Amy's Blog

Some of you may have seen my announcement on the forum from a few weeks ago about the selling of some of our museum artifacts.  Specifically:

The Klipsch Museum of Audio History is divesting itself of certain items to insure physical space for future acquisitions.  In other words, we’re cleaning house - not moving out.  These items are either duplicates, or not specifically related to the Paul Klipsch ”story”.  Still, many of them are significant to the history of audio, and this is your opportunity to become their next “caretaker”.  

The first in this offering of most unusual items is this cutaway Khorn, one of 12 made.  I can't imagine what anyone would use it for, other than supreme coolness.  

Although currently empty, watch for it and other items coming very soon to our eBay store here.

I have nothing but fond memories of Thanksgiving.  No family drama or antics to speak of.  No drunken uncles, crazy great-aunts, or even unruly pets to spoil the day. Nothing except maybe really bad wallpaper. 

Most of these occasions were spent at my grandparent's house in Silver Lake, Ohio...the most magical place on earth.  Magical perhaps because of the area itself -- a quiet lake village deeply rooted in family values, religion, and green marshmallow salad -- but I think it was mostly because of the people who gathered at the table, and the spirit of generosity and love that lived in grandma's house.  The kind of house that always felt like home, even though I never actually lived there.

I've been back to the area since, but of course nothing remains the same.  Half of the people who sat at this table 37 years ago are no longer with us.  And even as I write that, I know it's not true...because no one ever really leaves if you don't let them. 

I am thankful, tomorrow and every day, for being part of this family, and for their contributions to who I am today.

Clockwise from bottom left:  brother Jeff, mom, dad, me, grandma, aunt Jenni, uncle Bob, aunt Julie, great-grandma Bishop, and grandpa holding the camera, as he always did.

Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone!

Two years ago yesterday Dwight the Duck was seen over-indulging at forum member seti's house.  I thought we'd revisit that glorious day, pre-carnage.

Don't forget to thaw your turkey!

The engineering lab is a mysterious place for people like me who know little about what engineers really do.  Shelves and shelves of scattered, twisted things that look like nothing I've ever seen, except that time I dropped a tube television in my dorm room.  Oops.

I don't venture back there much, especially on the side where most of these objects live.  Which is near a soldering iron.  And smells funny.  So I was surprised when I rounded the corner last Friday to find this... rows upon rows of neatly placed bins giving those weird little things a home.  And I'm totally impressed, considering I don't recall seeing any of the engineers get a visit from their mother.  

So we have this silly badger speaker.  I'm not sure what happened to his belly, but that's irrelevant.  I'm also not sure where he came from, but I know we've had him since at least early 2008.  He was perched out back for a while, but some way-mature engineers were using the little guy for some kind of target practice.  He was since rescued and brought to the woodshop, where he'll be safe and sound at least through the winter.  Maybe.

What does this have to do with the Old Oaken Bucket?  Very little, really, except with that little football in his paws, it got me thinking about the Wisconsin Badgers.  Which got me thinking about the Big 10.  Which got me thinking about tomorrow's match up between arch rivals Indiana Hoosiers and Purdue Boilermakers.  The hated, detested, despicable Purdue Boilermakers.  And I say that while cringing, since about half of all Klipsch employees in Indianapolis went to school there.  But that's just too bad.

A case of unfortunate timing, I'll be traveling tomorrow to see some of my old college roomies in Northern Indiana, since one of them is home from the east coast to show off her brand new baby boy.  Reason enough to miss a game, I suppose.  Although I'm sure I can locate where the husbands and boyfriends will be gathering.  They better have the Big Ten Network.

After being around for 63 years, you can imagine the stack of industry magazines we have accumulated.  I found Melissa today doing some organizing at her cube, shown here with pages featuring the 50th Anniversary Klipschorn, Epic, Legend, and early Synergy series.  Some of the magazines are dated back to the mid-1900s, which makes me sneeze just thinking about it.

Here's another view of our lovely building as you pull into the circle drive.  Of course, I only use it when traveling in my limo. 

The shortened hours of daylight are starting to take their toll on my psyche, but at least I can still find scenes like this when heading to my car...for now.  It won't be long before I feel like I should be sleeping in a coffin and avoiding garlic.

I know, that sounded a little gross, but it's how I describe being sealed inside our anechoic chamber.  The experience is actually pretty cool, but not meant for claustrophobics.  Or women wearing stiletto heels.

If such things interest you, or you simply must come to Indianapolis for summer break because that's where everyone goes, stop by our facilities for our somewhat-annual Pilgrimage in June (actual date TBD).  We'd love to meet you and show you what we do.  Any perhaps try to explain why.  Wait, maybe some of our employees should attend.  Accountants?

(And yes, when I'm not picking on engineers, I'm usually picking on accountants.)

I got the kid all the way to school today, only to discover their power was out. I don't see why it had to close just because they couldn't see and had no heat, but whatever.  So we put him to work straight away, testing various headphone designs for that user-friendly-factor.  I hope watching Alvin and the Chipmunks negates any child labor law violations.  He got a 15 minute break every hour, promise! 

Just a tip: if you ask to see a picture of Steven, the Most Photographed Kid in the World, I will oblige.  I'm a mom, after all.  This one is for forum member Daddy Dee, who so innocently asked to see the full version of the picture in my masthead.

Taken one year ago last week, it's hard to believe how much he's changed from then -- academically and physically.  Just last night, he was playing "teacher," having me sit in the "classroom" and recite my numbers, 1 to 100.  When I inadvertently slowed down, he picked up the counting with me for a bit, followed by, "Good, keep going, you're doing great."  When I got to 70 or so, he chimed in with, "This is the challenging part; don't give up."  And he couldn't have been more serious.

Little kids are awesome.  It makes the new, ultra-whiney version of the word "NO" he's picked up lately a teeny bit more tolerable. 

 ... and feel really good about yourself at the same time.

Every year, local radio station WZPL holds a 36-hour Request-a-Thon raising money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation, granting wishes for children with life-threatening illnesses.  Klipsch has also been committed to helping the foundation for quite some time now, sponsoring events and holding fund raisers whenever possible.  So why not join forces?  Plus Smiley-in-the-Morning is a fan.

What can you do?  The easiest way is to make a donation on our team website, any dollar amount will do.  It's simple, fast, and easy.  Really.  And a child somewhere will thank you.

The Reference RF-5 give-away, you ask?  Oh yeah.  If you call during a Klipsch sponsored Premium Hour on Thursday, November 19th from 6:00 – 7:00PM with a minimum donation TBD, you'll be entered to win the speakers at the end of the hour. 

Not local?  You can listen to a live stream of the broadcast anywhere with an internet connection.

Over the past 12 years, the Request-A-Thon event has raised over $2.5 million for the foundation, allowing them to grant over 400 wishes to children with life-threatening medical conditions.  It only takes a minute to imagine Steven as a recipient of this unbelievable generosity, and out comes my cash.

He'll never even miss one less toy under the tree. 

My brother and I, Halloween 1974.  My son Steven, and his son Nathan, Yesterday 2009. 

The only thing I have to say about the recent picture is -- do you have any idea how hard it is to find a pumpkin one week after Halloween?

This was a tough one...I had to call for back up.  I think the choice of the name "Chester" in this context is what pushed it over the top.  Not to mention my first cat was named Chester, after our 21st president.  Yes, I was a huge nerd going back to at least age 8.

Congrats, pmsummer!  One Klipsch prize, coming your way!

Chester misunderstood what the Swingers' Hi-Fi Club meant when they invited him to stop by for a Menage a trois.

I'm dragging a little from today's off-site photo shoot, but it was nice to be away from the glaring computer monitor for a while.  The Steak-n-Shake lunch was an added bonus.  Mmm, french fries.

You can tell how informal our photo shoots actually are by scrolling through some of the outtakes.  Like this one.