lne937s

this has gone too far... the dialog has degraded so I am closing the thread if checking that box works Best wishes to all Larry This message has been edited by lne937s on 08-14-2002 at 10:40 AM

On the opposite side of the whole Ozone thing- Ionic air cleaners or ozone generators in industrial air quality systems do the same thing. The Ozone kills bacteria and helps neutralize odors. However, it can also be harmful to people in high quantities. It's like the clorine in tap water- clorine makes drinking water safe, but you don't want to drink bleach directly. Larry

the first place i'd try is Ebay.

I've stayed away for a while, but a few pages, but I have a few points to make. Although Clinton passed the largest tax increase, who proposed the largest tax increase of all time? It was Reagan. It didn't pass through the Democratic legislature. However, I think we may need to increase taxes if our economy recovers- like Ronnie's proposal at the time. I walk by the debt counter every day- $60K+ per person. What ever happened to "fiscal responsibility"? if we don't start widdling down that debt while the boomers are still working, the workforce numbers combined with the strain of the largest elderly population ever will make it impossible for another 20 years. I do think we need some kind of population policy. It is a tremendous factor in economic development. Countries that have the highest standards of living (western Europe) tend to have lower birth rates than those with low standards of living (3rd world) I also implore all of you to look beyond Webster's dictionary and connotative definitions for an understanding of the terms you use. Fascism, for example, is, in theory, government structure derived from industrial corporate structure. Yes, it has very few people in power at the top, a strict chain of command, heirarchy, division of labor, etc.- just like corporations. It was designed to be the most efficient form of government- it made the trains run on time. Neo-fascism, from one perspective, would use more of the "new" corporate structure tactics. Puts the "run government like a business" statements in a new light. Also, according to research, compensation is not directly related to job satisfaction or motivation. "Compensation fairness" and the ability to provide for yourself are more analogous. Feelings of accomplishment, identifying with the company, emotional involvment, feelings of efficacy, etc. are more effective in creating employee satisfaction and motivation. (for more look at Barker, Thompkins, Cheney or any good Org Com or I/O Psychology Journal) Why else would many young union factory workers still complain about their jobs even when they significantly make more than many of their white-collar peers. Compensation does have an effect on job and career choice, the motivation to educate yourself, and the economy as a whole. Larry

OK- you guys are really making me miss having a car. After the fourth time my Mustang convertible was broken into in six months and hundreds of dollars in parking tickets, I got rid of it. Now I take the subway everywhere. The only car I've ever owned from the 60's is actually a truck- a '66 3/4 ton International with a chrysler small block. Big, loud, and slow. We rebuilt it from the frame up- everything was redone and repainted- although not original. The exterior was painted Coke Red (left over paint from the delivery trucks) and you could see it coming a mile away. However, if I were to buy a truck now, it would probably be a '74 Ford with dents on every mis-matched panel and railroad ties for bumpers- that way I wouldn't have to worry about messing it up, scratching the bed, or having it stolen and everybody would get out of my way when I merged into traffic. I have fallen in love with small cars. I really like big Heally's- 100-4 would be a dream. I would also like a BMW 2002. I saw some pretty cool kits based on Datsun Z cars for 250 Ferrari's. I also was thinking about building a motorcycle based roadster- Legends style. All this is dreaming now- I need to rent a garage in the country and afford a spare $250/mo for insurance (it is ridiculous here). Maybe I should move first. Larry

Thanks I was thinking there really wasn't a difference, but I wanted to be sure. I have been looking @ Focal, MB Quart, and Peerless, but my top prospect now is Illusion Audio- I found them at www.solen.ca Look at these woofers- I am thinking about using the 12 http://www.illusionaudio.com/illusion/Technologyx.html They look different, play low, have lightweight cones, and have high sensitivity. Vance Dickanson, who makes sub designs for Parts Express, has some positive comments quoted on the Illusion websight. I know AR used some of the smaller models from Illusion in their high end wall mounted speakers. Illusion also makes horns for car audio. The drivers are expensive, but the cost savings of DIY should offset this, not to mention conversation piece value. I am going to plug the parameters into my box design program this weekend. Larry

I was wondering about something (this may be a stupid question)- Is there a good reason I cannot use a car audio subwoofer to build a home subwoofer?- Does the fact that I have a small room make a difference? I was looking at the frequency resopnse of Illusion Audio's 12" inverted motor carbon fiber subwoofer. These are supposedly one of the highest quality sounding car subwoofers and they play into the teens. They have high efficiency, have lightweight cones, and look different than just about anything. I have heard a couple answers before, but none really answer the question. Thanks, Larry This message has been edited by lne937s on 08-08-2002 at 09:18 PM

Everyone is trying to categorize the enemy of our economy (Democrats vs. Republicans, Liberals vs. Conservatives, etc) here's a new classification- blame the Boomers. (The baby boom- people born between the end os WWII and the start of Vietnam). Look at that graph of income increases (I assume household, not per cap)- the sharp rises in the top bracket correlate with the boomers taking control. The boomers are the largest generation in this country- and are at peak earning potential now. What happens when they retire? With them at peak earning potential, how can we have a recession? The fact that we are having a recession isn't as scarey as the timing of it. The Boomers are in charge of both parties. They control virtually every corporation. When one who has a power position leaves or gets fired- another is waiting to take his place. The natural movement of power from old to young is taking a vacation because there are still enough older people to hold the positions. This prevents the progress of the Gen X (roughly defined as people born during Vietnam, the generation after that really doesn't have a name yet) to power positions as people retire. Generation X is the first generation in American history to make less money than their parents when taking into account for inflation. Their population numbers are very small compared to the boomers. These two factors combined will make it very difficult to fund the mass retreat of the Boomers into retirement. Much of this is the inevitable consequence of population fluctuations. However, these fluctuations should be resulting in great numbers at present. We should be paying off the debt now and investing in the future. We need to be promoting an economy that works smarter- we don't have enough strong backs to fuel an economy on manual labor. We need to improve math and science scores so that our ingenuity can move us forward. On the whole trade issue- think of it this way. A bottle of designer cologne- $60. Cost of production- $6 max, most of which is packaging. The rest of the money goes to fund design, marketing, advertising, sales, that attractive girl who sprays it on you at the store, etc. More money is pumped into our economy through the labor of foriegners than is given to those foriegners. Think of it as exploiting foriegners- giving us more than we put in. Much the same can be said for audio equiptment. Do not confuse American brands or "assembled in America" with 100% American. If you don't believe me, take your speakers apart (some reference Klipsch woofers are made in Mexico) or disassemble your car. Fast forward 15 years. We won't have the labor force to pay for all the retired boomers if we rely on domestic labor, or supply their consumption habits. Gen Xers will be taking over, but since Boomers have wasted all the fat years and kept all the management positions to themselves for all those years, things will be in disarray. We will have to rely on our brains to move us ahead. More value must be placed on engineering, development, refinement, information, creativity, rather than on the bulk of raw materials used or the labor hours involved. The days of SUV's will end. Automation and foriegn labor will be essential to production. If we don't start changing now, we will be in a world of hurt. Labor unions (not necessarily trade unions) are detrimental to this process because they reduce the will of people to enter the new "information" sector, or whatever you want to call it. While they are not completely counterproductive, they do slow changes in how we manage our labor force. The US is already behind in these changes and we need to speed things up. Also, why invest tens of thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours of work in school when only to graduate and end up making half of what your high school drop-out buddy is making. On top of that, they have been making this money for the past 4 or 5 years (easily leading to a half million dollar deficit for the college educated). This puts them @$60K a year in the next to the top bracket, and if it is a two union wage household- at the bottom of the top bracket. I have no problem with everyone making a good living and people who work hard, especially, but I think these wages are quite a bit above market value ($40k is more reasonable-although I'm sure Forrest would like less). When I left grad school I didn't have a job waiting for me- I had to make a fake resume that claimed that I had LESS education so that I could get a job waiting tables to pay the bills- it's like some kind of sick joke. Many labor jobs will not take you if you have a degree- you're overeducated (I've tried). Have the uneducated have taken over? They are going to shoot us in the foot when the boomers retire and we need to find new ways to generate income. Corporations are also being counterproductive. So many are looking to generate short term profits, they are unwilling to invest in the long term, like R&D. Many execs are too stubborn to admit they took the wrong direction. The "if it aint broke don't fix it" approach is slowing our development and growth. Corporate politics is getting almost as bad as national, special interests are taking over policy decisions. Ceo's are tying themselves to closely to personal money making rather than promoting the business. I encourage all of you to look at the link I posted on the page from BMW HR- the unions are actually working with the corporation to develop the most mutually beneficial relationship. I think that the Euro is going to continue to gain on the US dollar based on some policy decisions, the integration of eastern Europe, and some future population changes. Some more to think about, Larry

I would like to keep it below 1K. I would prefer to buy used if I buy. I was thinking about building an isobaric based on some things I read, but wanted everyone's opinion on them. I realize that they reduce volume somewhat, but that is not a problem since I have a small room. I also heard that they play lower and reduce distortion- so I am intrigued. I would need a very simple kit since I don't have many tools or much room to build it. I plan on using a 50Hz crossover point. What about MB quart- I know they have a reputation for quality sound in car audio, but how is their home stuff? Thanks Larry This message has been edited by lne937s on 08-01-2002 at 08:23 PM

I was looking at some monitor audio subs- any recommendations? What is the verdict on push/pull designs? I am looking for something fast, low, tight and musical, but with my small room, I don't need loud. Thanks in advance- Larry

After previously using masonite with a matte finish, I currently show my crt on a flat white wall. Larry

to be fair- Inflated corporate executive salaries do the same thing. Anyone who has negotiated a position where his/her salary is not respondant to free market competition is guilty of the same- whether that be through monopoly, patronage, unions, nepotism, etc.

My opinion on unions is not just based on the fact that they inflate wages, but that they also reduce productivity. Higher wages are justifiable with higher productivity. For an example of a profitable company with higher wages, look here: http://www.bmwgroup.com/e/index_home.shtml?s10&/e/sniffer.html& Historical links between unions and communists are not opinion but documented fact. Currently, unions are becoming more and more conservative as their negotiations move them into higher tax brackets. Let's curb the personal attacks- we aren't in elementary school anymore. Larry

I have never owned any, but the recent stats seem to sound much better than the ones I heard a decade ago. I also have to say that I have become a true believer in ribbon drivers having listened to them in a broad range of applications up to $80K. They are really fast and detailed. Some people are even experimenting with them in horn loaded designs. I also have to say that I like my maggies. The actually do need to be broken in to get the membrane to stretch, and should be lived with for a while to catch all the details these speakers bring. However, room placement makes a tremendous difference- just as much as placing a woofer in a different cabinet- a fraction of an inch is noticable. In my small room, I have never felt the need to turn up the volume past half way. I can now hear details I never heard before, even with my RF3's, I understand all the voices being mumbled in the background of Dark Side of the Moon, and dubbed-in voices in movies are now distractingly obvious. However, if you have a huge room, want to play your music loud, want to use small wattage tube amps, have low quality source material, want to have house parties, have kids or animals, have to coordinate positioning with WAF, etc.- these speakers are not for you. Larry

This single has been selling out in stores around here for the past few months. Elvis vs. JXL http://www.click2music.com/contests/elvis/ I think this mix works- what do you guys think? Will everything be remixed? Does this corrupt the original or bring the music to a whole new generation? Larry