DVD or download? This is the first generational divide where I've found myself coming down firmly on the old geezer side. (I'm going on 52.) I don't think it has anything to do with technical ability. I've been playing with computers since the days of mainframes, when the "monitor" was a giant line printer, and today I find that I'm much more familiar with basic programming than 95% of supposedly "tech-savvy" youth. It's just that when I buy something, I want to hold it in my hand. Same thing with CDs (which you don't mention -- too old-fashioned, no doubt!). I've never downloaded a song. If I like a song, a singer, an album (there's my age again!), or a band, I buy the CD and rip it to my computer. My mp3 is populated with songs from real CDs that sit on the shelf behind me. And my DVD collection continues to grow...

I guess that makes sense. Robin is really Dick "Grayson," obviously a pseudonym. Like all "true heroes," Cheney "often must slink in the shadows, slump-shouldered and despised." And he sure has the "violating our values" part down pat, whether he's doing it to "uphold our values" or not.

I use a Sansa, which I love, but this also worked fine on my earlier iRiver T30 (which still works fine but, at 1 gig, doesn't hold as much).

Step one: check out the CDs from the library.

Step two: rip 'em all.

Step three: load to the Sansa.

This is, no doubt, technically illegal, but I figure as long as I have the disks out of the library, I have a right to listen to them in any form I want.

I recently bought a second Sansa (used, refurbished, 8 gig, $79 including shipping -- can't beat that) to hold my music, so I have my 2-gig dedicated to the ebooks. As long as you make sure the disks are named consecutively (e.g. DanteClub Disk1 etc), they play through seamlessly from the first disk to the last. No need to earmark or pagemark or whatever -- the Sansa always remember where you stopped it, and starts up from the same point when you turn it back on. Works for me!

I checked out the PUMA Pac website, which posts a long series of anti-deadender emails (worth the read), and then I went on to read some of the voluminous comments that follow. Good luck understanding any of the self-annointed PUMAs! Here's a sample comment with a religious angle that makes W look almost sane:

"33 years ago I had a vision~~It was of the end of life as we know it. And I have been watching events unfold in the exact same procession since then, most notably with the explosion of Mt St Helens. But economically and socially as well. Watching Obama’s rise sends chills up and down my spine with the premonition that this may, indeed, be the False Prophet. According to the Mayan, Totec, Navajo and other native calendars and prophecies, the world as we know it will end on Dec 21, 2012. I’ve seen absolutely no reason to dispute that in all these 33 years since I was first blessed with the vision. Now is the time for the best of us to create our greatest good. Believe me, it WILL have an affect on the outcome."

The best tip for a quick return on your search is to think of the most unusual word in whatever it is you are trying to find. Better yet, the most unlikely combination of unusual words. Example: I recalled hearing a radio report from a couple of years ago about the curious origin of the Bond movie theme song in a musical based on a book by V.S. Naipaul. Easy search. Type in

Naipaul 007

How often will they come up together? Well, more often than you would think -- 10,000 hits on Google; 21,000 on cuil -- but the December 2005 NPR story is right up there at the top.

"You'd think, given the drubbing it took in Wednesday's Washington Post over one factually challenged ad, that the McCain camp would want to make sure all the claims it makes in its advertising were on solid ground."

Not in the least.

Why tell the truth when the other side has all the arguments going in its favor? Why tell the truth when a lie is much easier, more effective, more emotional, and you pay no political price for it? Isn't that the real lesson of the Bush years -- there is no consequence to be paid for lying to the American people?

The GOP playbook for this election is: lie, lie, lie. Then lie some more.

I've already been forwarded an email by a former school acquaintance (and conservative true believer) with a laundry list of "facts" about how Obama will raise taxes. Every single "fact" on the list was made up. Simply made up out of thin air. Just like all the "Obama is a terrorist Muslim" lies.

These people will stop at nothing.

Hey Joe, thanks for the review. I've had my eye on these little critters ever since they finally started coming out in the past couple of years. In fact, I've been complaining for at least ten years, maybe more, about the lack of a decent, truly portable, cheap microcomputer with a close-to-full size keyboard. These guys nearly fill the bill -- except for the price, still a bit steep for my taste.

So, here's my question: have you, or anyone else out there, tried out what seems to be the newest entry in this category, the Acer Aspire One? It's listed for about $400 and seems to have the same dimensions and most of the same specs as the HP. There's a picture of it at: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/24/technology/personaltech/24laptop.html