset pollen had started catching up to Bob because he admitted that his singing wasn't that good last night. It probably also didn't help when some guy kept requesting "Too Far Down", to which Bob replied "I heard you the first five times" and then I felt it necessary to chime in "He should have been here last night" (btw- unless I blacked out at some point Bob never played "Too Far Down" last night).

The set list was mostly the same. Bob played more newer material, including some unreleased songs and swapped songs played Wednesday for different ones on Thursday. In addition to "Too Far Down" I most noticed the removal of "Panama City Hotel", and the inclusion of "Needle Hits 'E'". "Poison Years" was also part of the set last night, though I cannot recall if he played it on Wednesday.

From The "Why Don't I Train For These?" Department
Tomorrow I am scheduled to ride the "Fabulous Fifty" mile course of the ALS Ride up in the mountains of North Georgia. You may remember that this was the ride in which we were snowed upon last year. Fortunately the weather calls for no such April Fool's shenanigans tomorrow, however the April's Fool will be me, the rider who has not been on his bicycle but once since last September / October. Historically I rarely train for these sort of things (and wonder why I am not in better shape or perform better), and sooner or later this mentality is going to catch up with me. Tune in on Monday to see if my number has finally come up...

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal...
Current Mood - meh
Current Music - Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 26 playing Rainer Maria -- "Catastrophe Keeps Us Together"
Website Of The Day - Introducing the World's First anti-social website Isolatr.

If you ever want a quick glance of the sites I've picked for my Websites Of The Day, you can check them out on del.icio.us, my user name is InsideThePerimeter (go figure), and they are all tagged as "blogged."

Exercise (b)Log - nothing

Cheers!
Paulie [eatl/ga]

Hey Sother, If You Read This You Should Have Come Down To Atlanta This Week

Sorry about the title, it's an InsideThePerimeter insiders' joke.

Hey Web Developers, Do Me A Favor
Please ditch the fucking sound from your websites, or at least initialize your site to have its sound muted until I turn it on. Some of us open websites at the office and it's pretty damn embarrassing to have some site start playing music loudly when you are not ready to mute it immediately. Just because you can have sound doesn't mean that you should have sound. My 2 cents.

More Reasons For Me To Hate Lake
I forgot to mention this yesterday, and for those of you who couldn't watch
The Amazing Race 9 on Tuesday night were probably pleased that I didn't have a spoiler yesterday. While I wasn't a huge fan of the "Double D's" I was more than a little pissed that Lake's decision to stall them at the roadblock was a major factor in their getting booted off on this week's episode. I'll miss the eyecandy.

Ach! Mein Gott!
Yesterday I decided to update my Amazon Wish List. Most of the items on the list are of "medium" and "high" priority, with a few exceptions categorized as "highest" priority. Well, that was until yesterday when I noticed that for some reason "highest" had been replaced with "Muss ich haben". I shit you not, somehow the German equivalent of "I must have" has replaced "highest", at least for one day. Is this Flickr envy, because Flickr greets us with a different language's term for hello everytime we log in?

Most Interactive Bob Mould Show Eva
The Bob Mould I saw last night was different from the Bob Moulds that I have seen in the past. This one was (mostly) at ease on stage. At points Bob even interacted with the crowd! This from a man whose only spoken words during a Sugar show years ago was "That's why we don't take breaks" when fans started screaming out the titles of Husker Du songs during a momentary silence. Bob talked about Asheville (the previous show), a smattering of current event stuff which ended in a joke about how "his people" (he's gay) would only picket if they canceled "Project Runway", how every new band, save She Wants Revenge, sounds like Joy Division (he challenged us to prove him wrong), and he asked what shows we had enjoyed recently. Bob even signed autographs after the show. All this and I was home by 10:30pm. Incredibly. Fucking. Cool!

As for the set... For the long time fan it was a flashback spanning twenty-plus years. Bob played for well over an hour, completing approximately twelve-to-fifteen shows (I can't count that high). The set was Bob with guitar; he started with an electric-acoustic (is that a misnomer?) and about two-thirds of the way through transisition to his electric-blue electric Fender. The set consisted of songs from Husker Du ("I Apologize", "Hardly Getting Over It", "Makes No Sense At All", "Celebrated Summer"), Sugar ("Hoover Dam", "Panama City Hotel", "If I Can't Change Your Mind", "Your Favorite Thing"), and of course works from his solo career ("Wishing Well", "Paralyzed", "Circles", "High Fidelity", "See A Little Light").

Hey! Where are the pictures? Um. I forgot my camera. I'll try to remember tonight. Yes, I'm going back for more. You'll recognize me as the nerd dressed in the Bob Mould "Modulate" t-shirt that I purchased at a Bob Mould show at the Variety Playhouse four or so years ago.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal...
Current Mood - actually? pretty damn good
Current Music - Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 26 playing Eagles Of Death Metal -- "I Want You So Hard (Boy's Bad News)"
Website Of The Day - When a site such as Simply Bovine gets sent to me, how can I not pick it? Thanks Stacy.

If you ever want a quick glance of the sites I've picked for my Websites Of The Day, you can check them out on del.icio.us, my user name is InsideThePerimeter (go figure), and they are all tagged as "blogged."

Exercise (b)Log - nothing

Cheers!
Paulie [eatl/ga]

Four More Beers! Four More Beers!

Last night I had a fun time hanging out with Maigh, Aaron (sp?), reader Oliver (dude, start that damn blog), and too-good-to-be-a-reader-or-blogger Kim at the North Highland Pub. My dinner consisted of four pints of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, at least until later when I munched on some Ritz crackers and cream cheese (hey, remember how healthy I am?).

I'm An Adult Now
Today I going to rent my first safety-deposit box from a bank. Oh, the responsibilities of adulthood. For some reason I feel the need to have off-site storage for some of my prized possessions (don't worry, the original Pat Benatar t-shirt from the Crimes of Passion tour in 1980 will still hang in my basement).

I Got My $2
Last week when I bought a beer at Ted's Montana Grill I received these as part of my change



At first I thought I was handed something like "Ted's Bison Bucks" house cash, but then quickly realized that they were actually real $2 bills.

Bob Mould: Night One
Tonight I will be attending the Bob Mould show at Eddie's Attic. I'll also be attending tomorrow night's show and this will mark the first time that I have purchased tickets for back-to-back shows. I am intrigued to see how different the shows will be.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal...
Current Mood - foggy from the weather not the beer
Current Music - listening to Adam Curry's "Daily Source Code" podcast
Website Of The Day - Photo.net is a neat site for seeing what others are doing with their cameras. It's also a good place to read some reviews of camera equipment.

If you ever want a quick glance of the sites I've picked for my Websites Of The Day, you can check them out on del.icio.us, my user name is InsideThePerimeter (go figure), and they are all tagged as "blogged."

Exercise (b)Log - nothing

Cheers!
Paulie [eatl/ga]

The 'R' Is Silent

I've determined that it's very rare when I correctly type the word "your." So if you ever receive an email from me which contains a line like this

Why don't we meet at you house at 9.

you should understand that it's not my New York accent bleeding through, just some mental typing block.

I also have a problem with typing "in the" which always comes out as "int he" thanks to many years of C programming.

Look Who's Healthy
I received a voicemail from my doctor's office yesterday giving me the news that I am as healthy as a horse. I've got good blood pressure, my urinalysis came back clean, cholesterol levels are fine, no hernia, and nothing unexpected happening where there's a sign that says "Do Not Enter." Sure there are the issues of drinking too much and needing to drop some weight, but must we pick nits?

Killer Cereal, Not Cereal Killer
I want to develop an adult cereal. Technically I guess all adults (especially immature ones like myself) can still eat cereal, but I want to develop a fun cereal targeted at adults. I want to develop "Coffee Puffs." Coffee Puffs would be very similar to Cocoa Puffs but instead of tasting like chocolate they'd taste like coffee. It seems like a natural to add milk and sugar to Coffee Puffs just like you would other bowls of cereal. Once people have Coffee Puffs in their pantry they can kick the Starbucks habit. What time of year do they hand out the Nobel Peace Prize? I'll keep my schedule open.

My First Trip To Wrigley
Probably won't happen this year. As I've mentioned, I will be in Chicago this summer and as chance would have it the Cubs will be playing home games against the Cardinals while I am in town. Being the ingenious person that I am, I decided to buy a single ticket to the day game to be played on Friday July 28th. Here is where the "best" single seat available is



Damn, that really sucks.

And Don't Forget
Maigh and I will be hanging around North Highland Pub tonight at 7pm collecting goods for Andy's neigbors who lost everything to a house fire last weekend (read more). If you have the time come around, say hello, and bring something for the family or kick in a few bucks.

CD Pick Of The Week
Only four new releases today. With such a slim set of choices I have to pick the Yeah Yeah Yeahs "Show Your Bones" cd. Admittedly I have heard nothing from this disc. What, this doesn't please you? Then I say go "alternative country" and pick up a copy of Atlanta's own National Grain's self-titled release. You'll be supporting a local act and that's never a bad thing.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal...
Current Mood - goofy, cuckoo for Coffee Puffs
Current Music - Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 26 playing -- Cat Power "Living Proof"
Website Of The Day - What's in a name? Sometimes not much as witnessed by the website Big In Japan which is developing a Web2.0 toolbox for all of us digital carpenters.

If you ever want a quick glance of the sites I've picked for my Websites Of The Day, you can check them out on del.icio.us, my user name is InsideThePerimeter (go figure), and they are all tagged as "blogged."

Exercise (b)Log - nothing

Cheers!
Paulie [eatl/ga]

Away From My Keyboard

Even if I had gotten ITP Central back online this weekend, I wouldn't be able to communicate today. My day is completely accounted for with an all-day work event. Don't let this dissuade you from leaving comments.

Paulie's Peach Fuzz
Mmmm bison. As planned I went to Ted's Montana Grill for lunch on Friday. Mmmm bison.

While at Ted's I saw Atlanta actress Jen Apgar having lunch with her mother. You don't care? Well I do because I think that she is pretty cute.

Taxing My Nerves
Why does it cost over $50 in order to file my taxes and get my return electronically deposited into a bank account? I feel just like I did on Friday when I laid upon the examining table in the fetal position. And to think that I used to be miffed when I had to affix postage to my tax returns. Hell, in retrospect that was a fucking bargain!

For any tax accounts in the audience, this is officially the last year that I will be doing my own taxes. I am completely tired of this task and will be outsourcing it next year. Keep me in mind...

Homeward Bound
I had four options for Saturday night. Four!

• Jenny Lewis @ Variety
• Nine Black Alps @ The Loft
• Dave's True Story @ Red Light Cafe
• a party

I managed to do none of them and I stayed home alone instead. My Saturday evening consisted of doing my taxes and watching the movie Wallace & Gromit in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit. For Wallace & Gromit fans I highly recommend the movie, for all others you may want to pass.

Casita. Casita.
For some reason I was craving Mexican this weekend. And when I am at home that generally means eating at La Casita Cantina. So not only did I eat at La Casita, I ate at La Casita twice. May I suggest the burro with asada, a side of chips with salsa two-ways, and a beer? This meal did me right twice.

The only problem I had with eating out this weekend was that on Sunday I felt like Steve Martin in The Lonely Guy. I was the only person in there eating alone, the remainder of the restaurant consisted of couples and one group of six.A ll that was missing was the big flood light accentuating the fact that I was alone.

Privately De.licio.us
I just read some cool news, de.licio.us now allows users to add bookmarks that are not visable to the public. In a sense this violates the premise of de.licio.us as a social bookmarking site, but sometimes I want to add bookmarks that are of use only to me.

Go Gators: NCAA Basketball Edition
Well, all of the teams I picked for the Final Four have been knocked out of the tournament. Yes, this means that I predicted my alma mater wouldn't make it to the Final Four. Oops. However, this means that I can root for the Gators whole-heartedly now.

One Of My Homework Photos
Tonight I am to submit three photos for critique. Here is the one that I think is the best of my lot.



I am slowly starting to learn how to use my camera (a Nikon D50 for those of you not in the know). At this point in time it's just a matter of getting me to think like a photographer, something that I have never really done before.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal...
Current Mood - fair
Current Music - Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 26 playing -- Pavement "Summer Babe (Winter Version)"
Website Of The Day - Need more music podcasts? Give AMP - the association of music podcasts a try.

If you ever want a quick glance of the sites I've picked for my Websites Of The Day, you can check them out on del.icio.us, my user name is InsideThePerimeter (go figure), and they are all tagged as "blogged."

Exercise (b)Log - running, 7 miles on Sunday

Cheers!
Paulie [eatl/ga]

It's Not Like I Need A Reason To Visit A Bar

But on Tuesday night I will be joining Maigh at the North Highland Pub to collect money/goods for Andy's neighbors whose house caught on fire the other day. See Andy's Flickr Photos for more.

It's during times like these that I remind myself that it doesn't take a monumental disaster (hurricane, typhoon, tornado, etc) for people to lose all that the own, and that if I were ever placed in a similar situation I would hope that people would help me out.

According to Andy the children in need are
- Paris (5 y/o girl) wears size 6-7, and a kids small
- Robert (11 y/o boy) wears size 16-18, and a kids large
- Omar (14 y/o boy) wears size 18, and a kids extra large

Of course if you have any housewares, gift cards, or cash I am sure that the family will take them as well.


Paulie [eatl/ga]

The Devils Went Down To Georgia

It was a tough night to be a Devil (or even a Devil fan) in Atlanta last night

New Jersey Devils 5
Atlanta Thrashers 6

LSU Tigers 62
Duke Blue Devils 54

E Shoots, E Scores
Last night I was given a free ticket to the Thrashers game. What a fantastic game (with the exception of the fight that nearly broke out in our section because we told some Devils fans to sit down -- they were in the front row of the section, there was absolutely no need for them to stand up).

As you might imagine with a Thrashers game occurring at Philips Arena and something called the NCAA Sweet Sixteen (I was excited because I thought perhaps that I could find a date) occurring at the Georgia Dome, the CNN Center food court was packed nuts-to-butts tits-to-pits to the gills. That didn't stop me from consuming some chinese food and nearly two complete $6 beers (Sierra Nevada Pale Ale) prior to the game's start. Bad, bad, bad for the waistline. Good, good, good for the psyche.

MARTA Stories
I had my first Bahama Marta Breeze experience last night. I admit that I didn't understand how I could turn my token into a Breeze card (I'm no alchemist, you know) but the friendly Marta employee walked me through the procedure.

While on the subject of Marta, I've learned of an interesting drinking club (like I need another). Over at Atlanta Pub Crawls they are have altered Marta's acronym to stand for Moving Alcohol Rapidly Through Atlanta by organizing pub crawls that use the train to get from bar to bar. As I understand it they will be holding a pub crawl Saturday night starting at 6pm. If this sounds interesting to you check out their website.

There Comes A Time In Every Man's Life
Nearly nine months after turning forty I am going in for a physical. I believe that today will be that physical, although I won't be sure until I am asked to sing a few bars of "Swing Low."

But Then I Going For Bison!!!
Lunch today will find me at Ted's Montana Grill downtown. I'm meeting up with one of my brother's pals and going to be discussing some finances. It's time to plan for the future, unless of course that physical goes dreadfully wrong.

I'll have my camera in tow (and if you read that as "cameltoe" you are complete fucked in the head -- just like me) and hoping to snap some photos while strolling downtown in order to finish my homework for this week.

Lust For Life
This is probably not about who you are thinking about, it's about someone else -- Phoebe Cates. Since I first set eyes upon her in "Fast Times At Ridgement High" well over twenty years ago I have followed her career closely. And for the last seventeen years I've been jealous of her husband Kevin Kline.

I read yesterday that Cates has opened a shop called Blue Tree in New York and has been seen working the register. Hmm, me thinks that the next time that I am in the Big Apple I might have to drop in...

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal...
Current Mood - ready to be poked and prodded
Current Music - Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 26 playing -- Ben Folds Five "Don't Change Your Plans"
Website Of The Day - While I won't be using Num Sum for number summing (get the name now?) today, it looks like a really cool online spreadsheet. More Web 2.0 for you weekend.

If you ever want a quick glance of the sites I've picked for my Websites Of The Day, you can check them out on del.icio.us, my user name is InsideThePerimeter (go figure), and they are all tagged as "blogged."

Exercise (b)Log - nothing (this is really no way to lose weight, is it)

Cheers!
Paulie [eatl/ga]

These Are The Hardest Days

Most days I start out with a concept for the daily blog. Today I am drawing a complete blank. Keep reading nonetheless, sometimes you can polish a turd...

An Update On ITP Central
My linux firewall (now running Ubuntu) is still not operational. I blame my Manager/Agent (me) for scheduling too much stuff during the week and weekend trips. Some of you may notice that I have occasionally been able to reply/respond during the day, that's been accomplished through the use of my portable devices and the limited ability to find a free WiFi signal. Hopefully this weekend I will be back online. I appreciate your patience with my slow email responses.

I'll See You And Raise You $10
With half of Digital 101 over (oh crap, must remember to do homework) I am considering signing up for Digital 102. When I went on to the Showcase School's website today I noticed that they have raised the price of their classes by $10. Don't get me wrong, I still think that the price is reasonable, I was just startled to see a price increase.

Loving The Prime!!!
A while ago I mentioned a free three-month trial for Amazon Prime that I passed on. Well, since then I have actually signed up for the trial and am loving it! Free two-day shipping on everything! I realize that I will do more shopping at Amazon, which is exactly what they want, but if I can get near-realtime gratification for eighty dollars a year I think it's money well spent.

So That's What You Learn In Athens...
I was going to make this today's website of the day, but the opportunity to give more space to Virtual Vaudeville and dig at the University of Georgia was just too tempting.

Yes you read that right, Virtual Vaudeville. Fuck, not even I am old enough to remember Vaudeville. However, thanks to the scholars over at UGA I can experience the heydey of Vaudeville while sitting at my twenty-first century desk. Woof. Woof. Woof.

Seeking To Expand The ITP Empire
Like I need another excuse to spend money, I am looking to buy a little recorder that I can sneak into to venues to attempt a little recording (I blame you internets for making me a bad man). I know that iPod (which you know that I am an owner) has killed off many of the other mp3 players, but if you have a suggestion that's

• currently manufactured
• has line-in for a mic
• produces decent sound recordings

I'd like to hear about it. If I can buy it at Amazon, I might even be happier...

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal...
Current Mood - blank
Current Music - listening to the "Perfect Head" podcast
Website Of The Day - Have to do presentations you say? Don't want to resort to Powerpoint (boring!)? Then give Thumbstacks a try. It's filled with Web2.0 goodness!

If you ever want a quick glance of the sites I've picked for my Websites Of The Day, you can check them out on del.icio.us, my user name is InsideThePerimeter (go figure), and they are all tagged as "blogged."

Exercise (b)Log - nothing (twice something out of my control got in the way. I am not happy)

Cheers!
Paulie [eatl/ga]

Pass The Dutchie, It's A Mostly Musical Edition Of ITP

No Farhfugnugen For Yougen
Followers of this season's The Amazing Race will now know that Atlanta's own Wanda and Desiree have been eliminated.

IMHO their grave error was letting Wanda (mother) drive the Autobahn. You'd think that driving on 285 or on the Connector should have prepared her for this, but apparently not.

On a side note: Every time I hear that somebody is from "Atlanta" I want to know if they are really from Atlanta or one of the surrounding areas that can get lumped in as being part of Atlanta. Oh wait, I just read in their bio that Wanda is from Smyrna while Desiree is from New York.

I'm Sorry, But You Are Not The Cars
I know that you call yourselves The New Cars because your band consists of Elliot Easton (btw if anyone has his solo release "Change No Change" on CD please let me know) and Greg Hawkes. However, the lack of the major forces behind the original The Cars (Ric Ocasek [apparently not interested], Benjamin Orr [R.I.P.]) means that your really stretching the truth.

This would be like Peter Criss (holy shit, he looks like a morph between Martin Short and my dentist) and Ace Frehley getting The New Kiss together without including Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley.

Having said all that, I'd actually pay to go see this new lineup if not for the fact that they are scheduled to play at Chastain Ampitheater. I. Loath. Chastain.

MMM Is For Music
It wasn't until I sat down to rip my new CDs to mp3's that I realized what I had done. The last three CDs I have purchased are by bands whose name start with 'M'. Manchester Orchestra's "You Brainstorm, I Brainstorm, Brilliance Needs An Editor" (purchased a few weeks back at their show), Matt Pond PA's "Several Arrows Later" (purchased last night at Decatur CD) and The Minus 5's "The Minus 5 (The Gun Album)" (also purchased last night). [before you say "But The Minus 5 starts with a 'T'!" keep in mind I store it as "Minus 5, The"]

Of the three the Manchester Orchestra disc is the one that will most likely get the most play. Although they borrow heavily from Death Cab For Cutie and Bright Eyes the songs on the disc are very well crafted (with the exception of the cough that appears in the final track).

Ground Thyself Lazy Man
I was supposed to go to The EARL to see The Selmanaires and The Joggers last evening. However, since I didn't get any exercise in prior to the show, I grounded myself. Childish? Perhaps. Effective? Only time will tell...

And So That I Don't Repeat History
You think "It's Wednesday, Paulie must be heading to George's tonight." I say "Nope." This month's Thursday Night dinner group is meeting up on a Wednesday this month. So that I don't have to repeat last night's punishment I will force myself to run at lunch.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal...
Current Mood - getting there
Current Music - Sirius Satellite Radio Channel 26, playing The Replacements -- "Androgynous"
Website Of The Day - I just heard about a music magazine called Performer. The have three regional editions. For those of us in the Dirty South, I suggest reading their Southeast Edition.

If you ever want a quick glance of the sites I've picked for my Websites Of The Day, you can check them out on del.icio.us, my user name is InsideThePerimeter (go figure), and they are all tagged as "blogged."

Exercise (b)Log - nothing

Cheers!
Paulie [eatl/ga]

I'm Not A Lumberjack, But I'm Okay

I now am 100% lumberjack-free as the winter beard has been shed. This will become ironic if the caricature of myself that I commissioned ever arrives. I guess I'll have to commission a clean-shaven Paulie caricature now...

When two people in as many days tell you how old you look with a beard it's time to make a change.

Thick As A Brick
I just don't seem to get this whole digital SLR thing. The pictures I took for my second homework assignment are just shit. I know, patience Grasshopper. Patience is a virtue that I don't have in large supplies.

In addition I've still got that whole "I am afraid that this new camera is broken and that I'll have to give it up for some period of time so that it can be repaired" phobia. Why? Because unfortunately for me, that's the way my life works.

Built To Spill No Longer Built To Perform
I received an email yesterday informing me that I was to receive a refund for the Built To Spill / Camper van Beethoven show at the Variety Playhouse in May. Apparently at least a portion of the tour has been cancelled. Pity, I was really looking forward to it.

Closing Of An Era
Fat Asian Baby has shut down. Fear not, she has not gotten in trouble with the law, instead I have read that she has been offered an offer she can't refuse, but one that requires her to kill the blog. I look forward to seeing the creations that come from her in the future...

Since Shoobie hasn't been a regular blogger recently, keep an eye on this space to learn about corned beef announcements. (fyi - I'm not Jewish, but since I am half-Irish I consider myself to be qualified to make these announcements)

Apparently You Don't Read My Blog, Do You?
Not you, you are very attentive...

Yesterday I received a piece of spam (which somehow made it through the filters) sent to the email associated with this blog. What made this message noteworthy was that it was kindly informing me of an upcoming bridal event that will be taking place in Atlanta in the near future.

Um, I am neither female, nor have I been on a date in over a fucking year! (issues, I apparently have issues)

As you can tell, for some reason being reminded of these facts (the no-dates, not necessary the lack of a second X chromosome) has bothered me. Meh!

Music Worth Buying?
The number of the count shall be twenty, not nineteen nor twenty-one, but twenty. That's how many new (American) releases there are today according to Metacritic. Perusing the list I see a few entries that I might consider.

First there is the release of "The Back Room" by The Editors (I looked for their site, but google returns to many generic hits). I've heard a couple of songs of this disc via a podcast that escapes me right now and thought that they had a decent sound.

Another release that sounds good to me is the release of "Bring It Back" by Mates Of State, who if you are not doing something stupid like riding 50 miles in north Georgia on April 1st, will be playing in Atlanta on March 31st at the Variety Playhouse¹.

1 : Not that I could make the show even if I wasn't riding because I would be going to see The Minus 5 at Smith's Olde Bar on that evening instead.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal...
Current Mood - blah
Current Music - listening to the "Perfect Head" podcast (sorry, it's neither about beer nor sex. it's a music podcast)
Website Of The Day - I need a good laugh today so I think that I will be creating my own silly walks using Monty Python's Silly Walks Generator a lot.

If you ever want a quick glance of the sites I've picked for my Websites Of The Day, you can check them out on del.icio.us, my user name is InsideThePerimeter (go figure), and they are all tagged as "blogged."

Exercise (b)Log - nothing

Cheers!
Paulie [eatl/ga]

Back From Black

I've Never Been So Cold In My Life
I drove up to Black Rock Mountain knowing that it was going to be cold. I drove up to Black Rock Mountain knowing that there would be a huge campfire. I drove up to Black Rock Mountain knowing that I would be consuming massive quantities of alcohol. I assumed that the latter two would help me overcome the first.

After failing "Mission #1" (left for the reader to interpret) on Friday night I left the campfire after "Buzzkill" ("PMS" to hashers in the know) shut down the loud, drunken singing and went into my tent to snuggle in my sleeping bag. I'm not sure how many times I woke up shivering and absolutely miserable. On Saturday morning I vowed to pack up my tent and leave.

Of course after I started drinking again on Saturday morning the concept of leaving camp was forgotten, although the agony of the previous night was not.

When one of the hashers asked me if I wanted to spend the night on the unclaimed couch in the cabin they were renting, my only question was "What time are you all heading up there?" I may be dumb, but I am not stupid.

Here's what happens when hashers are left to their own devices.



Think Of All The Time I Will Save!
My weight is completely out of control. Could it be the food? Could it be the drinking? Could it be the lack of exercise? Yes. Yes. Yes.

For me gaining weight is like a criminal returning to prison. I can't go back. I can't go back!

Until I can get my weight in check I will be abstaining from eating out, attempting to drink less (I know that I do not want to give it up completely), and will be exercising more. I won't be in shape for the wedding that I will be attending in April, but hopefully I'll be in the shape I want to be in before the two I will be attending in October.

Nothing Like A Good Scare In The Morning
While trying to get some of my homework done for my photography class, my brand new Nikon dSLR decided not to play along. As the cold sweat emerged from my pores, I pulled the memory card, said a quick prayer, turned it off and on again, and then it decided to play.

Not being able to complete my homework doesn't bother me much, what does scare me is that I just bought it and it wouldn't work. I hope that this is not an indication how it is going to behave the entire time that I own it...

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal...
Current Mood - bummed and hungry
Current Music - none, Adam Curry's "Daily Source Code" podcast
Website Of The Day - Unless my camera craps out, I will be visiting Just Show Me How as an additional learning tool.

If you ever want a quick glance of the sites I've picked for my Websites Of The Day, you can check them out on del.icio.us, my user name is InsideThePerimeter (go figure), and they are all tagged as "blogged."

Exercise (b)Log - hashing, ? miles up at Black Rock

Cheers!
Paulie [eatl/ga]

Erin Go Braless!!!

With the fear that I'll be hit upside the head with a shillelagh (thanks Dictionary.com for the proper spelling) by Maigh, I wish you all a Happy St. Patty's Day. I'm half-Irish therefore I can mangle the name of today's holiday if I wish.

Broke Black (Rock) Mountain
This weekend I'll be heading up to the wild land known as Black Rock Mountain State Park for a camping weekend. It's camping the way I like to camp, I will never be more than 500 yards away from my car. When I "get away from it all" I really don't want to get away from it all. Now before you go and call me a pussy, check out the weekend weather forecast for the mountain



brrrr

Have You Heard About The Lonesome Loser?
Once again I have gone to an Atlanta venue to cheer on one of my favorite New York sports teams only to tast defeat. Last night I met up with a handful of hashers to see the Islanders play the Thrashers. While it was an entertaining game, I left the building dejected.

Not to sound too much like Clark Howard, but here is a great tip for getting drunk on the cheap. Gorin's in CNN Center my friends, Gorin's. Get there early and load up on $6 32-ounce bevvies and you probably won't give two shits who wins the game.

Beer: consoling losers for centuries.

Come Play In My Playground
Awhile back I picked the site Wayfaring as my Web Pick Of The Day. The other day I was playing around with the site and came up with this.



Pretty cool, eh? I'm not done with it yet, it's a work in progress...

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal...
Current Mood - fair; I'm not going to work but I have stuff to gather for this weekend
Current Music - Something be The Selmanaires on Album 88
Website Of The Day - Here's another web video player, a la YouTube, it's called Veoh. Another one? Oy vey!

If you ever want a quick glance of the sites I've picked for my Websites Of The Day, you can check them out on del.icio.us, my user name is InsideThePerimeter (go figure), and they are all tagged as "blogged."

Exercise (b)Log - running, 6 miles (the Emory course)

Cheers!
Paulie [eatl/ga]

Feeling Perky

Cup Of Joe To Go
I couldn't help but stop for some coffee on my way in today. And, my morning *cough* drive *cough* options are growing. In addition to Joe's Coffee, I can now stop at Perk (site under construction) in Glenwood Park (a little bit out of my commute path), or the newly-opened Inman Perk Coffee. However, being a slave to routine and hoping to see the lovely Ellen at Joe's I keep returnign to Joe's.

Why iTunes? Why?
For some strange reason all of the podcasts in my iTunes Podcast library at work were duplicated yesterday. Naturally (since I am anal-retentive) I went through and deleted the duplications and cleared out my Recycle Bin after I was done. Only then did I realize that my efforts effectively wiped out all of my podcasts because I must have deleted only the originals. Dammit!

On a brighter note I heard a great iTunes tip on the MacCast podcast that I listened to yesterday. For some time I have been bothered that podcasts show up in my main iTunes library. This was especially bothersome in the past when I tried to delete a lot of music from my library without deleting the podcasts. Yesterday's MacCast podcast taught me how to eliminate (without deleting) the podcasts from the library listing.

Here's how:
While you are viewing your iTunes library, click on "Edit" menu and then select "Search Bar". With the Search Bar visible you can click on "Music" and it will filter out anything that is not a music file. Cool! At least I think so...

Bracketology
This time of year I always find a fiver to give to "charity" (read "someone who understands college basketball much more than I do"). If you are feeling charitable too, feel free to click on my bracket shown below and make a copy. Go ahead, give until it hurts...



And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal...
Current Mood - okay, but the weather is so perfect that I wish I had taken the day off from work in order to go out and play with my camera
Current Music - Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 26 playing The Plastic Constellations -- "Sancho Panza" (they sound a lot like 311 to me)
Website Of The Day - You say you can't find the new music on the Interweb? Well my friend, have you tried going to Elbows the mp3 blog aggregator? I didn't think so...

If you ever want a quick glance of the sites I've picked for my Websites Of The Day, you can check them out on del.icio.us, my user name is InsideThePerimeter (go figure), and they are all tagged as "blogged."

Exercise (b)Log - running, 6 miles (the Emory course)

Cheers!
Paulie [eatl/ga]

Got To Get Running

Looks Like He Got Hit By The Big Whammy
After posting yesterday I read that former host of the game show "Press Your Luck" (BIG MONEY! BIG MONEY! NO WHAMMIES! NO WHAMMIES!) Peter Tomarkin died in a plane crash the other day.

Those of you who have read this space for a long time should remember that I am a game show junkie (original hosts of "Wheel Of Fortune": Chuck Woolery and Susan Stafford). Therefore eventhough Tomarkin was a minor celebrity at best the news hit me kinda hard.

More WOTD Fun
Yesterday's Word Of The Day was "uxorious"

uxorious: excessively fond of or submissive to a wife

Hmmm, I always thought the term for that behavior was "pussy whipped."

Dude, Stop Sitting Me In The Dudes' Section
This is the second trip in a row that I have gone to the "new" Taco Mac and been seated at a table serviced by a dude. While Josh was an exceptional waiter, he was no Julia, the pretty young lass that who I thought was going to be my waitress because she took my initial drink order. Grrr.

Look Who Has Added A New Section!
Now you can watch my progress toward completing my Taco Mac Passport. I've added a new section (cleverly) called "TACO MAC PASSPORT BEERS" that will grow in conjunction with my beer belly. Now if I can just get them to stop sitting me in sections staffed by guys...

Fighting The Battle Of The Bulge
I'll be at George's Bar tonight for the running and the drinking. If I play my cards right I will do more of the running and less of the drinking in an effort to lose a few pounds. I have to keep telling myself that I will be attending three weddings this year and that I don't think that I fit into the suit that I bought just last year.

I Have Found Another Person To Hate
RealiTV is at its best when there is a nemesis to despise. I have identified such a person on this season's The Amazing Race, his name is Lake. Lake whines more than the children that they had on last season's Amazing Race Family Edition. In last night's episode he was whining that they had to fly to Russia because it was going to be cold. Jesus dude, have you never watch The Amazing Race before? Did you not know that you would be going all over the world? If not, why did you sign up for the race?

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal...
Current Mood - okay, but the weather is so perfect that I wish I had taken the day off from work in order to go out and play with my camera
Current Music - nothing, listening to the MacCast podcast
Website Of The Day - Having trouble getting the brackets for this year's Men's NCAA basketball tournament? Well, those clever folks at Microsoft have created a template for Microsoft Office.

If you ever want a quick glance of the sites I've picked for my Websites Of The Day, you can check them out on del.icio.us, my user name is InsideThePerimeter (go figure), and they are all tagged as "blogged."

Exercise (b)Log - nothing

Cheers!
Paulie [eatl/ga]

BLG_543

Today's title is an homage to those who refuse to give meaningful titles to their Flickr pictures. C'mon folks, don't be so fucking lazy. If you think that your picture is good enough for the world to see, then you should give it a title.

Stop The Stop Signs!
WTF!?! On my drive to work (I know, I should be back on Marta by now) I encounter a new all-way stop on Highland near the Roman Lily Cafe. C'mon, this is fucking nonsense!!! We already have the little "Hey asshole the Law stipulates that you must stop for pedestrians in the crosswalk" sign, there is no reason to force every car to stop thus interrupting the flow of traffic.

Please Don't Tell My Mother
My post-lunch and breakfast treats the last two days have been this



and this



Not exactly what a dietician would prescribe, but they do make me happy.

Blogging The Lines
As I mentioned awhile back the ATL Bloggers' network has gotten too hectic for me to find useful. In its place I have turned to Bloglines for my aggregating needs. I'm lovin' it! (sorry to steal your tagline McDonalds).

WOTD
One of the RSS feeds that I have subscribed to via Bloglines is Dictionary.com's Word Of The Day.

The "Word Of The Day" the other day was "crapulous" which means

1. Suffering the effects of, or derived from, or suggestive of gross intemperance, especially in drinking; as, a crapulous stomach.

Fantastic. I do wonder why they didn't save this word for one of the days after New Year's Eve, or St Patrick's Day.

CD Pick Of The Week
After looking at Metacritic's list of new releases for today I have come to the conclusion that I will be saving my money this week. There is nothing listed that piques my fancy.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal...
Current Mood - fair
Current Music - nothing, listening to the Leo Laporte's "KFI The Tech Guy" podcast
Website Of The Day - Now that we have experienced some warmer weather are you planning to do some Spring cleaning? Have stuff that is still good but you don't want to do a garage sale? Consider listing your items on Freecycle.

If you ever want a quick glance of the sites I've picked for my Websites Of The Day, you can check them out on del.icio.us, my user name is InsideThePerimeter (go figure), and they are all tagged as "blogged."

Exercise (b)Log - nothing

Cheers!
Paulie [eatl/ga]

Who You Callin' Juvenile?

Clap Your Hands Say Meh
You know that I love Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. I picked their cd as my favorite of 2005, and their show last year at The EARL was fantastic.

Friday night's CYHSY show at the Variety Playhouse was superior to last year's show (with the exception of the microphone snafu at the show's start). However when comparing my emotions throughout the show, the intimacy of The EARL made that show much more enjoyable to me.

Am I Supposed To Know You?
Before going to the show Friday night I swung by the Edgewood Best Buy. Much to my surprise the place was hopping. Apparently the rapper Juvenile was scheduled to make an appearance and it was drawing a large crowd. Mr. White Bread (me) has no clue who Juvenile is so it's needless to say that I didn't get into the line in order to meet him.

A Little Bit Of Impressionism In My Life
I woke early yesterday so that I could drive up to Einstein Brothers in Midtown to get bagels for the Sunday Runners' group that was to meet at my house.

As I drove up 14th Street I noticed this cool image made available by the newly constructed 1180 Peachtree building.



Imagine my further surprise when I saw that Hannahbeth had posted this picture to Flickr yesterday... (which is might brighter than mine of course. Must. Learn. Photo Editing!)



Great minds thinking alike...

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal...
Current Mood - not bad
Current Music - nothing, listening to the "Wait Wait Don't Tell Me!" podcast
Website Of The Day - Where have all the cows gone? Check out the Cow Abduction website.

If you ever want a quick glance of the sites I've picked for my Websites Of The Day, you can check them out on del.icio.us, my user name is InsideThePerimeter (go figure), and they are all tagged as "blogged."

Exercise (b)Log - hashing Saturday, running 7 miles Sunday

Cheers!
Paulie [eatl/ga]

Welcome To Blogger Mac

I am at Taco Mac, my new Office Away From Office. While ITP Central is down Taco Mac is my haven for free WiFi. It doesn't hurt that I like to food at Taco Mac as well.

btw- What a disappoint when you are seated in Kelly's section only to find out that Kelly is a dude.

I just wanted y'all to know that I'm not standing on a ledge today and that once my hardware woes have been overcome, life InsideThePerimeter will return to blogging bliss.

Cheers!
Paulie [eatl/ga]

I Really Hate Computer Hardware

That is all.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal...
Current Mood - really fucking pissed off
Current Music - nothing
Website Of The Day - nothing

If you ever want a quick glance of the sites I've picked for my Websites Of The Day, you can check them out on del.icio.us, my user name is InsideThePerimeter (go figure), and they are all tagged as "blogged."

Exercise (b)Log - nothing

Cheers!
Paulie [eatl/ga]

It's Your One Way Ticket To Midnight

Welcome to my bed. Don't worry, there is plenty of space to share. Since Inside The Perimeter Central is still not operational (keep reading), I'm blogging from the mansion.

Recipe For Computer Frustration
ITP Central only serves as a firewall and a gateway through which I can surf the Internet so I am looking to bring it back up with as small of a hard drive as I can (it currently runs with an ancient 15GB drive that I am not ready to wipe). Tonight I tried to install an old 40GB drive that I had laying around and install Ubuntu Linux on it. It no workey. I suspect the hard drive to be flaky, but thought it was weird was that Ubuntu wouldn't allow me to repartition the drive. I gave up rather quickly expecting to try again this weekend.

Ebbing And Flowing
Right now I am listening to Radio Wazee because I had to shut down my media pc in order to move its monitor to use with the firewall pc (have a kvm switch, but currently these two machines live in different rooms). Man my computer situation at home is completely fucked up. But I digress...

I used to listen to Internet Radio a lot but now that I have all of my music on demand I rarely do. This is typical with me. I'll probably wind up listening to Internet Radio for a few days straight and then get bored and go back to listening to my tunes instead.

Wow, Wazee just played "Tear You Apart" from She Wants Revenge. Eventhough they are an Internet Radio station they played the "radio edit" version. Lame! Lame! Lame!

I Am Sick Of Being Sick And Tired Of Being Tired
Not to mention Fat of being Fat. Oh wait, that makes no sense.

Seriously, a lot of people I know have been sick over the last three weeks and it finally hit me yesterday. Fuck. The last thing I need is to be sleeping a lot more and feeling no drive during the hours that I am awake. Besides, I am far too busy to experience downtime; just look at that schedule I've created for myself.

Frumpy Old Man
The other night I attended the Sovus Radio / Manchester Orchestra show wearing my light grey University of Florida sweatshirt. In the wrong light I looked like I was wearing pajamas. I felt like such a tool. While I'm not about to scurry over to Urban Outfitters or Hot Topic to pick up some t-shirts, I really do need to reevaluate my bar clothes. Perhaps I'll buy a really slick suit and pretend that I am some sort of slimy record exec.

As far as the show, I got to see four bands for $9 (including the $1 that Criminal Records charged for a convenience fee).

Here's a brief statement about each in order of enjoyment [most-to-least].

Manchester Orchestra : I liked their set enough to buy their EP at the show. That should indicate how much I enjoyed myself. The band was tight and into their set. I kept watching the lead singer rolls his eyes to the back of his head as if he was going to go into convulsions. Their set ended with a really nice song that could fit into a Bright Eyes CD without notice; that might be my only critism, we already have a Conor Oberst.

Sovus Radio : Not billed as the headliner, but they played last nonetheless. Full disclosure: I am hashing-friends with the bass player's father so I really came into the show wanting to like the band. And I did. Unfortunately, I didn't get to see their entire set because this old man had work in the morning. When I left I had started to feel that each song was like the previous. I could be wrong, I was sick and tired.

Libras : Best looking bass player of the night. I feared that she might be up there solely for her pretty face, but happily I was wrong. She's no John Entwistle, but now that he is dead John Entwistle is no longer John Entwistle either. Until I heard Sovus Radio the Libras were in second place on this list. In fact as I write this it is still a tough call. With a few more songs under their belt and continued energy displayed Tuesday night this will be a fun band to continue to watch.

Jonzetta : For an opening band, not bad. Had they not said "Thanks" between songs I might have thought they played one thirty-minute-long song. My toes were tapping on the first song, but by the third I had heard enough. I assume that they are young, so I wish them well in their endeavours.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal...
Current Mood - out of control and not in a good way
Current Music - Radio Wazee
Website Of The Day - Learn more about the Atlanta music scene by reading the Atlanta Music Guide.

If you ever want a quick glance of the sites I've picked for my Websites Of The Day, you can check them out on del.icio.us, my user name is InsideThePerimeter (go figure), and they are all tagged as "blogged."

Exercise (b)Log - standing, 6 hours

Cheers!
Paulie [eatl/ga]

Gone Phishin'

Today's Bloggus Interuptus is brought to you by the fact that I got home way too late from the Smith's Olde Bar and that I will be spending the entire day at Georgia Tech recruiting.

Until tomorrow,
Paulie [eatl/ga]

This 'Off The Interweb Grid' Thing Sucks

[quick note: Until I have time to get Inside The Perimeter Central configured properly and back online my responses to comments and emails will be somewhat limited.]

I tried to set things up yesterday so that I could eat lunch at Taco Mac and use their WiFi. Unfortunately I forgot that I had to conduct an interview during lunch. I went to Locos for dinner because I thought that they had free WiFi; they do not. When I got home I had fifty emails.

It's now 12:05am and I am trying to get this done.

I Enjoyed Their Musical, Will I Enjoy Their Music?
Normally the weekend after my birthday is spent with the some of my Raleighite friends either in Raleigh or in Asheville, NC. This year will be different since they are now parents and "Uncle" Paulie isn't ready to spend a weekend with an infant that he didn't create.

You may remember recently I made mention of a desire to take a trip to Chicago. Thanks to Fat Asian Baby I found out that tickets for Pitchfork's Music Festival (held in Chicago on July 29th and 30th) went on sale yesterday. I'll give you one guess as to who purchased a ticket...

Who Says I've Got No Class?
Week One of Digital 101 is in the books. What can one expect for the first class of an Introduction to Digital class? We discussed many pre-picture-taking concepts, most of which I knew. I'm not dissatisfied however as I think that over the next six weeks I will learn quite a bit about photography.

What Was Up With All The Hair Being Up?
Was it just me or did anyone else notice that most of the women at the Academy Awards the other night had their hair up? Yes, some of us straight men notice these things. Someone help me out here. Were they all trying to show off the backless dresses? Was it so hot that almost none of the actresses (yes, I still use that term) didn't want their long tresses down? I just thought it odd.

Music For The Masses
And there is a whole lot of it from which to chose this week. Metacritic lists eighteen new releases for today. As you may expect, this makes my job a little difficult.

In this case I am going to chose the devil I know over the one that I do not. Therefore instead of picking I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness' "Fear Is On Our Side", I will choose the new release from Neko Case, "Fox Confessor Brings The Flood."

If you look over into the "WALK IN MY FOOTSTEPS" section you will see that I have already purchased a ticket for Neko Case's concert in Atlanta. I think that Neko Case is so pretty that I would enjoy her show if she did nothing else but stand up there and perform each song in sign language. I wonder if she plans to follow this season's hot fashion statement and put her hair up for the show?

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal...
Current Mood - behind, way behind
Current Music - Sirius Satellite Radio Channel 26, playing the Zeros+Ones Show
Website Of The Day - It's a novel concept that someone is eager enough to try. TurnHere is producing short films about neighborhoods all across the country. Word on the street says that they have done one for East Atlanta, although I have yet to find it.

If you ever want a quick glance of the sites I've picked for my Websites Of The Day, you can check them out on del.icio.us, my user name is InsideThePerimeter (go figure), and they are all tagged as "blogged."

Exercise (b)Log - walking, 3 miles

Cheers!
Paulie [eatl/ga]

Three If By Day, None If By Night

[quick note: Until I have time to get Inside The Perimeter Central configured properly and back online my responses to comments and emails will be somewhat limited.]

Some would call me foolish for attempting to do as much this past weekend as I had planned. Let me say that I could have pulled it all off, except for that cure for cancer, but circumstances dictated otherwise.

Taco Mac, McDuff's, Out
As planned on Friday my first experience with the new Taco Mac near Perimeter Mall occurred after work. I think that I will be a regular customer there, especially since I am taking a hiatus from trivia and won't be getting my Taco Mac fix that way. The building is large, the beer is plentiful, the female staff is adorable, no smoking is allowed, and I once again started on a Passport (athough why I waited until Saturday to do this confuses me).

After a few pops at Taco Mac I meandered my way to Buckhead. My plan was to reminisce about the old days by drinking a beer at McDuff's and the head into Celebrity Rock Cafe Andrew's Upstairs for the National Grain / Patterson Hood show. However upon finding out that I would be flying solo, I changed plans and headed home after my beer at McDuff's (is that Another Man Down I hear playing?)

btw- Driving down Peachtree at night still freaks me out, even more so now that Three Dollar Cafe, the restaurant that defined my Buckhead, has closed.

Hashing, Taco Mac, Power Nap, Masquerade, Out
I knew Saturday would be the toughest day to pull off. Up and out of the house by 9am I met up with my co-hare Cheese Nips at the CompUSA near Perimeter Mall (you know, the one that I can see from my office; the one that's across the road from that new Taco Mac). Nips and I had a fun time laying the 5-mile trail and then headed to Taco Mac to celebrate with a beer before the hash started.

It was like Old Timers' Day at the Atlanta Hash on Saturday. I recognized all but one of the fifteen or so hashers in attendance, and I was unable to draw a single virgin (person who has never hashed).

After the hash was completed a large group of us went to, you guessed it, Taco Mac for some more libations. Sometime around 7pm I realized it was time for me to depart if I had any hope of making it to the Masquerade.

At home I decided a power nap was in order. I was right. However, unlike a few weeks ago I was able to get up and rally my ass into the shower and then out the door.

Once inside the Masquerade I knew something was different, and that something was me. I had no game. I had no attitude. I had no confidence. I had no desire to stand amongst the smokers while I attempted to drink lukewarm Pabst Blue Ribbon. I had no reason to stay. So I left after hearing about three "songs" from one of the bands opening for the Dropkick Murphys.

This lack of confidence at a music venue is unusual for me. Maybe it was because I didn't have the proper image (no black shirt, no mohawk, no tats). Maybe it was because I wasn't in the mood to be drunk and rowdy. I just had nothing.

I returned home where I quickly got under covers and started listening to my recorded "Matt Pinfield plays whatever the fuck he wants" show from Thursday night.

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday
Sunday was the most physically challenging day of the weekend. The Black Sheep Hash was somewhere on the order of six challenging miles, up down and around a rock quarry. All of the exercise made the pizza and wings consumed at Anthony's Pizza & Pasta all the more welcome.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal...
Current Mood - ok
Current Music - none, I am actually watching the Oscars right now
Website Of The Day - Just so you don't think that I have lost my juvenille touch, I present to you the Bounce-O-Meter. (warning, it has sound)

If you ever want a quick glance of the sites I've picked for my Websites Of The Day, you can check them out on del.icio.us, my user name is InsideThePerimeter (go figure), and they are all tagged as "blogged."

Exercise (b)Log - walking, 5 miles Saturday; hashing, 6 miles Sunday

Cheers!
Paulie [eatl/ga]

Stuck On The Connector: My Former Best Friend Mike

We all have people who we have met during our lives who have changed us. For some it's a teacher, minister, love interest, etc. For me, it was my former-best-friend Mike.

I don't really recall exactly when or how I met Mike, but my best guess is that we became friends when I was eighteen doing my first stint at Toys 'R' Us.

Mike was about my age then, a tad shorter than I was, had sharp sense of humor, a skateboarder, and budding guitarist. Mike had blonde hair which he could make stand on end, and when he would scrunch his face and make it turn red he'd look like the Heat Miser song from A Year Without A Santa Claus.



Mike was the one person to alter my taste in music.

As a youngster I was into the music that my New York friends and our brothers liked. We were into The Beatles, The Who, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Kiss, David Bowie, etc.

paulie fact:

• first purchased cassette tape: Alice Cooper - "School's Out"
• first purchased album: Emerson, Lake and Palmer - "Brain Salad Surgery"
• first purchased cd: Pink Floyd - "Dark Side Of The Moon"

As the early eighties rolled around my parents finally introduced cable television into our household, and the world of MTV was brought to my world. While I was still interested in the music that I had grown up listening to, I found that there was a whole new world known as 'alternative'.

It was this music that solidified the bond between Mike and myself. Mike opened my eyes to Husker Du, Aztec Camera, Devo, Los Lobos, The Minutemen, REM, to name a few.

Mike and I would both read Spin Magazine and The Village Voice wishing that the bands that we liked would come to Clearwater, Tampa, St. Petersburg, anywhere near by so that we could see them. Mike was the reason I went to see Jason and the Scorchers perform at the University of South Florida back in '86.

The only Spring Break I ever spent in Daytona Beach was the trip I took with Mike, circa 1986. During that Spring Break we drank Shaefer Light ($5 a case!), saw Jay Leno perform for free and went to see the Golden Paliminos and 10,000 Maniacs perform for free at the stage on the beach.

When I moved up to Gainesville to go to the University of Florida I lost touch with Mike. While at Florida I ran into Mike a few times, once when he was working at a used CD store across the street from campus, and once when he was working at the Media Play. We never hung out together again as time had changed us both.

It's been nearly twenty years now that I've seen Mike. I have no need to ever run into Mike again in my life, but if I do I think that I will thank him for helping me get on the music trail that I have been following for so many years.

Is It Monday Already?

I'm just getting myself ready for how I am going to feel on Monday....

Currently I think that I have about four unscheduled non-sleeping hours for this weekend, and this is as of 7:00am Friday morning!

Ignoring the time I'll be spending at work today, I am planning to

• go to the new Taco Mac for happy hour tonight
• see the National Grain / Patterson Hood show at Andrew's Upstairs after happy hour
• lay tomorrow's Atlanta Hash trail Saturday
• go to the Dropkick Murphys show at Masquerade Saturday night
• run my friend Gentrifuckation's Black Sheep Hash trail Sunday
• cure cancer (probably won't have enough time for this)

So What Are You Doing?
Seriously, if you've never run a hash trail and don't mind running over, under, or through anything that this city has to offer, go to the Atlanta Hash website read up on what a hash is and then get directions to my hash start tomorrow. The weather is supposed to be perfect, the trail will only be 17 miles long (KIDDING!!!), and if it's your first hash it will cost you absolutely nothing. Wear clothes you wouldn't mind getting dirty, and do not, I repeat do not, wear new running shoes.

Yes, my hash name is Wee Little Bit. No, I will not tell you why.

Buh-Bye Bobby
Ooooh Yeah! And, if memory serves me right I was the one who picked Bobby to be ousted on Survivor last night. While Stacy has yet to produce the music that she can put on my iPod, I will not be waiting quite so long to infect hers. My only decision is what to choose. Old school: Husker Du? New school: Clap Your Hands Say Yeah? Obscure: Steve Reich? Crap: no she already has enough of that. LOL!

(I had intended to put a link to my iTunes library here, but time ran out and I had to leave for work)

I Knew There Would Be Trouble
Earlier in the week I may have mentioned that my DSL provider was trying to contact me. They are changing their systems (from Bridged connections to PPPoE connections for you nerds in the house). Somehow I just knew that this was going to cause me grief. When I called them I explained my network configuration (I use a Linux firewall ahead of my router) and I stumped their tech guy. That's right, I stumped their "professional" because I have a Linux firewall! W? T? F? Unix / Linus backbones have been common internet components since the internet was created! (hey, thanks again Al Gore) How can these guys not be trained in this sort of configuration?

All of this wouldn't be nearly as bad if their deadline wasn't Monday. If you started reading this from the beginning, you might realize that I really don't have a lot of time to bone up on my Linux networking so that I can walk through this with them. Argh. If you don't see a blog entry on Monday I am either dead or ready to kill myself because I cannot get out to the internet.

Driving To The Oldies
Like Mr. Peabody (sorry, not this Mr. Pbody) and his boy Sherman I went into the Wayback machine this morning. I am nost sure if it was because I was priming myself for tonight's show or because I was trying to remember my youth, but I set the Wayback machine to 1986. This morning's drive into work was made enjoyable thanks to Jason and the Scorchers' "Lost and Found" cd. As lyrics spewed from my mouth (windows closed because I know that my singing isn't all that great) I was transported to the soccer field of the University of South Florida where I saw Jason and the Scorchers perform for free in 1986 with my then-best-friend Mike. (More about Mike in a future episode of Inside The Perimeter) Holy fuck that was a fun drive this morning...

Go Gators! Part 2
Recently I mentioned a really neat new website called Podbop. Podbop's mission is to alert you to the bands that will be playing in the city you choose. One of the free services they offer is a podcast feed for your city. Pretty neat.

As I found out yesterday, the creators of Podbop Taylor McKnight and Daniel Westermann-Clark are both University of Florida graduates! Woo Hoo. Go Gators!

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal...
Current Mood - busy, hoping change-of-weather illness in not brewing
Current Music - Sirius Satellite Radio Channel 26, playing Bright Eyes -- "Loose Leaves"
Website Of The Day - Wayfaring is yet another social mapping Web2.0 application. However, this one looks really cool. I may not be spending one of my four free hours this weekend playing on it, but I might next week.

If you ever want a quick glance of the sites I've picked for my Websites Of The Day, you can check them out on del.icio.us, my user name is InsideThePerimeter (go figure), and they are all tagged as "blogged."

Exercise (b)Log - none

Cheers!
Paulie [eatl/ga]

Under Construction

Fat Tuesday
Ash Wednesday
Recovery Thursday?

Running From The Law
For some reason last night's George's Bar Running Group "B" decided to run right into the thick of police activity that was going on in the Old Fourth Ward. Not familiar with the George's Bar running routes taken by my friends and I? Well, look down near the bottom of the right galley where you'll see a new section titled "George's Bar Running Routes" (damn I'm a marketing genius!). These maps were built using one of the handiest websites for runners, the Gmap Pedometer. Gone are the days when you have to hop into your car to see how long your running / walking / biking routes are.

One Think Leads To Another
I believe it was the noted poets The Fixx that said it best, "One thing, yeah one thing, leads to another." Such was the case the other day when I made yet another Amazon purchase.

In the past I heard about a series of short books that focus on a single album; the series is known as 33 1/3. While reading a blog entry over at Cable and Tweed the other day the 33 1/3 series was mentioned, specifically the book which focused on Neutral Milk Hotel's (there's that band again) "In An Aeroplane Over The Sea." I had to own it.

While perusing Amazon it was recommended to me that in addition to the book I might also be interested in buying the cd "Jeff Mangum Live At Jittery Joe's." Wha? I didn't even know this existed! Naturally that was added to my virtual shopping cart as well.

This live cd is pretty awesome because it was recorded prior to the recording / release of "In An Aeroplane Over The Sea." The cd is just Mangum with a guitar, playing, singing, and talking back to the audience. One of the best bits of banter is when Mangum describes "Two-Headed Boy, Part II" as and something that probably will never make it to a record. Sometimes the creative process pleases me as much as the final result.

Feeling The Need For Coffee
Need I say more?

Off to get some coffee.
*time lapses*
Okay, I'm back.

Under Destruction
One of the oddest things I've seen recently was a phrase painted on a house on Peachtree-Dunwoody which has just been engulfed by fire. The phrase "Trespassers Will Be Shot" is spray painted in yellow on the dark-brown, and now blackened, structure. (Snarky readers should remind me that I own at least one camera and this would be a great place to insert a photo) This sort of sentiment is not uncommon for victims of major catastrophes or in less-than-desirable neighborhoods, but in the somewhat affluent community of Brookhaven it is somewhat startling.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal...
Current Mood - not too bad, although I wish it was Friday
Current Music - none, listening to a Coverville podcast
Website Of The Day - The author of the Neutral Milk Hotel book is also the editrix for a pretty cool magazine, called Scram Magazine.

If you ever want a quick glance of the sites I've picked for my Websites Of The Day, you can check them out on del.icio.us, my user name is InsideThePerimeter (go figure), and they are all tagged as "blogged."

Exercise (b)Log - running, 5.9 miles, run very slowly. The right knee feels "fair" and I am still learning how to stretch properly. Have I mentioned that the inside of my left knee has also started to hurt? Oh, advancing age you are such a fickle bitch.

Cheers!
Paulie [eatl/ga]

Mmmm Lentil Soup

This being the first day of Lent make sure you remember to eat your Lentil soup today. Listen to me drop it like I'm a major Catholic or somethin'.

Huh?
Not about the eating of the Lentil soup?
Give up something I enjoy for the next forty days in the name of sacrifice?
Oh fuck that!

As Thick As An Irish Brogue
As you should know by now I love my RealiTV stories. Last night was the premiere episiode of The Amazing Race. With the exception of last season's fiasco when CBS pulled out "The Amazing Race, Family Edition", "The Amazing Race" never has failed to hook me in when I've seen it from its premiere.

Could the casting staff at CBS have pulled in any more stereotypical couples?

• Hot girly-girls clad in pink bodysuits: CHECK (who by the way have an annoying Staten Island accent, even for this former New Yorker)
• Gay couple: CHECK
• Wacky Bohemian best buds from San Francisco: CHECK
• Older married couple: CHECK
• Beach-loving studly men: CHECK
• Puerto Rican mother and daughter (from "Atlanta"): CHECK
• Long-time older-women friends who annoy the shit out of me: CHECK
• Nerdy, slightly overweight couple: CHECK
• Ken & Barbie who will be arguing constantly (times two no less!): CHECK and CHECK

All that was missing was a team consisting of an Irish Catholic and an Irish Protestant who will arguing about religion the whole time.

I am pretty sure that you have figured out that I will be glued to the television every week to watch the drama unfold. Damn you CBS. Damn you.

I Was *This* Close To Being Primed
Last night I made a minor purchase from Amazon. When I was checking out the site told me that I qualified for a three month trial subscription to Amazon Prime. Normally whenever I "qualify" for something I conclude that I am getting scammed and ignore it immediately.

Amazon Prime (this is not a sales pitch) provides free two-day shipping for a $79 annual fee. The good thing is that there is no mimimum necessary in order to use the two-day shipping option. The bad thing is that the program costs $79 annually. Considering that it would have cost me $11 to use two-day shipping on last night's order (I went for the $6 three-to-five-day shipping option) it doesn't seem like that bad a deal afterall.

Maybe I'll jump on the offer the next time I order...

Is It Pathetic To Go To The Theatre Alone?
I'm talking about a theatre, not a movie theater. I used to really enjoy going to see plays at the local theaters such as Horizon, 14th Street Playhouse, the Alliance, etc.

Many years ago I belonged to a club which would take in a play at five different theaters after each show a subset of the attendees would have an adult beverage or two (yes, I somehow manage to work alcohol into all of my hobbies. This club was known as the "Off Broadway Club of Atlanta." and it disbanded the year after I found out about it.

Over the last couple of years I have had the desire to go see plays, but without a date to accompany me, or a group of people to attend with me, I have let the plans die on the vine.

It's Elemental, Watson
Anyone out there have a copy of Photoshop Elements v3.0 for Windows that they are willing to part with dirt-cheap or free? Eventhough Adobe has upped the version to 4.0 people still want ridiculously high prices for this now-outdated software and I refuse to pay what they want.

Hell, I've even considered buying a piece of hardware that throws the Elements software in as a bonus. That's why I bought the scanner I own, and how I acquired Photoshop Elements v2.0.

And One More Thing...
Yesterday Apple introduced the iCeberg(?), the iAnchor(?), no they call it the iPod Hi-Fi.



Only $349 for a clunky speaker system (which takes six D-cell batteries!) so you can listen to 128kbps AAC files purchased from the iTunes Music Store. Yeah, I think it's a pretty stupid idea as well.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal...
Current Mood - Ashy, but very happy that the weather is finally playing nice
Current Music - Sirius Satellite Radio Channel 26, playing Primal Scream -- "Rocks"
Website Of The Day - My DSL provider has alerted me that I will be experiencing a slight change in my connection configuration very soon. I guess it's time to bone up on my networking skills by reading the tutorials at Practically Networked.

If you ever want a quick glance of the sites I've picked for my Websites Of The Day, you can check them out on del.icio.us, my user name is InsideThePerimeter (go figure), and they are all tagged as "blogged."

Exercise (b)Log - none. I had good intentions, but you know what the path to Hell is paved with, don't you?

Cheers!
Paulie [eatl/ga]