Leaderboard

My thoughts Trying to spend less time on the phone I want one

Lily wanted to come home for lunch today so I asked her if she was up for trying new tacos. She said yes so I tried my hand at Birria Tacos. I blended a couple recipes to come up with something. The day started with browning beef. Then cooking the veggies and rehydrating the peppers. Then everything was set to braise for 3 hours or so until it was time for assembly. They were tasty and will be made again.

HE90 "clone" first prototypes up and running as of yesterday: The drivers are all PCB based with 2um mylar diaphragms. They are about 3mm lower in height than stock to accommodate the cable entry and move the connections to the bottom of the drivers. The housing is resin 3D printed but this is the old version which has now been abandoned for a new one that has yet to arrive. Cables are King Sound (as I had some in stock) and allow me to fit it all in the same housing size as the original. The earpads are ones for the T+A Solitaire that are not a great fit but dirt cheap... so work just fine for this role. I've ordered new genuine pads but I'm not sure if Senn have any in stock. Next up is to refine the headband design and start to work on prototyping the metal back shell. Now I just wait on parts as usual... As for the sound, far from finished, even in prototype form but a HE90 with actual bass response... perish the thought!! ;)

How about amp box porn?

I didn't manage birria tacos but I had a brain wave the other day that came out great tonight. There's a market nearby owned by an Indian American family who also sell quite serviceable curries and other Indian food made fresh in house. Chicken Tikka Masala pizza is supposed to be the most popular pizza in the UK and I've had a couple of decent examples over the years so I decided to make pizza with the market's curry. On the left is a saag paneer supplemented with a bit of fresh mozzarella, and on the right is the CTM. I separated out the chicken then used the sauce as the base, layered on shredded mozzarella, sprinkled on the chicken and added red onion. Both were delicious and will be repeated in future.

Incoming Sony post. A stack of 90s. There is an entire subculture built around vintage Sony kit, for some odd reason. A lousy photo of some great ES. A clever redditor took a Sony ST-80F tuner and installed a Raspberry Pi (when they weren't $300), HifiBerry DAC+ Pro, and screen. He made his own UI for the round display shape. Similarly, this guy modified an ES tuner with a Raspberry Pi, OLED display and rotary encoder. Also, look at that goddamn ES tape deck. I would [Note from Legal: REDACTED.] to own one of those.

Goddamn. Iron Maiden played Boston last night. For ...over 45 years, they have been consistently one of the best if not the best live shows in all of metal. I follow them on FB, like an unc (as the kids say.) They posted these photos: Wish I could have gone. Paradoxically, but unsurprisingly, it's much, much easier to get to BOS from W.Mass than it is from MV.

Unsurprisingly, I am so in for this.

Second big metric century is done and dusted! It is so hard to pace these things. Also, fueling remains a work in progress. It seems like however much your gut can tolerate in terms of food and drink is the amount you should be eating. Crushing gels gets old pretty quick. I skipped eating the last 10 miles or so and really felt it at the finish. We merged courses with the people doing the 30 mile ride in the last 1/4 of this and that meant it was time to put the power down and show the flat-bar riders the error of their ways! It is amazing how much of a confidence boost it is to overtake people. Kudos to all them for being out there though. Any ride is better than no ride (ahem, Brent). I do want more climbing than this going forward. There was really only one climb/descent (Chalk Hill). West Dry Creek Road is the stuff of riding dreams. Smooth country road, not wide enough for two cars to pass so the cars have to go ultra slow, curvy and lots of rollers. Can’t ask for better than that. Even on 32s I got so sick of road buzz on some of the Sonoma County cheese-grater roads that I threw the 40s back on after. The 40s are for sure slower, but my god do they smooth out the road and they are a joy to descend on. I’ll ride them for a bit until I feel ready to start doing group rides where the speed will matter. For training rides I’ll take comfort over speed any day and twice on Sunday.

[Warning: way too many photos] It's what I call "lowrider season", so hit the ever growing show in downtown San Jose yesterday (alway's good light when not behind skyscraper and tree shadows). For those going to be in San Francisco next weekend there's one there. As opposed to the photos above, went all color. The graffiti shots are with the ever reliable combo of Canon 6D Classic and Canon 40mm f/2.8 STM pancake. The main show's are with the Leica SL2 and very unpancake 16 elements, 3lbs Zeiss Otus 28mm f/1.4. And when you have a fast wide angle everything is a nail.

For @MexicanDragon - Allied is now ready to roll as it should have been from the factory.

Those look great, Al! I had some sweet chili salmon last night, with a broccoli salad, fermented ginger carrots (!), and a Paneer Paratha with some tzatziki on it. Nice mix of tastes.....!

Happy 91st Birthday Arvo. Arvo Pärt: Tabula Rasa by Gidon Kremer, Keith Jerrett (1984) https://open.qobuz.com/album/0002894812099 Example: Learning more about Pärt... Like Glass above, I do like me some Minimalism.

Yoshi

Ex. DeAgostini Blue Note Best Jazz Collection No. 4 Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers Moanin' Moanin' — BLP 4003 October 30, 1958 Mosaic Mosaic — BLP 4090 October 2, 1961 So Tired A Night in Tunisia — BLP 4049 August 14, 1960 Are You Real The Big Beat — BLP 4029 March 6, 1960 Moon River Buhaina's Delight — BLP 4104 November 28, 1961 DeAgostini Blue Note Best Jazz Collection No. 5 — John Coltrane Blue Train Blue Train — BLP 1577 September 15, 1957 Moment's Notice Blue Train — BLP 1577 September 15, 1957 I'm Old Fashioned Blue Train — BLP 1577 September 15, 1957 Speak Low John Coltrane with the Red Garland Trio — BLP 7035 October 20, 1958 The Way You Look Tonight Coltrane — BLP 1426 January 10, 1958

New Moon Daughter by Cassandra Wilson (2013) https://open.qobuz.com/album/0060253744592 Example: Finally getting back to this tribute - so pretty... RIP

'Murica Resistance is futile. You will be assimilated. Starting off gently with what the Australians would call "a sausage sizzle" Spousal approval achievement unlocked.

@TMoney - Try playing with tire pressures a little bit and nice job on the metric. Fueling and hydration are a battle and it's hard to come up with rules because weather plays a big factor. But one thing I started doing 5+ years ago that has helped a bit, drink every 10 minutes. If you can't remember the last drink you took, drink. I got the Allied out for a series of road tests this weekend with the hope that it'll be good to go for the century this coming weekend. Had a minor tragedy yesterday with a failed/ruin crank arm but managed to find some local used parts that'll get me through and the revisit of a shakedown ride this afternoon went off without a hitch.

The Juiciest Homemade Birria Queso Tacos | Chef Joshua We...I may struggle to pronounce it correctly, but this is an easy winner as one of the juiciest tacos you will ever have in your life.This is essentially the recipe that I used. Notable differences, I used 4 Roma tomatoes instead of tomato paste. I generally don't like tomato paste. I added a tsp of cumin, coriander, and oregano and I did a slightly different, but essentially the same, mix of Mexican peppers. Finally, I did a mix of queso fresco, manchego, and standard mexican shredded cheese that seemed to pair very well with the whole thing.

With all the Coltrane at 100 celebrations going on Atlantic has remastered a six CD mono (1960-1964) album set (earlier versions also on streaming) . So Olé currently. Full (non-mono aka stereo ;) version) or if you want a highlights 100 station (from a new separate LP set)

Great day.

The return of Saturday za. I ran out of pepperoni, so I fried up some spam and smoked pork belly. caramelized some shallots and garlic. on a sourdough crust of course, cooked on the smoker. she'll eat.

Four! by Hampton Hawes!!!!!!!!! Full playlist

Jiminy, over 21 hours on Tidal! Music on TIDALBill Evans - The Complete Bill Evans On VerveListen to The Complete Bill Evans On Verve on TIDAL

I don’t think it sticks into the market beyond a bunch of users getting it for showing off their status. Wait…🤔🥸

Philip Glass: Solo Piano by Philip Glass (1993) https://open.qobuz.com/album/0074644557626 Example: Just remembering why I like Philip so much.

Dang, I guess I do need that $5k trump check...

Blue Velvet by Angelo Badalamenti (1986) https://open.qobuz.com/album/xhpv607rwq6ra Example: Should watch it again someday...

Fucking Shit, Holy Shit -- Shards of Art

I will buy a set but if they sound like the originals... I probably won't like them. The HE90 has always left me cold, despite how many I've tried. The HEV90 doesn't fix them either, it just muddies up the sound... seriously the input cap on those is a very nasty electrolytic cap. How that is high end is beyond me... That being said, I've been slowly working on my own clone of the HE90 for a couple of years now. They will never be sold to anybody, just a very stupid and crazy expensive DIY project to fix the HE90's. I have some NOS headbands for them but I'm currently designing a new headband which has more range (as the stock ones barely fit me) and looks like the original. New drivers too but I've only sent out for the first prototype parts for those.

The "ACK!"rooms.

Today is a Led Zeppelin kind of day. Was: Houses of the Holy deluxe edition In through the Out Door deluxe edition Is: Presence deluxe edition Will be: Physical Graffiti deluxe edition Also Seefeel's Sol.Hz earlier, because I'm still me

Just wanted to post a last note of thanks here. Never expected, always appreciated support led to me exceeding my fundraising goal. I've got the two bikes prepped and mostly ready. I just need to do a shakedown ride or two on the Allied which I picked up from the mechanic yesterday. Thanks again, d-_-b, #NFLO.

On the theme, and for those with long memories, a Fred's Streak.

A good friend of mine mained a Samsung Galaxy Fold for years. He said it kept him from needing to replace his laptop (which died) for quite some time. There were a bunch of obvious and not so obvious limitations. Case selection was a big one at first. Also, some apps just don't play nice on the big screen. Linus of Tech Squeaks ran a newer Fold for a while and he said the same thing. Of course, AAPL has clout with app makers that not even Samsung can muster. I'll be a bunch of developers will make it a point to update their app for the iFold here. I would never buy one (I hate smrt phnes and view them as a necessary evil at best) but I will watch how the saga of Apple's last geegaw, ahem, unfolds.

Old Bisbee got some more Bali in if interested.

¡Qué Bueno! Those look tasty. I've been meaning to make some goat birria but keep forgetting. Perhaps this week I will get my act together before we leave Michigan

Not on Qobuz... Released September 1969, a good example of the transition period from Psychedelia to what would become heavy metal. Their third and final album.

I approve of this message!

Patio Breakfast

1959, The Year That Changed Jazz

As it turns out, Moondrop are finally releasing the MoonZero soon: https://www.hifihub.com.br/en/product-launches/moondrop-moonzero-445-electrostatic-headphone-takes-on-the-stax-sr-x1 This image courtesy of Fujiya Avic: Looks cool and if they can bring them in for under 500$... that is mighty tempting.

Of the current day Stax electrostatics that I've opened up, all of them will fail eventually. They are making stupid design decisions which are just a net negative and they should switch back to mylar for the film as the PEEK just doesn't work.

Home sick so the perfect time to start perhaps my most ridiculous recent CD purchase, the decade old initial DeAgostini Japan Blue Note Best Jazz Collection subscription set (minus the accompanying magazines - my Japanese isn't what it never was). Every other week a new CD was sent with 5-7 tracks introducing an [in this set Blue Note] artist. So we start with the little known American trumpeter Miles Davis. Ex.

Here are some photos of the SS/ZF switch board I have been using in my CFA3 build. The original SS/ZF switch board, designed by ang728 & vwvwbg, uses a ULN2003 as a relay driver. The mode-control input drives several ULN2003 inputs in parallel. When the control line is high, the corresponding Darlington outputs sink current through the relay coils, so the relays energize. When the control line is low, the ULN2003 outputs turn off and the relays release. The relay coils are tied to +5V, and the ULN2003 provides the low-side switching path to ground. Its COM pin is tied to +5V so the internal clamp diodes handle the relay flyback. I have been using this SS/ZF switch board for about a year and a half without any reliability issues. The only thing I noticed is that switching modes produces a small pop. Even with headphones on it has been acceptable, but recently I started wondering whether this could be improved. . So I added a small Arduino Nano interlock board in front of the existing SS/ZF control input. The Arduino reads the front-panel SS/ZF switch and outputs the required mode-control voltage to the existing ULN2003 relay board. The sequencing is: 1. Detect SS/ZF switch change. 2. Assert mute. 3. Wait briefly. 4. Change the SS/ZF relay control output. 5. Wait for the circuit to settle. 6. Release mute. The mute control is done through a PC817 optocoupler. On the Arduino side, one digital output drives the PC817 LED. On the protector-board side, the PC817 transistor pulls the existing protector MOSFET gate node toward the protector board’s -12V rail. This mimics a fault condition and forces the headphone output protection relay to open during the SS/ZF transition. So the Arduino does not touch the audio signal path. It only sequences the existing relay-control line and temporarily forces the existing KG protector circuit into mute during mode switching. In the installed photo: The top connector goes to the front-panel switch. The switch controls whether Arduino D2 is grounded or left open. The middle-right connector outputs the mode-control signal to my SS/ZF switch PCB. This is the 0V / control / +5V connection. The lower-left connector goes to the KG protector board: one wire to the 2N7000 gate node, and one wire to the -12V output of the 7912 regulator. The lower-right connector is the 5V / 0V power input for the Arduino interlock board. Arduino code attached below: const int SWITCH_PIN = 2; const int MUTE_PIN = 8; const int MODE_PIN = 9; const bool MODE_INVERT = true; // if SS/ZF mode inverted const unsigned long MUTE_BEFORE_SWITCH_MS = 250; const unsigned long SETTLE_AFTER_SWITCH_MS = 700; const unsigned long POWER_ON_MUTE_MS = 1500; const unsigned long DEBOUNCE_MS = 50; bool currentMode; bool readMode() { bool sw = digitalRead(SWITCH_PIN); // HIGH = open, LOW = grounded bool mode = sw; if (MODE_INVERT) mode = !mode; return mode; } void forceMute(bool on) { digitalWrite(MUTE_PIN, on ? HIGH : LOW); } void setMode(bool mode) { digitalWrite(MODE_PIN, mode ? HIGH : LOW); } void setup() { pinMode(SWITCH_PIN, INPUT_PULLUP); pinMode(MUTE_PIN, OUTPUT); pinMode(MODE_PIN, OUTPUT); forceMute(true); delay(100); currentMode = readMode(); setMode(currentMode); delay(POWER_ON_MUTE_MS); forceMute(false); } void loop() { bool newMode = readMode(); if (newMode != currentMode) { delay(DEBOUNCE_MS); newMode = readMode(); if (newMode != currentMode) { forceMute(true); delay(MUTE_BEFORE_SWITCH_MS); setMode(newMode); currentMode = newMode; delay(SETTLE_AFTER_SWITCH_MS); forceMute(false); } } }Some pics:

This thing is 12k$ so with a total of 500$ in parts... how much is the paint job and how glorious is the very high distortion at the output.