The trend set by Apple's ubiquitous iPod is irresistible for many. This time, I find myself among the many. A little over a month ago, I finally cracked down and bought a personal media player. I don't say iPod, because I don't mean iPod. After months of casual research, I picked up a Creative Zen Vision:M. I love having it. Video was a necessity; I have nearly my entire CD collection on it (the reason it's not my entire collection has far more to do with my laziness than any kind of space issues); and - this was the selling point that ultimately tipped me toward the slightly clunkier Zen over the iPod - it had built-in FM radio.

I pretty much only use the FM radio.

Turns out that my purchase of a media player coincided with an intense, burgeoning interest in public radio. So, my player stays tuned to FM 90.1 most of the day (I get to listen to it at work pretty much all day). I just can't bring myself to miss The Diane Rehm Show or the locally-produced RadioWest.

Perhaps I should point out that one can buy a small AM/FM radio for the price of headphones, whereas one of these players runs about $300.00.

Sure, it is nifty that I have all this music and video with me. And I do, in fact, listen to music on it now and then. For example, I've listened to The Decemberists's "The Crane Wife" several times on it, loading it onto the player the moment I brought the disc home from the music store. And I've just gotta catch Stevie Wonder's "Superstition" or the Five Stairsteps's "Ohh Child" on a station ID break or a boring guest. However, I did have a discman before. I could've, y'know, used that.

But the Zen sure is pretty, right?