I've been Tagged

Sahil me with this latest Meme about stuff I wouldn't want to live with out.  I'll attempt to be as honest as I can:

1. My Windows Mobile 6.0 Phone.  Since I got my first iMATE , I was hooked. Since then, I've had a JasJar, K-Jam, a VOQ, a Q and now the Dash.  As limited as the internet connections can be at time, having access to the internet everywhere I go has become a necessity to me.
2. XM Radio.  I've got all of my loved ones an XM Radio.  In fact, I got my parents three of them and got Kim and Sarah two of them so they'll have them in their vehicle and the house as well. I have one in my car, one fully portable one, and one built in to the new reciever I just purchased.  I don't watch TV at all as I undoubtedly have mentioned. But I do listen the radio tonight and I actually use it as a clock - If Hannity is on when I get in my car, I'm slacking at work and leaving too early.  If Larry Elder is ending and Mark Levin is on/starting, I''ve put in a long day.  If Mark is over and Rollye James is on, I need to make sure I've been to the gym or went jogging already - and be prepped to hit the shower and go to bed. I listen to Phil Hendrie and drive off. If George Noory comes on and I'm not asleep, tomorrow is going to suck.  If I still hear George Noory then I can keep sleeping.  As soon as Jim Quinn and Rose are on, her voice grates at me so bad I'll most likely get up.  Normally, I can only take so much of them and get up to switch it - it's the same channel that Coast 2 Coast AM is on.  If I hear Glenn Beck, I know I'm really late.  Over time, it's become obsessive.  I'm such an obsessive/compulsive that any interruption in service or these shows drives me INSANE.
3. Online Banking - Recently, I was working at an UberCool client who's primary product was Remote Capture Check software and ATM integration. I then realized that I can take advantage of Remote capture and skip trips to the bank altogether. It's caused a few problems when I've had checks that were fairly large and/or from out of the country, but it's an incredible service.  Using USAA's stuff is just awesome overall.  Now that I can deposit all of my contracting checks without going to the bank, paying my bills, seeing my bills, doing everything else financial - online, I go nuts without it,
4. Universal Remote Control - Even though I don't watch TV, I'm a huge Sterophile. In the past few months, I've went a little overboard and just wired my place up with speakers to cover every range and every zone in my place.  When I moved in to my current place, i was really surprised/impressed to find that all of my track lighting had remote controls to adjust them.  Having to get up on a ladder to adjust them would have really sucked since I don't own a ladder.  Well, depending on where I'm at, I may want to turn up the volume, turn it down, or shift the focus of the speakers to drown out other noise.  I have a universal remote control that probably has more power than the Commodore 64 i so loved as a kid.  It does everything - and it learns new ranges, including the ones that control my track lighting.  My reciever has an XM Radio built into it, and it's got a built in jack for iPods (although I have a Zune) and other peripherals which I frequently plug into it.  So I can control all of it from just about everywhere in my house - life without it would just suck b/c getting volumes  'just right' is really a necessity, especially for those of us that sleep with the radio on
5. Remote Desktop - being able to do stuff on my computer when I'm away is something someone who travels as much as me simply can't live without. Being able to do work without having to leave sometimes means I don't have to travel as much. It's just awesome.
6. My Watch - I almost feel like little Butch in Pulp Fiction.  I bought myself a watch about 5 years ago when I achieved a really major milestone professionally. When i was younger, I was given a different model for my college graduation.  It was something I could never have afforded on my own so I didn't wear it much.  I still don't know for sure who stole it, but all the evidence points to a drug crazed friend/roommate selling it.  So it was gone.  I told myself, whenever I finally make X, I'll buy one on my own.  I really loved this watch and it's one of those that you only buy one of in your life.  Well, so I thought. I wore it a lot and then one day in Atlanta, Kim and I were staying at the W for the weekend.  When I came home, it was gone.  I called the W but they assured me it wasn't in the room.  I offered a reward but nothing.  So I assumed that this one too had been stolen.  No evidence at all and I know even making the insinuation could get an innocent person fired so I dropped it - really disappointed though.  I couldn't possibly justify buying another one.  So I told myself, when I hit Y in my job, I'll get myself one.  Two months ago, I had offered to give a friend of mine some luggage I no longer used. Before i gave it to him, I wanted to make sure it was all cleaned out.  As I reached my hand in it, I felt something hard with sharp edges.  It was my watch!  Losing the first one hurt really bad b/c it cost my uncle a fortune and I barely had it a year before it was gone. I hardly ever wore it for fear of getting robbed or losing it. And it disappeared, quite likely from a friend of mine no less.  since I had no proof, I couldn't do much about it other than just deal with it. And since we were dumb and naive, we didn't have renter's insurance.  Getting the second one meant that not only did I get a second chance, but it was also tied to achieving a really high goal I set for myself.  When I lost it, it hurt really bad - not b/c of anything other than what it represented.  When I found it years later, it was like manna from heaven.  The fact I got a promotion about two months after I found it that put me right at the number I had set as the trigger for it to be 'ok' to get another one, well, it all worked out in the wash.
7. Zune - SoundDock/Headsets et al.  I've recently started working out again and recently have gotten to where I can run 3 1/2 miles - slower than hell but I can do it.  The Zune made that all possible. Sure, it's just a different iPOD, but still, it's not an iPOD so I don't have to feel bad about myself for owning one.  And it helps me to catch up on old Phil Hendrie episodes and listen to the latest ultra coolens from Pimpin Ken 
8. GPS - I've been through a few of these but my current JVC and I have become 1.  I can't live without it and even if I could, I wouldn't want to.
9. WII - We got Sarah a WII for her Birthday. It was really hard to get and were it not for Chris Williams I don't think Sarah would have had one in time for her B-day.  I'm not a gamer and she spends a lot of time playing her DS Lite - but it's a fun way for us to spend time and unwind when we've gotten all of our work done.
10. Powershell - I don't know when I quit being a command line junkie, but I know I've always had it in me.  Well, with Powershell, I've went full steam ahead and now, Powershell pretty much owns me.  And it's a great relationship.
11. Barnes & Noble - As those that know me know, I spend an unhealthy amont of time with books.  I don't go a week without my "new book " ritual and I spend so much time during the week reading them that it's nuts. I eat at the same Thai restaurant at least 3 nights a  week (I can't/don't cook unless I'm with Kim - and even then, she likes two Indian restaurants and P.F. Changes so we eat there regularly too).  I've gotten to be very close with the owners and they make jokes about my 'addiction' and how they are getting worried that I have books growing out of the bottom of my arms.  If you have to have an obsession, reading computer books is a good one to have.  I do a small bit of reading political and economics books - and as you know, I'm now a devotee of His Majesty - Pimpin Ken.  All of which of course comes compliments of B & N
12. Tablet PC and One Note.   Well, I need to throw in InfoPath b/c for the past year, I've started doing everything in InfoPath too.  Sahil is just wrong on this, Tablet's rule.

There might be a few others, but I can't think of them.  I was tagged along with some pretty impressive folks - I was clearly a lightweight compared to that crowd - but i'm honored nonetheless.

The Little Brother I always wanted but never had, Doug Marsh, My Homie Chris Williams , The utterly captivating Ms Barbie Cummings, The Brilliant Brian Madsen , The Uber Speech Guru Himself , Ryan