Sherwood

It might not be up your alley, Thrice, but Zelda is phenomenal. I'm playing through Call Of Duty: World At War and it's pretty enjoyable as well. I'd also recommend "No More Heroes" and "Okami". Fun games, all. I personally enjoy all the Madden titles on Wii, as I find the gesture system engrossing. I'm not always in the maority on this, though. If you find one used, it's about $15, so well worth trying for yourself.

My first car was '76 pacer. Be your Dad, Mike. Don't be my Mom.

I remember when my dad also bought me a '67 Camaro then my mom found out.

I think we might have found the small car for your son, though, Mike. Atom.

I can't imagine the atom is terribly good in the snow...

Exactly. And look how well things are going for him.

It's now 40% larger and called the Exurban, but pretty much yeah. May as well just spring for the front portion of a semi truck, though. That's a life skill.

Get your son an obscenely large car, then. ...I'll get my coat.

In Ear Monitor

This is Church! This is no place for happiness!

I spend my afternoons stretching aluminum foil over my ears and then rubbing the foil with a wire brush, so I think you know my answer

The tape out sends whatever signal you have selected. Some older integrateds have a Tape 1, which always sends signal, and a Tape 2, which only sends signal when it is engaged. Usually, engaging Tape 2 (monitor) mutes all other outputs. You should be able to listen to your turntable through the preamp this way. Whether you will enjoy piping a turntable directly into an IEM is another story...

2 reasons: 1) The LEDs were bright blue, and bright blue LEDs are a migraine trigger for my wife. I'm lucky enough to be married to a woman who enjoys my system, so I'd like for her not to have to contend with that 2) I open up everything I own as a matter of principle. I have little to no idea of what I am looking at, but i still like to see it. I'm sure I can snag two non-mangled hex bolts should I decide to sell the ECD-1 at some point.

COmponent video sources? HDMI video sources? Do you want video upsampling?

Wow! That's a serious-looking cdp, Steve! Original '08 Mk. II?

I'm a big fan, so far. It was contending with 0404 USB, though, so I should be. My experience with ~$1000 DACs is limited, but I prefer it to the Benchmark without a doubt. The soundstage is especially fun. I feel like my room got about 5 feet wider and 3 feet deeper after plugging it in.

I had occasion to open up my ECD-1 a few nights ago to dim the bright blue LEDs, and I thought I'd take some pictures. I didn't have the proper hex wrenches for the digital section, so the aluminum cover remains in place for now. Should anyone be dying to see it, I'll happily pop it back open. The external hex bolts were a bitch to get off, so I had to dremel two of them into flathead bolts. Having done that, the cover comes off easy now

I grabbed mine for $35 on amazon a few weeks ago, and have really enjoyed it. You use your mouse a lot...

The "planars have a huge sweet spot" argument never held water to me. My maggies were extremely sensitive to where I sat, to the point where I had to have my head within a few inches for optimal sound. Of course, I had mine standing straight up, and they can get rather "beamy" that way.

Fuck yeah, Estradasphere. Great band.

My Brightest Diamond -- Bring Me The Workhorse [url=http://www.mybrightestdiamond.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/akr023_900.jpg]

Another album I love, unsurprisingly, but it fails the "indie" criteria, as Radiohead were at one time the biggest band in the world by tour revenue.

Don't believe everything you read

Writeup of the Phiaton in the new Sterophile. I'll record the salacious bits after my wife and I finish mocking Star Trek 6. Details at 9.

I must have listened to that album 100 times. I adore it in every way. I only picked it up about 3 years ago, and e'er since it has been one of my top ten. I won't bore you with a "love it or hate it" cliche, I'll only say that it makes me happy every time I listen to it.