Knuckledragger

Special "Nothing to see here, citizen. Move along." edition:

Started off the day by putting my big clumsy foot through the hose of Miele vacuum and breaking it but good. A replacement is $155 minimum because mine's got the wiring for a power nozzle. Luckily, I can get the replacement part for the non powered version and (I think) pilfer the bits I need, doing a repair myself. I realize I'm preaching to the choir here, but there is so much to be said for buying items of quality. This Miele was $400 for the base unit, 20 years ago. The power nozzle and turbo nozzle were like $250 more. The machine is still going strong (my own clumsiness notwithstanding). Similarly, my 2006 Echo weed whacker was like $500 and the spinning blade of doom attachment was another $150 with the "don't cut your stupid self" bar. I can get it serviced every year for under $100 and it still deals with the kudzu like growth on my property. Now if anyone needs me, I'm seeking to get my precious 2003 mic preamp repaired and upgraded.

Click for scary detail. Areas specifically targeted by Russian FB Ads (Data from United States House of Representative’s Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence) The Crags Port Fairy, Victoria Australia. Dunes of Death Valley.

Celestion Ditton 662s.

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I just signed up for an AMZN credit card. I am continually amazed how the richest man in the world is so good at providing services that I can't live without. I have a Behringer preamp that has a 12AX7 tube soldered into it on the way to me now. It's a $100 model, and I got it for $31 shipped. It won't be here for tonight, so uh... here's me plugging an Electro Voice RE20 straight into the mic input on my 2005 vintage Pioneer DJ mixer (in Head Case speak, that's like plugging Sony Qualias into an Aiwa MP3 player.)

Made some fairly large steps to figuring out my financial future for the rest of the year (more or less). I'm not entirely out of the woods yet, but I'm in much better shape than I was a week ago. I don't often mention this on HC (or anywhere else), but I haven't had a real day job since February of 2001(!) That means (A) I haven't had a real boss in over 18 years and (B) the only person responsible for making sure my dumb ass is fed, clothed and housed is me. It ain't always easy, but I have grown to enjoy being my own fuck up. What has changed in the last nearly two decades is that the cost of living has gone up hugely. Under two terms of one gibbering, war mongering Republican fuckwit, two terms of a centrist, corporatist DINO who could speak in complete sentences and now half a term of deranged, sunsetting, Russian-backed shitgibbon covered in Cheeto dust, the cost of living for non billionaires marches on like a rally of disgruntled citizens down Pennsylvania Avenue. This has made the paradigm of one man living alone in a 1967 five bedroom house increasingly unsustainable. In the next year, I'm leaving scenic western MA. After 40+ decades here, I don't think I'll miss it. Of course where I'm moving to is like a foot above sea level so I'm fucked when the ocean rises, but aren't we all? Also, I am really REALLY in need of a new mic preamp. My current one is 16 years old and has a host of issue. The company (Symetrix) discontinued the model I use (528E) which has been the industry standard in radio for decades. I found a company called Revive Audio that repair and upgrade 528Es for a reasonable price. Being a small company, they don't answer their phone. I've just finished an email to them, but I imagine the turnaround is measured in weeks if not months. In the interim, I need SOMETHING so I'm idly looking at $100 Behringer mic preamps. Wait, how did this turn into a Jacob's Mindless etc etc post?

2me_irl4me_irl #SurrealMemes with a sick burn The Freezing Moon in Norway. Receding tide, Portugal. Pensacola Beach Pier.

Monitor Audio Gold 200 (5th Gen) & Luxman 509X.

Colorado's Great Sand Dunes. Heidelberg, Germany. Click for slightly larger.

Rhododendron forest in Ireland. The Moeraki Boulders, New Zealand. Moon Setting over the Oahu North Shore. Click for slightly larger.

Perth hills, Australia. 12 Apostles.. Great Ocean Road, Victoria Australia. Click for slightly larger.

RATMAD. This is actually an insult to Baron Vladimir Harkonnen (yes, that's actually his name), who was a brilliant political and military tactician. Also a pederast. Flooded Cypress in Pine Log State Park, FL. Point of Arches in Shi Shi Beach, Washington. Click for slightly larger.

Under the Sugar Pines Panorama - Laurel Hill, NSW, Australia. Click for slightly larger. Diamond Beach, Iceland.

Restored Pioneer SX-1050.

Austin, TX cityscape.

Test Tone @ Home live right now: http://mixlr.com/illuminator/chat