Man, I hope XM and Sirius merge -- and lower the monthly subscription prices! I've been paying $12.95 a month for a year for XM, which I absolutely love. My favorite channel is The Rhyme, an old-school hip-hop extravaganza that plays a great song every time the radio goes on -- Public Enemy's "Bring the Noise," Ice-T's "Colors" and LL Cool J's "Mama Says Knock You Out" sound excellent on the crowded street in front of my 5-year-old's elementary school.

I made do for months with a $50 Delphi gizmo, a cumbersome cassette adapter, and the Honda factory stereo. That sucked. It was impossible to mount in a convenient place in the car, and the speakers weren't nearly loud enough.

So I went crazy a few weeks ago. Spent like $600 to upgrade everything. Went to Crutchfield and mail-ordered an XM adapter, a new receiver (what the cool stereo people call a "head unit"), four new speakers and all the various brackets and paraphernalia. But just to install XM, it's expensive and difficult. First, I needed a "satellite-ready" head unit, which costs $100 or more (depending on the store). Then I needed a digital adapter and a box that connects to the magnetic antenna on top of the car. That's another $100+. Then there's installation -- just for that, Best Buy wanted $100. So, $300 just to get the XM metadata (artist and track names, etc.) to appear on the receiver.

Thus, to avoid installation charges, I spent three long days with my father, who, trust me, knows way more about this stuff than I do, crimping wires and drilling holes. Laborious but fun. Long story short, now my 2004 CRV rocks!

My wife says the other night she heard me thumping through the alley, about 50 yards from our house, while she was in the kitchen -- with all the doors and windows closed! It was the nicest compliment I've ever received.