skullguise

Good news Jacob! And, a toast for luck

Good thought-provoking reading folks, thanks for some enlightenment. And yes, when I said "snap" in my post, I do mean recognizing mental health issues in general. There is premeditation to many of these kind of tragedies, and a lot of build-up over time. We chatted more at work on this, and many of us felt that gun law reform can and would help (at least when it comes to minimizing the mass deaths, for example). Not to abolish them, but more rules about what can be had by the average person, and how easy it is to get it. Beyond that, there is a certain amount of responsibility in the home to try and prevent guns from being misused. But interestingly, no one believed a full ban of any kind was the answer. In any case, I sat down with my son tonight, he's just about 14 and has a tough time getting to the emotional side of this. It was a tough balancing act, to really get across the empathy & feelings we (his parents) had, without "forcing" him to try and feel that way; or worse yet, develop a sense of paranoia that can impact his day to day life. It was a pretty good talk, even if it didn't fully resolve anything - nor was it really mean to. Meanwhile, every time I turn on the TV and see stories, I tear up....I guess in some sense I envy his ability to distance himself from this.

At work, we were just having discussions on this horrible tragedy Maybe we could be focusing more attention on why people SNAP more in the US..... My wife called me in the middle of the day, she and I are heartbroken for those families, and also the impact it will have on the other kids that survived but had to witness that...so so so sad.

Wow, Wayne, two great Santa stories! Really glad the police one has that ending, I bet the one who was an arse to you got a little mouthfull. Let's see if he's there at that event and says anything to you.... And boobie cocoon.....sure beats a small plate of cookies!

Needs a pattern, solid colors are getting boring..... But hope it comes off soon!

Coax SPDIF right now, from a Sony SACD player for 16/44 out.

Oy....sorry to hear, Jacob....truly sucks being at the mercy of others' incompetence!

Hi, Never compared them head to head, but I did have the rDAC for a couple months. Based on MEMORY - so take it as you will - the NWD strongly beats out the rDAC on things like bass extension, total space/soundstage, and detail retrieval. I remember the rDAC as being VERY musical, even if it wasn't the end-all. At around or at least twice the price, I'd still recommend the NWD if the system will fit it and you can afford it. It also offers balanced outputs (discrete IIRC, not opamp based), and my brief test into a cheaper Stax balanced amp proved it to be great-sounding. Not so much info, but without a doubt I prefer the NWD. One of the compares I also want to make, and it may be easier to set up than the NAD M51 comparison, is the Neko D-100 MkII to NWD comparison. Not a lot of time to do that, but I'm hoping during the Xmas holidays I can set something good up....

RIP....

Sounds like no fun, Haj. Couple folks at work were talking about the "latest" stomach thing going around.... Hope you feel better soon!

Congrats Al, and Wayne. Doesn't matter how she was dressed, just that she was on your lap! Bigger question: was she naughty or nice?

Got a tiny bit more time with the NuWave this weekend, more like Sunday afternoon....all I said before remains: this thing does space & detail very well, does some very nice resolution of instruments and voice in that space. I don't have them side by side, but still say the NAD M51 is even more resolving and neutral. The NWD seems to get a bit more air up in the treble, though. It has a very slight lushness or warmth that is musically appealing. This is a very good, perhaps great DAC at the $695 price, and still a relatively easy recommend at $795.

Glad to hear you landed OK, Nate, hopefully all your stuff did too. And happy to hear of mending Vicki!

^ That....yay for raises!

This....big congrats, and dying to hear if the long arm of the law gets shortened a bit....

Thanks All. Had a mediocre day at work: too many meetings where I was requested but not really required, a presentation for a VP from India (went well, but I still had better things to do), and less efficiency than I'd prefer. But my wife and son took me to my favorite fish place in town, where I had my now traditional Lobster Bisque and "Bayou Catfish" (very lightly breaded and baked, with spinach, Andouille Sausage, Shrimp, and some tomatoes, in a spicy Cajun sauce). Saw a friend as we were coming in & chatted with her, and the lovely waitress later told me my Macallan 12 was paid for by said friend. Capped off with a tiny bit of cake on the house, which I then donated to the great kitchen staff to finish for me. A really lovely night to fix the droll day.....!

Enjoy! Very Happy Birthday!

You said it Gene....he was one of my first entries into Jazz, and Take Five will always be one of my favorites. Have enjoyed a lot of his other work, but as the first thing I heard, it stands above. RIP, great man.....

Went o a wake today, the sister of a friend with whom I used to work. Was moved to tears, meeting her family (she was one of three very close sisters) and watching a slide show of this once immensely intelligent, beautiful woman. I haven't been so touched by a stranger's death in a long time....she seemed so full of life and spirit, and died at a very young 52 due to cancer that had spread to the brain. Gave my wife and son an extra hug tonight....

Congrats to CJ and Santa! Good stuff all

Happy Birthday Gene!

Wow.....well, here's to stability......heal well!

Comcast charges for cable modem rental as well, I went out and bought my own, it pays for itself over time. But to do it all of a sudden is a bit sleazy....as far as I know Comcast has always charged for it.

Happy Birthday Haj! Hope it's a great one!

Purk, I traded in a cheap Chinese AKM-based DAC I got on eBay. EDIT: like this one, but even a bit cheaper: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Finished-2496-AK4396-CS8416-DAC-With-Transformer-case-/110767440205?pt=US_Home_Audio_Amplifiers_Preamps&hash=item19ca41014d Larry, offer ends tomorrow, see http://www.psaudio.c...hop/nuwave-dac/ .