This is the fourth year of my annual soundtrack project, and here is this year's summary of my musical tastes. Again, the only rule is that the songs chosen have to fit on a regular audio CD.

1. Thes One: "Gate City Savings And Loan"
2. The Shins: "Little Boxes"
3. Wire: "Outdoor Miner"
4. The La's: "Feelin' (live)"
5. Vampire Weekend: "A-Punk"
6. The Smiths: "The Headmaster Ritual"
7. The Ventures: "Medley: Walk–Don't Run; Lullaby Of The Leaves; Perfidia (live)"
8. DJ Alibi: "One Day"
9. The Corporation: "Sweet Musille"
10. Minutemen: "Viet Nam"
11. The Clash: "Rudie Can't Fail"
12. The English Beat: "Two Swords"
13. Beck: "Gamma Ray"
14. The Hives: "You Got It All...Wrong"
15. Sweetthieves: "N.P.N."
16. Sunny Day Real Estate: "Theo B"
17. Smashing Pumpkins: "Tarantula"
18. Rush: "Best I Can"
19. Guided By Voices: "Surgical Focus"
20. Digable Planets: "9th Wonder (Blackitolism)"
21. Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass: "Whipped Cream (Anthony Marinelli Remix)"
22. People Under the Stairs: "Step Bacc"
23. King Tubby: "I Am, I Am The King"

Since I don't follow football, basketball, hockey or NASCAR, the months between October and March are just a countdown to spring training. So while I've heard that some Boston-area teams are doing well, I still follow only off-season baseball.

So far the Yankees have signed both C.C. Sabathia and A.J. Burnett -- with more to come I'm sure, which is reminiscent of this old Onion article. But as Surviving Grady reminds us with the latest Cashman-Headwarmer dialogue -- "Haven't We Been Here Before?" -- that's not going to guarantee championship number 27.

What do I do on a Sunday evening after the kids are in bed? Why, optimize one of my personal websites for iPhone viewing...for fun! So now if you view a Sinko podcast on your iPhone or iPod touch, the layout will be optimized for your smaller screen.

And yes, I know:

I was a huge Lego fan growing up, so Gizmodo's article about the Lego company's Memory Lane -- the secret vault with almost every Lego set ever manufactured -- really brought me back. It was actually cool seeing Space Galaxy Explorer and castle (two of my favorite sets) again...I guess the Lego nerd is still in me.

Here is your pro-Obama link...

Very funny video of Katie Couric interviewing Sarah Palin:

Couric: What newspapers and magazines did you regularly read before you were tapped for this, to stay informed and to understand the world?
Palin: I read most of them, again, with a great appreciation for the press, for the media...
Couric: But, like, what ones specifically, I'm curious, did you...?
Palin: Uh, all of them. Any of them.

Sadly, her answer reminds me of Homer Simpson:

Horst: You have been safety inspector for two years. What initiatives have you spearheaded in that time?
Homer: Uh...all of them?

Oh yeah, and when Terry Tate tackled her. That was funny, too.

Again, normally I'm not a fan of McSweeney's, but there is the occasional gem. Like New Texting Acronyms for the Elderly. I love the new meaning for OMGWTF, but the sad thing is I could probably actually use BIMD...

Undecided

To put them in perspective, I think of being on an airplane. The flight attendant comes down the aisle with her food cart and, eventually, parks it beside my seat. "Can I interest you in the chicken?" she asks. "Or would you prefer the platter of shit with bits of broken glass in it?"

To be undecided in this election is to pause for a moment and then ask how the chicken is cooked.

(via Daring Fireball)

Surviving Grady pretty much sums up my feelings about the Sox:

Wanna know the strangest thing about today?

It's not that the goddam Tampa Bay Devil Rays are about to play in the World Series, giving their legion of faux fans at least a few more hours to learn all the players' names before first pitch.

It's that just little more than 48 hours ago, the Boston Red Sox lost game seven of the ALCS, and I feel perfectly fine.

Good for the Rays (except for the crappy theme song). Obviously I would've wanted the Sox to win, but what can you do? (I mean, besides pinch hit for Varitek...WTF?) TB just played better tonight. That said...go Phillies!

A friend of mine noted that while the Red Sox won the world series in 2004, the presidential election didn't work out as well. Maybe this year we'll "win" the election instead...