Judge people not for the content of their character, but the contents of their pockets. Just kidding. But what if we were judged by the contents of our pockets? What would the contents of my pockets say about me? There are currently five items in my pocket:

• 1. A single poker chip. Red.
• 2. Two guitar picks. One orange and one green. Both are medium gauge, but the green one is slightly thicker.
• 3. A dime. I usually carry coinage of some varying quantity, but today it is ten cents. One lone coin.
• 4. My iPhone. Also known as the Swiss Army Knife of the digital age. 
• 5. Keys. My wife’s keys to be specific as my keys are in her purse.

DFO: BTW, check out Nic’s new and improved Web site here.

Question: What’s in your pockets?

For some people, Christmas music has the tendency to spark that corner of the mind that triggers a mild form of temporary adult onset Tourette syndrome: excessive blinking, uncontrollable twitches, and random bouts of profanity. It is these people who fear the first sound of sleigh bells and “ho ho ho.” There are those like Marcus Kellis at the UI Argonaut who complains that Christmas music is nothing more than “the same songs year after year from the same performers.” Many true music fans (and I do consider myself a true fan of music) despise Christmas music; they believe that the soundtrack to the holidays is nothing short of atrocious. I can empathize with them. During my days working at Old Navy, I dreaded the holiday shopping season. It wasn’t just the savage shoppers, slogging through tables of sweaters and rugby polos like Hurricane Santa. It was the awful Christmas music - think Bing Crosby meets the Macarena. However, aside from the holiday music torture offered by stores like Old Navy, I typically enjoy Christmas music/Nic, Rants, Raves & Random Thoughts. More here.

Question: What’s your favorite Christmas song?