Voltron

Heh. Why would a sport that largely prohibits use of the hands have a logo of a hand holding a ball?

Crowded House -- Intriguer

One more word of advice that I have been biting my tongue about: open a bottle and finish it because your habit of sampling and recapping is not ideal. As you have noted a couple of times, the beer will change when oxidized and left to sit in the fridge. Not trying to bum your high, and you can do as you please, so take it for what it's worth.

Absolutely gorgeous spot on Saturday, and I was also off on my own away from the masses on my family camping trip. The couple of beers I brought with me made it even better.

I didn't have enough solo time to commit to the Siglo on Saturday. These Naaman cigars have been two of the best I have had and particularly enjoyed the moments smoking them. If the Siglo is particularly good, then I am really looking forward to that one.

Congrat Ian, that is great news (assuming she said yes ). Glad you had a nice last brunch at the temple, Matt. Good luck with the packing and moving.

Nice beer/rye purchases Jim and Dusty.

I don't know the answer. It was the shorter and fatter of two Cohibas I received as a gift.

Not right now, but on Saturday sitting on a rock beside Caples Lake in the Sierra: Cohiba de Cuba. Also c/o Naaman and also very nice.

Spent the weekend camping with my family and 3 of my 5 siblings and 4 of my many cousins and all of us have kids, some of whom brought SOs. We totaled 26this year, which is actually a bit lower than usual. We were on Silver Lake, near Lake Tahoe. It was good fun except form the mosquitoes. Drove back to Mayberry, dropping my niece and BF at their place in Oakland and got back just in time to clean up and host a dinner for 15 with my wife's cousin who was here from Australia. A bit tired but glad to be back at home and now chilling with a drink and the iPad catching up on the 'Case.

Just got back from camping and was treated to this hot stuff from my main man. Killer amp Gene and beautiful pics to boot. Did you actually buy one already JP? That was indeed fast and Nate barely had to coax you (of course). Have fun Gene! And welcome to lafingas. Nice to see that someone can manage a good first post around here. Hope you hang out and share some Pioneer/Quad pron.

Double double with animal fries and a coke. It's early for lunch but the last chance for in n out before Tahoe. Tasty brunch.

Thanks for the co-dependent encouragement, everybody! Well, this evening I had a haircut appointment and the Giants game (undefeated in the second half!) so all I was able to accomplish was unboxing the Ayre duo and putting them on shelves. Could not even plug them in, and will not be able to do it until Monday because we are camping this weekend. A little more waiting. The KX-R packaging was truly sick and very slick. The last layer is a fitted micro-fiber sleeve for the preamp, but it contained foam bumpers and cardboard cover for the face of the unit. That was inside a plastic bag wrapper, then in a custom 3-part foam support, and then double boxes. Nicely done and even the remote had its own box and was shrink-wrapped to cardboard inside anyway. The unit is gleaming and flawless, and I used the provided cloth gloves to keep it that way. Swanky. Sad part is that the only camera I had was my iPhone so the pics suck. I will do better next week. I am itching to hear it all...

Shaping up to be a BAD: Big Audio Day! 1. Craig shipped me back the Transcription Amplifier phono stage I bought from JP that arrived a little worse for the wear from shipping. Simple fix and a 6-day turnaround by Mr. Uthus -- meaning I shipped it last Friday and received it back today! Wow, that is good stuff. 2. Even better stuff from Craig: the glorious and extremely rare Moth DAC! I mentioned that I would love to have the DAC in my all-Uthus Moth/Eddie Current setup in Mayberry and he offered to sell it to me. It arrived for a "demo" but looking at it again made me send him the cash instantly. Here are a couple Asr pics snagged from the Florida CanJam '08 thread (damn, that was a fun meet and reading the thread made me sentimental). What you cannot see is the large Moth Audio logo engraved into the top plate. Gorgeous already, but I need to replace the selector knob with the original, which Craig says is still available. 3. Not really audio-related, but close enough because it stems from an HF/HC connection. I received an unexpected package from Gene containing 2 Cigar City Brewing Co. and 1 DogFishHead beer glasses. My whiny post about my dog breaking my last beer glass from Strong Beer Month triggered this [latest] generosity from my Main Man. Thanks Gene! 4. As if that wasn't enough, I got a call from Music Lovers Audio that my Ayre KX-R has arrived! It actually made me kind of weak in the knees and convinced me to go pick it up and take the afternoon off to check it out. Pics later, but damn this is exciting....

Blue LED or it's shit (not Schiit)!

Just get the Gallo 3.1s and don't bother with mid-fi audio events. I am curious to hear the new 3.5s and the smaller Strada setup (monitors plus sub) but the 3.1 is one of the major audio deals around. Not picky about amplification, etc.

Confession time? We all know you listen to crappy bubblegum music on expensive gear, so what's the point of saying it over and over?

Margot & the Nuclear So and So's -- Dust of Retreat

And some related promotional material:

Heh, that's the first time I've seen you use the phrase "just a few inches." Probably the last, too.

I think I will stick with Pro bias.

Nice get on the iPad, Bigguy Slim! Nate, I know several Bay Area folks who will be at that same Sox game, oddly enough. Wish I could join you all.

I am getting quite anxious for my solid chunk of aluminum from Ayre to show up. Should be soon. Are you fellas doing both Pro bias or one of each on your T2s?

Good news.