No Van; New Plan
We were looking at buying an over-sized van/small RV. But things didn't work out. And I think that's probably for the best. 
The new plan, well, we are looking at a couple different options. We shall see.

Yoga
So far my daily routine has consisted of breathing and meditation. I need to try to get to some classes or at the very least start doing some basic poses. 

Short but sweet and meant to post it yesterday.

If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.

A Day (actually 2) Late; A Dollar Short (that's probably also a low estimate) 

I've always enjoyed quotes and maxims. In fact, I've got a few tattooed on my body. I looked it up and another one came up; "Too Little; Too Late" 

But I don't feel that way about my commitment to my blog or the 50 in 50. Again, I must go back to "My List, My Rules" 

My last post was  made on Sunday; so I missed/skipped Monday and Tuesday. 

In part because my daily activities were rather banal; binge-watching and cleaning the apartment. 

Also because the parts that weren't banal are, at this point "classified" and not subject to being posted. 
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I consider this photo rather banal. 

And yet its quite nostalgic for me. These are magic tricks I used when I was a clown at children's parties when I was in my early twenties.

Even though I haven't performed in that capacity in around 30 years, I thought, who knows? It's always good to have another career to fall back on. 

I have come to the realization that I will probably never use these props and I might as well give them away. 

One requires a dove, another a rabbit and the third needs specialized balloons which may not even exist any longer. So good luck for however stumbles upon these treasures at the Goodwill thrift shop.

And just like that, abracadabra and they're gone.

And I've finished a blog entry. 

Tour de France
Predetermined outcomes seem to sum up the Tour de France. This year it was pretty much a forgone conclusion that Chris Froome would win the grueling 21 stage bicycle race as he has for three times in the last 5 years. 
Of course, many things can wrong to upset that applecart, but the odds were very much in his favor. That said coming into the final stage the time gaps were the closest they'd ever been in many years. 
Every year around this time, I end up watching more TV than usual, although thanks to DVRs I can fast forward to crucial moments and interesting bits. Even so it does tend to take up time I would be doing other things.
So it is with a bit of relief when the riders approach Paris on the final day. And now since I have run a marathon on those same cobblestones there is an additional level of excitement as the riders take to the Avenue des Champs-Élysées approaching the Arc de Triomphe and the finish line. 

​It is also the time of year when Burning Man planning really begins to ramp up. 

Burning Family
This year will be the first time out for both Cindy and Skye and a return to the Esplanade for the Circuscombustus team. 
It will be my first year taking an RV out there. Whether it is a rental or the purchase of a new home away from home has yet to be determined. 
On certain levels, I am way behind in my preparation. I am hoping to contribute to our Circus side-show with a "strong-man" tearing a deck of cards in half routine, but I have not been "training" like I should, so even though I have a couple of boxes of custom made playing cards, I might not be able to actually to the deed as it were. 
We shall see. 
And I have signed up for and fully plan to run the Burning Man 50K even if it takes me forever and a day. I haven't really been training for that like I should either. 
But I have been aging rum in some beautiful casks and have been doing a decent job of collecting bits and pieces to decorate our camp. But there's still much to do and time is a pressin' and a bit oppressing. 

And on that note, I will get back to the tasks and duties before me, juggling practice, cleaning the house and well a bunch of other stuff. 

Fryday

Actually it was a day of roasting.  
I may be leaving Atlanta earlier than I had anticipated and I have no return date. I have Burning Man to attend which is on the West Coast, sort of. 

And then I have a couple of job offers in Los Angeles. I am hoping to find a conversion van that I can drive from Atlanta to BM and from there drive to California and do some set dressing while having a place to stay. My last trip's Airbnb foray was somewhat of a comical disaster but that is another story altogether. 

Getting back to my culinary adventure; there was a pot roast in the freezer. I felt like getting some more milage out of the infamous Green Egg so filled it full of fuel and started getting it ready.

My timing was a bit off and I realized by the time the smoker would be ready it would be dinner time and I'd just be putting on the main course which would then take a few more hours to cook. 

I ended up making an inferno in the Green Egg which sent the temperature beyond the 800F on the thermometer gauge. The ideal temperature for my endeavor was around 200F. 

Ooops....

I was suddenly trying to cool down this ceramic beast to the tune of 600 degrees. 

I managed to get it down to around 300F more or less which I felt was quite an accomplishment. 

So I put the hunk of meat on and decided to let fate have it's way. 

Skye came to the rescue again suggesting I check on the roast even though it should have taken a couple more hours had I been cooking at the correct temp which I wasn't. 

It was indeed done....very well done.

I like my red meat medium rare, leaning towards rare. So this was an unfortunate end result to say the least. 
After cutting off a good deal of charcoal-looking inedible meat, I was left with a baggie full of sliced pot roast. 

This debacle couple with some other engagements that I didn't meet for a variety of reasons was the reason why I ended up skipping yesterdays blog. 

So here it is, a day late but not necessarily a dollar short.

Keep On Keeping On

I am fulfilling my commitment to my 50 in 50 To-Do List by blogging today as well as checking off another goal on the list.

#23 Close the "Captain of Crush" #1 Gripper

I managed it earlier in the day but wanted to have Skye as a witness. Unfortunately, my hand was maxed out and I didn't manage to close it. 

However after several hours of resting, I made the attempt again.

Success!!!!

3 down 47 more to go.

Spent much of the day planning more adventures and ways to accomplish 50 in 50.

Checking Things Off

#34 Make a House of Cards Using All 52 Cards from My Gonzo Deck

Some things on my list were basically "filler" items. I don't have anything vested in making an amazing house of cards. I played around with them as a kid but that was a long time ago. 
I initially started working on it yesterday because I thought it be an easy thing to knock off. But then as I was got started, I realized how time consuming and frustrating this could be. I was using slick cards on a slippery surface and going nowhere fast. 
I realized I needed a different surface and brought in a couple of cards tables. Only to realize that while the texture of their surfaces was wonderful they were warped and uneven. So after several attempts I gave up on that route.
I decided to put a yoga mat on top of our dining room table.
But even with that improvement I was not faring well. 
Eventually I decided to ditch my pride and make a one level house using all 52 cards.

It may not be pretty but it is a house of cards and I used a full deck to do it.

I'm checking it off the list but we will be breaking out another deck and start adding some height. 

2 down 48 to go.   

Daily Blog

There only 2 things I am supposed to do every day of the year; post a blog post and yoga; I did some breathing and mediating this morning. I plan to do some more work tonight, but technically I'm good to go. 

I attempted to make a house of cards but that didn't go so well. I think the table I was using as a base was just too slick. I might try again tomorrow on the carpet. 

There was no Tour de France for me to watch because it's rest day. Slackers....

Skye and I started trying to figure out the next high points to summit,  but got side-tracked with Burning Man obligations and organization. 

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From the Original List

At my party I handed out a list of 50 things to do before you turn 50. I scored 35 out of 50. Out of the 15 that I didn't do there are 4 which I am adding to my list.

1. Visit Stonehenge
2. Visit all seven continents
3. Take a helicopter ride
4. Go in a hot air ballon

Rounding Out the List

#35 Live on the Mississippi for a week
​#36 Ride My Penny Farthing--How far? Not sure. 
#37 Visit Stonehenge
#38 Visit all seven continents
#39 Take a helicopter ride
#40 Go up in a hot air balloon
#41 See all of AFI (American Film Institute) 100 Greatest American Films of All Time
#42 Scuba Dive in an Ocean--I have scuba dived in a pool and a thermal lake in Mexico
#43 Run with the Bulls in Pamplona; 
#44 Go to an Oyster festival in Ireland
#45 Participate in tomato fight in Tomatina, Spain
#46 See a Broadway show
#47 Take a picture in front of the famous "Welcome to Las Vegas" sign
#48 Take a cruise
#49 See the Amazon River
#50 Have a drink at Sean's Bar; the oldest pub in Ireland, dating back to 900 A.D.​
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And checking off my first; #13 Finish My 50 in 50 To-Do List

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And The List Grows

At last count I was up to 28 things for me To Do in the 50th year of mine on the planet earth.
I've come up with a few more.

#29 Earn my Black Belt in Brazilian Juijitsu
#30 Practice Yoga daily
#31 Make a documentary of my 50 in 50 journey
#32 Create a Go Fund Me type of account to help pay for the documentary
#33 Go to Burning Man
#34 Build a house of cards using all the cards from one of my Gozno decks

Only 16 more to go and I could check of the first of 50;  #13 Finish creating a list of the 50 things to do at age 50

Already A Do-Over

For a variety of reasons I missed submitting my daily log in my blog yesterday. I'll make up for it by doing two entries today. 

Happy Bastile Day

Yes that was yesterday; and yesterday it felt like I was freed from prison. I left the job I was on and while it may have not happened in the fashion I would have liked, I was incredibly relieved to be done with it. 

And a Frenchman won the stage in the Tour de France, something that hasn't happened in over a decade. 
Which brings me to adding to the 50 in 50 list.

#28 Ride a leg in the Tour de France

Not while its being run of course; it could also count for #12 Ride a Century; that would be pretty magical actually.