Scott Dolan

Yeah, I'm not sure what he's thinking there. Two of the best teams in MLB come from that division, but they have almost no competition within the division. The Giants didn't win the World Series last year by getting lucky, that's without question. But, outside of the Dodgers they had no peer in their division. And truthfully, I don't even think the Dodgers were truly their peer. They just happened to end the season with a better record.

The NL West had the worst collective record in MLB last year out of all the divisions, had two of the three MLB teams that finished with less than 70 wins, and most importantly was one of only two divisions in MLB to have at least three of its five teams finish with a record under .500. The fourth and fifth team in the NL West finished 28 and 30 games out of first place. In the NL Central it was 14 and 17, and in the AL Central 17 and 20. Those are enormous disparities. If it weren't for the NL East making a strong case, the NL West would have been the worst division in baseball last year. And it wouldn't have even been close. The Dodgers and Giants are both outstanding teams, but the rest of the division is horrendous until they prove otherwise. It's the most lop-sided division in MLB, but not the most competitive by any stretch of the imagination. They still need some time to gel, IMO. You added a lot of new pieces this past off season, and the team had been pretty bad before that. Being a Royals fan, I've seen this movie before. Be patient, there's still 158 games to go.

I think it could be argued that the AL and NL Centrals are the best divisions in MLB.

SS1, we must be pretty close in age (44). I grew up watching that show on Friday night as well. Followed by Dallas. Love Boat and Fantasy Island on Saturday... I remember seeing some interviews of James Best back in the day. Seemed like a really good cat. R.I.P., Roscoe. Boss Hogg is finally getting his sheriff back...

Dan's "logic" is hard to contest. Using it shows my boys going 162-0 this year. I can live with that. The AL Central is really going to be a bloodbath this season. I'm not worried about the Twins, but we're going to have to fight our tails off to win the division over Detroit and Cleveland. And likely have to battle both of them for the final wildcard spot... This should be a really fun season.

Sounds like I need to check it out. AMC has really been knocking it out of the park in recent years. The Walking Dead slipped a bit this past season, but even it is still pretty good.

Is it really good? He was far and away the most entertaining character from Breaking Bad, but I haven't brought myself to watch this new series yet.

Dude, you are of absolutely no importance to me. I could not care less if you stayed, or left.

Your humanitarianism knows no bounds.

I fell asleep halfway through his post as well.

You know, it's funny you say that. My wife bought that new Taylor Swift album, and while it's not really my cup of tea, I find pretty inoffensive. She's a horrifying singer outside of the studio, but I find nothing wrong with her music. I've certainly heard far worse.

Scientilogy, the religion where you genuinely pay your way to the top. Don't hold your breath on that two for one sale for Operating Thetan VIII.

Let's call it "theoretically better".

Spotify streams 320kbps for their premium subscription. I haven't heard it because I don't do streaming services, but I'd bet money you wouldn't be able to tell the difference between it and lossless. And to be fair, I don't know that people "prefer" lower quality MP3, I just think the price is right for them.

A balanced and thoughtful explanation, thank you. Certainly a niche market exists, and likely always will. I think my biggest hangup was sidewinder seemingly inferring that high rent was the sole factor, or even the biggest of multiple factors. As I said, if the demand is there, no business capable of meeting said demand will shutter due strictly to rent prices. Oddly enough, if you read into the demise of the Virgin Megastores, part of the problem was that their rent was so far below market value that it was bought out by real estate companies who wanted to make more money off of their prime real estate locations. There was no way they were going to stay in business had they paid market value for their properties because of the dwindling market for physical music and books.

No, the ones around here are set up the exact same way (all B&N locations are that I've ever been in). But, they no longer staff that area because it makes no business sense. My neighbor is a manager at our local B & N, and he said they cut the full time staff from that department a couple of years ago. Definitely not true in Tokyo. Disk Union continues to not only survive but open in new locations. Their stores are always crowded whenever I visit. That's cool, but most definitely not the case here in the States. Or the rest of the world, for that matter. In 2007 Music Zone closed all 104 of its store in the UK, Virgin Megastores shuttered for good in 2009, Tower records is no longer with us, nor is Camelot/FYE, and I think Peaches is now down to one lonely location. These weren't due to accidental mismanagement, or the rent being too high. These were enormous, in some cases global, chains.

Yeah, never use CBR. Might as well go ALAC/FLAC at that point.

Because I stated my case and gave reasons as to why closing a business where there is still demand simply because the rent is too high doesn't make sense? Ok...

Hope you have a wonderful B-Day, Mr. hoots!

And it will be interesting to see for how much longer. Barnes & Noble don't even staff their CD department anymore. And independents (outside of larger operations like Dusty Groove and Downtown Music Gallery) are pretty much extinct in the U.S. Even large retailers like Barnes & Noble and Best Buy have dramatically cut their in-store stock. That has nothing to do with rent, it has everything to do with demand. There's a very good reason why Virgin shuttered it's megastores globally years ago. If rent is too high, the smart business owner moves. If demand doesn't dictate staying in business, then you close. That's why your assessment doesn't make any sense.

I seriously doubt that the rent was the major problem. Jazz and Classical don't sell well to begin with, and folks are moving away from physical products in droves these days. Those two factors would kill any shop, even if the rent were dirt cheap. The simple fact is that record/CD shops are a thing of the past because records/CDs are no longer the desired and profitable medium they once were.

Online bulletin boards are a dying breed, no matter what interest they cater to.

100,000!!! Yikes! And I thought my 1,000+ CD collection was hard to keep up with...

If AAJ still has their forums up, I suppose that would be a good place to check out. The Steve Hoffman forums have some Jazz heads on it, but I'd tread lightly there. The heavy-handed moderators there (Gorts) can make it a difficult ride.

Hmmm… completely unfamiliar with that one. Thanks for the rec. Sounds like a subject I'd be highly interested in. I'm not as hardcore into politics as I once was, but the history of colonialism is an important one. I'll add it to my list based on that fact alone.