The One and Only Big D Thread

@Thad E Ginathom
I get where you are coming from. It's sometimes better to have a job with benefits and stable. Also you don't have the weight of the world as a business owner over your head. Which can be a major stressor.

My Dad was an Engineer for General Motors. He was a Metallurgist Engineer and the Boss of the Steel Melting Furnaces in the Roller Bearing Plant in NJ. Steady Job and great benefits. GM sent him back for schooling in Ohio. I was too small at the time to know what one, but I remember the b&w photos of my Dad at this big Reactor looking thing in Ohio. My Dad was the King at this Plant that was about 10 Blocks long. He was the guy that was the brains behind the Furnaces. He worked hard though. He poured about 5 ounces of Bourbon into this large glass with a splash of Ginger Ale every day after he got home. He would say..... "Den, you wouldn't believe the shit I had to pull off today. I had to climb into the f$%ker this time." He was my idol.

I was supposed to go to General Motors School of Design in Flint Michigan and Design Automobiles.
I chickened out at the last minutes.
Michigan.
Just couldn't live there for 5 years and not surf.
Dad almost killed me.
I remember when I told him I wasn't going.
I thought I was going to die from him choking me to death


Some times I would have 18 hour days for weeks.
Other times, I would just shut the sucker down and go surf.
I was lucky that my clients understood my surfing lifestyle, and catered to my having to surf when a good swell was upon us in the Ocean.
I would usually make it up to them.

I worked in Seafood Restaurants back in the Seventies and Eighties, and slightly into the Nineties.
I was a Chef, and the Boss in the last Restaurant for 13 years.
2 Weeks Paid Vacation,
2 Weeks Sick Days.
It was my responsibility to run the whole busy Italian, Seafood, Steak Restaurant (The Offshore), and the Owners would go home,
And I would run it like an oiled machine.
$40,000.00/yr with 4:00pm - 10:00pm on the Weekdays and 11:00pm on the weekends,
Five Days a week.
It was a very busy Restaurant.
Had a great reputation for consistent food that was very reasonably priced.
Win win.
I had Cable TV right in the Kitchen with me, Music Box
I could drink Imported Beers or Fancy Cocktails close to the end of the Shift when cleaning up.
It was fantastic.
Well the Silent Partner Owner took over the business and the other Owners retired to Florida.
I was screwed and he chased me out with Salary Cuts and other cuts. Party was over. Darn

 

I have a project I'm doing next month with Intel / Kaby Lake / Win10. It's going to be just bonkers. Intel just contacted us and said the units aren't shipping out till April 4th now. It was supposed to ship yesterday. I'm ready Intel.

Anyway. An important part of the project is the new Touch Technology of Win10. It is much improved now and use of a Stylus Pen is becoming very useful. My Surface 4 Clone likes it's Stylus Pen,

I am going to go big now in 2 sizes during testing

22" Touch Glass VA Screen
24" Touch Non-Glare IPS Screen

I'm also going to use the smaller 22 Touch in the Livingroom System with my Acer Gaming Laptop as the head unit.
So I will have the 22 touch next to me and the Laptop will be a few feet away, connected to the 22 Touch.
It will make for some fun Music playing and Web Browsing.
I have never tested out full size Touch technology and I am going to flush it out by testing both types of Touch Screens.
And I got such a great pricing on the 2, it was a no brainer.
Both for $479.00 Shipped

Here is a couple of pics of the 22 Glass Touch 1920x1080







Should go nice with the Win10 Groove Music Program and Tidal Music Program......

 

The other 24 IPS Touch Monitor is more for Professionals and Designers. It has all the Bells and Whistles, connections, USB3 ports and the like. It is not a fun toy like the 22 Touch. If you're interested in seeing what the 24 touch is.... seems like a new release.
Here is the link.....

http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=us&cs=04&l=en&sku=210-ALCS

 

The Pro Surfing World Tour is in Western Australia. It is LIVE now. Waves are massive.

http://www.worldsurfleague.com/events/2017/mct/1809/drug-aware-margaret-river-pro-mens

 

Continuing on the lifestyle thing...

In my early twenties, I had a nice, badly-paid job in an art publishing company, working with greeting cards (it was there I side-stepped into computing: "Why not you," they said to me, "The rest of us don't know anything about it either." I opened the first of the shelf-full of Unix manuals at page one and thus began a new, self-taught career). Where was I? Oh yes, there I was, earning almost nothing. Friends were getting good money in stuff like sales, but I looked at the hard work they had to do, and the shit they had to take, and stayed in my comfortable corner. Side-line hobbies sometimes earned a penny or two. Again I rationalised: full-time? No, I want to go home and think about other stuff at five O'clock. The self-employed are never far from thinking about business.

Add into that lack of ambition, a big inclination to only work at stuff I want to work at, and a major dose of laziness... you can see why I'm not rich! lol. Also, I never really enjoyed managing people. I'm not a techie recluse: I love dealing with people, just not so keen on being in charge. A slight departure from that was realising the dream of learning to sail and skippering a fair-size yacht (biggest was 44-foot). But even then, I was happiest as first mate. No wealth involved: a group of us used to charter boats for one or two weeks. Actually quite reasonable compared to holidays in hotels! No surfing: I'm sorry to say that I can't even swim

So, although I was a "manager" by the end (which counts for something in a Japanese company!) and, theoretically, number two in the department, it was more the machines I was in charge of than the people.

 

@Thad E Ginathom
Great Story. And surely a great way of thinking.
The one reason I went into my own business was my Grandmother had taken ill, and my job at the Restaurant (The Offshore) was pushing me out. Grandma had the start of Alzheimer's. I was a married man of 2 children and a lovely wife, but we were frugal and lived the best we could with my salary and vacationed once a year. She worked in a Restaurant at times when she wasn't raising a baby. It was a good life in the beginning. I couldn't expect my wife to take care of the 2 kids and then go over and take care of an every increasingly cloudier Grandma all on her own.

So that's where I got the idea to get into Graphic Design thru Computing and produce Photo T-Shirts for the Surfing Industry through the USA. So I asked some of my Grandmother's 10 Brothers and Sisters that were still alive (Grandma was the oldest one, she took care of the flock when younger anyway) if they would lend me $12,000.00 for a Business Startup. Well 2 of them did and I bought Deneba Canvas Graphic Design Software, Corel Draw and 2 Super Duper Custom built Workstations at the time. I bought the rest of the Photo T-Shirt setup as well. I remember buying Deneba Canvas software ahead of time by 8 months, and reading the manual every day for hours and absorbing the material on the controls and techniques. Way before I used a Windows machine. I had only used Apple in the library.

Everything all worked out. Grandma was taken care of. I was very successful the very first minute in business due to my status in the Surfing Industry. I had 4 Surfing Magazine Photographers working with me to supply the thousands of photos that I would put my spin on. I would sell with the logos of the surf shops on the front , and the photos of the waves on the back. Instant successes. Thousands were sold. The day was saved. After that came Real Estate Web Design Challenge.
That's for another day.

 

You did well, Big D. If you live moist, it is because you earned it. Good for you!

If a youngster has to choose between your road and mine, patently, so long as they are prepared to put in the effort, they are going to do a hell of a lot better by your methods. In fact, what I do tell youngsters is to work damned hard for as short a time as possible and retire!

The only thing I don't like to see people with a decent amount of money doing is ... not enjoying it. But hey, each to their own.

 

@Thad E Ginathom
Actually,
I was living in Southern California.... and I was Surfing everyday and I was Pro-Class and was in the surfing industry big time. I was supposed to move to Hawaii. Honolulu, Oahu. Been there, and I was going to persue my Surfing there. I had the whole surfing industry as my friends, and had met and surfed with some of the top surfers on my turf in NJ and Cali, so I hung out with them and knew them. It was going to be a simple life surfing giant surf. That was my plan.

Well..... Grandma kept sending me money and letters to California. The money was great. I had a job that only got $90.00 a week. That was fine. I wanted to surf all the time anyway. Then one letter came...... It said "I need you". Well my father, for some reason didn't want to take care of his mother. I felt bad, so I flew back to NJ and lived and surfed the Jersey Shore for the Summer, and saw what was up with her. She was deteriorating in her mind. My father wanted me to take care of it. You get the 2 Beach Homes that she owns, and all is good. OK, said Dad. So I stayed on board and lived in one of the Beach Homes. Now let me remind you. This is one of the most pristine places and beaches on the East Coast. Tranquil, friendly, and on a peninsula that is 2,100 yards from the Atlantic Ocean to the Barnegat Bay. And we had the best block possible. I was the big Surfing Legend there, and everyone knew me. It was fun, but I wanted Hawaii.

That's what happened to my life model. I was supposed to be drinking "Blue Hawaii's" sitting in the Patio of the Pink Palace overlooking Waikiki Beach.
I have done that, been there. And it was the most serene setting. And I can understand why years ago. It was only Kings were allowed to perch their butts exactly where I liked to sit and have my breakfast at the Pink Palace in Honolulu.

 

I finished 2 projects....
First I adjusted the Lasers in my Surveillance System. No they are not Red.

Second. I put together a new Bedroom Computer System

BenQ 24" Professional Graphics Monitor QHD Resolution IPS Matte Screen
Mechanical Keyboard
Acer Gaming Laptop 256 SSD / 1TB HD / Nvidia 950 Graphics / 16GB Crucial Memory / AC Wireless

Pic


Bedroom System has great color. 100% RGB Color Gamut.
Fast as all hell. Intel Gen7 Processor

 

@cskippy
So I see you have a pair of the Koss ESP-950s now. What are you using to run them? Inquiring minds want to know. And how do you like them.
To me.... I think they are great. I explained that I liked the Dolby Headphone setting on my Asus Xonar D1 Sound Card better than without. It gave more body and heft to the lower midrange. The tube amp I put in the chain helps with gain and butter smoothness.

 

So, remember when I mentioned the Top Secret testing of something that you could buy a car with?
Well, I still have them in the Big D Labs, and I have been running them without all esoteric cables in the chain.
They sound so smooth. It is just crazy how they sound with a good recording. No fatigue whatsoever. Crap recording with reproduce a bit of a blurred sound. My ears just don't hurt with these SPEAKERS. Yes, It's $10,000.00 Speakers that I'm testing in the Labs, and they come up to my chin. I'm 6 feet tall, so they are quite large. They came in the mail as large caskets. What? Am I bringing dead people into the home, the neighbors thought?

It's a sophisticated Speaker with DSP and a really High End Crossover running the speakers and subwoofers. It's all built-in and there is no external unit for the DSP.
My God. I put about 400 RMS watts into it tonight and it was just..... smooth..... no ear strain.... no change in timbre..... perfect transition of the Krell amp power into adding more behind the sound.

Tomorrow is the big "Day of Reckoning"
I ordered from Cardas Audio the Gold Shortout Pins for the Krell KSA-200S that will allow me to hook up my RCA Morrow Audio MA4 Reference Cables into the Krell KSA-200S from the Schiit Freya Preamp. This will then be a full chain of esoteric Morrow Audio from the SingXer SU-1 USB Bridge to the Modi Multibit to the Freya and to the Krell. At last. I will hear what $10,000.00 sounds like. Weeeeeeee.

It should be quite good. Will it be worth spending that much? .................. Don't know............... But it will be fun to test.......... and I have months to do it......
I'm spoiled, I admit. But I love to be nice. And sometimes you get back.

I am allowed.... for now... to show you this much..... maybe the whole banana later......



Look how the bottom of the speaker is the same dimension as the REL S3.....
Maybe even a little wider.....

 

Thank You to the SBAF Community and all the best wishes for my lady to get better.
Her name is Cynthia.
She is now Today, I can say back to her normal brain function and being her normal pain in the ass.
Thank who is up there above the clouds. She went thru 5 days of Doctors telling me that she could have organ failure at any minute.
Now my life can get back to being normal again. This is the closest thing I have ever had with a loved one, in terms of sickness and dying.
This was in the hands of our Maker.

So.......
I can get back to my Life again. There are many Projects to come.
If SBAF will have me.....
You are in for some cool things to come,
I can assure you that.

Once again. It's a freakin' Miracle
Cynthia is alive, and no brain damage
She was without air for over 2.5 minutes
That is dangerous
Initial withdrawal from the medication after Ventilator of 4 days was not good

Me Happy Boy Now

Yoda: You can not stop the Force...... The Force.... Stop You....
Not this Time.........

 

I returned the ESP 950, I just thought the community might appreciate the measurements between units and the Vesper pads.

 

@cskippy
Why the return?
Was it the Headphone?
Or was it your intention to test it, measure and return?
Me not sure why you did not like the pure electrostatic sound.....
Best so far... from my Ears...... could be that I am green though..... with headphones...
I really have no experience with the top of the heap......

 

Returned as it was my third pair purchases through Amazon as they kept adjusting the price. When it arrived from a 3rd party seller, there was no headband... I was just over the whole experience and had a sour taste in my mouth. Don't get me wrong, they are an outstanding headphone, but not the most comfortable for me, and a little bass light in the sub bass region. Otherwise, their frequency response is second to none with the Vesper pads. Plus, I'm saving for my endgame amp.

 

Call me crazy....
Put some major Krell watts into my Favorite Album and I am floored with how well the Top Secret Speakers did....

My Lord. I finally pushed the Krell. It has these Red Lights.... I pushed it up to 4 Lights Each Side.....
That is a whole lot of RMS Power coming from that Krell amplifier....
It has Capacitor Reserves that are not normal......
If you don't remember the Pic of the guts of the Krell KSA-200S........

Pic........


The Krell KSA-200S is ready to play ball. This is the Super Bowl of power waiting to be unleashed unto your music........
Tonight..... I have opened up the Gates.... and let those Giant Caps let loose..... and they just produced nothing but more of the same,,,,,
It's uncanny......
Power can be delivered.... but it can be delivered in a linear fashion.... if you have the reserves available to garnish it........
I know this coming from the Car Stereo world..... We would press the limits of Reserve Power.... 350amps was the norm.......
Holy Moly... I'm now testing some serious equipment with some real amplification....

Tomorrow,,,,,,
The proper cables will be connected. They still won't be XLR. They are still being built by Morrow Audio, and are about 13 Days out......
But tomorrow.... we will see a full chain of Morrow Audio from start to finish.... the Good Stuff..... with $10K Speakers... and a Krell Amp that will supply 560 RMS power to the Speakers..... should be good.....
Thanks all I Fu%*kin" know......
More to come on the Top Secret Project in the Big D Labs.......

 

If you are keep up with me........
The nice lady at the 7 Eleven was behind me again....
I had Cash....
And paid her back the $15.00 that She bought my Beer and Cigarettes......
What a nice world I live in.....

So many Bikers today... Jeep suckers in droves... they have these well built open Jeeps with all the mods.....
And they are in a group... with modified engines..... It's nuts.... they spend enormous amounts of cash ....
Jeeps are a thing here.... You can't buy one cheap... We even have a Used Jeep Dealer that mods and sells only Jeeps....

Then there's the Harley's.....
Thousands of them.....
You can hear them all day long on the weekend....
It's Fu$%kin' nuts.... Trikes... all day long that cost up to 100K....

Then there is the Muscle Car Guys.....
Horsepower is the norm......
You will never see more horspower.....
In Florida.... there is no Inspection....
Therefore.... You can install whatever you want once you get past the initial inspection of the car....
The stories are frequent... and happen every day about mods of engines and horsepower of cars....
Whole front clips...... are the norm with Japanese Cars....
My God.... This is the Mecca of the Car Culture.....
Daytona is one hour away....
Horsepower noise is just out in my Driveway every Friday or Saturday Night....
In 10 Seconds... you will hear someone getting on their machine.... big time...
It is allowed.....

This is Florida...
We are Racers...
It's in our Blood...
The Police understand that we are Racers....
Just Don't get caught Drifting...
You'll get the HAMMER............

 

Waiting for $100 Gift Coupon from Dell..... Then I can order the 22" Touchscreen Monitor for $100 less than the On Sale price of $279...
Hope it comes soon.... before they raise the price again...

I have this Glass Table.........
It sits next to me at my Easy Chair in my Listening Room in my Livingroom System...
It could probably fit... with my Black Dish Drying Matte.... that is on top of the Glass......

Can you imagine..... 22" Touchscreen to control your FLAC or Tidal.......
This could be really be an interface that would blow away anything Apple has to offer at that price point......
It's not only about price... It's function.... And Win10 when playing FLAC files thru the native 'Groove Music" Program,,,,,
It's a good representation of both Program interfaces big and allowing a new Browsing Experience from your Easy Chair that needs to be explored by me. Just gotta see what it's like.

Catch up with work quickly...........
In a part of the home not normally used in this manner......

I'm not here to fight with Apple users.......
I want to help everyone understand the variables....... and the offerings that Win10 I'm exploring
I use Win7 on my Main Workstation
Slowly I had put the new features of Win10 thru their paces...
It just works....
Nothing more... Nothing Less.......

 

Sunday Morning.....

All the crazies are sleeping....
The rest are in Church......
It's time to take it out.......



See ya!

 

@Thad E Ginathom
Might as well show you my other side.....
This is my other Building.....
Underground Auto Racing Shop....
Metal/Wood Fabrication Shop inside to the left.....

Big D Design Racing at your service....

I can do just about anything here....
Except pull motors... too old
Install Tires....

Top Level Security...
Laser enabled Video Enabled Ammo Enabled Big Dog Enabled
Police... 9 Seconds away....
Find another target... much safer

Inside the Metal/Wood Shop is a fully stocked array of Tools, Jigs, Saws, Drill Press, Sanders
You name it....
I have it..... Well endowed to do just about anything...
I got rid of my big torch.... need a new one....
The Metal/Wood Shop is Sound Proofed....

The Auto Racing Shop has a fully stocked Detail Center....
I have the lock on detailing the finest automobiles made...
You're safe with me...
I don't do it for a living....
But if you are a nice guy and I am fond of you...
I might put the microfiber to your ride and make it smile again...

The Auto Racing Shop is has an Extreme Lighting Setup...
It has lights and Stands to heat Paint Jobs quickly....
Two Jacks and multiple Jack Stands prop the Autos just fine...
Don't want the clutter of a Lift..
I thought about it,, naaah..
Sometimes in the past...
I would stay up with the Extreme Lighting till it is Dawn..
And then go out and hoon my Race Cars in the empty early morning glass smooth roads...
Talk about fun...
It is a religious experience.... almost heaven in my culture...,,,,,,,

I have a 2 Channel Stereo System
JVC Reciever 120 watts RMS
Carter CD Player plays MP3 CDs too...
(2) Dual DJ Speakers...
(2) Cerwin Vega Subwoofers
High End Wiring.....
Ipod Touch 4th Gen
Ipod Classic 160GB
Zune......
Remote Control Volume
Remote Control CD Player....

That's all for today....
I'll let you inside the Metal/Wood Fabrication Center at another time...

This is a passion of mine...
My Dad used to take my to the Drag Strip in Englishtown (Raceway Park) since I was 7 years old. In my neighborhood....
Muscle Cars were in Garages all over the place with open Garage Doors and small groups of people would hangs out....
I lived across from a large park....
It was the Muscle Car Meeting Place...
Every Day,.... the most powerful cars on the planet at the time would be parked or blasting some loud ass exhaust down the streets right in front of me.
I love to go to the pits at the Drag Strip and get right next to the Top Fuel or Funny Cars and wait for them to start up the engine...
The smell will almost kill you. But it is such a freakin' thrill.
When 2 of those 15,000hp suckers go down the track it is earth shaking, ear splitting and the rush of your life...
I can't get enough of this sheet...
That is the other side of me.....
Cheers.....

Pics


1,700sqft Facility




Cerwin Vega Subs are next to the Pink Robe.... on right stacked...


Fabrication Shop Entrance




Detail Center