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I managed to build few T2 in the past few years. Just sharing pics how T2 fits in Modushop Dissipante 400 enclosure. Many thanks to Mr. Gilmore and HC community

Slowly but surely continuing to improve. I've got a long way to go before I can challenge Nate for FTW (w/kg I have no chance), but its amazing how much a little bit of regular riding improves your cardio.

This is my latest to add to the growing collection, I think a may have a problem... oh well. This is a Simon Marty guitar, it features his innovative radial bracing, the back and sides are ancient Huon pine, salvaged before a dam flooded a valley, estimated between 1000 -1500 years old, the neck is Australian rosewood and the top is spruce.

You Wish.

Damn you LAiV. Just after I’m satisfied with your Harmony µDDC and µDAC you release a new, cheap combo DAC-headphone amp. Yo Rob!

Wow. OK, so at least now I know that he was repeating something he heard. And probably not something he meant as a direct attack aimed at me personally. It's still incredibly poor judgement, but that's much easier to navigate than the alternative. This morning when my direct manager came into work, he immediately asked how I was feeling, and said he'd been worried about me since I escaped early the day before. We went somewhere private and I told him some things that I'd gone through during the AIDS epidemic that might bring some understanding to my emotional breakdown. Some of those I've never spoken to anyone about. I don't want to elaborate on that here, but a lot of my issues stem from survivors guilt. You think you're beyond events that happened 40 years ago and out of the blue something triggers you all over again. He was incredibly sympathetic and completely understood how that could affect me the way it did. He's straight, but "California straight", which is to say very insightful and dismissive of anyone who isn't. I explained to him that I decided I didn't want to take this event any further. I didn't want to admonish this young man, and I really didn't want to involve upper management. He respected those wishes, but he did suggest that tomorrow (Saturday), while all of the office staff and upper management were away for the weekend, he direct myself and this young man to a private office space. He told me that if I were willing for the two of us to have a private, civil conversation and explain some of the events that I'd discussed with him, and what triggered my response to the 'joke' he told, he thought this young coworker would be sympathetic and it might be a positive lesson to learn earlier as opposed to later. I'm not completely comfortable doing so, but I do think he's probably correct. And I don't want this to fester. As much for my own piece of mind than any other reason. We'll see how that goes, but I do suspect his instincts are good ones.

People at 18 can have their minds changed. Way more so than people at 50. It may not be something you can do, but there is at least hope something will click.

I don't know this kid, but I don't see the homophobic element to his stupid "joke." I think it demonstrates a racial commentary because AIDS in Africa really wasn't about the gay community. I think he was just mocking Africans. Regardless, I don't see why you wouldn't tell him how offensive it was and make clear you don't approve of or accept that kind of comment. If he truly feels that way, he doesn't deserve your affection or attention.

Hell yeah, Adam! The only advice I have is get after it and as someone else I follow on Strava would say, "This suffering is a privilege." Well, maybe one more thing - don't ever worry about comparisons to others. One of my good friends from 30+ years ago rides 8,000+ miles a year (pilot) and when he rides centuries with us barely breaks 140bpm at 50+ years old. I just can't be him. I'm a year younger but have always outweighed him by 40lbs even when we're both fit. He also doesn't know how to have fun, so as usual balance is the answer.

It’d been six weeks so I dialed up empanadas again.

Amazing from SCTV to Schitt's Creek and on through recent dramatic roles. RIP to the legend Catherine O'Hara. Sad day. ☹️

RiP

I have often said that hatred starts as ignorance. I DO think political correctness has gotten out of hand, but on a personal level understanding what you're saying and to whom it is being said matters. I'm sure he's a fine young man, but with "young" being the operative word, he's likely pretty susceptible to influence by others. Maybe his fragile state and need to feel acceptance is there too. So he emulates the others to be accepted into their circle. I'd say talk to your manager first, and see if he is willing to say something. Tough situation, you don't want to put the kid on the spot or deeply accuse him, but it sounds like he needs to hear something about his behavior before it gets worse and maybe turns into TRUE hatred, not just a joke. My 2 cents

They are very different headphones and the ES-2a easily beats in terms of price but I'd lean more towards the 009D in terms of raw performance. The 009D is really growing on me and what amazes me is how Stax can release crap like the X9000 and the 007S and then this... Both the X9000 and 007S are headphones I'd never listen to for fun while I've been logging a lot of hours on the 009D.

In better, and somewhat hilarious news... I'm especially fond of the 14,000 vs. fewer than 40 metric. Tell me how your bill failed without saying your bill failed...

Industry I started watching this in the beginning and kind of thought of it as junk in the beginning. A bunch of new hires in a London bank/brokerage vie for permanent positions. Someone described the show as a cross between Euphoria and Succession, and can kind of see that analogy. It is in Season 4 now, and has gotten much much better. A lot of very unlikeable self-centered people, but for some reason I enjoy watching it. Kinda like waiting for the next car crash.

I think you're safe. It's a step down soundwise, and it doesn't have the 1/4 inch thick casing. It would be convenient with the headphone amp, but I usually find those tacked on amps to be lacking.

The Controversial Photography of Martin Parr

I was just checking to see what else I might have missed from his career, at IMBd. But it seems that Sanford and Sons was pretty much it, at least of anything significant. He was perfect for that unassuming role. RiP.

At times humor is like music, something that you find of your liking or fun at some point, becomes absurd and despicable at another. If your impressions on this young man are right, he is still a good person worth your consideration. For some reason he found the joke fun, he shared it with a good intention and most likely he didn’t consider all the implications. As I see it, just asking him why he thought the joke was funny might clear up things.

Lunchtime assignation (with Joanne) Fish Taco's 'N Usual @Big Rock

Guess I need to get a pair of K1000s and start walking around with them. I'll be cool then, right?

I saw this too. Although I believe the best way to cook bacon is with a bacon weight. Been doing it this way for about 7 years.

Huon pine? Is it from Middle Earth?

Any style, any language, and Pelageya always makes it sound good. From Jesus Christ Superstar And back to Ukrainian folk song

1 metric boatload of labor goes into building stuff like this. And then making more and more. compared to a bunch of other stuff at this price level this is actually worth the asking price. No idea of performance. Highly similar to megatronxl. In 10 years when the electrolytics need replacing its going to be a multi day project.

Kazuhito Yamashita 25 March 1961 – 24 January 2026

Sad indeed. R.I.P. Catherine O'Hara.

For sports, I think the A7V should be a nice upgrade. I'm noticing the battery dies way faster with precapture on, but I think the feature is well worth it. One from Asheville from a couple of years ago. And the obligatory B&W.

Carr has had a number of comeuppances over his early years. Now 53 he seems to be past this shady past. Who can ever forget the late great Sean Locke in Carrot in the Box on 9 out of 20 cats does Countdown

RIP Catherine O' Hara. Details coming.

The Statler Brothers - Flowers On the Wall

Just in the last few years: Lagerfeld, Westwood (who was also predeceased by her natural successor Alexander McQueen), Miyake, & more recently Armani. Now Valentino last week: The remaining big Japanese designers of that era: Rei Kawakubo (Comme des Garçons) & Yohji Yamamoto are both getting up there in age. Ralph Lauren is up there too, and thankfully still active for the brand. With Donatella having stepped down from Versace, who else is left from that period (70/80/90's)? Is Calvin still working? Mucia Prada, Dolce & Gabbana, Tom Ford (Gucci), Marc Jacobs are a few young-ish [sic] names I know crossing over into this century. I have no idea who is leading classic houses like Chanel, Dior, etc. On a positive note, I am currently amazed at Coutre to the Max, who appears to be an old soul in this young boy's body, & doing amazing things. Can this be real?

Not a ton of info, but if anyone is interested, here’s an interview with Mr. Zhou, of Light Lens Lab, on their recreations. I’m lucky enough to have several of the lenses discussed, including the 8-element, 1966 “Noctilux” (one of my faves), Z21 Angénieux, and the recent Double Aspherical. Big fan.

‘We get a lot of requests for it be used in sex scenes’: how Goldfrapp made Ooh La La https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2026/jan/26/sex-scenes-how-goldfrapp-made-ooh-la-la-baudelaire

Smoky Moroccan Chickpea Soup (formerly Stew) a la Mishka Makes Food

It's been a day. Got up this morning and came downstairs to the thought, "man, it feels cold on the first floor of the house." First call was to the boiler guy, praying that a circulation pump had crapped out overnight. Verdict - WRONG ANSWER. He quickly determined the boiler was doing it's thing but the pipes for the zone that heats the first floor were not. Shit. Phoned a friend whose husband is a plumber. Started chasing frozen pipes a little before 11am. Finally found the culprit at 2pm. Had it fixed and flowing heat again by 2:30. All told, it felt like a bargain at under $1000 given that a pipe could have burst and we've got another 10 days or so of freezing temps ahead of us. Still managed to make scones for Lily's best friend who slept over last night and turns 18 next week (JFC) and also still made dinner - pork chili verde with cast-iron-skillet cornbread. There will be barrel strength bourbon in my future. Oh and we've already got almost a foot of snow and I've cleared the driveway once. I believe I will sleep tonight.

Dusty, half this family isn't Jewish, but they bought in....to celebrating Jewish family and events, as well as the Shiva mourning. Call it Shiva or not, to me it's a good thing. There is a lot of formality to a Shiva, many times it is not followed 100%. Personally, I find it the beginning of healing. Family and friends come to pay respect, connect, tell stories, and eat. The formal period is 7 days/nights. When Karen passed, I was tearfully surprised by one of my two best friends flying in from California and spending all the days/nights of Shiva visiting (3 days for us). It's that type of love and connection that helps the healing. It's just a good thing, no matter what it's called, what religion it follows, etc.

I meant kick-start the HC travel team back into being, whether or not Marc has Red Oxx bags.

I feel like any band called Tropical Fuck Storm has a fair bit to prove?

The original bag lady

I’ll add one more Rob. Feels very 2025/6. Cons and Clowns.

Just so good.

I've going over my collection, filling in any items I'm missing, I felt I really should have a modernized version of the Sigma. I came across a rather abused normal bias set which needed new drivers but wanted to try something different... so here is the SR-Sigma 507: The housing was very discolored so I wanted to try my hand at painting it. The frame was primed and painted satin black but I left all of the other parts in the primer color. The plan was to make them gloss white but this looked too cool so this is how they stayed. The drivers and cable are from a 507 so it took a lot of work to get this right. The drivers are in the cage that Stax introduced with the x07 series so I glued the drivers and fitted spare metal grills to them. In terms of sound, this is the best Sigma I've ever heard. The bass is overblown, as is always the case with Sigma's, but it has some real power to it and is more controlled than every other I've heard. The top end is nice and clean and the midrange is just sublime. A fun addition to the collection.

After mornings outside when the temps are in the 30s I could get used to going out when it is already 70 at dawn in Hawaii.

Now it shouldn't come as a massive shock to anybody but I'm not much of a SR-009 fan. From day 1 they always sounded messed up to me and the BK and S didn't really make it any better, even a bit worse with the 009S. To this day I have only one 009BK (as it is a limited edition) in my collection and one regular 009 that showed up here randomly and was a stark improvement over all the other sets I've owned. No idea why those sound different but better not mess with them. Now the plan was always to do something with the 009's to improve them but there was always something better to do. Well with surgery pending a couple of months ago, I finally had time to do something not too taxing. First off I needed a donor set and here is where that came in: I got these three years ago and they just sat there in a box. Too many parts missing with no spares available, three out of the four dust covers were trashed and I took off the arc to rescue another 009... so a pile of parts with fucked up drivers. The plan forward was clear though, the drivers needed new dust covers, new diaphragms, a way to mount the cable and finally some way to attach the earpads which wasn't 009 levels of stupid. Now none of those parts could be reused or they simply weren't there so time to do some designing. I still suck at 3D design but practice makes perfect... or it should in theory. Now first off, dust covers and diaphragm holders. These are easy to do as PCB's but materials, thickness, films used etc. are all large variables. Here are my first drivers, actually using the third batch of diaphragms as I slightly tweaked the dimensions once I started test fitting: Those familiar with the stock drivers might spot the bias connection is very different. I had to spend a lot of time cleaning the stock drivers, as they had been open for who knows how long, but this first test was successful. Fully balanced drivers and no noises from them at all so they are as clean as I can get them. The dust covers are 2um mylar-C, just lightly stretched (hence the slight lines visible) and the main diaphragms are also fairly loosely stretched 2um mylar-C, then heat treated and given a coat of fabric softener. The drivers are easy to align but one major part of this project is to find all the correct o-rings used to assemble these and in the right grade. When I had waited a month for a large shipment just for the one size I needed to not show, I even bought some stupid expensive examples locally. That got me here: All new screws used to get the drivers into the housings. You can see how beat up the aluminum housings are but hey, fine for a project like this. Now there was the next difficult bit, the cable entry: On the stock set it is a plastic guide which sits in those holes, the cable fits in that and the whole assemble is screwed down. Now the stock cable I had was not perfect so instead of making my own version of that... I just used a standard Lambda cable. A L500 was going to die for this set anyway (as I needed the arc) so why not use that cable. Here is my solution for that: This is 3D resin printed and is the second revision. First was just to check for hole size, alignment and if it was fouling on anything but it was way too shallow. This version still had to be sanded a tiny bit but it fits nicely. I did make a 3rd and 4th version which is incoming to clean up the design a bit and give me some more internal room. The earpads above are simply stuck on with some blutack so more on that... For the earpad mounting, there two problems there really. None of mounting hardware was included and anybody who had changed the 009 pads knows just how fucking stupid that mounting setup is. I also wanted to use non Stax earpads (not paying 300$+ for pleather crap) so here is what I came up with: Same idea really but I added a spacer between the plate and the driver housing so there is room to slide the lip of the earpads underneath it. The two layers of the PCB sandwich are visible there (along with the production number as I forgot to have it removed) and it works nicely. I could have made this from aluminum but it wouldn't have cost roughly 4$ then... This is the fitment with some random test earpads and standard 1.6mm PCB's. Works just fine and I can't find any issues with baffle seal... quite the contrary really. So here we are, the MA-009 This set of earpads has already been replaced and it takes a matter of seconds to swap them over. What a novel feature... Now what was the true goal for all of this, well besides having some fun doing something new... make a set of 009's I would actually want to sit down and listen to. Now this project is far from over but here is something novel... a SR-009 that has some actual bass output. They are still forward sounding but it has been diminished by a large extent. I can use these for hours quite happily, even at my usually higher volume levels. The decision to use 2um mylar was to try and tame that forward edge and it has been partially successful. A stock set of 009's is terrible on most music I try them with, this one is mostly good with just some tracks which show how bad that stator design really is. There is this slight forward sheen over everything and it simply has to be the stators as the rest of the headphones has so much in common with the 007 overall design. Now the major issue is driver stability as the left diaphragm really likes to get stuck to the stators and I have to open up the driver to get is back on song. I might have gone too far in sealing them up but I wanted some bass dammit!! I will make some more test diaphragms and see if I can make some which can handle the pressure of going on the head energized while giving the sound I want. For now I'll just use this pile of parts to make some music... So to end off... if anybody has a set of 009's with blown drivers that are collecting dust... hit me up and I might want to buy them.

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.