When it Absolutely, Positively Needs to be there Overturned

Ok, now I can tell you

I've been carrying a secret around for the past month or so and it's been killing me. Apparently everybody else knows about it now so I can tell you.

There's a pretty expensive piece of stereo equipment out there called a Sonos music system. The unit basically takes all of that music from CDs and internet radio and puts it through your house (or apartment) in a really simple and magically wonderful way. This was great for playing all those CDs that were ripped into iTunes, but it didn't play protected songs, like the ones you would buy from the Apple iTunes store.

So a month ago, my friend at Sonos asked if I wanted to be part of a Beta program. Seems that Sonos had found a pretty awesome way to get Rhapsody, the $10/month "all you can eat" music system into the Sonos system. This basically meant that I had access to over 2,000,000 songs. It also meant that I could throw away my CD collection (except for "The Sons of Ralph" from Bob.

Turning this sucker on was like opening up my brain and stepping back into the primordial music of my past. I did the requisite Bob Marley and John Mayer and Etta James, but then I moved into other genres and areas. My in-laws came in for a week and a half, and I put on some Loving Spoonfull...because I could. Wow, that was surprisingly good.

My bro and his brood came over on Sunday and turned the sucker on. He blasted the neighbors with some Grace Jones and John Coltrane and some other stuff.

I cooked dinner listening to Lewis Black's performance at Carnegie Hall and sent Barney's Broadway tunes to my son's room.

This thing rocks. Trade in your iPods and give it a try.

Wow, I feel better now.

What Kind of Crow?

They're reliving 9/11 on all the networks and one of the things they mention a lot is how far something is "as the crow flies." I don't think I've ever seen a crow fly straight, so where did this come from and when did they stop flying straight?

Interference Robustness

So I'm sitting on my back porch finishing off the 2nd version of my food newsletter, and my wireless signal goes kaput. Damn! All I can see is some guy's wifi called CK and another one called "Israel Wireless," which, given my location in California, must be a pretty powerful antenna -- and one I choose NOT to join for fear of being bombed.

Anyway, on my Apple computer, at the bottom of the list of foreign wifis that does not include my own, I notice an option for "use interference robustness," which gets me to thinking....

This must be a term dreamed up by some computer wonks in mini-cubicles. First off, what is interference robustness and why would I want to use it? Doesn't it mean that the interference would be that much stronger? But if they mean that the computer will be strong in the face of interference (which I hope they do in some cavalier malignancy of the English language), then wouldn't I want this on all the time? Isn't leaving this off kinda like Peyton Manning, the famous American football quarterback, deciding NOT to use his defensive line and instead leave himself open to unending torment and pummel from the opposition?

No sir, not me. I'm not going to suffer the slings and arrows, etc. of misfortune, blah, blah, blah. I put a check next to the "Use Interference Robustness." I wait. and wait. Kaput.

All of a sudden, the bars on my wireless pie go black, telling me I have connected. I check the name -- "Israel wireless." I shut the computer, run inside, and fill the bathtub. Will post more if I make it.

Only in L.A.

Nice weekend. Nice view from my balcony.

The World On His Mind