MexicanDragon

Finally got to break out the smoker for the first time since I bought it a couple months ago. @cetoole found pork shoulder for 99 cents/lb, so I got an 8-and-change pounder and broke it in. I had a cayenne and garlic infused garlic honey that I've liked before spread over it and rubbed in, along with some brown sugar. Let it rest overnight uncovered in the fridge, ground some salt over it today while the smoker was going through its initial burn in/up process. Have a learning curve (smaller-than-13-hour-hopper, so I ran out once), but... it doesn't suck.

Happy belated birthday! (Waited for 12:01 to post)

Happy Thursday!

Recently got to go see Arturo Sandoval at Dimitriou's Jazz Alley in Seattle. I posted a pic online and, well, a good bit of the band decided they'd post that picture as well, including the man himself! Then we got to have a performance of Autumn Leaves by Deeds/Deedles/Diane Schuur (if anyone knows/of her). First time at that jazz club, and won't be my last.

Takeoff from rap trio Migos, shot dead at 28. https://apnews.com/article/takeoff-migos-killed-houston-b5e86d023796a9c4eddf9bf547bcd396

Gorillaz 20th Anniversary Tour Also spotted: a @909 in the wild! Love this album so stoked it was represented Damon seems to truly care and is passionate in his performance Thought an Mmmm-Hale-Bopp mashup was coming, but no such luck Uber drivers wouldnt let him drive, so we tried the monorail. They wouldn’t let him drive either. Idk why. We were posted up in front of the sound booth. I think the sound guy noticed David has JH Audio custom earplugs so he got the set list!!! It’s now residing with me; love it! This is the instrument I should have played growing up instead of saxophone. Alas. Perhaps in my next life/simulation. Dig the venue And the photographer was literally right behind us. Hoping to find some of those images soon. Had a good time; this was a bucket list band for me to see live

Heh, so if he's in the mood for some decent-ish cooking, my daughter and her boyfriend just moved to Ft. Collins last week. The BF is going to CSU (both left ERAU, which seems to be in fashion these days) and Zoe's going to a CC out there as she tries to figure things out (major change, life,etc.) Class of 25 for them, in theory, but who knows...

RIP to an old friend of mine. We'd known each other since somewhere between 4 and 6 years old. Not really close anymore, but he was a fire dective (or something) when Kristen's mom burned down their house. We had Kristen's step-dad's ashes (Emma, the kids' aunt's father) inside and I was able to catch up with him and get him to go in and retrieve them. They were in a bag inside a cardboard box. He was able to save those before the fire reignited and would have taken the ashes (and some other things we got out with Matt's help.) His mom was my 2nd grade teacher back when my dad was principal. I heard a lot of chatter about the two who passed away, but woke up this morning to a message from my mom who let me know it was Matt. He's at least the 2nd or 3rd from that friend group who's died in the past few years (the other being my best friend growing up.) He left behind a wife and I believe two young kids. As someone who lost his dad when he was 10 (and my dad was just a couple years older than Matt and I were/are now), this one was sad. https://newschannel9.com/news/local/communities-mourn-loss-of-thp-trooper-marion-county-commissioner-in-helicopter-crash RIP Matt Blansett.

Up over the halfway mark; time for the descent! In.

RIP Paul Sorvino, dead at 83 https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/25/obituaries/paul-sorvino-dead.html

When I got it I was listening through a Sony or Aiwa shelf system, Porta Pro Jr. headphones, or the speakers in my 1993 Chevy Blazer. I did get an LFF remaster of it back in the day which was a bit flat, and the original was… what it was. The emotions I have with it make up for the drawbacks. Plus, Porcelin is such a good song.

I've actually been thinking about this all day. Not necessarily my top 5 albums/performances, but a couple of them are, I think. These, however, are albums that I could play on loop and not get tired of them. Ideally, Unplugged In New York would be a BluRay of the concert with lots of extra footage, but all of these albums have songs, if not an entire album, which can instantly take me back to an interesting time in my life where I have a lot of mostly-positive associations. In no particular order other than size of the image I randomly grabbed: Nirvana - Unplugged In New York Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds - Live At Luther College Gorillaz - Gorillaz Red Hot Chili Peppers - Californication Third Eye Blind - Third Eye Blind

As long as they get at least 512GB of RAM?

So I'm considering joining a community band again since I have a stable schedule so I was thinking JH Customs with various filters, but this may be a more expensive and more complicated option. I'm intrigued. Edit: Heh. I contacted Ety to ask a question or two. I now have a discount set up. Anyone up for a group buy on some Music/Pro and/or GunSport/Elite?

https://jhaudio.com/accessories/JHA-FLTR-PLUG I think @VPI has those, and also https://www.earasers.net/collections/musicians-hifi-earplugs if memory serves. He can probably tell you none of them are worth it, and just go either foamies or some esoteric active customs.

Thats the dream

Love it!

So, now that you're a proper amurikkkan, which accent are you going to land on? Texas drawl? Southern Belle? Alabaman (think Forrest Gump minus 10-15 IQ points.) Baaaahstun? The Californian?

Congrats on the less-complicated tax situation! Just took what, 37 years?

Nice! I have a 2021 model as well, but there is an app you can use to have all the info on your phone (and use a phone mount.) I'll go ahead and post where I've been able to source 2 range extenders from, and they still have stock. I wasn't sure about the place, but they came in reasonably timely (don't pay extra for shipping, btw... I tried to do 8$ rush shipping (over free) and came in the same day as another one that was ~equidistant. Buy the thing here. FWIW, this shop is in Sparks, NV, and it did not charge me tax. Don't forget you need to spend a few bucks more to get the cable for the range extender, and they sell those too. If you *want*, you can go all out and get the Y-cable for your charger that will charge both bike and battery. Oh, if you haven't ordered from Specialized, new people can get 15% off accessories. I'd consider getting the Y charger cable + other cable from them if you wanted to make a bit larger order. Feel free to PM me if you'd like any assistance in spending money.

I like to run in Eco most of the time, but I've found the cadence setting to be fantastic for riding/pacing, especially on hills. It helped me get up stuff I didn't think I was going to make without stopping. I was going to go with a bike computer, but I think I'm going to go with phone and use a collection of apps. There are mounts for your phone (I got a cheaper one as proof-of-concept, but it let me know what I really wanted,) and happy to make some recommendations if interested. I test rode something with the same motor and within 5 minutes I was like "OK, putting a deposit down on this." The only reason it wasn't "buy right then" was that they had a carbon one a size down coming in on the weekend, and just made sure both were reserved so that it wasn't going to get away. Heh, a *big* thing was when I went up some shorter/steepish roads was like "OK, let me do this in Turbo mode" I looked down and realized I was in Eco instead of Sport. If it was that much fun on Eco mode, it was a no brainer. Specialized did something REALLY right with this combo. So stoked for you!

Nice, Al! I helped my LBS sell someone on the same bike about a month ago! LMK if you want a line on accessories, like the range extenders. They're hard to come by, but I have a good source. There are also some cool things you can add to that seat (like, say, a small kit that bolts right on to the seat that will hold a tube/levers/CO2 w/head, etc) that means you're never left stranded. You're gonna LOVE this thing! Oh, and do you have the top tube comp with the screen, or the button and bars? (New for 2022, but I think it's "subject to availability" as to whether or not the bike gets it).

H8 u ;)

Went out for a ride with Xavier and Colin last week. I've almost recovered from the ride, so finally able to post it.