Today I have a question: what albums have provided you the most “Bang for the Buck?

First, let’s assume that you actually paid for all your albums. Second, let’s assume that all albums are just about the same price. Third, let’s assume that collections are a linear multiplier.

The question really is “Which albums have you listened to the most?” That’s really quite different from “Which albums are your favorites?” Good music can often be like good food – you might like caviar, but you certainly wouldn’t want to eat it for every meal.

I ask because I seem to have (or have had over time) a couple go-to albums. You know the kind – you want to listen to “music,” but you don’t want to think about it. You don’t want to make a decision so you pop in X. For me, it seems to be:

The Barenaked Ladies - Rock Spectacle
Les Miserable
BoxSet -- Duo
Blink182 – enema of the state
Tracy Chapman – Tracy Chapman
Jimmy Buffett – Bars, Boats, Beaches, and Ballets
Billy Joel – Greatest Hits (that was one of the past)

So… what are yours?

In what has become a yearly tradition, Apple recently stole three hours of my life. “How?” you ask. They, once again, released a product which forced me to ponder what it would mean to be a Mac user. And, like every year prior, I was left exhausted by the dizzying vacillation between “Mac envy” and “Mac regret”. I say “Mac envy” because I want a handful of their products. I say “Mac regret” because I couldn’t get by on their platform.

First, let me give you a little history.

Apple was the computer company with whom my youth was spent. Yes, like any good computer geek, I had a Tandy. However, the Tandy was just the playground crush. My Apple III was my first love. I learned what it meant to be a geek with my Apple. My first “Choose Your Own Adventure” games were written on my Apple and, many computer-generations later, so too were my college term papers. Alas, like all first loves, I grew up. I got practical. I got Windows.

Over the years Windows has grown up. Windows XP is a great OS and, by all accounts, Longhorn will be even better. With that said, Apple still holds a special little place in my heart. There is a lot to be said about their attention to detail. There is no denying that their products are pretty. There is also no denying that their products are easy to pick up. But, for me, that’s where it stops.

The process goes something like this:

1) Look at Mac Mini and its price.
2) Think “At that price I should get one of those.”
3) Know that I can’t reasonably “switch” to a Mac.
4) Spend 3 hours trying to justify buying a whole new computer for 5 applications that, for the most part, exist on my Windows machine.
5) Give up and start wishing that Apple were part of the Wintel world.

“But wait,” you exclaim. “Microsoft does have most of the iLife suite. They’ve got Media Player. They’ve got Movie Maker. You can get Picasa for free from Google. iGarageBand2 – are you kidding?”

“Isn’t that enough?” you continue.

No, it’s not.

First, let’s throw out Media Player from my lists of gripes. I’m a Media Player fan, and I abhor iTunes. Let’s also jettison GarageBand because, umm, it’s silly. Google picks up the photo slack with Picasa.

This basically leaves us with iMovieHD and iDVD. Frankly – Apple kicks the snot out of Microsoft here. They’ve delivered a nice, simple, cost-effective way to produce home movies that can be shared with others. They’ve included the power to develop in HD. They’ve allowed MPEG4 exports. They’ve even made it nice and simple. Microsoft, on the other hand, has delivered a mishmash of products that push the limits of some IT people. Microsoft seems so intent to push WMV that it has seemingly forsaken usability.

There is something wrong with the situation when a basic computer user using a Mac could produce a DVD in less time than a Windows “expert.”

So once again I sit here wishing that I could just buy the Apple “Windows Version” of that cute little cube that, of course, comes with iLife. Oh well… until next year… ;)

For quite some time now I've had this urge to ask whether pedestrians in England walk on the left side of the sidewalk... I'm finally giving in -- "Do pedestrians in England follow *their* rules of the road while on their sidewalks?"

I wish that my post-holiday return to the web were under better circumstances, but alas that was not to be.

Recently, a fellow Vizsla-owner in the Puget Sound area (Kent, Wa) lost his pride and joy. After calling every shelter and hearing nary a word about his little girl, he's heartbroken. The good news is that there's been no bad news. The bad news is that she's still missing. The Vizsla community would like to believe that she's out there sitting by the fire of some family who instantly fell in love with her. If this is the case, it's also the hope of the Vizsla community that they aren't aware of the emotional hell with which Randy (the owner) is living out his days.

I know that it's a shot in the dark, but I thought that I would put a post up here. Perhaps someone knows someone who knows someone who just happens to have a brand new adult Vizsla in their lives. Her name just could be Julep and, if that's the case, she's quite missed. :(

Here are some pictures:
One, Two, Three

Update: The story made the local Fox news last night. We're still hoping that the dog makes a safe return.

Update: I'm happy to announce that Julep has been found and is safe at home. I don't have the whole story yet, but "it's a good thing."