- Up sort of late.
- Took some old electronics out to Robinson for a Hard to Recycle collection. Got rid of some old batteries and an archaic stereo receiver.
- Stopped at IKEA for lunch and browsing. I was looking for an anti-static mat for my office chair, and Emily was after a specific bookcase. We both came out empty-handed.
- Tried looking at Office Max for my floor mat and much to my surprise they had exactly what I was looking for, and for relatively cheap. Victory!
- Finally we stopped at REI so Emily could pick up some new sandals and I could get new running shoes. I’d been putting off getting new ones since my old ones are still technically functional, but now they’re covered in paint and various residues from household projects so now they’ve been demoted to “shoes I don’t mind getting messed up” status.
- All that shopping left me exhausted so when we got home I collapsed on the couch and dazed for a while. I awoke to find Emily offering me her phone. Russell was on the line saying he had a spare ticket to tonight’s Pirates/Mets game. I grabbed my ball cap and went to pick him up.
- Of course, with the Arts Festival, Pride Week, various cultural goings on, plus a Pirates game featuring Skyblast, parking was a nightmare. After nearly an hour trying various Downtown garages I resigned myself to overpaying at the stadium lot. As luck would have it, as we passed a garage a block from PNC Park that was normally presold-only a young gentleman with brightly colored flags waved us in. I got to overpay for a garage space only a block away rather than a lot space which would have by that time been essentially at Heinz Field’s front door. Victory again!
- The game was fun. A close one, with the final score 3-2 in favor of the Buccos. The victory was surprising since the Pirates’ pitcher looked like crap all night and kept getting into bases-loaded situations.
- After the game was a spectacular Skyblast show, with Zambelli fireworks and musical entertainment by none other than Huey Lewis and the News. I had not been aware that these guys were still touring, but it turns out they have a new album. They of course played a few selections from it, which interested no one. Toward the end of the show they busted out the hits everyone was waiting for. “Heart of Rock and Roll”, “Workin’ for a Livin'”, and “Hip to be Square” sounded great, but by the time they hit the finale with “Power of Love”, it sounded like Huey’s voice was going. Not bad though for a man pushing 61.
- Surprisingly enough getting home after the game was a breeze. Russell and I, upon seeing the huge lines at the elevators in the garage, decided to do the unthinkable (for those people, at least) and took the stairs up 8 flights to the very top where I had parked. This was apparently a very good move since we were able to cruise right out of the garage while those suckers were probably still waiting in the lobby.
- After dropping Russell off I promptly headed home and went to bed.
Category: General Nonsense
10 June 2011
- Up early; to work.
- During my lunch break I walked over to Murray Avenue and got a haircut at Darlene’s Place. Then as it began to storm I ran over to Kristopher’s for a burger. The burger was pretty tasty, enough so that I’m interested to go back and try their deli sandwiches.
- Went Me Lyng for dinner with Emily. The Pho Xao there is to die for. In all a good day for the part of me that’s all gung-ho about supporting local businesses.
- Moved my beer to a secondary fermenter. Now we play the waiting game. Again.
P.S. This video is awesome:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AYEgwwCYWw
9 June 2011
- Up early; to work.
- After work Emily and I walked to Hough’s in Greenfield for dinner. If you haven’t had the Cowboy Mike burger there, you haven’t lived. Also had an Otter Creek Alpine Black IPA on draft which was pretty good and went well with the meal.
- Stopped for ice cream at the Rialto Pizza at the corner of Greenfield and Ronald (at the end of the Greenfield Bridge). Despite the claim on their sign they do not have the best soft serve in the city. So far in my book that honor goes to Weiner World downtown.
8 June 2011 (World IPv6 Day)
- Up early. Happy World IPv6 Day!
- Found out that I may not have Broken The Build™ but just uncovered an existing bug in the build. Will know more tomorrow.
- More research. Learning how to write browser extensions.
- Bought some new toys, which I’ll claim are for work. One of these, one of these, oh, and one of these!
- Grilled up some steak for dinner, while Emily made mashed potatoes. Starting to get the hang of grilling, though I think I left the steaks on a bit too long this time.
- Fermenter is still bubbling, but it seems to be slowing down.
- Watched Brazil, the “Love Conquers All” cut, from Netflix. Now I want to go back and see the original cut to find out what the studio messed with.
7 June 2011
- Up early; to work.
- Humming along on some research regarding one of my tasks when I found out I Broke The Build™ yesterday. Never a good thing to hear, especially when you’re the new guy. Spent most of the afternoon trying to figure out what went wrong, but came up empty. Perhaps sleep will bring clarity.
- Fermenter is still bubbling.
- After work it fell to me to finish installing the plumbing for the bathroom sink while Emily went to folk orchestra rehearsal. I trimmed about a quarter-inch off of a pipe and after some blood, sweat, tears, and a bit of plumber’s tape everything is in place and carrying water where it needs to go. A rare successful plumbing project.
- Rewarded myself with a grilled cheese sandwich and some Mass Effect before bed.
6 June 2011
- Up late; to work.
- Call with project team landed me some more concrete tasks with something resembling deadlines. Getting into the groove.
- Fermenter has started to bubble. Glub, glub… there’s beer in the… bucket.
- Emily made a nice halibut dish with potatoes for dinner. There may have even been tomatoes in it but it was tasty enough that I didn’t care. Yum.
- Did some cleanup around the basement after cutting a stopper for Emily’s bathroom sink project.
- Finished the night with what else but Mass Effect.
5 June 2011
- Up late. Went grocery shopping and picked up some last-minute supplies for beer brewing.
- Brewed my first-ever solo batch of beer. For the most part it went fine, but I was a bit rushed toward the end when transferring the beer into the fermenter since we were running late to a concert. The starting gravity was a bit below what it should have been but it was still within the acceptable range though. Only time will tell how it will end up.
- Emily and I raced out to Hartwood Acres to see Josh Ritter perform. We took a picnic of cheeses and crackers plus some old wine we needed to get rid of. The music was great and the crackers very garlicky.
- Home to a kitchen full of brewing equipment still needing to be cleaned, but that can wait for tomorrow.
4 June 2011
- Up late. Took delivery of a love seat from my parents. Of course it ended up in the basement (a.k.a. “Man Cave”). The hand-me-down chain continues.
- Emily and I had lunch with my parents at the new Pittsburgh Burger Company at the Waterfront. Tasty burgers all around, and they have more exotic stuff like boar, ostrich, end elk. My bison burger was delicious.
- Emily started installing the new bathroom sink while I cleaned up a bit in the basement. I cut a pipe for her and managed not to mangle myself this time.
3 June 2011
- Up and at ’em. To work.
- Made some documentation changes based on comments from my merge proposals, and got two more proposals off.
- Tried a Market District burrito for lunch. No story that begins with “I ate some prepared food from Giant Eagle” ends well. This one was no different.
- After work Emily and I joined Simona and Russell at First Fridays at the Frick. The group that played was really impressive and the music made a great background for our little picnic.
- On a whim the four of us decided to pop down to the Waterworks to see X-Men: First Class. Really impressive film, especially after the last couple.
2 June 2011
- Up and at ’em. Cold pizza for breakfast. Yum.
- Hacked away at stuff for work. Ended up with two merge proposals. Not bad for the new guy.
- Lunch was a sandwich along with the last of the broccoli salad. Great stuff.
- Later in the afternoon, stomach ache made me suspect that the dressing in the broccoli salad had not aged well. Pity, but I say it was worth it.
- Went to Home Depot with Emily to buy a new bathroom sink. The old one leaks and we only have a few dozen other projects for this weekend, so what the hell, right?
- Finished up the evening with some more Mass Effect.