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Bought this loaf of Sourdough Rye Bread yesterday at the Goleta farmer's market. It's from Roan Mills Bakery in Fillmore, CA.

RIP Barrie Gilbert, analog design titan. Brit who moved to the US to work at Tektronix. He was responsible for the on-screen readout in the 7000 series scopes, and the Gilbert Cell that was used as the core of the Tek custom amplifier chips up to and beyond 1GHz. Is also used in every 4-quadrant multiplier chip out there. He was so good that Analog Devices hired him from Tek by agreeing to build a whole facility out in Beaverton for him to play in. The story was that he had a bet with Bob Widlar to design a minimum component constant current source. Gilbert lost (he came up a three transistor one) when Wildlar came up with a 2 transistor one. The Widlar source is used in just about every op-amp, and every AB power amp that has been built since. In full flow in 1991 describing what is known as the Gilbert Cell "The translinear amplifier" Aged 83 - RIP Barrie Gilbert.

The Niche Zero arrived last week and I've gotten to use it. So did the Chemex. I chose the 6 cup which worked out well for my situation. I'm the only coffee drinker in the house, but if I have a guest I can certainly brew them a cup as well. The Niche is gorgeous and very substantially built. Is it worth the money? That's a relative thing IMO. It is excessive so I think best for the hardcore coffee drinkers that would make good use of it and/or those that really get into the aesthetics and function of the machine. It is pretty damn fun to use and look at. It has a lot of settings and because you can go well beyond the dial, and arguably need to for the finer or coarser grinds, it requires a bit of practice / experiment but nothing too complicated. The Chemex I am still experimenting with. Drinking a Rwandan Ruli now and it is AMAZING. It was damn good in the French press as well so it's solid coffee. The thing is there is a substantial difference with the Chemex. First...I love the French press. It makes delicious coffee simply IMO. You get ALL the coffee flavor and what comes with it. The Chemex is a much more polite cup of coffee...cleaner. Probably easier to drink. I'd liken it to cigar smoking...those that have been in it a long time I have found lean towards the more robust profiles. HS

Just got these in a week ago, just got back from Kerry’s comparing these with his SR007mk1 and SR009. some photos of them https://imgur.com/a/sFUOz0S the website for them https://www.eslabhk.com/

Short and sweet:

Shakira – She Wolf Dignity is highly overrated Also – thank you for the half-time show And thanks to YouTube's algorithm... Take On Me (A-Ha) – Mariachi Entertainment System – wow, those high notes...

I bought one of these and got them on Tuesday. Been spending a lot of time with them since then, I ordered with both pairs of pads. Some thoughts: The stock pads are irredeemably garbage sounding to me, the bass is off, the midrange is simultaneously forward and recessed (way too much 1Khz and not enough 2-4Khz) and there is way too much treble in the 8-10Khz range. I legitimately had a hard time listening to these. I'm sure some people will like these but this is reminiscent of the SR-507 in terms of how forward/thin it sounds (not a good thing). With these pads? Not a fan. The other pads I ordered which are the ones the creator says has the more laid-back nature is much more to my preference. It is somewhat more forward in the midrange than 007 (which I think is a good thing, 007 lacks a bit of energy between 2-4Khz for me), but I would not call it particularly shouty. It certainly is less shouty than something like the 404LE for instance. With these pads the treble also becomes fantastic, very similar to 007 treble to my ears. Bass was a mixed bag, when I first got them I felt like they were lacking a bit of slam/impact despite going very deep/having good rumble (much like 009S). Over time I feel like the bass has improved in this regard. I think burn-in is a hot load of garbage (other than minor changes in thiele-small parameters) so the more likely answer is the pads softening up a bit. Overall I really like the headphone with these pads, it's what the 009S should have been in my opinion. It seems like a good counterpoint to the 007 if using the dark pads. Slightly more forward, but with a bigger stage than the slightly more intimate feeling 007. Some annoyances: pad attachment uses rivets similar to SR-Omega. Not a huge issue but kind of scary to work with since the dust cover is basically exposed to the screwdriver you use to remove the rivets. Also means it takes a while to remove the pads. The pads do sit on very nicely once attached though. This headphone is also heavy, I have no issue with 700+ grams of weight but I know the approx. 650 grams this headphone weighs is gonna be too much for a lot of people. It's still more comfortable than 007 for me due to the fact that my head is too large for 007 (headband rests against the arc) but I don't think this will be the case for the vast majority of people. Currently this costs about the same as L700mk2 and between those 2 picking this one (with dark pads) is a no-brainer to me. Pretty stellar headphone overall, definitely a keeper. From the pictures this looks like the "dark" pads due to the round ear opening and the higher quality leather. EDIT: Swap around what I said above most likely. The pads I thought were the "dark" pads are the ones that came installed on the headphone.

Was at the local pet store the other day, and, as always, I went to play with the adoptables that were on display. Went to pet this guy and he just rolled over. Almost took him home. I thought this would make a great poster.

Very interesting. We enjoyed them on my T2 and Carbon

Yes, those imperfections of the Aluminium on Todd's headband is indeed correct. There is a story behind it though, mid-way in our production our Anodizing guy decided to go rogue. The finished parts weren't dark enough and for some reason he was not able to rectify it. We were left with some inventory that was fair but far from perfect and as a small Manufacturer, we couldn't afford to scrap it. Eventually, we did find a reliable Anodizing company and have been working with them since December albeit, they are interesting to deal with as well. This leads me to believe either there is some money to be made in the Anodizing industry or the entire industry has undercut itself beyond sustainability. Furthermore, we made some changes to our tool-paths as well and have added an additional facing operation on all sides to improve the surface finish without needing additional processes like brushing or sand-blasting. This may seem like something to do since the beginning but since we don't have a 5-Axis that we own, it adds more machining time and lowers our output even more. Every single part is made in-house. We also have transitioned from 3D Printed Earcups to full Injection Earcups. Again, to improve our production rates so we can focus on things that are more delicate and intolerant. Anyway, I do take the responsibility but just wanted to share why. With vertical integration although QC is in our hands, it is challenging to be this stringent at this price point especially when you are running out of Capital.

A country club, but for cars? https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/20/your-money/automotive-country-clubs.html

As what was said more than once in Top Gear - "you cannot call yourself a petro-head unless you have owned an Alfa". I was bitten hard the first time I laid eyes on and sit in an Alfa Romeo Gulietta in the late 70's in a show room. Owned a GTV6 for an all-to-brief one year or so. I miss that car tremendously after all these years.

Bloodhound LSR completes its program for this year with a 628mph run. So back to base to fit the rockets for 800mph+

Yeah - they are going to do some further runs to "probe the trans-sonic region", whatever that means. After which I guess it is back the the UK to start fitting the rockets and all the gubbins that is necessary to hold the propellents and pump them into the nozzles. They have not said so, but they must have mass dummies in the car for these runs to mimic the weight distribution of the rocket stuff. The design spec is once lit they should take Bloodhound from 500 to 1000mph in 17 seconds. We are not the only show in town in the quest for 1000mph. The Aussies have an entirely rocket propelled car using concentrated nitric acid and keronsene, called Aussie Invader SR which is specced to go from rest to 1000mph in 20 seconds. And another in NZ. And another possibly from the West Coast of the US. But there is no evidence that any other of these vehicles has entered the testing phase.

They are just playing with it now --- some better footage now. I think that everyone needs to take lessons from the spaceX teams - there is a new standard in filming events.

Bloodhound LSR hits 461mph on just the jet engine. Next is to add the two rockets that will take it from there to 1000mph. Bloody amazing how quickly it gets to speed (and back down to rest too). The driver, Andy Green, is a fighter pilot, and was the guy who took Thrust SSC to beyond the speed of sound in 1997. Bloody awesome!