A member of CMA

Hi, I'm Tim, and I'm a Christmas music addict. (Hi, Tim.)

It all started when a friend of mine had a wedding in December, and used a lot of Christmas music in the ceremony, most from Mannheim Steamroller's first Christmas album. He also gave each of his groomsmen, including me, a copy of a Canadian Brass Christmas album. That was it. I was hooked. I could hardly walk through a mall at Christmas time without picking up one or two CDs.

Sometimes I ask myself, just how many versions of "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" does one guy need? But usually, I just add to the collection, and try not to think about the possibility of encountering a bad version of "The First Noel."

I've got some taste, though: I've never even been tempted to pick up any of the "Very Special Christmas" CDs, nor have I touched any Motown or hip-hop Christmas albums.

I do, however, have all of the aforementioned Mannheim Steamroller Christmas albums. And the GRP Christmas Collection, volumes 1-3. Harry Connick, Jr.'s "When My Heart Finds Christmas" is a great one. Chicago 25 has one of the few renditions of "The Little Drummer Boy" that I don't just hate. David Phelps, a man whose voice I covet, blows me away with "O Holy Night" on his "Joy, Joy" album. The King's Singers, Rockapella, The Gaither Vocal Band, Bryan Duncan, Larry Carlton, Manhattan Transfer, and even the Trans-Siberian Orchestr all have a place in my special case full of over 50 holiday CDs.

My favorite at the moment is a new one, by my buddy Ike Graul and his cohorts in Blue Line Max. They're an a cappella sextet out of Portland, OR, and they have a smooth sound. I love their arrangement of "O Come, O Come Emmanuel" and "O Holy Night." Just the bomb!

I know what you're saying. You're saying, "Tim, you've got to stop. You can't go on like this." But, hey, it's not a real problem. I can quit anytime I want. I just don't want to right now.

God rest ye, merry gentlefolks.

But for the need of the proper equipment....

I think I need an air compressor.

Not one of those portable, cigarette-lighter-powered tire inflator thingys... I've got one of those, and it doesn't cut it. Sure it's fine for tires, soccer balls, etc. It even has a flashlight built into it. Whee.

No, I need a real one, for using with air tools, like the noisy thingy they use at the tire changer places. Have you seen all the different tools you can attache to these things? Drills, saws, impact hammers, nailers, sanders, spray guns, die grinders,... it boggles the mind! Think of the possibilities! You could... nail stuff, and... saw stuff, and... grind dice! How does anyone ever live without these things?

Now, you may be saying, "Hey, Tim, what do you need one of those things for? You're not a mechanic, or a builder."

Well, sure, but don't you think that if I'd had one of these things, I could have been a mechanic, or builder, or... air-tool-using-tradesman-of-some-sort? I could be the best mechanic in the state, or a much-sought-after home builder, just me and my air compressor, and a truck full of every imaginable air tool there is!

But no, I'm just a computer geek, stay-at-home dad, and homeowner. Now I'll have to use the air compressor I need to get to blow the dust out of computers, inflate tires and soccer balls, clean out the gutters, dry laundry, dust the mantel, and startle the neighbors.

I only hope that being exposed to such tools will inspire my children to think about what the proper equipment can enable them to do with their lives.

Especially the part about startling the neighbors.

Oh, yeah....

Forgot to put this on the list: A Firefox t-shirt; XXL in Navy.

I know, it seems very crass to put my Christmas wishlist on my blog for all the millions of people who read it across the planet to see. It's not as if I expect anyone to get any of this for me. It's more an issue of this whole blogging-for-the-purpose-of-being-transparent thing. I figure the folks who really care who I am (and I just know you call care, don't you?) will gain more insight into who I am by finding out what kind of things I might like to have.

Or what I will buy in January if I don't get from someone else for Christmas, as it may be.