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If The Moon Turns Green Diana Panton 2011 https://album.link/i/1443526888 Example: Lovely female jazz voice. I have been away from jazz vocals for a while. I think I need a little more in my life. This did nicely.

We Get Requests Oscar Peterson Trio 1964 https://album.link/i/1443078246 Example: You know, it is just required listening now and then. Still strikes me as one of the most beautiful jazz albums ever made. Just overhearing it for a few seconds compels me to cue up the album and 40 minutes later, I am happier than I started that time. Thx Oscar and friends.

A River Running To Your Heart -- Fruit Bats (2023).

This is how the night went... I picked him up at his jobsite after work. He does not drive, and usually rides with his Uncle. We just made small talk as I drove him to his home to shower and change clothes. I chatted with his Uncle while that took place. I think his Uncle was more excited than anyone. When he was ready we went to a local (Daly City) Greek spot for Gyros. He had never experienced a Gyro, and he absolutely loved it. While having our Gyros, I directed the conversation straight (no pun intended) to his sexuality. I wanted to get that out of the way. He was a bit embarrassed as we talked openly, but was very forthcoming. He is a virgin, and has never really been attracted to girls. He does seem to be a bit confused about exactly what his sexuality is, as he's also never done anything with another guy. He just said that he feels good whenever he's around me. He definitely has Father figure feelings toward me, but is confused regarding the other. He did say that he thought I was very handsome, to which I joked "well of course, you do have good eyesight", and that managed to get a chuckle from him. He's such an innocent young man. Warm and friendly with a curiosity about everything. I do enjoy being around him. But I'm certain that in no way do I want to be his first sexual encounter. We've agreed that we will be friends for now, and I've offered to slowly introduce him into the gay community. Then he can better determine where he fits in. I'm about 95% sure that he's gay. But want him to take all the time he needs to figure that out for himself. I'm also determined to steer him toward guys his age. Your first sexual experience is extremely important in setting the tone for future relationships. And those would be easier if they involved similar ages and stages in life. I realized that I do feel very protective toward him. And maybe a Father figure/mentor will not only be beneficial for him, but myself as well. We ended our outing watching Mario at the theater, where he did snuggle into me a bit, and I didn't discourage that. Very innocent, but kind of cute.

Even though I tend to pontificate about cartoonishly large format cameras, I must say I find the works of Henri Cartier-Bresson and his "humble" Leica 35mm rangefinder (usually with a fairly slow 50mm attached) far more compelling than nearly everything that Ansel Adams did. HCB's nighttime Paris photos are directly or indirecty an inspiration for all the long exposures I did in the second half of the 00s. The same can be said for his candid portraits and street photography. Candid portraiture was the one area of photography where I excelled in spite of myself. I put the most effort into landscapes, but in spite of the planet, you know, in general holding still and not GAF if I was photographing it, I only ever had mixed results. Conversely, I was quite good at annoying people I barely knew with an oversized DSLR and large-ish lens and getting interesting results from them. Of course, as descendents of tree monkeys, we're programmed to study each other's facial expressions and consequently find faces far more interesting than some mountain range. Maybe I'm a hack after all. 🙃 Case(s) in point: I've never done much true street photography, but I've always lvoed this shot of a young couple on vacation on MV during the "shoulder season" of early September. As many/most HCers know, I ran a one man nightclub lighting business for over 15 years. I originally got into photography to take photos of my lighting gear in action to market it. Quickly I became more interested in photography than nightclub lighting. One thing I learned early on was how to take photos in low light conditions with mid 00s low ISO digital sensors: This photo has a bit of a story: I was taking some pictures from the stage and two inebriated idiots wandered up, wanting to talk to the DJ. They didn't know (or didn't care) that I was shooting, and stood right in my way. I set the AF point to the center, and used the two drunks to mask the sides of the image. I cropped the photo to 5x4, but otherwise did no edits. The subject is actually a fairly awful person, but in this moment she was a dancefloor diva. A good friend of mine with his then girlfriend. She was nothing but trouble for him, but I like this moment captured. Bonus: that Asioan woman out of focus above his arm is his *ex* girlfriend. I did not plan that. Hooray, beer.

Thanks for the reminder! Done. But I need to know if this is upside down world, because Al woke up earlier than me?

Slipped my mind but now done! Who else is in?

Owning one makes you a nerd. Assimilate.

I don’t love pin and collar in 2023, and there is no micro adjust (I’m lucky with the fit), but I’m otherwise very happy with the Sandmarc titanium bracelet for Apple Watch Ultra. I would call it similar to quality to a Seiko Prospex bracelet. It’s nice enough, and works great. It can pull down straight from the lugs, so it doesn’t increase the size of the watch at all compared to the Alpine strap

I could have guessed it was Brits just by the photo. Who else would use a knife with muffins?

I swear I started this thread this morning and having been offline most of the day, didn't get back to d-_-b till now to see that I failed. Happy birthday, Jeffy! I hope it was a good one.

Let alone the Fifth Element

Jeff, you may not have been born a nerd, but you have certainly gained that status through osmosis. It's a hard thing to come to grips with. I learned this about myself at my first Head-Fi meet in Austin.

More "goodies" with the Brits.

Looks intense. I spent my day getting signed off on the local makerspace's ping-pong table. Well used but still runs very well. Plus has a real nice 3-phase spindle.

All out of sunlight so no glamour shots, but I declare…Jatoba vices are sexy vices. That is all. (Sapele racing stripe for bonus points)

DIY T2 amplifier with 300B tubes. Amplifier is built on Kevin’s board. Only modification is decreased high voltages, +/-400V instead of +/-500V. Homemade 300B to EL34 adapters connected to four Traco 5V switched PS for filament power. I only replaced the EL34 with 300B along with the filament power supply. No other adjustments. It works – I’m in no harry to change back to EL34.

First time hearing him. I'm a fan. He brings a fresh expressiveness that I haven't really heard in awhile. The album is the usual Bach mixed in with French contemporary composers.

The Myth of The Happily Ever After Biffy Clyro 2021 https://album.link/i/1582831319 Example: Scottish rockers be rocking. I liked the album mix a lot.

Annie – Neon Nights (EP)

Russian Red - Fuerteventura. Similar in sound to several other light folk/pop artists, but something about her sets it apart and causes me to like her more than most....

Fly From Here: Return Trip Yes 2011 https://album.link/i/1490150422 Example: 20th out of 23 (one is about to be released) studio album. I kind of dropped off Yes, (well, new Yes) about 10+ years ago. I guess I was more into the band line-up (this one does not have Jon Anderson) than I was just about the music. So, I gave this one a spin (click) and I really enjoyed it. I just took it for what is there. It starts out with a six part song (clip of it as example) that I really enjoyed. The rest of the album is a bit mixed, nothing bad, just ranges from really good to okay. I will try the other two newer albums at some point (2014 and 2021). It is not so much I am running towards them, I am not actively running away from them anymore.

Protection Massive Attack 1994 https://album.link/i/724410562 Example: Another killer album.

Thanks all for your support, things are coming together for the walk this weekend. Coming close to reaching our goal thanks to all of you. https://givebutter.com/XXcbAZ/michaelmaddock We were able to partner with the Seattle Police and their Community Service Officers (CSO) to come out and be a part of the event, along with a local organization called Weld Seattle that is doing good work in helping people with their reentry needs. The weather is looking up for the weekend (always an issue in the PNW), and we got our T-shirts in!! We are hoping that it goes well, and we can continue to thrive and grow in the future. Cheers and thanks again... Mikey