Following is a list of cities I visited in 2006. Defining a "visit" to a city is kind of like defining traffic to a web site: There are a number of ways to do it and none of them are perfect. For the purposes of this exercise, I'm being pretty subjective, but basically it's based on how much non-sleeping time I spent in a city. Names in bold are cities I hadn't been to before this year. Also, this list is in no particular order.

Chattanooga, TN
New Orleans, LA
Selmer, TN
Fort Cambpell, KY
Washington, DC
Winthrop, ME
Portland, OR
Elizabethtown, KY
Bardstown, KY
Grand Rapids, MI
Pittsburgh, PA
Clifton Park, NY
New York City, NY
Spartanburg, SC
Las Vegas, NV

Not bad for one year. It's nice to see so many new places on the list. I wonder if I'll be able to do better in 2007. But how do I define "better": Is it more total cities, more new cities, or a larger portion of new cities?

It's getting close to the end of the year, which means its time to take a look back. Here are the 10 songs I've listened to most often during 2006 (according to last.fm):

1. Bowling: A Subliminal Program -- Side A, by Mind Communicaiton, Inc.
2. Bowling: A Subliminal Program -- Side B, by Mind Communicaiton, Inc.
3. Lazy Sunday, by SNL
4. One Sided Tapes, by The Roman Candles (Alaska, represent!)
5. El Chupa NIbre, by Dangerdoom
6. Crazy, by Gnarls Barkley
7. Necromancer, by Gnarls Barkley
8. I Will Follow You into the Dark, by Death Cab for Cutie
9. Perfect Hair, by Dangerdoom
10. Sofa King, by Dangerdoom

Since these are the songs I've played most often, it's heavily skewed toward music I've had for longer periods of time. In fact, six of those 10 I've had since before January 1, 2006. And the top two tracks -- the subliminal bowling tape -- I listened to every day for a month or so, but haven't listened to since. Music I've purchased recently, like Rodrigo y Gabriela, don't stand a chance, unless I listen to them over and over and over and over in the next few days.

I took about 8 hours (including a mandated 2-hour wait before applying the second coat) and almost two gallons of paint to cover the nearly 360-square-foot wall. I left a 2-inch border of white around the edges and the outlets. I'm going to paint a 2-inch border of orange around the outlets and switches on the other walls to bring the color to other parts of the room.

It looks awesome, if I do say so myself.

Anyone who needs my new address, please send me an e-mail (you can use this handy form if you need it).

If you want to come visit, you're more than welcome -- but at least wait for me to finish unpacking first.

I'm going to miss my old neighborhood, but I look forward to getting to know my new one. I'm also looking forward to having central air when the temperature and humidity rise like urban housing prices.

P.S. Many props to Ken for his assistance with the bookshelves and other heavy and/or pain-in-the-ass-to-carry items.