Dave Garrett

My favorite, the Oppo DV-980H, has unfortunately been discontinued, and Oppo is only manufacturing Blu-Ray players now. The DV-980H is even difficult to find used, probably because everyone I know that's ever bought one has no intention of ever giving it up. I've never personally used them, but other people I know have recommended this vendor for region-free/multistandard players. And as I mentioned earlier, VideoHelp.com is worth checking out (search by model number or manufacturer for info on specific players).

hey jlhoots. what brand and model dvd player do you have? i converted my cheap memorex dvd player into a "universal region" disc player w/ the press of a few buttons on my remote. literally took me 30 seconds. i found the 'code' online. It's not the region code that's the problem - as the distributor stated, it's a region-free (region 0) disc. jlhoots' DVD player needs to be able to play PAL (European video standard) discs, and I'd bet that it does not. Most of the region-selectable players can handle both PAL and NTSC discs, and perform the necessary standards conversion to enable you to view PAL discs on NTSC hardware, and vice versa. jlhoots, you could probably pick up a cheap PAL-capable, region-free player for around what you paid for the DVD. Check out VideoHelp.com for some info on region-free players.

I don't have much use for Facebook (I have an account there, but have really never used it for anything) or MySpace, but Twitter is an entirely different thing from the others, and we've only just begun to glimpse some of the ways its effects are being felt. Yes, there's a bunch of inane crap on there, but the same thing can be said of many other online communities, and anyone who's spent any amount of time online has surely developed the ability to filter wheat from chaff by now. Anyone who has dismissed it as yet another faddish internet phenomenon should read these articles: How Twitter Will Change the Way We Live Why Twitter Will Endure

My seat of the pants feeling was that 3.5.7 was a little more unstable than earlier versions, but since 3.6 is now in production release, I updated to that version last Friday, and it seems to be an improvement.

Our German Shepherd doesn't wrap herself up in a blanket, but she does sleep in the bed with us. It's not as crowded as it might sound, but I still keep thinking I'd like to upgrade from a queen- to a king-size mattress (we bought the current mattress before we got the dog).

Y'all are aware that Ron Hearn posts reasonably comprehensive lists of jazz birthdays every day on the Usenet newsgroup rec.music.bluenote, right? Sadly, it's practically the only traffic that once-thriving newsgroup gets these days, but that's par for the course with most of Usenet now anyway. A couple of other folks used to help Ron with posting and maintaining the lists, but have since "retired" from that task, and there was some discussion a while back about discontinuing the lists entirely, but Ron has so far opted to keep posting them. Google groups search for r.m.b b-day lists

Someone on the Hoffman board (I think) posted a week or so ago that FYE.com had the Sun Bear box for around $50, but it seems to be back up to the regular price now. I was tempted, as I've never heard any of it despite having long been a fan of the Bremen-Lausanne and Koeln sets, but I ultimately passed on it as I've spent too much money on other things in the past couple of months. Maybe another time.

Fucking, Austria

What browser are you using? Have you tried a different one to see if the problem appears to be browser-independent? My default browser is the latest production release of Firefox, but I revert to using IE6 (still on Win2K, so I can't use IE7 or 8) for sites that don't render properly with Firefox.

I was going to recommend one of these, but I see they've been discontinued. Oppo is apparently only making Blu-ray players now, which is a shame, as their DVD players were very nice when it came to multi-region, multi-standard playback while still delivering very good picture quality, something that can't always be said of cheaper multi-region decks. Wish I'd bought another one as a backup while they were still readily available. I've bought multi-region decks for as cheaply as $30, but the Oppo's far and away the best one I've ever had. Looks like there are a couple of used ones at eBay currently, but as they originally sold for $169, I wouldn't expect any bargains.

I've been meaning to order this, but I've been getting a hostname lookup failure for www.big-o-records.com since the server move. Are there still some lingering DNS propagation issues, or is something else going on?

Costco has this set for $99.99, but during the holiday season there's an additional $20 discount taken off at the register. After factoring in sales tax, it's close to being as good of a deal as the one-day Amazon deal was.

iPhone is tops in my book. Its polished, intuitive user interface and number of available apps trumps all other contenders for now, but I expect the Droid to put up a respectable challenge. Expect to pay $70-100/month for a decent iPhone plan (data plan is unlimited but text message plans run around $30/month, plus whatever level of voice plan you get). Also, you are stuck with AT&T for now if you want an iPhone, and I've seen many complaints about AT&T's 3G network coverage (both in terms of area, where Verizon has them beat, and network overload, which I've never had a problem with but is really dependent on where you live). If you don't qualify for an upgrade or a new-contract discount, the iPhones are extremely expensive. Since I'd been with AT&T for quite a while on a month-to-month plan after my last contract with them expired, this wasn't an issue for me. My 32GB 3GS was $299 with a new 2-year contract, but I've heard that if you have to buy it without the discount it's more like $800. AT&T is actually subsidizing the real cost of iPhones, which is good for Apple's bottom line and not so good for AT&T's.

The Far East Suite ....And His Mother Called Him Bill New Orleans Suite

Probably cheaper than the new set, I'd guess. Of course, Amazon has priced it as an import, so it's probably cheaper in the EU: Complete Live At The Black Hawk

Yeah, a visit to The Shrine is a must! Heck, walking around North Beach is worth a day anyway. And while you're there... Vesuvio

As a fan of Captain Beefheart, I prefer the low Yo Yo.

Assuming you can play R1 DVDs, you should check this one out: Rockin' at the Red Dog Pay attention to the reviews - it's not really a music disc, but a documentary primarily focused on the history of the Red Dog containing interviews with most of the key players, including members of the Charlatans. Fascinating for those who are interested in such stuff, especially since as you point out this era is often overlooked in favor of "Summer of Love" hype.

I may very well have chugged an entire pitcher of the Kool-Aid, but after replacing my 9-year-old Nokia with an iPhone 3GS several months ago, I am convinced that the iPhone is probably the most significant development in personal technology since the PC and the Internet both entered the mainstream. There are the obvious limitations that go with a pocket-sized screen, but the tradeoff is that it is a truly portable computer. No doubt other phones/mobile OSes will catch up eventually, but right now the iPhone is at the top of the heap.

This sale started on the 10th, and was supposed to run for two weeks, which would make the 24th the last day. Not sure if that means midnight on the 24th or midnight on the 25th, but the bottom line is don't wait too much longer to pick up anything you're considering if you're expecting to get the sale discount. EDIT: looks like the sale ended at midnight last night. Or thereabouts, anyway, as I placed an order a few minutes after midnight and the sale prices were still in effect. Checking a random Criterion DVD this morning, the prices are back to normal.

A bunch more: Dogs Welcoming Home Soldiers

For anyone who's been on the fence about the stereo box, they're back in stock at many brick-and-mortar Borders stores again (you can check in-store availability online). And Borders currently has a 40% off coupon good through Monday, so it's possible to get the stereo box for around $157 plus tax. This is probably the best deal there's likely to be on this set for a while. They're also tripling Borders Bucks this weekend - instead of $5 for every $150 you spend, you get $5 for every $50, so purchasing the stereo box with the coupon also gets $15 in Borders Bucks. 40% off coupon

You need this CD, if you don't already have it. It's apparently OOP, judging from the inflated prices on Amazon, but I see that Screen Archives Entertainment has multiple copies up on eBay for less than what it originally sold for: Vic Mizzy: Suites & Themes

Yes, they do still incorporate hydropneumatic suspension (Citroën C5). I reckon you don't see Citroëns too often in the US. They are quite uncommon in the US, but I have a friend who's had a DS as his daily driver for years. With no dealer network, laughable parts availability, and difficulty finding a qualified mechanic even in a large city, you really have to be dedicated (and plugged into the enthusiast/collector network) to depend on an older exotic car like that for your regular transport.

Unfortunately, this one's out of print now and tends to be expensive. I kept meaning to pick it up, but there always seemed to be other priorities, until it was too late.