John beat Max Unlimited on heavy. Using a pad. With his feet. None of this cheating with the controller. Yes, that’s right. I witnessed it. I said to myself, “what the heck” as he pounded through the beginning of the song. To say it was incredible would be an understatement - the guy’s a frickin’ amazing player. He got a “C” on it. No “D” for him. Amazing. We are bringing the DDR shirt idea together - I think we will get them printed fairly soon. Alright! As for me, I am about 50% there on my two-foot gallops. This, of course, means I am really only capable of one-foot gallops. So it goes. However, my grapevine step is nearly there (nearly being a relative word, of course). All of this combines to make me nearly good enough to pass Rythm and Police on heavy. When I pass that, I will be happy.
I’ve had more bizarre chats in this past week than since the hey-day of the Alex-Matt chats of yesteryear. Considering the math, I’ve been talking to him online for ‘round about 8 or 9 years. Wo!
Ah me, what else. Oh yes. I prayed. I prayed for one specific thing. I prayed for one very specific thing, for help and guidance with that thing, for strength. What it was I actually prayed for, it is not necessary to write down here. However, I can tell you one thing, my prayer was answered. Ladies and gentleman, those who are depressed and those who are in content, those who are frusterated and those who are down - prayer works. I’m not promoting any religion here - I completely respect whatever choice you have made - it’s your life. Regardless, I believe in the power of prayer.
Well, it was winter break, so we had many chats. Inevitably, the highlights appear here.
Shayla (3:01:31 PM): the little bar at the bottom just gained a little green segment
Shayla (3:01:32 PM): lol
Alex (3:01:57 PM): haha!! that’s excellent to hear - that either means its doing something, or its fooling you into thinking its doing something - those browsers can be rahter sly
Alex (3:05:32 PM): and the israelites were like “whoah red sea”
Shayla (3:05:34 PM): haha
Alex (3:05:38 PM): and moses was all like “part dude!”
Shayla (3:05:42 PM): lol!! what?!
Alex (3:05:50 PM): and then the pharoah was all like “woooooah plagues!”
Alex (3:05:58 PM): and then it was all like 40 years in the desert
Alex (3:06:05 PM): and then like “woah manna from frickin’ heaven dudes!”
Alex (3:06:13 PM): and then the grumbling and like the water from the rock!!!
Alex (3:06:14 PM): woah!!!
Shayla (3:06:23 PM): woah indeed!
Alex (3:06:50 PM): i see you are a recent recipient of my surfer dude exodus story
Alex (3:06:53 PM): i have been refining it
Shayla (3:06:56 PM): damnit, alex!!! I left maroon 5 at home!
Shayla (3:07:08 PM): … lol you see that I am a recent recipient??
Alex (3:07:46 PM): haha yes
Alex (3:07:53 PM): i have been refining my methods for telling it
Shayla (3:07:59 PM): oh
Shayla (3:08:01 PM): lol well I like it
Alex (3:09:13 PM): yes!
Alex (3:09:15 PM): success!
Alex (3:09:18 PM): that’s the first person who has said that
Alex (3:09:21 PM): from which i can conclude
Alex (3:09:23 PM): it sucked the other times
Shayla (3:09:27 PM): lol
Shayla (3:09:31 PM): that’s a bummer
Alex (3:10:12 PM): shayla that laugh you just experienced (or slight twinge at the corner of your mouths, as the case may be) can be attributed to thousands of man hours of work on comic timing, content, and sophistication - and they all came to fruitition only minutes ago!
Shayla (3:14:54 PM): and 2nd half of this semester, social dance
Shayla (3:15:03 PM): WOOO! SWING, SALSA, ANDSOMEOTHERSTUFF!
Alex (3:16:16 PM): social more like sexual!
Shayla (3:16:24 PM): lol!!
Shayla (3:16:29 PM): swing isn’t that sexual
Alex (3:16:31 PM): not that its a bad thing
Shayla (3:16:33 PM): salsa is
Alex (3:16:39 PM): salsa is all hot and bothered
Shayla (3:16:41 PM): I hope I don’t have to dance with a girl
Shayla (3:16:43 PM): yes it is
Alex (3:16:46 PM): i mean honestly, its called salsa
Alex (3:17:14 PM): secret dance practicing arena
Shayla (3:17:17 PM): the laundry room?
Matt (3:16:28 PM): guy class — “Today, you will be learning how to belch, fart, and scratch”
Shayla (4:10:08 PM): scratch
Shayla (4:10:12 PM): wicky scratch
Alex (4:10:30 PM): scratch
Shayla (4:10:42 PM): wicky
Alex (4:13:02 PM): scratch scratch
Shayla (4:13:27 PM): wick-
Shayla (4:13:30 PM): y scratch
Alex (4:13:42 PM): boom
Shayla (4:14:02 PM): wick
Shayla (4:14:04 PM): boom
Shayla (4:14:05 PM): wicky boom
Alex (4:15:24 PM): boom boom BOOM ba bOOm scratch wicka
Shayla (4:15:32 PM): wick
Shayla (4:15:37 PM): a
Shayla (4:15:40 PM): wicky wick
Shayla (4:15:42 PM): scratch
Shayla (4:15:42 PM): bom
Shayla (4:15:46 PM): *boom
Alex (4:16:06 PM): burrrrrrrr rum tum tumm
Shayla (4:16:27 PM): burrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrar tar tar
Alex (4:17:27 PM): boom slap chime bing bing dooooong
wicka burrrrrrrrrtart meow bong bong
Shayla (4:18:03 PM): click… click clickity click… wicka…. wicka SCRATCH wicky wicka scratch BOOM
Shayla (4:19:59 PM): boom
Matt (7:15:50 PM): lol! bitch
Alex (7:16:30 PM): move!
Matt (7:37:38 PM): oh em gee!!! what makes these people think that they are good singers?!?!?!?! IT’S HORRIBLE! SOIGNORANT!
Matt (7:40:28 PM): lol, zombie sex
Matt (7:49:20 PM): Woke up at 7:14, pressed snooze, woke up at 7:20, went to class at 8, came back, went to class at 9:35, back at 10:45, played DoD, went to class at 12:50, went to lunch, played DoD, read too much, ate dinner, played Dod, recorded amer idol, talked with Alex, ranted about John
Alex (7:50:14 PM): i see a recurring theme
Matt (7:50:22 PM): lol, yes, i know, im an addict
Matt (8:14:46 PM): croak
Alex (8:15:21 PM): ribbit
Matt (8:15:30 PM): growl
Alex (8:15:40 PM): sprong
Matt (8:15:50 PM): boing
Alex (8:17:10 PM): rrrrrrrum tum tum
Matt (8:17:24 PM): BOPPIDYBOPBOPBOP
Alex (8:20:08 PM): chang chchchang chong
Matt (8:20:31 PM): dingaling dingy dong
Alex (3:31:46 PM): Roy!
Matt (3:31:50 PM): ahh
Matt (3:31:52 PM): ROY!
Matt (3:33:11 PM): my gym lab prof, well, not a prof he said, but his name is john o’grady, my bio teacher is john ford, my chem is david rainville, can’t remember the rest, but they’re all so plain, lol, i need a prof that’s like “Bruenhilda” or something
Alex (3:32:43 PM): Betsy Ross
Alex (3:32:47 PM): made the flag
Alex (3:32:51 PM): ask her if she’s related
Matt (3:33:12 PM): lol!!! yes, because everyone with the same first name is related, lol
Alex (3:51:07 PM): where do i get this stuff?
Matt (3:51:39 PM): i dunno, lol, but keep it coming, cuz i dunno what i would do without the hilarity that takes up the majority of our chats
Matt (3:52:07 PM): alex, i have a freaking broomball game tonight at 11:45
Alex (4:00:07 PM): stayin’ alive in 85!
Alex (4:00:12 PM): that’s how i remember the year i was born in
Matt (4:00:47 PM): i was born in 1984, like that book
Alex (4:00:52 PM): orwell!
Alex (4:00:54 PM): george
Matt (4:01:03 PM): GEORGE!!! ANOTHERNORMALNAME! WHAT’S WITHTHIS?!?!?!
Alex (4:01:51 PM): DAMNYOUNORMALNAMES
Alex (4:01:55 PM): DAMNYOUTONORMALNAMEHELL
Matt (8:30:02 PM): like that one joke “Procrastination 101 - Lecture pushed back to tomorrow”
Matt (8:32:08 PM): i was going to take a nap from 6-8, but it turned in to a DoD extravaganza, i played from 6-8:15
Alex (8:38:16 PM): lol?
Matt (8:38:52 PM): no no alex, ! instead of ?, it sounds like you’re asking a question, like “Am I laughing out loud?”
Matt (10:56:56 PM): alex, do you know they produce millions of virgins each day in every color, religion, and sex?
Alex (10:57:01 PM): LOL who?
Alex (10:57:04 PM): non virgins?
Matt (11:13:40 PM): alex give me a funny quote
Alex (11:17:06 PM): My second favorite household chore is ironing. My first being hitting my head on the top bunk bed until I faint.
Alex (11:17:30 PM): I was so poor growing up … if I wasn’t a boy …I’d have nothing to play with.
-Rodney Dangerfield
Matt (11:17:39 PM): lol!!!!!
Matt (11:17:40 PM): omg
Alex (11:17:45 PM): A horse may be coaxed to drink, but a pencil must be lead.
-Stan Laurel
Alex (11:17:58 PM): Whenever I see an old lady slip and fall on a wet sidewalk, my first instinct is to laugh. But then I think, what if I was an ant, and she fell on me. Then it wouldn’t seem quite so funny.
-Jack Handey, Deep Thoughts
Alex (11:18:03 PM): Never tell your mom her diet’s not working.
-Joel, 14, Advice from Kids
Alex (11:20:07 PM): jajajafdjaeifjafijaeifjaoeicjasoefn2934qcn
Alex (11:20:19 PM): sooner or later, all of our chats descend into meaningless, chaotic typing
Matt (11:20:24 PM): lksafjlksadhflksdhfasd
Matt (11:20:33 PM): i have no idea what you’;re tlakidnsioafhsdoif aslkdf lkasdflkashdflkha4lkhtlkweabout
Alex (11:21:26 PM): yeah it was a foolish theoruer9u230rf9u23dc89h3q9 08hq3f9q824wdilskjq09c8wh
Matt (11:21:36 PM): definatel;wet;lerjtlk djhisduhisafhd
Matt (8:22:07 PM): lol, i don’t like anything “nu”
Matt (7:16:19 PM): make a controller out of cardboard, go to that one site with all of their moves, and just practice hitting the buttons
Matt (7:16:39 PM): you could make a cardboard tv, ps2, and game disc too
Matt (7:16:52 PM): use string for the cords
Alex (4:50:15 PM): wait
Alex (4:50:18 PM): the poking bugs the crap?
John (4:50:19 PM): here we go again
Alex (4:50:22 PM): or me calling you a magnet
John (4:50:25 PM): no… yes
Alex (4:50:27 PM): i will cease with the magnet stuff
John (4:50:42 PM): its all good
John (4:50:44 PM): its good fun
Alex (4:50:45 PM): wha????? its like we’re speaking different languages
Alex (4:51:30 PM): wait
John (4:51:32 PM): lol
John (4:51:34 PM): damn the waiting
Alex (4:51:43 PM): you don’t mind the first thing or the second?
John (4:51:55 PM): … i dont mind the second
John (4:51:57 PM): and by all means
John (4:52:02 PM): i do not mind the first
John (4:52:04 PM): just too early for it
John (4:52:44 PM): its like eating herring for breakfast but the exact opposite with no aftertaste
Alex (4:53:34 PM): no i understand
Alex (4:53:38 PM): like an apple after toothpaste
John (4:53:46 PM): yes
John (4:53:50 PM): better example
Matthew (5:03:40 PM): i need me versus the country
Matthew (5:03:43 PM): ya know??
Alex (5:05:18 PM): you versus
Alex (5:05:19 PM): the
Alex (5:05:22 PM): ok country for now
Matthew (5:05:41 PM): ____ you
Alex (5:06:09 PM): i was going to say universe
Alex (5:06:15 PM): but god only knows what the universe holds
Matthew (5:06:17 PM): well alright then
Matthew (5:06:19 PM): that is true
Alex (5:06:22 PM): could be like mutli vocal corded aliens or something
Matthew (5:06:24 PM): well god and me know what the universe holds
Alex (10:05:25 PM): maybe i’ll tell you
Alex (10:05:29 PM): because i’m warming up to you here
Matthew (10:05:43 PM): am i gonna be old by the time you will tell me
Matthew (10:05:50 PM): or will i be still eating hard foods?
Katy (10:59:42 PM): *boo hoo boo hoo
what on earth am i to do?
it’s winter and there’s no green grass
i’ve a hole in my pants - look at my ass!
Steve (8:13:44 PM): LIAR!
Matt (8:14:07 PM): I AMNOT!!!! YOU, STEVIEOFTHESMALLLETTERTALKERS, ARETHEONEWHOISLYING!
Steve (8:14:19 PM): silly goose
Matt (8:14:23 PM): I AMNOT A GOOSE
One other thing worth nothing - I like all these pop songs today. It’s very strange. As I said to Matt: “It’s not as much like a ‘like’ as much as the way you start at some gruesome crime-scene in horrified fascination.” Such is my relationship with this music. Nevertheless, I listen to it and I like it. Who knew? The Way You Move - Outkast, Numb - Linkin Park, Hey Ya! - Outkast, With You - Jessica Simpson, Suga Suga - Baby Bash, Perfect - Simple Plan, and Hold On - Good Charlotte. Weird, but enjoyable.
The Banana Sketch, Part I
(Ernie is standing in the aprtment humming to himself. He’s holding a banana in his ear. Bert approaches.) Bert: Hey Ernie? Hey, uh, Ernie? Ernie: (Notices Bert) Oh! Hi Bert! Bert: Uh yeah. Hey Ernie, uh, you know that you have a banana in your ear? Ernie: (Loudly) What was that, Bert? Bert: I said, you have a banana in your ear, Ernie. Uh, bananas are food. They are to eat, not to put in your ear, Ernie. Ernie: (Loudly) Whatdya say, Bert? Bert: (Yelling) WILLYOUJUSTTAKETHATBANANAOUTTAYOUREAR! Ernie: I’M SORRY - YOU’LLHAVETOSPEAK A LITTLELOUDER, BERT! I CAN’T HEARYOU! I HAVE A BANANAINMYEAR! Bert: Ernie, why do you have that banana in your ear? Ernie: To keep the alligators away. Bert: Er-nie - there aren’t on alligators on Sesame Street! Ernie: Works pretty good, doesn’t it, Bert?
What We’ve Learned from Ernie and Bert
* If you don’t want to get cookie crumbs in your bed, eat the cookies in your best friend’s bed.
* When you can’t get to sleep, try counting sheep. If the sheep are too loud, try fire engines. If the fire engines are too loud, try popping balloons. If all else fails, dance yourself to sleep.
* Be careful when you sneeze or your nose might come off in the hanky.
* Pigeons are darn good dancers.
* It’s okay to be boring.
Well, it’s Minnesota, it’s been snowing most of the day already. So, time for a speaker post.
Project One, the HPM-60 ‘restoration.’ Actually, these were in fantastic condition when I got them from a fellow AK’er … thanks again! So, there wasn’t much to do at all. But calling it a restoration sounds cool. Anyways, I ordered the re-foaming kit from PE, but then decided to just go with Midwest Speaker Repair, which I got a fine deal on (and they’re near my campus). After that, we reveneered the sides with walnut. Now, if I remember correctly, these speakers are exactly two feet high on one side. When we bought the veneer, we stupidly assumed that when they said “24 inches” they meant a full 24” … So, there is anywhere from a sixteenth to an eighth of an inch gap between the bottom of the veneer and the bottom of the speaker. With a little plastic wood and sanding, it’s pretty hard to see. Shame it had to go that way, but I am happy with the results. The finish is less shiny than the ‘stock’ HPM’s, but that’s how I wanted it! Finally, gave the front a good cleaning around the drivers to give it some life again and now they’re almost done! (Did I mention how perfect the grills are?) Any advice on how to ‘pull’ the midrange dustcaps would be appreciated. I could always replace them, but considering a dented dustcap doesn’t affect the sound quality, I am content to leave well enough alone.
Project Two, the DIY sub project. I got some excellent help here with this project about 2.5 months ago when it was in the planning stages, so here’s a quick recap of the project. From the start, I decided to base the project around the Shiva Mark IV 12 inch high excursion kevlar impregnated dual driver yada yada subwoofer from Adire Audio. Thus, I began using WinISD to model different cabinets after I entered in the Thiele-Small parameters. Naturally, I came up with all sorts of crazy designs, one being 30 inches high and about a foot and a half in its other dimensions (I just figured I could put it on its side if it got tippy). Eventually, I realized it would be better to go with a tried and true design which turned out to be the SBB4 alignment provided by Adire. I decided, instead of buying a port, to just make one out of PVC. I used WinISD to double check that 17 inches was the correct lenghth (general rule, add 5 inches to a flared pipe length if you are replacing it with a straight pipe) and things were good to go. Something you might be asking yourself: what about poly fill / acoustic foam for the inside? Well, I opted against this, being told that its not a good idea to use fill unless you have measuring equipment. True? I’m not sure. Adire Audio in an email said:
It actually increases the volume the driver sees. It makes the box appear larger that it really is, by about 8% [per pound]”
Thus, using this rule you could probably make things work ok. Either way, I figured I would simplify and leave the acoustic fill out. So, I began ordering things - I got a great christmas deal, no shipping (110 delivered!) on the Mark IV from www.acoustic-visions.com - I would highly recommend this site; great customer service, blazing fast support, etc. I then ordered a 250W subwoofer amp from Parts Express - this one has the rumble filter (which the others might have, but I didn’t see that specifically stated) which prevents the cone from unnecessary driver excursion when you are significantly below the tuning frequency of the cabinet. Seeing as the internal volume had to be exact, I did wonder if the displacement of the components of the amp would significantly detract from my internal volume (I had taken all that time to account for the bracing and the driver, why have that ruined by the amp?). So, I fired off an email to Parts Express - to which they replied:
Actually, woofers do not require “precise” volumes to work as they should. Few woofers are highly sensitive to cabinet volume, and none are sensitive in the amount the transformer and reservoir caps of the amp will occupy (.020 to .030 c-ft). Stated Thiele/Small parameters are usually beyond + or - 10% tolerance in even the best and most expensive speakers. Though we do try to get things close to optimal, 30-thousandths of a cubic foot is far too small to make even a measureable difference in performance, not to mention an audible difference.
This makes sense. Let’s see, some other details of construction: we used almost one full sheet of MDF for the cabinet and internal bracing - the extra MDF was useful to rout out circles on, etc. Note for others: never, ever use a circle bit with a battery powered drill. Our old corded drill died a while ago … so I went through about eight battery charges just to get the four 4 inch diameter holes drilled in the bracing. Construction was pretty straightforward, we routed out some slots in the bottom for those legs that you see - that’s cocobolo wood - a rainforest wood which is unbelievably hard. I was told it is “aromatic” when cut. Talk about aromatic … I guess they didn’t have the problem of it burning! Our circular saw didn’t get the blade spinning fast enough, so we got some burn marks and the garage was filled with this greenish brown smoke. Weird. Either way, the stuff makes fantastic legs because its harder than heck and only needs a good sanding to look fantastic (it’s a little oily by nature). Furthermore, schedule 40 PVC pipe is very slightly under 4 inches in internal diameter, so we cut 17.1 inches for the port tube (to get the correct volume), and just rounded out the sharp edges with a rasp. Assembly: the cabinet was glued and screwed together to make it solid. All of the internal seams were sealed with silicon caulk. You could probably toss this thing down the stairs and not worry about it breaking. Anyways, the port tube was glued in with epoxy, it sticks out a bit from the bottom of the cabinet so I could get 3 inches of clearance from the top of the box (3 inches is the recommeneded minimum space to have around the tube). The driver itself was secured using t-nuts and then a couple of lengths of rope caulk to seal it. One of the trickiest parts of the project was stapling the internal wiring (the driver is wired in parallel to the amp to present a 4 ohm load) to the internal bracing so as to avoid slap from the wires moving around during ‘spirited’ listening levels. Finally: the outside was finished using gloss finish Formica Laminate (the kind on your counter tops). It was attached using contact cement and machined very well using a carbide tipped flush routing bit. I guess it could double as a TV dinner tray if needed.
How does it sound? Well, I can say don’t use the plate amp in the pre/power loop - it introduces copious amounts of noise. So, I use the tape out loop to attach the sub to a receiver if I want to (I know it’s not good form) add some deep bass to the music. I have noted when listening to classical piano, the sub brings out the pedaling that the mic picks up - very interesting. The cabinet is absolutely dead - no rattles or anything. I am still figuring out how to best position the sub in the room, so I can’t give any real definite details about how it sounds. I can say there is a slightly noticeable room gain bump, and I don’t have the equipment to isolate and fix that. Nevertheless, the output can be very subtle as supplementary bass all the way up to ridiculous SPL’s. I feel like I got a 2000 dollar sub for way way less (but we all know price means nothing). Any questions on building I would be happy to try and answer.
“Anyway this is called Moses; this is a new song about falling in love with the most beautiful women in the world and I hope you like it.”
During events of my day, I frequently wonder if I will put them in this log and, if so, how I would say them. I’ve been thinking about my winter break a lot. There are piles I could write about in here; but I really don’t want everyone to know about it. A rather unfortunate turn of events for a ‘personal’ weblog. Then again, ‘everyone’ doesn’t necessarily mean you, so don’t go getting your nose out of joint. Regardless, I learned a lot. I learned about me. I learned about my friends. I did stuff I’d never done before. (Did not being ‘do’ as in the way a person ‘does’ illegal substances … clarification is another curse of a public ‘personal’ log.) I think I am tired. Tired of what? Well, every 3 months, my life changes. Dramatically. This has been true for (I’m reckoning) the past 3 years, and I would like some routine somewhere. Something where I can say “here we go again” and be happy about it. Oh well.
My Theology teacher has been a part of two exorcists. He is an Anglican Priest, and served in the Royal Air Force for sometime. There in the Air Force, they had an incident where two men were playing that board game (Ouija) and suddenly the room became very cold and the windows were banging around, and all the things one associates with Hollywood-type ghosts. One of the men went insane and had to be sedated for 48 hours. My professor was instructed to call in the (there’s only one appointed for various dioceses or whatever they are called in the Anglican church) exorcist. The man was an older priest, and upon inspecting the chapel at the air base, immediately concluded that something was “wrong.” My professor didn’t go into details but said it ended up being him, the two men, and the older priest in the chapel during the exorcism. I was really really surprised to discover things like this still happen. I was even more surprised when he noted how people came to the chapel afterwards whereas it had been basically deserted in the past. I won’t go into the details of the other exorcism. Nothing grabs and holds a classes’ attention like a first-person account of paranormal activity. It was definitely one of the more unique stories I have heard in a long time.
Lately, I see a father and his young boy ushering together. The boy is the cutest little kid, following his dad and doing his best to help him; he’s very earnest and aware of his ‘burgeoning responsibility’. I want to provide guidance and love like this to my children. It surprised me, to be thinking of something like that when family life is still some years away. I should say, I do not want to be a father like that, I will be. Thoughts like this travel through one’s head as one sits in church.
My engineering class was an awesome (if expensive) four days of my life; now I need to react to it in 500 words. Hurrah!
Parts Express - Parts Express sells amplifiers, drivers, RCA cables, cabinets, switches, interconnects, and most of the things you need to do a “do it yourself” project successfully. Excellent product support and fast shipping make them a great choice for the project minded audio enthusiast.
Infinity Classics - A great website for basic information (and sometimes more in depth scans of spec, etc.) about Infinity speaker models of past years.
Audio Review - Audio Review contains thousands of user-contributed reviews of audio equipment from past (and current) decades. I usually start here in my search for information on an audio product.
AudioKarma - AudioKarma is the best forum online for vintage Hi-Fi information. They offer forums on speakers, solid state, tube, vintage televisions, and more. AudioKarma’s members are knowledgeable, helpful, and mature; unlike the members of many online forums. Out of all the forums I have participated in, AudioKarma is hands down the best.