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Today NASA hosted a chat session with my nephew. We got to catch up with him, talk about things he's doing, etc. He took us on a bit of a tour and we got to see his view from ISS. And....fancy that....the world really IS round! 🤣 'Twas very very cool! Pics are screen captures, and video quality was so-so. But wow.....

With leftover pulled pork in the fridge it was time for nachos.

Was thinking about you, Todd, and your nephew as I spend a few minutes out in the driveway tonight tinkering with the camera. I'm pretty shite at. lunar photography, but still had fun for 10 minutes until I couldn't feel my hands.

Gag-ish gift as in stocking stuffers. Forgot to post as I don’t even currently have the vinyl rig connected, but all the best holiday 2025 Tiny Vinyls. Reconfigured listening rig soon.

Hey - at least we are number one in the search results --- over the actual manufactures site.-- Need to work on their SEO as well.

We had a friend with "taste" come and have a look, and apparently What we want is "Desert Tan" Capturing the sunbaked warmth of a desert landscape, this yellowish tan is low-key yet luxurious. https://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-colors/color/2153-50/desert-tan Well OK then. The Office Renders look Ok. Like I have a choice.

Had Joanne compare similar different greens under various lighting conditions in various locations. Apparently getting Gemini / nano banana to replace wall colors in a picture isn't good enough 🤷‍♂️ Also, how many greens are there. Many many many apparently.

Hank Mobley - No Room For Squares 192kHz on Qobuz Ex.

We skipped the BEPs this year as the luck thing hasn't worked for the last few. Went with a whole einkorn wheat flatbread with onions, shallots, anaheim peppers, gouda, cheddar, parmigiano, and herbs.

looks like my lumberjacking will have to wait a bit. 🪓

Well I've been away and a certain SR-009D showed up in the meantime... Sorry for the crap picture but I've only had a couple of hours with them and I should have been in bed an hour ago... First impressions, I like the color but it's clear that Stax have cheaped out with one of those surface treatments that are so popular in China. Nothing as nice as the 009BK here, it's that matt but shiny black except in the grove on the back. It's okey but we are clearly seeing production moving away from Japan here of crucial parts. Same is true for the earpads, very different from regular 009 pads and the smell and feel is identical to the various earpads I've been buying from China. Nothing wrong with that really... if they didn't resell the 10$ pads at 200$. They are also odd as they don't seem to fit nicely on the headphones but feel nice, much better than the 007S trash pads. They are similar to the Omega pads in some ways, large opening and pretty thin. The headpad seems also different from the older models so likely a new supplier there too. Same basic thin pad design though but a bit wider overall compared to the L500 part I have on the MA-009 in the picture. Same cable as the SR-X1 and the 007S. I'm not in Japan so I'm not getting the shorter cable as instead of throwing them into the boxes, Stax wants you to send in for them, in Japan only. Gotta love companies living in the 70's. As for the sound... I was expecting to hate them but no... these are the first 009's that aren't way too colored for their own good. For the most part, they are easy to live with with plenty of bass and presence. Maybe a tad dull and uninvolving at times but still easy to get long with. Now they are not perfect, there is a distinct "bass drum" resonance on many tracks and some certain ranges make them way too shouty in the midrange but it's far from as bad the originals or what the hell the 009S was. Nice controlled soundstage with some depth to it, good extension on both ends of the spectrum so yeah... I'm pleasantly surprised. I haven't detected any of the serious driver resonance issues as with the 007S either. Only a couple of hours with them but some volume matched comparisons with the MA-009, I prefer the fuller sound of the latter but it's not a long way off. I do feel the irony of me finally tackling the long planned project of fixing the 009's, only with Stax releasing a new version which doesn't suck like the older ones at the same time. Still, this is good move in general and at present I'd recommend these over the 007S and the X9000, let alone the older 009 models.

Cooked yesterday in a marathon session so that dinner was a non-event (prep wise) tonight. Chicken shawarma with homemade naan. The naan was all I managed a pic of.

Paul Motian - Paul Motian box set (from the Decca digging). First CD purchase in awhile. Ex.

Buldak with cheese (which I made)

Stranger Things Season Five. Four episodes in and it's getting good.

Dining on good luck black eyed peas and collard greens.

That's incredibly cool Todd!

Took the new bike out for a first ride today. My new shoes (five ten) need to have the release adjusted, because when I stopped, I fell over because my left foot wouldn't let go. I need to adjust the front brake, it's grabbing intermittently. It could use some minor fit adjustments, but over all, I'm pretty happy with the fit, I got the right size. The big issue is I haven't ridden enough to make a difference since I met my wife in late 2020, so I'm in AWFUL shape. I was gassed after less than a mile. Kayaking isn't a particularly aerobic exercise. I'm gonna set up my indoor setup with my old bike and see if I can get slightly less out of shape before trying anything not mostly flat outside again.

‘I’d never heard anything like it’: the prepared piano revelations of jazz star Jessica Williams Dave Brubeck called her a great and Mary Lou Williams gave her advice. But the prodigy grew frustrated with jazz, quit and started dismantling her instrument. A superb new reissue showcases her findings https://www.theguardian.com/music/2026/jan/05/jessica-williams-jazz-prepared-piano-blue-abstraction

Death by Lightning Highly entertaining for history nerds (raises hand). I absolutely recommend this. Only four one hour episodes so commitment is low.

I think you mean New Texas.

I think to understand that we'd first have to declare war. Right now we have a president (and military frankly) performing unsanctioned and unauthorized (and from all I can tell unprovoked) military actions. It's mind boggling.

Actually yesterday, not today. I got up early on my 4 day holiday weekend, and decided to get my laundry done early. So loaded up the laundry and Maki and headed to the laundromat in Fairfax. Got it done and headed back home to Nicasio. Halfway home, on Nicasio Valley Rd. saw flashing lights.... Had to turn back and go the long way around. On Lucas Valley Rd. I had to stop briefly for an overturned car. Luckily no more blockages, and got home to discover that I still had power. Could have been much worse.

Late picture, and a little burnt, but it was delicious.

I don't do new year resolutions. However, I now have one for 2026. Eat more Korean food.

It’s alive! Getting the offsets adjusted is so touchy…finally got it below 2mv as it drifted about. Did it without heatsinks after being on for a while. It seems to settle in around 14ma with the LTST-C170CKT LEDs and the 402R. Running 240R vice the 255R. Will likely let this cook for a while and see if it needs any tweaks. That front panel light is a bit bright…may need to tone that down a bit… 🤓

In case you need to replace the onboard battery.

ok, this is head case :), what do you mean by inexpensive? I found it almost impossible to motivate myself to ride a purely mechanical trailer. Just got bored. I would get any trainer that would connect to zwift, and would read https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2020/11/trainer-recommendations-winter.html to get an idea about what the options are.

Dunno where Woot is getting these from, but they have new Nikon D800 bodies going for $629. While a couple of notches below the latest D810 model, this has to be the best deal in full-frame DSLRs atm.

Crew fell six trees yesterday, and one more this morning. All about 2' diameter. I have a lot of cleanup work to do. So I bought a beefyer chainsaw. 16” 56V. I still have a tree that should be topped, but not critical. Edit: We did take out one green one - it had no more friends to protect it from the wind.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DTIw5mdDvq2/?igsh=MWRhbW02MGx3c2x3bQ== This could be amusing.

Fat squirrels and fat(?) cats to follow. Possibly some dupes. Xreffing is a PITA. Squirrel tongue! These shots were taken only a month ago. When there's sufficient snow on the ground, squirrels will eat the berries. I spent new year's eve with 3 octogenarians (one of whom will be turning 90 this year) and 2 cats. Wisely(?) I brought my 85L and iPhone. Gidget vigorously investigating what's going on with Peter's trouser leg. Gidget is a gray card with legs. I've mentioned in the past that I really like the Moment app for iOS. It has great manual white balance. I need to xref what kelvin value I use it in and start using the same on the DSLR. Shot with tungsten white balance and then adjusted in Photoshop. To be fair, Gidget does have a lot of brown in her coat. Molly displaying her usual aggrievement at the presence of humans. Gidget absolutely savaging my knee with all four paws. She didn't draw blood, but it sure felt like it.

I thought it was released in English...

I'll take Things that never happened for $500 Alex...

Jenny Lewis @Austin City Limits on PBS

Dead Like Me

*adjusts tinfoil hat* It's not just about stealing Venezuelan oil (and whatever other natural resources that are a bonus). What we're seeing here is an attempt to "stabilize" the world's oil market using Venezuela as a buffer when we destabilize things by attacking Iran.

Deconstructed Sushi? Red, White and Blue Apple Pie. 'Murica.

Installed a new wifi access point. Internet connection looks pretty solid!

Finished watching the Beast in Me on Netflix, I have to tell you a must watch.

Philippine Airlines inflight safety videos

The United States is going to be “very strongly involved” in Venezuela’s oil industry after the operation to capture Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, President Donald Trump told Fox News on Saturday. He said: We have the greatest oil companies in the world, the biggest, the greatest, and we’re going to be very much involved in it. https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2026/jan/03/caracas-explosions-venezuela-maduro-latest-news-updates-live The stolen oil… NYT

My heart almost broke. So glad for that last bit.

I think it was a combo effect. I thought I cleaned the drip tray and dump trough after my last brisket, but probably not good enough. The belly was good and fatty, so there may have been more juice than previous runs. And there seemed to be more dust in the pellet bag when I was filling the hopper. So this may have led to it throwing more sparks than normal with the blower. I have sifted pellets previously to reduce dust, not this time. So - I will clean more thoroughly, sift my pellets, and buy less fatty belly (the last one will not happen). On a positive note. After cleaning, I ran it up to 500F and back down, no issues, then smoked a lovely slab of salmon (not pictured). It worked like a charm. So the my thoughts on it just being cosmetic seems to hold out for now. I will pick up some high temp paint to give the open metal a coat. Also as a side note, since I setup fiber internets I didn't put the grill on my network yet. The app would have told me if it got to cold, or in this case too hot. So adding the grill to the network is another task.

Shit, Mikey. I've read a few stories about grease fires but that's pretty extreme. Do you think it was just from the belly or was there some built up grease from the grill/smoker not draining properly or something? Regardless of root cause, that sucks.

Happy New Year everyone! Bit bittersweet for me. The last few years Karen and I have had mixed celebrations: 3 years ago at some friends' place in NH, we went to bed early but watched the ball drop on streaming. Two years ago, same friends weren't feeling well so we skipped, but watched the ball drop. Last year, too tired, went to bed early. This year, I fell asleep reading, but woke up at ~11:40 to turn on the TV and watch the ball drop. When the clock struck midnight, I turned to the other side of the bed...and started crying. The sweet side was some of my closest friends sharing pics and texts for the New Year, our bonds are ever closer. Hoping that 2026 is a much better year....for me, for my family, for all of us here, and for our country and the world!

Started watching "The Beast In Me" on Netflix, with Claire Danes and Matthew Rhys. Supposedly uses the production team from "Homeland", which I always like. The series follows an author (Danes) who begins writing a book about her new next-door neighbor (Rhys), a real estate executive who allegedly killed his wife. Two episodes in, and it has captured my attention.

Todd and the Book of Pure Evil (2010)

It turns out Discogs has a YouTube channel: