Well, it was an interesting Thanksgiving. My sister ended up in the emergency room on Thursday morning due to intense lower back pain. Although (thankfully) the turkey was already in the oven, I helped prepare the other dishes in preparation for the meal. I even learned how to make gravy. My mother and sister ended up missing Thanksgiving. It turns out Katy had a kidney stone. On Thanksgiving. She had to have some pain killers and wait it out until things resolved themselves later in the day. Congratulations, Katy on passing your kidney stone! Yes indeed, I am quite proud of my older sister. She has many other talents, including math, english, art, music, etc. and who knows why I decided to point out that particular accomplishment. Oh well.
The meal was yummy, I finally didn’t eat too much, and completely unrelated would be the math t-shirt design we completed. I listened to the ideas and created the shirt - I am really excited to see it in print/on a t-shirt. The phrases on the back were by some math club members; they are math-related pick-up lines. Pictures sometime in the next three weeks.
Why so long, you ask? Well, I am busy busy. We veneered the HPM-60’s this weekend and it went great - currently the final coat of sealer is drying on them. Then, they’ll come inside, warm up, get waxed, and be ready for another 25 years of service! (Except I still gotta pull the dustcaps on the midranges … argh). And I gotta make stands for them sometime. Either way, I am working on getting the final amp for the system right now. Could be an Sansui AU-717, a Kenwood 9940, or a Pioneer SX-838. Who knows? These guys at AudioKarma are really cool, knowledgeable, and ready to help. One of the more mature, down-to-earth online forums I have participated in. Those car-modding forums are full of many rich, immature people who drag down the enjoyability factor. Anyways, I will most likely be ordering (in the next week) the plate amp, driver, and miscellaneous parts for building the sub over Christmas break. It’s going to be a 20” by 20” by 20” box (and that’s final after changing the design 3 times) and after bracing it will have an internal volume of 95L. Hopefully, it will sound good. I’ll tell you in about a month.
On Thursday night, we movie’d at Katherine’s and that was an excellent time. She just got a ridiculously large, high definition, flat screen TV - the movie was good, too. That following morning I went to Lifetime and saw a guy and his son there - I see them there pretty frequently - they are both really cool. This time, however, they had a third person with them - I think it was another son of the father’s, and he was slightly retarded. It was really poignant to see how they cared so well for him and how much love they showed in such subtle ways. It left me with a really warm feeling. I saw another person after my work out, he couldn’t have been older than me, who seemed to have suffered from a stroke. One of the employees said “it looks like you’re moving faster each day” and as I watched him limp along, I understood my priorities. I mean, honestly - why pound our heads against invisible walls day-in, day-out when we haven’t even acknowledged how fortunate we are to be able to walk, to talk, and to live on our own? I don’t think life is about worrying about small things, I think it’s about enjoying ourselves despite them. I saw a little girl in church today, in her new high-heels, jumping up and down on the stairs from the altar, making noise despite her parents’ best efforts. I laughed quietly - that’s what it’s about. You won’t be able to convince me otherwise.
Oh, and I finally got that part in Austin Powers, where he goes “the power of Christ compels you” - it’s from the Exorcist! It was funny. I think I’ll go jam out to that soundtrack - what a great movie. (Not the Exorcist soundtrack, the Austin Powers one - but the Exorcist was a good movie).
We put up the tree tonight - I get so sentimental looking at the old ornaments - I love that old tree. Don’t you dare go bashing fake trees - someday I will have a real tree at least one year, but until then, this is my favorite. Merry first-week-of-Christmas to you all. I hope your shopping day on Friday went well. I am off to e-mail a couple more questions about the sub, check up on my registration, and do a little homework. And to all a good-night.
*Spanish accent*
This is a message for your from SoBe
They want your spirit to be high
Your body to be fit
And your mind to be ready
Right now maybe you feel a’strong
But you want to feel a’stronger
You want to be able to stop a train, maybe in case of emergency
If a pretty girl was tied to the railroad tracks
And a train was coming
Then’a it would be good to be able to’a stop’a the train
Maybe only with one hand to impress the pretty girl
Maybe you take her out to dinner afterwards
Maybe you tell her about’a SoBe power
And she ask you “whazzit feel like?”
And you can tell her to drink SoBe power
Feels like a’rock and roll in you body
Before I end, remember; there are many, many SoBe drink so please chose one that fits you.
Right now you are tired, that is, almost no energy left in your body
Just a little, little bit
But not enough, you feel like a snail
A small little lonely snail
You feel like you have’a some chewing gum underneath your shoes
So maybe you start thinking: if I had a SoBe energy now it would be perfect
Maybe you feel like a crazy sexy tiger
You will run home, and tell jokes and then maybe lift heavy weight to calm down
But still feel fit for fight
But check your shoes so there is no chewing gum to slow you down.
Right now maybe there is a little cat in your living room and you want it to come to you
“Misha misha little cat come here, to daddy”
But he’s refusing to listen to you
Maybe you get’a mad at the cat and a’ scream
“Come here you little monkey cat”
But one second later, you realize that is wrong, to scream at the cat
But if you would have had a SoBe green tea, then you would have been more patient
And balanced, like a latin guy with a ponytail
Who knows how to say all the right things and maybe play some guitar.
We’re going to see Othello this Thursday evening. This means my Thursday will be busy from 9:55am to 11pm. That’s two classes, a lunch, math meeting, pre-dental meeting, a workout, dinner(?), and shower. It’s no wonder these weeks fly by, every day holds something different. I am working on getting a two day week for Thanksgiving - we’ll see how the English pans out. Originally our Prof. was going to Europe for a lecture, but that was cancelled, so I think he still wants to have class - this is unfortunate in the extreme. Good luck getting a short week guys.
I have the song “Ultimate Cheeseburger” stuck in my head.
On top of that, there’s the new Five for Fighting song stuck in my head. It’s called “100 Years.” I can’t believe I’ll have to wait until February of ‘04 to get that song on disc. Maybe for once I’ll buy a single.
I’m 15 for a moment
Caught in between 10 and 20
And I’m just dreaming
Counting the ways to where you are
I’m 22 for a moment
She feels better than ever
And we’re on fire
Making our way back from Mars
15 there’s still time for you
Time to buy and time to lose
15, there’s never a wish better than this
When you only got 100 years to live
I’m 33 for a moment
Still the man, but you see I’m a they
A kid on the way
A family on my mind
I’m 45 for a moment
The sea is high
And I’m heading into a crisis
Chasing the years of my life
15 there’s still time for you
Time to buy, Time to lose yourself
Within a morning star
That’s not all the lyrics … but wow what a great song. Good lyrics, great singing, catchy tune - and a piano part for me to dissect. Other stuff to get: John Mayer’s new album, Fuel’s new single, Howie Day’s new album, and Something Corporate’s new album. Hope you are all having a beautiful Monday - I will see you around.
More vintage audio this weekend. Got the Grado Black cartridge installed on the Dual 1245 and replaced the belt. Now we’re spinning at exactly 33 and 1/3 RPM - so I can finally accurately convert some vinyl to CD format. That way, we can keep listening to these great Christmas records years down the road without the worry of them decomposing on us. Ooh, additionally, I received and tested the center channel for the surround set-up I am putting together. It sounds perfect - I got a $450 speaker for $74 shipped (the magic of eBay). I am a happy camper. I try to advance the progress on this system every week, so this coming week we will be installing the re-foamed 8” driver on the HPM-60’s and hopefully veneering them. If I am lucky, we might be able to order the DVD player (which is the core of this system as it has the pre-outs for all 6 channels), but that would be stretching it. To avoid dragging this out any longer: my goal has become Christmas for completion. Here’s what remains: install re-foamed drivers, veneer rear surrounds, build stands for rear surrounds, move furniture to basement, move tv to basement, order DVD player, move current equipment rack, buy speaker cable, locate (and buy) center channel amp, build subwoofer. Despite that long list, we only have three major unknowns (center amp, DVD, sub) - hopefully it will work out - I really want to share the audio with a good group of people. Maybe it will turn out to be just a dream, but I think I can make this work.
Back at the beginning of this post I had something meaningful to say. It has somehow eluded the grasp of my conscious mind so I will simply have to wait until … whoops there something popped into my head - this is about dreams: you ever notice how, when you have slept in a long time, you can “think” yourself back into a dream? I experienced that this morning - it was rather cool. Try it sometime!
That reminds me, in my listening at home again, I pulled out the Toy Story 2 soundtrack:
When somebody loved me
Everything was beautiful
Every hour spent together
Lives winthin my heart
And when she was sad
I was there to dry her tears
And when was happy
So was I
When she loved me
I like that song.
Agenda: Othello, Hesse, Calc II, Lucretius, Descartes. Yes, that should about cover it. Do me a favor: go back and find a song that you haven’t listened to in a long time, toss it in the CD player, listen to the whole thing, and remember what life was like when you first heard that song - you’ll surprise yourself.
drogetserp (7:37:05 PM): it’s her superhero pose
drogetserp (7:37:32 PM): she hears the distant call for help, her ears perk up, and she’s off to save the day! allie dog is on her way!!
drogetserp (7:42:37 PM): they did it in color so the people from the inside look retarted
drogetserp (7:52:39 PM): i wish i had i mic, then i could record the guy down the hall screaming wierd, but funny, phrases
drogetserp (8:01:10 PM): dude, it was so fricken cold in the bathroom i thought something was going to freeze off!
alyahstev (10:11:36 PM): if you play in the privacy of your own or someone else’s home
alyahstev (10:11:39 PM): yes privately humiliated
alyahstev (10:11:58 PM): unless you guys are awesome singers and just holding out on me here
ajmicek (8:19:56 PM): INDEED
alyahstev (8:19:58 PM): im shayla
ajmicek (8:20:04 PM): lol
ajmicek (8:20:06 PM): im alex
alyahstev (8:20:08 PM): no, im matt!
alyahstev (8:20:19 PM): im matt
alyahstev (8:20:38 PM): we’re both matt
alyahstev (8:20:43 PM): uahahahhaha
alyahstev (8:20:55 PM): okay enough of this
The people below me run a moderatlely high-powered Bose home theater system. They play music loudly on it, but are pretty responsible with the power they wield - I do not begrudge them any late night music playing as it usually does not last long. Regardless, one night a couple of weeks ago I woke up to this little ditty.
We focus more on the bad things; we think they affect us more. Why do you think the human mind is so good at placing gigantic rose tinted glasses between itself and memories? If it didn’t, we would dwell on all the bad turns life had dealt us; we would be reduced to self-pitying lumps of half-humanity. Truth is, it’s the good stuff that affects us more, but we are ill-equipped to realize this pleasant reality. I’m trying, God in heaven I am trying to know this. Something deep inside me “gets it” but until that part triumphs, I am drifing much more than I would like to.
Had very interesting conversations with Nils, John, and Matt today. I talked to my sister and my mother for a while to. You just can’t beat friends and family; I am convinced they are what life is about.
Lately I have a hard time passing judgement on people. I have become so convinced that giving them their space, giving them time, letting them be themselves, is the best way to interact with them. Lately I let people talk to me, if a person is jumping to talk to them all the time one never knows where one stands. Additionally, I find myself changing narrative person in my writing (as in that last sentence). I need to focus, to concentrate and to apply myself.
I like German, I like English, I like Calc II, I like Philosophy, I like St. Thomas, I love my room, I like my hobbies, I like the people I have met, but I am lacking purpose. My goals are well-defined: in 4 years I will have a EE degree and I will be prepared for Dental School. But this does not help me locate my purpose. It is a strange dilemna; one that I have never encountered before. I feel old and young at the same time. Time is flying.
I’ve been out and about; I am back to write an update.
I’ve spent part of tonight modeling subwoofer enclosures on this great program called WinISD for the Shiva Mark III. The program has an unbelievable help file and a great graphing system. Now I just learned all this tonight, so bear with me: The idea of a ported enclosure is to increase the efficiency of the subwoofer driver; in other words, it makes it easier for the thing to move air when there is a hole in the box. Each driver reacts differently to the same box because they have unique sets of properties. This program allows the user to enter in those properties and then to run box size simulations. In the shot below I have a simulation of a closed box of 66L (4027.6 cubic inches), which is graphed in yellow. See as the frequency drops, the volume that the sub is able to produce in the box drops as well. Going from right to left, the yellow line drops off quite early. However, take a look at the green line. That’s a 100L (17.48” X 16.00” X 30.00”, 6102.4 cubic inch) box that is ported. “Ported” means it has a 4” square air “tube” that guides air out. The length of this tube is precisely calculated by the program as 22.4” (as you can see) and that is what lets the green line on the graph stay up higher. But, “that line drops off as well” you say? Not to fear, I can solder out (there are instructions, don’t worry) two resistors on the 250W plate amp that I am looking at and they will boost the green line by 4dB between 20Hz and 23 Hz, which will bring that green line nearly horizontal (albeit artificially for those last 3 Hz) down to 20 Hz, which is nearly feeling, not hearing, territory. Anyways, the box will be constructed out of MDF (haven’t determined the width) and I am waiting on more information on what to use to acoustically dampen the inside. Either way, I am pretty excited about the project - it has the potential to work. We’ll see, though. We’ll see.
Glad I got that out of my system. Anyways, philosophy presentation tomorrow. I’m going to have them light candles for a demonstration of one of Descartes’ ideas - watch out! If JRC is burning tomorrow, you’ll know it’s my fault.
Listened to some music on the Infinity’s at home: pure bliss. Near field listening is really a lot of fun; except the crossovers on those old speakers can be really noticeable - at the beginning of one of Jack Johnson’s songs, I would keep hearing his voice dip into the upper woofer from the midrange and then back to the midrange - really weird. I’m off track again - we sent the HPM-60 woofers into refoam (my I haven’t updated since I told ya’ll about picking those up) and so those will be coming back. Additionally, the turntable restoration is going well: the belt, cartridge, and stylus pressure gauge were ordered today. It looks as if we may get a dustcover as well. Finally, I am waiting to hear on a SX-838 which I could get for free; however it will be about $100 to get it in tip-top shape (a more than worthwhile investment, that’s for sure).
Life has been going quite well; the weather warmed up a little today. I am preparing for J-Term, Spring Semester, and Summer already … I like to have a plan and classes are going so well that it’s a lot of fun to prepare for the one’s coming up. Like I said before, somewhere along the way I lost my ability to worry - I certainly hope I don’t find it again for a while. I almost forgot; everyone came back this weekend. I can’t keep track of everyone that was at Steve’s house: Steve, Matt, Shayla, John, Nils, Charlie, Kim, Jimmy, Karin, Katie, Theron, Trisha, Richard, Nick, Doug, Ryan, Laura, Danielle, Katherine (happy birthday Katherine! I really really didn’t mean what I said to be an insult!! [boy I feel guilty about that one]), and even Other People. Disclaimer: if I left you out, it’s an honest mistake and not an indication of anything else. Matthew even called - he kicked butt in his performance just because he’s a freakin’ amazing singer/actor like that. Yes, someday Matthew will be richer than all of us. Steve and I had a good long talk. Saturday night me, Steve, Matt, and John watched Will Ferrell it was amazingly funny again: “Mondays, for I hate Mondays… They-ay make me so steamed! … Weekends! I prefer the weekends! uh oh oh oh oh oh!!! SONOFABITCH!” Yes it’s a hell spawned Fender. Garth Brooks and Will Ferrell as the devil, what more could you ask for.
To return to my stereo listening; “All I Ask of You: Reprise” from Phantom of the Opera:
I gave you my music
Made your soul take wing
And now, how you’ve repaid me
Denied me and betrayed me
He was bound to love you
When he heard you sing
It sounded so pure and clean, and I haven’t even gotten the DC-offset looked at on that amp. Man, I have a lot to learn. So, you made it to this part of the post? Well, it confirms your suspicions that a.) I have been really busy and b.) I am really getting into audio. Why? I don’t know, how about this: because I can. But seriously, I am getting a little punchy as it’s rather late/early. Tomorrow is homework day!
Friday was Halloween Friday. We watched The Exorcist and it didn’t scare me nearly as much as I thought it would. Of course, that’s only because I had my hand up to the screen for 86% of the time during the scary/horror/core parts of the movie. I, however, can now say I have seen most of the Exorcist. In what was later generally agreed to be a good move, we followed up the scary movie with the Best of Will Ferrel. The Saturday Night Live skit in which he is the devil trying to play music on the guitar is so funny: “Son of bitch!” Plus, I hear Mr. Ferrel is in a movie called “Elf” that is supposed to be quite good. Speaking of movies, were planning on a The Matrix Revolutions on this coming Saturday night. Oh wow it will be amazing.
Saturday was an awesome and really really long day. Got up at eight in the morning and drove down to Owatonna with my dad. I had talked to a guy from a vintage audio forum I frequent and he said he had seen my posts and how much I was drooling over this gear (which, I think, is a really accurate description) and wanted to help me out. It was absolutely fascinating to see his equipment; piles of classic Pioneer receivers, amps, tuners, even SPEC series Pioneer stuff, great Klipsch speakers (the kind with the huge passive woofer), 6 HPM-100’s for his home theater, and countless other racks of classic gear all over. I was in paradise! When it came to that point where I was prepared to talk price, he reiterated what he had hinted at before; he just wanted to give it away. I couldn’t believe him at first, and now I feel really really lucky. I will most certainly do the most I can to pay this favor forward; I was overwhelmed by his generosity. We continued from Owatonna to Rochester. On the way there we saw a windfarm and stopped there to take a look at the windmill type things. You can walk right up to the base of them; it was amazing to see and hear the huge props turning. Really, really cool - (it’s a guy thing, I think). We had an excellent lunch in Rochester and I got to see my dad’s old high school and elementary school and where he grew up. It was a great great trip and a much-needed change of pace.
I napped a bit on the way home so returned feeling rested and was able to put my best awakeness forward for Amber’s birthday party (the third weekend in a row I have celebrated someone’s birthday!). I would like to wish Amber a happy birthday once more; she hosted a fantastic party and I thoroughly enjoyed the pool and DDR playing. It was sort of a birthday party/workout combination with the DDR in there. Later Saturday, I visited Matt and Shayla and we had some wonderful conversations and a little Apples to Apples. We’ll have to play Life sometime - epic board games kick butt for the winter time, don’t you think? Anyways, today was just some homework and week-preparation; so here we go for another five days of school! If my week is anything like my weekend, it will be a blast.
