I went to the doctor today for the first time in 2004. I have a rash called pityriasis rosea. It's a viral rash that will likely go away after several weeks, but may last several months.

TMBG is releasing new material on Barsuk. I was surprised to see the Seattle-label releasing the Brooklyn band's EP. It seems like a lot of reknown artists are moving to small or self-owned labels for their music. Good trend.

Update: TMBG's first two albums were released on Bar/None. They were signed by Elektra for four albums. The next album of new material, Severe Tire Damage, was released on Restless. Long Tall Weekend was exclusively sold on eMusic, digital music sales pioneer. Restless released the next two albums, "Man It's So Loud In Here" and "Mink Car." "No! Songs for Children" was released by Rounder. There were also a plethora of singles, EPs and compilations, generally released by whichever label was outputting the albums. For a complete discography, check out The Unofficial TMBG site, which is very comprehensive.

My trip to SEA and PDX was awesome. Now I'm busy. I'll write more soon.

While in Seattle, I visited the grave of Bruce and Brandon Lee. I didn't really expect graves of celebrities to be so accessible. For some reason I think of celebrities as living (and dying) in a world far removed from "normal" folks like me.

After watching Amelie, I worked on some homework while cruising somewhere above 10,000 feet (the threshold for using electronic devices in-flight). High Five!

In preparation for tomorrow's trip, I bought a new tie today (High Five!). It's dark blue with a light blue pattern (I'll have a picture soon). Mike first encouraged me to dress for success while traveling, and it has paid off. The last time I flew while wearing a tie, I got moved up to first class.

The Deadites are moving to the next round of the tournament (High Five!). After a grueling 20 minutes of regulation play, both teams had big ol' goose eggs. It looked like the game was going to a shoot out as the other team was holding their own in overtime. Then one of the opposing team members earned two minutes in the sin bin, giving us a three-on-two opportunity (overtime is played 3-on-3, plus goalies). Rob took advantage of a pass from Greg and put the ball in the back of the net, winning the game for the Deadites.

The picture above is actually from Thursday's game.

I addressed and sealed 22 graduation announcements today. I'm not planning to send them for a couple weeks, though, so if you want one, send me your address. Although if you're reading this, I probably already have it.

The UAF's department of computing and communications recently upgraded the 802.11 antennae in the campus center. This normally wouldn't be life changing, except for the fact that I now get a great signal from inside the Pub. I'm no longer restricted to offline activities while enjoying a beer and pretzel.

How does Snoop Dogg keep his whites white? (highlight between brackets for answers) [Bleeatch]

What's Snoop Dogg's favorite kind of weather? [Drizzle]

What's Snoop Dogg's favorite cereal? [Alpha-Beeats]

Thanks to Chip and Kyle for the jokes. Please add your own Snoop Dogg jokes in the comments.

After an entire season of losses (and one tie), the Deadites earned our first "W" (High Five!). The other team scored at 11:00 and then Matt nailed a shot to even the score six or seven minutes later. If it was the regular season, it would have been a tie, but as Don Cheadle might say, this is the playoffs. No one scored in the five-minute overtime, so the game was down to a shootout. Shootouts are fun, but stressful, as the game rests on my shoulders. Fortunately, I was able to stop or deflect the other teams attempts, while Ed scored one for the Deadites and we left the ice rink at 1:30 a.m. in good spirits.

Last night two of my roommates and I did our first sledding of 2004 (High Five!). Theresa bought a Wham-O sled and we brought it to a hill on campus. At first I was skeptical, but once we got to the hill, I had to try a run. And it was fun.

In this short month, I've made steps forward in some areas, but fallen back in others. It's like that one song: "Two steps forward and one step back..."

Read 1 (one) non-school related book each month
OK, I'm batting .500 on this goal now. I do have a book in mind for March, but I need to finish it. Hopefully spring break will give me an opportunity to do that.

Get and remain effectively organized
Still working on this one. I would say I'm making progress, but I still have a ways to go. I wish I could hire a consultant to anaylize me and figure out what kind of system would work. Or a personal assistant, so i wouldn't have to worry about it.

Work smarter, not longer hours
This is one area that has been a success. I've been getting work done during the work day. The trick has been breaking tasks down into their smaller, more managable, components.

Spend more time being social, less time at work
My weekday social life isn't quite top-notch, but there was only one weekend in February that I spent at home, and it was by concious choice, I needed to watch Sneakers and be lazy instead of going out.

Cook a decent meal three times a week
I'm certainly doing better at this that I was last month, but I have some work yet to do here.

Take control of financial situation
I've made some poor decisions this month, and now I'm paying for them. It's not serious, but it's adding up. This is a focus area for March.

Other goals
My non-stated goals are progressing, but slowly. I was hoping to have made more progress by now, but things haven't regressed, so I guess that's good.

Analysis
If stocks of me were traded on Wall Street, I'd recommend Hold. SCM performed slightly below expectations this Month, but significant gains should be coming in the near future.