zumbini

I'm afraid to listen to this one...

Thoughts On Growing Older by Will Rogers 1. Eventually you will reach a point when you stop lying about your age and start bragging about it. 2. The older we get, the fewer things seem worth waiting in line for. 3. Some people try to turn back their odometers. Not me. I want people to know why I look this way. I've traveled a long way, and some of the roads weren't paved. 4. When you are dissatisfied and would like to go back to youth, think of Algebra. 5. You know you are getting old when everything either dries up or leaks. 6. I don't know how I got over the hill without getting to the top. 7. One of the many things no one tells you about aging is that it is such a nice change from being young. 8. One must wait until evening to see how splendid the day has been. 9. Being young is beautiful, but being old is comfortable. 10. Long ago, when men cursed and beat the ground with sticks, it was called witchcraft. Today it's called golf. And, finally ~If you don't learn to laugh at trouble, you won't have anything to laugh at when you are old. ----Will Rogers

Here are a few more favorites in no particular order:

I have a thing for oddball album covers. This one turned out to be well worth listening to: This one was not:

Congrats emmjlm! That should keep your turntable busy for a while.

Italians also have that "celebrate the living" approach. Makes it difficult to tell a funeral from a wedding. My condolences to you and your family elgrau.

Howdy Steve and welcome aboard the Carver train!

I've been using cheap Maxell CD-R's ($11/100) and RiData DVD+R's ($17/100) for the last few years with great success. I've only produced a few coasters out of ~500 burns and those were caused by eMule which runs 24/7 in the background.

Now imagine doing that more than 200 times!

20 years ago I made provisions in my will for my gear and music collection to go to my youngest brother. Now that his system is as good as mine (probably better) I amended my will to leave it to my son. I also keep a database of my hardware AND software.

He probably has a few MILLION records I don't have.... Thanks for the link Audioquest!

Looks a lot like the insulators the power company uses on transmission lines.

I recognized your play on the Dr. Seuss classic right away. It was one of Zack's favorite bedtime stories. They were the only books he read without prompting that DID NOT involve trains, planes or construction vehicles.

Me too Bill. What's the point?

That's what I love about this hobby - there's more than one way to skin a cat (or cast concrete!).

I have original vinyl releases of Beck-Ola, Rough and Ready, Beck, Bogart & Appice, Blow By Blow and Wired . Most of these LP's hold up well, even against the MoFi Gold CD's. (Beck, Bogart & Appice is a notable exception.)

I've been searching for a good explanation of the MoFi procedure but all I've come up with is this ad hype: Mobile Fidelity's significant contributions to the world of high-end audio software are grounded in the art of Original Master Recording, significantly advanced by the company with the introduction of the half-speed mastered Original Master Recording™ LP. As part of the company's resolve to provide the most accurate sonic reproductions possible, all Mobile Fidelity product is mastered directly from the original master tape as opposed to production copies often used for mass reproduction. This ensures a more complete and exacting transfer of the original musical data. In the case of the Original Master Recording™ (OMR) LP, the use of the master tape is combined with a unique procedure known as "half-speed" mastering, which literally slows down the cutting system involved in mastering vinyl so that musical information can be transferred from the source tape to the lacquer with greater precision. To this advanced mastering technique, Mobile Fidelity adds substantial refinements in the vinyl compound itself and improves methods of plating the lacquer. The result is a significant improvement in overall.

The actual results vary widely depending on the quality of the master tape and the expertise of the mastering engineer. There were also some sonic differences between the early Japanese pressings and the Ultradisc II's pressed in the US. It's been a while since I A/B'd them but IIRC I was disappointed with Santana Abraxas and Metallica Master Of Puppets. Both of these Ultradiscs had excessive clicks and pops and less dynamic range than the original releases. However, most of the MoFi releases were IMHO better than the original releases with less noise and increased dynamic range. Some of my favorties are: Beatles Abbey Road Crosby, Stills and Nash Deja Vu Grateful Dead American Beauty Jethro Tull Aqualung Moody Blues Days of Future Passed Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon Steely Dan Aja Steely Dan Katy Lied Yes Close to the Edge As to how they manage to fit extra bass on an Ultradisc I believe it's a result of cutting the lacquers at 1/2 speed.

Damn I'm out of touch. I just checked prices at SoundStageDirect and was shocked to say the least. Most of my vinyl collection was purchased for a buck (or less) out of bargain bins at local record stores. The bulk of my CD collection was purchased used for $4.00-$8.00 per disc from Chicago Digital. Once I got over the initial sticker shock I realized that SoundStageDirect's prices are not all that bad. I paid roughly the same price for 100's of Mobile Fidelity 1/2 speed masters purchased 30 years ago. Those MF releases make up less than 5% of my LP's by volume but account for more than 40% of the cost. The bottom line is I'll probably treat myself occasionally but continue to buy most of my music at garage sales. Squeek, squeek, squeek...

"If you push something hard enough, it will fall over." (Fudd's First Law of Opposition) "It goes in, it must come out.." (Teslacle's Deviant to Fudd's Law) from I Think We're All Bozos On this Bus (Firesign Theatre, 1971)

Congrats on your Master Builder award Balok. You certainly deserve it.

What! No leaded-glass doors? Super job Balok! It's much more intricate and furniture like than what I made.

Thanks for the link Steve. I love looking at pictures of cool toys!