Mike and John both wrote about the new Bjork video. Contained in said video is a scene where the cat is watching television. What struck me is that on the television (seen here) is a video of a dude in a mouse suit riding a scooter, which is a scene from "Mouse," a skateboard video from the Girl skateboard company (very unhelpful Web site) that I remember watching repeatedly with my friends in high school, circa 1997. The only decent reference I can find is this page for the soundtrack to the video. If I'm not mistaken, the mouse is holding a skateboard in his right hand.

I admit it: I'm only posting this picture to make Mike jealous.

I caught the post-Christmas/New Year sale at the furniture store and picked up a new couch. It's much more comfortable than the alternative: the hardwood floor. It's secondary function is toning down the echo, although I don't think it's up to the task by itself.

My friend Mike (aka DJ Hipnotyk) sent me a mix CD several weeks ago. It's taken me a while to write about it because I had to get over the "wow" factor.

First, I hadn't heard of the majority of artists, so I really had no idea what to expect. Second, all of the tracks are cross-faded together to create a continuous flow of sound. It's been a while since I've heard that, especially on a CD, which seems more suited to individual, separate tracks.

Speaking of flow, there's an unspoken narrative woven throughout the length of the disc. There's peaks and valleys of tempo and ambience then a crescendo and climax at the end. Taking cues from the music, the story could be almost anthing your mind can come up with. I like a David-vs-Goliath/Good-vs-Evil theme with a climactic battle involving ninjas and swords, but you could just as easily imagine a goofy buddy-cop or romantic comedy story arc. On second thought: I'm not so sure about the romantic comedy.

One of my favorite aspects of the CD is that most of the songs are instrumental. It makes a great soundtrack for riding the train into work because I can absorb the music without being distracted by lyrics.

When you add in all those elements you end up with a disc that is more than the sum of its parts, and one that will be getting serious rotation 'round these parts.

Track list:

1. William S. Burroughs - Words of Advice for Young People
2. Funki Porcini - B Monkey
3. 9 Lazy 9 - Swingpool
4. DJ Cam - Mad Blunted Jazz
5. Funki Porcini - Wicked, Cruel, Nasty and Bad
6. Mouse on Mars - Schnick SchanckMelimade
7. Doughty (w/Mecca Bodega) - Love on the A Train
8. Mecca Bodega - Stump
9. Bjork - Hyperballad
10. Phil Tornton & Hossam Ramzy - Last Words by the Temple
11. Graeme Revell - City of Angels
12. Graeme Revell - Mirangula: Sign of the Crow
13. Graeme Revell - Santa Muerte
14. Up, Bustle & Out - Rain in Tibet
15. DJ Cam - Romantic Love
16. Orbital - PETROL
17. Ganja Beats - The Pipes of Zen
18. Tomoyasu Hotei - Battle Without Honor or Humanity

I assembed my desk weeks ago and am finally getting around to posting an image. This is a very simple desk: It consists of two bookshelves and a door. The advantage of using a door is that there's a hole built in to help manage cords. When you buy a new door it doesn't come with a hole -- minor setback. Another advantage of using a door is that a new one costs about $20 at Home Depot. Throw in the bookshelves at $25/each and you have ample working space for well under the cost of an actual desk. My only complaint is that the surface sits a little high, but a proper chair will compensate for that. In the meantime, I'll have to deal with less-than-perfect ergonomics.

Out with the old and in with the new

2-oh-4 was definitely a year of change, not the least of which was relocation from the Arctic climate of Fairbanks to the Southern comfort of Atlanta. But there were smaller changes and lessons, too.

One of those lessons is it's hard to keep a joke running for an entire year. The Firsts of 2004 began as a joke on New Years when everything was the first of 2004. The point was to parody the "new-ness" of a year by celebrating all of the mundane things like credit card purchases.

Another important lesson was the power of backups. I didn't know exactly what would happen when I tried to upgrade MovableType on Urbanhonking. Having backed up the nearly 40 blogs and I don't know how many entries and comments (thousands?), when the upgrade script choked, it much less of a catastrophe than it could have been. Now we're back up and running at near 100%, ready to finally remove the perpetual "beta" that has taunted us for so long.

On the subject of catastrophes, my first job interview of the year didn't go so well. Thankfully I aced the second one. And I think everything worked out for the best.

Also catastrophic is the performance of the North Snowdrifts. After sitting in 5th place following two strong opening weeks, the 'Drifts are headed for the bottom of the league. Apparently trading away all of your good players isn't a recipe for fantasy basket success.

2004 was a busy travel year. Las Vegas, Seattle, Portland, Washington, Maine, New York, Maine again and a 2-day, 11-state drive to settle in Atlanta (not necessarily in that order).

A look back wouldn't be complete without checking in on last year's resolutions:

Read 1 (one) non-school related book each month (fiction or non-fiction)
Accomplished. Although I didn't exactly pace myself to one a month, I did 12 books this year.

Get and remain effectively organized
Partially accomplished. I've come to the conclusion that this will always be an ongoing process.

Work smarter, not longer hours
Accomplished. This was mostly an early 2004 resolution when I was "in charge." Now that I have a job in the "real world," I have a regular schedule.

Spend more time being social, less time at work
Partially accomplished. First half of 2004 was a success socially -- later in the year, not so much. See previous for the work part.

Cook a decent meal three times a week
Failed. But getting better. This is a good goal, which I will continue to reach for. Good financially and good healthily (I don't think that's a word, but whatever).

Take control of financial situation
Accomplished. All the bills are paid and the credit card balance is decreasing. I guess that's under control.

In leiu of resolutions, I have multiple projects I'd like to start and/or complete in 2005. Urbanhonking is an ongoing project, including expansion plans. Other planned projects include a new issue of "To Serve and Protect," upgrades to themerrills and a public release of the North Financial Management Plan�, just to name a few. Travel arrangements are in the works for a tour of the Northwest, to include a blog seminar -- likely to happen in late April or early May.

And those are just the things I know about right now... who knows what else will come up.

Bring on Aught Five: The Year of the Rooster.