thanks, r. i have xp pro, media center edition so i should be ok. mario mentioned his needs a wall wart ac adapter. i'm hoping to get one that takes power from the +/- 5v on the usb buss. i read about some (even the pg music ones) that are starved for current unless you use a 'y' adapter and two usb ports. any thoughts on that?

re: flooding. my nurse's aide said she went fishing yesterday and the concrete picnic tables at her favorite river campsite were under 6 feet of water and the river was swollen to twice its normal width but she managed to catch a big catfish. which reminds me...not until moving down to oklahoma had i seen catfish fritters and deep-fried okra for sale in convenience stores. its a culture thing, i guess.