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Long but wonderful day yesterday. Left the house at ~7:30, got back almost midnight. Visited a dear friend in CT for a day-late birthday celebration. She was so supportive to me as I went through so much with Karen, and she has had her tough issues and hardships as well. But we had a wonderful day just checking out some small towns near her, and having a nice lunch and dinner. Happy Birthday Nancy!

HE90 "clone" first prototypes up and running as of yesterday: The drivers are all PCB based with 2um mylar diaphragms. They are about 3mm lower in height than stock to accommodate the cable entry and move the connections to the bottom of the drivers. The housing is resin 3D printed but this is the old version which has now been abandoned for a new one that has yet to arrive. Cables are King Sound (as I had some in stock) and allow me to fit it all in the same housing size as the original. The earpads are ones for the T+A Solitaire that are not a great fit but dirt cheap... so work just fine for this role. I've ordered new genuine pads but I'm not sure if Senn have any in stock. Next up is to refine the headband design and start to work on prototyping the metal back shell. Now I just wait on parts as usual... As for the sound, far from finished, even in prototype form but a HE90 with actual bass response... perish the thought!! ;)

Time for an update on the MA-90... or what ever I'm going to call this thing. This is prototype nr.2 and it seemed only fitting to put on the "Orpheus" IQ stand: So what's new, well the headband is now fully DIY with just the arc being borrowed off a Senn HD58x but they are all the same and very close to the HE90 arc in design. Then a custom adapter block in the HE90 style adapts it to the forks... which didn't come out quite right. A bit too long and too thick to bend correctly so I'll have to redesign them but no big issue there. The actual housing is mostly complete at this point but the biggest hurdle were the metal backs, or so I thought: In the end, pretty simple and I can mass produce them by hand in quick order. I've made about 20 of them at this point and they fit snugly in there, no glue needed at all. Inside there is a new baffle, new spacers and new stators but they will need further work. Mostly I have to move the contacts to better fit inside the housing and those are ready to be made. This set is fitted with the cheap Chinese Solitaire earpads and sound pretty good with them. They are 15$ shipped compared to the HE90 pads which are impossible to get at this point.

For @MexicanDragon - Allied is now ready to roll as it should have been from the factory.

So, we finished the shelf install last weekend. Linda was in really good spirits. She was like a kid with a new toy when we finished. It made me feel great to make her happy! She then invited us into the living room for homemade lemonade. I started talking about music, and I think I threw her for a loop with my knowledge of musicians and music history. I told her that the first time I'd actually seen her on TV was on Dolly's show in the 70's. I was a young teenager and Dolly had Linda and Emmylou on her show. I was amazed at their harmony! They did several old country standards and it was magical. She was surprised that I even new of that appearance, and happy to hear how much I had liked it. She then gave me the greatest gift she could ever have given me. We sat and talked about music for nearly 3 hours. She told me about meeting Emmylou first, through Grahame Parsons, then her and Emmylou meeting Dolly together. We talked about Jackson Brown, and him introducing her to Glenn Fry and Don Henley. About her telling them to form their own band. We talked about her youth and her Mariachi history. I think that she enjoyed revisiting the past as much as I enjoyed listening to it. She kept being surprised at my knowledge and set a few of the stories I'd heard straight. I had one of the best times of my life!

Pork experiment. Hatch Chili pork butt. Pre-Seasoned wet rub from Costco. 14 hour low temp smoke on the pellet grill, the last 3 hours wrapped in paper. and then rested for 2 hours. Shredded just a couple handfuls for supper.

Great day.

My thoughts Trying to spend less time on the phone I want one

Lily wanted to come home for lunch today so I asked her if she was up for trying new tacos. She said yes so I tried my hand at Birria Tacos. I blended a couple recipes to come up with something. The day started with browning beef. Then cooking the veggies and rehydrating the peppers. Then everything was set to braise for 3 hours or so until it was time for assembly. They were tasty and will be made again.

Lily asked for biscotti. So Lily gets biscotti. Mid-bake, before slicing and second bake. I'm told the sample was good. I'll do QC tomorrow morning.

Hello Sonoma! It's The Alpha Rhythm Kings Getting the Hep Cats and Cool Daddios swinging at the newly shaded Sonoma Plaza / Grinstead Amphitheatre for Music in Place

We saw this guy last night in Grass Valley. I've been listen to him since high school, so it was nice to finally see him live.

Shot day: pnumacocal vaccine, influenza vaccine and covid booster. I helped calm a boy of about 10 down. We got our shots at the exact same time. His Mom couldn't calm him and was very appreciative. Made getting shots as fun as that could be.

Sorry for the TL;DR, but this one is big for me. Short version: seek out Vienna Teng, she is a beautiful human being that plays wonderful music. A soul-filling day & evening this past Friday. My friend Melissa and I saw Vienna Teng in my hometown of Marblehead MA. In the afternoon, she hosted a Climate Change "Workshop" (she has an advanced degree in the subject). It wasn't a doom and gloom that I almost expected, but actually a bit inspirational and hopeful. We all came out with ideas and one or more things to put into practice. The evening show was just stunning! A solo show but she used things like tape loops, vocoder-style & voice duplication choral effects, etc., to make it seem a bit larger. She has one song that I actually emailed and talked with her about to request she play, called The Last Snowfall. A short but lovely song that made me think of Karen. In the weeks before she passed, we were talking about her two sisters coming up from different parts of NY state. A snowstorm was forecasted, and I was telling them they didn't need to drive in it. Karen - who did not love Winter - smirked a bit and said she wouldn't have to worry about snow or Winter anymore. A bit of humor in some pretty fucking dark times. Vienna played the song, dedicated it to me and in memory of Karen. Tears were falling, and my friend Melissa was kind enough to provide some tissues. We both loved the show and everything about the day, and remarked that just her presence and words & music raises good feelings and hope. Got a pic and a hug after the show. Quite the gift she has! Link to the video of The Last Snowfall: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1FotpPHUgl_pvTJi_cdYRL3fMWtfpAbk1/view?usp=sharing Other pics, of the workshop and show.

Some uncivilized music.... 😄 The Reverend Horton heat and Messer Chups. Messer Chups was my favorite of the 2, even though they were the opener; ghoulish surf-rock. Much fun! The drummer even liked my Mayberry On Acid III shirt!

How about amp box porn?

Apple galettes for a cold rainy new england day

Very nice! I happened to have some ear pads made locally, and they come out to be pretty close to HE90’s. I can send you a pair if you like. 😁

The new comment editing widget and I do not get a long, which makes sense as I didn't get along with the old one either. What I'm talking about with the EF 50mm F/1.4 and IR 5D:

Trust me, if he never extended an olive branch I'd have been completely OK with never reaching out. Maybe he was putting things in order. If that's true, I'm happy I gave him that opportunity. I like the guy I am today, but I haven't always been a great human being. I've made mistakes I'm embarrassed about. I decided many years back to make a real effort to be a better man. People gave me an opportunity to atone for my wrongdoings.

Not really buildling anything today but repairing. One of my COVID projects, the DIY Bluetooth Executive Speaker from Partsexpress, had stopped charging. I figured it was probably because I'd let it sit too long and the battery pack had dropped below the minimum charge level or it had a bad cell (it's a 3-cell pack). So it had sat, for like a year, languishing in the closet. I was just about to order new cells when I figured I should at least try getting in their, testing the cells and seeing if I could jump-start the cells back to the point where they'd charge again. In the end the hardest part was finding a charger that wouldn't over-charge the 3.7V cells. So a few cycles of charging the individual cells and I'd bumped each of them over 2V, got them back in the battery holder and plugged the speaker back into the charger. Bloop bloop bloop, it came back to life. I'm going to park it on the charger overnight (it's been 6 hours already without issue) and hopefully the cells will hold a charge and be back to life. One cell removed All cells back in and charging, yay!

As I am fond of saying, the size queens have a point.

I didn't manage birria tacos but I had a brain wave the other day that came out great tonight. There's a market nearby owned by an Indian American family who also sell quite serviceable curries and other Indian food made fresh in house. Chicken Tikka Masala pizza is supposed to be the most popular pizza in the UK and I've had a couple of decent examples over the years so I decided to make pizza with the market's curry. On the left is a saag paneer supplemented with a bit of fresh mozzarella, and on the right is the CTM. I separated out the chicken then used the sauce as the base, layered on shredded mozzarella, sprinkled on the chicken and added red onion. Both were delicious and will be repeated in future.

'Murica Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated. Starting off gently with what the Australians would call "a sausage sizzle" Spousal approval achievement unlocked.

Just wanted to post a last note of thanks here. Never expected, always appreciated support led to me exceeding my fundraising goal. I've got the two bikes prepped and mostly ready. I just need to do a shakedown ride or two on the Allied which I picked up from the mechanic yesterday. Thanks again, d-_-b, #NFLO.

As it turns out, Moondrop are finally releasing the MoonZero soon: https://www.hifihub.com.br/en/product-launches/moondrop-moonzero-445-electrostatic-headphone-takes-on-the-stax-sr-x1 This image courtesy of Fujiya Avic: Looks cool and if they can bring them in for under 500$... that is mighty tempting.

While heading to Melissa's parent's house last weekend we visited the small town of Winters CA for the first time, and stumbled across their small car show in the early evening. So out came the M Monochrom (M9M) and LLL 35mm f/1.4 Double Aspherical "11873", shot mostly at f/2 for a classic, low res look. It's a cute little town if you haven't been @TMoney

I'm going to secretly buy 8 track tapes. I see a pattern.

Bill Frisell and Harmony Five in Berkeley. Good but not great set with cello man stepping on Bill too much for my taste. As one Berkeley hippie said in the elevator, "I just wanted him to rock out at least once!"

Not all 60s consoles are created equally.

No reflux! 😎

Mildly NSFW: Today marks the 50h anniversary of Tom Waits' album Small Change. While not my favorite release of his by a long shot, I sure listened to it a lot in the early 90s. The cover art is legendary, and quite risque at the time of its release. I follow Tom Waits on Facebook. The page is very well maintained and posts lots of vintage photos and historical information. Today they posted an alternate shot from the cover photo session: There's a longstanding urban legend that the stripper is Cassandra "Elvira, Mistress of the Dark" Peterson. It isn't. Bonus: The same Tom Waits FB page posted this photo last week: Check out the Folger's can(s).

I've said similar myself Knucks.

More goodness from Joseph Crowe Audio.

Toshiba Aurex system from the late 70s:

Happy 91st Birthday Arvo. Arvo Pärt: Tabula Rasa by Gidon Kremer, Keith Jerrett (1984) https://open.qobuz.com/album/0002894812099 Example: Learning more about Pärt... Like Glass above, I do like me some Minimalism.

Incoming Sony post. A stack of 90s. There is an entire subculture built around vintage Sony kit, for some odd reason. A lousy photo of some great ES. A clever redditor took a Sony ST-80F tuner and installed a Raspberry Pi (when they weren't $300), HifiBerry DAC+ Pro, and screen. He made his own UI for the round display shape. Similarly, this guy modified an ES tuner with a Raspberry Pi, OLED display and rotary encoder. Also, look at that goddamn ES tape deck. I would [Note from Legal: REDACTED.] to own one of those.

Goddamn. Iron Maiden played Boston last night. For ...over 45 years, they have been consistently one of the best if not the best live shows in all of metal. I follow them on FB, like an unc (as the kids say.) They posted these photos: Wish I could have gone. Paradoxically, but unsurprisingly, it's much, much easier to get to BOS from W.Mass than it is from MV.

Unsurprisingly, I am so in for this.

@TMoney - Try playing with tire pressures a little bit and nice job on the metric. Fueling and hydration are a battle and it's hard to come up with rules because weather plays a big factor. But one thing I started doing 5+ years ago that has helped a bit, drink every 10 minutes. If you can't remember the last drink you took, drink. I got the Allied out for a series of road tests this weekend with the hope that it'll be good to go for the century this coming weekend. Had a minor tragedy yesterday with a failed/ruin crank arm but managed to find some local used parts that'll get me through and the revisit of a shakedown ride this afternoon went off without a hitch.

Second big metric century is done and dusted! It is so hard to pace these things. Also, fueling remains a work in progress. It seems like however much your gut can tolerate in terms of food and drink is the amount you should be eating. Crushing gels gets old pretty quick. I skipped eating the last 10 miles or so and really felt it at the finish. We merged courses with the people doing the 30 mile ride in the last 1/4 of this and that meant it was time to put the power down and show the flat-bar riders the error of their ways! It is amazing how much of a confidence boost it is to overtake people. Kudos to all them for being out there though. Any ride is better than no ride (ahem, Brent). I do want more climbing than this going forward. There was really only one climb/descent (Chalk Hill). West Dry Creek Road is the stuff of riding dreams. Smooth country road, not wide enough for two cars to pass so the cars have to go ultra slow, curvy and lots of rollers. Can’t ask for better than that. Even on 32s I got so sick of road buzz on some of the Sonoma County cheese-grater roads that I threw the 40s back on after. The 40s are for sure slower, but my god do they smooth out the road and they are a joy to descend on. I’ll ride them for a bit until I feel ready to start doing group rides where the speed will matter. For training rides I’ll take comfort over speed any day and twice on Sunday.

[Warning: way too many photos] It's what I call "lowrider season", so hit the ever growing show in downtown San Jose yesterday (alway's good light when not behind skyscraper and tree shadows). For those going to be in San Francisco next weekend there's one there. As opposed to the photos above, went all color. The graffiti shots are with the ever reliable combo of Canon 6D Classic and Canon 40mm f/2.8 STM pancake. The main show's are with the Leica SL2 and very unpancake 16 elements, 3lbs Zeiss Otus 28mm f/1.4. And when you have a fast wide angle everything is a nail.

Whatever you did to post like that, don’t do it again.

Nice center channel

First new cat species discovered in a hunnert years! https://www.instagram.com/reel/DdZki9zi3nc/

Mishima by Philip Glass, Kronos Quartet (1985) https://open.qobuz.com/album/0075597988956 Example: More Philip for fun. (probably should watch this at some point.) Followed by: Philip Glass: Mishima by Maki Namekawa 2018 https://open.qobuz.com/album/svzhtflbqsm9a Example: I really like the arrangement by Michael (also the conductor of Kronos Quartet above). Lends a more delicate nature to the work, also I like Piano. I didn't know Maki's work before this. Added things to my queue (now at 854 albums).

Jiminy, over 21 hours on Tidal! Music on TIDALBill Evans - The Complete Bill Evans On VerveListen to The Complete Bill Evans On Verve on TIDAL

Yoshi