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Hard to believe, but here we are on the final day of 2005. We’re spending tonight at home, a little fondue for dinner (hot oil and meat, yum!), and probably a DVD. Fairly low key, but there’s nothing wrong with that. I’ll leave the parties, drinking, and everything else to others.

On the whole, 2005 was a good year for us. We went on some great vacations, spent time with friends and family, and avoided major illnesses and catastrophes. There are a number of projects that I wasn’t able to start on or finish this year. I still have vacation photos to categorize and post online. I have a pile of genealogy research waiting to be analyzed and filed away. There’s a closet full of stuff to auction on eBay. But does anyone ever have enough time to do everything they plan on doing? The only thing that will help in that area is to win the lottery, and as of yet, the Powerball gods haven’t smiled upon me. Maybe next year.

Kristin and I hope that 2005 was a great year for all of you and that 2006 will be even better. Happy New Year!

Despair, Inc., has started offering video and audio podcasts dealing with The Art of Demotivation, Dr. E. L. Kersten’s April 2005 book. So evil, yet so wonderful at the same time.

Getting a new PC is great, but reloading all of the software can be a real pain. My new system arrived last week Tuesday, and I haven’t made as much progress as I would have liked. Things have been busy at work as we get close to the end of the semester, and then we went to Chicago for the weekend. I really need to get IMatch installed so I can finish posting the last of our DC photos.

The good part about having to reinstall applications is it forces you to do some housekeeping and pitch programs you don’t need. I’ve been deleting folders and files left and right. It is amazing how many things you download and never get rid of when they are no longer needed. I found drivers from two motherboards ago and things I downloaded in 2001 and earlier. Talk about ancient history.

The new PC itself is working great. No more spontaneous reboots for one thing. And the new monitor is amazing. Of course, just as soon as I buy the 2405FPW, word comes out that Dell is releasing a 30 inch widescreen to compete with Apple’s Cinema Display. According to a story at Engadget, the 3007WFP will be out later this month. Refreshes of the 2005 and 2405, the 2007 and 2407, will be out in the Spring. Oh well, I can’t complain.

More good news today… new Doctor Who is finally coming to the US. According to Sci Fi, Doctor Who Hits U.S. as DVD

On February 14, BBC Video will release a DVD set containing all 13 episodes from season one with Christopher Eccleston. What a wonderful Valentine’s Day present!

After much obsessing about the cost and trying to get the best combination of discounts, coupons, sales, etc., I finally broke down and ordered a new PC. Actually, it would be more accurate to say I bought a new monitor that happens to come with a PC.

My existing 19 in. CRT is starting to have some focus issues that require a tap to the side to clear up one in a while. Once that started happening, I went into monitor shopping mode. Then Dell released the Ultrasharp 2405FPW, and I knew I had to have one. The cheapest way to get one is with a new system, so I’ve been pricing systems nonstop for weeks. Of course, now that I’ve pulled the trigger, I expect Dell to have some huge promotion, slashing the price just to tick me off.

What I find most amazing about the whole purchase is the shipping time. When I placed the order, Dell said that the system had an estimated ship date of December 7. I logged on a few minutes ago to check the status of my order and found out it already shipped! I ordered it ~19 hours ago, and UPS plans to deliver it tomorrow. Hmm, it is past midnight (how did that happen?), so actually it’ll be delivered today. Most impressive!