jheis

Not to mention his sunburned willy James

fini: I haven't done anything with vinyl in years, so I'm not even sure what VTA is. I assume you probably have something similar, but if it's any help I have a little balance beam type Shure Tracking Force Gauge that you're welcome to borrow. I might even deliver[] James

Was that after he voted for the thing he voted against that he voted for, or before he voted for the thing that he voted against that he voted for!? Its so easy to always be on the side of complaining and never on the side of taking action! In other words, not to be perpetually stuck on stupid! Huh?

Unfortunately, the current administration has been "stuck on stupid" for far too long. Good ole boy Dubya seems to consider it some sort of a virtue. Agressive stupidity is not a quality I look for in a leader. James

As Greg said, Heresys are a great starting point. You can always add more later. I started out with a pair of Cornwalls over twenty years ago. Added a pair of KG2's, then a pair of Heresys, then another pair of heresys, then another pair of heresys, a RC7, and finally a pair of LaScalas. I'm done for now - at least until I'm in a house with KORNERS. James

I second the Costco recommendation. They usually don't stock the high end stuff, but they can order any Bridgestone or Michelin tires and get them for you in a couple of days. I got my last set of Bridgestone S0-3's through them. The total price was a little higher than the Tire Rack, but Tire Rack charges extra for a road hazard warranty, so it probably worked out about the same. 4 S0-3's 225/50ZR16 were about $670 plus tax. (By the way, they only charged me $1 a piece for tire disposal, but the price may have gone up.) Had to go to the Tire Rack for my Avon Tech-R track tires, but that's another story. James

You don't miss your water 'til the well runs dry.

But they're so much cuter than the stuff you pick out of your socks!

Sorry fini, but I'm not the reason. The only pens I acquired locally were a group of about 6 pens that a friend of mine dug out of her (deceased) parent's desk drawers after she learned that I was interested in pens. Luckily, that group included a circa 1925 Parker Lucky Curve vest pocket pen in an unusual pastel dove gray (I like those little Lucky Curves), a mint c.1933 standard Parker Vacumatic in burgundy and pearl, a c.1936 Wahl Doric in blue and gray web pattern, and another mint c.1929(?) Wahl Eversharp in mandarin green (I'm not sure what this one is - it's 4 1/4" closed, lever fill with a two band, ring top cap). They were offered to me for free, but not wanting to take advantage of a friend, I paid for them. James

Justin & fini: Well, since there are now 3 of us within about 10 miles (I'm in Santa Rosa), we ought to get together to do something. Sorry Justin, but I never got started on coffee, so that won't work. Now a nice glass of our local red .... that's another story. James

No - we wouldn't. James

Yeah. The 2 channel purists may object, but stereo coming out of a pair of LaScala fronts, Heresy surrounds, and Cornwall rears and driven by separate amps is truly something to behold. Then, of course, I can also turn on the center channel amp that drives the RC-7 (mono) and add a bit more presence to the front "soundstage."

Cars: I've had everything from Alfa Romeo to Zagato (almost). For the past 11 years it's been a '82 Porsche 928 (5sp mit competition group & S4 brakes) which I autocross regularly. Antique Cars: 1933 Franklin Olympic Convertible Coupe (one of 14 known to exist). The only merican car I've ever owned. 1970 Rover 3500S (one of 1,400 imported). Currently undergoing a cosmetic restoration. Antique Motorcycles: 1952 BMW R68 (one of maybe 35-40 in the US). First production BMW able to exceed 100 mph. Vintage Fountain Pens: I have a collection of about two dozen pens - the majority are circa 1925 - 1937, a few earlier, a few into the '50's. My favorites are Parkers (8) and Wahl Eversharps (4). Use 'em everyday. Also have a small collection of antique German drafting instruments. And, of course, the usual things like cooking and photography. James

I may be wrong, but I don't think you are going to find Heresys for $300 anymore. The going price on ebay seems to be somewhere between $400 - 700 depending on condition of the speakers and the number of suckers bidding. James

When I was an air traffic control radar techie in the Air Force, I was stationed at Ramstein AFB in Germany for three years. At the time our airport surveillance radar (60 mile sweep radar) was a Texas Instruments solid state system that took up a whole building. The final approach radar, however, was all vacuum tube. Care to guess which system consumed ALL of my time? I'll give you a hint - it wasn't the solid state system - other than for routine maintenance, I rarely had to set foot in the building. On the other hand, I spent most of my shifts up to my armpits in the tube stuff. Just as there is a reason why some people prefer tube amps - there is also a reason why some people would not have them on a bet. To each their own.... James

Capt. Bob, Dimitry; you guys look so much alike - you could be brothers. Hard to tell who's talking.

Thanks, that was a good read. I'm of the same generation, but there was nothing like that when I was coming up - of course there was no such thing as a Jazz cafe in rural south eastern Pennsylvania. Still isn't. James

I think you'll be very pleased with the B&K. They make great amps for the money. I run a Ref 50 pre/pro with a ST-125.2 driving my front LaScalas, another ST-125.2 driving my Hersey surrounds, a ST-2140 driving my rear Cornwalls, and a ST-1400 II (same as the ST-2140, except for the face plate) driving my RC-7 center. I like the idea of having a separate power supply & transformer for each pair of channels. I also have a ST-140 driving a pair of Heresys in my office system. After I started listening to B&K amps, I sold my Carver TFM-45 on ebay. I liked my Carver, and I can't quantify it, but B&K's just sound better to me. Besides, The Carver TFM-45 seems to have a sort of a cult following. I sold it for almost as much as I paid for it 13 years ago! James

It's real simple: In the USA sex is verboten, but misogyny and violence are considered good for the kiddies. Why, just a couple of days ago we had Pat Robertson, a fundamentalist "Christian" MINISTER (with his own national TV show) advocating the assasination of the President of Venezuela because he doesn't like his politics. Welcome to Amerika. We have some crazy people here - and they run things. James

As a "car guy," I particularly enjoyed the cars of the "not too distant future." Uma drives a late '60's - early '70's Citroen DS convertible and there are a couple more '60's Citroens scattered about. Ethan drives a '63-4 Studebaker Avanti (designed by Raymond Loewy). There's a '56 Lincoln Continental MKII parked outside Ethan/Jude's apartment. There's a circa '62-5 Jaguar MKII in the tunnel police checkpoint scene (which I think is in the Stockton Street tunnel - between Sacramento and Sutter Streets in San Francisco). And, of course, my favorite - all the cop cars are 1970 Rover 3500's. They only imported 1,400 Rover 3500's, and at one misguided point in my youth, I owned five of them - still have two.... Then, of course, there is Gattaca. As a northern Californian I know the place well. Gattaca is the Marin County Civic Center in San Rafael, California. The Marin Civic Center was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and built in 1957. For pictures and more information on "Gattaca" see: http://www.greatbuildings.com/buildings/Marin_Civic_Center.html You'll recognize a lot of the movie locales. By the way, it looks like the rockets would be launching from somewhere on the Marin coast or maybe around the north end of the Golden Gate Bridge. Cool movie. James

Dump M$ and try one of the many flavors of Linux.

Hi Brian: I spent 3 years at Ramstein - only it was 30 years ago. 2135 Communications Squadron. Air traffic control radar techie then - lawyer now. Back in those days, the airport surveilance radar was solid state, but final approach radar was still all tubes. If I have to work on it, I'll take solid state any day. Loved Germany, hated the AF. Been meaning to get back there.... Enjoy it while you can. James

Wayne: How does your CRT like living on top of the two Heresys? I have a spare pair of Heresys and was thinking of doing the same thing and getting rid of my RC-7. However, when I moved one of the Heresys into position in front of my 32" Sony to see how it would look, the picture went all green. Have you installed bucking magnets in the Heresys? If so, do you need to do all the drivers - or just the woofers? I had a 20" MGA sitting right on top of one of my Cornwalls for years, so I was a little surprised that the Heresys had so much of an effect. James

I wanna see how they play that trumpet....

Funny - but it illustrates that cell phones, voice mail messages and mp3's are not a happy combination. Of course, you've got to work with what you've got James