I am totally jamming on a new CD recommended by Pitchfork Media, by Rjd2, called Dead Ringer. Very, very good stuff—the reviewer caught my attention with this summary: “The Private Press may have given us what DJ Shadow needed to give us, but Rjd2 gave us what we wanted.”

Christmas was a very enjoyable one this year. Lots of goodies given and received; lots of good cheer and quiet family time as well. You’ll notice I had my laptop with me over the break, and I took some time to re-organize my navigation on the left there.

Strange Offerings From Amazon.com Dept.:
“Customers who wear clothes also shop for: Clean Underwear from Amazon’s Target Store.”

I ordered 16MB of RAM for the Laserwriter this morning. I think, if I remember correctly, that the resolution increses as you add memory to the machine- we’ll find out when it gets here. I also read with interest that Apple has discontinued making the 15″ flat-panel iMac as of last october, and reports claim that they will discontinue manufacturing the 17″ model this summer. Strange. I was hoping that I could afford one of these iMacs this year (along with a pony, a rocketship, and a retirement fund) so it will be interesting to see what happens next…?

In other consumer news, I’m now actively looking for a replacement for the Tortoise. The early front-runners, based on market research done through Consumer Reports, are the VW Jetta and the Subaru Forester. Right now, due to availability and price considerations, the VW is ahead by a nose. But the desire is leaning towards the Forester. Does anybody have good/bad stories about either? I’d love to hear them.