Beefy

...... all that aside, what the FUCK happened to that amp to make it so damn filthy?!?

Keeping with the good health news, my dad came through a triple bypass A-O-K. Big relief......

Just got back from the Pixies show in Halifax. Their audience interaction was pretty sucky...... but holy shit can they still rock after 25 years. Hey (Chained) was a particular highlight.

I bought my HD650 for under $200 second (third? fourth?) hand. Now admittedly they weren't in great condition, but having never heard them before it was a low risk investment.

Both are pretty damn comfy..... but if I had to nitpick, the Stax pleather pads aren't great on warm days and I prefer the fabric of the HD650. My HD650's are a bit frankenphone, because the headband and cable are actually from an HD600. The HD600 cable is a fair bit lighter and easier to manage than the Stax cable, especially since the 2.5m Stax cable isn't quite long enough to reach my listening position, thus need the extension cable. OTOH, the 3m Sennheiser cable reaches just fine on its own.

I've got both the SR-Lambda and the HD650 now, and I like them both for fairly different reasons. The Lambda is tight and fast with excellent clarity, which is great for rocking out. The HD650 has a warmer, smoother tone that is excellent for chilling out and relaxing. I tend to reach for the HD650 a bit more these days, purely because I need to chill more than rock right now. The only other comparison point I have to bring to the table is the HD515/555/595, which are all steaming turds.

Brain slug cupcakes and zombie peanuts are pure fucking win!

Honestly, I suspect that a live neutral is actually more of a problem for mis-wired appliances than house wiring. But I had no other suggestions or criticism, so that was it

Double fused, perhaps? Good safety feature for incorrectly wired houses or outlets.

Good call. But it still really shits me that they aren't doing a better job of the cooling. At one point, reactor 2 ran dry because the generator ran out of fuel while unattended. They should have also popped open the buildings to prevent hydrogen buildup and not freak people out with the explosions. Tough circumstances, sure, but this is all VERY bad for PR.

Good article on the situation here: https://morgsatlarge.wordpress.com/2011/03/13/why-i-am-not-worried-about-japans-nuclear-reactors/

Chernobyl was a 7/7 on the same scale, Three Mile Island a 5. From many reports there were some more serious uranium fission products like cesium in the vented steam, and some locals (~20) have tested positive for these...... but this is still a long way from a true disaster, and the sea water cooling looks like it is having the desired effect. When it is all said and done though, I suspect that the plants will be complete write offs. Absolutely. The entire backup generator system was neutered by the tsunami, and yet things are still largely under control. It won't be hard for future systems to be raised to prevent tsunami damage.

Considering the enormous scope of this disaster, I think that pandering to the public's fear of nuclear power is somewhat missing the forest for the trees...... Awful, Just awful. I don't have any other words.

Shit eh? That's awful. My crappy career doesn't seem so bad anymore

Ten years ago as a bright eyed PhD student I would have laughed at the idea. Now, its definitely a smart option; there is such a fine line between dealing with literal shit and metaphorical shit.

Indeed. The reality I am currently looking at is that just one in four postdoctoral fellows will end up with a tenure track position. So I currently have little choice but to find three other postdocs and kill them. Or work harder, but that's just crazy talk.

Yeah, I got off lightly compared to your slip. A few days in a wrist restraint should be enough to get me right. How is the recovery going, anyway?

Had my first slip on Canadian ice this morning, giving me a badly sprained wrist. More salt, people! Well, at least it means I can legitimately make my tech and students do all my lab work......

And for the UK, it is probably all fucking speculators driving the prices up But I wouldn't want to be in Italy right now - they apparently get 25% of their oil from Libya. And for a country already in deep crap economically, an oil supply squeeze could be catastrophic.

FWIW, for those looking to hold onto a system for the long-term it may pay to wait a short while for the new generation of SSD's to come through. Speeds and prices areboth going to improve considerably in the near future...... http://www.anandtech.com/show/4186/ocz-vertex-3-preview-the-first-client-focused-sf2200

Cool beans. Would really be interested to see how the articles turn out!

Wait, wait, wait..... are you all waiting for the music to burn in?

Yeah, I grabbed it on Xbox Live. Good little puzzler, but I preferred Braid on the whole.

Bloody hell. Just two advil will give me terrible stomach cramps

Surely that's what the booze is for.