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My newish laptop is eligible for the Microsoft OS upgrade. Has anyone bit on the MS free upgrade? Any war stories? Curious...

^I see that the HD6xx are also on sale - lowest I've seen & "cheap as chips", as they say.

So sorry Steve

A friend, Kristen suffered a cerebral aneurysm on Sunday. She was only 44 years old. I say "friend", but I really only knew she & her husband by way of us purchasing our current home from them a few years back. We stayed peripherally connected, as my wife works in the same hospital as they do, running into them every once in a while. As well-regarded local doctors & parents to two young children, they seemed to have it all. This hits particularly hard, as the anniversary of my sister-in-law Tanya's passing from an identical affliction nine years ago at only 42 y/o, approaches in the next days. When tragedy happens so swiftly, one tries to make some sense, if at all possible. Often, there is none. So, in Kristen & Tanya's memory, hug your loved one's a little tighter tonight & tell them what they mean to you.

Happy birthday!

Billions (Showtime) - continuing our exploration into how the one-percenters live/work. Just finished season 1 - crazy fun stuff. Hopefully can get through s2-5 before Succession starts back up next month.

Succession (HBO) - binging on our new guilty pleasure. If Dallas had been made today, this is what it would be. This family be cray-cray, and I can't look away. Season 3 coming soon.

U.S. Open (ESPN) - some great tennis so far this week. More to come.

The Chair (Netflix) - good to see Sandra Oh in something after Killing Eve. An enjoyable watch, even if it is pretty predictable, feeling like I've seen these characters before, just in a different context or something. Good supporting cast, including Bob Balaban & Holland Taylor, among others, to round out the ensemble. A very nice, eclectic soundtrack is notable. Only six eps, so...

Nora from Queens - Awkwafina is raw, but in a so very relatable way, in this comedy series set in Flushing, not far from where I lived. Lori Tan Chinn is a hoot as her grandmother. BD Wong brings his usual high-level in the most subtle of ways as her dad. Easy watch, recommended.

Doubtful, since the young brother is very likeable & quite innocent to what is going on around him. His older siblings realize that. So the hate is not directed toward Beiber, but rather the system that propels him into celebrity.

The Other Two (HBO) - two late-20's/early-30's siblings struggle with their own life issues amidst their 13-y/o younger brother's celebrity success (ala young Justin Beiber). Lots of NY locations (ala High Maintenance), & Molly Shannon is their mother (ala White Lotus). Created by SNL writers, but it's actually consistently funny. The class/culture-related sarcasm with the humor works for me (unlike the darker, drama White Lotus, which was just icky & depressing, imo). About halfway through season 1. S2 is about to start.

^Ahhh...from the pictures I've seen of just the jack it appeared that it was sealed from the back. I will see if I can try that. Thank you!

The end of a headphone plug broke off in one of my headphone amps that has a locking Neutrik 1/4" headphone jack. I tried the straw trick, and even the screw trick (gently), all to no avail. Considering the glue/heat trick. Am I fucked (and not in a good way), or is there another technique I should consider trying to get the piece out? Any inputs are appreciated. TIA.

Professor T (PBS) - quirky university professor helps police solve crimes. Think Jonny Lee Miller's "Elementary", or Eric McCormack's "Perception", and the like. But it's set in Cambridge, so it's different... /edit - apparently this is a direct rip...er, adaptation of a Belgian series of the same name. So, not so different *shrug Still, it seems well-done so far. I like it.

Happy birthday!

Apple AirPods Max: Amazon.com: New Apple AirPods Max - Space Gray Apple AirPods Max, Space Gray MGYH3AM/A - Adorama

Started "Hacks", which has proved an enjoyable & a light-hearted palate cleanse after "Mare...". Jean Smart is great, again. An easy watch.

"The Nevers" is fantastic. Another Whedon masterpiece that will probably go down before it's time.

Re: "Mare of Easttown", it's well-worth watching, if you are up for the basic premise/subject. The first episode is horribly depressing, and almost dissuaded me from sticking with it. But it hits a stride quickly & doesn't have unnecessary filler. I thought I had it figured out, but did not see the ending coming. Winslet turns in a great performance. Supporting cast is good too. Probly even better binging, than week-to-week.

Happy Birthday Rob!

Happy Birthday!

^Sigh...Jessica Walter was a formative crush after seeing "Play Misty For Me". Also, George Segal passed on the 23rd, age 87.

I've only heard the Utopia at one meet. At the time, it sounded quite good - detailed while not "too" anything FR-wise. Not peaky, and I don't like peaky these days. To compare to something else, maybe...a properly fitted Qualia 010 with more satisfying bass? Although this was out of a Woo Audio tubed headphone amp (dunno which one) fed by a Lampizator DAC with a tubed output stage. So the upstream components could certainly have mitigated/masked (tomAto/tomahto) any peakiness of the headphones. Like alot of higher-end stuff, I guess they take work to sound best.