Around this time last year. I look at the Compare People application on facebook 

so I thought it might be an good idea to look at who these figures have changed in the past year, and also it give me an excuse to talk about my favourite subject, me!

Things to consider when viewing this years figures against last year is that,  the ratings have spead apart because I’ve added a lot more friends and I’ve been rated many more times that I had last years 

My top ranked subject is now more organized (last year it was ”more likely to win in a fight”) which I’m rated I’m now number 1 in, up from 5th.

Next comes ”better at science” (3rd) and ”better public speaker” (3rd up from 7th)

I stay in 4th for my last year top scorimg “more likely to win in a fight” (still got that 100% record), I also rate 4th in “more likely to succeed”

I score fith places in “more reliable” and “would make a better father” (another 100% score)

My last top ten scores with 7th place in “more famous” (down from 6th), “harder worker”, and “more tech-savvy” (staying at 7th)

All the other scores make for slightly depressing reading, but I think you cannot take things like this seriously, so I’m not going to. It is fun, so that what I’m treating it as.

If you remember this post, you’ll know about SceneSat Radio. If you don’t remember or are too lazy to read the previous post, I’ll explain. It’s a (demo) scene radio project started by Hazel, Ziphoid and a few others. Their stated goal is to spread scene music to a wider audience and promote all the good music out there, which is pretty much what they have been doing for a while in ‘beta’.

SceneSat is finally coming out of it’s ‘beta’ and having it’s official launch party on February 7th, 20:00 CET and everyone is invited (I assume).

They’ve have also recently announced a scene compilation The Sound of SceneSat volume 1, which will have new and exclusive works from some of the scene’s best musicians.

More details on the SceneSat website.

There is only a few games series out there that I believe are still worth paying for. Command and Conquer is one of those series, so I was happy to here there is an addition to the series, called Red Alert 3 Uprising, on it’s way.

Then I saw this;

Yes, that’s the ‘Nature Boy’ Ric Flair himself. He plays Commander Hill, one of the commanders that the players must take on in the Commander’s Challenge feature. Can you imagine his live action cut scenes? “I’m a tank ridin’, fighter jet flyin’, kill stealin’, wheelin’ dealin’ son of a gun. WOOOO!!” or “To be the Commander , you’ve gotta beat the Commander” or maybe not.

Anyway this is such great news, that even the news that cast still includes that awful Gemma Atkinson, and has added Holly Valance (Australia’s Gemma Atkinson) doesn’t take the shine off it.

Here is the RETRO ACTION  introduction video that is used by my favourite retro band Press Play On Tape to kick off thier concerts.

If you like it, check them out live. They’re playing live at The Rock in central Copenhagen on March 21st 2009.

It would be nice if I was working Copenhagen that day, so I could check them out, but I’m not, so I can’t. You Copenhagenies  have no excuses.

After failing to make any proper resolutions last year (I had over one hundred goals, which I failed to turn into a handful of resolutions) and the lack of progress I made in my life in 2008, I am determined to set a some better (and hopefully SMART)  goals for 2009.

So here goes;

Get in Shape 

• Use gyminee to Monitor weight and help with motivation 
• Join the Gym.  First Week Go to Gym Once,  Second week Go to Gym twice, Third Week Go to Gym three times, Fourth week Go to gym for Four times. Fifth week Join Gym – get annual membership
• Follow hundredpushups.com for three days a week over six weeks. 
• Continue training for Karate three days a week.
• Use the Wii fit as often as possible 

Sort Out a Healthy Diet

• Drink more Water,
• Drink less Tea. 
• Increase Protein intake
• Have a number of set meal times during the day
• Monitor diet with gyminee.

Sort Out Money

• Open Joint Bank Account
• Open Saving Accounts
• Open Child Saving Account. 
• Work with wife to Monitor spending. 
• Examine current company Pension

Be more creative

• Will broadcast on a Internet Radio show Radio 6581 early in the new year.
• Blog more often and Contribute more articles to ObscureInternet
• Attempt to convert Plorrds to Blitzmax
• Create a publish a Podcast

Stop Procrastinating /Improve Focus -The almost impossible goal that I set ever year.

• Wake up when my alarm clock goes off . 
• Spend time fooling around on the net and more time actually working. 
• Read and Follow David Allen’s Getting Things Done.
• Read Timothy Ferriss’s The 4-Hour Workweek.

The plan is for me to update the progress on these goals, and the start of every month, so I’ll see you in February.

As is normal for a lot of people to do at this time of year, I have been looking back over the last twelve months of my life to see what has changed. Disappointingly I’ve come to conclusion that not a lot has changed, I have not made any sugnificent progress in a many areas of my life. 

I guess the problem is I’m too happy with  my life and I’m stuck in my comfort zone.

What progress I have made has been in the area of Fitness. I’ve lost a bit of weight and I am in much better shape and fitness that I was a year ago. This is due to the other area that I’ve made progress over the last twelve months, Karate. I’ve started the year as a Orange belt (7th Kyu) and due a to fair bit of hard work I’ve finished it as a Brown belt (3rd Kyu) 

The other highlights for a rather unremarkable year that I can remember include; 

• Rediscovering a love for  Marvel Comics.
• Taking family holidays to Legoland and Ireland. 
• Travel for work to Copenhagen, Lytham, Tamworth , Colnbrooke, (other North West Place), Newcastle, and Sheffield
• Getting another chance to make a fool of myself in public with Karaoke
• Brought in partners to help take ObscureInternet forward 
• My sister’s battle with cancer (agmost othe problems), and my Grannie passing away.
• Finally finishing The C64Glen Show #5 (Watching that and this and the Outtakes has inspired me to want to do another video).
• Getting a Wii Fit, and starting to track my weight
• Starting, but never finishing, onehundredpushups (back in June)
• Attempting (and failing, natch) to reduce the amount of tea I drink.
• Mr Wood doing what I thought was  impossible, and becoming a married man.

Finally here is 2008 in somewhat random photos. 

Overall I say this Christmas was nice, nice seems to most appropriate word to describe it. It wasn’t too fancy or too big, if anything this year Christmas  was a little on the small side, but it was nice. 

I got everything I wanted from Santa, which was an 1TB external hard drive and a new Wi-Fi enabled printer. I also got a  rather awesome hoody cardingan thing which I can wear when I’m working from at home so that I can keep warm without putting the heating on. Yes, I’m the type of cheap bastard who doesn’t like to put the heating on, as it cost money.

The boy got a load of things from Santa, he got a new Wii Remote (his third one) and a  Nunchuk, so we can play more multiplayer games. He also got a couple of new games; Lego batman and Mario Cart (which is great fun)

New years eve was quiet this year, no real partying this year as the wife was still suffer from here rather nasty cough that has been bothering her for the last two weeks. 

New years day itself was fun, we were at the in-laws for dinner and my sister came along too. We spent most of the day playing multiplayer games on the boy’s Wii. Games like Mario Cart, Wii Sports, Wii Play and Boom Bloxs.