What It Really Means To Be Real, i.e. What Gear Do We Actually Use

Discussion in 'Tales from the Bully Pulpit' started by purr1n, May 17, 2023.

  1. Thad E Ginathom

    Thad E Ginathom Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 27, 2015
    Likes Received:
    14,134
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    India
    Affordable hifi, iirc, became a thing in 1970s. That's fifty years ago. And it was all turntables then. I say affordable, but it was quite a while before I had my own stereo. It was affordable compared to the Quad/Tannoy/etc stuff that only one's friends' dads had.
    Yep. I have been happy with reasonable-sounding kit kept for multiple years. Camera-wise, though, it is a bottomless sinkhole.
    I may look, and think daft, especially where big-name labels have been prioritised over actual audio quality. But hey, if the guy is not starving his family or putting his daughters on the street, let them be.

    Even when I was a child, my mum was able to diagnose my attitude to money and finance: "You'll end up in a slum with expensive lace curtains." I had to stop and laugh at myself the day I found myself hanging those curtains! Hey, it wasn't slum, but it was a pretty scruffy house.

    And... Deafness be damned, I decided to stop spending money on my ears and spend on camera stuff instead, But I fell in love again only last week. Oh, to live with those curves! Thankfully, I don't have that sort of cash anyway.
     
    Last edited: May 23, 2023
  2. gixxerwimp

    gixxerwimp Professional tricycle rider

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 30, 2015
    Likes Received:
    5,773
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    small island claimed by China
    I think I've managed this just barely with a used Stellia. Our mortgage varies over time so I'm not sure.

    Do you have a time factor in your rule? Like per year? You could save up for 2 or 3 years not buying anything and splurge for that one big ticket item that piques your interest.
     
    • Like Like x 3
    • Agreed, ditto, +1 Agreed, ditto, +1 x 1
    • List
  3. Azimuth

    Azimuth FKA rtaylor76, Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Nov 9, 2015
    Likes Received:
    6,838
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Nashville, TN
    Home Page:
    I am with you, although I don't have such a hard and fast rule, I don't think I paid more than 4 figures for any piece of gear, next to Yggdrasil. And even for that required some major sell off of a few items to make it work. I am finally at a place where I honestly can't upgrade much more except for going that Holo May or PS Wavedream route, or spending bunches for horn loaded speakers. Sometimes I have visions up upgrading the QS for a lower end blue box DNA, then I plug in the QS and come back down to reality and realize that I bought that thing for half the price of a DNA and I am not sure if I would be getting double the gains.

    I think we all reach a point of realizing the game of law of diminishing returns and some are happy with less (ie. BF2 + SW51 + HD600/650), some even much less (ie. MB2 + Piety), and some for much more (ie. fill in the blank). I still enjoy finding good sounding gear that hits above its price point.
     
  4. zottel

    zottel Friend

    Pyrate Contributor
    Joined:
    Jan 22, 2022
    Likes Received:
    1,232
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Franconia, Germany
    Camera gear was expensive, but since I have my Nikon D610 (full frame) plus two Tamron zooms (70-210 and 24-70 with an aperture of 2.8 each), I never lusted for other gear. Ok, except that I wondered if I should buy a mirrorless camera, but it never went as far as actually looking for good deals.

    I hope I will enter a similar state with my headphone rig soon, and after first listens to very expensive gear in Munich last Saturday, I think I actually might not be too far away. I hope so, at least. :)
     
  5. caute

    caute Lana Del Gayer than you

    Pyrate Contributor
    Joined:
    Jul 12, 2022
    Likes Received:
    1,990
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    The Deep South
    I have to see this.

    edit: is it two or more Lack tables cobbled together? I've seen that on the interwebs before, actually can look p nice.
     
    • Agreed, ditto, +1 Agreed, ditto, +1 x 1
    • List
    Last edited: May 23, 2023
  6. yotacowboy

    yotacowboy McRibs Kind of Guy

    Pyrate Contributor
    Joined:
    Feb 23, 2016
    Likes Received:
    10,696
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    NOVA
    Home Page:
    Yep! No more than one "major" component per year. this year's purchase was a used pair of ZMF VC, thanks to a stellar Friend.
     
  7. roshambo123

    roshambo123 Friend

    Pyrate Contributor
    Joined:
    May 26, 2018
    Likes Received:
    2,763
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Los Angeles
    I would, other than there's an argument that introverts don't know what is good for them. The circle is vicious, his audio obsession doesn't hurt anyone because it prevents anyone from entering his life that could interfere with it.
     
    • Epic Epic x 1
    • Agreed, ditto, +1 Agreed, ditto, +1 x 1
    • List
    Last edited: May 24, 2023
  8. Thad E Ginathom

    Thad E Ginathom Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 27, 2015
    Likes Received:
    14,134
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    India
    That's a dark view of it. You may be right. But I think it is ok to be an introvert, because some of us are --- and it might be ok to be a hermit in a cave, with or without a heap of audio gear.

    I have sometimes fancied it. Except, these days, I'd want my cave to have a broadband connection And that is really cheating.

    (And a cat, of course)
     
    • Agreed, ditto, +1 Agreed, ditto, +1 x 2
    • List
  9. ColtMrFire

    ColtMrFire Writes better fan fics than you

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Jun 16, 2016
    Likes Received:
    6,226
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Austin, TX
    Yup, the first Fast and Furious movie was based on a NYT article about illegal street racing that had been going on forever at that point. It is as old as the drag races in the 50s done by bored, rebellious teenagers. George Lucas being one of them. Before Star Wars, and even THX 1138 he did American Grafitti, which was basically Fast and Furious without the heist element. Hell, the ONLY reason we have Star Wars is that Lucas (a reckless wannabe racer) wrapped his Fiat around a tree and almost died, after which he vowed to stop doing stupid unhealthy shit, get his act together and go to film school... a lesson for us all?
     
  10. ColtMrFire

    ColtMrFire Writes better fan fics than you

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Jun 16, 2016
    Likes Received:
    6,226
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Austin, TX
    You're getting bogged down in terminology. Anyone with a brain bigger than a walnut knows what Marv is talking about... there is a common feeling amongst Californians that are leaving in droves who don't give a f**k about terminology.... they are leaving because there are measurable, fundamental problems affecting them at a foundational level, destroying their ability to lead happy lives. I know LA screenwriters who literally cannot talk less than anything negative about Republicans for fear of being blacklisted, which affects their ability to feed their families... there's no freedom in that. And it's just one example of a uniquely Californian problem that is driving people out.
     
  11. Renekton

    Renekton Acquaintance

    Joined:
    Jan 12, 2016
    Likes Received:
    89
    Trophy Points:
    18
    Location:
    Bulgaria
    ↑ Very mature post and very well stated. I went through similar realisations in recent years that now ring true in reading your post.

    WHAT I ACTUALLY USE

    #1 JVC HA-L50W (Yes thats W for white) 15$ lol
    +They are my PC audio since years.
    +They feel like thereabouts the weight of a helium balloon
    +They produce sound (low-fi yes, but ultra clear)
    - zero bass

    #2 Sennheiser HD250BT (Yes thats BT for Bluetooth)
    +Lightweight feeling™ (I havent actually compared directly to competitors so idk but they feel light)
    +No deathgrip, personally 1 to 3 hours until ears start hurting a tiny bit, not a problem
    +True Sennheiser price to performance sound IMHO. Jack of all trades, half decent technicalities all around, but more than the sum of its parts - fun sound.
    +Wireless
    +Nervosaless*
    (*I personally do stress over audio player output settings and bluetooth codec etc, but other than those, at least there is no, like, "what dac or amp should i get for them", see communism isnt always bad, what they are is what u get. Charge them and use them lol! I dont see Class D written anywhere on them so in my mind they arent class D, they are class German Engineering Integrated Electronics and they produce sound)
    +25Hour battery life at moderate volumes IME is true advertising. Havent stopwatched it, but even on max volume and compressed bassy EDM, battery barely moves, I feel like it's over 10 hours even in those conditions and these suckers are 110dB SPL lmaooo... But do keep in mind, the indicator be it as it may precise, is not accurate, when it falls down to "20%" indicated that's actually IME closer to 5% remaining realistically, it feels like. So when it shows 10% it means death is a few minutes away.
    +affordable
    +Its not a windows PC so when the battery dies unexpectedly u dont lose all of ur spreadsheet work and then also update to windows 11 without asking you. Its a headphone, all good.
    +/- overly bassy, plus a bit bloated, slow subbass. I dial it down from the (3-band) tone controls in the sennheiser app (all the way down to -6 on the bass, others I leave unchanged). The setting is then stored on board the headphone, so the app is not needed to be on or even installed anymore. I even used to listen to music from my gaming phone while adjusting the EQ from my main pocket phone at the same time. Yes, these cans support two devices paired simultaneously. No, I dont have 2 phones, I have 3. Plus another semi broken old one.
    +/- love or hate design. To me they look cute.
    - No ANC, sry
    - full on metal music head-banging need not apply (they are extremely grippy and more than perfectly secure for jogging or dancing around. Hard headbanging will, however, quite quickly, albeit not quite Dodge Viper levels of snap-oversteer-visciously, slide off and fall.
    -Dont crash your e-scooter into an e-bike with these, they arent a helmet. But do crash ur cousin's drinking party with these and take them off in style, smiling, and say, "Yeah, sorry, I stole ur gf, even after I told her these arent real DJ headphones, it was already too late, yes they really do make me that charming, to 19yo drunk girls at least, who think Justin Bieber creates his own music" (or whoever is popular with kids nowadays, idk). Then hide your tears from your cousin well, as you silently remember how that same girl called your sennheiser a sony, as the only headphone brands she knows are sony and Beats. And your "tool" lost bloodpressure right in her face and you barely saved the situation by convincing her its stage anxiety because of how beautiful she is. Except the situation was still not saved in the end, because you are one of those turbo geeks who doesnt use apple devices and you accidentally called her iphone 13 mini an SE2020 and she hated you just as much as when you hated her for thinking your sennheiser is a sony. And she really is very beautiful, that wasnt a lie. And now neither you nor your cousin secured a relationship with her. And to add insult to injury, it turns out she is way smarter than any of you suspected and she became a marketing and PR expert. And then went to work for sennheiser. And married a sennheiser engineer. And then her kids use panasonic earbuds. The real winner here is your cousin, becausehe he is that sennheiser engineer and he is super cool for forgiving the girl for cheating on him with you and then marrying her. I mean mistakes happen, she was drunk after all and your HD250BT really are that stylish and attractive. Too bad they dont have ANC so that girl's genuine shriek of disgust and confusion from that faithful night when your blood vessels lost connection with your tool (remember, yo felt so bad when she complimented ur "sony" "dj" "earbuds" that you went limp) right in her face, still haunts you. And so you never buy a sennheiser again... Get it? Earbuds. Ok, yeah, she mistook yours for a sonyand she was drunk, but it still turns out that chick was way smart and way ahead of us, she keeps up with the news and you know how apple call their fullsize headphones airpods? Well just recently Fairphone unveiled full sized headphones and they call them earbuds lol. Not fake news, go check it.

    ↑ Been planning to mini review these for quite some time now, I'm super pleased with them, had them for about a year. And just like sir wbass, whom I quoted, I am enjoying my bluetooth music experience. This little sennheiser saw more sheer amount of time used and had fun with. Plus, yes, less components to stress over. And even the technicalities being sub par (actually not bad, it punches, it crunches and it has clear macro outside of the bloaty subbass), or at least not spectacular and not attention seeking... Makes it waaay more inviting, easy and casual to listen to the music and not to the headphone.

    However, plot twist, my bluetooth dont get used often anymore as of recently, since I got this:

    #3 Dali Spektor 2
    +They are loudspeakers
    +They speak
    +They can go loud
    +Valhalla 2 as pre out of modi multibit 1 makes them... Not quite hallucinogenic levels of hype, but very impressive. Delicate and powerful at the same time.
    +I also got a Pioneer A40-AE for them, so REMOTE CONTROL! (yes including motorized pot); Also many inputs: I have a line out cable always ready to connect to a phone for a quick and dirty listen to something, even youtube. Or THIS:

    #4 Samsung Tab A8 (2021)
    +Its a bit over 10 inches and every man likes to be able to say that. I mean its comfortable for anime in bed.
    +It has the holy 3.5mm jack
    +It has a not completely totally bottom tier SoC. Weak, but not total trash.
    +Quad loudspeakers (with suuuper nice mids, very clear and forward; my mom's redmi pad tries to sound bassy but its just honky and with dirty, lacking mids)
    +Dirt cheap
    +FullHD
    +Dolby Atmos, i keep it off usually. Movie preset is fine for line out to big speakers tho, it increases separation or something, like the center channel goes missing type of effect. Extra much cinema at home feeling. Voices preset is kind of the opposite, increases the center channel/stage somehow. Music preset is fake I think? It just gets a bit louder, all the modes are louder than 'off' btw, unfair marketing imo.
    +/-bad color gamut, bad blacks and bad peak brightness. And thats completely ok because it does not detract, not in the slightest, in how immoral, cringe and weird my anime tastes are. Its a screen and it works, it screens anime, yes even the ones I watch. It doesnt shut itself off and display a "Im sorry, I cant keep this up anymore, you are sick, I dont want this on my pixels and memory anymore", nope, it soldiers along through thick and through loli.
    ......... No Im extremely serious i was shopping for much more expensive tablets, I was ready to dish out cold cash and it slowly dawned on me: most of the new ones dont have headphone jacks, the hell?????? Wasnt there a lie/rumor spread how phones skip the headphone jack to fit "all the components" (could be something true in there with how the display controller on big screen to body ratio phones has to be folded down, also people want huge batteries), but... Tablets??? Why is it so hard to put a 3.5mm on a tablet, hello? And that is why I now officially believe the seemingly-not-so-conspiracy theory that electronics manufacturers are colluding to yoink the headphone jack away from the consumer to boost bluetooth earbuds sales.

    #5 Some cheap redmi phone for my sim card, noone cares

    #6 Black Shark 4 Pro (gaming phone)
    +cheaper than asus rog phones
    +almost the same mentally insane level of customizable gaming settings, countless things, most notably touch response fine tuning (and it remembers that setting per game as with most things), it makes a difference, its just nuts, its great. The available adjustments are: multidirectional deadzone, prediction, slide distance (before which it counts as single touch), filtering.
    +CLICKY. SHOULDER. GAMING TRIGGER BUTTONS. (asus rog phone buttons r just ultrasonic sensor areas). Which are also capable of being set in many many many ways when and how to click, example, one spot on press, another spot on release, many nuts things like that and even full on macro.
    +MAGIC. PRESS. An often overlooked feature of this phone series, most reviewers fail to even acknowledge it. And it exists, it goes as far back as black shark 2 lol, all models since and including it have it (I forgot if black shark 1 has it or not, though). Its a screen pressure sensor. You can press on the screen in two overall areas so in landscape orientation the two zones are your left and right sides of your screen, basically on each of your thumbs then. You set a pressure activation threshhold and map something to that as if its a button. And the settings for those are just as extensive as for the clicky triggers on the 3 Pro and onward models. This pressure thingy only has simple vibration feedback on activation. Feels SO good tho, not as good as apple tactile engine ofc but it still gives the illusion like u just broke ur screen yk, its so convincing like the whole screen is a big scifi cartoon button. You can also limit the area in which it will activate, make it smaller, relies on touch to know. So ye I have total 4 physical buttons, of which I use 3. I can walk, move crosshair, jump, aim down sights and shoot all at the same time. To me gaming on this phone is not just filling the gap between mobile and consoles, but it goes above and beyond console and towards PC - because aiming on a touchscreen is way more precise (it's directly proportional like a mouse: distance swiped translates to camera angle rotation) compared to modulating a joystick on a gamepad (stick diversion amount modulated by time). And with the trigger button specifically, it really operates like mouse, point and click. Its just so good, trust me, I used to be a cod kid (and won roughly half or more of free for all matches) Xbox 360 MW2 days.
    -Dead company. The last product they released was Black Shark 5 Pro - over a year ago. And they were rock solid up until then in their releases, new flagship every March. Yeah. They recently fired 90% of their staff, just havent declared bankrupcy yet i think. They were expecting Tencent to buy them, then Tencent dipped out.

    #7 Free to play games on Google Play Store
    +Super Mecha champions ← Best one. Most sick, intense multiplayer battles of any game on any platform. Has to be played to be understood, its a bit like titanfall, but more arcade and more fun. Its a great place to be, the vibe and atmosphere there bring the best out of everyone, its like a dutch coffeeshop, yk, being super calm and chill while insulting eachother, not like a drunk bar fight like mobas for example. Also its a bit obscure and only rly cool ppl stick with it. Theres plenty of fish in the sea, but the rly cool ones play SMC. And thats what makes it by far the best dating app on all of google play store.

    Bonus info section on my #1 (JVC ultracheap headphones)

    Bonus info #1A: Very, very, very rarely, a hair can poke in the foam and touch the driver, usually dead easy to pull out, fixed... Unless u have my luck. Actually these ones after 1000s of uses they are pristine, still to this day!... Unlike my second pair that I got! (Same model but black) for phone use (mainly discord app; yes, no mic on them, but phone mic is way better than any cheap in line mic IME and Im not in a noisy environment). And after just 20 or so uses, these got a hair fully lodged into the driver, cant see or access said hair even with foam piece pulled off, rattles alot, unuseable. Decomissioned, rip.
    Bonus info #1B: I got Global Elite with this JVC headphone (top 1% of ranked players in CSGO, you know that game, tactics + flick shooter that also relies on sound wh*ring for enemy footsteps, reloads, gunshot origin etc). And I also cried on this headphone on my rererererewatch of my favorite anime. And btw they have adjustable soundstage/sound-signature - simply move them a little forward or backward where they touch ur ear lol! Back for more open sound, forward for focused. So these headphones are huge winners.
    Bonus info #1C: More comfortable than JVC HAS160 (which i used briefly prior and still have in a drawer, wait I cant believe i forgot I have them still, Im gona take them out now to not forget to use them if [redacted, its personal]. Trust me, JVC with no mic or just ultra cheap earbuds give way better call quality than the Senn 250bluetooth. Mic on that Senn is ok for a business call but not for cam sex, it's not clear sounding and detail is very poor). What was I talking about, yes, HA-L50 is lighter and touches the ear more softly. Also more brighter, open-er, clearer sound throughout. And less peaky highs, going off memory. I even non ironically had a good time a few times listening to actual music on them (HA-L50) on my valhalla 2, lmao.

    WHAT I DONT USE:
    My pristine, beloved HD600. Why? Same phylosophy why Jason doesnt put a wyrd before his gungnir (old meme I know and I took it many notches further in my case btw lol) - life is short and sometimes getting in a cab is easier than waiting for your chaffeur to open your door on your personal limousine and then wait another full few seconds to sink into the plush soft leather seats. No its cool but I love my JVC.

    Bonus context:
    Many years ago I used (another unit, my first and later ultimately beater pair) HD600 for everything (bar portable). Gaming, Anime, Music. But as of late they all stay put away (in its box and in a drawer for the beater one) for months at a time. They have been displaced by convenience of smaller cheaper headphones, and in other cases by the grandiose feeling of loudspeakers. One day sooner or later I will get nostalgic and take them out for a spin and will be stunned and floored as they never fail to do to me. It's an unassuming ultra refined drug. I guess its the Porsche Boxster of headphones (which would make HD650 the Cayman of headphones).

    Oh, and you know what else I DONT use anymore? Smooth Video Project. For PC. (They recently made it for android too but i could not in any way even with custom commands etc make it run without perma mega stuttering, android and vsync and video decoding/playback timing are extra bonus weird) It's a video real time motion interpolation software for fake frames, plugs into supported video players. You know the thing, similar to what most new TVs have, motion smoothing, trumotion, whatever each brand calls it. Its actually mentally scarring levels of addicting, it feels like plugging a displayport to another world to your brain, especially at 120, 144fps etc.
    Most people's first experience of this tech is sadly in TVs where it's only 60fps (which in good conditions aka not hidden by slow pixel response, resolution/viewdistance, object speed, persistance smear, etc is a huge uncanny valley. Yes 60fps is trash. It sits right between slideshow and truly smooth motion, remember when all oculus engineers and PR were absolutely adamant that 90fps is the bare minimum for a good experience before they had even released a single product yet, this was right up their with all the other technical priorities. To be believable - to the brain's subsystems - motion. Minimum 90. And no, just because I said up above that there are some things that can hide to an extent how horrible 60fps is, doesnt make it more good, you just took that legendary spoilt yogurt and added sugar and ethanol on top is all), also tuned to some "safe" and/or low performance overhead settings where it only tracks and smooths large obvious objects and then still puts tonnes of artefact masking on top of it for "good" measure, Ive seen those, it ends up a haunting horrific mess, some parts of your screen are 60fps, some are artifact masked back down to 24fps and the rest is simply original untreated 24fps - all at the same time. And for most of the time. (It's never going to be perfect but btw choppy artefact masking to my eyes is way worse than broken distorted artefacts but that are transitioning live the whole time at full max fps. Ever felt time slow down from an adrenaline spike? Or motivational mental rush? And you feel like your mind is faster than reality and you are in full control? every single video/movie can be like that, give you directly that sensation, the immense data stream to your optic nerve like a waterfall of a million drops but your excited ninja mind mentally notes each one at inhuman speeds, zero disconnect and as natural and unbroken and unstopably flowing as timespace itself.
    SVP is very customizeable (the higher the settings the higher the PC requirements though). Im burnt out on that, it's so painful to get it synced to the display refresh so in most cases theres a missed frame each second or so and it burns my soul knowing that, so I just ended up using MPV with custom commands to disable all vsync entirely. Yes to me tearing is way less bad than a stutter. Oops, I got excited about this, but also extremely mad how this tech didnt make it mainstream, its the most obvious pure win usecase for excess processing power and it is glorious, I just want it to work. I just want real native 240Hz TVs with this tech and no obscure fake marketing. I just want it to work, Im not a programmer, I cant hack kernels or whatever it is that it takes to actually not miss vsync when reclocking a video file's tempo on the fly (and resampling audio to match), to fit the display refresh rate better, I gave up on that, it misses the timing and stutters. And not reclocking inherently stutters coz mismatch. So yeah, vsync forced off on every level for me for now. In fact these days I dont bother at all with that and just watch anime on my cheap tablet, its comfortable. Same reason why I moved to mobile gaming as well, btw! I like bed. But I really want SO much people to care about this and have review sites with measurements of like new TVs if they actually stutter or are 100% perfect no missed frames even when upscaling obscure framerates up to 120Hz, hopefully one day 240Hz. Coz I want to have a TV with such capabilities one day, instead of fiddling with software and I dont know which one is good for that! Like, how would I ever know which manufacturer actually cares about no missed frames and which just slaps the finished frame in there and calls swap buffers and then pray all the micro code magically works with milisecond perfection. And then the "smart" part of the TV meanwhile sends user data and spying data back to a server, or turning its mic and sensors to spy right now, calling the cpu and hitching up my perfect video further. One day If I want a TV, how can I ever know for sure Im not getting trash (by these requirements)? Please guide me technically and spiritually.

    If you are still reading and are a cute lady, PM me, we can play mobile games together.
     
  12. Thad E Ginathom

    Thad E Ginathom Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 27, 2015
    Likes Received:
    14,134
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    India
    Cute ladies like paragraphs and sentences.

    Or, so it is said. Can't say it ever worked for me. They prefer to get straight to the sex.

    Like the peahen is said to say to the peacock, when he starts with the fancy-tail stuff: "Cut the crap and show me your dick."
     
    • Like Like x 5
    • Agreed, ditto, +1 Agreed, ditto, +1 x 2
    • List
    Last edited: May 24, 2023
  13. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

    Staff Member Pyrate BWC
    Joined:
    Sep 24, 2015
    Likes Received:
    89,778
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Padre Island CC TX
    Yeah, American Graffiti was before my time and F&F after. Brings back memories of the impromptu street races and also some tragedies in my youth (one of my best friends died in a motorcycle accident, an acquaintance who had a tricked-out Mustang blew his brains out on the beach, and three classmates met untimely ends as they smashed into a dump truck (that was the end of open campus lunch).

    We live in a much much safer world today, although I wonder if all these modern constraints have taken something away from what it means to be human. A consequence of more freedom is that bad things happen more easily, and many times, these bad things are not within one's control.

    I leave us with this memorable scene from American Graffiti. Dang, those fields of yellow grass and sun-baked hills with the power lines on top - that really reminds me of how California used to look and feel. I need to sit my kids down and get them to watch this film properly.


    P.S. As for the street racing, this is what happens when NIMBY / gentrification takes away avenues for young people to do things. Now that I think of it, the the street races that occured in the industrial parks of Milpitas and Fremont around the 90s was because of the closure of the Fremont Dragstrip/ Baylands Raceway Park.

    I don't think people outside of California (specifically Hollywood or in certain tech companies) truly comprehend this. A person in the workplace could stand on a virtual soapbox to espouse the virtues of progressive ideals to a decent sized audience of coworkers. Doing the opposite would result in dirty looks at best, or an appointment with HR at worse. We're not talking about the discussion of the most divisive cultural issues either, but more inane stuff like taxes. It's basically: toe the line or shut up.
     
    Last edited: May 24, 2023
  14. sfoclt

    sfoclt Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Nov 24, 2015
    Likes Received:
    317
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Online
    Gavin Ulster said the same thing in Vertigo in 1958 (at 0:45).

     
    • Like Like x 4
    • Agreed, ditto, +1 Agreed, ditto, +1 x 1
    • List
  15. caute

    caute Lana Del Gayer than you

    Pyrate Contributor
    Joined:
    Jul 12, 2022
    Likes Received:
    1,990
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    The Deep South
    yes.
     
  16. roshambo123

    roshambo123 Friend

    Pyrate Contributor
    Joined:
    May 26, 2018
    Likes Received:
    2,763
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Los Angeles
    It might. Part of existence is it's a pain in the ass, we never know if we're holding the best hand, but some people clearly could benefit from drawing a few more cards. I am unsure if I'm one of those people.

    Last year, a young attorney died at our company and someone commented they couldn't believe that happened, but say if someone like me had died, off-roading and shooting guns in the desert, well go figure. I still feel I lead a relatively boring life. Maybe it's just a quiet year.
     
  17. Clemmaster

    Clemmaster Friend

    Pyrate Contributor
    Joined:
    Sep 28, 2015
    Likes Received:
    3,268
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Great way to describe it. I love my pair, too!
     
    • Agreed, ditto, +1 Agreed, ditto, +1 x 1
    • List
  18. Priidik

    Priidik MOT: Estelon

    Pyrate BWC
    Joined:
    Sep 27, 2015
    Likes Received:
    2,153
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Estonia
    Ever since I got kids 6 years ago now, I was 29 myself - there was a sharp turning point. Audio hobby took the back seat real quickly. My whiskey stash has been untouched from ever since. The way I approach food is probably mental for most people. I've been quite active since childhood, but now I reach pro level athlete level. Acute torture is good for body and mind. Recovery and balance is increasingly more important the higher one reaches.
    Gardening, and household works should not all be automated and mechanised. One should scrub the floors yourself, pick up the shovel once in a while. It is cost free and very f-ing important stimulus. De-inflate your dopamine system - do stuff that sucks and life in general is beautiful in every step.
    Slowly but steadily meditation is non negotiable part of my weekly regime.
    Cricadian and ultradian cycles demand respect. Not only sleep but even focused work benefits from respecting your schedule quite a bit.
    With increasing demands and responsibilities efficiency has to go up.

    The above reads like ChatGDP has answered some quite ego centric question.

    Why I am doing all this - people around me are buzzled?
    I say to them: I want to wake up with a boner in my 70'ties and do pull-ups in my 80'ies.
     
    • heart heart x 5
    • Like Like x 4
    • Epic Epic x 2
    • Agreed, ditto, +1 Agreed, ditto, +1 x 2
    • List
    Last edited: May 29, 2023
  19. Priidik

    Priidik MOT: Estelon

    Pyrate BWC
    Joined:
    Sep 27, 2015
    Likes Received:
    2,153
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Estonia
    EU brought lots of friction to the new member countries' people wrt limitations on random stuff people were used to doing - and taxes. They wanted to ban burning based heating here too but so far they have failed. Putin made it pretty clear to them it is not happening anytime soon :D.
    What I read and hear about California is 2x worse. It is more expensive and even less in 'f**k off' freedom than EU.
     
  20. Thad E Ginathom

    Thad E Ginathom Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 27, 2015
    Likes Received:
    14,134
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    India
    It's a pity "truth" isn't constant!

    What could be more healthy and natural than the glow of a wood-burning stove warming the house? Hmmm... turns out that one might as well be running a diesel truck :oops:.

    But if one has a house in a forest, and an axe? And the wood stove did not, apparently, kill one's parents, grandparents, etc?

    Tough question. I'd probably just go on burning the wood.
     

Share This Page