I broke a very expensive tube today searching for a very cheap tube.  I was trying to figure out what Chinese tubes came in an amplifier and my system works like this.  I take the stock tube out of a position and stick it in the box I replaced it with.  I have two boxes labeled with Amperex tubes from the old days, one containing the stock Chinese tube which I swapped with the Amperex and one with my backup Amperex tube.  Well, I grabbed the backup, and dropped it while removing the tube from the box.

It’s toast.  I’m completely bummed about this.  I just found a site claiming New-Old-Stock (NOS) Amperex Holland tubes (not Bugle Boys), and they’re $129.00.

RIP NOS Amperex Holland tube.  I cracked your crown tonight searching for your cheap $9 Chinese counterpart.

-Brent

At least I saved my JAN GE 12AX7WA tube from my amp tech who thought it was causing a rattle.  I literally fished it out of his garbage can…  NOS Tubes.  There’s a dwindling and finite supply and an ever increasing demand…  I just can’t believe I cracked one tonight…. 

AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

If you know me, you’d think I was crazy for saying that I want to get a tattoo.  My wife does.

But I’m thinking of getting one on my right shoulder.  I never considered myself one for a skin art but I did come very close to getting a Marin the Martian tattoo when I was just a little pup.  I’m glad I didn’t go through with it, although I think that Marvin is my favorite Looney Tunes character.  I know that green in his helmet and kilt would have faded over time.  It’s just not an image I want on my body forever…

Anyway, I’m re-entertaining the thought of getting some ink.  I probably won’t go through with it, but it’s a fun thought to entertain.  Below is the best image that I’ve found of something that I’m looking for.  The Latin reads “Virtus Iunxit Mors Non Separabit.”  I would not copy this person’s art/tattoo, but I do like the look and feel of it and it’s the best existing tat that I’ve found of something that I’d do.

Just a whim.  I’m sure it will pass.

-Brent

After reviewing all the videos from the Masterclass, this was my favorite.  This will have to hold me over until the next tour.

A couple of notes - It looks like he’s using the True Temperament fret system on Flo III.  I (and many) others asked Steve about this and he’s such a perfectionist that this system allows his intonation to be true on all notes on the fretboard.

Anyway - here’s a clip from Metallizer85 of Steve playing Giant Balls of Gold at the Masterclass.

I wish I could say I was able to get the Alesis iO|26 to work reliably under Vista.  And in my previous posts I thought I finally resolved the issues, but it would still hiccup occasionally.  While updating the chipset drivers and tweaking performance options in Vista did make this device more reliable.  I did have to remove and reinsert the device on nearly a daily basis along with other issues.

The Alesis worked great under XP - but I suspect the device driver support under Vista isn’t finished and Alesis might have more work to do on the drivers and/or firmware of the device.  All of my experience has been based on the 3/17/2008 drivers.

My basis for suspecting issues with the Alesis drivers is based on a new purchase.  I picked up an M-Audio Profire 610 .  It’s a relatively new product from M-Audio and what a difference!  Recording in Cakewalk Sonar and Mackie Tracktion has been rock solid.  Not to mention that I’m also using this as my primary sound card for Windows.  Performance of this device has also been rock solid.  No more dropouts, clicking/clipping, and other random issues.  Solid!  I’ll record something and post it soon.

I’ve always loved Alesis gear.  I’ve used the Nanoverb, Midiverb 3, Quadra-Verb and several other Alesis devices and even competed in an Alesis song competition back in the old days.  I think they make great gear, but this device and my configuration just didn’t work reliably.  Your mileage may vary.

A happy person is not a person in a certain set of circumstances, but rather a person with a certain set of attitudes. –Hugh Downs

I am a reality in your every day.  I have many names, many faces, many shapes, and I come in every size and color.  I’m blamed for more failures than anything or anyone else.  I have no respect for or of persons, I do not play favorites, and I never choose sides. Within me are invisible seeds of greatness and immeasurable fields of frustration.  What you choose to do with me will make you better or make you bitter.  The people who don’t want me the most inevitably have the most of me.  The great paradox is I will never go away but yet I can show anyone a better way.  Without me there would be zero success.  In fact, I am the driving force behind all achievement and the better you get at dealing with me the better you… you will be.

It’s not a matter of IF you will face me but WHEN you will face me.  And with that, let me make a guarantee.  I will be in your face every day.  I am the one thing in your life that has the potential to help you think bigger, be better, and do the impossible in every area of your life.  Unfortunately, until you meet me, everything is fine.  And like most people say, “it is what it is.”  Those people, by the way, don’t know the power I have to make their potential a reality.  The most important thing about me that you need to know is I am waiting everyday to be used by you.  Or in worst case scenarios, to be used against you. 

Who am I?  I am your Problem.  And just in case no one has told you, my last name is Solution.

-Keith A. Craft

Money, the long green,
cash, stash, rhino, jack
or just plain dough.

Chock it up, fork it over,
shell it out. Watch it
burn holes through pockets.

To be made of it! To have it
to burn! Greenbacks, double eagles,
megabucks and Ginnie Maes.

It greases the palm, feathers a nest,
holds heads above water,
makes both ends meet.

Money breeds money.
Gathering interest, compounding daily.
Always in circulation.

Money. You don’t know where it’s been,
but you put it where your mouth is.
And it talks.

-Dana Gioia (from The Gods of Winter)

Men go abroad to wonder at the height of mountains, the huge waves of the sea, the long course of rivers, the vast compass of the ocean, the circular motion of the stars…. but they pass by themselves and they don’t even notice.  - St. Augustine

This is so funny, watch it.  The video contains some adult language and themes and might not be safe for work.

http://www.thewebsiteisdown.com/

See Update 10/26/2008 (http://www.mts.org/?p=113)

Well, I think I’ve finally put this issue to rest for me.  If you missed my last post on the subject, I’ve been using an Alesis IO|26 Firewire device as my primary sound card.  The reliability of this device was horrible.  After time, it’d start popping, clicking and making annoying noises when doing such simple tasks as playing music in Windows Media Player.  I would restart the Windows Audio endpoint mapper service and get a few more hours of operation before it would act up again.  I was ready to throw in the towel on this device after spending endless hours troubleshooting, tweaking, and tuning my computer. 

However, after three days of near flawless performance, I’ve decided to write another blog in hopes that someone with a similar problem will Google their way here.

 The ultimate fix was….. to update my Intel Chipset drivers.  The chipset drivers posted on Dell’s support site are out-of-date and Intel has posted later drivers which seemed to have resolved my issue.  Below is a link to Intel’s website to identify your chipset and get started on resolving your own issues.

http://www.intel.com/support/chipsets/sb/cs-009245.htm

Enjoy!

-Brent

PS - I’m still running the Classic interface and have disabled Vista’s Aero “eye candy” interface.  I’ve concluded that Aero, while very cool and useful in most instances, is very processor intensive.  You would think that it would be GPU intensive, and leave the processor alone, but my experience is to the contrary.