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+I travel a lot.  Someday, I may find time to write down all the things I've
+learned about how to do this with minimal pain, but one of the most important
+is that the less "stuff" I carry along, the happier I am.  Particularly 
+in my carry-on bag(s), "every gram counts"!
+
+For that reason, I kept avoiding buying a portable audio player and 
+noise-cancelling headphones, even though many of my uber-frequent-flyer 
+friends claim this as something they can't live without.  Well, I finally 
+broke down, and bought an 
+<a href="http://www.apple.com/ipodmini/">iPod mini</a> 
+and a pair of Sennheiser
+<a href="http://www.sennheiserusa.com/newsite/productdetail.asp?transid=500370">PXC300</a>
+headphones.  Wow.  Good stuff, and definitely helps reduce my stress level.
+
+As for what I listen to...  I've ripped my entire CD collection to 
+<a href="http://flac.sourceforge.net/">flac</a> 
+using
+<a href="http://lly.org/~rcw/abcde/page/">abcde</a>,
+and transcode to mp3 anything I want to move to the iPod using
+<a href="http://gtkpod.sourceforge.net/">gtkpod</a>.
+
+When I first bought the iPod, I loaded it up with a diverse collection 
+of stuff.  But after a few trips, I realized that what I enjoy most on
+airplanes is classical music.  And in particular, I really enjoy listening
+to an album of solo violin performance by 
+<a href="http://www.rachelbartonpine.com/">Rachel Barton Pine</a>, 
+called
+<a href="http://www.rachelbartonpine.com/music.htm">Solo Baroque</a>.
+
+My daughter and I met Rachel briefly after a concert she gave to benefit the 
+<a href="http://www.csphilharmonic.org/">Colorado Springs Philharmonic</a>
+as it struggled to rise from the ashes of the bankrupt Colorado Springs
+Symphony two years ago.  She autographed a CD we bought of 
+<a href="http://www.rachelbarton.com/mus/mus_05_main.htm">Handel Sonatas</a>
+for Elizabeth that night.  Later, Rachel graciously donated several signed 
+CDs to benefit the
+<a href="http://yca-cs.org/">Young Concert Artists</a> orchestra Elizabeth
+participates in... and I succeeded in buying enough raffle tickets to end up
+winning the Solo Baroque CD.  But I hadn't listened to it much until I put
+it on the iPod.  I particularly like track 9, the
+Passacaglia by 
+<a href="http://www.goldbergweb.com/en/history/composers/10306.php">
+Heinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber</a>, who I'd never heard of before acquiring
+this CD.  Rachel is scheduled to appear with the Philharmonic again next
+season, and I'm really looking forward to it!
+
+If I'd know I'd have such a short playlist of stuff I actually care
+to listen to on airplanes, I might well have gone for an
+<a href="http://www.apple.com/ipodshuffle/">iPod shuffle</a>
+instead of the mini, which would have had the huge benefit of being small 
+enough to fit into the zippered Sennheiser case along with the headphones, 
+and not needing a cable to plug into my notebook for updates.  Oh well.
+
+The iPod mini and headphones are now a permanent part of my travel kit.
+
+[[!tag tags/music]]