Iron Fist In A Velvet Glove

Columbus Zoo (5.19.2007)

Sat, 26 May 2007 04:34:23 GMT

I went to the Columbus Zoo last weekend for the first time in years. Here are some pictures from my outing:

(All pictures taken with Nikon D80 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 VR)

Circuit City

Sat, 20 Jan 2007 05:06:58 GMT

I went into Circuit City tonight with the intention of buying a Nikon D80. After about ten minutes of loafing around looking for a sales rep, I finally tracked down the manager to get a D80 out of the glass storage case under the display models.
He then asked me if I wanted to talk to a "camera expert" to answer any questions I might have regarding the camera since based on the size of the box it looked like an "expensive camera".

Why not? I replied, couldn't hurt.

The so-called expert then had to read the "included accessories" print on the Nikon box to tell me it only came with a lens (no doubt setting up an avenue on which to hard-sell me on a slew of over-priced accessories). Gee thanks genius, how about next you read the box and tell me the name of the camera I'm wanting to buy.

The next part I found rather interesting, the "camera expert" then proceeded to tell me that Nikon basically has no warranty. If there is the tiniest scratch on the camera, the warranty was void. The kit lens is considered an accessory and thus not covered. The buttons on the camera were not covered, and so on and so forth.

But of course with an almighty Circuit City protection plan, I wouldn't have a care in the world.

Quite frankly I was extremely annoyed. Here I was about to spend $1,300 on a digital camera and this pimple-faced newb has the gall to waste my time with a stupid protection plan hard-sell, based on lies no less?

I basically told him, fuck that, and then walked out.

I will be buying my D80 online from B&H Photo tomorrow (today?) thank you very much. Yet another reminder of why I shouldn't shop at Brick and Mortar stores. You know, aside from their outrageous mark-ups.

Man his manager must've ripped him a new one for mangling a $1000+ sale that was all but in the bag.

Favorite Songs

Mon, 04 Sep 2006 01:24:57 GMT

Vanessa Carlton - Harmonium - White Houses: Endearing, upbeat, and tragic all at the same time, this song is frankly a masterpiece by an otherwise rather (IMO) mediocre artist. A decided lack of hooks for a "pop" song, yet remains undeniably catchy.

Something Corporate - Songs for Silent Movies - Konstantine: This song has some of the saddest and most powerful lyrics of all-time and is filled with embarassingly "open-diary" type song-writing. Simple, yet incredibly clever lines leave one guessing what the "true" interpretation is.

Nightwish - Century Child - End of All Hope: This track has such blistering aggression I almost couldn't believe my ears the first time I heard it. The huge crunching electric guitars are offset by the operatic vocals of Tarja (now ex-lead singer) which produces a dichotomous sound which is appealing nontheless.

Nightwish - Once - Ghost Love Score: Despite having some parts that are just "OK", it's balanced out by other parts that are unbelievable. This song is the very definition of the word "Epic".

Sonata Arctica - Reckoning Night - My Selene: Very catchy power-metal but without the almost ubiquitous "cheese" associated with this genre.

Epica - Consign to Oblivion - Consign to Oblivion: Another (re)definition of the word "Epic", if this song doesn't get your blood pumping, you must be goth.

Interesting Geopolitics Editorial

Fri, 02 Jun 2006 03:07:22 GMT

http://www.engdahl.oilgeopolitics.net/Geopolitics/Nightmare/nightmare.html

Cheap (But Good) Wines

Thu, 01 Jun 2006 15:59:31 GMT

$11.50 - Bogle Old Vine Zinfandel 2003
$12.00 - Don Miguel Gascon Malbec 2003
$12.00 - Avalon Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon (white, not orange label) 2003
$13.00 - Francis Coppola Claret 2003
$13.00 - Chateau Du Bousquet Cotes De Bourg Bordeaux 2004
$8.00 - Louis Jadot Beaujolais Villages

Sound Crazy?

Sat, 06 May 2006 01:43:58 GMT

By David Segal
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, June 13, 2001; Page C01

By the time he noticed the "refrigerator problem," Hugh Campbell hadspent four years and a fortune building his stereo system, onesuper-sleek gizmo at a time. He bought a pair of handcraftedloudspeakers, each more than five feet tall. He bought a CD player, apreamplifier, two amplifiers, a digital-analog processor and a tuner --all gorgeous boxes of brushed steel and blinking red diodes.

The system cost $140,000. The cables alone -- just the wires thatconnect the various components -- set him back a little more than theprice of a new Volkswagen Jetta. Altogether the thing weighed more than1,000 pounds, much of it perched on a stand fitted with a special airbladder to reduce vibrations and improve fidelity. In his modest housein McLean, Campbell pointed the speakers to a spot in the middle of hisliving room, then carefully positioned his favorite leather chair sothe music of Bach and Mahler caromed off at the precise height of his ears.

Great, he thought. But not perfect. Every time the refrigerator kicked on, it swallowed a little gulp of electricity, which, he believed,degraded the sound of his stereo ever so slightly.

Ignore it? Unplug the fridge? No way. Campbell headed back to the storeand purchased a pair of power regenerators, which smooth out theelectricity coming from the wall socket, and send it in a steady flowstraight to his stereo system. Price: $4,000.

"As soon as I put them in, it was really noticeable,"says Campbell, who is 71 years old, gray-haired and almost always smiling. "I just thought, this is very much better. There's no going back."

Heed it as a warning: There is no going back. The journey of thehigh-end audiophile starts with music, winds through gadget-filled showrooms, and ends with a lot of hand-wringing about kitchen appliances.

It's a fetish worth about $300 million a year to a handful of hi-ficompanies with names you've never heard, like Conrad-Johnson and Sera.This planet has its own magazines, its own gurus, its own language,partisans and proselytizers, heretics and cranks. They listen andspend, then listen and argue, then listen some more and argue somemore. They are experts on electricity. They think your cell phone is ruining their sound. They're certain your $950 Toshiba with the six-CD changer is junk.

All of them are chasing a goal set tantalizingly out of reach: to reproduce the texture and majesty of live music, right in a livingroom. The catch: It can't be done. A machine can almost capture thefullness and feel of a violin, but it will always come up short. Soaudiophiles re-tweak and re-upgrade, improving the sound in ever smaller increments that cost ever greater sums.

By design, the process is never-ending. Once you have the equipment,you need air bladders to eliminate vibrations. Once you've eliminated vibrations, you need better equipment. Then you need better air bladders, and so on until you've spent an ungodly amount.

Until you've spent $140,000. For that money, a local company called the Gene Donati Orchestras will send a string quartet to your home and playon your patio once a week for more than a year. Which is why audiophiles spend a lot of time defending their sanity.

"You never hear anyone who buys a Rolex called a nut case, even thoughthere are cheaper quartz watches that tell time just as well," saysMichael Fremer, a senior contributing editor at Stereophile magazine.

"We've got a bad rep. People call us snobs. But usually that goes away when you sit someone in front of a really amazing system. They always respond to it. They might say 'I hear it and I don't care.' But nobody says, 'My $400 Bose Soundwave system is just as good.' "

Who are these people? Fabio, the hunky romance novel cover boy, is an audiophile. So is Slash, the former Guns N' Roses guitarist, as well as King Crimson bass player Tony Levin. So is former Washington Post reporter Carl Bernstein. Notice a pattern?

All men. Men love stuff with knobs, plugs and lights, and they adore technical jargon about ohms and impedance. Women spend just as much on CDs and cassettes, according to industry surveys, but men are typically more ardent about music, more willing to contend that only an idiotcould think "Imperial Bedroom" is Elvis Costello's finest album. Men are also born upgraders. Whatever they have is somehow lacking, even if it's superb.

So audiophiles yearn for three-dimensional sound. It's not enough to hear the kick drum; audiophiles need to feel it. When a guitar is"behind" another guitar in a recording, the layers should be clear and consistent. If Ray Davies turned his head slightly while he was singing"Lola," they'd like to be able to "see" that in the music.

"The instruments should be positioned and defined,"Campbell says. "Not just left to right, but front to back. They shouldbe consistent and real. On a mediocre system, a viola and a violinsound the same. But there's a big difference."

The question is whether hearing that difference isworth $139,000. Circuit City is now carrying some pretty fine gear forless than $1,000, no air bladder required. With money you didn't spendon a Campbell-quality stereo, you could buy about 8,300 compact discs.Isn't there something a little wacko about all this?

"It's an industry based on abuse, greed andarrogance. It takes advantage of people who love music. Don't glorifythis business."

This is Mark Levinson speaking. He is high-endaudio's greatest innovator and salesman. In 1971 he launched a line ofequipment that still bears his name -- most of Hugh Campbell's gear isMark Levinson -- and is considered the Rolls-Royce of the market. Aformer double-bass player who shared a stage with jazz greats like JohnColtrane, Levinson began tinkering with components in his parents'basement in Connecticut in the late '60s. He built the mixer used atthe Woodstock festival. Eventually, he and some 25 employees wereselling a few million dollars' worth of high-end gear each year.

But in 1980, after a tussle with his partners, helost control of both the company and his name, an experience that hasleft him sounding embittered. Today he lives in New York City with hiswife, the actress Kim Cattrall, a star of HBO's "Sex and the City." Twoyears ago, he started a new audio company, Red Rose, which has ashowroom next to the Whitney Museum on Manhattan's Upper East Side.

Reached by phone, Levinson sounds a little ornery,but sane for this crowd. "Imagine if a travel agent sold you a ticketto San Francisco and you got on the plane and suddenly noticed that youwere landing in Detroit. You call your travel agent and say, 'Why am Iin Detroit?' And he says, 'You just need to buy this little supplementand then I can get you a ticket to San Francisco.' That's high-endaudio today. It's just this side of crooked."

The business is moving toward complexity, he says,when simple will do just fine. "How many people need a nine-foot grandpiano to be happy with a piano? We have a system that when it's fullyloaded costs $15,000, which is inexpensive in this market. It's verycompact and very reliable."

All very reasonable. Then he mentions that Red Rosesells a system for $90,000. And in the middle of the interview, hesuddenly announces that CDs are harmful to people.

Harmful? As in physical harm?

"Yes, they adversely affect humans," he says.

How so?

"I can't really go into it," he says. "We'll have a press conference about it soon."

The Urge to Upgrade

For the most part, high-end audio's executives believe in theirproducts. That includes Sidney Harman, CEO of Harman International, aWashington-based conglomerate with $3.2 billion in annual sales, makingit the largest hi-fi-only company in the world. He is married to Rep.Jane Harman (D-Calif.), and works in a stylishly decorated headquartersdowntown, with an office overlooking Pennsylvania Avenue.

Harman thinks that Mark Levinson is overdoing it."He's talking about a psychological condition that is in no way uniqueto high-end audio," he says. "I know lots of people who have the samepassion for automobiles. They have an endless schedule of devices toenhance speed, like turbochargers. Golfers are the same way about theirequipment. The impulse to upgrade is universal."

Of course, people can take it too far and for thewrong reasons. "The fact that there is this exploitation isn't new tothe human race," he adds. "If you are determined to be the one guy inthe building that has the best audio system, there will be dealershappy to cater to that desire."

That, it turns out, is entirely true.

Doctor Soundgood

It takes some hunting to find high-end audio. Circuit City doesn'tstock it. When you can buy a system with a DVD-compatible CD player, atuner, five tweeters and "50-watt powered subwoofer" all for $699, it'sgoing to be hard to move a tuner that retails for $17,000.

So you seek out places like Deja Vu Audio, which sitsunobtrusively in a tiny strip mall in McLean. The place feels more likea bachelor pad than a showroom. The sofas nearly outnumber the stereosystems, and there are brightly colored paintings on the windowlesswalls. Stationed in the rear is a pair of enormous baby bluehorn-shaped speakers, like air-raid sirens in a Tex Avery cartoon.Nearby is a French turntable that weighs 175 pounds, built on opposingmagnets, which allows the platter to sit on a bed of air, so LPs floatundisturbed by vibrations. It's a $10,000 rig, and it doesn't includethe needle and the tonearm. That's another $5,000.

"It's pretty wild," says Vu Hoang, the store's owner and high-energy salesman. "I sold two of these this morning."

Hoang, 35, is as cheerful as a motivational speaker.He's selling the old-school approach to high fidelity -- LPs and vacuumtubes, which, he'll passionately explain, offer warmer sound than CDsand transistors. Some of the albums he plays hiss a bit, but he doesn'tseem to notice. He's a missionary, pushing the good news about thebeauty of vacuum tubes.

"I was going to be a doctor," Hoang says. "I was 25years old and a researcher at the National Institutes for Health. Ibought a $60,000 stereo and it sucked. I had read all the magazines andI was so impressed that I bought it. Put about $45,000 of it on my GoldCard."

Then he heard the system of his girlfriend's father,who owned an old vacuum tube amplifier. Hoang was so amazed by thesound, and so depressed by the life of a doctor, that he quit his job.

"I sold my stuff, including my stereo, and lived onit for two years. I tried a few other jobs, but mostly I just wanted tolisten to music. So I started buying and selling equipment with vacuumtubes and spreading the word about this. I listened to music five orsix hours a day. One of the guys I had sold some things to came to meand said, 'This is terrific. Let's open a store that sells just thisstuff.' And with $30,000 in start-up money, we opened Deja Vu."

In the store today, a middle-aged couple from Bostonhave arrived to buy a stereo and there are assorted regulars hangingaround, eager to listen to whatever Hoang has handy. The relationbetween dealer and customer in this world often looks strangely likethat of dealer and junkie. People hang around these places, searchingfor their next fix, which is usually their next upgrade.

Hoang heads down to the store's basement, where thereis a single chair in the middle of the room. To the left there is astereo system studded with vacuum tubes and a tangle of wires andswitches. He grabs an LP -- an old Dave Brubeck recording -- and lowersthe cartridge onto the vinyl. Music bursts from a set of $18,000handmade Italian speakers. The tweeters are floating, thanks again toopposing magnets.

"The vibrations of the woofer would transfer to thetweeter, so it's isolated from the woofer," Hoang shouts over themusic. "Can you hear it? It's amazing, isn't it? It feels relaxed.People can't believe all that sound is coming from these speakers."

He's right. The music sounds like it's coming fromeverywhere. It feels round, vibrant and alive. The experience sort oftickles and is a little eerie; it seems like there's a pianist and adrummer in the room and you can't see them. All this tickling andeeriness, by the way, costs $50,000.

Just Out of Reach

Hugh Campbell can pinpoint the beginning. He was a grade schooler,visiting Radio City Music Hall with his family and listening to apianist play Tchaikovsky. He was transfixed. After that, he learnedpiano and nurtured a love for classical music that grew while he earneda master's in aeronautical engineering from M.I.T. in the '50s. He thenspent 30 years as a Navy pilot, with a few tours of Vietnam, runningmore than 100 bombing and ground support missions. Never married andwithout children, he lives alone with an exquisite garden, his otherpassion, and works for a company that oversees government contractswith the aeronautics industry.

His stereo now sits in an oak library, surrounded bygardening books and clay curios. He didn't buy this to show off; few ofhis neighbors even know about his contraption. Every Saturday, he setshis leather chair in the middle of his library, by himself. He doesn'tread or make calls. He just listens.

"You wouldn't bring a book to the symphony, would you?" he says.

His serious purchases started in 1993. Four yearslater, he'd scrapped his entire system and began upgrading anew,trading up for better speakers, then a better preamp. "I'd go down tothe Gifted Listener," the Centreville store where he bought everything,"thinking I'd buy one thing, and I'd come back with something else."

To the ungifted listener, the system sounds amazing,but it doesn't deliver the sort of out-of-body experience that itobviously provides Campbell, who seems transported while he plays someMahler for a visitor. The effect is bright and genuine. The"soundstage," as audiophiles describe the illusion of physical spacethat the system seems to re-create, is broad and roomy. Then again, for$140,000 you can buy a house that feels broad and roomy.

So is this it? Is Campbell done with his buying?Hardly. Having solved the refrigerator problem, having purchased thefinest Mark Levinson out there, the war against vibrations is justgetting started.

"The next thing to do is put the sandboxes under thetwo power supplies back there," he says earnestly. "I've been told bypeople who've done it that it's really quite a nice improvement."

BOSE: Buy Other Sound Equipment

Sat, 01 Apr 2006 04:20:47 GMT

http://www.intellexual.net/bose.html

INTRO:

As a part of a small sect of audio enthusiests who loathe the company Bose Corp. for its marketing deception, shortcutting in manufacturing, and shameless consumer trickery, I was recently passed on a website written by a "Bose-o-phile", who was defending the company. Upon reading his site, I vowed to represent our side: the TRUTH. However, knowing very little about the products themselves other than the fact that they sound bad for the price, I took it upon myself to audition the Bose AM-15 and perform a little "surgery" on them while I was at it. The review on this page is directed towards the Acoustimass-15, one of Bose's most popular systems, and holds truths to the entire Acoustimass and Lifestyle series products as well. After all, the Lifestyle system is merely Acoustimass speakers packaged with a Bose integrated preamp. The AM-15 is priced at US$1299.99 MSRP. When you are done reading, check out my Bose alternatives page here.

THE CUBES:

The $1300 Bose Acoustimass system implements five dual-cubed, 2.5-inch, paper-cone satellite speakers. Incidentally, you can buy these exact same drivers for $35 a pair here. The material that is used to build these speakers may seem adequate to the unassuming novice; However, upon closer inspection, it is clear that they are built with little regard for performance. To start off, the cubed satellites are made of what Bose once claimed to be "revolutionary new space-aged paper", when in fact my own observations lead me to believe that they are nothing more than dyed Manila hemp. Paper grade is besides the point here, as any type of large paper driver has poor resonant properties in upper octave frequencies (2 KHz to 20+ KHz). When designing satellite speakers where size is the primary consideration, a conventional dome tweeter is ideal. In a cube speaker the size of the Acoustimass, a dome tweeter would perform much better than a cone tweeter. However, Bose disregards this fact because making paper cone tweeters is a much cheaper manufacturing process. You find this practice abundant in $200 Aiwa boom boxes and mini-systems.

There is also something to be said about the diameter of the drivers. The 2.5-inch paper cone Bose uses falls into the range where conventional tweeter and midrange drivers perform weakest. This incongruous selection of dual 2.5-inch drivers is plagued with substantial shortcomings in the high and mid-frequency range. Remember that sound is merely the rapid movement of air so there are very specific driver sizes that correspond to acoustic properties which allow for the magnet-coil structure to drive the speaker at its targeted frequency band with greater ease. In home applications, high-pass tweeters should be between 0.5 to 1 inch in diameter, and never more than 2 inches. Larger tweeters are especially poor performers when underpowered by tiny magnets such as those used in the Bose cubes. The unusually large size of the Bose drivers creates a substantial frequency response limitation in the highs at 13 KHz. Midrange drivers should never be smaller than 3 inches in diameter, and are commonly 3 to 6.5 inches (ideally over 4 inches). Boses use of a 2.5 inch midrange creates another substantial limitation, this time in the mid-bass response. The smaller the driver, the less surface area on the cone, and thus the more excursion that is required to push the same amount of air need to produce audible sound. Thus with a 2.5 inch driver, the physical excursion of the cone would have to be tremendous in order to perform like a standard 6-inch midrange. Unfortunately, the Bose drivers do not possess this supernatural excursion ability so the midbass drops off at 280 Hz.

Another one of the Acoustimass' major flaws is the fact that they rely on one small driver to reproduce midrange and high frequencies together. I'm referring to the satellite cubes, which are forced to reproduce signal from 200 Hz to 20 KHz. You may argue that there are two speakers in each satellite, but there is also no active crossover separating the signal, so both are driving the same frequency bands. In this specific speaker design, you must use large speaker cabinets and a line array to get any midbass due to the small radiating area and low X-max. But no, Bose tries to recombine two imcompatible audio principles, giving you, in the end, the worst properties of both. Though they are perfectly capable, no other consumer-market speaker company even considers building these pre-equalized miniature dual-driver "crossover-less" satellites because the resulting performance is evident in the sound produced, or rather, not produced. However, this isn't some major oversight in Bose's R&D (or rather, marketing) team... This system was designed to be small and aesthetically appealing (WAF), and this concoction was the only way to make it so. If high and midrange frequencies each had their own discrete drivers with high quality crossovers, Bose would have the same satellite speaker as every other competitor on the market---except without remotely similar performance, and thus nothing to market.

The Bose satellites are also enclosed in cheap, thin plastic cabinets, which I assume is due to size constraints again. This is another unwise choice from an acoustic standpoint. The purpose of a speaker cabinet is to provide an inert barrier that absorbs sound, prevents many levels of distortion and cancellation, and dampens resonance caused by the driver. The thin plastic enclosures that Bose uses is very light and resonant, and fails miserably at all of the aforementioned goals. When you push the speakers hard, you can actually feel the entire enclosure resonating with it. That is the trademark of a poorly manufactured design. In addition, the cube enclosures also fail at magnetically sealing the drivers so that it not only gives off EMI (electromagnetic interference), but also receives it with little resistance. The with price Bose is charging for ALL their speaker products, you could be paying for real wood or real veneer MDF cabinets from other companies.

THE SUBWOOFER:

The Bose Acoustimass subwoofer, or "Bass Module" as they'd like to call it, consists of three 5.5-inch drivers in a seventh-order band pass configuration. The three-chamber band pass design is the worst of all major subwoofer enclosure types. Its only purpose is to boost decibel output at the expense of accuracy. It does this by burying all woofers within the cabinet in three separate chambers, and using them to drive air out of its port(s). First of all, 5.5-inch drivers are not intended to be used as bass drivers; they are clearly midrange drivers. In fact, Bose doesn't even claim that its "Bass Module" is in fact a subwoofer because they can't! True subwoofers start at 8 inches and taper off at 15 inches in diameter (sometimes you will find 6-inch subwoofers in multimedia computer systems and novelty 18-inch subwoofers, but those are largely non-conventional designs that do not have any advantage over others.). Chosen woofer size largely depends on the application, be it music playback and type of music or movies, SPL or accuracy, and other factors such as room dimensions. Smaller subwoofers move faster and thus have tighter bass response for improved clarity and accuracy, but larger subwoofers can reproduce lower frequencies and at louder volumes. Build quality, crossovers, amps, and driver design can magnify or nullify these traits. At a glance, you can tell the 5.5-inch Bose woofers are poorly crafted, from the questionable cone material to the frail spiders, coupled with cheap crossovers located near the amplifier section (harmonic distortion anyone?). And with this already low integrity build, Bose takes these drivers and uses them as a subwoofer unit! This contrived effort quickly reveals its weaknesses in a computer frequency sweep test.

Build Quality. None of the three woofers Bose employs has adequate driver bracing. This is just one of another crucial aspects of a speaker's design that Bose missed the mark on. The spider supporting the cone is flimsy considering the excursion required from such a small woofer. This invariably translates to loose and sloppy response, and even a doubling effect at high volumes! What's worse is the fact that the woofers are accommodated with foam surrounds. A surround is a flexible membrane that is used to attach the speaker cone to the baffle. Organic foam surrounds are known for drying out, rotting, and falling apart within 10-15 years of its manufacturing regardless of usage. Today foam is reserved soley as a cheap substitute used only in low-end speakers where price range is most critical. Well-established alternatives to foam are flexible rubber compounds such as Butyl, Santaprene, Supronyl, and other such polymers. You can tear foam surrounds in a benchmark excursion tests where rubber surrounds would not have trouble. This combination of benefits-weaknesses is why no other speaker manufacturer uses foam unless they absolutely have to meet a budget criteria. This leaves no excuses for Bose, because all of their speakers---from the base model to the flagship model---use foam. I own a pair of $50 Boston Acoustics CR4 bookshelf speakers that has a more durable surround membrane than the Acoustimass woofers. Combine these weak traits with the fact that all foam surrounds come off the assembly line with a predetermined shelf-life, and one begins to see that they make for a poor investment. In my opinion, speaker parts shouldn't have to be replaced routinely like spark plugs on a car. It seems that Bose and I have a difference of opinion on that matter though.

I also noticed that the three Bose subwoofer drivers are made of the same type of paper as the satellites, but of a slightly thicker species. Treated paper, paper-composite, and multi-layered laminate make for excellent woofer/subwoofer cones. In fact epoxy-treated paper tends to have the highest strength-to-density ratio, which yields some of the tightest bass response and highest definition of any of the subwoofers I've heard. They are also immune to heat breakdown. Velodyne and REL, for instance, are two companies that implement treated paper with great success; However, Bose uses raw untreated paper that does not possess near the quality of treated paper. Untreated paper falls highly susceptible to moisture damage, which will alter the resonant frequency, compromise integrity, and eventually cause the cone to buckle or tear under load. Trendier woofers use more exotic materials that are unaffected by moisture such as Kevlar, carbon fiber, carbon-Kevlar composites, Aero gel, aluminum, and an assortment of poly plastics.

While on the subject of its structural integrity, the Acoustimass subwoofer is housed in the lowest-grade particle board negotiable. It is a cheap, thin LDF (Low Density Fiberboard), that is a fraction of the industry's standard MDF's (Medium Density Fiberboard) density and thickness. Every other speaker company employs nothing less than MDF in their subwoofer cabinets because it is three times denser than LDF. A general rule of thumb is that the MDF be at least 3/4 inches thick with more thickness emphasized on the front baffle. Hifi speaker companies that I've worked for commonly use 1.5 inch thick solid MDF for cabinets. The Acoustimass bass module uses LDF in two plies totalling 1/2 inch thick and 1/3 the density. Combining offset cabinet material in vertical plies, like Bose does, is also a very poor shortcut to using laser cutting machines. The optimal cabinet material should of course be heavy, stiff, and solid. Two-ply LDF is not heavy, it is not stiff, and it is not solid. Other speaker companies that Bose markets its products on the same level as (such as Wilson Audio, nOrh, and Revel) use marble, methacrylate polymer, solid oak, or solid cast aluminum. I could bust a Bose cabinet in half over my head, but I would not have that same level of confidence in busting a nOrh cabinet over my head.

A pretty reliable gauge of the workmanship on a speaker is in the type of input panels/wire terminals that are built in. All high quality speakers and amplifiers use five-way binding posts. The significance of this is in the higher cost attributed with better build, lower occurence of breakage, improved contact and conductivity, the ability to accept thicker gauge speaker wire, and the compatibility with banana plugs, spade lugs, angle pins, and a host of other terminators. Despite the fact that pretty much all other speaker companies have picked up the binding post a decade ago, Bose continues to use the inferior spring-loaded speaker clip in all their speakers and amplifiers. Speaker clips made for popular interfaces back in the 80's, but nowadays they exist only as a cheap substitute used to cut back manfacturing costs. If you want to know what speaker clips look like, check out the back side of any cheapo mini-system in the price range of $80-up (Aiwa, JVC). If you want to know what binding posts look like, look on the back of an executive mini-system in the price range of $400-up (Denon, Yamaha). Taking that into account, one begins to see what kind of production quality Bose aligns itself.

THE COLD HARD NUMBERS (PART ONE):

Unlike any other speaker or amplifier manufacturer, Bose refuses to publish any frequency response charts or distortion data on their products (and with good reason). And thus a few independent audiophiles, industry professionals, and newsgroups have taken it upon themselves to benchmark test the much debated Acoustimass system. The resulting numbers are always consistent. Here is a pretty credible one sourced from the August 1999 issue of Sound and Vision magazine...
SATELLITES BASS MODULE
Frequency Response 280 Hz to 13.3k Hz at ±10.5 dB 46Hz to 202Hz at ±2.3 dB
Sensitivity (SPL at 1 meter)* 85.1 dB N/A
Impedance (minimum/nominal) 5.3/8 ohms N/A
Bass Limits (-3/-6 dB) 280/220 Hz 46/40 Hz

* measured with 2.8 volts of pink-noise input

To reiterate the above, the Acoustimass's bass module responds to 46 Hz to 202 Hz at ±2.3 dB, while the satellites respond to 280 Hz to 13.3 KHz at ±10.5 dB. This is, by the way, the only speaker that I have ever seen tested with a ±10.5 db allowance. Still, this leaves a frequency gap between the satellites and bass module of about 80 Hz! That is 80 hertz of sound that is completely erased within the system's internal crossovers! I wonder how Bose figured out which 80 hertz matters least in the audible spectrum? I will tell you though that that gap accounts for a HUGE loss in midrange sound, which is responsible for the majority contralto, baritone, and tenor vocals in music, and many sound effects in home theater. And let us not forget that the Acoustimass system also ignores audible signal from 20Hz to 45Hz on the low end (deep bass), and 13KHz to 20KHz on the high end (high treble). Do the math folks, this Bose system only produces 13,176 of the 19,980 Hertz in the audible sound spectrum. That's only ~66% of the actual recording being played back to you! Is this the kind of performance you'd expect from a $1300 product? Most speakers in the same price range are able to respond from 15 Hz to 25 Khz and all modern media formats, from vinyls to DVD, record these frequencies as well. Though these are peak frequencies that most humans can not hear, the pressure produced from 15 Hz and 25 KHz frequencies can be detected physiologically, and will in fact have an effect on the harmonics of the music you listen to. So why does this "industry-leading" Bose company only produce about 52% of the sound of it's equal-priced market competitors? Good question...

Not only will you experience a huge loss of sound with Bose, but the fact that the subwoofer has to respond to frequencies as high as 280 Hz means that there will be extreme amounts of localized midbass in the Bass Module. A well-mated subwoofer should never have to produce any frequencies above 80 Hz, and ideally should be crossed over around 60-70 Hz. The purpose of a subwoofer is to produce non-directional low frequency effects that are not supposed to be traceable. Translation: essentially when you're watching movies with a Bose system, you will hear the gunshots and explosions coming from the subwoofer next to the CD rack in the corner of the room, and NOT from the television screen. In music, you will hear the singer's voice come from the subwoofer next to the CD rack in the corner of the room, and not the converging point of the two main speakers. This is known as extremely poor 'sound imaging'. For you current Bose owners, try unplugging all your cubed satellite speakers and play a DVD on your Acoustimass system. I used the DVD 'X-Men' for my review. You will be able to follow the entire movie off of dialogue picked up by your Bose Bass Module alone.

All this lacking of sonic fidelity and richness is doctored up by placing overemphasis and accentuation on 80 Hz and 200 Hz in the bass module to give the illusion of powerful bass, and by placing the same accentuation on 7 Hz in the satellites to give the false impression of full high-frequency coverage. In the quest for high fidelity and accuracy in sound reproduction, this system is antithetical to the goal. As illustrated below, there is almost nothing linear about the Bose frequency response...

NOTE: HERTZ ARE NOT EVENLY MARKED OFF

ABOVE: Data gathered by S&V from an anechoic frequency sweep test of the Acoustimass-15 unit. Remember that the goal here is to achieve linear response. You want a frequency chart to show as flat a line as possible, which illustrates accuracy and linear sound reproduction without colorization. It is true that sound is perceived logarithmically by the human ear, but this should have no influence on a speaker's reproduction and interpretation of signal because a speaker should faithfully reproduce what the microphones captured when they recorded the source material you are listening to. Notice the high end roll-off at sub-20kHz frequencies at the far right and the extreme colorization from 1 kHz to 20kHz with huge emphasis on 5 - 7kHz. There is also a frequency dip between 200 Hz - 300Hz within ±3dB. The deep bass rolls off prematurely at around 50Hz and is spiked with colorization at about 200Hz. The bass module and satellites don't even begin to harmonize until beyond -10dB. Remember the representation of accurate sound reproduction on the above graph would be a flat line across the ±0dB mark. Just look how miserably Bose stacks up in that regard...

BELOW: Another thing to consider is that the only relevant information on the graph is the measurement between -3dB to +3dB because 3 decibels is the slightest detectable change from zero to the human ear. I've isolated that window of scale below. This is how the AcoustiMass looks from that standpoint...

THE COLD HARD NUMBERS (PART TWO):

Bose has a "product data sheet" as they like to call it, on their website in Adobe Acrobat PDF-format, which can be viewed by clicking here. If and when you look at this document, you will soon realize that absolutely no where are there any specifications for the system's actual performance; Merely product size, dimensions, and shipping weight. There is mention of the AM-15 being quote: "Compatible with all surround receivers 10 - 200 watts per channel/rated 4 to 8 ohms". Good to know, except that just about every speaker system sold on the consumer market today is quote "Compatible with all surround receivers 10 - 200 watts per channel/rated 4 to 8 ohms"? So then what has Bose just told us? Absolutely nothing. This is how Bose gets away with telling us nothing about the speaker system's actual performance. What they don't tell you is that because the satellite speakers and bass module are sooo incredibly small, that they are also incredibly inefficient due to lack of internal cabinet air space. This is why the Acoustimass system runs at an unadvertised 6-ohm nominal load, which will put more load on your amplifier than the more common 8-ohm speakers of the competition. Yes your nice expensive receiver you just bought is going to run a few degrees hotter than you expected in order to push the Bose cubes just as loud as a regular satellite speaker. Especially if you bought the Acoustimass with the passive Bass Module. And while the impedance difference is slight, it does create more heat than an 8-ohm speaker would, and heat is ALWAYS an enemy of the amplifier.

BUT I HEAR BOSE IS GOOD!:

Popularity. Popularity of a name brand doesn't equate to quality. Bose mystique feeds off of its well-targeted audience: the ignorant, ill-informed, mass-market consumers who search for simplified hifi audio solutions in "all-in-one" chain stores such as Walmart, Best Buy, Sam's Club, Price Costco, Sears, Montgomery Wards, etc. A Bose speaker, when put up against the in-store competition of Technics, Cerwin Vega, Pioneer, Kenwood, and Sony speakers, may indeed sound like a better buy. Since these Japanese mega-icons are established corporate monsters, the buyer will feel confident knowing that he or she made a thorough comparison with other household brand names. The truth is that generally the companies that make the best electronics, tend to make the worst speakers. Their mass-production business models of cheap labor, overseas assembly, nonexistant QA, and focus on bottom line spending leaves little room for the integral psychoacoustic research required for designing an outstanding speaker. I would estimate that the vast majority of current Bose owners are the victims of miseducation or a complete lack of audio education, and a false belief that they own the best speakers on the market. A small minority will buy Bose for the actual sound quality knowing full well that they are paying more for a badge than for performance. The size factor by itself should be a non-issue since Polk, Gallo, and others have already made smaller speakers than Bose for less the price and equally big sound. A simple way to test this theory is to see just how familiar a Bose owner is with the real industry leading brands, like Klipsch, Paradigm, Definitive Technology, and B&W. "What's that? I've never heard of that no-name brand."

Audio newbies often throw out the "But I heard that Bose is good!" defense, to which I respond "From who?" Was it a sound engineer, electrical engineer, materials scientist, studio engineer, sound producer, recording professional, musician, Mark Levinson? Ray Dolby? George Lucas? Anyone credible? Or was it your neighbor with the GoldStar walkman, Teac boom box, Funai mini-system, and Sylvania receiver? Perhaps the ubiquitous Bose Ads that they find in completely irrelevant magazines such as Popular Science, Times, Playboy, GQ, People, Astronomy, etc, had some sort of subliminal effect against the better of their judgment? But that's just conjecture...

FAIR LISTENING:

In all stores that sell Bose, you will see one of two types of Bose displays. First, there is the more common 'end-cap display' with a small TV screen, neatly laid out Bose components with speakers and extended steel arms that reach around to create a surround environment. In this setup, the trick to making the Bose system sound good is in unfair comparison and unrealistic environment. In most of these low-end stores, no other 5.1 surround system is configured in such a way because the store does not have a dedicated listening room. Therefore the experience of listening to Bose is more fulfilling than hearing the other 5.1 speaker systems that are all lined up in a row on the shelf-top facing you. The Acoustimass displays are also only about six feet around, therefore when you're listening to the Bose demo in the pocket, the speakers will most likely sound powerful from three feet away. You put the same system in your average 20 by 20 foot living room and in order to fill that airspace with the same sound pressure level, the AM-15s will audibly distort in numerous frequency bands. Bose also carefully selects music and movie sequences that flatter their speakers and most effectively utilize its built-in accents. And as a former employee of two of the top five largest hifi audio specialty retailers in the United States, I personally know how stubborn Bose is about not allowing their speakers to participate in fair speaker comparisons in listening rooms. I know how Bose reps require that a store's floor plan has to place Acoustimass/LifeStyle systems in separate areas with their own displays far away from other speakers.

The second breed of Bose displays is the 'expo room'. These are placed in stores that are deeply in cahoots with Bose Corp. These are stores like Fry's Electronics that lease out 2000 square feet of showroom floor for Bose to erect their own specially designed theater room and an attached catalog room. The thing with these show rooms and theaters is that they are very heavily sound treated with acoustic sound padding, and are acoustically engineered, calibrated rooms. The control room behind the theater is operated by a $30,000 rack of professional-grade preamplifiers, equalizers, DSP processors, and amplifiers. The technical prowess and build quality of this rack system compared to the Bose Lifestyle media console is a night and day difference. The subwoofer used is positioned in the optimal location to maximize spatial loading. The room dimensions are also calculated to reduce standing waves. The expense of running a room like this is in the hundreds of thousands of dollars range. Again this is a gross overstatement of the Acoustimass' true capabilities, presented in an impractical, unrealistic environment. I can almost fully guarantee you that the Acoustimass system that consumers buy will not sound the same as they do in this room, unless they build an identical room themselves. If you don't believe me, then on your next visit to this Bose demo kindly ask the Bose spokesperson to show you their control room. They will be reluctant and steadfast to do so. Some will deny such a control room exists. Simple, just trace the wires back to the source. I would also be interested in dissecting the speakers and subwoofer they use in this room to see if they matched that of the Acoustimass system that they sell to consumers. My guess is they are likely modified versions as well.

A third species is the Bose outlet store. Well this one is a no-brainer: they only carry Bose products so what do you have to reference any product from? Bose, Bosier, and Bosiest? There really is no way to gauge the performance or quality of anything in these stores since they all fell from the same apple tree. Not to mention the salespeople in the outlet stores are Bose employees trained under the same highly effective sales-marketing techniques that brought their underperformaing products to such a high level of success.

Finally, it is useful to know that in comparison tests, psychologically the listener is more attracted to the speaker systems that have more emphasized bass and treble, and less midrange-- a fault of pop/rock sound engineers. This is the wrong approach, as it is the goal of every audiophile to find the most balanced, most accurate sound. If you do decide to shop around for the Acoustimass system, point your attention to the bass module. On it, there are tone controls (bass and treble dials), which control the tonal saturation of the speakers. It is standard practice by every audiophile to neutralize tone settings. So neutralize the dials on the subwoofer and listen to how terribly dry and lifeless the entire system sounds with music. What's worse, turn the tone settings all the down to the base setting and the system sounds anemic. Only when the settings for bass and treble are completely saturated will the speakers sound healthy.

MARKETING AND BOSE:

It is estimated that Bose has spent more dollars on advertising last year than ALL other high-end companies COMBINED. Does it have an effect? Sadly, yes. A few years back, the United States Air Force signed Bose onto a multi-million-dollar contract to design noise cancellation headsets for Air Force flight crews. Bose won the contract over two other companies simply because of their "more established name" (brand recognition). The concept of a noise cancellation headset is to actively monitor the noise frequencies emitted from a jet engine and the turbulent wind, and reproduce the exact signal 180 degrees out of phase, thus theoretically canceling it out completely. Many reputable manufacturers have successful done so as well. Bose produced a model that cost approximately $1000 per unit, which failed to cancel out a significant amount of noise. The company used the contract as an opportunity to unload obsolete parts from years back. Bose pawned off thousands of outdated interface connectors for which there were no longer commercially available mating jacks, and incorporated them into the headsets. The Air Force, proud as it was, didn't scrap the project, but instead spent countless millions more replacing the consoles in a number of aircraft to make them compatible with the said headsets. In the end though, the Air Force did terminate the contract when test crews found that the headsets were ineffective and non-durable. This whole mess was created over a brand name's alleged reputation and prestige. Bose is now selling a downgraded version of these headsets to commercial airlines and to the consumer public. They now work to a minor degree, but are not surprisingly still easily outperformed by their competitors. These consumer market headsets are also very, very poorly crafted. I browse many online audio forums and have heard stories about these very expensive headsets falling apart prematurely.

Few magazines are now willing to give honest reviews of Bose products due to a Consumer Reports review a few years back that gave the AM-15 embarrassingly bad ratings (score of 62 out of 100). Consumer Reports allegedly used a double-blind comparison test, which is in fact the ideal way to compare speakers. That particular review ended up in a lawsuit over "unscientific testing methods". Thankfully, Bose lost that lawsuit, but since then, Consumer Reports and various other magazines give neutral-to-rave reviews that tip-toe around the actual sound quality and focus more on ergonomics and style. More prestigious publications like Fi and What HiFi? ignore Bose products completely.

BOSE AND THE PATENT SYSTEM:

To quote from Michael Wong, a visitor to this site: "...a casual perusal of their website reveals that they have used money and lawyers to repeatedly abuse the patent system. They have patents for the Acoutimass (Helmholtz resonator), the Direct/Reflecting technology (multipolar speakers), their Acoustic Waveguide (transmission line), and their JewelCube technology (amalgam of transmission line and other old ideas). In each and every case, their patent is a joke; an obvious example of the all-too-common trick of making one minor alteration upon a pre-existing idea and then using an army of lawyers to get it patented... And why all the bother? Because it looks good to write "patented technology" on the box...". For a company that emphasizes cutting-edge research so much, I'm curious as to why their flagship 901 speakers have not seen any signigicant mechanical changes in the last 15 years. Where is the "better sound through research" going?

GOT THX?:

Considering the large emphasis on marketing that Bose places on its products as well as the ostentatious boasting of "innovation" and "performance", I am curious as to why none, count them: ZERO, of their speakers are THX-certified. George Lucas offers certification to any product from any company willing to undergo the scrutiny of his tests. I'm sure Dr. Amar Bose has brought in many Bose speakers to the Skywalker Ranch for certification only to have them rejected time and time again. I am no fan of THX-Certification myself; However, no one can deny that it is perhaps the singly most powerful marketing tool in the entire industry. One tool that Dr. Bose would not have overlooked, but again, one that he could not obtain for himself.

THE ALTERNATIVES:

In the industry, "BOSE" is considered an acronym for "Buy Other Sound Equipment". So in that spirit, I have made it quite simple to shop for an outstanding home theater system using the same $1300 that Bose charges. I've been getting a lot of emails and guestbook entries requesting my opinion and advise on specific system designs. I am unable to answer all of them though I do read them all and try to answer as many as possible, but it would be much easier if you shopped and auditioned speakers based on the list I've compiled. Again, my opinion on the quote on quote "best speakers" cannot be relied on, nor can anyone else's. Since sound is a subjective quality, no one can answer that question but you. If in fact you are blessed with the inability to decipher Bose speakers from other premium brand speakers, then all the more power to you! I am not trying to promote or upsell you something fancier, nor am I here to play favorites. I'm merely suggesting superior alternatives to the Bose Acoustimass for the same price or less.

THE BOTTOM LINE:

This six-speaker unit costs $1299.99 USD MSRP. From dissecting it, I can tell you it costs $100, no more than $150 tops, to assemble. It performs similarly to a $500 Optimus-Radio Shack surround sound system and is very easily outperformed by a $350 Cambridge Soundworks system. For $1300, there are at least three dozen other configurations from companies such as KEF, PSB, NHT, Mission, Tannoy, Diva, Polk, B&W, Energy, Paradigm, M&K, Infinity, Mirage, Monitor, Jamo, Axiom, nOrh, Anthony Gallo, Dahlquist, Sound Dynamics, Acoustic Research, Phase Technology, Definitive Technology, Wharfdale, Boston Acoustics, and Klipsch that easily outperform all Bose speakers from the 151s to the 901s.

Bose equipment, even the flagship LifeStyle 50, resembles the sonic performance of the 11-year-old Aiwa minisystem in my garage. For $500, the Wave Radio is an overpriced alarm clock. If you're impressed by it, have a listen to a Henry Kloss radio for a fraction of the price! For $1000, the Bose 3-2-1 can not be described as anything less than a crime against sound reproduction. The message I want everyone to take from this lengthy review is that Bose, like Bang & Olufsen and Nakamichi, sell lifestyle and designer products whose prices are very heavily saturated by image and appeal. They are by no means, no means at all performance products. They have no cost-effectiveness, no bang-for-the-buck value, and draw no respect from any true audio enthusiests. If your goal is to appeal to and impress housewives, then this system gets the job done, but if your goal is high fidelity, high performance, high endurance, upgradeability, and fair market value pricing then I would very highly suggest you look elsewhere.

I am by no means an elitist audiophile who touts golden ears about in gross snobbery. I am an audiophile in its purest and most basic form: one who is enthusiastic about high fidelity sound reproduction, which I think we all are to some degree. I've worked in hifi audio/video retail sales before (for two companies that offered Bose), worked on the manufaturing end, and have designed and personally installed home theaters for hundreds of clients of very diverse needs. I have no affiliation or financial ties to any competing speaker companies so I speak out of objectivity and out of a big-brotherly desire to inform those that don't already share my knowledge and experiences. Armed with this knowledge, you are now a more powerful consumer. So on that note, good luck and happy hunting!

Ali G

Sun, 05 Feb 2006 16:37:00 GMT

http://alt.tnt.tv/nba/popup.htm

Setup Foobar2000, EMU-0404 For ASIO Output

Sat, 04 Feb 2006 01:47:26 GMT

1. Load up the 44.1kHz "Default Multitrack" template in PatchMix.
2. Install the ASIO plugin for foobar (that is, drop the DLL in the components folder).
3. Load Foobar2000
4. Preferences -> Playback -> Output: Choose ASIO (dll version)
5. Preferences -> Playback -> Output -> ASIO (dll version): Choose Your Device (E-MU ASIO)
6. Preferences -> Playback: Set Output data format to 32bit fixed-point
7. Save All

Noobs At The Gym

Mon, 31 Oct 2005 13:25:16 GMT

If you care more about your bench than your squat, you're a noob.
If you want to the typical noob frat boy at the gym, wear a sleeve-less t-shirt, and do your bench and biceps like a fool. Granted I haven't been to the gym in awhile, but if someone asks me how much I bench before he/she asks me how much I squat, I don't even look em in the eye.
You are not "strong," if your bench more than you squat. Considering the majority of human muscle mass lies in the legs, and the fact that the majority of human strength is in the legs, you'd be a fool to prioritize a relatively small muscle (chest) over your legs.
Human muscle strength advantage is in the legs. We are powerful runners when compared with the rest of the animal kingdom because of this. Don't believe me? Look it up. Contrary to popular noob belief, humans have weak upper torso strength. A gorilla will probably out-bench you 50 to 1, but even a noob can outrun the majority of the animal kingdom.

"Who would pay more than $50 for headphones??!" Part III

Wed, 18 May 2005 05:09:22 GMT

The ER4Ps with the P to S converter and my portable amp make an almost spiritual experience on some songs.

What's sad is I'm not even kidding.

Nope not even a little bit.

In Before The New Year

Fri, 31 Dec 2004 23:45:27 GMT

Last post of the year. Same parting words as last year:

may hopes of the new year replace regrets from the last.

Happy New Year!

It's That Time Of Year Again...

Fri, 17 Dec 2004 01:11:17 GMT

Well it's that time of year again. Winter's chill, snow on the ground, and the season of giving is upon us all. This year, when you're roaming the bustling malls looking for that perfect gift for a certain loved one, please spare a moment, a thought, and a little money to buy me, David Pang, a Christmas gift. They say that giving is better than receiving, and I wholeheartedly agree. But wait, stop for a moment and think. Do you really want to give a gift to a person who only acknowledges you when it's convenient to him, most likely doesn't know your name, and more than likely will not reciprocate with a gift of his own? Do you really want to include a person like me on your holiday shopping list? The answer is yes.

Merry Christmas!

Entropy Just Isn't What It Used To Be

Mon, 06 Dec 2004 02:47:53 GMT

Hearing of other's mistakes brings curiosity, reflection, despair, and finally resolution in alternating waves of the thoughtstream:
How was this mistake made?
Why do so many people make this mistake?
The mistake seems inevitable.
I will one day make this mistake.

I will never make this mistake.

This is my promise, to myself, to the world. The cycle breaks with me, and starting by just being self-aware, the mistakes of others won't be repeated here.

But will promises hold back hurtful words during the angriest moments? Will passion preservere against infinitely patient complacency? When excitment fades into security, will indifference eventually be the gulf that separates two people?
Like your favorite Jimmy Eat World song goes, it's just like being alone.

It's me against entropy, and probably like everyone that came before me, I believe my chances are better than most.
After all, entropy just isn't what it used to be.

Disgust Me......Please!

Mon, 29 Nov 2004 19:29:26 GMT

I hope someone buys me that movie, "Supersize Me!" for Christmas, because I seriously need to stop eating this stuff!!

这个日记还可以让别人看

Tue, 23 Nov 2004 15:19:36 GMT

什么算好生活？以前我以为我知道：好生活是个了不起的生活，一个特别的生活。去干一个从来没被干过的东西。去试一个从来没试过的东西。平常的生活太没意思了，我以前以为我不可能这样活下去。现在我心可能变了吧，没想清。我可以安安静静地过日子吗？我不知道，我不知道。好像可能吧。
如果有个外星人来问我想不想看看外星星，日子过在很多很多别的外求上，我会同意吗？一走就永远不能回来了，朋友，亲戚，永远遇不到了。以前有这样的机会我一下就会同意。现在....不知道。

Eat Hard, Die Young

Tue, 23 Nov 2004 02:59:05 GMT

Number #1 (Big Mac) Extra Value Meal Large Size
3x McChickens
1x Double Cheeseburger

I eat this for a single meal...right before I take a nap. I mean, after eating such a meal I feel so lethargic, and a lazy afternoon (or morning) nap is just too enticing to resist.

I'm going to die young aren't I?

Wet Willi

Tue, 26 Oct 2004 21:11:03 GMT

This drunk bastard calls me up at 2 AM to chit-chat like it was tea time in merry old England. Being the magnanimous gentleman that I am, I of course obliged, and we touched up on several points including perhaps spending spring break in Jamaica. Great thought, although I question the feasibility. Anyway, here's to you Brett, you crazy ol' crying bastard. You better believe that payback's coming when you least expect it. One of these days I'm going to call you during the god-less hours of the night, preferrably the night before an exam, and inquire about something inane like what kind of crazy pasta concoction you emaciated, cross-country masochists like to eat for dinner before a meet. Haha just kidding! Anyway, see ya around Thanksgiving buddy!

Thu, 21 Oct 2004 20:55:19 GMT

I wish I had something to do other than class to occupy my mind, for just an hour, maybe a day...8 months.

Tue, 05 Oct 2004 03:09:04 GMT

So...tomorrow holds a rather important event. You know, only important enough to potentially change the rest of my life. Well...maybe I'm exaggerating a tiny bit. Anyway, I don't really have a plan...so I guess I'll just let inertia take me along for the ride.
Optimism is so dangerously exciting.
Blue skies or broken-hearts? Strawberry fields or sweet catastrophe?
Call it in the air.

Top Songs In Rotation 9.16.2004

Thu, 16 Sep 2004 14:47:35 GMT

I've had some catching up to do. Looks like all pop this month =P
(*) denotes a song I have shamelessly listened to on repeat for 10 or more consecutive repetitions.

Vanessa Carlton - White Houses (*)

LMNT - Juliet (*)

The Calling - Our Lives

Dashboard Confessional - Vindicated

Switchfoot - Meant To Live

Kelly Clarkson - Breakaway

Emerson Hart - Generation (*)

Brooke Hogan - Everything To Me

Here's One Scoreboard That Should Be All Over ESPN SPORTSCENTER

Tue, 14 Sep 2004 03:56:06 GMT

FINAL SCORE: David: 1 RIAA: 0

I have practically mp3s of almost every damn song on the Billboard 100. All songs were obtained for free, work perfectly without any wierd noises, and usually took me 2 minutes or less. Ciara - Goodies? Terror Squad - Lean Back? Shit I don't even like these songs but I downloaded them anyway just because I can! Plenty more where those came from too.
Good Game RIAA, but I just owned your ass. Count it!

In Memory Of...

Tue, 31 Aug 2004 16:24:01 GMT

Would I ever go alone? No, I don't think I would, especially not in these dying days of summer. My last memory should be one of glassy waters reflecting the setting sun, bittersweet through eyes bright with nostalgia. I can't imagine wading through a deserted pool under the eyes of unfamiliar faces, or swimming with the ghost of how it used to be. 8372 Muirfield Drive, it's time to say goodbye. Stand at the edge of the pool, don't fall in, don't look back, smile for the camera, and show your teeth. Later when the lights are low, scribble in your farewells because these are the dying days of summer.

The following picture was taken by Billy at the pool, and believe it or not, it hasn't been altered at all - no matter how much it looks like it has been. The strange, almost surreal look was accomplished with nothing more than the humble
flash.

Take A Peek Inside My Mind, And This Is What You'll See...

Mon, 30 Aug 2004 16:28:00 GMT

Zowlander!

Tue, 24 Aug 2004 13:15:59 GMT

Ah, the skies are blue as far as I can dream, and from this point on, I am invincible!