J Larsen

I had that problem with them too. But they're one of my gf's favorite groups, and we take turns on the stereo. In light of some of the other stuff she listens too, I often BEG for Radiohead. I've learned to accept the vocals.

I'm thinking about going. It will depend on how late I have to stay in the office that night. I'd imagine the odds of this thing selling out are pretty low, no?

I saw (but didn't hear) a copy of the new Radiohead today. It looks like they're going political. The album is called "Hail to the Theif". It's supposed to be out next week.

I haven't been able to watch more than about fifteen minutes of it. I haven't been able to stand what little I've seen. But then I should add that I'm VERY picky about TV shows. I generally only watch sports, movies and Seinfeld.

No order, and off the top of my head: Nirvana Pavement (through S&E) Drive Like Jehu Big Black Shellac Circus Lupus (I'm willing to listen to most Dischord groups) Radiohead (I was really surprised when I caught myself singing their songs in my head the day after my girlfriend played OK Computer for me - never would have thought in a million years that I'd get into something like that)

I think I was about two when I figured out how to ask my mom to take me to the cd store, so I guess it's two years for me.

One serious culinary shortcoming in Manhattan is the lack of decent barbeque restaurants. There's a place ill-traveled New Yorkers swear by in Times Square called Virgil's - if you come to visit, don't be deceived. It's not offensive (which ranks it higher than most bbq spots in town) but it's far from impressive. I agree that you have to go south (or buy your own bbq grill and pick up someone's cooking secrets) to get the best bbq. However, if you find yourself with a craving for bbq and you happen to be in Portland, OR, there's a place called Tennessee Red's that's very impressive. PS: If any NYers reading this know of good bbq places in the city, by all means share yoiur knowledge. PPS: Had some DELICIOUS jerked pork in Jamaica this week.

There's a beer brewed in Portland, OR called Hair of the Dog that is highly, highly recommended. I've tried finding it on the east coast with no luck at all. Fortunately, I'll be making a trip to the NW in a few weeks. I'm trying to figure out how many cases I can take back on the plane. Just to put my taste in context, other favorites include Salvator, Anchor Steam, Liberty Ale, Sierra Nevada, and Duvel.

I see RoosterTies wants to test me. Well, RT, you might want to know that leaving your Memorex radio on when not in use can eventually result in the emmission of a high-frequency radiation burst which will destroy all of your electronic equipment.

Here's my opinion. My research lately has been geared towards new types of extremely tiny devices that can be embedded in chips, so I guess I'm a quasi-expert. An EE guy could probably give a more authoritative answer, but I'm pretty confident in the answers below. This I'm positive of: There's no reason to leave analog circuitry on (ie, devices composed purley of resistors, capacitors, tubes, etc.) You're not going to fry a resistor or a capacitor just by turning its current source on and off. On the other hand, as mentioned above, voltage fluctuations that occur while the device is left on really might fry the resistors. So leave these turned off when they're not needed. This is informed speculation: I don't think there is a simple answer to the question for digital circuitry (op-amps, chips, etc.). It is conceivable (but not very likely, IMO) that powering such systems up and down a lot could fry the tiny transistors imbedded in such devices. On the other hand, computers (especially the hard disks!) prefer to be cold, so that's an argument for turning them off when not in use. I'd think keeping your hard disk cool (amost had a nasty typo here - change an "s" to a "c" and you have a post unsuitable for minors) is the overwhleming concern. It seems to me that it is quite unlikely that you're going to fry any transistors, however small, by powering up. I recommend turning your computer off when not in use, but you might want to check with your manufacturer for their opinion. (As an aside, I always wondered whether people left their computers on just so they didn't have to boot up the next morning. It will be interesting to see if attitudes on this subject change after MRAM comes out.) As to the "stabilization" issue: to me it sounds like someone was feeding you a line of mumbo-jumbo. However, any circuit with resistors and capacitors will experience voltage osciallations when first powered up. Eventually, the circuit settles into a steady state. Depending on the circuit, this can take anywhere from nanoseconds to minutes. (The amplitude of the oscillations also varies depending on the circuit.) In my opinion, this time is not long enough to justify leaving all your equipment turned on.

Hi Lon! I didn't realize you were on the board. Thanks for the advice. What type of phono preamp are you using, btw?

It seems like there is a fair amount of DIY interest on the board! Thanks for all the info. I've heard of the Decware Triode amp before. As I recall, Lon Armstrong swore by that amp on the BNBB. At this point, the Bottleneck Foreplay pre-amp and Decware Triode are sounding like a good way to go. Once I start understanding the theory better, perhaps I can start doing my own tweaks. On a related note, my girlfriend's father built his own speakers and found it to be a very rewarding experience. Has anyone around here tried that before?

Thanks, RDK. That looks like a good way to go. Maybe a couple hundred bucks more than I had in mind, but definately affordable all the same. To be honest, I really was originally thinking of building something completely from scratch, but I guess that is unrealistically ambitious for my first attempt. All the same, are you aware of any good sources on the theory of amp design? I've had a hard time finding much of anything. I don't like just going by a recipe. I like to understand why I'm doing something the way I'm doing it, if you know what I mean. Thanks a lot!

The number of pages you see depends on the preferences you set. You and I presumably have broadband connections, so we chose to view 40 messages per page, hence we see eight pages. Chuck must have his preferences set to 15 messages per page.

If you have access to it, formal education has a large number of advantages. Access to incredible resources (e.g. research libraries, scholarly journals, and, if you're in the sciences, research instrumentation and data), access to researchers in your field, and access to others with similar interests (i.e. your fellow students). I'd say there's a lot more to it than just helping one focus. But yeah, I've known several self-taught people who I admired. A lot of it depends on where your interests are.

As much as I hate KFC, I have to admit Popeye's isn't too bad. Definately acceptable in a pinch.

I have the plans for a Dyno amp. Are they worth building?

Just as a general FYI, the law of science being referred to is from animal behavior (which isn't always consdiered a science, but I guess I'm splitting hairs). The whole point of the physical sciences is to understand the laws of nature in such a way that no reference is made to a particular environment or position in space. I know this is somewhat uptight of me, but I find it hard to let things like this slip by.

Being fairly proficient with electronics, and having access to just about every imaginable tool, I've been toying with the idea of trying to build my own tube amp. Has anyone else tried this? The literature on the subject appears to be very sparse. It would be great to have someone to exchange ideas with. Thanks.

I fail to see that as an argument for why we shouldn't have music programs in jazz or hip hop. If a guy goes to music school and winds up making music you don't like, then don't listen to it. It seems paranoid and bizarre to think that all music will suffer by the offering of specific types of music instruction to a small group of people.

This is one poll I'll abstain from. There aren't many things commonly accepted as food for humans that I wouldn't rather eat than KFC.

RT beat me to part of my reply. You don't get gigs these days without some credibility (or at least some good connections). Another point I was going to raise is that NONE of the great DJs (with the possible exceptions of Bam and maybe a very small handful of others) learned their craft "in front of a crowd". First you learn hang around some good DJs as much as you possibly can, learning as many tricks and techniques as possible, then you go looking for a crowd. Such a program as being considered at Berklee would accomplish two things: it would provide people who aren't in the right circles to find a mentor with access to knowledgable DJs, and it would provide said mentors with a new and (hopefully) rewarding source of revenue.

I don't see how one COULDN'T benefit from spending several hours per week receiving instruction from a master of one's craft. Now taking a class isn't going to turn someone who is rhythmless and/or tonedeaf into Eric B, but it seems that it would HAVE to benefit someone who had the potential but lacked a mentor.