One of my solstice gifts arrived early this year, and it is the Coolest. Thing. Ever. It's a Rio Kharma MP3 player, and I love it the way hippies love the iPod. Except that it's cooler than an iPod, because it has a bigger drive, it cost less than $275, and ... it's black. The UI is ripped off more-or-less directly from the iPod, with a wheel-dial.

I've been resisting buying an MP3 player for some time, because they are nothing more than hard drives sold at a markup. In the case of the iPod, you're buying into the whole marketing blitz, which is reflected in the retail cost. Which isn't to say that the iPod isn't good hardware, because it is — it's just expensive and … very very white.

Anyway, I dumped about 400 classical tracks and pop songs onto the device in less than 20 minutes, and played it through my car speakers this morning. Next week I'll take it on the bus. No more crappy Seattle radio for me.