again i went to bad past 5am but never mind that. the mini disc player arrived! i picked it up today. naturally it's more compact and high tech than the players i've had in the past. it has net md and a radio. these aren't really things i'm interested in but perhaps after using them for awhile i will find them to be valuable. overall, it seems like it will be very a good player--i just have to get used to the controls.

[update 2/28/04: the mini disc player is a sony mz-nf810ck. my big complaint about it is that you cannot adjust the recording levels while it is recording. it must be in record/pause mode to adjust the levels. this is a hindrance during live recordings. also, it is too easy to create new tracks by accidentally pressing on the track mark button. there should be some sort of lock for it. this wouldn't be so bad if the player had the "combine" function but it does not, in other words, you cannot undo a split track. once you split a track, you have to put the disc in another mini disc with the "combine" function in order to put the tracks back together. other than that, my experience with the player has been very positive. it is extremely small and light. it includes a great car kit that i still haven't tried out yet.]

i also finally bought the "brain shocker" earphones. i have been wanting to see what these are like in person for over a year. the criticisms i've read about them seem true. the earphones aren't very comfortable but they look cool. for what they do, i don't know if i'd call them brain shockers. it just doesn't buzz in the right way for me for such a term to be used. however, i do think it's a bit like being too close to the speakers and you can feel the buzz all over your body. this sort of buzz can get annoying after awhile. i'm not sure if these will be good for longer listening experiences.