Merciless deadlines at the hands of a famous wizard (you know what I'm talking about) have really had me busy and a bit high strung lately, so here's some Japanese Zen wisdom for you.

Tanzan and Ekido were once traveling together down a muddy road. A heavy rain was still falling.

Coming around a bend, they met a lovely girl in a silk kimono and sash, unable to cross the intersection.

"Come on, girl" said Tanzan at once. Lifting her in his arms, he carried her over the mud.

Ekido did not speak again until that night when they reached a lodging temple. Then he no longer could restrain himself. "We monks don't go near females," he told Tanzan, "especially not young and lovely ones. It is dangerous. Why did you do that?"

"I left the girl there," said Tanzan. "Are you still carrying her?"

You're welcome.

It boggles the mind... even in this hotel, the Sharper Image alarm clock with soothing babbling-brook noises features an iPod dock but no standard mini plug input. So in order to keep those uncomfortable silences to a minimum at codejams (or at least to drown out the sounds of Gavin singing the entire soundtrack to The Music Man), a portable speaker system sure helps. And with a mini plug input, even Gavin, Celly, and Alex's industry-leading audio players can hang out with my last-year's-model "alternative" device. But there on the shelves in the store was a unit made specifically for the Zen Micro, the Creative Traveldock Zen. The speakers are great, it features a remote control, can run on batteries, and is constantly charging the player while plugged in. Pretty nice if you ask me. And, best of all, it's not made for an iPod.