Yes -- I'm one of those people who remembers music from the Sixties and Seventies. I was there! And who do I find myself listening to today? Why, Yes, of course. Yes.

Perhaps the definitive art-rock band of the Seventies, Yes still makes for refreshing listening, even if their lyrics are so far out there that most of us will never catch up with them. (Michael Stipe says that he doesn't understand many of R.E.M.'s lyrics, either, and it's his own band.) Abandoning the traditional 4/4 hammer of so many rock songs of that era, Yes took off in a totally different direction, composing and performing stylistic mood pieces, many of which caused the needle to traverse entire LP sides. But even with the length of the songs, they were the perfect accompaniment to long nights of studying, whether it was organic chemistry, Soviet Literature of the Twentieth Century, or second-quarter neurobiology.

Being an iTunes addict, I ventured into Steve Jobs' eminent digital domain this past weekend and was wowed by the depth of the Yes collection. Albums such as "Tormato", which I never saw sold for the original price, were duly represented and reviewed on iTunes, as were the releases of Yes keyboardist Rick Wakeman. Do you remember "The Six Wives of Henry VIII"? How about "Journey to the Centre of the Earth"? They're out there.

It's outstanding that in this era, we can dive into the depths, promulgate the strains of Yes and make it available to iPods anywhere on the planet. Far out. Hey...I never said that in the Seventies, man. =:)

Since I can't watch much TV without falling asleep, driving around town seems to have become my way to relax. (If you live in Atlanta, you may find this very hard to believe, but I'm talking about non-rush hour here.) In a peculiar turn of events, Atlantans seem to be increasingly turning to the city to find a place to live. Twenty years ago, some 70,000 people fled the city (about 450,000 at the time) for the increasingly far-flung suburbs, but with commute times to many areas now the longest of any city in America (according to statistics released in 2004), people are taking a second look at living so far out. The problem is that with some 4.5 million people in the metropolitan area, not everyone can move in, and the prices are skyrocketing.

As spring approaches, I'll probably be continuing to cruise the streets to post some interesting finds. One which I recently came across is the historic (they have a newer facility) Scottish Rite Hospital complex in the Oakhurst district of Atlanta. For you locals, that's south of Decatur and north of Memorial Drive. I snapped a few pictures of the complex, and tell me, does this look like a hospital? If so, check me in!

Oh the noise, the noise...the noise, noise, noise, noise! I understand how Mr. Grinch feels! There is so much noise in my office today that I have had to crank up the iPod just to drown it out so I can think about how to fix an Oracle issue. Add this to no sleep and we have quite a day going here! Oy, veh!

Here's a chance to help a worthy cause, and get two great downloads at the same time. Peter Gabriel is offering two tracks for one pound sterling. Proceeds benefit earthquake relief efforts in India and Pakistan. Featured is the late legendary Pakistani qawwali singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. If you've never heard his music, you owe it to yourself!