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Happy birthday! Irish Breakfast in your honor.

Happy birthday!

Happy Birthday Jim! Enjoy a fine wine, scotch, cocktail....or all the above!

Have the best day ever Jim!

Benchmark has made changes/improvements to their DAC line over time. The DAC1 USB you have uses an Analog Devices AD1853 dac chip like its predecessors, but upgrades the stereo-outs to LM4562/LME49860 opamps, which should sound better(read: smoother) when connected to another amp than the original DAC1 that many people heard back in the day. The DAC1 PRE updated all the op-amps to LM4562/LME49860 opamps, so the headphone-out should sound better too. The DAC2 line changed the converter chip to the ES9018, which adds DSD64 decoding capability, if that is relevant to the content you play. The DAC3 line changed the converter chip to the ES9028PRO. I have no idea if that sounds any better, or what it would take to detect a difference. IME, the hardware component factors that affect the sound of a DAC is the converter implementation, along with the output stage. For me, the DAC2 line was/is the sweet spot when it comes to price::features::performance for Benchmark.

I was debating where to post this, but when you see the interiors, I think it makes sense.

The Resurrection Game by Emma Swift (2025) https://album.link/nxstkwqhrngnp Example: New to me - I really liked the vibe, and the mix had a lot of weight to it that I enjoyed. Some dark themes, also well done.

You know I have not heard from Colin in a while...

I decided to not crop and let the center point just be off. Yashicamat is hard to get centered photos with. I find it charming. expired portra. About 10 years.

The Benchmark 3 is what I want, but budget doesn’t allow.

Maybe rearranging my desk to fit a PerfectWave 2 (which I used to own) is the way to go. That ain’t gonna fit on my desk :)

RIP Louise Vincent, Drug User Who Led Harm Reduction Movement “The idea is that we need to care about people who use drugs, whether they use drugs or not.” https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/22/health/louise-vincent-dead.html?unlocked_article_code=1.oU8.Npj8.H-0PSTRpNPv8&smid=url-share (gift article) https://www.nprillinois.org/2023-11-19/one-womans-controversial-fight-to-make-america-accept-drug-users-for-who-they-are

Hostage A kinetic UK based political thriller. Accept the premise, and don't think/look too hard for plot implausibilities and you'll be treated to an enjoyable ride, with episode ending twists / reveals / cliffhangers to keep you involved. Good Fun. But don't take my word for it. https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/aug/21/hostage-review-suranne-jones-prime-minister-netflix-drama

Anyone else holding off on bathroom visits?

Holy shitballs....I HAD heard of these guys but totally forgot about them until a FB friend posted about them being at Riotfest.

^ in my queue.. good to hear it seems to be worthy.

Churchwarden Afternoon Google AI thinks this And whatever this is. _storage_emulated_0_DCIM_Google Photos_20250922_163228-VIDEO_GEN.mp4 What am I chewing and it thinks I am married?

Sarah McLachlan - Better Broken. I have been a fan since since her fist album, but at times she has been very dramatic for my taste; I think she has great passion but at times it seems TOO much. But anyone who supports animals so much is fine by me! Her latest is a very good listen; she brings the passion still, and this one is almost all great. Lovely lady, lovely listen.

The high rate of attrition in RTing's long-term CNN torture test makes me leery of buying new televisions:

Finding Peter Putnam: The forgotten janitor who discovered the logic of the mind https://nautil.us/finding-peter-putnam-1218035/ It’s easy to say why someone is wrong. The hard part is figuring out why they’re right.

Feel the heat Disney!

Any circle hole cutting involved?