1) To go somewhere I haven't been before. I've not done terribly well at this first resolution. I did go to San Francisco in April, but I'd been there before so it doesn't count. There have been a few choice locations that I've visited for the first time this year though, including Stanmore, a beach near Lowestoft and Monterey (which is just south of San Francisco and so probably doesn't count either). Verdict: Must try harder.
2) To reduce my spam intake. My inbox used to be fuller than a pair of Vi@gra-boosted trousers, plagued by Nigerian lotto scams, fake diplomas and online pharmacists. Not any more. My ISP installed spam-blocking software at the end of January and now only a few rogue Russians slip through the net. It's restored my faith in humanity, even if I rarely hear the life-affirming "you've got mail" ping any more. Verdict: Result!
3) To keep my place tidy. It was never that bad, you understand. My carpet isn't prematurely brown, my kitchen isn't home to an array of single-celled plantlife and my toilet would only keep Kim and Aggie occupied for a couple of minutes. It's the piles I need to deal with, piles of important paperwork and less important ephemera that I leave lying around on various available surfaces because I'm not quite sure where to file them away yet. There's certainly no chance of anyone using my dining table as a dining table at the moment but, overall, my piles aren't spreading as far as they might. Verdict: Could do better.
4) To go up to anyone I see wearing more than one item of Burberry clothing and call them a tosser. Was it really only six months ago that half the population seemed to think that wearing Burberry was the height of fashion? Thankfully most people have seen the error of their ways and now it's only the saddoes who still have England flags on their cars who remain coated in oh-so-common beige plaid. I can't claim to have been brave enough to call many of them 'tossers'. But I have thought it, several times. Verdict: Fading into irrelvance.
5) To go back to the cinema again. I didn't go to the pictures for over a year until May, at which point I finally managed to find three films worth seeing in the space of a fortnight. What with threemorecrackers and a maybe due out this month I think I may finally have kicked this bad habit. Verdict: Big screen salvation.
6) To shed pounds. Not weight, but money. Sadly, if anything, I'm doing even worse at spending money this year than I was last year. I still can't spend money on myself to save my life. I've not bought any gadgets or any homeware or any clothes, and my music consumption is definitely in decline. In fact I've only spent more than £100 on something once this year, and that was on a transatlantic plane ticket. Obviously the ability to save money is a dead useful skill, but it would be nice to blow some of it every now and then. Verdict: Still in need of retail therapy.
7) To search out new and exciting webpages and stuff for all my readers. Ah, I can do this one. I probably do this one too much actually because my webpage tends to have links everywhere. People notice, you know. Back in January Ian commented "I think it's about time I gave SimeWorld a kick up the arse. It's never going to be a contender to Diamond Geezer in terms of quantity of content (is he sponsored by the number of links he has on his page, or does he have some kind of link-related medical condition - like Tourettes syndrome but with Anchor tags?)" Only he didn't include the hyperlinks, I added them. See, I really am that bad. Verdict: 100% linky goodness.
8) To drink at least one of the three bottles of complimentary champagne sitting in my kitchen. They're all still there because I don't fancy drinking them by myself. I just need something worth celebrating and someone to share each bottle with. Verdict: Still half the year left - don't lose hope yet.
