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It was hot. But the view was nice at the top.

I took a leave of absence from work. It was a pretty painless process. I'll be back after my surgery. I feel much, much better.

Friends are giving me a quality Eames lounger and ottoman pair as an apartment warming gift. I'll let you know how it works out. It's from the 80s, but looks similar to a lot of what is currently made.

The pictures do not do her justice. I say this in a professional non judgemental totally without pervy intentions sort of way.

I spent most of this past weekend working with JimL and Kevin tweaking my Megatron.( I was just the coolie equipped with a soldering iron and a multi meter and Jim and Kevin supplied all the brain power. ) Kevin suggested that I share the information here. My goal was to raise the standing current to the plate of the driver tube (12AX7). It's set at 0.5mA in Kevin's original design. Kevin has mentioned in his June 28, 2012 post that the only thing stable at 0.5mA is the 2SA1968 which has since been obsolete. My build uses KSA1156 in place of the 2SA1968 so this tweak may be more applicable to similar builds. This tweak, at the end, turned out to be the few relatively simple steps below: 1. Reduce R6 and R7 (2.2K) to about 1.3K which sets the plate CCS at 0.85mA. I used 3K to parallel with the 2.2K to get to this value. This higher current also raises the standing plate voltage of the 12AX7 from around 245VDC to about 275VDC (this will vary some with the tubes used). 2. Reduce R11, R23 cathode resistor (3.3K) to about 2K so that it pulls slightly more current and brings the plate voltage down to around 245VDC. I used 4.7K to parallel the 3.3K to get to 1.99K. We need minimum 50V differential between the plate and the B+ (300VDC) to allow for the driver voltage swing without clipping. 3. Because the resulting higher current draw of the front end, you need to adjust R19, the drop resistor, to maintain the 300VDC for front end B+. I like my Megatron’s sound better with this tweak. YMMV. It may be possible to raise the driver current even higher subject to the plate dissipation and CCS transistor limit. I am happy and content with the outcome now but may experiment further in the future. I am also hoping someone may be interested in running a SPICE model and/or observe the outcome with a scope to validate.

^ And the courtesy of not having to make us embark on (an albeit entertaining) google image search. You're welcome.

Found out last night when I picked up Lance and Mary at LAX that at camp Lance got beat by a girl. This is the girl- Valentina Vezzali - Vezzali is the first fencer in Olympic history to win three Individual Foil gold medals at three consecutive Olympics – Sydney 2000, Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008. She also won fourteen gold medals at the World Fencing Championships, six in individual competitions (1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2011) and another eight in team competitions (1995, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2004, 2009, 2010, 2013), plus four silver medals (two individual, 1994 and 2006, and two with Italian team, in the same years) and three bronze medals (individual, 1995, 1998 and 2012). In European championships, she won nine gold medals (individual: 1998, 1999, 2001, 2009, 2010; team: 1999, 2001, 2009, 2010), three silver medals (individual: 2003, 2007; team: 2007), two bronze medals (individual: 1993; team: 1998). More training is needed obviously.

I am not really a fan of Crate & Barrel, but I think they got this chair just right. It is not too expensive, and it is very comfortable. Compared to other Z Chair knockoffs, the proportions are good. Short of finding something actually from the middle of last century, that would be my go to.

Yes! Look what came in Just got done with a test fitting Everything fits just as well as the prototype and and still reasonably compact. The finish isn't perfect and I can spot some very minor blemishes in some spots, but nothing to get worked up about at this price point. All parts were packed separately so it will take me a bit of time to get everything sorted out, especially getting all the screws into tiny baggies. Aiming to have everything packed by this weekend and shipping throughout the week next week.

Especially given the German Engineering involved ... https://www.dw.com/en/german-metalheads-construct-beer-pipeline-for-wacken/a-38962724

I'm sure there's more to the story, but damn, they should have waited till after the festival to drag them back to the home.

Meanwhile ... https://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/08/07/elderly_men_escape_care_home_to_go_to_wacken_open_air/ ?

TMI perhaps, but..... I have never wanted to get spanked by a sexy but angry-looking woman.....until now.....

That many Silver and Bronze, not ALL Gold? She obviously sucks, and then yes, Lance needs more training....

Ur still a beast Nate! I could only currently dream of that avg on flat Illinois ground.

Can vouch for the excellence of the Eames + Ottoman. Own a couple. Are the absolute shiznit.

Take the time you need and get your mental health back to a good place!

Always wanted a rather black watch. Got myself one of these -

Just got these two

What is worse though is the damage suffered to the drivers while they were installing them. Visible finger marks in the dust covers... yeah not good.

We're getting very close - the power switch is on the front and a DACT is optional. Champagne will be a color option. This prototype has a blue bead blasted panel (compared to our usual polished blue).