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catscratch

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Posts posted by catscratch

  1. Agree on the war on drugs issue, but that's a totally different story. I'm pretty sure history will look at prohibition and everything associated with it as one of the major repressions of the 20th and 21st centuries.

     

    Right now the issue to me seems to be limiting crimes of opportunity vs penalizing legitimate, responsible gun ownership. If there is a way to do the former without infringing upon the latter - such as stricter gun control for people with a history of mental problems, or perhaps making it a crime to allow guns to fall into the hands of relatives/friends with mental problems - I'd be all for it. Otherwise, I'm fairly strictly in the pro-gun camp.

     

    Background-wise, I'm from a family of immigrants that left Russia right after the fall of the Soviet Union, or more specifically political dissidents that were persecuted during Soviet times and which were very fortunate to be able to leave. I'm named after an uncle that spent a fair amount of time in prison for so-called political crimes. So if I'm a little gung-ho about "liberty," whatever it means, there's an understandable reason for it.

  2. Comparing gun ownership to slavery is, I think, a little over the top.

    Agree with the mental health issue, and there's something else I've been wondering: was the shooter on SSRIs or prescription amphetamines? Amphetamine psychosis is a very real thing, and I've always wondered how much connection there was between documented SSRI side effects and a possibility for this sort of behavior. Given how psychiatric med-happy this country is, it's probably something that needs to be looked into.

  3. Don't worry about it, and feel free to call me out on anything. It's fine.

     

    It's not just that I disagree with gun control in principle, I simply don't think that it will be effective, or that it will fly politically. Gun ownership is too culturally ingrained. Regardless, America is not the only country with this kind of prevalence of available guns, yet there seems to be a cultural difference in America that makes it statistically more likely for this sort of behavior to occur, and I'll be damned if I know what that is.

     

    Anyway. Sorry about perpetuating this discussion - I agree that now is not the time.

  4. I'm with Dusty on this one. Yes, this is a very messed up thing to happen, but if we over-react and institute some sort of draconian law that negatively affects absolutely everyone, these guys win. While my heart, such as it is, does go out to the families affected by this, this doesn't automatically mean that all of our children, everywhere, are at suddenly at mortal risk. The worst thing we can do is screw up the school environment even more because of this.

     

    On the other hand, some basic emergency response training for teachers should probably be mandatory, if it isn't already.

     

    Plus, it's easy to point at this incident and say "see, this is why we need stricter gun control," but the people that want to get their hands on guns are going to get their hands on guns anyway. I don't think that's the answer. What the answer is, and if there is one, I don't really know.

  5. I like Bourdain. I've been on a No Reservations binge lately. It's always nice to see a series that hasn't been dumbed down or over-Americanized, and Bourdain himself has a ton of charisma. It's a good series if you need a vicarious living fix, and occasionally it does make you think. Great soundtrack too in a lot of episodes.

  6. Brighter tonal balance on the SR-002 is what I expected, and what I didn't want to hear. That's too bad - given how practical IEMs are, the 002 will really have to stand out on sound quality. I've been using my IEMs over the 001 just because it isn't better enough sonically to put up with the bad fit and bulky amp, not to mention no isolation whatsoever.

    Somebody needs to slap Stax upside the head.

  7. Tair 11a is a pretty good place to start. 135mm F2.8, with a 20 (!) blade aperture, which gives it a pretty unique bokeh. Incredibly solid build quality, at least in the one that I've used, but there are rumors of production variances so I would read up some more. You do need to stop it down a bit for maximum sharpness but either way it's a great lens. M42 mount.

  8. I'm still holding out for a full-frame interchangeable lens mirrorless. The nex-7 is pretty neat, my father uses one, and it's quite a bargain considering that there are adapters now being made for it that make it compatible with a huge variety of lens mounts, so you can use a lot of vintage lenses with it. He's got a fair bit of old russian lenses - some of which are optically superb - as well as Canon FD lenses, which are now dirt cheap for the quality that you get. The biggest plus on the nex is the focus highlight - it highlights everything that is in focus, making manual focus about as easy as it can possibly get, which together with easily accessible manual aperture and shutterspeed controls make it a great handling camera. My only issue is the APS-C sized sensor. I want my 50 to be a 50 and I like wide-angle, and I don't want to pay Leica prices for something like this.

    The moment someone makes something like this, I'm all over it. And afterwards, the prices of vintage lenses are probably going to go up.

  9. I find it massively dissappointing that a company that is synonymous with electrostatic speakers would choose to not make electrostatic headphones. They had an opportunity to stand out and they chose to play it safe. Stylewise, yes they look good but it makes you wonder how much money was left to spend on sound.

  10. Power's out at our office too, and we're losing significant money for every day without power. Not good. Could be worse though. The office is surrounded by trees which JUST managed to miss it on the way down. No estimate from the power company save that it will be "a while." Now the issue is finding a working gas station for cars and generator.

    Living in a storm area and NOT having a generator is asking for it. Especially with winter and hypothermia on the way.

  11. Anyhow, I should have listened to the mafia long ago and am glad I am now a happy 007mk1 owner.

    Now you see why I've been rabbiting on about this ever since I compared the two side by side, and why I feel like banging my head against the wall when people tell me the Mk2 doesn't have its problems.

    Now take the next step and get a better amp. It's as significant to the 007 as going from the Mk2 to the Mk1. More so, actually. The excessive politeness will go away.

    What will make me even more happy is if Stax pulls their heads out of their collective asses and fixes the problems in their lineup. Hopefully the money infusion from Edifier - if it even exists - will let them do just that.

  12. Thanks Cat. thats very informative. Is Valley Of God can be seen from Page ,AZ as well? I remember i have distant shot of the rock formation from Page. Will scout these places on the internet for my after work winter places to explore

    When you're standing in Page, it is essentially on the other side of Lake Powell lengthways, so you probably won't be able to see it but it's there. The dirt road leading into the valley is about a 3 hour drive from Page, maybe a tad more.

    Speaking of which - bring a 4x4. You can probably do it on a regular sedan but the road is very rough, and breaking something and being stranded in the middle of the desert in mountain lion country is probably not a good thing. You need ground clearance.

    Monument Valley is a lot more accessible, and certainly going to have a whole lot more visitors, but descending into the valley also involves a dirt road, though an easier one. There's a lodge just outside Monument Valley called Goulding's which is pretty decent if a bit overpriced, but it's fairly conveniently situated for both, and of course you've got campgrounds everywhere.

  13. If you're looking for isolation, Valley of the Gods in Utah is definitely the place to be. Not a structure in sight, and only a dirt road leading into it. Pretty spectacular. I'm not sure if you're allowed to camp or stay overnight - legally, that is - but I've been on a photo workshop where we did a sunset/moonrise shoot and it's still one of the best memories of my life. There's a spot in the valley where every sound you make reverberates exactly 7 times. A pretty mystical place all things considered, but a bit out of the way. If you make a trip to Monument Valley, it's only about an hour away.

    Capitol Reef national park is where all the hot landscape photo action is these days, it's not all that well known but pretty spectacular regardless. It's not that far away from Zion, but on the way you should also check out Bryce Canyon, probably one of the most spectacular vistas I've ever seen. Even more otherworldly and outlandish than the Grand Canyon. Utah in of itself is amazingly beautiful all around that area.

    Around California, Mono Lake is pretty interesting and certainly worth taking the time to do some sunset shoots in. On the way, there's the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest in the White Mountains. Not only do you get one of the best driving roads in the world on your way there (you will really want a sports car here but the last bit of the road is a rough dirt track IIRC) but you will also have some pretty awesome vistas once you arrive. Time your arrival with some cloud cover, and being at 11,000+ feet you're almost guaranteed to have some spectacular fog shots.

    If you just want to get away from it all, Lake Powell in Arizona is pretty interesting, just leave your environmentalism at the door as it's a man-made lake and a real ecological disaster. Still, a very beautiful area. Rent a houseboat, moor anywhere you want along the lake, and do all the sunset shots you could ever wish for. Just watch out for storms on the lake, they can be pretty vicious. Not the cheapest getaway, but oh so very well worth it. Bring a toolkit; I've had both engines cut out in a houseboat in the middle of a storm, and was forced to fix both of them with a coathanger, a single bandaid, and two shoelaces, for lack of anything else. McGuyver was a wimp.

    Sorry too drunk/lazy to provide links.

    I do love Antelope Canyon, and I do have some shots from it that are actually not terrible. May post them later at some point. Also, Yosemite may have tourists all over it like flies on shit, but that's not to say that there aren't any really interesting, less well-known spots. A photo workshop in the park would be my recommendation.

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  14. *casts level 1 thread necromancy*

    Heard the 535 tonight and, well, it's not for me. Everything was right except for the highs - they were harsh. Metallic and peaky. It could be the fit, though I used complys as well as shure yellow and black foamies. It could be the music, which isn't ideally produced (at the time, a bunch of old-school Santana). Either way, I couldn't listen comfortably at anything more than moderate volume, otherwise there was too much sibilance. Which is too bad really because in other respects, they were pretty good.

    I think I'm very sensitive to harshness in the highs. As in, exceedingly more so than others that are already sensitive to harshness in the highs. Maybe that explains why I like the 007 and 001, and why the UM3x is one of the few canalphones I could live with, thus far.

    Now if the UM3x did bass like the 535 and had a bit more treble presence, it would be perfect.

  15. That thread was so ridiculous I figured that had to be a troll, but maybe I'm giving him too much credit. Either way, not a great thing to post for someone that really wants to get into the high-end snakeoil audio business.

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