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With temps in the high 50s and storms rolling through after mile 30 we decided that bit over 70 miles was the smart play. Despite 2-1/2hrs in heavy rain still was a great event for an even better cause.

Pre-fiber: Post-fiber: Eat your fiber boys....

Time for a necro bump but this arrived a couple of weeks ago: Naturally I bought them used as I always wanted to try these and well... they are some of the worst headphones ever made. Seriously... this is so fucking bad it isn't even funny. Now they barely fit my head so that might be a factor but they are somehow very peaky and dull sounding at the same time. Open baffle and all that but the sound is just all over the place. I'm sure these would benefit greatly from an adjustable arc setup and some earpads to close them up. Maybe something like the PMB units, an L-shaped pads at the back of the ears. At the same time I got these, I refurbished what might be the most disgusting SR-Sigma I've ever seen (though the drivers were fine), and they are much better in ever way. Super soundstage, nice extension at both ends of the spectrum and they just sound lovely off a SRM-313. Now I naturally had to rip the Transdyn box apart and well... It doesn't start well, this is the power switch. Yeah... one trace of something conductive and all hell would break loose. Bia Bias supply and why they have it half populated for 230V and then add more parts for 115V is beyond me. Just throw a transformer on it (also for safety). Speaking of which... Gotta love it seeing this trash in there. Rifa caps known for going bad and blowing up right on the mains. This set is fitted with a motorized RK27 but I didn't get a remote control with it. The sensor underneath the front panel. This is actual Transdyn module and I can't say it made much of a difference to me. Another angle. The actual power amp driving the transformer: Not sure what Icepower model that is, haven't looked into it yet. This is certainly a way of doing this... It's hard to tell but no insulation on the mains wiring here either. I don't know what to think about this setup but it does work but looks very silly indeed. I'm tempted to design something long the lines of a 4070 arc setup which would carry the weight and be adjustable as this is not comfy for me. The space between the arcs just isn't wide enough for me. This cable is super thin, roughly 5mm in diameter and to think of the voltage in there... I hope it is made out of something very insulated. Genuine Fischer plugs though these are not the special HV ones used on the HE90 Just normal pins and 12mm across so a S104 plug if I remember correctly.

New solid state CCS for Megatron. Now with a third pin for ground. The pins are made from 2.5 mm brass rod, which is almost 0.10 mm thicker than tube pins. PCB is a CNC milled one side 1.5 mm copper clad. So, no copper on top side of PCB. Holes for the three pins are 1.0 mm deep and you have 0.5 mm epoxy laminates left. Transistor pins are protected with heat shrink tube and the exposed metal tab is protected with a 3D printed cover. The screw holding transistor to heat sink is electrical connected to it and to the ground pin. The white base with guide pin is made of three 3D printed parts.

I kept meaning to say, Ms. Chloe could give Grumpy Cat a run for the money 😊 Still sounds like a sweetheart though! For me, some good things happened and coming up: Andrew & Amy moved in fully, and have started working with the designer that Karen and I worked with for our bathrooms. Lots of good ideas coming out, and everyone (myself included) is excited to see what comes from this Went out last night with some family to celebrate my mom's 86th BDay. Was a nice time, not everyone could come but the smaller group made it very nice. She had a wonderful time, until I was on my way home and she calls me all frustrated about her TV having issues (I am Tech Support). I told her she needs to chill - I can ONLY say that to my mom 🤣 - and walked her through a shut-off and turn-on of power to reboot cable box, modem, etc. Worked for the night at least, we'll see if it gives more trouble. In a couple weeks, we celebrate my dad's 90th! He has a tough time getting around physically, and has hearing issues. But mentally he is there, and he enjoys (for short enough duration) the company of family. Work situation will get a bit better. Had a chat with our new CIO and she seems great. We were so in synch with a lot of things it was scary....but good. I also heard they will open the REQ to hire another role like mine, very much needed. Short-term will fill in with another off-shore developer; but we need the Business Analysis piece as well

(Wednesday) helped my son and GF move into their new condo (movers did the heaviest stuff). They're working with the same designer who helped Karen and me with our bathroom remodels. Very nice, and she sent me a wonderful note about Andrew. Made a parent's heart swell, it did!

Became reacquainted with an old friend.

I don't know why it took me so long to realize this but it occurred to me as I started to write this that I've been fundraising through rides like this every year that Andrew's been alive. That makes me both proud and feel rather old. So without further adieu it's that time of year once again where I call upon the incredible generosity and support of this community to help me raise money for the Kelly Brush Foundation. Nate's Donation Page This year is no different than years past, well other than the fact that I'm even later starting fundraising than normal and the ride is earlier than usual. So in just under three weeks I'll head north west into the great wilderness, I mean Middlebury, VT, to join 800 or so riders for the event along with the usual crew of 8 friends. My friend Paul is finally returning from a three-year absence spent overseas so we'll finally get the whole group back together that started participating in events nearly 20 years ago and we've added some over the last few. For me this is the 14th year of active participation after a few early years of serving as an event photographer. Anyway, this year KBF is hoping to raise $1.3M to support individuals with spinal chord injuries to regain an active lifestyle which means I need to get my ass in gear and do my part. This organization and cause remains something near and dear to me as someone who takes the simple ability to get outdoors and do whatever I like, when I like, somewhat for granted. But each year, participating in this event helps refocus and recenter my appreciation for those that chose to not be limited by life-altering injuries, illness, etc. The foundation helps people discover adaptive sports and recreation, hosts camps to immerse people in sports and community, and most importantly, provides hundreds of grants per year to people that just want to return to the activities they love. So as you are able I'd very much appreciate your support. I know I owe a lot of you promised trinkets and favors from year's gone by and I'm going to make good on that this year. So if you would, when you donate, shoot me a PM with your mailing address and I'll get something headed your way that's long overdue. Oh and in somewhat entertaining news (to me anyway) I raised the first ~$400 or so by putting the laser to good use. I made a batch of custom stem caps for a cycling group that I belong to and had folks donate to the fundraiser instead of paying me anything. So my communist roots continue to run deep. That'll probably get me deported one of these days. Thanks in advance, Nate

Tomorrow is the day. Weather isn't looking great but we'll get it done regardless. Thanks again for all the support. #NFLO

Got to see a jazz orchestra play at a house party (the house of the drummer; when did drummers get houses and not cardboard boxes to live in? And there was this bonkers 50ft radius tree swing he built for his kids (and it's *totally* not a sex swing, I hear). It's pretty bonkers. Was hit up about this just hours before it started; such a neat thing to stumble across. I knew 2.5ish people b4 I went there and came out probably having expanded the musician friend group in the area a bit. My kind of people (band nerds.) Such a good time.

Increasingly speciality releases are probably where Blurays are headed. Especially ones with sand. https://viavision.com.au/shop/dune-1984-limited-edition-sandbox-4k-uhd-3-disc-blu-ray-imprint-collection-426/?srsltid=AfmBOoqKuPw9nvK8XEuyf92EvTV1yyFFEKfXZ_M_OAP-yIg4vJ2Y7Zaf# https://diabolikdvd.com/product/dune-limited-sandbox-edition-imprint-4k-uhd-blu-ray-all-region-preorder/

Simple morning bake, wheat and oat flour. {just needed some bread}

One of my young coworkers has had a very hard time of late. His Father just quit as a parent and moved back to Ireland, where he's originally from. His son Arlo just graduated high school. He's a phenomenal worker, especially for one so young. He's just the kind of young man that's always positive and always very well mannered. We bonded over fishing at first. He loves my stories of commercial fishing in the Bering Sea. More recently he was told about my woodworking. He's seen several pictures and is fascinated and is wanting to learn. His former principal is Al and Claire's Sister in law, which Al and I have done many projects for. If you want to befriend me, showing an interest in woodworking is a surefire way to be successful. Almost a year ago, I made my own macaroni recipe and took it in for the Saturday crew. When Arlo took his first bite he had the biggest grin on his face. He has hinted several times that more macaroni would be appreciated. I've made it 5 or 6 times now. I think he may actually like it more than myself even. A few months back his Sister started working for Fairfax Lumber too. She's in the Nursery. She's as well mannered and as pleasant as her Brother, and adorable too. About a week ago Arlo asked if he could sit with me at lunch and get some advice. That's when he told me that his Father abandoned the family. I'm a good talker. I can talk your ear off. But this time I just listened. He just needed to vent, so that's what I let him do. I did give some advice, but mainly I just let him talk and let him express his anger. Something I've never seen out of him. There's not much I can actually do to ease his pain or make the situation better. He's going to go through several stages of grief and anger. ATM he's focusing on helping his Mother. She's shocked and in a financial crisis. He's working full time and taking fire fighter training (His dream for many years). So he's overwhelmed, but still focusing on helping Mom. He said she's been working all of the overtime she can get. So, one small thing that I could do was save her a night of cooking, and make Arlo's favorite meal. I told his Mom that I'd be cooking and delivering Saturday dinner. I made a giant batch of Macaroni, enough salad ingredients to last a week, two loafs of fresh baguette and a giant apple/berry pie from Costco. And topped it off with enough disposable dishes and lids to freeze/refrigerate all of the leftovers. He didn't know anything about it, but was very surprised when I dropped it all off. His ear to ear grin was worth any laborious prepping tasks. I've had several texts from Mom, Arlo and Sister Nina. Very sweet family and I'm feeling like I did a good deed. The pic is not the macaroni I took them, it's the leftover ingredients that I cooked up today. Lunches for the future.

Got the latest COVID (Pfizer, August release) booster, as well as Flu Shot this weekend. Fuck RFK jr. and his satanic minions! They recommended shingles and RSV shots too; I may go for RSV, but my doc still thinks I could defer shingles. Will talk with her in Sept at my appointment, so that may change as well.

Love you guys. Put in some decently hard work this week. 46 mile gravel loop Sunday around the seacoast, a few runs, and the back/forth commute today add up to over a 100 mile week and it's only Thursday. I'm a little over half way to my fund raising goal. Onward. Upward.

E-bike is gonna be it for me. Who am I kidding? I’m like the bare minimum of cardio fitness to do these rides and these are the easiest 25 miles will ever be because flat farm roads. I did 50+ miles on the Diverge and I feel confident this is the right choice. I will say, I am not sure people are on about with these 1x front chain rings. Nice to have a bunch of climbing gears but I never felt like I had exactly the gear I wanted for the public roads. I'm certainly fit enough to ride a road bike around on these farm roads but I get the feel that if I go back to Marin the constant up-and-down will end me. Going faster than my power output would otherwise allow also has some appeal.

After the air disaster article linked in the reading thread where Rear Admiral Moffett doesn’t exactly come off well, decided to return today with Esmé to the Moffett Field Museum that’s five minutes from our house. Of course the museum is about the place, not the man the place is named after, and the emphasis is on the USS Macon, once docked here, not its sister ship the USS Akron, where Moffett and nearly the entire crew perished (twice those of Hindenburg), all in the pursuit of military rigid airship supremacy (20/20 of course on what was accomplished there), but sometimes strange how heroes are selected. Bonus: Tom Cruises. Still a great, volunteer-led tiny museum

Haboob arrived (in plastic wrap)! 🙃

Someone noticed the d-_-b airplane 🤣

OK, I am convinced! Thanks for the input all!

Anniversary dinner at Barbacana in Houston. Our first time and we were very impressed with the service, food and drink. Wagyu carpaccio, a vegetarian dish that was a riff on ramen, pork collar and a few desserts. The Korn, which was sweet and savory was a culinary gem IMHO (brittle on top one). HS

In the past few months, I haven’t been idle. Besides finishing a T2 Mini, I also continued to refine the GG chassis design. Through these experiences learning 3D design, I decided to completely re-draw the CAD files and hand them to a professional factory for prototyping (yes, I don’t believe a hobbyist garage CNC can really handle this job☹️). Below are some photos of the sample unit. This time the chassis is fully CNC-machined, which is why you can see the extremely thick panels and the more complex geometric structures compared to earlier versions. The side heatsinks are not separate parts. They are directly CNC machined into the chassis walls. At the same time, the bottom cover is split into two independent left and right plates, each with a grid-style cutout design. You can remove only one side of the bottom cover to do testing or adjustments without disturbing the entire chassis. The grid pattern reduces weight while maintaining mechanical strength, and it also improves ventilation inside the chassis. More updates will follow soon.

Flux by Alison Goldfrapp (2025) https://album.link/smrhsjppkm4kz Example: Much needed goodness...

^^^ I bet the one with Spice instead of sand is outrageously expensive! 😄

{not meant as an attack}

Honestly, "roaming a luxury hotel drunk and naked" is quite far up my list of life goals.

This is what I would call - While My Guitar Gently Weeps.

because reasons. Crime Of The Century [2014 - HD Remaster] by Supertramp (1974) https://album.link/k0vjggjmxnb39 Example: RIP... you tramp...

A couple of pies for dinner with friends from across the street. One with Mexican chorizo, red onion, corn and jalapeño, over cheddar, mozzarella and topped with grated cotija, which was the clear winner. The other with pepperoni, shaved fennel, mushrooms, and fresh basil grown by the neighbors over mozzarella, which was tasty but more basic. Working with a shitty oven and a pizza stone instead of a pizza steel was a handicap, but it worked out fine.

In the parlance of our times ZoomerSpeak, bro's speaker-to-everything-else ratio tho.

Went to the San Jose Lowrider Day downtown today. Quick visit, but some snaps from Hassy 907x 50c with XCD 45p (4x3) and Nikon Df with CV 40mm f/2 (3x2). Funny enough I liked more Nikon shots.

For some reason I cannot stop laughing at this......

It is supposed to last about 10 years with very little drop-off in efficacy during that time. I already have my calendar marked.

Be a defensive rider. Saved my ass the other day (quite literally) as I watched someone approach the main road from the side, look, see no cars, and promptly pull out in front of me. If I hadn't been already preparing to brake hard and avoid the collision it likely would have ended poorly for me the bike t-boning into the side of the otherwise immoveable car. Cranked out some relatively hard miles yesterday in one of the last major efforts of training before the century in less than two weeks. The tailwind for the first 17 miles was nice. The punch in the face for the last 12 miles, not so much. But all around a nice ride.

Followed up the "facon" with some real "pancetta"/pork belly Not shown various other cooked meats that were very good. We will need to back and work through the menu. Nice al fresco location.

Made in Japan (Steven Wilson Remix) by Deep Purple (1972/2025) https://album.link/0b4crwz0vbhdt Thanks to Steven for making this album come 'alive'. And it is worthy of the remix. Rock on.

Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway by Roberta Flack (1972) https://album.link/ksm7qv8qvcfv0 Example: Holy poop!! What a great album.

I've posted this artist before, very smooth voice and nice writing....just an easy and joyful listen.

It's 2006 ...

Necro bump. headphones carry CD player, remote and jewel case above user’s head for on-the-go music

More cat, sitting, cat-sitting.

Cat-sitting dessert.

This is peak Gen Z humor, I assure you.

Thank you, Alien Earth, for reminding me to listen to this again.

So Bob Dylan was your headmaster? 😳

Final batch. This isn't all of them, but it's beyond my ability to xref which ones I've posted before at this point. If you really require more roverhub, check this tag. Gratuitous bork: Probably my favorite photo of the day. I did a bunch of interior shots, a number of which were marred by the damn lens hood being askew, and others flawed with lighting issues. This one actually nails it. No one mentions "bokeh" when talking about Canon EF 14-40mm F/4 superwide zoom, but the fact of the matter is that it handles OOF highlights very well.