Music Upgrade

I've held out forever waiting for someone to develop a "better" mp3 player than the iPod. I never liked the idea of giving my soul to Apple as I've always viewed them as proprietary and closed.

Well, it's been 4+ years since I bought the somewhat crappy and very bulky Dell Jukebox, and it's staring to break down. Have I mentioned how horrible the software is that comes with it? Let's not even go there.

So I look to see what has come along and still nothing comes close to the iPod. So, in a true case of "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em", I've devoted my entire 3,000+ CD collection to Apple...I'm all iTunes and iPod now!

Another arrow straight to the heart

After Hundreds of Billions of dollars and tens of thousands dead.....Bush has completely failed the American people...Completely.


From Crooks & Liars Blog...

Here is the title of a report from the General Accountability Office on combating terrorism released today:

The United States Lacks a Comprehensive Plan to Destroy the Terrorist Threat and Close the Safe Haven in Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas.

This GAO report may be the most damning condemnation of the Bush administration’s counter-terrorism efforts. The report goes on to say that the Bush administration has failed to develop any plan to address the Al Qaeda threat. Worse, the report finds that Al Qaeda is now able to attack the United States and represents the “most serious” threat to this country.

The report’s opinion of the Bush administration efforts speaks for itself:
The United States has not met its national security goals to destroy the terrorist threat and close the safe haven in Pakistan…

Let the Playoffs begin (and my MVP vote)

So the NBA season has reached the apex....time to buckle up for what is the best time of year (for big NBA fans like me anyway).

A couple of wrap-up notes before it begins.

This was nothing short of a spectacular year. A team from he East (Celtics) is actually favored to win the title! Two great franchises (Celtics and Lakers) are not only relevant again but close to being odds-on favorites to meet in the finals. There were also some incredibly interesting and ballsy trades this year, unlike years past. And we watched perhaps the single greatest surprise in a long, long time.....

we watched a point guard perform at one of the highest levels of any PG in history. We watched him literally SAVE a franchise in New Orleans. And finally, we watched him lift a team that was slated to finish maybe in the 8th or 9th spot finish in the 2nd spot in what was one of the single most competitive conferences in the history of basketball!

That's why Chris Paul gets my MVP vote this year.

It was a Dark and Stormy Morning

This morning's cup of coffee in hand, I open up MyYahoo front page and look at the "AP Top Headlines". This is what I see....

-American cuts more flights; fliers fume
-Consumer confidence falls to new low
-Frontier files for bankruptcy protection
-Gunmen kill Sadrist official in Iraq

And the stock market languishing down 14 points (S&P).

Can I go back to bed?

Welcome Donnie Walsh...and Good Luck

As a fan of the NBA, this year has been nothing short of wonderful. So many excellent teams competing hard throughout the year, jostling for position and testing each other on a nightly basis to see who has the "right stuff" to get to the finals. Great trades that have caused huge swells in teams chances for a title, and great franchises reborn through aquisitions.

One team, however, is nowhere to be found in this mix of great teams, the Knicks. The atmosphere and legend that a great basketball game in Madison Square Garden represents is something every fan of the NBA recognizes, and something is lost when this is not at least a significant piece of any great season's puzzle.

This article pretty much sums-up the state of affairs in NY....
http://nymag.com/news/sports/45787/

sad...just sad.

But there is a ray of hope. Donnie Walsh is the new President of the Knicks. He has a REALLY tall task ahead of him to make this team relevant again, but he's the man to do the job.

Someday hopefully we will look back and think...the Knicks were THAT bad? and then we'll settle into our seats for a terrific (and meaningful!) Knicks/Lakers game with all the lore and electricity that only a place like MSG can bring.