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First post here, just want to share pictures of Carbon I built. My goal is as small as it can be. Use c3m0900170m instead of c2m1000170d (to-3pf version of c3m0900170d), lm4040-10 instead of lt1021-10, ksc5042m instead of ksc5026m, 2sc2705 instead of pzta42 (easy to buy from local shop). Two output sockets from Stax for pro bias and normal bias. It runs at 400V, 20mA. Heatsink temperature is about 55°C after an hour (ambient temperature is around 24°C). No short, no magic smoke, everything seems fine. 🙂

Not today, but yesterday, played in a work golf event and used the laser to make some fun accessories.

Success.

A guy on reddit built a "1968 system." A 275 driving Cornwalls had got him like this:

Finished Setup: 4 PSUs on GaN transistors 27.5V, bias 180mA. Sound impression: completely reference, lively and interesting, full control of my headphones HifiMan HE-6. For my ears better then DynaMight. Thanks to all who helped with configuration.

My kind of DJ setup.

I couldn't wait for cold weather so I made Mangchi's Buldak Chicken last night.

I don't think we should be sad - she had a life well-lived, and acted in podcast works well into her 90's.

Of Time by Pierpont & Helgeson (2025) https://open.qobuz.com/album/tbpyvouhx520b Example: 2025 music sounding like 60s spy movie soundtrack? Sure. I can dig it.

Required listening. RIP EMS

Thursday -- finally got the latest Covid booster, + flu shot Friday -- was a zombie But also, got the base IFFT transformation working for my MRI enhancement project. Now, onward to tensor networks.

In the parlance of our times, least excessive Mac built.

A Motown machine that writes music (and I'm not talking about Stevie Wonder or Holland–Dozier–Holland)?

Empanadas.

What the hell happened to Kickstarter? https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/90142071/pulsar-f1-ai-powered-interactive-pleasure-device-for-men

https://people.com/rock-star-performs-private-piano-concert-for-formerly-abused-bears-12162991 "Rock Star Performs Private Piano Concert to Brighten the Day of Formerly Abused Bears" Rick Wakeman of the band Yes performed piano for the moon bears at Animals Asia’s sanctuary, including compositions he wrote for the animals

Yello (feat. Heidi Happy)

Ribs 'n fixin's Al Fresco

Fantasies & Delusions (Opus 1-10 Music for Solo Piano) by Billy Joel (2001) https://open.qobuz.com/album/0696998539723 Example: I remember hearing about this release back in the day, but never really thought about it since. I really like it, great playing, great themes and variations. I will turn to it for modern classical piano, nothing really to do with it being Billy.

We've got some uncharacteristically early fall weather here on MV, that means a man's thoughts turn to ...blues metal. I've been a fan of Glenn Danzig's music for 40 years now. The Misfits need no introduction nor explanation. Samhain was an amusing but short-lived diversion into goth rock. The first four Danzig albums (and the fun little Thrall-Demonsweatlive EP) are represent Glenn in his absolute prime. He had the ideal backing band for his possessed Elvis persona. Eerie Von is the perfect backbone for the whole thing, and already had experience dealing with Glenn in Samhain. John Christ's riffs are leadenly heavy but still cut sharply through the mix. Chuck Biscuits got his start in punk rock (DOA, Black Flag, Circle Jerks) but adapts seamlessly to the demonic blues sound of Danzig. He's not a showy drummer, but he always does exactly the right thing. The efforts of all of these men are captured by producer Rick Rubin, who was also at the absolute top of his game at the time. Rick has done an awful lot to tarnish his own legacy, but the truth is in the 80s and 90s he was a music god. The first Danzig album is lightning in a bottle, and really without peer. I'm biased, because I bought it new on cassette in 1988, at a very impressionable age. Similarly, I bought II and III on CD when they came out. Both albums seek to the one(s) before them, and succeed in some areas and fall short in others. Also, they straight up fucking ROCK. Even at his most goofy, Glenn was a savant at conjuring compelling cheese. I didn't pick up 4 until years later, some time post millennium. While it's vastly inferior to the first three, it still a solid listen. Glenn was veering into experimental territory and well out of his natural depth. This would be a harbinger of (bad) things to come. He was fortunate to still have the classic band lineup and Rick Rubin producing. 4 was recorded in legendary Sound City studio, and I'm sure that helped. Look up the albums recorded there sometime, it's a staggering list. The album with the greatest guitar tone ever was recorded there. (I will die on this hill.) All of the above was enough to counterweight Glenn's worst ideas. Mostly.

Got to be honest I don't even know what OS I am running anymore. WTF even is Golden Gate 27.0.1? If my MacBook doesn't crash and I can get my email I'm in old-fart heaven.

Lunch á deux With plates. Fancy.

Jambalaya on the bayou

This is "Lush" by Green Star, not "Green Star" by Lush, but it sure sounds like them.

AI Lemony Chicken & Mushroom Skillet for Two

That would suck, but I just want to verify Trump still loves San Francisco, right?

SILO Season 3 I found it more interesting and with more action than the previous ones.

Bach: Cello Suites by Zuill Bailey (2010) https://open.qobuz.com/album/j4dmw5jtyv1uc Example: So, to answer the question: Do I need to listen to any other recordings other than the reference of Yo-Yo Ma's CBS masterworks recording? Well after some exploration (don't worry, you will not see 30 recordings of this reviewed), I would have to say yes. This Telarc recording (good first sign) by Zuill is a good example of a excellent recording that has a bit more liveliness, bounce, pace that I am drawn to. I will always go back to the Yo-Yo 1983 recording, but it is nice that there are these additional flavors that are really good. I would like it if it was more than 16/44 but I will survive.

Made a trip to Cardenas Market. Got a super burrito w/ pollo, beans, rice, guacamole, sour cream and tomatoes. And a grande Orchata. Ate half and froze half. Also picked up some beautiful fruit (the real thing, not a twink) and made a gorgeous fruit salad glazed with Greek yogurt. A big wedge of flan, which I'll have tomorrow and eggs, queso, veggies and Honduran chorizo, for a lovely South of the Border omelet tomorrow morning, along with some pappas frito. I really love that store! And usually learn a few new Spanish words to take home with my haul. Sorry, no pics.

Our own (Brit) spread at Roche winery.

R5 Mk II arrived yesterday, and by "arrived" I mean I drove to the post office and picked the damn thing up. The camera body is comparatively small and lightweight vs an equivalent DSLR. The 5D IV with its battery grip feels like a hulking behemoth in comparison. Even the 5D classic a chonker next to the R5. Funny how much bulk a pentaprism adds. The R5's UI is ...Canon. I had to figure out how to enable shutter activation when "no lens is attached" to use my manual focus glass. From the get go, the R5 pestered me relentlessly to set it up with my iPhone. That necessitated making a "MyCanon" account ...which I did on my laptop, with a real web browser and password manager. Then I had to sign into Canon on my iPhone and pair the two devices. The entire process made want to buy a view camera from 1920. I own zero R lenses and probably won't for quite some time. I am totally buying an R mount anamorphic. I started with the Canon EF to R adapter and it did what it said on the tin. The lens I had closest was the 135L, which says more about me than it. For reasons unclear to me, Canon ships their bodies set to fast burst mode. My 30D came that way 20 years ago. Some fussing later, and I had single shot and daylight white balance set (AWB is the devil.) Of course, the first actual keeper shot I took was with my beloved Super-Takumar 35mm F/3.5, a lens design that goes back to the 1950s. My copy is from the 70s and while it's far from perfect lens, I love how it renders things. This marks only the second time I've used the 35mm Takumar with a full frame sensor. Its ass is too fat for EOS bodies and on the 5D IV, it requires mirror lockup and live view to use. I find that workflow to be a miserable PITA, so I only ever used the 35 with my EF-S bodies (of which I have 3 ...for reasons.) While I loved the shots I got with the Tak on a cropped sensor, I knew I was losing out on much of the flavor of the lens by not having it on full frame. It's like own a Mac tube preamp and not using the phono input. The Fotasy M42 to R adapter is very well made. I had to enable the "shoot with no lens attached" setting or the shutter won't work with non-electronic lenses. Of course, the second lens I tested was the 35mm Takumar's 50mm, radioactive, F/1.4 sibling: There are a lot of variants of the F/1.4 Takumar, and mine is among the least desirable. The original 8 element version proved to be too expensive to produce and is a bit of a white whale amongst collectors. Besides being radioactive and yellowing, my version has a terrible coating and makes giant orange hexagon flares. Of all the lenses I own, it might be the one with the most "character." The 50's posterior isn't as bulbous as the 35's, so it's far less invasive inside the camera body and as a result I've shot with it on full frame for years. Before lunch today I had a go with the Nikon F to Canon R adapter (also made by Fotasy.) I have never been good friends with the Nikon lens mount. It's backwards. Also, I have owned precious little Nikon glass over the years. The only ones I shoot with are the mighty 300mm F/4, an excellent 50 F/1.8 I got from a certain 🐵 in 2010(!) and the decidedly mixed 18-200mm VR. Of those, the 300 was the obvious choice. I replicated a shot I took nearly 20 years ago of the house across the pond. Manual focusing a long lens with an EVF takes some getting used to. The R5 has a zoom peek function, but I as of yet haven't figured out how to use it. That's it for now. I'll out some modern electronic AF lenses tomorrow. What a silly idea.

A little over a decade ago I walked into Palo Alto’s Keeble & Shuchat photography store (soon after to close after 50 years) to pick up a Panasonic Lumix LX100 and walked out with a Fujifilm X-Pro 2. Even after moving on primarily to other systems, I've always wondered about that small body decision, so when Panasonic recently released their spiritual successor, the Lumix L10, I signed up for more info. Skip ahead months and Panasonic has been releasing small batches, especially for their 25th anniversary Titanium Gold Edition, as "invite only" orders. I'm a sucker, so invite order in. It's pretty sexy. When off that is. Less so when the lens is extended and it's always extended when on. That's known though and really what this camera is all about - a 24mm-75mm zoom equivalent compact lens. TL;DR: If you want that lens, in this size, this really is your only option (except for the sister Leica version, which doesn't yet exist for this new model). Nearly every amateur internet reviewer complaint (not FF, no IBIS, should have been a GM5 or opposite S9 ILC sequel, etc.) doesn't seem to understand the relationship between the lens and m34 sensor coverage. It doesn't cover the complete sensor by design. Generally comments have been positive though, as I think they generally should be. But mine is already going back, probably due to my unrealistic expectations, and just a reminder to myself, and maybe others, of a few things. When people talk about status of skin tones, auto-focus speeds, ergonomic improvements, etc., they're often talking within brand, not across brands. So when Panasonic, a video-focused company (think of the historic Olympus-Panny division or to a lesser extent the current Sony-Panny separation for small video crews) announces the L10 is a photography-centric model and it's repeated, well... kinda, I guess. I mean the specs are a clue - 20MP effective sensor for stills, 5.6K recording/5.2K Open Gate for video (which is possible with that sensor). The menus aren't designed around photography, though Lumix tries to keep the two halves separate. Lots of talk about caging it up, etc. The video thermal venting is likely why the body grew a little in size too (though I prefer its growth). So it's not Panny's normal 70% video and 30% stills thought process, but it's not the opposite either. To their credit they've brought video features to consumer photography like LUTs and greater use of waveforms. That's very welcome. My other issue, and this may not hit others, is they're selling this as a premium compact camera. That's of course subjective & relative and I'm sure compared to a Lumix S9 it is premium, but somehow the magnesium alloy body with "saffiano-leather-textured exterior" results in a pretty plasticky feeling camera (and the telescoping lens is likely always going to seem fragile). I know that's partially to keep weight down, but forget Hasselblad and Leica (though that lens is branded Leica), Fujifilm's X100 series is probably what Panasonic is gunning for and they're more premium-feeling than the L10. Same goes for any Fuji above the X100. "Premium" may or may not be "premium-feeling" for you, but I wanted to mention due to the price. So no matter what I just said this Lumix is a cool camera that uniquely fills a need you may have. Just potentially recalculate a few of the descriptors. And keep in mind the function lens switch can be set for a Leica MATE-like stepped zoom. Was fun and more my thinking to set to 28mm, 50mm and 75mm (or 24mm, 35mm, and 50mm) and never touch the zoom switch. Just shoot in familiar focal lengths. For me it's full cycle and I dusted off the X-Pro 2 to go to a harvest festival this weekend I had expected to take the L10 to. Slapped on a Voigtlander 28mm f/2 Ultron (42mm equivalent) to keep things small, but yeah, a single focal length. Anyone need any corn?

An evolutionary dead end - checking out a prototype Philips DCC prototype player:

The video of it being used was the best part.

100% buying an iPhone Duo on Day 1. I viscerally need that shit.

In September of 2009, I drove to a local brick & mortar store and paid them $30 for a DVD of Snow Leopard. It felt like a genuine upgrade from 10.5. Some time I after that I doubled the RAM in my laptop (remember when we could do that?) from 2GB to 4. I also replaced the spinning rust HDD with an SSD. Good times.

HAH. Controversial televangelist Jim Bakker dies at 86. Know Your MemeRIPBOZO | Know Your MemeRIP Bozo, often written as RIPBOZO, is a phrase used online to celebrate a person's death, deeming them a "bozo," commonly defined as someone who is insign

Music on TIDALYorushika - second personListen to second person on TIDAL in exceptional sound quality, or on your choice of serviceI haven't listened to the full album yet , but No.8 Sunny is one of my favorites .

Sonoma Plaza Combo Swirl

Dessert!

Melvin Sparks' Sparks!

Palo Alto snagged a Hauser & Wirth and it opened today with its inaugural exhibition ‘Calder | O’Keeffe.’ So long lines, sun, mobiles, “flowers” and wine.

Improvised focaccia. I started a dough for making pizza but forgot I didn't have cheese. So I let it rise longer than normal and hit it with olive oil and shallots and garlic, a bunch of spices and baked it on the pellet grill. maybe not as good as pizza but my gosh it is good.

The legendary ‘Tiberi Tapes’ reveal new sides of John Coltrane, even to his biggest fans https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/arts-letters/articles/coltranes-shadow-tiberi-tapes

These are made identical to the real ones. The leather is lamb skin though. PM me your address and I’ll send them to you.

(AI) This stuffed-zucchini-boats-mushroom.pdf