Favorites of 2009

I did this last year for 2008, where I alluded to a possible annual post; here we go! This time around I’m covering: toy, website, service, moment, and book.

• Favorite Toy: Motorola Droid. Pretty easy choice- I did a write up a few weeks ago and I still love it. It does everything I need it to do and more. There are a whole slew of apps for it (my favorites here), and a ton of great accessories (write up on those soon). It’s much more stable than the Storm. and has as many [useful] apps as the iPhone and does more than the iPhone.
• Favorite Website: lala. lala is a website that allows you to listen and purchase music online. I cover all the bases in my review a few weeks ago. The short story is I can upload my library to it, listen to every song once for free, listen to a song as much as I want for 10 cents and download a DRM-free mp3 for 89 cents. Plus, they were recently acquired by Apple so you can bet  there are some nice things in store for 2010.
• Favorite Service: Netflix. I just got this for Christmas and am in love with it. 1 DVD at a time, unlimited amount of sends, plus instant play. I’ve gotten 2 movies already, have a huge queue, and have watched 30 Rock, SVU, and several stand-up comedians online instantly. I can’t wait to link it up to my Xbox Live account so I can stream right to my TV!
• Favorite Moment: The Yankees Win the World Series. This isn’t at all tech-related, but noteworthy as far as 2009 goes. I’m a huge Yankee fan that was scorned by 2001, 2003, and especially 2004. The last time the Yankees won a World Series, I was a teenager and have been waiting my short adult life for them to win another. I went to Game 6 of the ALCS, and watched every pitch of every post season game. I’m very glad I got to watch them close out the decade the same way  they opened it.
• Favorite Book: Toss Up! There are 2 books I read this year that really reached me. The first is The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch. This book really reached me on an emotional level. Dr. Pausch was a candid, goal oriented family man who knew what he wanted and went for it. He focused on self-reliance and he and I shared many of the same values. Plus, he was a Computer Scientist! The second book is The Last Night of the Yankee Dynasty by Buster Olney.  Call it serendipity that I was reading this around the time of the post season, but taking a look back at the 2001 World Series brought back a lot of memories for me; it was looking at the team I essentially grew up with. Olney writes this as if it’s a fictional story. I knew the outcome and it was still a page-turner that I read as if something was going to change- like maybe the Yankees would pull through this time around.

Some other noteworthy things and events: My first Blink concert in 8 years, graduating from Grad school, starting a new company, Inglorious Basterds, Sherlock Holmes, Glee, and Community.

And so goes my favorites of 2009. What are yours?