Miscellaneous

Since Mike deleted the old one, I'm starting a new one. Did 80 miles today. It was the best cycling weather I've experienced since getting a bike. Absolutely perfect. I accidentally didn't get up on time (had my phone, which is my alarm, on silent and didn't know), and rushed out the door, forgetting that I didn't take the new saddle off my bike and also forgetting chamois cream. I got lucky and think this saddle is a winner. No issues at all. My butt and bits apparently like leather saddles. I road with my "team" from the Smart Ride, and this week, there were some stronger riders, so averaged 17-18 going north in the headwind, and 20-22 coming back south. Real…

After blathering in several different threads about photography, and blindly looking around for an already extant thread, I'm making this one. The purpose here is for me continue to natter on about my mad obsession with light painting, and maybe even get a response or two. I've just posted about my issues with cross processing and slide film development, as well as discussing lenses in the recently bought thread.

I just started using my Droid X today and, so far, I'm very impressed. I know there are a couple of members with Android devices and there are a flood of them hitting the market right now. Right now, no news of netflix yet, hulu+ is probably working hard on making android their next big release, and Android 3.0 should start preparing for release at the end of the year. Not sure thats going to make as big of waves as 2.2 Froyo already has. So far, I love this damn thing and think its only getting better. Any particular apps I should look into? I'm waiting to root it for when the expected Froyo update arrives hopefully within two weeks.

I think it is time to have a thread for everyone to discuss their cars, what they are doing to them and where we are going to have our first HC Road Trip Meet. Brent seems to think a trip to the Tail of the Dragon in NC/Tennessee would be in order. Maybe a road trip to a track for a track day? Of course a primary reason for this for me is to follow all of Nate's functional updates and Rex's rocket booster upgrades to see what works and doesn't. Not that I do not think your rockets will work Rex.

Anyone know anything about Fossil Watches? Good/bad/indifferent? Relic? I was initially looking for an LCD/analog watch of the likes of this, but ended up falling in love with the looks of this one, due to (a) its almost all-blackness, and ( the cool use of the wood, and the way the numbers drift outside of the face. Who knows, maybe I'll get more than one. I'm thinking of getting this one, too (again, due to its almost all-blackness), but I'm worried that the red "throb" might be visually distracting. Thoughts? Anyone know of any other companies that make that analog watch on an LCD face with the "throb"? I'm a high-tech guy, so I should have a high-tech watch. I'm…

I decided not to necro-bump Bryan's 2009 thread as it was kind of specific and not in my budget. I played through high-school but have not played in 20 years. I am looking to get back into playing and I am looking for a great acoustic and a decent electric setup to start with. I am thinking about looking into a full custom for the acoustic but it is pretty hard to figure out how they handle from websites. A few decent shops around my parents place in Dallas that I intend to check out when I get back there this weekend. First on the list is http://www.theguitarsanctuary.com. Has a decent selection of factory and small shop guitars to try out. I know there are …

Qobuz streaming officially came to the US on Valentine's Day. Anyone else giving the 30 day free trial a try? Like the background text info on releases, etc., though that can get in the way as a player occasionally. Seems to have more releases per artist, though some major artists missing in comparison in Tidal, though that could be simply my preferences. Handles high resolution (24/96-24/192) differently (no MQA). Seems to dislike using the word "album."

Figure there are enough of these to start their own thread. Anyone brave enough on this one? https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hellobragi/the-dash-wireless-smart-in-ear-headphones

I know a couple of us make music as well as listen to it, so I thought I'd start a thread on it. For example, despite being a classically trained musician, I had never heard of Negative Harmony before, but now I'm all over it. Also, I found this instructive:

I've been meaning to make a thread about this for over a year at this point. Last July I bought a Lord dual edge razor. It was like $12 and worth about as much as I paid for it. I also bought a 100 pack of Astra Platinum blades. Astras are made by Gillette in Russia. They offer a decent, but not amazing shave. The quality control is about as good as one might expect. After a few tentative weeks, I stopped using spray shaving cream and bought a Van Der Hagen brush, soap and bowl set. Unsurprisingly, shaving soap offers a much better experience than canned foam. I also invested in some pre-shave glycerine soap as well as some post-shave products (an alum block and b…

I currently have an Odyssey Stratos Plus power amp which I have used for I guess going on 20 years and have been pretty satisfied with. I was thinking about upgrading it as these have gone from the Plus model to Extreme models. Klauss of Odyssey is now offering a Kismet amp. I can get my Stratos upgraded to the Kismet pcbs with a larger power supply for a fairly reasonable price. However, I ran across an opportunity to get a Mark Levinson No. 23 for around the same price as upgrading the Stratos. Reliability is a large factor in my decision. I've read a number of threads on diyaudio related to repairing Mark Levinson gear, and most of them seem to be a massive PITA t…

I know we have Shave-Case, but for those periods of wanting to keep hair have any suggestions for beard treatments to keep things manly soft and not bone dry? Currently using Viking Revolution Beard Conditioner and then alternating between Honest Amish Balm and Mountaineer Brand Beard Oil, but it's time to reevaluate the options. All ears.

I've given the idea of this thread some thought on and off for years (going back at least as far as Mikhail's Bad Hair Day) but never actually made one. ADD is a hell of a drug. Also been busy with a few other things. It's not secret that there are many companies that make and sell high end audio products that look shiny, cost large sums of money and have questionable performance. (There's also products that are expensive, shiny and sound incredible, but y'all know that of course.) It's not unheard of for companies to engage in lawfare against competitors and critics they dislike. BOSE is infamously litigious. Earlier this year Tekton Audio went after critics over …

https://www.theverge.com/2023/11/27/23978507/roon-the-popular-high-end-music-streaming-system-has-been-acquired-by-samsung-subsidiary-harman https://news.samsung.com/global/harman-acquires-roon-a-popular-multi-device-multi-room-audio-technology-platform https://www.digitaltrends.com/home-theater/harman-acquires-roon/ https://darko.audio/2023/11/harman-buys-roon/ https://twitteringmachines.com/harman-bought-roon/ https://www.whathifi.com/news/harman-acquires-roon-heres-what-that-means-for-subscribers https://news.harman.com/releases/harman-acquires-roon-a-popular-multi-device-multi-room-audio-technology-platform And the Roon side of the s…

This is an idea I've had for years. I have a lot of audio equipment and other gear (but still a tiny fraction compared to many HCers). Much of it is in less than 100% working order. Some of it is "door stop" or "paperweight" status. There are bits I'd like to get working again and things I'd do better to throw out. I am sure I am not the only one. In no particular order: HeadRoom Milllet(t) Hybrid serial #1. Pete's name misspelled on the front panel. Class A circuitry. I bought it from one HighLife 10 years ago. I strongly suspect it's got bad caps. This is among the top pieces of gear I wish to restore. It's got real history to it. Also it sou…

I've been using iPhone iterations for some years. I like the Apple ecosystem and all that, but I dislike their phones being larger and larger, those protruding camera lenses and their not having headphone jack. I think I could enjoy one of those foldable phones that fit into the front pocket of your jeans. Any experiences that you may share?

I'm looking for a small folding knife to use when dual sport motorcycle riding. Most of its use will occur while camping. I was thinking of this Gerber, but am open to other suggestions. The Gerber will give you the idea of what I want and the price point at which I'm interested. Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

I've been sort of into mechanical keyboards lately. I spend a lot of time typing, and I felt I should start doing it properly. Naturally, that has meant spending money on unnecessary things. Out of DIY interest, I bought an Ergodox keyboard kit from Massdrop. Improbably, I assembled it correctly and I've been enjoying playing around with layouts. I've not gotten too interested in the more esoteric collecting popular elsewhere on the internet, but this little thing sure is fun. I have some legended keycaps coming, soon, but I've gotten okay typing on the blank ones. Anyone else interested in this type of thing?

Rare AM stereo station tour at KYET (C-QUAM): Skipping to Pt. 4 at another station (WION):

Wanted to start a thread for those of us that are interested in the water and those things you can do around, under or on it. Not sure if there are a lot of HC'ers that partake but should be a good place to discuss if there are. Video from today's paddle on the Potomac.

Just to alert others of this as I have an alert set up for any data breach of all my accounts. I had a message that there was a possible data breach for my head case password so have changed it

https://www.stereogum.com/2184752/bob-dylan-t-bone-burnett-new-audio-format/news/ 🤔🥴

Color E-Ink would be better, but either way, it will have very very long battery life. The best part is the Amazon "Whispernet" which is bascially using Sprint's EVDO network. Whether or not it has a full web browser that you can use for free has yet to be seen, but if you can surf for free, the Kindle will sell like mad. http://www.amazon.com/kindle Hardware wise, not really all that into the off white color that will get dirty really fast. And the whole left and right side being page turning buttons means accidental page turning galore. Interesting product, though. Pretty spendy at nearly $400. It should really be less than $200 if they want them to …

So I've been going out and playing darts quite a bit lately, and I'm sick and tired of getting beaten by my fairer-sexed companions. I'm also sick of shitty house darts, and shitty boards. Since this is HC, and I have the space, I'm contemplating getting a setup for the house to practice, and have some darts to keep with me when I go out so we don't have to play with nylon nonsense. I think I've narrowed my board choices down to either the Winmau Blade 5 (60$) or Blade 5 Dual Core (better, and 85-90$.) The dart board surround, and the darts themselves, however, I'm not sure on. Anyone here throw? Have a recommendation for some mid-level darts I should conside…

This many buttons requires a new thread. Who's buying a Blackmagic ATEM Mini Extreme ISO? https://www.digitalcameraworld.com/news/blackmagic-atem-mini-video-switcher-goes-extreme