cutestory

Spoils some of the fun of exploration, and also seems to be incomplete—I could scroll further in the source image. I had more fun with the original.

Couldn't get the image to embed properly... Click. And drag. http://xkcd.com/1110

Just watched The Newsroom episode 8. This shit just got real (good). I like it!

Holyshit great show. Not as great as his last tour, but wonderful nonetheless! Part 1 of the show was a warm-up (casual, with "house lights" on), part 2 was free-form with the full band (including Manu Katché!), and part 3 was the entire So album from start to finish. Both me and my friend thought that "Front to Back" (the name of the tour) meant that he was going to do the album backwards, starting with In Your Eyes and ending with Red Rain, but alas and alack, 'twas not to be. My friend and I both thought that although it might have been confusing to the average concert goer, running the album backwards (by track) would have resulted in a better Shape of Show--but that's definitely in the First World Problems column. But I have to say I've learned something important on Head-Case, which is that first world problems are still problems. It was nice to see John Cusack come out with a boombox to introduce In Your Eyes, even if he wasn't entirely into it. I look forward to buying the official bootleg! (What has the world come to...)

About to go to pick up a friend and head to the Hollywood Bowl to see Peter Gabriel from the terrace boxes. Woohoo!

This thing (the 103) is lightning quick, btw. The first Blu-ray player I've had that loads discs faster than my PS3. I also like the dedicated Vudu and Netflix buttons (I use Vudu a lot). Haven't really made any in-depth observations yet; I've just barely had time to plug the thing in...I'm also interested in checking out the video scaling features (I plugged in my XBMC into the rear HDMI input.) I'll report back when I've had more time with it.

Blue Man Group — Persona

Thanks for the explanations, all. It is much appreciated. My balanced cable came in and is now connected to my LCD-2s, and I'm enjoying it quite a lot, design issues notwithstanding. Semi-ignorance is bliss?

From the first page of the article: "That's why a review like this, which compares the iPhone 5 with rival phones based largely on acoustic qualities, runs a high risk of time-wastage..." Based on that sentence and my measurements, I would say 0.685 smidgens of useful information.

I have a PS3 that I've been using as a Blu-ray/Vudu/SACD player, and it'll be nice to go back to using it almost exclusively as a gaming machine. I also have a homemade XBMC (openelec) nettop I use for local media playback. I'll be glad to have the new Oppo (arriving Tuesday!) as a dedicated Blu-ray player; but I'm sure it won't be able to compete with the XBMC for the local media stuff. I have too many boxen in general and I'm trying to streamline, but I haven't found the One True Media Playback solution that doesn't involve Windows (I'm mostly talking about Blu-ray-sourced MKVs and ISOs with high resolution audio). I have a Dune player, but the menus are is a PITA to update. I have a Boxee Box, but the high resolution audio playback is crap. I love openelec, but I may just have to switch to Windows XBMC and an nvidia settop because the high res audio stuff apparently works. Ack.

Understood. If you're willing to try out the coffee from Tonx.org, they have deals for members on a range of new Baratza grinders, at better prices than I've seen anywhere else.

Must...resist! On the page, obvious quote is obvious (and funny): "That's a lot of Miles." - LA Times

My order status on the Oppo page has changed to "Shipped." No email yet, tho, so if you're waiting you might want to check.

If you don't mind a bit of manual labor—which adds a little time to the ritual—there's always the hand grinding route, which can get you consistent quality at a much lower cost. The Camano Coffee Mill is beautiful, functional, and consistent; it takes a bit of time to dial it in at first, but at $65 retail it's one of the cheapest ways to get a high quality burr grinder, and will give you better results than any of the cheapie blade mills. I had a Kyocera too, and that one's about $45—but doesn't have half the character.

I just started getting coffee from Tonx. Great coffee, always on time, with a nice perk for joining—if you're in the market for a grinder. I can't for the life of me remember how I found them, but I love them now. The FAQ and About/Team pages should give you a good sense of what they're about. I make my pourover coffee with a Kone filter (expensive, but a one-time cost that produces no waste) and a Chemex, unless I'm using my Nespresso machine (a guilty pleasure).

I put a note saying "Ready to order!" in the comments field when I signed up. Maybe they actually read the comments? You could try that...

BOOYAH! Registered last night, got my early-access pre-order email moments ago. Ordered, shipping out tomorrow.

Chicks on Speed — Coventry

Watched an episode of Boss tonight (great), then an episode of The Newsroom. I can see why people complain about Newsroom, but fuck 'em. I'm not gonna stop watching it. It's a fucking fantasy, fer fuck's sake.

"Good dates." I'm paraphrasing here. And that shit is Truth.

Registered for a 103. Yummers.

How would one be able to tell this? Volume comparison with SE and balanced cables with the same headphones and an SPL meter? Assuming one doesn't take the beast apart, of course...

Does this mean only the balanced output is worth listening to on this piece? Or that the whole thing is junk (relatively speaking, of course)? It also sounds like spritzer says I should be ordering an amp from Justin, which I should think about doing anyway.

Would you mind explaining to a layman why this is bad? I'm not a circuit guy, but I understand the bit about the input section being single ended (which does seem silly). It's the "two gang volume control" and "they capacitor couple the output" parts that I'm not groking. Thanks in advance...

Here it is. Begin analysis! Here are links to my Dropbox in PDF and PNG formats. https://www.dropbox....jxhfoq/bha1.pdf https://www.dropbox....u9vovq/bha1.png Enjoy! Thanks for looking, spritzer, and anyone else who's interested...would be interested in some feedback.