LATEST ADDITIONS

With so many mainstream companies getting into the soundbar biz, much of the action in that category seems to have shifted over to the CEDIA Expo. Still, CES 2013 did reveal a few new soundbar models. Some, like the Vizios shown above, blew away showgoers with their sound quality.

The town of Baker sits like a wart on the side of the I-15, somewhere in the desolation between Los Angeles and Las Vegas. A bizarre bastion of fast-food consumerism and price-gouged gasoline, it exists only as a way station for those optimistically heading to the City of Sin, or disillusioned, returning to the City of Angles.

Most years, it's my one and only stop, a quick tank top-off before the final push. This year, it's my third. One of the stops was a nap. I am not well.

I really hate Aerosmith. No band causes me to change the radio faster than when I hear the first few notes of any Aerosmith song.

Unfortunately, of the many genres of music I enjoy, "classic rock" is one of the few you can find on the radio dial. And no matter where you go, it's universal: classic rock radio is horrible.

Why?