I'm sure that most people are totally sick of hearing about iPods, but it really is an amazing device. I've had mine for a while (a 3G 20GB) and I'm rarely without it. I've rigged up my car with a line-in and installed speakers and a dock in my office so that I can enjoy my music at all times. Yes, that means I'm never without such classics as Rock Me Amadeus, Mr. Roboto, Wham! Rap and Hangin' Tough (which is just too funny - I love the reverb on "rough"). Sadly, my iPod isn't working at the moment. It appears the battery has died and needs to be replaced. Apple will do so for $59, but being a brave sort I've decided to buy a battery for $29 and install it myself. It doesn't look very difficult to me since I have a bit of experience with electronics. I've even built my own computer (Geek alert! Geek alert!), which isn't as difficult as it sounds. And if I happed to screw it up I guess I'll just be forced to buy one of those sexy new ones that play videos as well. Or if I'm feeling really crazy I could go small and pick up a nano and turn it into a cat!

Whew! Christmas has come and gone, and I'm pleased by the reaction to the gifts I gave and happy with the loot I received. The "biggest" gift I was given was a Sirius satellite radio. Named after the dog star (the brightest star in the sky), this system is pretty cool. There are tons of stations and few interruptions. And as you probably have heard, it will become the home of Howard Stern soon, where his already vulgar show can reach greater heights of depravity once outside the dominion of the FCC. You can't really blame him too much though, as Sirius is paying him roughly the GDP of a small nation over five years for him to leave traditional radio. But besides checking out the trainwreck that show is sure to be, I will have a much needed source of new music. I've never liked FM pop radio - the same five songs are played over and over (and that's if you count tracks by 50 cent as "songs") and commercials take up half the air time. Add to that a DJ who is trying waaaayyyy too hard to be cool and it's a sure way to give me a headache. But Sirius will hopefully open my ears to new music, allowing me to then purchase it on iTunes for my beloved, but sick iPod (but that story will wait until next time)...

Mere days away from Christmas, and I'm really starting to get into the spirit of things. I'm going to finish my shopping tonight and am feeling more of the joy and less of the stress that the holidays bring. But some people just can't get in the spirit, it seems. The house above is on my way home, and it really annoys me that whoever owns it is so lazy. I mean, the double windows in the dormers only have one wreath for both windows. For all I know, they probably didn't even put wreaths on the windows on the back side of the house. But since it's almost Christmas, I can forgive them.

Bah, Humbug! Okay, okay... I actually really like Christmas. But this year I must say I'm wishing it would be at least postponed until I have the time to do it justice. It's less than a week until the big day and my shopping is less than complete.... way less. But I'm starting to feel the spirit. I heard my favorite Christmas song... yes, it's Dominick the Italian Christmas Donkey. Take a listen and I'm sure you'll be just like me... hee-haw-ing your way to the mall. In case you haven't figured it out yet, my favorite donkey is definitely Donkey from Shrek. Eddie Murphy's best work since Beverly Hills Cop.

King Kong opens today, and from what I've read so far it looks like a must see. Truth be told, as much as I've always loved giant monster movies, Kong has never been one of my favorites. Perhaps it's because I didn't see the original 1933 film (yes, I know I'm losing major geek points for this). Which of course means that my opinion was formed from the cheesy 1976 Dino De Laurentis version (and the even worse 1986 sequel). Being a kid though, I loved them because there were giant monsters running amok. But by far my favorite was Godzilla. Back then, the highlight of my week was Saturday afternoon when the "Creature Double Feature" would play on WLVI channel 56 (pre-cable TV, if you can imagine). Even in the movies where Godzilla was the bad guy, I rooted for him. And then I received this wonderful toy as a Christmas gift. It's a couple of feet tall and I thought it was awesome, even though the "fire" that comes out of his mouth looks more like he's sticking out his tongue and his tail fell off a lot. Oh, and for some inexplicable reason his hand would shoot off when you hit the button on his right arm. I really don't remember him doing that in any of the movies - and it's also why the hand is lost on every one of these toys.

Behold my first snow sculpture of the year. Yes, I know it was bold of me to start with something so complex, but the hours of planning and carving I spent on this "mountain" were worth it. Jaz seemed to appreciate my work and climbed to the summit on her own for a view of the surrounding country (okay, I admit I gave her a cookie to pose for this photo).

Winter is unofficially here, and I'm doing my best to stay optimistic for my least favorite time of year after last year's extra cold and extra long season. The cold was the big problem, as I find it tough to get myself outdoors when it's less than 10°F. Even Jaz doesn't want to go out when it's that chilly, and she magically develops the ability to "hold it" a lot longer than usual. But that's not to say that winter is all bad, because I am looking forward to some wintry fun. I went snowboarding for the first time last year, and discovered that I definitely prefer it to skiing. I can't wait to get back to falling down repeatedly on the kiddie slopes until I develop some small amount of skill. I also enjoy making snowmen (ironically though I can't stand Frosty the Snowman), and I hope to fulfill a long-time dream of recreating the greatest snow scenes ever created… from the maniacal genius that is Calvin and Hobbes. And if we just get cold and no snow, perhaps the pond ice will be suitable for a hockey game with my brothers and friends. Even though I can't skate very well on ice (despite being good at rollerblading) and I know that my feet will hurt for a week after playing, it's still a blast to get out there. Of course, if we happen to get a mild winter with little snow and plenty of sun I'll just have to make the most of it.

At some point of every weekday you'll find me like this (no, not goofing off) - keeping up to date by reading my favorite newspaper, USA Today. I've been reading it faithfully since 1987 or so, when it was commonly referred to as McPaper. The paper probably deserved that derisive moniker back in those days, but now it has matured into a respectable news source. Don't expect snobby readers of the New York Times or Wall Street Journal to admit it, but it's true. This has happened very conveniently for me as I've become much more interested in the political and financial pages since my teenage days, when the Sports (which is the best source of boxing news) and Life sections were my faves. To me, the beauty of the paper is that it can be read in 10 or 15 minutes, which is about all the time I have to give to reading during the work day. One Journal feature story, while almost always excellent, can easily take up that time. And I also like the balanced political coverage... none of the elite liberal viewpoint of the Times here. I'm also a fan of the national scope of the paper; city-centric papers don't have extra benefits for those of us who don't live in that city. The paper's real flaw is the lack of local coverage, but I can live with occasionally checking out the Norwich Bulletin to make sure I know what's happening near where I live.