Cambridge Soundworks Radio

We hardly ever listen to our 30 year old stereo system. The receiver is going and we no longer listen to tapes or records, although we listen to a lot of NCPR. So....I decided to invest in a stereo system that we would use. After a significant amount of research I decided on the Cambridge Soundworks Radio CD745i. This radio is significantly cheaper than a Bose Wave (I paid $250 before Christmas and it is now on sale for $199). So far I am very satisfied with the choice. It sounds as good a the Bose Wave I once heard, it comes with a nice little remote, it plays CD's and has an iPOD dock. Unfortunately it lacks controls for bass and treble not that it matters that much to me. The radio picks up 20 FM stations (counting the French Canadian stations) clearly. My old receiver only picked up very local stations. I'm playing a CD of African music (Amampondo) right now and it sounds great. So if you are looking for a nice, compact (but heavy) stereo radio/CD player, now is the time to purchase one from Cambridge Soundworks.

National Debt

I've added a National Debt clock to the right side of the blog. Who is responsible for most of the debt. One or two guesses would be sufficient for most people. The above image comes from zfacts.com. The vast majority of US debt comes from the party of low taxes, low spending and small government, primarily the 2 Bushes and St. Reagan.

I'm Still Here

Last semester pretty much drained me of all energy. But I'm beginning to recuperate. Spring semester should not be so bad as I will be teaching courses that I've taught before. I must admit that I really didn't have much interesting to say....or at least decided not to say what interested me, if that makes sense. But I will be making more regular posts starting Jan. 14th if not sooner.

One thing I do want to discuss is a book my daughter gave me for Christmas. It's Bill Bryson's "A Short History of Nearly Everything". This book is extremely readable and I could not put it down. In fact, I'm going to read it again. It should be required reading for everyone.