The weather is gorgeous out here today. Looking at my Weather.com docklet in my ObjectDock system tray, it reads 63 degrees right now. It simply shouldn't be this warm at the end of January.

Which means we're probably going to get absolutely slammed by snow in February.

Thanks to a wonderful tutorial from these guys, I've created my very first zombie. Don't know what I'm talking about? Click on the picture below of one of my former workers, Mike Crowley and you'll see a nice Photoshop-induced transformation into one of the living dead.

Airborne is actually surprisingly helpful. I've had a nasty cold since last week Wednesday and finally decided to get some medication that wasn't Nyquil, since I can't really deal with a Nyquil coma during work or class. And, at the risk of sounding like a commercial, Airborne actually works!

You know, I don't necessarily love my job. That would mean that I would come in here and do it for free. Which I wouldn't. But I do rather like my job. During downtime between deliveries and such, I have freedom and versatility to do what I want, whether that means working on minor departmental tasks or sitting in Nathan's chilling with the staff there, cup after cup of coffee finding its way into my belly.

Even today, for example, I spent just about the past hour assisting a new adjunct professor with her laptop, trying to get it working with one of the ceiling-mounted data projectors here. It had worked previously, then it just...stopped. Staring at the display settings of an Inspiron 700m for an hour can be rather tedious and frustrating when you can't get it to do what it's supposed to. But it's rewarding when it's finally figured out and a professor's day has been made. When they're as patient and understanding as this particular professor was, it makes it so much more worth it. Genuine gratitude is always a plus.

And now, since I've been here since 7:00am, only taking a half-hour break today to veg out at Nathan's, I'd say it's time for me to leave. Toodles.

Imagine my shock when I went to check out Daily Kos today and discovered that none other than former presidential candidate John Kerry is now blogging on there.

It's a little weird to be part of a conversation with a man for whom I voted. But promising, nonetheless.

Okay, loyal readers, I have a task for you. I have been searching high and low for a particular item, but have not been able to find one that is either affordable, reliable, or available in the United States.

So what am I seeking out? An alarm clock with a built in CD player that can play MP3 CDs. Here's the specifics:

1) Must have an alarm clock function with at least two seperate alarms.
2) Must include a CD player that not only plays regular audio CDs, but also MP3 CDs. Note that this does not mean a line-in jack for an MP3 player (those are easy to find now).
3) Must be below $100 (this eliminates the Cambridge Soundworks CD-740 unit).
4) Must be available for purchase in or shipping to the United States (this eliminates the Centrios Mini MP3/CD Clock Radio as I've only been able to locate this model through Circuit City Canada, which doesn't ship to the States).
5) Must not be a cheap piece of crap (this eliminates the Grundig Eton Ego 4000 which, while inexpensive on eBay has horrendous reviews on its Amazon product page).
6) Must not be too large to fit comfortably on a bedside table.

I've been looking everywhere and I'm convinced that what I'm looking for simply doesn't exist yet. But if someone can find what I'm looking for, maybe I'll bake you some cookies or something.

Organizing some of my MP3s on my Dell MP3 player, I discovered today that one of my all-time favorite artists, Duncan Sheik, has a new album coming out in a couple weeks. It'll be his first since the utterly brilliant 2002 release Daylight. It's strange, I haven't been this excited about a new album in a while. Even Garbage's Bleed Like Me didn't bring out this much anticipation from me, despite Garbage being one of my fave bands.

Duncan's actually playing at Lincoln Center in NY next month and depending on how much tickets are, I might go see him. Oddly enough, the only time I ever saw him live was before I even knew who he was. It was some Christmas show in Michigan sponsored by 96.3FM with a whole cavalcade of music acts, most notably with The Cure headlining. But at that point, as I said, I had no idea who Duncan Sheik was. But when I heard him play live (recognizing 'Barely Breathing' as something I'd heard on the radio at some point), I was absolutely hooked. Very few bands/artists have been able to snag me simply from a live performance like that. Duncan Sheik is one, while The Academy Is (who I just found out are playing Irving Plaza in NY next month with Panic! At the Disco and Hellogoodbye, but the show's sold out) is another.

Guess I better go check TicketBastard now for Duncan Sheik tix. Oh yeah, and happy new year and all that too.