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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.....

In the last 36(ish) hours I flew out to Denver and back to check in on a friend that had a particularly rough second half of 2025 along with three other friends. When we learned he wasn't going to be able to come out east during the holidays we decided it was time to head west. So yesterday I got up at 4am, drove through the snow to Boston, hung out for 24hrs and flew back this evening. I am, exhausted.

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!

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.

I have been wanting a MOPAR B-body restomod for some time. Thought I would buy a partly built project or the like and built to suit. Couldn't pass up this 1969 Road Runner that was on auction and local. The wheels could use some work, but such is life... Not much of a show car guy so I need to put some miles on her... HS

Went from Via To They say that moving is a major life stressor. I can believe it. It's almost like I feel a year older! Time for bed!

Thanks, all! I was doing exactly what you could guess I’d be doing on my birthday!

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.

Oh you heard about the Accent wall in the lounge? Lighter/ Darker / Shorter / Longer ? Previous short / long comparison OK long it is, But Rich Cream? Or Desert Tan? The Correct Answer, as always, is: Yes, Dear.

Peter Doig built a sound system using parts from old cinemas and then Brian Eno did a DJ set on it.

And after all that headed down to Burlingame to catch up with Joannes tall Australian nephew to hear all about his project work for Nvidia before catching the red eye back to New York. He very kindly gave us his'n'hers house warming gifts from Joannes sisters and himself. Also spotted in Burlingame

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.

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.

Turned out nice.

(or rather what the painter did today)

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 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.

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.

Dinner tonight was at Javalina Indigenous Dining at it was excellent. We had a variety of dishes but the only one I snapped was the elk fry bread with a significant pile of pulled elk, arugula and pickled onions on fry bread. Delicious. At the front counter, there was a basket of whistles for anti-ICE protests and support of the targets of this fascist aggression.

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.

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.

Smoked bologna

From last night. I was dysregulating last night something fierce, so I performed one of my comfort activities -- learning to wok.

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.

Two meals from the new year. First up is a chicken dish from Samin Nosrat's Good Things cookbook. I don't think I've ever had a cookbook recipe come out looking this close to the photo. It was also delicious, along with the saffron rice Claire made and a Samin salad with tomatoes, cucumbers and quick pickled red onion. Last night was the first pizza of 2026, in the form to a Detroit style with pepperoni, red bell pepper and mushroom. I need to find a local source for brick cheese.

Squeaking in under the wire with birthday greetings in your new home! Hope you had a great day of usuals and nibbles and such! Cheers! 🥤

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… 🤓

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

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!

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.

@Knuckledragger I'm sure you've heard this before, but I was triggered by this video to listen to the whole song