Leaderboard

Found some motivation this morning. Weather was fantastic. Calories were burned so beer will be drank.

You can't fool me, that isn't a woofer.

Tuesday sourdough za. Tried something new and baked it on the pellet smoker.

Condolences, Todd. The more I live, the more convinced I become that life is often complicated and rarely simple. People are often seen as one thing but that is seldom, if ever, the truth.

^ Agreed and nice fall off. Visiting my dad and hit a nearby car show last weekend. And by car show I mean a car. Rain threatened the event so only a 1974 Challenger 383 Four Barrel was left when I showed hours before the scheduled end. Quick tests of the used Hassy 55v f/2.5 I recently picked up. Much to learn.

I can't believe I'm going to bore you all about Newton. Although English, he wrote Principia and Optiks in Latin. An that is a real problem - translating back into English is a tickly thing, particularly the more fundamental stuff which is to do with what we learn as Newtons laws of motion at school. What is the precise translation of momentum for example? After that the translators have an easier job. Newton derived all his proofs in his long book Principia geometrically, step by step. He finishes off by meticulous measurements of the motion of the planets etc. At one stage he says that a chunk of the measurements was lost, but he can recall the basic idea behind the measurement. By "lost" he actually meant that his dog ate some of the sheets, or knocked a candle over and set fire to some sheets. Accounts vary. As professor at Cambridge University, his lecture course was so unpopular that no students attended. But part of his job was to give lectures. So he'd turn up and give the lecture to an empty theatre. In later life he spent most of his time studying alchemy. I'll shut up now

Unfortunately, the dusty haze kept me from capturing the full moon. It's normal here ☹️ I had planned to go to one of the highest points on the island on thursday to try and take some pictures of the Milky Way... I have confidence in my equipment but not in my abilities. Some photos with the RF 35mm F1.4L usm. I really like how this thing catches the light.

Finally... I can't resist.

Glassworks - Expanded Edition by Philip Glass (1981) https://open.qobuz.com/album/0827969039427 Example: It has been some time since I have listened to this. It occupied a bit of my brain in the 80s.

A.I. Enhanced Costco Brownies ATK Enhanced Banana Bread.

Vive L’Espagne!!

Another batch of chili. This one I'm talking to work tomorrow. This is my 7 qt. Dutch oven, so it's a big batch. If I haven't posted my recipe before: Dice two bell peppers (red & orange), and a medium yellow onion. Sauté in a lg. skillet. Set aside in 7 qt. Dutch oven. Brown 2 1/2 lbs. of ground beef in same skillet, salt and pepper to taste. Use slotted spoon to separate ground beef from rendered fat. Place ground beef in Dutch oven. In sauté pan add 16 Oz. can of diced tomatoes of choice, one jar of fire roasted salsa, small can of tomato paste, 16 Oz. Red wine, 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce, tablespoon of minced garlic, spices ( I use Carroll Shelby's chili seasoning). Cook over medium heat until hot and well mixed. Add to Dutch oven, along with 1 can of pinto beans and 1 can of Black beans. Mix well and simmer covered for 15 to 20 minutes. If needed mix masa flour (included w/ chili seasoning) with 1/3 cup of water. Stir into chili, recover for additional 5 minutes. This will thicken the chili nicely.

So sorry Brent…. With my dad’s passing, some family and friends have been reflecting on mortality a bit. Many of us are experiencing that kind of thing, people our age up through parents’ age losing folks around them. One called it the worst curse of aging, and I can agree…. Wishing your mom and family the best!

Frozen Charlotte by Jack White (2026) https://open.qobuz.com/album/h83ak1ouymgjv Example: Lots of heavy riffs with a groove. Like it.

Few more funz from the webz

Last week I finished assembling the Super Carbon, and it's now up and running. The first listening impressions are very encouraging, but there is still some audible background noise that needs to be eliminated. At the moment I suspect it's related to the power supply compensation, possibly an oscillation. On the schematic, around the STN0214, there is a 470pF/1kV capacitor. I initially installed a 5pF/1kV capacitor there, so it's possible the compensation at that node is simply insufficient. I'm currently waiting for some mica capacitors to arrive so I can experiment with the compensation network. While simulating the circuit in LTspice, I measured approximately 540V VCE across the STN0214. Based on that, I don't think the PBHV2160(VCEO = 600V) is an ideal substitute for the STN0214, especially if you're targeting output voltages significantly above 600V. On another note, I also performed the initial testing of the D&G 211 filament supplies, and they appear to be working as expected.

I was rooting for France because I think Mbappe is a class act. Spain was the superior team, I mean only one goal scored on Spain the whole tournament? That’s crazy shit. I am definitely rooting for England tomorrow, for many reasons but a Mbappe vs Messi clash could be epic.

Finally finished UFO, starting Space: 1999.

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:

Wayback playback:

Flea, fleaing it up, clothes remain on.

Bill Evans, Nardis, and Broken Time https://www.thebeliever.net/broken-time/

May your good memories of your father be a blessing. Condolences Todd.

I didn't even know it existed until just now. Looking forward to it.

Caught some Hooded Orioles masquerading as Hummingbirds They're not fooling me .

PetaPixel re-reviews the first consumer (under $1,000) digital SLR camera, the 6MP Canon EOS 300D from 2003:

How about speaker model porn? A famous 1970s live rig from some jam band or other.

The Outlaws (Prime) - fun watch. We're through the first two seasons, looking forward the third.

I am working on a CFA3 build where the original THAT340 input devices have been changed to a JFET input pair. For a rough simulation I used these models: .model 2SJ103 PJF VTO=-1.5 BETA=10m LAMBDA=0.01 RD=20 RS=20 CGS=50p CGD=45p IS=10p .model 2SK246 NJF(Beta=2.5m Vto=-1.5 Is=1e-14 Cgd=4p Cgs=5p) This is only intended as an input-impedance / loading check, not a final device-accurate distortion simulation. With the current SS input/feedback network: R24/R26 = 5k R44/R49 = 50k C9/C10 = 20p I get approximately: SS mode input impedance: ~11.7k ohm per phase at 1 kHz ZF mode input impedance: ~50k ohm per phase at 1 kHz So even though the input devices are JFETs, the SS mode input impedance is still relatively low because of the surrounding SS input/feedback network. The practical concern is that I changed the volume control from 10k to 50k. With a 50k attenuator, the source impedance around mid attenuation can be much higher than with a 10k control. That seems like it can load/interact with the ~11.7k SS-mode input impedance, while ZF mode is much less affected. I am considering scaling the SS input/feedback network values upward while keeping the same approximate ratio and compensation time constant. Current: R24/R26 = 5k R44/R49 = 50k C9/C10 = 20p Conservative option: R24/R26 = 10k R44/R49 = 100k C9/C10 = 10p Simulation: SS input impedance rises to ~20.2k per phase SS gain changes from about 15.0 dB to 14.7 dB More aggressive option: R24/R26 = 15k R44/R49 = 150k C9/C10 = 6.8p Simulation: SS input impedance rises to ~26.6k per phase SS gain changes to about 14.5 dB The idea is to reduce the current drawn from the volume control and raise the effective SS-mode input impedance, without changing the low-frequency feedback/input ratio too much. Has anyone tried this on a JFET-input CFA3, especially with a 50k volume control? Does scaling R24/R26 and R44/R49 like this seem reasonable, or is there a known preferred value set for JFET-input builds?

My condolences to you and your family, Brent. RIP Bones.

Condolences to you and your mother, Brent. She must be very sad and lonely. Life can be such a bitch…

Demented fermented - James Hoffmann discusses coffee fermentation:

I actually think Phil has been more coherent than he was a couple weeks years ago. He's on some good brain supplements or something. It will be a sad day when he hangs it up.

CONFESSIONS II by Madonna (2026) https://open.qobuz.com/album/l00mdxqzi41sa Example: The Example gives you a smattering of what is on the album. (also a reminder, don't look at the sources of the green lasers). It is pretty much a Stuart Price joint. Dance music all around, mostly on the EDM side of the fence. Is there great singing? Na, Is there great lyrics? Na. Is there drops and beats and drops and beats? yup. Sounds good and I bopped along. And there are some colabs here and there.

Condolences Todd.

My relationship with my own Father was certainly complex, but we did have some really in depth conversations in my adult life. I cherish those, because I do feel as though I started to understand him better. I'll never forget the worst times, but I've long since forgiven them. Luckily before he passed. I will never have the chance to use what I learned to do a better job at parenting, but it's quite apparent that you absolutely did! So sorry for your loss Todd.

Sorry to hear Todd. RIP David.

RIP

My Condolences, Todd.

My deepest condolences, Todd. The important bit is that he was a good man. There aren’t many, so his passing is a loss for all.

The fun part about cycling is his rivals could form an uneasy alliance when he goes on these long range assaults, but they are too busy squabbling over the remaining two podium spots to work together to bring him back. Unless he just has an off day he is nearly impossible for the other GC guys to beat one-on-one. The only guy to get him this year was Wout.

Damn that was nuts. I thought Jonas was going to hang in there with him but he clearly couldn't. My French cousins who are avid cyclists and Tour fans are essentially boycotting the last couple of years because Tadej is ruining it for them. Either he's doping or otherwise cheating and/or he's making it boring because there is no suspense.

Seeing Tadej annihilate on the Tourmalet is good motivation.

It's a heartache!

RIP, RIP

New headphone protector. Four layers board. Two LM4040 2.5V references. Limits set to ~ +/-20 mA.