n_maher

They're purrfect.

Nothing so dramatic. Local dealer offered 10% off plus a free cover so I bit the bullet. Am having a few issues getting Wifi setup but I think it's part user error and part signal strength so I'm hopeful I can get it sorted tomorrow. Ran out of time to fiddle today but did get it seasoned so it's ready to reuse regardless.

Woops.

Run the Jewels - Run the Jewels Holy shit, where has this been all my life?

What happened to the old chassis? It was one of the few that I modified on my benchtop milling machine when I had it? I remember precision drilling all of those holes...

I think all of that style of cooker is pretty great at low and slow if you either a) manually mange temps very well and have patience or b) invest in one of the variable external fan systems. From what I've been able to read where they start to fall down is on long cooks where you may run out of fuel - seems like that might be in the 8hr range. I know some of my briskets and even pork shoulders have taken longer and it can be challenging to refuel those kamado cookers mid-cook. And honestly if you're just getting into low and slow I'd highly recommend starting with an electric rig. I did ribs on mine today and they're better than the "award winning" ribs I'd buy down the street for 3x the cost. The electric rigs do have their shortcomings as well but they are cheap, can't really burn your house down, and are WAY smarter than a kamado grill. If you also want a charcoal grill then that's a different story entirely. So really the question is - do you want to smoke stuff? Or smoke stuff and grill stuff?

Serious suggestion - you should have the two white guys building company build an outdoor kitchen with integrated gas grill, flat cooktop, and stuff like storage drawers, etc. I mean having some cart-based solution seems rather plebeian at this stage, no?

Crazy, I thought about that amp recently and couldn't remember where it went. One thing, I have NO memory of adding those boards/caps and they certainly looking like output coupling capacitors. The Ventus had/has(?) a history of DC on the output IIRC. I don't remember all that well, actually, but I've never see PMBs like that, that I can remember anyway. One thing to check would be the influence of the transformer, since it's both unshielded and in the same box with the amplifier boards. I'd try very carefully rotating it while you're listening to the noise and see if you can find a position when the noise gets better. I remember chasing something like this on the first M3 that built and in the end the only thing that fixed it was aggressively shielding the toroid.

This is immediately where my head went. Sell one of the spare DACses, the NAD, and the displaced monitors and call it even? I know, fuzzy math, but isn't that your thing, Shelly? 😈

Fully concur on the fun recommendation. The first track is ultimately best skipped in my opinion but the rest made for a pleasant morning.

^^^ I'll give that a listen shortly. Current guilty pleasure: Dru Down - Greatest Hits If you don't smile listening to Pimp of the Year I'm not sure we can be friends.

Yup, had one of them last night and from a "was it cooked" perspective it was great. The recipe for the actual cheesecake needs tweaking, but it was a fun first effort.

Sous vide Oreo cheesecakes are submerged and cooking.

Fajitas: 1. Lime marinated chicken 2. Peppers and onions 3. Homemade refried beans 4. Sour cream 5. Guac 6. Salsa 7. Cheese Delicious.

Happy Birthday, Brent! Maybe this is the one day a year when you get to have a biscuit and not cause catastrophe? Tell you what, maybe wait till next year. 2020 seems like it's already in enough trouble.

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday!

This. I loved listening to that thing at meets when one would show up. If I owned one I wouldn't be looking to upgrade.

Perfection is the enemy of excellence, Al (and Steve). And to my eye that thing surely is excellent, so don't sweat the lack of complete perfection.

Happy Birthday, Chris!

I feel like an idiot - I still don't understand what I would use this thing for.

Got up early to ride out to the coast. Stupid weather won't wake up to the fact that it's may. It was 30F when I left the house at 5:40. Still, view was nice. @Augsburger - I won the coldest ride challenge today.

@shellylh - I love that you have an extra M51.

Better Oblivion Community Center

^^ I bought a couple to use in my old garage which is woefully inadequate in terms of power outlets.