Leaderboard

Tonight I watched northern lights dancing over the lake

RIP wallet. Ended up buying a Cannondale Synapse. I had about 7-8 people who helped advise on this (thanks, Brent, Al, Nate) and at the end of the day I decided to give an endurance road bike a try. There is so much good content on YouTube as well. I really liked the GCN videos to get me up to speed on everything. The single most important factor in my choice ended up being doing the demo weekend on the Specialized Diverge. I learned: I want something that feels faster than Diverge did on road I wanted a nicer group set than whatever came on the Diverge Carbon Comp I don’t particularly enjoy riding on dirt roads (at least so far) 54 was probably the right size to get for me That I wanted carbon That I didn’t like a 1x That I didn’t want suspension Putting all that feedback together, I focused in on endurance road bikes. A bike that is not the fastest but easy to control and comfortable for long distances on road sounded like just the ticket. The Synapse seems to be a well loved bike throughout the years and now comes with a slick tech integration where the shifting, light and radar all run off a single battery. I had no light and radar to bring to the table so getting them as part of the package seemed like a good idea. People hated the v1 of the tech stuff but they just refreshed with a v2 setup that seems quite a bit better thought out. The massive down tube storage also means I can fit all the tools in there and don’t need a saddle bag. I struggled with the e-bike vs. regular bike debate. I really wanted to demo a fancier e-bike for the weekend but after calling around for hours the only e-bikes available to demo were either eMTB or motorized beach cruisers. Neither would be a good test. A co-worker also said this, which has stuck with me: “If you are buying a bike for fitness, why the heck would you buy an e-bike.” Yes, that besmirches what modern e-road bikes are, but they also are not entirely wrong. I will be giving up a lot of rides until my fitness level improves, but that was a trade off I was comfortable making. I think if I still lived in Marin it would have been e-bike all the way, but climbing is optional in the Sacramento River Valley. I’m super excited to go out and log some miles! Already failed to clip out at a stop and “pulled a Brent,” so we at least have that out of the way. The shop helped me relax the pedal tensioner so now it is a little more forgiving. Finally, celebrated the first ride with an appropriate cake. 😉

Took a walk. Found falling water.

Decided to push hard today. Got stuck in a little traffic but was still relatively speedy.

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

Casing installed. Next weekend will be the doors.

...and look at those vacuum triangles. carpet porn... am I right?

Peter Weller talks coffee: Also, he wrote his first book on a book on Italian painting from before 1435: https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/leon-battista-alberti-in-exile/CA506C81F7296D3DB63B1EDC7A136E9E

Wet Leg - Moisturizer ex. a little more

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

New Chameleons, Arctic Moon. Some similarity to their older work, but much is new and different. Lyrically I love it, and the music fits each song. Lead singer Vox (used to be Mark Burgess) puts some soul and emotion into the words, representing relationships, new-found love but also the scary nature of the modern world (last song for example is called Saviors Are A Dangerous Thing). But it's certainly an acquired taste. I'm loving it so far.....

James McMurtry and BettySoo 9/11/25 Bijou Theatre, Knoxville https://archive.org/details/betty-soo-20250911 https://archive.org/details/jamesmcmurtry20250911

I've been craving familiar music lately.

And I like that I could hide my Judy Garland, Babs and Patty LuPone albums in those acoustic ceiling panels!

But in all fairness this could have been much worse. A totally freak accident. I was running stock through the saw when all of a sudden the toe of my shoe got caught up in the expansion joint of the concrete floor and caused me to trip forward, pushing my thumb straight into the blade. I probably couldn't cause that to happen again if I tried. But $100 or whatever a cartridge costs is totally worth it. I've been here before. No Dr. visit today, just a Band-Aid. It's a little deeper than it looks, and it bled a lot before cleaning it up, but I'm very happy to have a thumb.

Because I am impatient, I installed the iOS/ipad release candidates. After spending a day with them, I think two things: 1) Apple’s decision to re-write the entire design language is going to make this their most polarizing in a long time, 2) I think they nailed it. I was hesitant, but after a day I can't see ever wanting to go back.

What a jam - Video quality not the best, but sound quality is good. And three percussionists is what we all need. Highlight is also the keyboard player.

Thank you guys. Always much appreciated. Dang, I'm "getting" old 😜

Update: I misremembered a digit. It's 320W vs 240W, and 33% more power. The rest stays the same. Fucking pup (8-9 months?) fucking ate one of my 30$ Silca socks recently. I was NOT amused.

I enjoy thinking about different ways to accomplish the often-overlapping electromechanical goals of audio devices. Every few years I get to considering electrostatic headphone connectors, and every time I end up finding the same collection of vintage part numbers, shared experiences, and a few useful drawings that can be put together to probably lead to a functional socket or plug, if you want to make one yourself. I appreciate and have used that information, and now I'd like to consolidate it and create some actual specifications to help anyone trying to make a plug or socket. The most useful thing to start with would be plug specs. Pin diameter, length, pin circle diameter, and housing outer diameter, in case you want to make a recessed socket. Here's a drawing of a plug I got from Dan Clark (I can't guarantee that it's the same as his current production plugs) and a plug from the Hifiman Jade II. If it would be useful I could make a complete model of both plugs and share the STEP files. Next week I'll be able to add the dimensions for the Audeze CRBN2. Eventually I should be able to measure some Stax plugs. Found partial catalogs for Cooper and Amphenol 78-S6S socket and 86-71-6S/91MPM-6S plugs, but neither specified pin diameter. Standard pin diameter seems to be .093" or .094" (2.36-2.38mm), the same size as a 3-pin XLR contact or an octal tube socket pin, or a Size 12 circular connector contact. There is a standard housing layout for #12 contacts that matches the position of a 6-pin Stax plug, arrangement 16-6 or 17-6, but I haven't been able to find any documentation of the pin circle diameter. Neutrik also makes a crimp socket contact, HA-3FXX. The threaded socket most commonly used for electrostatic jacks and tube sockets (like this, or these) is good and conceptually simpler to design a housing for, but I would love to find a design guide or get some advice on the right way to make a hole for circular connector contacts or that Neutrik contact. They're probably not easy cavities to machine from a single piece of material, but 3D printing is useful, and I saw some mil-spec circular connectors that appeared to use stacked layers. Standard pin circle diameter is . . . something between the .406" (10.31mm) in the Cooper catalog and the .435" (11.05mm) of Kevin Gilmore's socket drawing. The Hifiman plug was closer to the Cooper at ~10.5mm. The Dan Clark plug seemed to match up perfectly with the KG drawing. My estimate of this Viborg socket from their drawing puts it closer to 11mm. If anyone has any dimensions to share I'd be happy to add them to a single reference PDF. Any other useful application information about connectors would be good to include as well, if anyone has had experiences with pins being too long or too short, or pin-to-pin clearance standards, or other things. Cable-related information would also be valuable. EstatPlugDimensions.pdf

Oh, and disregard the customized "nose picker" finger tip in pic #1. It's my only imperfection, so I like to show it off so you know that I'm still human.

Mmm...shoegazey...

Room porn, really.

Just a quick hello to everyone as I just finished setting up an account FINALLY. No newbie, over 35 years in retail audio. My ID I have used for years. Best Regards to everyone ESL-1

Damn Steve... Well 100 dollars for a thumb is pretty good deal if you ask me.

A last taste of England. "I'm sorry we're out of clotted cream" England, eh.

Earlier: @ https://www.murielskitchen.co.uk/ Later: @ https://www.4fratellicaprini.co.uk/

Yep, I’ve noticed output and filament boards match up to each other. Here is how it looks like on my screen, all output tubes side by side. Size 24 in x 12 in – huge. Question regarding jumbo socket – what socket do you have in mind? This from a French company might fit.?

Mission Accomplished

Fish N Chips Mini triple chocolate brownie Because what's better than being in a cozy pub, When it's raining outside.

Charlie Kirk officially dead. Dude was an inauthentic, dark money backed grifter. For years we made jokes about an entire generation being unsure of the exact size of his face. There's even a web widget based around it. He certainly did not deserve to be shot and killed. As for the rest of us, this bodes poorly for the future of our political landscape.

^^ I could not make it through a song. cued to the Mosh Pit and Desk Dive... seminal Tiny Desk moment. ... the entire set is fun...

Using all the oscillators.

IMO this is right up there with Lee Hazlewood/Nancy Sinatra's "Some Velvet Morning" and "Summer Wine" and Nick Cave/Kylie Minogue's "Where the Wild Roses Grow". Hearing her sing her part ultra high over his almost-talking drawl is the perfect representation of the siren call.

With the passage of Rick Davies, I am reminded of one of my favorite mashups of all time. Mashups are invariably novelty tracks, and many (most) of them try too hard and don't really gel properly. Once a great while, one comes along where the whole is is greater than the sum of its parts (like a really good remix.) In 2006, the artist Arty Fufkin combined Gnarls Barkley, Supertramp and Rockwell. It's been in my record back in one form ever since.

Omar El Akkad's One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This. 'On October 25, 2023, after just three weeks of the bombardment of Gaza, Omar El Akkad put out a tweet: "One day, when it's safe, when there's no personal downside to calling a thing what it is, when it's too late to hold anyone accountable, everyone will have always been against this."' I don't know how the recent-ish three short, but very different, including author's backgrounds, Ta-Nehisi Coates', Peter Beinart's and now (in my reading order) Omar El Akkad's books are/will be taken, but this one hit hardest for me. Part of that may be being a parent/view towards the future. All certainly worth a read. May hit Finkelstein's next.

Today I installed the door jambs that I milled up, for the bathroom the Al and I built the vanity and doors for. Unfortunately the GC didn't listen to me, and built the door opening smaller than requested. It was already the size we wanted, but for some odd reason he filled in the opening a bit. Not the end of the world. I had already discovered this before building the jamb. However the finished doors will now have to be cut down. As I'm picky about symmetry, I'll need to take a little off of each side. It's not a lot. Maybe 3/16" to 1/4" on all sides. The height also needs a bit off, but we anticipated this. I'll only need to remove some at the top, as the bottom rails are taller, which looks better IMO. I don't want to install the casing or doors until the GC builds out the closet system. He's expressed to me that he'll be very careful, but why make it more difficult for him and nerve wracking for me?

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.

Dea Matrona at Royal Albert Hall:

Nothing looked bad... the iPhone Air looks questionable, but I can foresee influencers showing them off in a few weeks. Apple has moved into making their own wireless network and modem chips, the N1 for Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and Thread and the C1X for 5G cellular. I liked the sound of better battery life in the iPhone 17 and the AirPods Pro 3 will be hot sellers. I found the endless health surveillance and monitoring from the Apple Watches a bit dystopian. The iPhone 16e seems to be a sales success due to its low price, so they'll inevitably release an update to that in a while.

I forgot about the Apple event today, but the camera changes, including combined cameras and square front facing sensor, are interesting moves. Also liquid cooling. Plus if you thought iPhones were too fat...

Meticulously played, thanks for the rec.!

😁 This Is d-_-b !!!

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.

Co-Worker mentioned that he'd heard that a hipster he had knowledge of, was having a playlist "burnt" to vinyl. Because. Turns out, it is a thing. https://www.onecutvinyl.com/ http://www.vinyl-pressing.com/ http://www.customrecords.com/ Edit: even if this failed: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/minyl-project#/story