Family members keep asking me what I want for Christmas. This list is here not because I'm greedy, but to help relieve some stress.

(Updated Dec. 28, 2005)

Equipment

• Yamaha C3 Grand Piano (~$35,000 Cdn)
• A good music notation computer program (i.e. Sibelius)
• A cabinet for all of my music books
• Full pedal midi keyboard, plus sound module, to turn the digital piano into a pipe organ
• Wireless midi link, or two long midi cables (30' min.)

• Mozart Sonatas, Volume I (I now have volume II, Schirmers, thank you very much!)
• Haydn Sonatas, Volume II (I now have volume I, Konemann Music Budapest. ISBN 963-8303-34-4. Sorry, I don't know how many volumes there are.)
• Chopin Scherzi

• Anything played by Marc-André Hamelin except "Live at Wigmore Hall", and "Marc-Andre' Hamelin plays Liszt", which I already have.
• Anything played by Vladimir Horowitz, except his last recording, and the album "The Magic of HOROWITZ" - Deutsche Grammophon

• Thickness planer (min 12", good quality) (~$500min)
• Carbide tipped stacked dado blade (~$200)
• 10" thin kerf circular saw blade, carbide tipped (~$50)
• Band saw (~$800)
• Scroll saw (~$175)
• Chain saw (~$200)
• Compressor, for use with air tools (such as pneumatic nail guns)
• Metalworking equipment so I can modify my tools as I please
  • Sheet metal brake
  • Metal lathe -- one of those Unimat type lathes would be great fun!
  • Welding equipment
• Pen turning kit (mandrel, etc)
• Carving chisels (Only high speed steel or better; no cheapies)
• Woodworker's bench -- I'd like to make my own, but wouldn't turn down a good one!
  • Woodworker's bench vise -- min. 7", quick release, bench dog, good quality like Record
  • Wood - about 30bft rock maple, just for the top
• Aftermarket fence for table saw (~$500)
• Nice dovetail saw - something like a Lie-Nielsen dovetail rip saw

• Rack mounted bins for easy access to components
• A few PIC16F628 chips for experimentation; at least one of the EEPROM kind
• Space -- I don't have enough room for a decent shop right now
• Any programmable robot kit -- something from www.budgetrobotics.com is the kind of thing I'm looking for

• Digital Camera (cheapy OK, as long as the software required is reasonably easy to maintain, but I'd prefer one that accepts SD cards, and connects wirelessly to the computer)
• New motherboard, to upgrade an old computer
• Computer books -- please consult someone in the business for books that they found helpful. Only the best books will suffice.
• Book: A New Kind of Science by Stephen Wolfram
• Book: 3D Game Engine Design by Dave Eberly
• Book: 3D Game Engine Architecture by Dave Eberly

• Hockey equipment; everything except helmet and gloves, which I already have
• Canoe and accessories

• Video Camera
• Books: The Mad Scientists' Club Series. I already have "The Mad Scientists' Club", so any of the others is on the list.
• Dream House (to go with the piano) -- Energy efficient dome with large, heated workshop, on lots (up to 200) of hardwood acres
• Time