Continuing on from my previous story:

Three years ago I upgraded the hi-fi and TV in my home, following my corresponding ‘one-month off’. This time around, I’m going to migrate carefully towards high definition video. The TV set-up is currently a Hitachi 42PD7200 and one of the first affordable sound projectors, the Yamaha YSP-1.

I’ve never been a fan of broadcast HD. Whilst there is noticeable difference between standard definition and the HD quality transmitted by Sky or the BBC, it’s not so significant to make upgrading essential. The cost of a new Sky+ box and the additional £10 per month for Sky HD channels reduces its appeal even more. (My friends in Canada would see a benefit because, like the US, their standard picture quality is abysmal.)

Besides, since I believe that the internet will become the primary conduit for everything, surely this is the route I should take? Gradually abandoning broadcast subscription services for the internet.

The first step is therefore going to be an Apple TV. I’m beginning to despise the collections of DVDs that I have in my house, taking up room, glaring at me. What better excuse to start ripping these to disk? As a bonus I get to watch DVDs on my iPhone when I’m travelling. Plus Apple have recently launched film rentals and purchases in the UK, although rentals are limited to 720p rather than the better 1080p/i format (Apple TV cannot decode this) and purchase of HD content from iTunes is not yet possible.

I’ll let you know how this goes.

One of the problems with living away from home for one month every year (that is, holidaying with my relatives in Ottawa, Canada) is that I can’t really do much for me apart from listen to music, write the occasional music review and keep up with my 141 RSS feeds. This year I’ve also dabbled with my super-secret personal Ruby on Rails project, which I like very much.

The side-effect of all of this is that I rush home with lots of ideas how this year will be different from last year, or rather, the rest of this year will be different from the meanderings of previous months. Sometimes this actually works.

I have two or three aims for the next six months, outside of the usual work things. In no particular order, here’s Part One:

The Office Tidy

This desire crops up every couple of months: I prowl around my office, disappointed with the paperwork strewn across desks, books that sit on tables or on shelves unread (deliberately so) and the general uncreative ambience. Let’s not forget the un-ripped CDs. My solution is usually to shred, shuffle and rip. Which keeps me happy for about two weeks. Then the mess returns.

During the past four years I’ve become increasingly irritated with ‘stuff’ – products, items, materials, things that occupy physical and mental space. This time I’m going to war: anything I don’t need is going.. For the purposes of business, this means archiving all but the previous two months of paperwork. I’d love to dispose most of it, but unfortunately there are audit and accounting requirements that require me to actually keep business emphemera.

Then there’s the books and software installation disks. I have books on PHP, Java, JSP and even a whole library of Palm OS programmers’ documents. When was the last time I looked at any of these? Years ago. There are about three books I need regularly. The rest are surplus to requirements. I haven’t decided whether to bin or archive them. I think most will be destroyed or recycled – does anyone buy out-of-date technical books? – with some going into a not-too-easy-to-access archive. For those unfamiliar with my abode, that means the garage – if there’s room in there. Or the loft – if there’s room in there..

This might lead to a reduction in shelf space and maybe shelving. Maybe I can get rid of a desk or two? Maybe I’ll have room for a whiteboard?

I mustn’t forget the music. That’s what I’m here for. When I’m busy working on my own, I buy music to listen to. I gather new music rather obsessively. But I conspire to be so busy that I often don’t have the inclination to rip the CDs once I’ve received them. Instead they pile up, congregating like small children in playgrounds.

And I need a stand for my Apple Cinema Display. Some months ago I found out about the LowKey Stand which is a nice way of hiding away the Apple Keyboard without having it resting awkwardly on the foot of the display, plus it reduces clutter and allows me to scribble with greater freedom. There’s a version without a USB hub – the SlimKey Stand – which I can buy here. This is now on my shopping list.

Coming in Part Two: Lounging Around