1 Good Morning Monty

Haven't bought any new CDs lately. But have had some new books.

Picked up the new David Weber book "How Firm A Foundation" on my trip to "the city" last week. Haven't read it yet though.

2

I spent a frustrating hour trying to get an ebook from the libary. Well, an hour and 3 days, because their site was down for 3 days.

Eventually, I had Amazon telling me they couldn't send it to my Kindle because it doesn't have Wi-Fi. Had to use the USB cable after downloading the book to the PC.

My library's site directed me to another site that serves up ebooks for several local libary systems. Terrible web site design, terrible selection.

Hope other people are having better luck with ebook lending.

3 2 days till RAGE!

4 Based on several recommendations here, I just read Empire of the Summer Moon. Damn! That was one fine book. Thanks to all that mentioned it.

5     Top o' the (chilly for FL) morning!

    Finished reading The First Tycoon by T.J. Stiles, pretty good biography of 'The Commodore', Cornelius Vanderbilt.  Forget Bill Gates and Warren Buffet, Vanderbilt had over 100 million bucks when he died in 1877.  I'm sure he would have told any President who criticized his wealth to kiss his ass.  Definitely a recommended read.

    Just started the biography of Col. George 'Bud' Day (American Patriot by Robert Corum).  Day is the most highly decorated American veteran still alive today.  I can already tell it's one of those books that makes you feel like a total girly-man for not being as insanely tough as the Colonel.  Honestly, I think any lib that tried to shake hands with Bud Day would probably burst into flames, kind of like a vampire grabbing a holy relic or something.  At least that's how it plays out in my mind, I just watched 'Constantine' again the other night, so I'm in a 'Smiting Evil' kind of mood right now....

6

Does anyone (which right now appears to be Vic, Monty and I) know of any children's magazines that aren't chock full of glorbal worming and other eye rolling crud?

My 8 and 6 year olds would like to get something in the mail and I don't have any particular topic in mind.

7 re: Beth Hart...screaming isn't singing; singing isn't screaming. No thanks.

8 Does anyone (which right now appears to be Vic, Monty and I) know of any children's magazines that aren't chock full of glorbal worming and other eye rolling crud?

Every magazine that I used to get, including Consumer Reports is eat up with the AGW propaganda. Note the use of "past tense there". When even a consumer magazine that was originally started to tell you who made the best toaster goes rabid with the green shit and AGW you have to give up the ghost.

9

Been reading bits of Thomas Sowell's Intellectuals and Economics.

He thrashes the "growing gap between rich and poor" meme in a most lovely manner.

"Although such discussions have been phrased in terms of people, the actual empirical evidence cited has been about what has been happening over time to statistical categories-- and that turns out to be the direct opposite of what has happened over time to flesh-and-blood human beings, most of whom move from one category to another over time."

And on and on. You could make a nice long list of arguments with which to whack people over the head--er, gently disagree with--on that one topic alone.

10 7 re: Beth Hart...screaming isn't singing; singing isn't screaming. No thanks.

Posted by: davidinvirginia at October 02, 2011 11:01 AM (ED4oz)

I'd never heard of or listened to Beth Hart, so I listened to the majority of both of the links above and I cannot figure out why you categorize her singing as 'screaming'.

I think Monty nails the description of her voice.

11

Even Highlights has me slightly worried:

"Like its older sibling publication, Highlights High Five is founded on the belief that children are the world's most important people, and helps set children firmly on the path to becoming curious, creative, caring, and confident individuals. "

12 I heard Bonamassa on a Guitar Shop series. As I recall, I wasn't that taken with his playing, seemed kind of clinical to me. I'll have to give him another listen.

I recently picked up a Joss Stone CD that I really like, Colour Me Free!. For such a young woman, she does a great job of recreating the sound of the female stars of the R&B era. In keeping with that era, another recent music purchase that I've really enjoyed is Steve Cropper's Dedicated, A Salute to the 5 Royales. When I bought that, I also had to get a copy of The Very Best of Booker T. & the MGs as well as the two CD set, Stax 50th Anniversary Celebration.

On a somewhat different musical tangent, I've really enjoyed Revelator by the Tedeschi Trucks Band -- Susan Tedeschi is a great vocalist (and I've had fun playing that CD for friends who aren't familiar with her work. They think they're listening to Bonnie Raitt.)

Also, I recently took a chance on a CD by Ana Popovic, Unconditional. I have to admit that the cover influenced my purchase decision almost as much as the samples I listened to. She's an impressive guitarist.

13 Wow. Five threads before the sun is warm in California.

14 Five threads before the sun is warm in California.

Hell, it is still below 60 here on the East coast!

15 Posted by: Mama AJ at October 02, 2011 11:08 AM (XdlcF)

Mama AJ I recommend you visit a news stand that carries magazines for young kids before getting any subscription. You can page through the mag first then buy it.

Mag subscriptions are now high as hell so it would be easy to get ripped off for a semi-year. (yeah, no longer get a full year in a subscription)

16 morning yall, i havent read any books this morning. But did fry some bacon and open a beer for breakfast.

17 I bought one of the first available Nooks and got it November or December.  It kept crashing and locking up, to the point where I took it to a B&N store and they couldn't fix it.  They gave me a new one, which I promptly sold.  I'm sure the Fire will be better thought-out than this, but I still think I'll wait for version 2.  If they could throw in pay-per-use 3G that would be even better (I don't expect Amazon to give away 3G for anything other than books).

18 Re-read my old favorite Handling Sin, by Michael Malone. It may be the first actual purchase for my Touchpad. Other than that, I've been reading all the free classics I downloaded from Amazon. Turns out further reading didn't make me like Steinbeck or Hemingway any better.

MamaAJ, I have also had trouble with e-lending, but it turns out the Touchpad isn't a candidate for that. I may get one of the cheaper Kindles just for library purposes. They really know how to suck us in with these electronic gadgets. I hope you get it figured out! The library thing is one of the main reasons I considered getting an e-reader.

Birds and Blooms is not a children's magazine, but the little ones I know enjoy looking at my copies when they visit.

19 Just finished "OPEN", Andre Agassi's autobiography. Great sports book. Pretty sure someone here recommended it, so Thanks!

20 15 Posted by: Mama AJ at October 02, 2011 11:08 AM (XdlcF)

Mama AJ I recommend you visit a news stand that carries magazines for young kids before getting any subscription. You can page through the mag first then buy it.

Mag subscriptions are now high as hell so it would be easy to get ripped off for a semi-year. (yeah, no longer get a full year in a subscription)

Posted by: Vic at October 02, 2011 11:18 AM (M9Ie6)

Do they still do subscriptions to Zoobooks?

21 Vic, that's a good idea. The BX has a big magazine section, so I can start there.

22 Wait, I think these new and guest cob loggers need to get with the bio-metric rhythms of this blog.  "Morning" is anything between 11 am and 1 pm.  Before that is "night".

I get up and superstar bloggers Moe and JWF are here and gone.  Winning the future?

23 Susan Tedeschi is a great vocalist (and I've had fun playing that CD for friends who aren't familiar with her work. They think they're listening to Bonnie Raitt.)

If you like Bonnie Rait you'll like this lady who is married to one of our own Morons (who also plays on her album)

24 Oh sh*t.  WaPo has front page racist hit piece on Lord Perry.

25 Posted by: Piñon Farmer at October 02, 2011 11:10 AM (IzuWw)

Oh, wow, Piñon Farmer, that one's going in Thor's Christmas stocking, for the cover alone! Thank you!!!!

26 The iPad isn't a tablet and I wish people would stop calling it that. Tablet PCs have been around for a while. The defining characteristic of a tablet is the ability to write on it.

27 Here is Wapo smear on Perry

28 Regarding the Kindle Fire:

I hope Amazon is successful in making inroads into the low end of the tablet  market.  The Fire looks interesting, but I'm concerned about its relatively small amount of storage (16 GB, IINM) and its reliance on wifi (no 3G) connectivity. My primary use for a tablet would be when traveling, so in most cases I am not connected while on an aircraft.

Right now, I'm looking to upgrade my Motorola Droid. I hope to upgrade to a Google Nexus Prime, which is rumored to be ready for introduction on November 3. If the rumors are accurate, it should give Apple -- iPhone 5 -- a real run for their money.

29 Last book I read was One Second After.  But I said that a couple weeks ago.  I just come here to bask in the readership glory of the morons.

30

its reliance on wifi (no 3G) connectivity

Second generation will have 3G. Holding my breath and waiting for that version.

 

Zoobooks! I remember that now that you mention it.

 

MissT, I would have happily continued wrestling with the ebooks site if the selection had been something other than awful.

Birds and Blooms looks like something my daughter and husband would enjoy.

Thank y'all for the suggestions!

31

The wife just finished "In the Garden of Beasts" so i'm about to start it. I've read/heard so many reviews, criticisms, complaints about the book that I feel like I've already read it and didn't like it. I enjoy the author, so here's hoping I can overcome my negative impressions. Wife liked it, but she's not as attuned to the political/historical angle as I am so she might've just liked the style of writing, the time period, etc.

32 Geez, that guitar lead-in on I'd Rather Go Blind is fabulous, and Beth Hart can sing the blues.  Thanks!  Gotta get the CD so I can have it in the car.  Great work by a couple of white kids.  Beth must have listened to a lot of Pearl.

Another great album in this same vein is Rhythym Country and Blues, an album of duets done by Nashville artists collaborating with those from R&B.

33 that's about what you'd pay on date-night for dinner and a movie afterwards.

I was discussing the costs of dating with people at work the other day.  There's been a great deal of discussion about how high school/college kids don't date anymore, it's mainly hooking up and going out in groups.  Well, I added up what it cost for me to take me out to dinner (that high end eatery Wendy's), a 3D movie, small popcorn and a medium drink at the theater.  It was around $35 just for me.  That's $70+ for freaking Wendy's and a movie.  Yeah, I don't blame kids for not dating. 

I noticed while poking around amazon last night that there's now an offer for unlimited cloud storage out there.  That's huge deal if you're going to be using the Fire.  It makes the laughable 8gb onboard irrelevant.  I can just slam everything onto the cloud servers and there we go. 

34 I had been moaning over the price of a new cell phone--mostly over the monthly price of the data plans--so now I'm going to get a lower end phone with less-than-unlimited data plan and hold out for the 3G Fire.

35 Another great album in this same vein is Rhythym Country and Blues, an album of duets done by Nashville artists collaborating with those from R&B.

I'll second that. I love the Lyle Lovett/Al Green cover of the reverend Al's Funny How Time Slips Away.

36 33 I noticed while poking around amazon last night that there's now an offer for unlimited cloud storage out there. That's huge deal if you're going to be using the Fire. It makes the laughable 8gb onboard irrelevant. I can just slam everything onto the cloud servers and there we go.
____________

Yeah. The cloud. That's the ticket.

37 Vic,

I just listened to samples of the 1st two tracks of that Kira Small album. Thanks for the recommendation, she sounds good. I'll have to pick up a copy (seeing as how she's married to member of the Moron Herd and all!)

38

Thanks for the recommendation, she sounds good.

I second that and already downloaded it!

39 I went ahead and rolled dice and pre-ordered a Kindle Fire. The price point is below my "why not" threshold And they are claiming unlimited cloud storage for all Amazon-bought content.

40 And they are claiming unlimited cloud storage for all Amazon-bought content.

What happens to the content you paid for when you no longer use the Fire?

41 Yes, put everything in cloud storage.  That's really good.  We like that.

42

What happens to the content you paid for when you no longer use the Fire?

Well, you can download Kindle books to your PC, so I could see having content on the home computer(s) and in the clouds.

43 Reading the Last Full Measure by Jeff Sharra; he wrote a sequel to his Dad's Killer Angels.

44 How many of my fellow morons remember Columbia Univ. Prof. Jeffery Sachs?

Shortly after the fall of the Soviet Union he was all over tv, on shows like Newshour, and Meet the Press, as well as op-ed pages everywhere giving advice on how the newly freed countries of eastern Europe should organize their economies.

I think Boris Yeltsin was actually paying him.

It wasnÂ’t hard to peg Sachs as a committed Socialist and eventually his eastern European clients dropped him.

Well now he’s written a book “The Price of Civilization”, and it is reviewed in the weekend book section of the WSJ.

The reviewer is Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI). I read the review yesterday in the print edition and two things jumped out to me.

1. Sachs has given us a clear look at the true goals of the socialist left.

2. Paul Ryan is a very smart guy, and cuts Sachs to pieces.

I see that Insty has a link this morning, so I guess the review is not behind the paywall.

Good read.

Mike

45 Well, you can download Kindle books to your PC, so I could see having content on the home computer(s) and in the clouds.

Anything that's uploaded can be downloaded to a computer/kindle/phone/whatever.

The EMP concerns and FBI snooping around concerns are completely valid, btw. 

46 Mama AJ,

I'm obsessive-compulsive about the format of my music. I prefer buying a CD to downloading the MP3s since I rip the CD to FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec) and store it on my streaming server. I can recreate the original CD, bit for bit, from the rip. Granted, my ears are probably too old to distinguish one of Amazon's MP3s from the original CD PCM, but that's just how I roll.

In the case of the Kira Small album, I see that the MP3 download is the only format currently available (CD is out of stock) and its price is less than half what Amazon wants for the CD. Damn!

47 You co-bloggers better get busy with the Perry racist thread.  You're missing blog gold.

48 Football thread?

49 Racist Perry football thread?

50 49 Racist Perry football thread?

Posted by: Mama AJ at October 02, 2011 12:16 PM (XdlcF)

 

Excuse me?

51 My book this week is Andrea Wulf's Founding Gardeners. It's a portrait of four of the founders - Washington, Adams, Jefferson, and Madison - and how their thinking on politics influenced their work in horticulture and agriculture, and vice-versa. That may sound like a dull topic, but it actually goes to the heart of the debate in the early years of the Republic: the city faction led by Hamilton, which argued for a strong central government promoting commerce; versus the agricultural faction, led by Jefferson, which argued for a weak central government and a republic of self-sufficient farmers and artisans. There is also a patriotic theme, in which the early Americans looked to the plants and produce of this land rather than merely translating European crops and methods to North America.

Wulf tells her story well. Despite being a Brit, she's not snotty or snarky, but brings the perspective of a empathetic outsider, to point out things that may be too obvious for us to have noticed.

If you're at all interested in gardens or gardening or the founding of our Republic, I recommend it highly.

52 45 The EMP concerns and FBI snooping around concerns are completely valid, btw
________

I was only kidding about the EMP thing. If an EMP goes off, I'll have bigger worries than cloud storage. I'm close enough to LA that if Iran EMPed LA, all my electronics would be gone (as well as the electronics of all my friends, which means (on the cat pee scale of significance) the whole country would be hosed). A paranoid person would store backups in an old microwave in his/her/its storage shed...

I see that the one time I'm awake before the book thread, it's a slow day. Sigh.

As for myself, the only reading I've gotten done recently is making it halfway through Mr. Midshipman Hornblower. Enjoying it immensely. I see that the TV series added a love interest to the story about landing royalists in France; there is no poor unfortunate schoolmarm in the book.

53 Oh, by the way, Monty, thank you for recommending Economics in One Lesson. My wife and I and our 14-year-old son are reading it aloud, a chapter or two each evening.

The scary thing is that it reads as though Hazlitt wrote it as a rebuttal to the Obama regime: every mistake he points out, every fallacy he demolishes, is one that the regime has indulged in time and again. Like my wife says about her relatives, liberals forget nothing and they learn nothing.

54 Ya know, one thing I miss about the old comments thingie is the comment count. You could tell from the counts where the morons were hanging out.

55

Excuse me?

Sorry, sir.

 

I can recreate the original CD, bit for bit, from the rip. Granted, my ears are probably too old to distinguish one of Amazon's MP3s from the original CD PCM, but that's just how I roll.

That's cool. As long as I can hear it, I'm happy. And since iTunes is a pain about sharing music, I buy from Amazon unless it just isn't available there.

56

@44: Mike, I just read that review this morning (I don't get a Sunday paper, so I save the WSJ Sat review section to read over a leisurely Sunday breakfast). I thought that Ryan pretty well eviscerated Sachs.

Based on the review, the Sachs book seems like a wannabe Bible (or repair manual?) for the socialist ideology.

57 Link in my name to a workbook for kids on the Constitution. If I order it, I'll report back on it.

58 Any fans of Robert Jordan? I hated his stuff as a teen because of all the weird spellings but I recently started reading him because of the WOT comic books. I still can't handle the weird names but I started treating them like Hindi or Urdu words and it weirdly works. Currently on the 3rd book, The Dragon Reborn. I'm wondering if he's a conservative or at least a non-leftist. The Whitecloaks in his series seem to be a slur on the catholic church & I believe he was an episcopalian. Also reading the Tolkien Studies journal. I'm no scholar but some of the comprehensible stuff is just fascinating insight into Tolkien's genius. Would also recommend Tolkien the Medievalist by Jane Chance. Btw, Breitbart is right, this site really does have great commenters. But am I wrong to wish for an ipad formatted version, perhaps with comment ratings?

59 In the case of the Kira Small album, I see that the MP3 download is the only format currently available (CD is out of stock) and its price is less than half what Amazon wants for the CD. Damn!

Here is a link to the Moron who is married to Kira Small

There is a link on his site to her site where you can buy the CD directly from her.

You can get that album for $15 or both her albums for $28.

60 Bought a Fire too, supposed to arrive late November.  Looking for a smaller, more portable Kindle alternative to my DX and want to see what Amazon came up with for a tablet.  Would like the 3G but can't wait that long.

Read Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer book I, The Jury this week.  An enjoyable mystery with plenty of murder and scantily-clad females, will have to look further into Spillane's oeuvre.

61 And how, exactly, do you take out the head of a zombie thread?

62 You can get that album for $15 or both her albums for $28.

Thanks again, Vic. Hope you're getting a cut in return for your marketing efforts,

63 I'm not sure, if I were RIM/Samsung/HTC, that I would be so quick to discount in response to the Kindle Fire. I think Monty nailed it -- in fact, a couple of my more perceptive students picked up on it right away too, when we discussed Kindle Fire in class Thursday -- the Kindle Fire is a front end for Amazon-as-cloud, or a delivery device for Amazon content if you prefer.

Neat technology, neat idea, but it's a different value proposition, and those other marketers ought to fight it out on that ground before they roll over on price.

64 Whoever touted the new Amazon reader as a rival to the iPad is a blathering moron. It's like saying a Prius is a rival to an Aston Martin. There is a tablet market and there is an iPad market. The new Amazon reader disrupts the tablet market, and makes not a shred of difference to the iPad market. But what's fun about all this is watching yet another headache for Google, as it becomes increasingly apparent that their Android ploy is blowing up in their face.

65 Any fans of Robert Jordan? I hated his stuff as a teen because of all the weird spellings but I recently started reading him because of the WOT comic books. I still can't handle the weird names but I started treating them like Hindi or Urdu words and it weirdly works.
Currently on the 3rd book, The Dragon Reborn. I'm wondering if he's a conservative or at least a non-leftist. The Whitecloaks in his series seem to be a slur on the catholic church & I believe he was an episcopalian.

Big fan here, unfortunately he died before finishing the WOT series. Brian Sanderson is now finishing it. He was a graduate of The Citadel and helicopter gunner in Vietnam and very much a conservative.

66 Good morning all, I fired up the wood stove this morning. I've got a home grown chicken and fresh potatoes cooking. Putting together a salsa with garden tomatoes and onions. Life is good. I'm slowly working my way thru Bonhoeffer by Metaxas. I agree with the theology and enjoy the look at university life at that time.

67

And how, exactly, do you take out the head of a zombie thread?

By not responding to your question.

68

Oops.

69 Vic, What can you tell me about David Weber? The title of his book you mentioned caught my eye. Thanks

70 I buy everything Beth Hart puts out.  I have been in the music business and there just isn't anyone who does that sort of work better.  It is almost obscene that someone has that much talent and that good of a voice.  So needless to say I am happy for the heads up.

71 Mama AJ - Don't know if you subscribe to GBTV (there's a free, 14-day trial period), but he's debuting a new kids' show tomorrow, Liberty Treehouse, for 8 - 15 year olds.  The idea of a Conservative Highlights for kids sounds like something his publishing empire would like.  I'll write to "ask raj."

72 Never waste a nickel on anything by Sarah Vowell.  You'll be sorry.

73 Vic, I think you're mistaking Brandon Sanderson for someone else. He was born in 1975.

74 What can you tell me about David Weber?

Great author. Start with the Honor Harrington series

Vic, I think you're mistaking Brandon Sanderson for someone else. He was born in 1975.

You're right, it is Brandon not Brian.

75
I'm interested to hear your review of the  Kindle Fire.  I almost ordered it, but decided to wait to see what types of reviews it receives.

76 OK, I understand what you are saying now. The Vietnam stuff was referring to Jordon, not Sanderson.

77 Mama AJ- My girls loved American Girls magazine and I started their National Geographic subscription when they were 7.  They love "Chickens" magazine, because they raise chickens.  I'd look for a magazine specific to their interests.  If there is a magazine you like in general, but has some questionable articles, just rip them out before you give it to the kids.  My kids are teens now and I have Seventeen mag ordered for one, but I always go through and tear out the trashy articles first (inappropriate sex, drugs, politics) and leave her with the fashion/beauty articles appropriate for a fourteen year old.

78 Mountain Turtle- Yum

79 Bonamassa is probably the best electric blues guitar player now living

Are you just throwing that out there for argument purposes?  I saw him in the early 90s at one of the best musical events in terms of value per dollar I've ever attended (it was a rib cookoff thing that I paid to get in just to hear the music:  Li'l Ed and the Blues Imperials, Lonnie Brooks, Smokin' Joe who was just a kid, and the late Danny Gatton).  Based on sheer guitar innovation I'd say Brooks's kid, Ronnie Baker Brooks, was a better blues guitarist (I've seen him subsequently and he's impressed me every time although now it's been quite a while) although I'm sure Joe is good.

I listen mainly to improv which I'm sure would be of minimal interest to morons here.  Are there any Marshall Crenshaw or Joe Ely fans that are reading this?  I picked up Joe's latest from the library and I hate to say this but as a longtime fan, he's starting to sound a bit tired.

80

he's debuting a new kids' show tomorrow, Liberty Treehouse, for 8 - 15 year olds. 

Ah, interesting. I'll see if anyone writes about it and/or reviews it.

81

Can't beat Mickey Spillane for smash-mouth (literally) action. Mike Hammer is probably the hardest-boiled guy out there. In one book he nails the bad guy's hand to the floor at a joist with a gutterspike, driving the nail deep enough to leave a dimple in the back of his hand. Then he leaves the bad guy the (ball-peen) hammer!

My latest guilty pleasure has been rereading all the Barsoom books by Edgar Rice Burroughs. I've downloaded them from Gutenberg on my smartphone and read them when I have a few spare minutes.

82 58-Hey jules, welcome to the moronosphere. I started reading Jordan when he first wrote-so I have been waiting almost twenty years for the dang series to be finished. I'm a little peeved he went so far astray in the 7th and 8th books, and created so many threads and plots that it was going to be really, really hard to tie them up realistically. Then he dies. So, that said, I have enjoyed the books, and am waiting for the final one by Sanderson, who has done a fair job of completing the series. As for Sanderson being a conservative, well he went to the Citadel. That either turns you off humanity, or makes you a solid, America-loving, commie-hating, scary South Carolinian. Enjoy your reading, and keep commenting!

83 Are there any Marshall Crenshaw or Joe Ely fans that are reading this?

I too bought Satisfied at Last and share your disappointment. I'm not exactly a Joe Ely fan, but his association with other artists and bands that I like (Los Super Seven, Lyle Lovett, John Hiatt, ...) influenced my decision to buy that CD. In particular, several years ago I was lucky enough to have attended an acoustic show featuring Lyle, John Hiatt, Guy Clark and Joe Ely. I thoroughly enjoyed that show, so since then I have paid more attention to Guy Clark and Joe Ely than I would have otherwise.

84 82-see, I screwed it up too. Robert JORDAN went to the Citadel. Mercy, I stayed up too late last night.

85 Monty I have the Kindle 3g--which I purchased to read books and read blogs during my downtime at work. Do you know if AceofSpades is one of the blogs downloadable as a monthly subscription? I purchase Moe Lane's blog and National Review but would love Ace's and would also love that he would make money from an Amazon presence.

86 Pistol Annies new album Hell on Heels is fabulous. Every song is great country music, not pop music masquerading as country (see Taylor Swift). Highly recommended.

87 Bought the Fire. Hoping to trick my dad into using it. Also hope it arrives before RnR ends. Something for Soldier to play with. Bought the $79 Kindle. I'm klutzy and need one I won't worry about smashing in my travels. Tried out the Kindle library service. The only books without long waiting lists are romance and romance disguised as crime solving. Listening to Jussi Bjoerling.

88 Do you know if AceofSpades is one of the blogs downloadable as a monthly subscription?

I don't think so.

I've mentioned the Amazon affiliates thing to Ace, so I know he's aware of it. I'm sure he'll give me a heads-up if he decides to go that route.

89

My girls loved American Girls magazine and I started their National Geographic subscription when they were 7. 

Cool, thanks.

90 We've all "mentioned" it to Ace, if "mentioned" means yelling and waving our arms repeatedly. He just doesn't think it's worth the effort. Many of us politely disagree, esp. for something like a Kindle link on the main page, for example.

91 Thanks for the Founding Gardeners recommendation. Fell in love with it while checking out the amazon page just now.

92 Speaking of music, someone linked to this gorgeous astronomy video (http://youtu.be/wFpeM3fxJoQ) recently, which featured a new-ish band called The Calm Blue Sea. They are one of a group of bands putting out instrumental post-rock (Gifts From Enola, I Hear Sirens), quite nice for the long commute home in late-afternoon heavy traffic.

93

Even my somewhat musically staid wife liked the Hart/Bonamassa album. Ordering it. Tnx for the HU Monty. (The live Youtube version of Well, Well - worth a listen - appeared to be small venue: which means I can maybe hope they show up in a bar in Spokane some fine evening.)

We have a Sony (selling it), a Nook touchscreen, and a K3. The Nook is the favorite for reading (physcially smaller and touch screen matters, as it turns out). But I'm not planning on offing the K3 (full blown) for anything else. Yet.

But if the K-Fire allows reasonable web access (particularly for web searches) at that price point, it becomes rather attractive. Especially if someone adds RDC and VNC (and the other typical sys-admin) type utils. Maybe I could leave the [ultra-portable] laptop at home sometimes.

For now, I'm in wait-and-see.

94 Wish ace would do the monthly subscription thing at Amazon, my Kindle runs out of memory a lot trying to display the site and it has to be restarted.  Don't know if Amazon can include the comments though, Hot Air's subscription doesn't include them (of no importance in their case).

95 Monty Thank you for responding to my query. I am just curious (verb not the dweeb) about what his reasons are for not linking to Amazon. Do you know if the blogs have to have some kind of reformatting or other modifications to be linked to Kindle?

96

Reading Cormac McCarthy's "Blood Meridian" That dude can write.

97 My kids keep reading about recycling and bad rich people in our public school. My son said that he may be a homosexual.  Any books on teaching kids traditional values anymore?

98 davisbr,

I wouldn't think a remote desktop client and/or VNC app for the K-Fire should be a problem since the K-Fire runs Amazon's fork of Android. That's one of the things I particularly like about Android: To be available from Android Market, an app doesn't have to make it past an Apple censor.

99 Even my somewhat musically staid wife liked the Hart/Bonamassa album.

It's definitely a keeper. Like I said, I'm normally not all that crazy about gimmick duet albums, but this one feels very organic and natural. These are two musicians who complement each other, who respect the material, but bring their own unique stamp to the project. I hope they tour for the CD, because I'd like to see this show live.

100 Do you know if the blogs have to have some kind of reformatting or other modifications to be linked to Kindle?

TBH, I'm not sure what the process is for publishing blogs on the Kindle. I'm sure that there's some significant reformatting involved. (Also, I don't think the comments would included along with the main posts, and that's a big hit against reading blogs on the Kindle.)

101 Are there any Marshall Crenshaw or Joe Ely fans that are reading this?

Love 'em both, and not willing to give up on Joe yet, either! (Though I do see where you're coming from)

Founding Gardeners is on its way, thanks! One of the reasons I fell in love with Thomas Jefferson is because of his gardening obsession. And the whole Lewis and Clark mammoth thing.

102 Cormac McCarthy can write for sure, but I find his books a little depressing. I heard he's working on a new one that has a chick as the main character. Am curious to see how he handles a female in the lead role.

103

I can't afford the Kindle Fire just now and I'm uncertain of its utility so I'm looking at regular Kindles just now.  So here are my thoughts:  I'm going to get a 3G because it just seems to make sense.  I have no Wi-Fi set-up at home so, according to what amazon says on their site, 3G makes sense.  But my question is this:  to keyboard or not to keyboard?  Who has foregone the keyboard and lived to regret it?  Who has bought then keyboard and then wondered why?

Thanks for any help or light.

104 103 Who has foregone the keyboard and lived to regret it? Who has bought then keyboard and then wondered why?
________

Since the keyboardless variants are brand new, I think it's a bit early for regrets.

As for the keyboard, all I can say is that I rarely use the keyboard on mine. Probably wouldn't miss it.

105 I have an e-ink Nook for reading books and listening to music I have side loaded into it.  My wife has an e-ink Kindle.  And I have an HP Netbook as well as assorted other laptops.

I was very tempted to pre-order the Kindle because it does most of what I like to do...web browse, read books, listen to music, read blogs, watch movies, and do web based e-mail.  However, I decided not to just yet because about 1/2 of the time, I'm on a satellite internet service which sucks for watching streaming movies.  Soon, I should be able to get much faster satellite internet service because a new, higher capacity satellite is about to be launched.

Another reason I haven't ordered a Kindle Fire is that I trade actively and Android OS simply won't run the charting programs and trading platform software I need.

I know Netbooks aren't very popular anymore now that tablets are available, but mine does all the things I need to do including the trading stuff and is almost as convenient to use (light, easily transportable, and reasonably long battery life).
That includes watching movies if I stick with standard definition presentation.

My Netbook cost about 250 dollars.

I have the Kindle and Nook apps on my Netbook, which allow me to read my wife's Kindle books as well as my Nook books.  No sideloading or messing around required.  There are a few features in the Windows apps for Kindle and Nook that are better than on the actual Kindle and actual Nook.

If I subdue my "wanna have the latest and greatest toy" urges, my Netbook is the best answer to all my needs at the present time.

What I would LOVE would be a Windows OS tablet for 250 dollars or less.

106 Tonestaple, I don't have a Kindle, so my opinion not be of any use to you, but based on having had a touchscreen Touchpad for about a month or so, I'd say if you're just going to surf, you won't need a keyboard. If you post/comment a lot, you probably will want one.

One of the 'ettes was saying she got a wireless keyboard for her Touchpad, and now barely uses her laptop.

107

Knowing me, it's a safe bet that if I couldn't comment, I would want to, so keyboard it is.  Thanks, all.

108 At no. 105: Ever hear of an iPad, you doofus? Sheesh, the ignorance of some people knows no bounds. At any rate, enjoy your Windows tablet. It's sure to be a pleasurable experience.

109 Love 'em both, and not willing to give up on Joe yet, either! (Though I do see where you're coming from)

Posted by: MissTammy at October 02, 2011 02:31 PM (SsG4J)

Thanks for your and the earlier poster's feedback (my power went out as I was responding initially); I've been a fan of Joe since he was opening for the Clash in the UK (which is where his "Live Shot" release was from).  Other than a couple releases (such as "Hi-Res") that were dogs his discs have been very rewarding, with "Letter to Laredo" being one where his approach changed with the flamenco guitarist but turned out to be a very rewarding avenue.  His live discs have always been smoking hot (and I've seen him live a couple times but it's been a while...) and his versions of Butch Hancock and Robert Earl Keen's songs are as rewarding as his own compositions.

110 Finally got around to reading The Time Machine by H.G. Wells. Despite all the dated anti-capitalist Malthusian stuff, I think Wells was onto something in forecasting the frivolous Eloi. Or maybe I'm just becoming a curmudgeonly get-off-my-lawner.

111 My years of xbox keyboard experience have prepared me for the $79 Kindle's d-pad keyboard. I own the xbox keyboard add on but never use it. I think most mellow folks will get used to the Kindle's set up. If not, amazon has a nice return policy.

112 At # 108:

Yep, I've heard of iPads and they are overpriced for what they do (and don't do...like Flash).

113 Cap'n, Tengo gusto de flamenco mucho, so Letters to Laredo is one of my favorite albums of his! Thor (my husband) prefers his live music.

114 B&N + Apple B&N + Walmart B&N + Google All could work

115 Lovin' the Beth Hart covers!

116 Cormac McCarthy can write for sure, but I find his books a little depressing. I heard he's working on a new one that has a chick as the main character. Am curious to see how he handles a female in the lead role.

Posted by: MissTammy at October 02, 2011 02:36 PM (SsG4J)

When I first read this I got a bit depressed because I think that one of his major failures (at least to me; others might feel differently) was his writing about interactions between men & women in "All the Pretty Horses" which I thought came off as really awkward.  Then again "The Road" was a rare page-turner by him that was a major stylistic change from his earlier work (at least the ones I've read which is almost all of 'em) so anything's possible.

117 Now see, I didn't even bother with The Road because the premise scared me off. I can't imagine anything more bleak than a Cormac McCarthy post-apocalyptic novel.

You think I should read it?

118 I have been absent for some time, but now I remember why I used to love this website. Thanks , I will try and check back more frequently. How frequently you update your web site?

119 Bought the Nook Color (a refurb) a couple of weeks ago. Nice thing about it is that it has...I'll describe it as an active modding community. Heck, when the bn.com forums include discussions on the mods, you know it's pervasive. Bought a 16 GB microSD card for it, now have a system that can run stock NC flavor of Android without the SD card, or Cyanogenmod 7 (Gingerbread) with the card in. A 7" screen to watch Netflix and Flash videos on. Oh, quite nice.