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3rd show (out of 4) in 8 days.... Neko Case, awesome show and lots of her great and funny chats. One of my favorites: for "I Wish I Was The Moon" she mentioned it was used in a "Vampire Fuck Scene" (it was the title for, and featured in the soundtrack of, an episode of the TV series True Blood). No videos, they and pics were forbidden. I did notice others sneaking photos, so I grabbed a couple. She is such a great show; great music, friendly and fun chat. 3rd time seeing her, once was with kd Lang and Laura Veirs. THAT was incredible! Kudo's to the merchandise manager; she instantly recognized and complimented my Residents T-Shirt from the other day....got a Neko T-Shirt and a signed early CD copy.

Finished Setup: 4 PSUs on GaN transistors 27.5V, bias 180mA. Sound impression: completely reference, lively and interesting, full control of my headphones HifiMan HE-6. For my ears better then DynaMight. Thanks to all who helped with configuration.

There are long standing threads for speaker and amplifier porn on HC. Thus far, sources have been neglected. It's true, speakers and amps are in general better looking units than most sources but there are certainly some good looking ones out there. Let's start with a mid 80s Revox CDP that is a bit of a legend amongst collectors: The Revox B225. It's overbuilt like a MFer, which is good as it's also prone to failure and in need of extensive servicing. I just watched a really good YouTube video on repairing one while I was editing a whole stack of photos. TL;DW: A whole pile of Swiss engineering, dirty electrical contacts and a new motor. There were some variants with balanced out and at least one meant for professional use: Love those green lights.

I had some leftover pork chop and a small amount of new potatoes (1.5 small potatoes to be exact) and I wanted to make pizza with it. I caramelized onions, made an olive oil, garlic and shallot spread for the sauce and added mozzarella and Hungarian goatherd peppers. Came out great.

Not to many of these being built anymore, I built this from Mjorin kit, parts are getting difficult to find. Works and sounds great . Bill

Success.

Not today, but yesterday, played in a work golf event and used the laser to make some fun accessories.

Gratuitous Quad post.

The Hitachi DA-1000 (and associated clones) is one of the earliest and most prized CD players. It's method of loading the CD can't accurately be described as unusual (at the time there was no defined normal) but it's certainly a striking one. Working examples change hands for a tidy sum. Even nonfunctional units are near to look at. European market clone of the Hitatchi. The fragile but very interesting looking CD loading mechanism. When was the last time you saw a CDP with an output meter?

Modern tech with vintage looks, Ruark R710 all in one system, basically, hook up a pair of speakers and you have everything. Heard it at an audio show a couple weeks ago and was surprised that an under $10k setup was one of the top 5 rooms at the show, it embarrassed the shit out of many mega-buck systems. Yes, it also plays CDs. If I had room for speakers, I'd be totally happy with this setup.

Saw Suzanne Vega Saturday night. Can't believe it took me this long to see her (I, like many, became a fan with the Solitude Standing album which contains Luka, Tom's Diner, etc.). Great voice, and she was a great chatter and storyteller as well! Loved her intro to Flying With Angels, and then her explanation of what it means to her hit a big chord. I had more than one of those "angel" moments taking care of Karen. Links to videos https://drive.google.com/file/d/1pbVJOr7oRrMu3qFmzp_BR2ClAard30ou/view?usp=sharing - Luka https://drive.google.com/file/d/1yoDLhsgfoNn9umTOkQ3h7JGVvBIizeM9/view?usp=sharing - Flying With Angels

Grahame outdid himself making all of these delicious curries and two more salads/sides from scratch, although he only sliced the banana. As you can see, defending the universe requires a lot of sustenance. Thanks again Grahame and Joanne for hosting us at your wonderful new home!

There may have been Curries and fixin's to help defend the universe and sustain excessive woodworking. There may also have been exquisitely crafted Apple Tart And fixin's But I couldn't possibly comment.

I've been really enjoying this YouTube channel, Caffinated 80's, a mix of old remixes and home-made mixes. They did a Naked Eyes tribute when Pete passed away; they did an Alison Moyet tribute recently (I had to check whether or not she passed away -- she didn't, so probably just a loving tribute), and have several Alan Parsons remixes. Not Stereotomy, though.

I've been going down the rathole of Photo Editing request sites.....love this example, where a guy floating with his partner asks to "put them in a little danger" at the editors' discretion. Loved some of the results! Original and the edits:

And, last of the 4 shows in 8 days....Sylvan Esso. Enjoyed more than I thought I would. They did my 2 favorite songs, but lead singer Amelia was the star of the show. Wearing thick-soled work boots, she was like a dervish, dancing around the stage while she sang. I love her voice as well....and their new album is very good. Some pics and video links https://drive.google.com/file/d/145-UV8EeWGb_UDApL1DI9N4oOrMdkxKJ/view?usp=sharing - Coffee https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rwGPjn7vuYHkqepchUe2EQSYOap2-bSR/view?usp=sharing - Hot Slob https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JzHsg907_1xcCKhifkbtau0SLrTKTVS4/view?usp=sharing - Dancing around https://drive.google.com/file/d/1TNJ0d7rRJOExUFcRT7jJpaILZLYj79qr/view?usp=sharing - Softer song

My kind of DJ setup.

I don't think we should be sad - she had a life well-lived, and acted in podcast works well into her 90's.

Occasionally, I'll listen to the big ones. I like to space them out to keep them somewhat fresh. SACD

Alan Parsons Project - in case anyone is wondering, the 2007 CD remasters sound fine to me. They might be a bit louder than the original CD pressings, but I don't hear any distortion or clipping. I got I Robot and Eye in the Sky (contemplating getting Pyramid, Eve, and The Turn of a Friendly Card as well).

Nice, Adam! Me - not going to get any biking in this weekend due to rain but did manage to get out twice last weekend, including a favorite out-and-back to the coast. PBaseIMG_1285.jpeg by Nathan Maher

Saw a Big Pussy large feline on the hill behind us this morning. That is a Bobcat. https://wildlife.ca.gov/Conservation/Mammals/Bobcat Size & Weight: Typically weigh between 15 and 57 pounds, running roughly two to three times the size of a large house cat. Hence large feline.

I wasn't aware of Yu-Mex* (Yugoslav-Mexican) until today. *In the immediate post-war period, Yugoslavia did not have much of a film industry and the majority of films were imported from the Soviet Union. Following the Tito–Stalin split of 1948, Soviet films were no longer shown in the country. At the same time, due to ideological differences, Yugoslav president Josip Broz Tito did not want his country to import American films. As a result, he turned to importing Mexican films. The fact that many Mexican films of the "Golden Age" glorified the Mexican Revolution and depicted ordinary Mexicans rising up against the oppressive Mexican state made Mexican films "revolutionary" enough to be shown in Yugoslavia. It was common for many young Yugoslavs to imitate the styles of Mexican film stars, who were seen as embodying everything that was "cool". Because many of the films shown in Yugoslavia in the 1950s–1960s were Mexican, everything Mexican became very popular in Yugoslavia and many musicians started to don sombreros to perform Mexican music, either singing in Serbo-Croatian or in the original Spanish. Doc on it...

So back when I built the Colossus I thought it sounded pretty good. But amazingly it wasn't all the Pete Riggle add ons, or even the SUT or preamp (DIY Pass Pearl) that made the largest improvement. The largest improvement was not long after I moved to Fairfax and built a heavy duty TT stand. Beefy Maple 4x4 legs, thick shelves and deep dato joinery really made a huge difference, especially in the bottom end. And I know bottom end!

Last lowrider show of the season, this time Día de los Muertos themed. Went with one camera, one lens/focal length, one aperture - Leica SL2-S, Zeiss Otus APO 28mm, f/1.4.

So, I came across a program that was talking about the album releases in October 1969. And it was a monster month. So I started listening to them for fun. I had not heard Free's second Album Free - So: Free by Free (October 1969) https://open.qobuz.com/album/0060254705385 Example: It was very good. - Like Zeppelin good. So: Led Zeppelin II by Led Zeppelin (October 1969) https://open.qobuz.com/album/0603497920099 Example: So - do I think Free is a better band than Zep? No. But I do actually prefer the Free Album to Zep II. Zep has huge highlights, like example, but the Free album is very nice to listen to. Anyway King Crimson trumps the entire month regardless.

SACD Been listening to mostly plastic lately.

Go sports ball.

😔

Everything But The Girl - Young and Dumb (single from their new album coming in February)

Shouldn't this be in the baking thread? Well technically both. I tried an experiment. A pretty standard sourdough mix at 78% hydration. Formed yesterday, sat overnight in fridge. Baked this morning on pellet grill. I use a cast iron dutch oven/combo cooker. I heated the grill to 500 with the cast iron. loaded and scored the bread lowering the temp to 450. I took it out of the cooker and baked in the grill at 350 for an additional 30 minutes. The oven spring wasn't great but good enough, And I probably could have baked it a little longer. But there is a decidedly Smoky flavor to the entire crust. I'm not sure if I would want it all the time but it's pretty darn yummy.

Minor story: likely my first trip to Sundance we ate at a Mexican restaurant in Park City next to an actor we recognized, but couldn't name. Eventually we figured out it was Tom, and in fact we discovered tomskerrittishot.com that day, though now long gone.

I looked up Stereotomy - it got negative reviews and sold badly when it was released, but I think this song shows there were still good parts in that album. AllMusic says Eye in the Sky is Alan Parsons Project's only pure pop album, and I've had my eye on the Mobile Fidelity SACD edition of the album for years. Somebody uploaded the Mo-Fi I Robot - with YouTube compression, your mileage may vary: Also forgotten (from Gaudi in 1987): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggijVDI6h_0

Henryk Górecki: Symphony No. 3 (Symphony Of Sorrowful Songs)Music on TIDALBeth Gibbons, The Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestr...Listen to Henryk Górecki: Symphony No. 3 (Symphony Of Sorrowful Songs) on TIDAL in exceptional sound quality, or on your choice of serviceYes, that Beth Gibbons (ex-Portishead)

The Residents - a wish to see them since the late 70's/early 80's when my HS friend and his brothers had almost the entire Ralph Records catalog. Very cool, and a fair bit eccentric! Opening up was a freaky but cool performer called Rushadicus. An avant-garde industrial cellist who sings in some nonsense vocals (kind of like the Residents sometimes). Also very athletic (carrying around the cello, climbing the rafters, etc.) and talented. Some Google Drive links of the videos I took: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ZgFWmGVII02s79YQLkqLrhTejyUjfb6Y/view?usp=sharing - Rushadicus first song https://drive.google.com/file/d/17UhZY7JwLK3VvXqPgHdk6_V7QmB6q-Vz/view?usp=sharing - Rushadicus playing from rafters https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jlsPiSFNEq54OrV1f0C9KG8WG0_64-Gi/view?usp=sharing - Rushadicus playing two instruments at once https://drive.google.com/file/d/16rM4zhiGuqt-Uaio07w3B7PCdfAxjsQA/view?usp=sharing - Walrus Hunt https://drive.google.com/file/d/1QgFE149_QZ43VzFEG4299glIfQoZ_Qnd/view?usp=sharing - Mole Men https://drive.google.com/file/d/1i9bZdPogj__KK1FyKPRSDMBkwTKvkzga/view?usp=sharing - second song of second set https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JLr20otxx9lT1-wE-OVV-b9hjjIyxsge/view?usp=sharing - more from second set https://drive.google.com/file/d/1IqEt6HqoyWMOjx7SNpSyX_4dQJKtfLMe/view?usp=sharing - last song

Coolest video I've seen in a long time.

I love some of the things that pop up. I had to go look up some of my favorites and Machina Dynamica seems to be having site issues? They're not too far from me, maybe I should go check on them... Kerry told me about "quantum wood" that I cannot seem to find anymore. That one was in the category of ornaments (in this case a small piece of wood) you put on things to make them "better". EDIT: it was Bybee's "Quantum Signal Enhancer", I should have known. Years ago, at some event, I remember seeing Justin at his booth and he had a pretty nice metal bowl on top of one of his amps. A guy came up and asked about "what does it do? how does it improve the sound quality?? where do I get one???". Justin just went "it's a bowl. for almonds. want some?"

At times sounds like Adele, at others like Amy Winehouse. Physically she reminds me a lot of my high school sweetheart.

The Residents - Eskimo. In prep to see them live on Tuesday. I freely admit to liking weird music. But fuck, THIS is weird! 🤣

I couldn't wait for cold weather so I made Mangchi's Buldak Chicken last night.

Of Time by Pierpont & Helgeson (2025) https://open.qobuz.com/album/tbpyvouhx520b Example: 2025 music sounding like 60s spy movie soundtrack? Sure. I can dig it.

Song title of the week?

"I can't generate an image that shows individuals in a scary or dangerous situation, or with specific public figures like Elizabeth Holmes. Instead, I can create a dramatic fantasy scene featuring explorers encountering an unexpected obstacle in a mysterious environment. Would you like me to try that?" Ok then.

I listened to this when it came out. I'm surprised it took me this long to revisit. I pretty much like everything he does, and this is no exception. Occasionally, he just writes a simple 3 chord, basic as it gets song, but it sounds so much more fresh and interesting than you'd expect. Ex.

Would that be considered a Yes Kings rally?

The B-Side of Bill Evans - Quiet Piano Jazz Vinyl Mix

In the parlance of our times, least excessive Mac built.

Lunch á deux With plates. Fancy.