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2nd vocal lesson Started working on a cover (Goodloe Byron, Wellness Day, in the style of Born Under Punches). Asked permission. He said he’d be honored, so now I have to. Also, not so much did today so much as benchmarked today — lost another 5-10 lbs. over the last month. I am now 40-45 lbs. down from where I was in March. Win! Still have high blood pressure, though. 😕

Another CFA is alive and well. Sorted out the issue with the bias when using the SS/ZF switch by doing the following (board rev 1.2): - Remove the 4 ZF jumpers near the 600pF - Increase R44/R49 to 50K - Increase R50/R51 to 4.2K - Remove C9/C10 Set at 190mA, plays beautifly in both modes. A must-have as reference in the amp collection. Thanks to KG for developing this amazing circuit!

Here's a tip that I got from a friend that is a butcher, grills are pretty terrible for cooking steaks unless you like them really rare. I have not used my grill to completely cook a steak for several years now. The current process, which came from the butcher friend, is to sear both sides of the steak on a very hot grill for 2-3 min a side. Then transfer to the oven (in a pan) at 225F-250F and finish to desired internal temp, generally pulling 5F early and letting the steak rest for 10 minutes or so before serving. For burgers I religiously do the following - burgers are to be flipped once and never pressed. Cook them until they bleed up thru the top, then flip and cook and hope that the flames don't get too bad. That's my 2c anyway. Oh one more thing, the Egg can absolutely be a "proper smoker" - more so than my Traeger according to the die hards. It'll take more effort, and potentially a gadget or two to get consistent low temps for long cooks (for example) but there are a ton of folks that swear by them.

So slightly better than expected, the weigh in this morning was only 3lbs up. Might have something to do with the 110f heat making all the walking around i do a bit more intensive.

Inaccurate. Where's the smoke and orange glow in the distance?

This is so fucking cool! Flight from Hamilton Field to the Golden Gate.

Seriously! I may be making headway though. Sherri is definitely voting for Biden.

The Utopias are a bit like the HD800, they can sound really edgy from the wrong upstream components. They really do shine with warmer sounding amp and source.

Once again this year I'm prepping to ride a century in support of the Kelly Brush Foundation. I have (quite literally) been training my ass off and started the year with a goal of riding more than 2,020 (get it?) miles before the event. Well, I've truly exceeded that and am currently sitting at ~2,300 with a few more weeks to go before the ride. Of course, as most things have gone in 2020, this year's event will be quite different from the past with no formal large gathering in VT. So the group of us that have done events like this for the last 10 years are going to get together and ride a socially distant event all the same. For those that don't know, the Kelly Brush Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to assisting individuals with spinal cord injuries in finding ways to get out and enjoy an active lifestyle. For me, this is a cause close to my heart. I love the outdoors and the freedom to explore it in a variety of ways and have worked with organizations like the KBF for the last twenty years to help others do the same. The mission remains the same, regardless of complications of life, so I'm trying to raise a bunch of money again this year with a goal of $2,020. As usual, all of the donations are tax deductible although the great pumpkin has made less meaningful than it used to be. Like past years I'm looking for interesting ways to sweeten the pot if you open your wallet a little bit. I've got something fun in mind for anyone that donates $100 or more, more to follow on that. But for now, here's the link to my personal fund raising page - https://kbf.akaraisin.com/kellybrushride2020/2b87af6c62214f81909ae4e7b306384e. Any donation large or small is very much appreciated.

We're one of the lucky few in Los Gatos / Santa Cruz mountains (so far) that didn't have to grab the go bag and head out. A huge portion of the people are evacuated and may not be able to come back for awhile assuming they have something to come back to. I am amazed that the amount of structures burned is as low as it is given the size of the fires and inadequate resources. The firefighters have done and unbelievable job. Sometimes working 48 to 72 hours before being able to sleep. Fortunately, the Calvary is arriving from other states, national guard and other countries to help out.

Can't speak to the egg but find steaks can be prepared to perfection on the pellet smoker. Smoke @ 225 until internal temp is about 100. Wrap in foil. Turn the heat up to 550 -600 or as high as it will go. Unwrap and put back on. Reverse sear both sides and flip as needed every 30 seconds or so until your internal temp is about 5 less than you desire. Perfect every time and you get all the smoky goodness However, like all such things, there are several ways to the perfect outcome. Use the one you like.

Realy, realy like the hands on that watch and I think they did an great job with the font for the numerals. Would much prefer normal luninova.

My neighbor. Because He's considering voting for Trump again.

I think my journey went something like from various Lambdas to the HD800 to the SR-007 MK2.9 and finally to the Utopia. The Focal definitely have the least trade-offs and annoying stuff amongst the headphones that I've tried and owned.

This is a good looking and versatile watch IMO albeit a bit large for me. I prefer 40mm. Arguably more money than it would be without the Fratello connection, but they are likely part of why it's as handsome as it is. https://www.fratellowatches.com/hamilton-khaki-field-murph-auto-joins-the-fratello-shop-catalog/ HS

I liked it too, though I don't know WTF is going on. Great acting, strong script, good characters. Ready for episode 2.

RIP Innerfidelity

I used to hang out in Los Gatos a lot so I have many friends in the Santa Cruz Mountain areas. I've tried to contact a couple but most have either been evacuated or trying to keep their lines open for emergency contacts. Scary times down there and I have my fingers crossed that they have homes to return to.

View from the drive in this morning. Yuck. I have a few buddies who have had to evacuate. Bad times.

Justin Townes Earle gone at 38. Saw this guy in a memorable show a number of years ago. Jessica Lea Mayfield opened and was insanely nervous... Earle walked out beforehand and told the crowd to “be nice to her or I’m gonna whoop ya.” ☹️ https://www.facebook.com/22332699864/posts/10157797303759865/?extid=xKvFEEVTtaPydbHi&d=n

Trini Lopez, singer, guitar designer, and star of The Dirty Dozen, dies from Coronavirus https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/aug/12/trini-lopez-covid-19-frank-sinatra-dirty-dozen?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other