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I gave a short presentation today to a group of about 150 employees at MUFG (Bank of Tokyo-Mitsuishi UFJ), which was formerly UBS here in Cayman. They were having an employee appreciation day, hosted in a large theatre room at Camana Bay. So it was great timing. I had 10 minutes at the very beginning of what promised to be a fun day away from the office for them. The idea was to promote the MBA program at the college I teach at, but it so happens that I've also been their corporate Santa Claus for many years, so it was kind of interesting to talk about the bleaching process (which I've just begun and am a bit of a ginger at the moment) and then to watch people put two and two together. Reading their faces, it was ike "Oh ya!!! Now I see it!" Then right back into the details about our curriculum and the technology that we use in the classroom. The good news is that we'll have at least 6 new students entering the program this Fall quarter and potentially several more. The response was incredible. Lots of great questions and then follow up emails that I've been dealing with all afternoon long. Obviously it's very well supported by the company as well. At least 90% of the people in the room had bachelor's degrees, and probably 60% of them are expats. Basically, all young working professionals. So this is a chance for them to pick up a graduate degree on someone else's nickel while they're also enjoying living in a foreign country. Now I'm energized and really I'm looking forward to doing more of these kinds of presentations because the corporate audience has been terribly overlooked in our marketing efforts. I'm not usually energized by much anymore, so this is actually a good thing.

i'm guilty... I bought this beautify

Hey, that sounds good. I'm just happy to be giving a shit about something. Anything sometimes. I've been quasi-retired now for 13 years (since leaving the 9 to 5) and have been involved with a lot of things, but nothing full time. At this small college, I've always taught several of the undergrad accounting courses and a couple of MBA courses each year as well. But usually it's just 2 nights per week. Get in, do your thing, get out. Deal with students but little else around the place. But finally this year (for the first time in 33 years), I've actually taken 3 consecutive quarters off from teaching and feel refreshed in that regard. I'll be teaching in the Fall quarter again in October, and am really looking forward to it. Oddly! Batteries charged again, type of thing. In the meantime, I've become much more active than ever on the college's board of trustees and am kind of surprising myself on the admission side, and then also on corporate fund raising. It's a totally different way of looking at higher education, really more from the "sell" side of things as opposed to production (as in teaching and advising students). Don't think I'd ever want to be a full-time academic administrator, don't get wrong! It's still about the classroom for me. But I'm finding (and it might be an age thing) that going out and actively recruiting both students and corporate donations is making me feel helpful and useful, which has always been the reward in teaching. If nothing else, this branching out process is making me feel more personally invested in the place. I think as a long-standing adjunct professor you can kind of become a bit detached and worry only about your own classes and not much else in terms of the bigger picture. So I think that's where it's hitting home with me, just that I can be useful in other ways. We just deposited a cashier's check for $500,000 as a donation from HSBC (biggest ever for the college) and I was heavily involved in all of those discussions as well. Lots and lots of lunches with all sorts of other potential corporate sponsors as well, so it's an ongoing process. Just really weird to suddenly discover new interests and things that somewhat motivate me professionally after years of kind of kicking back and lazing around. Like I say, giving a shit about something again feels kind of cool.

I don't normally play iOS games, but holy balls, the "Sorcery!" series is amazing. If you enjoyed choose-your-own-adventure books as a kid then these games are just what the doctor ordered. I'm about to start the third after completing the first two. Just wonderful games. This series, along with "80 Days," are some of the very best mobile games ever. 5/5.

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My own Carbon, not going anywhere... IMG_6585 IMG_6590 IMG_6592 IMG_6593 IMG_6595 IMG_6596 IMG_6597

Wayne, need someone to come out and scare people of cyber crime?

John, that is a truly enviable piece of gear. One of few amps that make an RK50 look like a reasonable volume control.

That's possible, but they should find the underlying issues as well. I use 60V parts in my builds, though my prototypes used BC557.

I'm not sure I see this. The BC557 are part of a current mirror for the error amp. One of them is bound to about .6V and the other I see peeking at around 7V in the simulation. I'm not sure what the AC or an overly spec'd transformer has to do with this. Also there is a natural slow start in the regulator so it comes up under 1V until it starts regulating. Are you actually measuring these values? I'd be curious if that's true. Reality and simulations don't always align. There are some conditions if the circuit is not put together correctly that they could fry but that's true of a number of parts.

Beautiful build John!

Wow John! Your carbon looks amazing! Thanks for posting those pictures. Gotta love the RK50 in there. Gotta be the best build around!

Hi John, That's magnificent you've set the bar pretty high there for us mortals. I'm still lurking, listening and learning thanks for the inspiration Quick questions does the Golden Reference supply make an audible difference? I know that's subjective but I haven't ordered them and maybe too late. What is your Transformer? It looks really tidy. Cheers Neil

No. Just more likely than not and I haven't been using my turntable lately.

packed up 6 boxes of lps, my turntable and phono pre, and a box of books. Next the airmotivas and apogee and I think I'm ready to move.

^ This post contains no photo of members in drag, no comparison to celebrity, not even a funny limerick. Therefore it's deemed to have no value here. Moderators please remove.

So you are why I got a speeding ticket..... Not in the ST but in a minivan in my way to Chuck E Cheese... This makes me very happy. **BRENT** Sent from my R1 HD using Tapatalk

Joanne made some shortbread, Chocolate mousse and Strawberries to take round some non d-_-b friends And we're now enjoying it

John knows full well what I think of that build even if it is none of your business. Not everybody gets to print my full name on an amp...

Oh my, you geocitiesed him.

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Pulled out of the lake house complex on to route 1 and accelerated up to traffic speed to get nailed by a cop going the other direction for 60 in a 45. Really stupid mistake. Didn't realize that radar worked when driving the opposite direction.

Strawberries, Ice cream, Apple Crumble

I finally got the last plate machined. I had to replace the spindle on my CNC and also made a mistake on the CAD so had to redo this plate, but it's looking great now.

I found some Colin Snacks. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Bacon cheese burger with sweet potato fries, short rib sandwich with arugula salad (shared)

Got it cased. Pretty standard. I apologize for the power switch--I couldn't resist.

Spatchcock chicken with smoked chili rub (other than the legs for Alden). Smoked and finished on high