Kevin Bresnahan

Another thing - if you send that info to that person and they are the seller, they could conceivably forward that to eBay as "evidence" that you are still awaiting the item and that your CC charge back is an unpaid bidder strike. I'd get my money from the CC charge back, drop this and run away fast. Also, make sure to put that seller's eBay ID on your blocked bidder list in case they get reinstated and they try to get back at you. Kevin

No way I'd send that info. If the person is no longer registered, they are outside of eBay and you have no protection then. I suspect this account has been hijacked and this person is trying to get your personal info. I'd contact eBay. Try calling them at (800) 322-9266. Sometimes I get better results from a phone call. At a minimum, you should let them know what's going on. Did your CC company give you a charge back yet? If they did, given that this seller has been booted from eBay, you don't have to worry about anything. EBay won't even give you any grief because the seller's been kicked out of their system. You're free and clear. Kevin

In the past, when "good sellers" suddenly and quickly become bad sellers without any correspondences, I always expect that it's a hijacked account. Especially given the lack of contact. Most good sellers will at least contact you if they're having trouble getting your item out. Crooks will not.

Uh oh - that account was probably hijacked. Some seller fell for a phishing E-mail and gave some scammers his eBay password. I hope your credit card chargeback went through. There's no way you'd get your money back from Paypal in a situation like this.

Well, to be fair, that's the way the feedback process works. Both sides get their say, and unfortunately, it doesn't matter how much bullshit is involved. While there are a few limits on what you can say, "truth" is not on the list of qualifiers... Oh really. So tell me what I did wrong to deserve a negative. I bid on the item. I won the auction. I paid immediately by PayPal. I did everything I needed to do. My end of the deal was done. What did I do wrong? Now, on the seller's side of this, he listed a CD as "CD and artwork near mint" and sent me a CD with a booklet that appeared to have been stuffed in the case numerous times at the wrong angle to the point where the whole cover was about to fall off *and* there was a large tear in it. I asked him for a refund and he told me "all sales are final". I had to file a claim with PayPal, who ruled in my favor and I got my refund. He filed a "Non paying bidder strike" which was rescinded by eBay. He went to his local police station, who I called to explain the situation and they told me if he came in again, they would let me know so that I could consider filing a harassment charge. So who was wrong here? Should this seller be able to put a black mark on my record? For what? I do not deserve a negative for returning that item for a refund and PayPal agreed. However, eBay said, "We never remove unwarranted feedback". They claim that there would be legal ramifications if they did. No, their sellers would be pissed is why. EBay protects the sellers. It's all about the money. Later, Kevin

If I ever have another PayPal dispute, I'm going the credit card charge back route. If they pull my PayPal account, so be it. Their dispute process is excruciating and requires multiple telephone calls & e-mails. Every time they rule in your favor, the seller simply has to contest their ruling and they re-open the process. I had a fraudulent seller re-open a complaint 3 times before I finally got PayPal to refund my money. It took well over 60 days to go through the process. It's like the try to wear you down. The worst was when eBay than let the seller zing me with a negative for following their own (PayPal is owned by eBay) formal process. Next time, I'm going with a CC credit.

http://stereocentral.tv/phpbb/index.php is not really that funny unless you've interacted with some of the Hoffman forum members. A lot of them are a bit eccentric, including the man himself. Some of the guys they're skewering, like Dave The Night Gort, LeeS and Grant, are being parodied perfectly. Dave The Night Gort was (I always wished I'd seen how he left) a particularly loony poster, with ears of gold that heard things that did not exist who then swore that Steve once told him he had great ears. I love the poster whose avatar is Steve Hoffman standing next to those holographic coat racks that he endorses.

http://stereocentral.tv/phpbb/index.php Lots of really hateful, juvenile stuff here, but also some funny (and warranted) bitching, mostly about the moderators and some of the more zealous sycophants. And no, I don't post there. Personally, I like Steve and his work, but some of his followers are a bit wacky. Oh man, thanks so much for this! Some of the people they are picking on over there... they are nailing them perfectly. And here I thought I was the only one who thought Barry Diament has a screw loose.

Well, at least the Andorran pirates will have good mastering to steal from.

I have used JewelSleeves in the past. They one of the better ones out there with the only negative being that the backer artwork sticks out beyond the CD (because it's bigger, not because of the JewelSleeve) and it can bend a little being stuck out like that. Kevin

I had originally written that the show I saw at the Jazz Connection had Joey D on organ but I figured my memory was going. Thanks for confirming my sanity. It was a great show. Nice club. The sitting area had a couple of couches you sit on. I was sitting there in a couch listening to Marcel and I remember thinking, "Why have I never heard of this guy"? I was glad when he offered CDs for sale. Until then, I figured I was seeing some local legend that I'd never be able to hear again. Those Leaning House Jazz CDs are very nice. It's too bad the label went under.

During my traveling days, I often found myself in the DFW area. I always looked to see where Marchel was playing and I was happy to support the guy by buying a couple of CDs from him. I'll never forget that night at the Jazz Connection when there was about 7 people in the house to see him. 7! He still played his ass off for us. I was not surprised when the Jazz Connection was closed during one of my last trips. I also vividly remember him playing at that club in Addison with the airport runway behind the stage... what was the name of that place... Sambuca's maybe? Anyway, there's Marchel wailing away during a solo and suddenly there's a plane heading straight at us! Freaked me out the first time it happened. RIP Marchel. Kevin

I would bet a bundle that this disc will be max'ed out, with NO dynamic range at all. CD mastering has reached an all time low for the big labels. Just watch. It will be brick-walled.

During the last few days, I've had to log in repeatedly, even though I check "Remember me". Is there something I can do on my end?

I think the remasters are a boom-fest, with flabby, over-pronounced bass all over the place. I can't even play them in my car because the bass is so loud it distorts the small speakers. Give me the original CDs any day.

I think Rowling's announcement was made after the book came out so that her sales wouldn't be hurt. She knows that if she included a direct homosexual reference in the books, there is no way it would have sold as well. Not a chance. The right wing would have been foaming at the mouth. She'd probably have death threats... she may have some now. Rather cowardly of her to do it this way. As an avid reader of fantasy novels, it seems to me that lately it's a requirement to have a few gay men in every story. Funny thing is, it's almost always a female author and the gay characters are always men. Weird but true.

No. Some CD-Rs use a clear dye. The Taiyo-Yuden and Mitsui blanks I use have clear dye.

I've tried for two jobs in Ireland. Both times the job never materialized, but I was ready to go. For some reason, Ireland's always intrigued me as a place to live.

Can you list the sessions? The Montmartre stuff has been out in many forms so there's a chance that it may have all been issued, just maybe not "officially". For just for the unissued material alone, I may have to bite, but it would be interesting to know how much of it I already have. Kevin

Has anyone been able to find or compile a discography for this box set? I hate buying stuff I already have.

I pre-ordered these 2 SHM-CDs. I've wanted to see if the Adderely date has been upgraded from my old CD and this will be a good chance to check out this new technology. Kevin

I might try a couple for fun.

It should be noted that these titles are being issued on a type of disc that is being called an "SHM-CD". Supposedly, the plastic used for the CD is a special, low-loss plastic like the plastic used for LCD displays. The claim is that this material will allow the laser to track better and cause less jitter. Sounds far-fetched to me, but some people may want to give one a try.

Based on a decent review at CNET.com plus the fact that the damn things looked cool, I bought a set of Harman Kardon SoundSticks II. They look cool and sound very good. I would give them two thumbs up. I got mine from buy.com for under $150, including shipping.

I still have this thing sitting in my office at work where someone said they were going to buy it and backed out at the last minute. Anyone interested? How about if I offer to pay half off the shipping? $50 plus half of actual shipping?