tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18930762459769323582024-02-20T08:53:46.229-05:00Hi Fi InsiderOriginally a collection of magazine articles I have had published in the past, mostly snarky commentary on the Hi Fi Audio industry from my insider point of view, this venue will now exhibit my random writings on whatever I feel like. Recently I am quite sick of Audio and believe I have sufficiently lampooned and educated that community, please continue to enjoy those missives archived. Remarkably, hundreds of readers visit this blog each month, so please do comment and LMK if it sucks now.Chuck Hintonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06927402698911925759noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1893076245976932358.post-61345179537422304542016-05-06T20:55:00.001-04:002016-05-06T20:55:49.545-04:00Review of "Tipping Point for Planet Earth" <div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I
won this book as a part of the Goodreads Giveaway and was very excited
to receive it. Reading “Tipping Point for Planet Earth” was like
watching a lioness take down a gazelle, the miraculous beauty, grace and
proficiency of the story stand toe to toe with the calculated,
merciless gore and horror of the message and I could not look away. </span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Anthony
Barnosky & Elizabeth Hadly interweave professional acumen and
personal experiences to tell a tale that both educates and fascinates.
Reminiscent of 19</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 8.8px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: super;">th</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">
century adventure novels that packed practical science teaching between
the slats of exciting experiences (“20,000 Leagues Beneath the Sea”
listed genus and species of hundreds of fish and “Journey to the Center
of the Earth” was practically a geology textbook) this book recounts the
author's’ adventures and uses them to illustrate their scientific
conclusions, but unlike M. Verne’s missives, the adventures were real!</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Very much in the vein of Elizabeth Kolberts “The 6</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 8.8px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: super;">th</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">
Extinction”, this style adds interest, readability and accessibility to
the work, albeit not quite as successfully as Ms Kolbert’s wonderfully
compelling book did. Still a relatively low strain read, “Tipping Point”
is packed with supporting statistics; there will be no claims of cherry
picking data as it was harvested with the breadth of a combine. As a
casual reader with a strong interest in the subject matter and science
in general, perfection would have been less statistics with more of the
anecdotal prose instead. It read more like a scholarly paper, whereas
Kolbert’s read like a book.</span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">This
book could join “Silent Spring” in importance and be looked back upon
by future generations as the clarion call that saved us all, or the
harbinger raven on the mantle, whose warnings went unheeded until our
downfall. I loved reading “Tipping Point” and will recommend it to all
whose hands I can pry from their ears, eyes and mouths…</span></div>
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Chuck Hinton 5/6/16</span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript"><!--
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</script></div>Chuck Hintonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06927402698911925759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1893076245976932358.post-82053256928470052102014-11-04T16:31:00.001-05:002014-11-04T16:31:35.520-05:00“How to Handle a Defective Product” or “Big Fun at the Customer Support Desk”<div class="MsoNormal">
“How to Handle a Defective Product” or “Big Fun at the
Customer Support Desk”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
By Chuck Hinton<o:p></o:p></div>
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Originally published in Home Toys Magazine, April, 2010
Issue<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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SO, you got some new do-dad for your stereo, once you hook
it up, you find you have: Hum, buzz, distortion, no power, or some other issue.
Here are the best ways to handle the situation and the order in which you
should do them:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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1. Blame the most expensive unit in the system (top quality
gear should never break, like Ferraris, Harleys, or i-phones)<o:p></o:p></div>
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2. Make a judgment as to the cause of the failure (do not
check your connections or read the manual, you have been hooking up stereos for
years and you can tell what is the exact cause from across the room)<o:p></o:p></div>
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3. Write a scathing report of the product on one or several
Audio Forums, let those irresponsible manufacturers who never test stuff before
it leaves the factory know what scum they are. Be sure and call the unit a
“Piece of S%*T” so readers can understand your level of disappointment.<o:p></o:p></div>
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4. Contact your lawyer <o:p></o:p></div>
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5. Write letter to the president of the company threatening
to sue him.<o:p></o:p></div>
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6. Send an email to the general mailbox of the company, be
sure and tell them you have already posted this all over the net and contacted
your lawyer (those folks only respond to force, if you were to call them and
ask nicely and reasonably for a solution to your problem, they will know you
are a wimp, pass you around the company to voice mails of people who are on
vacation and eventually send you to an extension that no longer exists).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
7. Call the Main office of the company at 3AM on a Saturday,
or any time you are reasonably sure the office is not open, leave a scathing
voice mail with lots of colorful adjectives, exclaim you cannot believe you
can’t get a human on the phone. (do not leave your name or contact number. )<o:p></o:p></div>
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8. Go to your dealer and demand a full refund, be sure and
tell them you, nor anyone you know, will ever set foot in the store again.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
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9. If all this fails, check to see if the unit is plugged
in.<o:p></o:p></div>
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</script></div>Chuck Hintonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06927402698911925759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1893076245976932358.post-80279899595667007612014-10-16T11:08:00.001-04:002014-10-16T17:06:39.654-04:00McIntosh labs and the Grateful Dead Wall of Sound, An Interview with Richard Pechner<a href="http://www.rpechner.com/">Richard Pechner's site:</a><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b><span style="color: #006699; font-family: "Bradley Hand ITC"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://www.mcintoshlabs.com/us/Pages/Home.aspx#">McIntosh Website</a></span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #006699; font-family: "Bradley Hand ITC"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://hometoys.com/">Home Toys Magazine</a></span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: #006699; font-family: "Bradley Hand ITC"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></b>
<b><span style="color: #006699; font-family: "Bradley Hand ITC"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></b>
<b><span style="color: #006699; font-family: "Bradley Hand ITC"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">First published in HomeToys Magazine,<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<b><span style="color: #006699; font-family: "Bradley Hand ITC"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> this ended up being their most read article of
2009, <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #006699; font-family: "Bradley Hand ITC"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">now finally on my blog, 10.16.14<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja0deFrWK5pLrLgB1oO-U2tTjo1D-Yr42wFAXB8M1eLBbOs6HbpfPOhWHeZraDbVEd_w7ZaIHWqjAz1dCYm9cm6PQKOfnM61NpHwg-3J0aulB1bkHhOZfqTV2GgMvHiIRNOX7CvXluW07V/s1600/wall+of+sound+HT+pic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja0deFrWK5pLrLgB1oO-U2tTjo1D-Yr42wFAXB8M1eLBbOs6HbpfPOhWHeZraDbVEd_w7ZaIHWqjAz1dCYm9cm6PQKOfnM61NpHwg-3J0aulB1bkHhOZfqTV2GgMvHiIRNOX7CvXluW07V/s1600/wall+of+sound+HT+pic.jpg" /></a></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #006699; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 15.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">April 2009<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: #414141; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 18.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;">Wall Of Sound<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><i><span style="color: #615454; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Author: Chuck Hinton, McIntosh Tech Support and the </span></i></b><a href="http://www.hifi.blogspot.com/"><b><i><span style="color: #006699; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Hi Fi Insider</span></i></b></a><b><i><span style="color: #615454; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
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<span style="background-color: #783f04; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">We at McIntosh Labs were
pretty impressed with ourselves when we realized the McIntosh 2K reference
system weighed in at close to one full ton. It never even occurred to us to
imagine what kind of McIntosh system might weigh 75 tons. As it turns out, our
imagination was not required. Nearly 32 years earlier, Owsley ‘Bear’ Stanley,
Dan Healy and Mark Raizene of the Grateful Dead sound crew and Ron Wickersham
and Rick Turner of Alembic Sound dared to dream of such a system.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #783f04; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Shortly before the 35th
anniversary of the official March 23, 1974 début of the legendary Grateful Dead
Wall Of Sound P.A. system, I had the great luck and honor of spending some time
with photographer Richard Pechner. From 1969 to 1974 Pechner worked on the
Grateful Dead sound crew, helped build the wall and chronicled the adventure
that was the Grateful Dead in photographs.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #783f04; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">The McIntosh/Dead
connection started with a PA system the then local San Francisco band had in
their house at 710 Asbury St., which included several McIntosh MC240, 40 watt
stereo tube amps bolted to a piece of heavy plywood, dubbed “The Lead Sled”. At
that time, Richard was a student at San Francisco State and worked with a group
called The Diggers that distributed free food and similar activities in Haight
Ashbury. “I met Danny Rifkin, who was managing the Dead… the band wanted to
play for free in the park (Golden Gate) so the deal was, we (the Diggers) would
get the flatbed truck.” Richard drove the flatbed to the Dead house, picked up
the gear and took part in the now infamous free concert.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #783f04; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">As the band became more
popular and started playing large venues, McIntosh MC2300, 300 watt per channel
stereo amps were used. Mr. Pechner says “ When we started, they were just
sitting there on floor, it was ones and twos, but as we got more, then we got
into racking stuff, so we used to go down to Palo Alto to some surplus supply
houses. Dan Healy used to pride himself on knowing where these places were, we
would go down there with a van and there were these racks with wheels and we
said, “This is what we need”.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="background-color: #783f04;">By the early 1970’s, the
band had accumulated quite a bit of gear and, by combining 3 current and
previous systems, plus a lot of acquisition and fabrication, created the wall
of sound. Consisting of 11 separate mono systems, the Wall of Sound gave each
instrument its own set of amplifiers and approximately 40 foot tall stack of
speakers. With each system directly behind the performer playing through it,
the band was able to hear what the audience heard, and, with only one source of
sound per instrument, created a natural stereo image in the same way a group of
un-amplified instruments, like an orchestra or string quartet is heard, with
sound coming directly from the acoustic instruments. The obvious problem of feedback
from speakers placed directly behind the microphones was solved by inventing a
noise canceling mic system, consisting of 2 out of phase matched mics per
vocalist and some sophisticated associated electronics. </span><span style="background-color: white;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggVMQha0pRbUPjUjUKAE8V76cKBB91AUMNiVJL7U3eHf9NzUYxWw_lt-1bPBg6rHd6K6r7aScZv5w9IGyWW9rnXlgdrqCOuQLaUf4R1pHc-PMMQQpJ4eoVYY2yR4sLF69JayjV7IzIsN4S/s1600/jerry+w+noise+cancelling.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggVMQha0pRbUPjUjUKAE8V76cKBB91AUMNiVJL7U3eHf9NzUYxWw_lt-1bPBg6rHd6K6r7aScZv5w9IGyWW9rnXlgdrqCOuQLaUf4R1pHc-PMMQQpJ4eoVYY2yR4sLF69JayjV7IzIsN4S/s1600/jerry+w+noise+cancelling.jpg" height="320" width="256" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /><span style="background-color: #783f04;">
The completed wall sound consisted of 586 JBL woofers and mids, 54
Electrovoice tweeters driven by 48 McIntosh MC2300s and two McIntosh
MC350 mono tube amplifiers for a total of 29,500 watts.</span><span style="background-color: white;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8O4xo9cxZltABXjUgMAfcDOwlWz5stIlO4-nViqfe7B9Ij_p4bR9dWGcxXw7E0BnWxuFr0nVvG8tru5-d664N-rodnNdRJ70JKLUGG-dyfRCAE3jBWQcgqyE115oLwQojbRDqOeZBDqYN/s1600/Richie+wal+of+sound.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8O4xo9cxZltABXjUgMAfcDOwlWz5stIlO4-nViqfe7B9Ij_p4bR9dWGcxXw7E0BnWxuFr0nVvG8tru5-d664N-rodnNdRJ70JKLUGG-dyfRCAE3jBWQcgqyE115oLwQojbRDqOeZBDqYN/s1600/Richie+wal+of+sound.jpg" height="215" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: #783f04; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">“We were told it was the
most powerful touring PA system in the world at that time” said Pechner, “it
occurred to us that we, well nobody, had really seen what it looked like (with
the band on stage) because, during shows, you couldn’t see any of that
stuff, it was just too dark.” Richard convinced a fork-truck driver to lift him
up to stage height and just keep backing up until the whole system fit in frame
of the standard 50mm lens of his camera. Via 2-way radio, he instructed the
light guy to bring the house lights up, much to the band’s chagrin, and took
what is now the iconic image Dead Heads around the world associate with the
Wall of Sound. “It was one of those opportunities that just come along and you
go, “Oh, I know what to do”.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #783f04; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Ironically, McIntosh was
partly responsible for bringing Richard Pechner’s career as a roadie to an end,
when an amp rack, thought to be empty, was slid to the back of a truck and He
tried to take it off the truck. The rack turned out to be full of MC2300s,
gravity and McIntosh jerked the rack and Pechner to the ground, injuring his
back and effectively removing him from the equipment handling part of his job.
“I stayed on for a couple of tours, mostly doing photography.” When the band
took it’s hiatus in 1974; Richard and the wall of sound moved on after the
Wall’s last show on Oct. 20th 1974.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #783f04;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Mr. Pechner continued work as a photographer,
getting shots of rock bands and other related work. He now works freelance out
of his home studio, doing commercial photography and shooting folks like Lance
Armstrong and the San Francisco Giants. His work can be seen at his
website: </span><a href="http://www.pechner.smugmug.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #006699; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">www.pechner.smugmug.com</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="art_comment"></a><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://hometoys.com/emagazine/2009/03/wall-of-sound/1160" title="Facebook"><span style="color: #006699;"><br />
</span></a></span><o:p></o:p></div>
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</script></div>Chuck Hintonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06927402698911925759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1893076245976932358.post-8740691637094120592014-10-08T16:54:00.000-04:002014-10-08T16:54:07.743-04:0021 things we would not have believed in the already Orwellian 1984, a grum rant.<div class="MsoNormal">
In the dozen years that passed since a pop culture reference
from Allan Parsons or someone had prompted my 10 year old self to imbibe the
truths of Orwell, I noted each Calendar flip, acknowledged its advancement
toward Winston Smith’s year. When 1984 arrived, it seemed dystopian enough, continuous
military conflict and cold war kept the poor from questioning power, cocaine
was socially acceptable for white people, the rich were getting much richer
from the introduction of Regan’s trickle
up economics and, as a poor young adult, I was unemployed, had holes in my
shoes and lived on government cheese. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I could not have guessed, 30 years ago, that vegetables
would become carcinogenic, the water from the faucet could be lit a fire, and
that the ice caps could melt. Would we have predicted a tsunami that killed a
hundred thousand? A hurricane could flood New York City and destroy the Jersey
shore? <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Who knew worker real income would be down %30 and CEO pay up
%300, that social security would be known to have numbered days and the poor of
the first world would start to look like poor of the 3<sup>rd</sup> world. The
late night streets peppered with shopping cart pushers, scuttling like crabs in
competition for returnable, Iron green gold mines of nickels. One could not
have imagined the Wall Street crime wave that, in a single year, cost 6% of the
USA population their jobs, 9 million people out of work and over one million
homes stolen by the mortgagers. That not a single criminal would be sent to
jail, and banks broken by their own crimes were bailed out with taxpayer money,
too big to fail. How we would have laughed if you told us the Supreme Court
would rule corporations were people and money equaled speech. Or that the
people could be duped into thinking Unions were bad for them, that teachers
were to blame for small school budgets, and one family could trade all the
manufacturing jobs away so they could sell the cheapest Chinese sneakers, but Americans would still buy their lies and their
sneakers. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The environment did look to be in danger in those days, but
the great lakes had been cleaned, superfunds tried to heal the earth, CFC’s and
DDT outlawed to heal the hole in the ozone layer and bring the American eagle
back from the brink of destruction. So how could we have guessed that every
conservative would vow to close Richard Nixon’s invention, the EPA. That the
EPA could receive a half million letters including one from 60 Congressmen
asking to not approve a pesticide but they do it anyway AND the conservatives
still think the EPA impedes progress. In 1984, would you have believed
ubiquitous, innumerable, uncountable entire Genus like Bats and Frogs could be
in danger today? That huge swathes of
coastline would qualify for the moniker of ‘Ocean Dead Zones’? Bees and other pollinators may well fail,
potentially causing a %30 drop in the
worlds food supply and, as a coup de grace, nearly one half of all species
alive in 1984 are now extinct. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The first of my Children were born as Halley’s specter last rode the heavens.
That phenom of such a period that nearly everyone will only see it once, but
you, my first born, like Mr. Clemens, were supposed to mark its twain. Now, in 2014, I fear the comets 2060 return
may greet no living human eye.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The one thing that really surprises me is; no one seems surprised
or alarmed by all this.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Chuck Hinton 10/08/14<o:p></o:p></div>
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</script></div>Chuck Hintonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06927402698911925759noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1893076245976932358.post-62807796390653002762014-09-17T14:21:00.003-04:002014-09-17T14:21:30.917-04:00"I Like the Name" A Political Sci Fi Vignette.<div class="MsoNormal">
"I Like the Name" A Political Sci Fi Vignette.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I must admit, ladies and gentleman, I did not think it was
possible. After all, there were only five of us; Jaybee, Emem, the two brothers
and myself. We were sent to an alien planet, tasked with terraforming and
readying it for habitation by our people. Now, most things I can do with half my brain
tied behind my back, but this place was totally unsuitable for life. It was too
cold, had unbreathable air and was teeming with life-forms incompatible with
our needs. Worst of all, a sentient life form had evolved and taken over the
place! They were not primitive either, bristling with weapons, highly
aggressive and maybe even capable of reaching and destroying our planet!
Luckily, they were too divided, self-centered and violent to have even bothered
to look around this part of the galaxy and were completely unaware of our
overcrowded world and our need for new home.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Our imperfect but functional disguises worked pretty well.
The Brothers’ roles kept them out of public view, so other than rare occasions,
only head-shot photographs of them were seen. Jaybee and Emem had it the worst,
with much in-person contact with the locals. Despite one having a bit of a
coloring problem and the other’s look getting close to a lower order of
amphibian around the face, they were never suspected. I managed to mostly keep
my exposure to my voice, (and a lot of exposure it was) so my somewhat blobby
costume rarely came under scrutiny. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Job one, finance, belonged to The Brothers. Not
surprisingly, greed is the lever with which one can lift worlds. The Brothers
found an enormously wealthy but terminally ill man, whose ailment was one that
could be cured by our slightly more advanced technology, and struck a deal to
become his heirs in exchange for extending his life by a few decades. Using his
nest egg and significant leverage supplied by Jaybee and Emem, upon which I
will expound shortly, they embarked on a campaign of strategic
acquisition. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Brothers had a unique bargaining advantage, while all
their competition maneuvered each transaction with the sole motivation of
profit, the Brothers only long term goal was control. If you structure a
business deal in such a way as the other side makes a lot of profit, you can
have any other consideration you desire and the other side does not even
notice. By the time our plans started to come to fruition, the brothers owned
or controlled nearly every important industry on the planet. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We found a fuel source whose consumption would result in a
slow, subtle warming of the hideously cold planet, and arranged for it to be
the least expensive energy source. Once again, greed was our true friend. When alternative energies were invented or
touted, the Brothers bought them, let the companies run for a little while and
then close them, proclaiming the methods to be impractical. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Many forms of vegetation existed that would be toxic to our
people or exuded gasses and chemicals that made the air nearly unbreathable to
us. A solution was needed, guess who was
our friend once again? That dear child named greed. Our companies bought food
production facilities and farms. We manipulated the food plants to create more
yield and so more profit for the farmers. Make the deal so they can have lots
of profit and anything else you want is no problem. We made the plants in such
a way that any seeds they produced were sterile, the farmers had to buy seeds
every year and could not produce their own seed, but they made lots of profit
so nary a peep of complaint was heard. Land had to be cleared and weeds removed
to grow food, which was a lot of work, so we fixed that. The crops were
designed so they were not effected by herbicides that killed all other plants,
farmers soaked all the land with the very reasonably priced herbicides we sold
them, so they could cover all the ground with crops and nothing else grew. Profits increased even more, the farmers
loved and praised Brothers and the companies they owned.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Eventually, some of the locals, (namely the ones that did
not greatly benefit from inexpensive plants and energy or get rich off it)
started to catch on. Governments proposed
laws that got in the way of our plans. We had anticipated this, so, using The
Brothers money, Jaybee and Emem got to work insinuating themselves into
powerful positions in the most powerful government around. Whenever laws were
proposed counter to our goals, those two
arranged for the legislators to receive large sums of money from The Brothers.
Not only did the legislators block any regulations that got in our way, but
they jumped right on the band wagon and continually passed laws that
facilitated our plans, and thease lawmakers were not even that expensive to
buy!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Of course, It is impossible to have infinite growth in a
finite system, so not everyone could be bribed with actual riches. That is where
I came in. My compatriots will have to admit, they could have never pulled it
off without yours truly. I seduced nearly all of the rest of the planet with
the PROMISE of wealth. My conniving voice assured them that they would be the
ones who would benefit from our movement. I convinced the people that our
naysayers wanted to take away their toys and vices, and told them the toys and
vices were their freedoms!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
They Bought it! Hook, line and sinker, they manically
repeated my supposed truisms, chanted my catch phrases, adopted my slanderous
pet names for the brightest and most honest of their politicians and worshiped
our toadies as well as Jaybe and Emem, exactly the way I told them to. While
the masses starved, struggled and slaved, they simultaneously sympathized,
shouted and supported every aspect of our plan. Each one wholeheartedly
attending my voice, believing my words, embracing my assurances that they would
reap the benefits, they would be the ones on the top of the pyramid and soon
have the riches and luxury their greed told them they could not live without. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It really did not take long at all. Conspicuous consumption
of the cheap energy sources filled the atmosphere with carbon and the
temperature rose. The greedy farmers killed every plant except our patented,
certified, modified crops. Oxygen levels dropped and air filled with delicious
methane, nitrous oxide ozone and carbon dioxide. Since the government had been
convinced there was no need to label or regulate the food crops, the
inhabitants of this soon-to-be-our world had been eating poison filled food and
burning dirty fuels for decades. Soon they all had, diabetes, COPD and cancer,
but, the medicine was all owned by The Brothers corporations who told the world
the medicines were no longer effective or available. Then the supply of seeds
for food crops became suddenly unavailable too, and the current crops seeds
were all sterile. Every one of those dangerous, parasitic humans died before
their ( I mean our) planet made one more
trip around the sun.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And there you have it, perfect atmosphere, perfect
temperature and climate and no competition, our race could move right in and
enjoy the new Earth. We did it, The Brothers Charles and David, Senator
Mich (Emem), Speaker John (Jaybee) and
my self. I still think my role was the most important, even though the others
made fun of me because I could not come up with an Earth-normal sounding pseudonym
for myself, but I disagree, I LIKE the name Rush! <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Chuck Hinton, 09/17/14<o:p></o:p></div>
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</script></div>Chuck Hintonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06927402698911925759noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1893076245976932358.post-89987160610375493462012-11-07T11:27:00.001-05:002012-11-07T11:27:11.830-05:00Home Toys 11/2012 - Introducing: The Erudite Audio Verbositor mkIV<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Introducing: The Erudite Audio Verbositor mkIV<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">From their lofty headquarters at 12358-13<sup>*a</sup> Hedera Rook<sup>*b</sup>, Ithaca, NY, the magnificent Mensanites<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>at Erudite Audio recently unveiled their new unit, The Verbositor mkIV.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>An unparalleled achievement in its category<sup>*c</sup>, the Verbositor delivers more attributives<sup>*d</sup> per dollar than any device I have ever been paid to review. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">No supererogatory<sup>*e</sup> expense was spared in the selection of the all designer brand internal components and their application. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The lush, loquacious low end is attributed to the Ligament ®Illuminator<sup>*q</sup>, %100 helium-free copper wiring<sup>*f</sup>, enabling detailed, deep voicing. The Bednorz<sup>*g</sup> power supply transformer, wound with super conducting ®Niven<sup>*h</sup> Wire, requires regular reapplication of liquid nitrogen for its operation, (Erudite nitrogen compressor sold separately), allowing it to deliver extemporaneously clean power.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A micro processing section including a bushel of Solanum ®Tuberosum<sup>*i</sup> chips and proprietary software is employed in the creation of the five custom surround modes: Pedantic, Authoritative, Submissive, Sublime and Ridiculous. All this europhiliac<sup>*r</sup> finery is housed in a hand-made chassis of copper clad skrith.*<sup>h</sup><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Erudite’s lead design engineer, Esobrev<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ylsuolucidir<sup>*j</sup>, a native Ithacant<sup>*k</sup>, waxes poetic on the unit’s specifications. “An Occum’s razor-flat frequency response extends down to negative five Hz<sup>*l</sup>, with an unheard of lack of deviation at zero Hz<sup>*m</sup>. Phase variations are fully adjustable to 370 degrees<sup>*n</sup>, with a noise floor exceeding the maximum output by 18dB<sup>*o</sup>.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">All this Orwellian technospeak superseded this reviewers understanding, but I can assure you, dear reader, that the Erudite Audio Verbositor mkIV sports the most impressive display of buttons, knobs and blinky lights this Audiophile poser has ever had the privilege to drool over. With a retail price less than what you might expect to pay for a couple of pounds of neutronium<sup>*p</sup> and performance far exceeding expectations, this unit is my newest obsession and I hereby nominate the Verbositor mkIV for this publication’s “Component of the Year”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Chuck Hinton<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">(many references are for Audio heads only, others for science heads or botanists, most folks won’t get ‘em all, so I have narcissistically annotated it)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">*a: The Fibonacci series<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">*b: Hedera is Latin for Ivy, Rook also means tower, a reference to Cornell <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">*c: note the review never actually says what this box is or what it does <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">*d: another word for adjectives, the darlings of audio reviewers<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">*e: another word for spurious or unnecessary <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">*f: Oxygen free copper is an attributive often spouted by speaker wire companies, as Helium makes your voice sound like Mickey Mouse, I figure Helium free wire should provide deep ‘voicing’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">*g: Mr. Bednorz invented super conductors<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">*h (2): a nod to Sci Fi writer Larry Niven, who’s writings often involve materials that can’t exist, like skrith, a theoretical metal that would have the tensile strength for Nivens “Ringworld” to be made of<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">*i: Latin for potato, so the unit has potato chips inside<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">*j: “Esobrev<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ylsuolucidir” is ridiculously verbose spelled backwards <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">*k: In my home town of Binghamton, NY, Ithaca and Ithacans are referred to as Ithacant(s), you can’t smoke on the commons, you can’t drink after 1AM, you can’t drive a big car without getting dirty looks…ect…<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">*l: Hz ( Hertz) is how many times something vibrates per second, obviously, stuff cannot vibrate at less than 0 times a second<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">*m: A loudspeaker at 0 Hz is not moving, so it will not deviate from a state of not moving of course<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">*n a circle is 360 degrees, so adjusting phase to 370 would be a bit silly<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">*o the noise floor should be BELOW rated output, so this statement says the noise generated by the unit is almost twice as loud as the music coming out<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">*p: Neutronium is what a Neutron star is made of, so far, no one has managed to go into space and mine stars, also, due to the super density of Neutronium, a couple of pounds would be a sub-microscopic spec, a piece of neutronium with the mass of the earth would be about the size of a small house<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">*q: “Ligament ®Illuminator” synonyms for cord and lamp, ‘lamp cord’ is what we all used for speaker wire back in the dark ages and is considered laughable by aficionados of stupidly overpriced speaker wire<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">*r: “europhiliac” a word I just made up for someone who uncontrollably bleeds Euros<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<br /></div>
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The missing piece to the puzzle that most consumers lack can be summed up in one word: Implementation.<br />“Little plastic caterpillars”<br />We have all seen said chips, little plastic caterpillars with a plethora of tiny, tin legs or a square, black Necco wafer fringed with a skirt of little metal knees. Powerful as these devices are, on their own they do nothing. First of all, they need power, with all the ‘clean power’ rhetoric bandied about these days; it should come as no surprise that the quality of a power supply design can affect the functionality and reliability of these tiny miracle workers. Even more important than the power is the accompanying circuitry. The analog output stage of a portable CD player is no match for a mid-fi home audio unit, whose performance is no match for a high end player, even if they did have the same D.A.C., due to the care and skill of the circuit designer, as well as the money spent on the associated electronic components.<br />More complex integrated circuits like surround processors and video scalars have scores of features available to the engineer designing the unit the chip goes in. It is unlikely, and probably unnecessary, for any one unit to utilize all those features; but to what good use and how many of the useful features end up in your setup menu all depends, once again, on the skill of the engineer.<br />“How many hardware engineers does it take to Screw in a light bulb? None, we’ll fix it in software!”<br />Once the features, uses and complementing circuitry are determined, a software engineer has to make them all work. The software to control a chip is often custom done by product and not something you buy off-the–shelf like the actual chip. Any home computer user is all to familiar with endless software updates and patches, often continuing for years after a product is released, sold and assumed to be ‘done’, because software can be pretty darn complicated. The chips them selves are unfathomably complex devices, their internal schematics resembling an all-inclusive map of Manhattan. The operating software must not only navigate the streets and buildings, but the rooms within those building and wires and pluming within the walls of those rooms, starting to get the picture?<br />“All things being equal”<br />All things are never equal. A famous and once revered video scalar chip company decided they wanted to sell more chips and get their name more out in the public. They sold their scalar chip to companies making low cost, poorly designed video processors, who proudly stamped the chip makers’ name on the front of the units. Some of those scalars performed terribly and were notoriously unreliable. Word got out and the consumers, albeit wrongly, blamed the chips. Shoddy implementation destroyed the only real asset any electronics company has, their brand equity.<br />“I’m in love with my car”<br />Automotive illustrations often ring true when talking about electronics, so here is a little story to further illustrate my point. An auto repair shop I once frequented had 2 very cool things lying around the place, a 1950’s MG roadster with no motor and a Jaguar V12 engine. The boys decided they would merge the two and customers ogled their progress over the months as they moved back the fire wall, modified the frame and basically completely re-built the car to accept the V12. One fine spring day the project was finally done and the pushed the car out of the garage to fire it up for the first time. No matter how gently the clutch was released, the car just sat in one place while the tires slowly spun at the idle speed of the engine. Even the slightest feathering of the gas pedal simply caused the rear of the car to jump up and down while it slowly rotated around front end, the car completely unable to gain traction. The mechanics had taken two fabulous car parts and created a vehicle that did not work at all. Poor implementation had done them in.<br />“There is more than one way to skin a cat”<br />The A/V industry is fraught with urban legends of electronics, units w/ this chip or that technology are always better, negative feedback is always bad, Class “A” amps are always better. There are many different ways to design a device for a specific purpose, if there were not, all stereos would sound the same, all TV’s would look alike and only marketing departments would be needed in our industry. Before you make a buying decision based on a touted technology, design class, a must have connector or a phantom surround mode, remember that none of that stuff is worth is worth a dime with out proper implementation. In our world full of false universal axioms, there is one you can take to the bank: All things are NEVER equal.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript"><!--
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Despite this acoustical faux pas, the Nickel Creek sound man, utilizing the bands own mixers, effects and monitor system, did a good job of dialing in the sound and sending it off to the expertly placed and very clean-sounding front-of-house provided by Binghamton based Sound Concepts. The result was relatively good sound on the floor and exceptional quality in the bleachers, very full but never too loud.<br /><br />The fairly conservative audience, made of more middle-aged folk and families than college students, roared thunderously when the band took the stage. They opened with my favorite cut off the new CD, “Smoothie Song”, and although it was a bit spoiled by some hurried sound tweaking during its’ first few moments, it quickly settled in to a premonition of the evening’s heart-warming musical feast.<br /><br />The group looked comfortable on stage, the guys in T-shirts, violinist Sara Watkins looking most fetching in a spaghetti-strap top and all wearing blue jeans and sneakers. Sara played well to the audience, often strolling out of the main spotlights to get closer to the crowd, leaning forward and throwing bow flourishes like kisses to the crowd. Many songs elicited cries of recognition from the onlookers and the group moved and danced with the crowd as well as each other during especially passionate jams. Chris Thile was the most animated and led me to wonder, why do mandolin players tilt their heads when they solo? Some stage patter did sound rehearsed and stilted though, and a few stage movements looked a bit contrived. I suspect someone had chastised them for not being visually entertaining enough, like you would expect them to grab themselves and moonwalk or something.<br /><br />My introduction to Nickel Creek had been their 2002 release, “This Side”, a tightly controlled, somewhat commercial product produced by Allison Krauss. That album, I guessed, had been born of the group’s desire to explore the more pop side of their creations and made me wonder if they knew where their strengths lay. Later, those very songs, heard in the context of that concert, kept their folk roots and blended seamlessly with the band’s more traditional tunes and inspiring instrumentals. I had also wondered if folks so young, (Sara Watkins and Chris Thile are a mere 21 years old) even with eleven years of playing out, would exhibit the musical maturity that often makes a seasoned performer far outshine a child prodigy. By the third song my words were eaten whole, as the quartet raised the hairs on my neck and brought a smile to my face with expertly executed and beautiful music.<br /><br />What I saw was not the package for sale Ms. Krauss had created, but boundless, unstoppable musical joy. Rising and falling, first sweet, then nasty and grooving. At once a simple ballad, then suddenly metamorphosing through intertwining melodies combined in a way they had never quite been before.<br /><br />Conversely, vocals were not the band’s strong point, with most of Sara’s and Chris’s vocals sounding breathy and almost falsetto. The players are aware of their vocal sound and apply it well in their songwriting, but the quality of the instrumentation points up the difference. Guitarist Sean Watkins, the elder statesman of the band at 25, has the strongest voice, but the most shy personality of the group, keeping him from using his voice often enough or to it’s fullest potential. Only on the fifth song of the evening, “The Face of Trouble”?, did Sara show her vocal mettle and Chris did not get his voice warmed up until late in the show with a blues tune and a Dylan cover. The whole group had better projection on harmonies than lead vocals as evidenced on a raucous cover of the Beatles “Taxman”.<br /><br />Eleven of the thirty tunes were instrumentals, all every bit as fine as the creations of the elders of newgrass. Chris Thile's “House of Tom Bombadil” was a warm bluegrass tune, not the staccato sonic assault of traditional bluegrass. Flowing yet well defined by implied percussion born of chunky rhythms supporting arpeggios flying like wild winds. Late in the show they played “The Opening Song” featuring Sara’s fine fiddle work in a Mark O’Conner/Yo-Yo Ma style creation. Other instrumental tones ranged from the dissidence of modern jazz to technical acrobatics like those in The Dixie Dregs’ “Chips A’Hoy”. The second instrumental of the evening opened with a guitar/mandolin duet with obvious classical inspirations, morphed into a two-step, then flowed through modern jazz style dissidence and back again. A recent interview in the fledgling ‘Frets’ magazine had Sean commenting on taking inspiration from classical lately and this tune illustrated that quite well.<br /><br />Nickel Creek played at the Country Music Awards on Nov. 6, 2002 and were nominated for the Horizon award and Vocal Group of the Year. They took home no awards, but to be nominated is surely a good thing for a group that I would not even call country. With Jerry Douglas taking home Musician of the Year, the CMA show they are there for more than just Alan Jackson fans, (who swept the awards) and know quality when they see it.<br /><br />What lies ahead for Nickel Creek? Already on CMT, how about VH1 or even MTV? Will there be Creek-heads, following the band to every venue and selling out every show? Can we expect Chris Thile lunch boxes, Sean Watkins cologne and ‘Barbie’s fiddl’n friend Sara’? How about Nickel Creek tribute bands with names like ‘Penny River’ and ‘Cuckoo’s Nest’. Assuming they avoid the many pitfalls of young stardom, the sky is the limit for these fledgling troubadours.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript"><!--
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She looked up at the sound of the knob turning on her closed door; a silhouette was visible through the frosted glass pane with the etched letters, ‘ffoG yllaS’.<br /> A figure in an open, rain-spotted trench coat and Fedora stepped in, a woman with a face that could silence a stereo salesman, hair finer than the strands in a high-end speaker cable and voice like a lunch-box filled w/ toy cars… no, wait….that was the phone….<br /> O.K., so life for Sally Goff, Director of Marketing and P.R. for McIntosh Laboratory may not be as exciting as a Mickey Spillane inspired film noir, but the call was about a detective story…<br />Jennifer Chalhub, Sr. Account Executive for Warner Bros Pictures had a request. She was currently working on a ‘little’ Film for Warner Brothers, “The Departed”, Directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon and Jack Nicholson. Set Decorator Leslie Rollins had requested McIntosh for the set of Matt’s apt, where a scene takes place involving a stereo system. This was not unusual, the timeless, classy look and bright, illuminated meters and faceplates make McIntosh equipment look great on film and a favorite of set designers. Sally assured Jennifer we would be happy to help. Ms Chalhub promised to get back soon with an equipment list.<br /> After a long look at <a href="http://www.mcintoshlabs.com/">www.mcintoshlabs.com</a>, Departed set decorating personnel went on a field trip to a McIntosh dealer to check out the toys. A month later, they came back with the ‘wish list’, and it was not small. An MX119 Home Theater Preamp, MVP861 DVD Player, MA6500 Integrated Amp, C2200 Tube Preamp, MR85 Tuner, MHT200 Home Theater Receiver, MC207 Multi Channel Amp, MCD1000 CD Transport and five XLS320 Bookshelf speakers.<br /> The Production Resources Agreement arrived from Warner Brothers.<br />Obviously designed for paid placement, the contract stated that McIntosh agreed to pay the sum of Zero Dollars for placement of the equipment in the movie, there was no guaranty that the equipment would appear and that McIntosh was not obligated to pay the Zero Dollars, should the gear not ‘recognizably appear’ in the final cut of the film. McIntosh does not pay for placements, despite the fact that it shows up in several TV shows and movies each year. With the paperwork completed, the search for the gear began.<br /> 2005 was a very busy year for trade shows, dealer events and equipment reviews. Nearly every piece of show stock equipment was spread out around the globe at about 10 different events, including a good size pile of gear down in Florida on the set of “Miami Vice”, so it was time for ‘Plan B’. Usually, McIntosh units used in movies and TV shows simply need to light up and look pretty. McIntosh Service Manager John Messemer had several of the listed models , either untested or yet to be repaired units that lit up just fine, we could simply tape over the inputs on the back, label them “do not use” and be all set. <br />Just to be sure, Sally flashed off an email to Jennifer Chalhub, would they be expecting the gear to play music or would it be OK if they just ‘lit up’?<br /> “I’m just a little afraid Jack or Matt will want to turn it on and listen to it. I’ll just have to let them know in advance they can not play anything on it.” Ms Chalhub replied. Sally had heard Jack Nicholson liked to play with everything on set and wanted it all to work. They knew Jack was a McIntosh owner and had previously requested McIntosh as set dressing for “As Good as it Gets”. The decision was made; the units would HAVE to work.<br /> Turning a pile of new stock into “B” stock is not a desirable business practice, but it became obvious that at least some of the units would need to come from new stock. Sales and Sales Administration were consulted, they gave the green light to use some new stock and by the first of June, 2005, the shipment was ready to go. A combination new, show and engineering stock provided the 13 units for the departed. More complications arose as time went on, The Departed requested old Mac boxes for set dressing, and in June, 2006, whole scenes needed to be re-shot, so some pieces had to be re-gathered and reshipped, but eventually, it all came home, in excellent shape and perfectly re-packed.<br /> On Fri. Oct 6, 2006 The Departed opened in the U.S., at one point in the film, the big, blue MA6500 VU meter covered more than 60% of the screen, presenting viewers with a 40 foot McIntosh Meter during a tense moment in the film. At the final cut, only 4 of the units and 2 of the speakers were visible in the flick, but they played a visceral part. As the female lead character ran to the Mac stack to turn it on, she makes three obvious turning-on motions, and three loud, poignant ‘clicks’ ring out in the sound track. As the camera pulls back, only two units appear to be on, but a slow motion viewing revealed the editors loved the look of the MA6500 turning on so much, they basically showed it turn on twice, giving the dramatic beat of ‘click’, ‘click’, click’!<br /> By the following Monday morning customers were mentioning in web-site emails and tech calls they had seen the gear, and it was fabulous! In February, 2007, The Departed received four Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director, the perfect Hollywood ending, or was it?<br />In preparation for this article, a letter was sent to Jennifer Chalhub, requesting permission to use some stills for it. Jennifer replied she was working on it and, by the way, the set decorator was now working on another Warner Bros. feature, “Get Smart”, starring Steve Carell and “The Rock” and was interested in using a similar system. And so, here we go again!...<div class="blogger-post-footer"><script type="text/javascript"><!--
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