A big thanks to junonato, who sold me a Net-MD (yes, I know, no digital transfers, no PCM, shorter recordings...doesn't worry me in a first half-decent recorder) for $25 USD. Hi-MD still woulda been over twice the cost after shipping - this way, I can spend the rest of my money on other bits and pieces (like a decent sound card to drive my rig back here....at the moment, that's a decided weak link.)
Actually, to hijack my own thread - are there any decent budget USB/Firewire sound cards for <~$100 USD?