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Yesterday we went to a picnic put on by the Ligue Henri IV, which was a fraternal organization to support men and their families from the southwest of France for over 100 years until last year when membership was opened to women as well. I've been a member since I was 14 years old (age of admission) and my siblings and kids are all For the picnic, the Ligue provides grilled lamb and loaves of French bread for the princely sum of $5.00 per person. The members and guests bring the rest of their meals and beverages. I should have shown you the two trays of lamb we had -- a whole leg and multiple large racks of ribs -- along with six large loaves. It was excellent lamb and perfectly grilled.

Three weeks later, here is the outcome. A single enclosure all-in-one with GRHV and GRLV with high voltage and heater soft-start. The 10M90S is attached to the side wall, and thanks to the large size of the metal, the temp is about 104℉(40 ℃) after 1 hour. The only thing is I made the mistake of the main soft start module(the one on the power outlet), which makes it only functional when you use the back power switch. In this way, I keep the front power switch on all the time to avoid the ripple current. Still have a huge room to be improved. Planning to add a DC power supply for the heater for the DHT version, as well as the flashing soft start indicator.

Back at work today, feeling way better.

Wrapped up vacation in FLAlalala. Travel back tomorrow, weather permitting (we’re already getting warnings) and hopeful that kids won’t go too mental about departing 85 and sunny for 50 and rainy.

Long time no see, I have updated many different designs in the past few years. My estats are currently using an omega-like assembly structure but with a driver house made of PPS plastic, and shells are all made of CNC 7075t6 aluminum alloy + hard anodized. The tuning of my headphones has changed to a retro diffuse field target curve which is completely different tuning from stax that emphasizes 1-2khz and 4-6khz.I really enjoy the stax-style assembly method, which makes them look much more refined than German estats.

The cats broke the glass lamp in our entryway, so I needed a non-glass replacement. Similar to a design I made a few years ago, but smaller and with some refinements.

All this deferred resignation stuff has meant the departure of a few key staff members, one in particular I've worked with for nearly 15 years and deserved something more than an Irish goodbye. So I made him a little something for his retirement yesterday. That's the blank walnut, engraved/machined with the cnc machine. Finish applied, awaiting infill bits. Finished project. The middle bit is an original survey boundary marker for the island that I rescued from a demo project. It's likely way more than 100 years old. I thought he deserved to take a little piece of the place with him even if it's a little tarnished and scarred. I prefer things that way actually, probably because I resemble the description.

Steve's double spatula game was intense!

Thanks for the birthday wishes (and I love the pic, Al)! I'm spending the day grading finals but tonight, I am having dinner new restaurant, Camaraderie, with a couple of friends tonight. Then doing bowling dressed as The Big Lebowski characters tomorrow night with my lezzie crew!

it had been a while, I baked some bread.. Simple country loaf, About 24 hour fermentation, and my scoring was crap.

Hope you have a great day even though you celebrated early! Cheers!

In the summer of 2007 I hiked up Mount Sugarloaf in Sunderland. I went up there many times in the '00s, both with and without a camera. The view from it is spectacular and really shows off a pastoral and idyllic perspective of the Happy Valley. The weather was fantastic and there were some hot ail balloons floating around merrily. Unfortunately for me, on this date I took the always terrible Canon 75-300mm lens and I did NOT know what I was doing. The photos came out terribly. I sat on them for nearly 18 years until last month when I sat down and processed them with some modern apps. I had to make deft use of Luminar 4, Topaz Sharpen AI and Photoshop to extract remotely decent results. The sharpening was key, and a faustian bargain. The 75-300mm is never sharp. I wasn't smart enough to up my 30D's ISO to improve shutter speed so a bunch of the shots have lens motion blur. The 30D isn't the most sharp thing to begin with in the best of circumstances. Too much AI sharpening makes for weird and very obvious artifacts. There is no perfect solution. With all of this said, the end results here aren't half bad. I rate this set a solid "Crank up that ISO you dumbass" out of 10. I did take a few shots with the 17-85mm, which is is a Leica rangefinder lens in comparison to the 75-300mm.

Eincorn wheat flatbread with onion, shallots, asparagus, smoked Gouda and herbs.

From buns to bundts... A Midori bundt cake. I used to make these in the 80's. I'd kind of forgotten about them. Made one Friday evening, for the Saturday crew. Now baking this one for the weekday crew tomorrow. Remember Midori? Well, the cake is a very lovely Green as well, especially since it also contains a package of Pistachio pudding mix. It's quite good. I'm glad that I remembered it.

A.I. Hot Cross Buns Influenced by Paul Mary A bloke called Jake And The NYT Changes? To cater to the the lapsed/recovering Catholics amongst the Brits (Joanne included) the raisins were soaked overnight in Bullit Rye to "plump" them. No candied peel at short notice so similarly soaked dried cranberries. Same story for "mixed spice", so mostly Sri Lankan Cinnamon, with a bit of Garam Masala. Orange and Lemon zest in the dough. Glaze was (homemade) orange marmalade diluted with the left overs from the soaking. Using the oven with a pan of water filled from a kettle worked well as a proving oven. Turned out nice.

I keep my (now nearly 20 year old) Nikon D200 and 300mm F/4 on a lowboy chest in the kitchen, ready for whatever fauna shows up. Mr. Cardinal, being his usual show-off self. The pond froze for a preciously small period of time. Missing from these photos is the excited "roof roof roof!" noises that green sweater dog kept making. The sounds echoed off the ice and trees surrounding the pond. It was quite a scene to behold. Tune in next time for a 2006 logging camp!

The pcb's showed up and the "unfuck" mod has been applied. The grill does help tame the top end a little bit and the end result is quite good. Still some irregularities but I'm not bothered enough to spin up a couple of new plates to try and change that. Now would I recommend this mod to anyone? Yup, the Corina sounds like shit in stock form and this totally transforms it to something not quite perfect... but far superior to stock. Now would I recommend anybody actually being crazy enough to do this... no! The plastic discs are really glued in there and getting the shards of plastic out there... well it isn't pleasant work. Some blood was spilled and injuries sustained plus some nasty chemicals used. Now I'll go back to listening to them which I'd never want to do in stock form

Heart Like A Wheel by Linda Ronstadt (1974) https://album.link/xzjmctstnw69b Example: Just admiration of talent....

More Than A Feeling by Boston (1976) Because: There is a lot going on, and it was all done in the analog domain. impressive. So crank it up, and sing along like no one is watching / listening. You know you want to. Tariff Free!

Who was responsible for the partitioning of India into India and Pakistan? Mountbatten, last British Viceroy of India (the same guy blown up by the IRA in 1979). The British Government in 1947 decided to partition India into a predominantly Hindu India and a Muslim Pakistan. Mountbatten rushed it through, announcing the partition in June '47 and the partition border put in place and the new states established on 15th August '47. With as usual little thought for the consequences. That rush to partition by Mountbatten caused mass migrations and hardship, with roads packed with people heading in both directions. And like all partitioning exercises - Gaza and Israel is another example - they inevitably end in tears.

Adam "MCA" Yauch died 13 years ago today. August 8, 1964 - May 4, 2012. His is one of the few celebrity deaths I mark every year. Kurt Cobain might be the most iconic Gen X musician, but I maintain that the Beasties were the true voice of the entire generation.

So you're not pregnant?

finally. higher signal to noise ratio, more than 110db. takes signals up to 20 volts peak to peak unbalanced, 40v peak to peak balanced. no input attenuator that adds noise for those stupidly high voltage dacs. ( requires 30v power supplies) (volume control in the middle) thd about .005% no feedback. work in progress 4 layer board. preamp2025f.PDF

When Pope Francis was visiting America, he told the limo driver that he had the sudden urge to drive. The driver was a good Catholic man and would never dream of questioning the Pope’s authority. So the Pope sat at the wheel, while his driver got in the back. The Pope pulled out safely onto the road, but quickly revealed himself to be quite the adrenaline junkie when it came to driving. He was soon whipping in and out of traffic and speeding down roadways, easily doubling the speed limit. He was a wild man behind the wheel. Eventually, a policeman spotted this limo flying down the road, flipped his lights on, and pulled the limo over. Before approaching, he called his chief to warn him about a limo he'd just pulled over with a VIP inside it. Chief: Who is it, the mayor? Cop: Nope, bigger. Chief: What, the governor? Cop: Even bigger. Chief: Wait, did you pull over the President??? Cop: Nope. Bigger than that. At this, the chief ran out of patience. "Okay, I give up. Who is it?" And the cop answered, "I think it's God." "What in the world makes you think that God is riding around in a limo?" the chief exploded. To which the cop lowered his voice and replied, "Well, who else would have the Pope as His chauffeur?"

We finally got to see a local band that hadn't played local in a couple of years or so after they grew quite popular. Khruangbin...very eclectic, groovy music. Great show. Helado Negro opened. Pretty cool act I was not aware of previously. HS

This AI stuff may be worth looking into, er, for science!

After watching this: I thought I might try to make my latte look like something. I have never really cared in the past. After a two failed attempts during the week, I didn't have my foam right. Today I made a thing. Not great - but still drinkable... that's all...

Al's Sister Corrine is bringing me some easy meals, fruits, Musinex and tests. I'm guessing someone read and passed on the news. Good friends are my wealth!

I've had covid twice now. It was just a stuffy nose. As far as I know I've never had the flu. Colds are also just a stuffy nose. I never get the aches people talk about. However, whatever this is it's really kicking my ass! I feel like I've been hit by a train. I ache all over, I can hardly breath, I'm coughing and my eye sockets are sore, if that makes any sense at all. If this is what normal people go through I'm so sorry for that. I had no idea! This is going to sound completely stupid and nonsensical, but in a weird way it's making me feel closer to my Mom. She sounded like I now feel, and it just makes me empathize more. Maybe I'm just delirious. I'll get through this just fine, but I will be a bit more patient when someone is complaining about their flu symptoms.

I picked up tickets to see Los Lobos and X at the Ryman this fall. Unless I sneak to some show there before then, it'll be my first trip to the church of country music (and to see a punk band, no less)

First, I want to say many humble thanks for all of your support in the past. Our non-profit, Communities of Belonging, are so happy to be having our 4th annual Walk for Belonging as a part of the national Second Chance Month. April 26, 2025, Green Lake, Seattle... As with many non-profits, we are always struggling with funds to keep things running. And sad to say that our mission is under direct attack. Grants that have helped us in the past have been cut or eliminated. Our message of "We Believe in a World where Everyone Belongs" is not supported under the current administration. We have an opportunity to open another house, and are actively working on how we can support the trans community. We are truly trying to remove all the barriers that we can to help those that need as second chance in life. My team page and walk info on GiveButter - https://givebutter.com/WalkforBelonging2025/michaelmaddock Happy to talk about our mission and any questions you may have about our organization... Cheers and thanks, Mikey

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I haven't heard either of these cello concertos. Worth your time if you like Shostakovich.

Almost finished. A classic for a reason.

With Outkast keeping Oasis out of the RnRHOF, there really was only one choice tonight.

Tonight's Culture https://pa.marin.edu/blog/music-marin-chamber-players-forced-flee Educational, where we learned about the irony of fleeing Nazi Germany only to be later denounced to the house committee on Un-American activities because you were the wrong kind of anti-fascist. Next task to look up some movies with soundtracks by korngold

Tried a new to us local restaurant, Maison Pucha Bistro. Pleasant experience on the food and drink. For anyone in H-town, I would recommend the escargot, beef empanadas, the bouillabaisse and the lamb osso buco. I asked them to make a rye sidecar and they did a great job...not overly sweet. HS

Message from the male offspring, with accompanying Spotify link. "I feel like this today. A bit lost, but resolute, and ultimately optimistic."

Loving this song always makes me wonder if I'm gayer than I'm aware of? @swt61 may have to rule on this.

Pro: open-top motoring in Napa Valley is amazing. Con: Driving yourself means you have to spit at tastings.

Bananarama - A Trick of the Night Fun Boy Three - The Lunatics (Have Taken Over the Asylum)

This was the first Warren Zevon song I ever heard. In some mate's dorm room in the late '80s -- hardly his best or most productive period. But I remember thinking: "Huh, I should see what else this dude's done." Which was a very good idea.

Also once more…

Hi first post in a while, I do highly recommend the OKTO Dac 8 stereo. It's a bit nerdy but sounds way better than the asking price and has held off my GAS for a new dac for nearly 2 years. Downsides, balanced output only and firmware upgrades via windows only (I believe). Bought it new with the ropee card installed for Roon output. I occasionally think about an upgraded endpoint but the consensus is the installed card is just as good as the usual $2k endpoint suspects

Kate Liu, Piano (2025) https://album.link/es/i/1791052895 It's her formal solo album debut. A friend put the focus on her for her playing in some competitions and recitals. Some available on YouTube. I've liked it a lot.

Pavement’s Spit On A Stranger EP ex.