Follow up to the sd card topic:
"Can you list SD card mfg, speed etc.... "
The first card I used was an EP Memory 512MB card, I don't know the speed.
The card currently in the Reader is a Sandisk Ultra II 1GB card.
They both work just fine, now that I know about pulling back out to the menu level.
"Could it be writing to the card at that time?"
I thought about that. I tried inserting the card and letting it sit for 5 minutes or so before trying to power it on. I tried letting it sit for 10-16 minutes after power on as well. I tried the previously reported tip of hitting the 'mark' button to see whether it was powered on, and the blue light did indeed light up.
I'll figure out how to use the forums 'quotes' feature at some point in the future.