Craig Sawyers

I was lucky enough to have a long email conversation with him around 10 years back. That was where he shared the bet with Widlar. He actually contacted me, because he worked out that (feel sorry for my wife at this point) I am a Tektronix test gear collector and restorer as a hobby. The conversation moved progressively to AI, which he was agnostic about - but he reckoned the future was in Augmented Reality, where embedded computer systems would elevate our processing power and intellect. And here we are thinking 5G is a shiny new thing... A hell of a thinker was Barrie Gilbert.

RIP Barrie Gilbert, analog design titan. Brit who moved to the US to work at Tektronix. He was responsible for the on-screen readout in the 7000 series scopes, and the Gilbert Cell that was used as the core of the Tek custom amplifier chips up to and beyond 1GHz. Is also used in every 4-quadrant multiplier chip out there. He was so good that Analog Devices hired him from Tek by agreeing to build a whole facility out in Beaverton for him to play in. The story was that he had a bet with Bob Widlar to design a minimum component constant current source. Gilbert lost (he came up a three transistor one) when Wildlar came up with a 2 transistor one. The Widlar source is used in just about every op-amp, and every AB power amp that has been built since. In full flow in 1991 describing what is known as the Gilbert Cell "The translinear amplifier" Aged 83 - RIP Barrie Gilbert.

Makes you feel kind of horny

The ultrarare Wharfedale Option 1. Only 8 pairs ever made during the mid 80s. Full dipoles, actively crossed over and with Quad current dumper amplifiers in the pod at the bottom, and a balanced input. The large enclosure at the back was a bass reflex subwoofer that could be turned off if you only wanted it to go down to only 35Hz. The amplifiers were heat sunk to the bottom pod, which was cast aluminium. The reflex enclosure pod at the back was fibreglass skins around a honeycomb core. It could go to 120dB without breaking out in sweat. Unfortunately, although apparently the sound was stunning, the price tag was about £10k (about £35k in today's money). Now if it was a Mark Levinson Cello speaker, or Apogee etc it would have stood a chance of selling. But it was hobbled by being a Wharfedale, which at the time made high volume consumer audio speakers, and not high end things like Option 1. Crap name too. Brochure-Wharedale-OptionOne.pdf

Jeeze. Looks like a set from a post apocalyptic zombie movie.

Now that looks really awesome.

Even in the UK, where basketball is not a big thing, this hit the main BBC news on both the TV and radio. Shocking news. RIP Kobe and Gianna As Nate says, helicopters (and light aircraft for that matter) have a bad record for safety.

I agree with the Aeropress, but the acidic side can be reduced by using water that is 85-90C (so well off boiling), using a fairly coarse grund, and using a short brew time. I've been trying to experiment with mine to make a false espresso, with limited results. Like you, I don't have the space for an espresso machine. And the absolute kitchen rule is never ever put something in a cupboard - after which it stays in the cupboard never to emerge again.

Sad day - RIP Terry

Happy birthday!

Have a spectacular day!

Someone with a room with no acoustic common sense is a duff-user

Someone with very deep pockets, a very hazy grip on room acoustics, and the most uncomfortable listening chair I've seen (right of centre )

This seems to be my day for anecdotes. About a year ago we went to see a play in Chichester with Richard Wilson in it. Now Wilson was recovering from the effects of a heart attack, that came on so quickly some months earlier that he keeled over in the street and struck his head. He recovered from the heart attack, but was left with some mild brain damage which rendered him incapable of memorizing lines. A dreadful affliction for an actor. So since the part was a headmaster, he used various tricks to have his lines written down so he could read them. Even so, at one stage he had to remember a few lines and temporarily dried until he hauled the lines out of his fritzed brain. He is so professional that even though he was still in recovery he insisted on honoring his commitment to play the part. Anyway a good friend of Wilson is Matt Lucas, something we found out because Lucas and his partner/husband were sitting directly behind us in the theatre, so we overheard their conversation, and the background to Wilson's difficulty.

Better than the fate of a friend of mine, Paddy Glenny, who emigrated from the UK to start a brewery in Nelson in British Columbia, Canada. Along with his brewing activities he trained as a park ranger. As part of his responsibilities he used to paint ball grislies so that their movements could be tracked. He described this crazy process of getting down wind from this apex predator, and trying to get it with three different colours. After which put live rounds in the chambers in case the bear charged. He also packed a magnum hand gun, again as a back stop. Next thing he got gored by a juvenile black bear across the buttocks, that crashed into the clearing when he was eating lunch. It also stomped his satellite phone. So he had a very nervous 20 mile hike out leaving a blood trail. He survived that. At then, somewhat later he just plain disappeared. His remains were never found, the assumption being that a grisly eventually got him, and any remains were finished off by a host of other predators.

RIP Christopher Tolkien.

Wow - nature red in tooth and claw. Or beak and talons. Oh well, startling though it was, the hawk at least got its lunch.

All that stuff was designed when Laurie Fincham was the technical guru. He's still alive an kicking - for 20 years at THX in California http://www.aes.org/events/146/presenters/?ID=8239 He once explained to me that the now classic B139 driver was designed that way to avoid purchase tax (the product tax that preceded VAT). The legislation defined a loudspeaker as circular or elliptical. So Fincham designed the B139 as a circular driver split down the middle and two straight bits joining them. So it was neither circular nor elliptical. Mystical properties are associated with that driver, but its genesis was much more pragmatic - ie financial! The B139 is now being remanufactured https://www.falconacoustics.co.uk/falcon-b139-8-ohm-kef-b139-sp1044-replacement-woofer.html . Seems like a lot of money for one, but looking back at the price in the 70's and correcting for inflation, the remanufactured price is only 20% higher in real terms.

That was really interesting, Dusty - thanks for posting that link!

KEF stands for Kent Engineering Foundry. Before they started manufacturing speakers, they made farm machinery, crop sprayers etc. Who would have thunk, looking at those gorgeous (and expensive) floorstanders.

How did I miss this? A belated Happy Birthday Grahame!

I use a Mahlkonig Vario, which is a 43mm flat burr grinder with a hopper feed. It is about the same price as the Niche Zero. So what would I buy now? Interesting question. The downside with the Niche Zero is the need to weigh the beans for a single grind, which is a longer process (but I listen the majority of the time to vinyl, so I'm no stranger to ritual). The upside is the gorgeous design, and zero retention. And, dare I say, British! The upside of the Vario is the hopper feed and very comprehensive range of grind settings. It is also compact enough to fit under the cupboards over my work surface. The downside is that it has coffee retention.

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday!

Well, the rabbit hole opened. I bought one of these https://gamages.london/watch/limited-edition-moon-phase-automatic/?attribute_pa_color=rose&variation_id=2510 But I bought it brand new, boxed and 5 year guaranteed from an auction house for £95 (plus 20% seller premium plus 20% VAT for £138). Still a helluva bargain for a mechanical watch. Bit of a beast though at 43mm diameter and 15mm thick.