TMoney

"Sennheiser announced on Tuesday it’s looking for a new partner to buy its consumer audio business, which consists of headphones and soundbars. It’s going to shift its focus entirely to professional audio, including its Neumann microphone division and what Sennheiser calls business communications." Source: https://www.theverge.com/2021/2/16/22285497/sennheiser-investors-selling-consumer-headphones-soundbars-business This is pretty sad. Makes sense why Axel Grell left now. We haven't seen any really new high-end product from them since the HD-820, and it sounds like we shouldn't expect anything else to be forthcoming. The HD600/650 and HD800/S are my two favorite headphones. I don't think they are going away any time soon, but I doubt Senn is investing heavily in any successor models.

Robert Caro - The Path to Power What can I say? Best book on politics I've ever read. Maybe best book on history I've ever read. There are certain books that I know if I see them on someone's shelf that we will get along instantly. Caro is a national treasure. This is so well written and so meticulously researched. It is a 1,000 page monster but it goes down smooth because the history, cast of characters, setting and Caro's prose are so compelling. The first book is less a strict biography of LBJ but more a history and study of America in the beginning of the 20th century with LBJ as a the central character. Texas politics, the Hill Country, the Great Depression and the New Deal all are described so brilliantly. I hope to finish the other 3 volumes this year. There is a chapter in the book about the daily hardships of rural America pre-electrification that is just an absolute knockout and can be read on its own as a great piece of non-fiction.

Waxahatchee - Saint Cloud This is killer! Indie/folk. Pitchfork had it as their #2 album of 2020 behind only Fiona Apple. I'm not one to disagree.

Happy birthday!

RIP, Chris. Von Trapp family singers are going to need a new MC.

Watched the heck out of that show as a kid. RIP, Screech.

There are a lot of reason why baseball has lost me as a fan over the years but this one has always stuck out. The baseball hall of fame is such a joke.

One hundred precent, Tyler. I am in total agreement. That is part of why I have zero interest in Herbert's sequels. He caught lighting in a bottle once, but trying to stretch it out beyond the one book has no appeal to me.

Absolutely wonderful. This is a great complimentary read to those who have watched the show, or a wonderful journey for those who have not seen it yet. I'm really impressed by Tevis as a writer. Ender's Game is one of those books you give to precocious young people who might feel ashamed of being smart. Maybe it is time to re-think that default option and give them this classic instead. Best compliment I can give the book is I read it in a single day. It hooks you and won't let you go.

😢

Tidal recommended these guys based on my listening habits and I have to say, I like it! Quality folk-rock. Big Thief - Masterpiece

Happy birthday!

Late last year I was reading a feature (maybe it was a profile of the movie coming later this year?) where the author made reference to Dune as being impenetrable to a lay audience and full of gobbeldy-gook. I first read the book about two decades ago, so I figured it was a good time to pick it back up and re-read. I'm happy to say the opposite is true. Far from being impenetrable, I found it all but impossible to put down once I got momentum going. I think it has aged beautifully. I think it is well deserving of its "classic of the genre" status. Dune's brilliance, to me, comes from the combination of its world-building, characters, prose (better than I remembered), and plot (schemes within schemes). I think Dune ends up as more than the sum of its parts. In not being overly reliant on any one aspect of story-telling, it succeeds in a way that a lot of classic sci-fi does not under contemporary scrutiny. Herbert's focus on character and location give Dune timelessness in ways that sci-fi novels overly reliant on cool/novel technology can never be. I also can't believe how middle-eastern the book is having re-read it after travelling to the region. -- I'm not at all excited about the 2021 movie. I get wanting to bring this story to a wider audience who is never going to read a 600 page sci-fi book from the 60s. Dune is just so fulfilling to those of us who love it. However, even with low expectations for the movie I fully expect to be disappointed. The Lynch movie at least nailed the production design and a lot of the casting, even if it ended up a colossal mess. The story is just very difficult to cram down to a 2-3 hour script without losing a lot of the richness that makes Dune what it is. But hey, paging @cutestory! When was the last time you (re)read it, Jeffy who is known to us as Maud'dib, and how did it hold up for you?

Happy birthday, G-Man!

🍿 I think I'm going to wait to play it until the 1.2 patch hits. I'd rather experience it at its best.

Happy birthday, meme-lord!

Deadwood What an absolute joy this show has been. I missed it back in the day, but going through it now on HBO Max over the past two months has been delightful. I fell in love with the amazing cast of characters and the setting. Al Swearengen is the fucking man. I'm really going to miss watching it now that it is all over. The movie, coming 10 years later, was also a beautiful send-off and love letter to fans of the show. Recommended without qualification!

The Cure - Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me. Just Like Heaven is one of my all-time favorite songs, no question.

Happy birthday, Esme’s dad!

Happy birthday!

I have no intention to use the case unless I need to transport them somewhere in my bag.

Gonna be hard for CDPR to ever attempt an ambitious game again at this rate. This might kill their studio in its current form. Sad to see.

It'll sit in a drawer until we can travel again so I didn't pay much attention to it.

So the Maxx showed up yesterday. I'm impressed. I think people who purchase them will be very happy. $600 with tax is a lot, but the build quality is impeccable and you pay a premium for how slick all the (cr)apple stuff works together. Switching from listening to a podcast on my phone to a YouTube video on the iPad to a work zoom call on the MacBook without pressing a single button is a neat trick. As for sound quality I think it meets expectations. It will not blow anyone on HC away with how good it sounds, but I also think it won't offend either. The tuning is fairly neutral, which is appreciated. Beats by Steve Jobs™ with a warmed-over bass-boosted response they are not, and that makes me glad. I'm not a lover of closed headphones when open headphones are an option. The usual closed headphone characteristics are all present in the Maxx. These are not a replacement for a proper headphone rig. My HD800S aren't going anywhere. My HD800S also aren't able to operate without being tethered to my ECP amps, which is where the Maxx come in. If you want to listen to something while walking around the house or the office or on the airplane then these will hit the spot. Their mass is such that I don't think they would be a good fit for exercising.

Happy birthday, man!