Category: Uncategorized

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Comic Relief

After his 8th failed rocket attempt, I think it's safe to say Elon Musk has projectile dysfunction.

My best friend said that dating after 50 is like trying to find the least damaged thing in a thrift store that doesn't smell.

Me: Those are flies!
Dog: Sky raisins!

Every tech innovation for the last 15 years boils down to 'let's make everything shittier and force you to pay a monthly subscription for it.'

I don't mind getting older but my body is having a hissy fit about it.

I thought I was a good person, but the way I react when people drive slowly in the left lane would suggest otherwise.

If you ever think English is not a weird language just remember that read and lead rhyme and read and lead rhyme.
But read and lead don't rhyme, and neither do read and lead.

Missouri House unanimously approves bill allowing pregnant women to get a divorce. And yes it's 2025.

My wife and I decided we don't want children. It was a difficult decision, but we're telling them tonight.

I bought a new deodorant today. The instructions said, "Remove cap and push up bottom." Now I can barely walk, but whenever I fart, the room smells lovely!

No one can throw a bigger tantrum than a narcissist who loses control of someone else's mind.

Apparently, stress balls are not supposed to be thrown at people who are stressing you out.

I'm not saying I'm attractive, but when I get naked in the bathroom. I turn the shower on.

My son found me crying in the kitchen, wrapped his arms around me and said, "Is it because you're fat?"
Now I'm crying for two reasons.

Children are the only thing we remove from the human body and then keep.

Her: I have bad news dear. The doctor says we can't have sex for six weeks.
Him: Hmmmm. Well, what did the dentist say?

I barely talk to anyone. So if I talk to you and you're not a dog, congrats!

It turns out a ceiling fan will not cut a bagel in half even on high speed. Also, we need a new window.

Marjorie Taylor Greene said she doesn't want to discuss her vaccination status.
I agree – those conversations are best left between Marjorie and her veterinarian.

When I have to fill out a form asking who to call in case of an emergency, I always write ambulance. Because no one in my family is going to answer a call from an unknown number.

Old age is a thing… last night I was in bed for 20 min when I heard the pizza guy cough.
Then I remembered I came to my room for my wallet.

Today I was struggling to get my wife's attention.
So, I sat down on the sofa and looked comfortable.
That did the trick.

A narcissist mindset, that didn't happen, and if it did, it wasn't that bad, and if it was, it's not a big deal, and if it is, it's not my fault and if it was, I didn't mean it, and if I did, you made me do it.

How can we be sure that the Teslas aren't setting themselves on fire to avoid the association with Elon Musk?

We're going to have to color potatoes for Easter this year.

Every news agency reported that the capsule landed in the Gulf of Mexico and I'm sure the most petty man in the universe was fuming.

Donald Trump is trying to shutter the Department of Education, which will make it very difficult for students to know the last time America was grate.

When our lawn mower broke my wife kept nagging me to get it fixed. But, I always had something else to take care of. Finally, she thought of a clever way to make her point. I found her seated in the tall, unmowed grass, busily snipping away with a tiny pair of scissors. I watched silently for a short time and then went into the house. I was gone only a minute, and when I came out again I handed her a toothbrush. I said, "When you finish cutting the grass, you might as well sweep the driveway." The doctors say I will walk again, but I will always have a limp.

Doggies…
Dinner 5 minutes late?
Feeling under-petted?
Treats split in half?
YOU HAVE RIGHTS!
Call me – Koda, attorney at paw
I'll bark for you!
(800) RUF-LIFE

I want to live long enough to witness America's version of the Nuremberg trials.

I've renamed the body of water in my toilet "The Gulf of Trump" and anything floating in it a "Musk".

If you believe that teaching about god in public schools will improve people's morality, you first need to explain why it doesn't work in a church.

I will never understand how they were more upset about a Super Bowl halftime show than Elon Musk stealing our social security numbers.

A naked man broke into a church.
The police chased him around and finally caught him by the organ.

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Color Matching Is Important

Since I started getting back into portable CD players last year (and more recently MiniDiscs) I've also gotten back into wired headphones. I've been so out of that scene for so long I really had no idea where to start, but based on a whole lot of online recommendations, I went with Grado. Yeah, even though there was absolutely no isolation from outside noise they sounded great. They looked funky. The one problem was the comfort. After only a couple months' use the supplied foam ear pads just became uncomfortable. I tried several other variations, including an absolutely ridiculous over-the-ear variety. I finally reached the point that I couldn't stand to have any of the Grado pads on my ears for more than a few minutes at a time.

That led me back to Sony. The past pair of good wired headphones I owned (if you don't count that Stax electrostatics that needed a dedicated converter box directly attached to the speaker outputs of an amplifier or receiver) were made by Sony. I couldn't remember the model number, but I remember them sounding good and despite the fact they too were on/over the ear design, I they were extremely comfortable for extended listening sessions. Not able to track down the specific model I had, I ended up buying their tried-and-true "professional" wired, over-the-ear headphones that they've been making forever and have been very happy with them. They were miles ahead of the Grados in terms of comfort and they sounded as good as I remember Sonys sounding.

The only downside was they filled half my messenger bag and came with a non-removable, heavy, coiled cable that made desk side listening less than optimal—especially since it was connected to a tiny device that could easily get pulled off the desk if you weren't paying attention.

So…last fall I briefly tried a set of pricy,highly-recommended Linsoul "TIN HiFi T4 10mm Carbon Nanotube Dynamic Driver in-Ear Monitor Earphones." I returned them almost immediately. After coming from the deep, rich bass of the Grados and the Sonys, they sounded tinny in comparison, no matter which ear tips I used.

So back to the Sonys and just paying a bit more attention to what I was doing when I was plugged in.

That's served me well until a few weeks ago when—once again—I simply couldn't stand to have them on my ears for more than a few minutes at a time.

I resorted to Amazon reviews again for in-ear buds. I had a couple pairs of Skullcandy buds that were okay for falling asleep with, but sonically they weren't the greatest. Further searching and reading reviews led me to Thinksound In20 and Vibes 202. I ordered the red Vibes because the color was fun and thoughtthey'd look good paired with my red MZ-R900 MiniDisc player. I mean, something fun like that never could really sound good could it? Especially at only $40.

Honestly, I wasn't expecting much from either one by this point, but I figured the overall winner would be the Thinksounds since they were twice the price of the Vibes.

Boy, was I surprised.

The Vibes (even with the funky "in ear monitor" design and the over-the-ear wire arrangement similar to the Linsols that I so resoundingly hated) blew the Thinksounds out of the water. I lived with both for a couple days but ultimately ended up sending the Thinksounds back. With the refund money, I bought two more sets of Vibes in different colors…because I'm a big ol' homo and need to color-coordinate the headphones to whatever device I'd be using.

So I've been living with the Vibes now for about two weeks and I'm still surprised at how much I enjoy them. No more pressure on my ears, I can wear them for hours, they're easily transportable, and have absolutely great bass (finding the proper-sized tips were instrumental in this).

So would I recommend them? Definitely. And for the price, you can't beat 'em.

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Yet Another Quote For Today

Tom Nichols, writer for The Atlantic, on The Felon:

"Paradoxically, however, [The Felon]'s reckless venality is a reason for hope. [The Felon] has the soul of a fascist but the mind of a disordered child. He will likely be surrounded by terrible but incompetent people. All of them can be beaten: in court, in Congress, in statehouses around the nation, and in the public arena. America is a federal republic, and the states—at least those in the union that will still care about democracy—have ways to protect their citizens from a rogue president. Nothing is inevitable, and democracy will not fall overnight."

There will be methods to contain The Felon, even though the GOP will goosestep for Hair Furor every chance they get.

[source]

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Almost Complete!

Almost complete. Just missing MDNA, Who's That Girl, and Evita. (MDNA is arriving next week.)

Madge (I'm two months older than she is)—along with Pet Shop Boys—has provided the soundtrack of my life, especially during the height of their influence in the 80s and 90s. I will forever associate Papa Don't Preach and West End Girls with my arrival in San Francisco.

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Some Thoughts On Headphones

While they aren't my preferred method of listening to music, headphones have always played a big part in my musical enjoyment. I would not describe myself as a headphone geek in any sense of the word, but I do admit I have a great affinity for the buggers. Always have.

My love of headphones unsurprisingly began in the 70s, concurrent with my first tentative steps into HiFi with the Pioneer SE-205, a Christmas gift from my parents that had been on my holiday wish list. I don't remember much about these cans except they were big, heavy, and tended to put me to sleep when using them. But they afforded me the luxury of listening to my music loud long after my folks had gone to bed. (My bedroom was directly beneath theirs.) I do have two musical memories that stand out with these Pioneers, however: Elton John's Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy and Chicago's Chicago IX Greatest Hits. For some reason those two records are indelibly imprinted as being heard through these Pioneers—initially at least.

Pioneer SE-205

As my hi-fi journey continued, at one point not too many years later I encountered a pair of Stax electrostatic headphones at the local LaBelle's showroom. I was smitten. But at $450 ($1950 in 2024 dollars) they were way  out of reach of my meager income. Stax did, however, offer a much cheaper, electret design at $150 ($650 in 2024 dollars) that sounded nearly as good and was actually something I could afford. Their only drawback was their need to be connected to my amp via an adapter box that attached to the speaker outputs on the amp.  But the sound…oh my…these stayed with me for more than a decade. The weak point in their design however was the junction of the headphone cord with the earspeakers where the strain relief failed and the wiring broke. I can't tell you how many times over the years I had to disassemble them, trim off a bit of the cord past the break, and resolder the wires in place. I finally got tired of doing this and tossed them in the trunk of my car where they were eventually stolen. I purchased a "new" set a couple years ago after using many other brands and types since I originally owned them, and was frankly kind of disappointed. I still own them, but they're on a shelf and not even attached to my amp any more.

Stax SR-44 (SR-40 Headphones with SRD-4 Adaptor)

During the 1990s and early 2000s my hi-fi headphone listening via my main stereo amplifier took a break as I was distracted by my increasing use of portable music players of one kind or another and their supplied headphones/earbuds.

After I'd completed my radiation treatments in 2003, I decided I wanted to treat myself to something nice in celebration and I picked up a pair of Sony V-500s from Fry's Electronics. Damn, I loved those things. They weren't the most comfortable things in the world, but they sounded good and I kept them until the pads disintegrated and I threw them out prior to our move to Denver (I didn't know I could get replacement pads at the time, otherwise I'd probably still have them.)

Sony MDR-V500

With the acquisition of my first iPod and later iPhones of various iterations, all my headphone listening was on-the go, and I went through dozens of earbuds, (mostly Skullcandy), but my favorites were Apple's "Professional" earbuds—at least until they got rid of the headphone jack…

Apple ME186LL/A WIred Earbuds

My first foray into Bluetooth headphones was prompted by Ben's purchase of a pair of Jaybird's Freedom earbuds. I tried them on, listened, and was immediately blown away by how much better they sounded than even Apple's Pro wired variety. I bought a pair. A year later, I upgraded them to Jaybird's Bluebuds X.

Bluebird Bluebuds X

The Bluebuds X stayed with me until the first generation AirPods came on the scene. I remember scoffing at how earbuds without a cord were ripe targets for ending up in the washing machine, but looking back now I realize how ridiculous that was. By this time the batteries were precariously close to being shot on the Bluebuds, and while the batteries might've been able to be replaced, the lure of the new and shiny outweighed any thought of doing that.

I was surprised at the freedom the AirPods afforded, and while there was nothing wrong with them, when the AirPods Pro were released, it was a no-brainer to upgrade. For everything iPhone and Mac related my AirPods Pro remain my go-to listening device.

Last fall, I did want a more user-friendly listening experience for my main stereo system than the Stax electrets. I just wanted to be able to plug something into the headphone jack on the amp and listen away.

Based on recommendations from Dank Pods, I picked up a pair of Grado SR-60X from Amazon without even listening to them first, knowing full well if I hated them I could return them no questions asked.

Grado SR-60X

Well, I didn't return them. Even though the SR-60X is considered the "entry level" of this line, these are seriously good-sounding cans. Grado is known for having a very distinctive sound, and that sound is very much to my liking.  The SR-60X (and in fact, the entire Grado line) is also very customizable with different earpads, headbands, and even (if you're handy with a soldering iron) cables. My biggest complaints over the past few months have been one, the cable, and two, the earpads. The cable is braided. It's very heavy and not very pliant. It also tends to twist between the earspeakers and the Y-split. Untangling it is a pain. I've tried the three different varieties of OEM earpads that are available. The ones that initially came with the headset are fine for brief listening sessions, but they press too hard against my ears. While sounding better than the original pads, the over-the-ear design pads are ridiculously large and uncomfortable. The third variety that match the size of the original pads, but are of a donut design, sound great. What I found, however, is that the relatively rough foam they're made out of became so uncomfortable that I couldn't even stand to put them on any more. The open-back design also doesn't exactly lend itself to loud listening when you're in a room with someone else.

So this leads us to my latest set of headphones: the Sony MDR-7506. These have supposedly been made continuously since the 80s; they're Sony's professional workhorses. Again, I bought them from Amazon, thinking that if I didn't like them I could return them. At the time I couldn't remember the model number of my previous Sony headphones, so this was kind of a crap shoot to be honest.

At first I didn't like them. In fact, I went ahead and initiated a return. But as I wore them more and more they really came to grow on me. They fit snugly on my head without crushing my ears. The soft, coiled cord is a joy compared to the has-a-mind-of-its-own cord on the Grados. Unlike the Grados, these are closed-back cans, and they do a very good job of isolating your listening experience from the outside world. The sound is different from the Grados, but I like it just as much—if not, perhaps more. Upon recommendation I went ahead and ordered the optional YAXI L-R color-coded ear pads, and I have to say they are beyond comfortable.* I can easily see myself wearing these for an entire workday without any fatigue whatsoever. And I like the punch of color too.

Sony MDR-7506 with Yaxi Pads

So that's where I am at the moment. This post went on way longer than I originally envisioned, but if I'm passionate about something I do tend to ramble on.

*But they do—somehow—affect the sound (which has been documented) in a way I don't like, so for now I've gone back to the OEM pads.

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Quote of the Day

Do not get lost in a sea of despair. Be hopeful, be optimistic. Our struggle is not the struggle of a day, a week, a month, or a year. It is the struggle of a lifetime. Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble." ~ John Lewis

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Concept: 10, Practicality: 0

I never understood what was going through the minds of Sony engineers when they released this one, especially since 3-1/2" CDs were never a real, viable thing—even back in the day. I believe had one in my old collection (A Touch of DMP), and that was a free sampler that came with a regular CD I'd bought. You're never going to pop this in your pocket or bag and play regular-sized CDs, but yet they are quite popular with collectors and go for a lot of money on the used market.

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🤣 🤣 🤣

I take some—albeit little—solace in believing that in at least one of the multiverses that are thought to surround and exist simultaneously with our own, Madam President Hillary Rodham Clinton is finishing up her second term and the United States is a very different place from the festering hellscape we currently find ourselves in.

BELIEVE THE FUCKING WOMEN.