2004 News
Dec 24, 2004
Audiophile taste but on a budget ? For under $50, you can have the Sonic Impact Class-T ( Wayback)
amplifier that has had some long time philes shaking their collective heads.
Dec 1, 2004
I've had this desert island CD (Good Dog Bad Dog by Over the Rhine )for about the last two years and it is still
near the top of my play list. They got a deal with Vigin on their "back
porch" series of CDs and I've acutally seen their CDs at HMV about 6 months
ago. My problem is that their latest 2 CD offering called Ohio is no
where to be found in the bins :(
P.S. If you are stuck for music that
will fill the soul...give OTR a listen...makes a great Xmas suggestion for
that difficult to buy for audiophile...give them a listen
here:
- LaterDays track from Good Dog Bad Dog
- Poughkeepsie from GDBD
Oct 17, 2004
In my parent's time it was called being practical. In the engineering
arena the phrase used is "if it ain't broke...don't fix it". The following
site essentially talks about the idea of products/services that more than
meet our needs by being good
enough.
For a cent under $50, Radio Shack has a introduced the Flatfoto camera that
should just about nail the market looking for their first time digital
camera to replace their "point and shoot" film camera.
Oct 7, 2004
With damming evidence
from the the diplomat to South Africa, George W Bush and Dick Cheney
deliberately lied to the World about Sadam Hussein trying to obtain uranium
to make a atomic bomb. This "fear setting" set the acceptance of the
American public to go with their unilateral decision. The words "stove
piping" (of information to Bush) and "Cherry Picking" information to support
a agenda to "have people dancing in the streets of Iraq" is a Utopia that
could only be thought up by flunkies of Yale. The televison program "The
Fifth Estate" has done us all a service to show that all power corrupts and
absolute power corrupts absolutely (Presidential Override/Vetos).
The current lockout
of the NHL Players by the owners is I think justified and long overdue.
A floating "salary cap" tied to 60% of the revenue pool of the owners is "no
salary cap"...DO YOU UNDERSTAND BOB GOOEDENOW. The problem is the money
grabbing agents that operate on a percentage basis of their client players.
Short on skill, many of these ex-NHLers feel bummed out by their lower pays
when they were non-stars. The person with the best view on this is the
Vancouver owner Brian
Burke.
The slow startup times of digicams unfolding their zoom lens may be a
thing of the past...take a look at the folded lens technology
of Minolta Dimage Xt....now adopted by some of the Olympus cameras.
Sept 19, 2004
My wife found a small little camera in the mall about 2 inches by 1.5
inches with a keychain on it...a week later, you can today take a look at
the tinycam page.
The little ART SLA-1 amp "that could" is back in the news in the speaker
review of the Usher
X-798. As much a amp review as a speaker review as the overall sound of
the system was evaluated. Another user review can be found here.
First there was the renaissance of toy push scooters that had many
adults relive their childhood memories...except Kevin Spacey did it in his
Mahnattan neighbourhood. It is only natural that electric scooters begin
to make their appearrence.
Sept 1, 2004
What digital camera to buy or get for free ? I've noticed a insane trend
of bigger is best when it comes to digital cameras. How much resolution do
you really need really depends. For 80% of life's photos that we put on the
fridge and stick in the photo album, a 1.3 megapixel camera would be fine.
This would generate a 1280x960 image that could hold up to about 6"x4" well.
This image takes about 1/3 of a megabyte, meaning we could store about 200
pictures (8 rolls of 24 exposure) on a 64 MB digital memory stick. Once in
while we like to take a 8x10 photo and for this we need something on the
order of 2048x1600 pixel camera (3.2 megapixels if you do the math).
Compression typically reduce the raw storage requirements by abour 4x in the
best JPEG format. More typical in cameras that need to deal with compromise,
the highest resolution mode will reduce storage by about 8x. Medium
resolution mode will offer about 12x reduction and the low resolution mode
(not recommended) was invented in the days of pricey memories. I would say
that everyone could use two digital cameras. A simple focus free camera of
1.3 to 2.0 megapixel should be fine. Its advantages are low battery draw(no
focus motor to drive), fast startup (no lens to retract and then
focus...major pet peeve), and sheer simplicity. The main thing is that the
lens is sharp and the colours are true to life. The one thing I've found
about digital cameras is that if find a good one, the colour consistency and
accuracy beats that of the traditional roll film viewed through prints. One
reason is that the variability in negative development and paper development
is removed through direct view on your monitor or TV.
So to sum up, what features are important:
- Small format
- Focus free
- low standby power of less than 50mA. Typical NiMH batteries of
1300mA/hr will last about 26 hours. Because most cameras power down after
two minutes automagically. This does not mean using the LCD viewing panel
which consume a whole lot more.
- Low reserve operation. On a trip, I was viewing the results of my
pictures every so often until the LCD blanked out. To my surprise I was
able to continue taking pictures for the rest of the remaining three days
using my Fuji Finepix MX-1300. In the end, I shot in excess of 100 pics
and probably could have shot more.
- Fast startup(not so important but noticeable on cameras with autofocus
and zoom).
- Low shutter lag time (1/2 second will drive you crazy...trust me).
So what cameras can I recommend in this category:
- Fuji Finepix MX-1300
- Fuji A101 -> 1.3 megapixel two battery wonder
- Fuji A201 -> 2.0 megapixel two battery wonder
- `
When America votes in the upcoming election remember that there are
people that can live with and resolve the conflicts through persistence.
Witness the IRA and the incredible tolerance put forth by England and the
current agreement that they have. The violence is committed by a few but the
technology enables a greater toil on the innocent in public spaces/places.
The violent act itself is not on the increase (How many airplanes have
crashed into towers, lately?). It is our underestimation of how "crazy" the
act (taking innocent children, suicide by educated individuals,
indoctrination from a young age of the innocent). Orange Alerts are more a
case of covering one's self for fear of libel introduce by international
policy. (We go to war alone and will not stop until the cancer is
destroyed...how's that for a simplistic view of a moral and just society).
As humanity has found, "an eye for an eye" does not work or in the Bush
Administration. When you vote next time remember why you have a roll of unused duct tape sitting
on your table.
In the 1970's, before the CD was unleashed. The turntable "art" had
evolved to a point where better meant better motors, heavier platters,
better tonearms, and improved cartridge technology. The British had people
convinced that the belt drive was the right path to take to spinning a
platter over the technologically beautiful Direct Drive approach. The
"Idler" became the orphan child on the notion that any vibration from the
motor would couple through a hard rubber wheel used to coupled the turns of
a motor onto the rotating platter. Here are a couple of links that will
probably drive up the price of turntables from a Swiss company called
Lenco :
- Jean Nantais Lenco rebuilds and the Lenco information from Wikipedia.
- Lenco
Heaven by Tom McQuiggan
All this started by a local in my home
city called John Nantais.
The state of politics in the U.S.A is sad. Ultimately who really cares
about the military record of a President. The president himself ultimately
delegates the decision about how war is fought to others. Kerry could easily
point out the following aspects of the present Bush adminsitration:
- Failure to heed United Nations council against ware against terrorism.
- The lack of correct intelligence on the issue of weapons of mass
destruction.
- The faultering American economy
- There are now more Al-Queda operatives in Iraq than ever
- The people in Iraq are not jumping up and down in the streets with
joy.
- "Shock and Awe" have created so much damage to the infrastructure of
Iraq that this former nation with one of the highest standards of living
has even the basics of water and health (hospitals ransacked) compromised.
- Giving the President the exclusive executive power to go to war
instead of the "tried and true" deliberation of an Act of Congress. These
acts of terror do not require faster deliberation....just better
deliberation.
- All power corrupts...absolute power corrupts absolutely.
A CBC documentary pointed out that a leaked report prior
9/11 and the election of the Bush administration was a a
priori plan to invade Iraq-dead link (Related Link ) .
Washington, D.C.: The go-ahead for a war may come
soon. But some people think that plans for the war may have been made
years ago. Some analysts think President George W. Bush has been slowly
and carefully putting policies in place recommended to him by the Project
for the New American Century. That organization was launched to promote
the U.S. as the leader in global leadership which includes taking
responsibility to enforce peace around the world.
Some of Bush's key defence advisors, including Secretary of
Defense Donald Rumsfeld and Vice President Dick Cheney helped draft a
document calling for the U.S. to, for example, abandon the antiballistic
missile treaty. Bush's administration did that. The document called for
more permanent military bases around the world. President Bush is putting
them in Philippines, the country of Georgia and, likely, in Iraq after a
war. He also called on the U.S. government to change regimes including
Saddam Hussein's and others. All of this would happen with or without the
U.N.'s support.
Interestingly, the report says for these global
changes to get going a catastrophic event "like a new Pearl Harbour" would
have to take place. (Pearl Harbour, Hawaii was bombed by the Japanese in
1941, dragging the U.S. into the Second World War.) Many feel the
terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 was the event that set Bush's
policy direction in motion.
What was missing was a reason
for the public to rally around or a cataclysmic
event. A chronological timeline shows that the most
of the ideas were set forth by 1992. The "new Peal Harbour" document
came into being in 1999...well ahead of the events of 9-11 2001.
Maybe someone like Clinton happens only once in while (Rhode's Scholar)
but thank goodness that it did. The 9/11 woke up a sleeping giant that there
are fanatical people that will do extreme things. In many ways like a cancer
(with no cure), terrorism keeps changing its face and its methods. The first
bomb detonated deep in the recesses of the garage was unsuccessful and
security was beefed up to prevent it using daily patrols using sniff dogs
and vigilance. You can be sure than "little Johnny" will not be able to
visit the Pilot's cabin...hands up if you think a cabin door think the cabin
door is some sort of space age metal with a entry protocol of no access
after takeoff. Time was simpler when the phrase of "You have nothing to fear
but fear itself". The reality is that technology has advance the
instantaneous damage that a few crazed "men" can wrought. Whether that be a
plane crashing into a tower or a band of militia wiping out an African
Village using maching guns against machettees.In the past, these types only
had so much time before their luck ran out...todaythey have access to the
latest that the North American technology has to offer to evade capture. I
do not have an answer to the problems of today, but Mr Bush has had "his 4
years".
July 1, 2004
Happy Canada Day!!!
The desmise of the turntable has now turned into a resurgence.
Manufacturers from the 70's have now resurfaced in the form of Thorens
and Lenco.
I still have fond memories of looking at the vintage Lencos through the
left
display windows at the original Bay-Bloor Radio.
Hindsight is 20/20 but there are lies and damn lies.
The war that never should have been fought. Even in the week prior to the
the 1990 Persian Gulf War, this is what the Bush
Administration said:
"the United States has no opinion on Arab-Arab conflicts, like your
border disagreement with Kuwait."
June 2, 2004
If you want to keep track of your webpages, try
out http://www.statcounter.com/.
You can also go there by double-clicking my counter. It provides lots of
neat stats beyond just the hit-count such as unique vistors, browser
breakdown, operating system, keyword seaches to arrive at your site, etc.
I think I like where I am with my modest audio system. Bottom
line is that audio industry has been plagued with two-wrongs making a sort
of "right" analog tuning issue. Natural sounding transports/dacs are key and
everything after that seems to follow. One major problem is that so many
problems for so long have been pointed out to be that of the DAC or CD
transport that once you are past this hurdle, you may not know it.
Axiom M22ti continues to be my reference speaker. While surfing
yesterday, I found some neat links to this speaker:
HomeTheatreSpot
Axiom forum. I do not think you could find a more enthusiastic bunch
of first time buyers. They even post about the impending arrival of
mail-order goods.
- Axiom
Audio Tour ...take a visit to cottage country and the headquarters of
Axiom Audio in Dwight, Ontario. This 6MB article is full of pictures of
the factory floor.
- Voted
Top Pick in the tough $200 to $500 dollar speaker range by "Stereo
Speaker Buyer's Guide" web site...how's that for originality.
There you are on a Friday in front of a computer with an hour to kill
before you head off home...what to do? Try Friday Afternoon URLs and
learn about why the U.S. is in
Iraq? ...how long to
coakroach heaven? ...how my car ended up
wedged between a boat and a pier...Fridays may never be the same.
May 15, 2004
The problems with moving to a new web space
provider are that they crash, my old page counters break, FTP does not allow
uploading which is found to be due to a firewall configuration issue....you
get the idea...not a lot of fun.
With most of this behind me, spring was limited to a 8 portage/13 rapid
river run of the Missisauga River ending in the town of Buckhorn. Technical
enough on parts that I'm somewhat glad not to take my fiberglass canoe.
Two inexpensive but ear opening audio projects have come to fruition of
late. But before I begin, forget about universal SACD/DAV-A/CD
players...Toshiba has put out some chipsets that for the first time, in CD's
20 year history, get the tone right. The
digital forum in Audio Asylum has been abuzz with a player that is just a
joy to listen to listen to....even some vinyl addicts have come into the fold.
The first audio project is speaker cable in the guise of a 14
gauge extention cord first bought to attention of people by a recording
engineer of some repute name Tony Faulkner. The Absolute Sound put
out a cable survey that pretty much confirmed that an equivalent orange version of this cable
with a black stripe was not very far off the mark from its high end
breathen. They dubbed it the HD-14 cable for lack of a better name. It has
also been referred to affectionately as Halloween cable.
The second audio project is a tweak to the very high standard bought
about by the Toshiba 3950 and the HD-14 cable. To elevate the sound just a
bit furtherthe 3950 was place on a set of three DIY Roller Blocks.
Feb 1, 2004
Welcome to my new home. As pages get updated from
the old site, the background page colour will shift to "baby blue" until I
find something I like better. Cheers.
Jan 28, 2004
First entry for this year. January is about 3
weeks old from the break between the years. A tremendously loyal and hard
working friend of mine recently slipped away to get married...she kept it
quiet for quiet for about two months. Congratulations Sandra...we still need
to celebrate...even if you do not need to.
While waiting for Norah's (Jones) next album, I picked up an CD titled
"New
York City" by the "Peter Matlic Group" featuring Norah. It has a groove
propelled by a warm bloatey bass that just swings with Norah. Great Music
spot lighting a familiar but different aspect of Norah Jone's versality and
range. Her next (post breakthrough) album is called Feels
Like Home. What a girl does for an encore after 6 Grammys is not really
relevant...good music and musicianship are....it is a gift. Coming to you on
February 10. A cover of a Jewel song I could almost picture.
Also on February 10 will be a Album distributed by EMI called Some of my best friends are
songs. It will be a collection of blues and jazz flavoured songs by an
amazing peformer/singer who is best described as timeless. Colm Wilkinson is
one cool guy with a guitar who could pass for twenty something in his
freshness. Too bad we all know him primarily for operatic numbers froms "the
Phantom" and "Les Miserables". Should be a knockout.
North America has been hit by a cold spell that has lingered around the
city of Toronto for the last week. It bought in record snowfall resulting in
the type of snow banks that kids clamber onto while walking to and back from
school. If you are a senior and a junior(someone in high school), you can
meet some wonderful people in your neighbourhood while helping each other:
Kids in their formitive years need work experience,$$$, and adult talk as
much as seniors need to get errands done (snow shovelling, walking the dog,
fetching groceries) during inclement weather. If you need your sidewalk to
be shovelled at a reasonable rate...call the SAINTS.
