Toby Johnson’s Blog

My previous Digital Audio Player (a Neuros Digital Audio computer, no longer in production) was either lost or stolen on my recent trip to Las Vegas. I was quickly going crazy without having my music with me at all times, especially since WLRS has decided to quit playing music during morning rush hour in favor of the incredibly boring Lex and Terry show (check out their sucktacular website, complete with a homepage that makes the all-too-common amateur mistake of a pointless Flash animation on the intro page. Although you should watch this one all the way through, since it ends with a hilarious picture of the two DJs in some dorky pose trying to look hardcore).

So, I set out to look for a new DAP. My list of criteria was rather simple, or so I thought:

• At least a 20GB hard drive
• Ogg Vorbis and MP3 support
• Small, portable design
• A good, usable, intuitive interface

Since it had been a while since the Neuros — the first DAP to support Ogg Vorbis — was released, I figured that by now the list of players fitting this bill would be quite extensive. I was wrong. Any time I found a player that fit the technical criteria, some more digging around always turned up a pile of reviews trashing its usability.

Just when I was about to give up, I found the iAudio M3. Read the rest of the article to find out why I chose it and why I recommend it to anyone looking for a digital audio player themselves.

Read the rest of this entry »

The July 16, 2005 edition of the American Perspectives program on C-SPAN features the “Freedom Fighters” panel of which I was part during the Young Republican National Conference.

The panel featured myself and several other veterans of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. We discussed the lopsided, inaccurate view of the situation in these countries (particularly Iraq) as portrayed by popular media. I spoke mostly about my experiences as a reserve component soldier during OIF.

The video is available for download from C-SPAN.org for a limited time. I also have a copy available for download from my website. My portion of the panel is about 27 minutes in to the program. (You’ll need RealPlayer to view the video. Click the link below to download if you don’t have it already; be sure to click the “Free RealPlayer” and not the “free trial” of the paid version.)

We just got back from the Young Republican National Converence 2005. This was the farthest West I’ve ever been (same goes for Elizabeth) and we had a wonderful time. Vegas was simply amazing.

We also spent a couple days before the conference began to drive out to Los Angeles and visit the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum. This was an incredible experience, and the view in Simi Valley was beautiful. I took some pretty good pictures, but as usual, not as many as I would have liked to.