Drew's locus

Teddy bears are generally known to convey warm feelings of affection. It’s even nicer when one can bring you a happy ending. As with family members getting elderly there have been times when we’ve had troubles with certain caretakers or cleaning crews. A teddy cam would have probably alleviated much of the stress and damage; in addition to future people getting hurt.

Time to find a bear-cam that roars.

A forensic science graduate and her father caught his terminally ill mother’s care assistant stealing by putting a camera in a teddy bear’s eye.

As if I didn’t have enough stuff floating around that I am having to deal with as I move out… I now have 2000 more records…

I am detailing the project / collection over at: www.personalconservatory.com

What I am going to do is listen to one album from start to finish everyday, the way the artist intended. Afterwards I’ll blog what I listened to. Perhaps the thirty minutes will be a relaxing safe haven for the day…?

I picked up the collection with my buddy Ron and his Dad on our way home from the Atlantic City DJ Expo. We managed to pack all the records in the mini van with Ron in the back seat… think of it like an Ikea commercial. My parents, who were also on vacation with us, were not looking forward to stuffing their mini van full of records - infact, I’m not sure I could have even puppy dog faced that one.

Back to the boardwalk, the DJ Expo was mighty cool and quite loud. Luckily though I remembered my musician ear plugs :)! At the expo I bought myself a turntable with changeable styluses and cartridges which is capable of playing up to 78’s. I’ll snap a picture of it when it arrives. It’s like a plan all coming together… hmm.

BTW, I made my youtube debut at the expo: (For those who don’t know me, keep your eyes peeled around the 7 minute mark “It was kickin ass in there!!” - Yes, I already know I look and sound quirky in the video… it was the alcohol talking.)

So on my recent cruise around ebay I discovered “A Lot of Records” for sale… 2000 of them infact. At first i thought it was 110… then after a small incident, I quickly realized it was upto 2000+ records. So I mentioned the idea to a few people,

Christi - Pushed me into going through with the deal so we could have a Personal Conservatory.
Braden - “Did u get those records? I would of.”
J2B - Vehemently opposed the idea, but accidently left me alone as the auction ended. “opps? I said…”
Evelyn - “Oh that is a wonderful price, your should really go for it”
Mother - *laughs at the idea* (she won’t be when she sees her basement soon.)
Casey - “I am not getting involved in this one.”
Rebecca - “Those must be pretty shitty records at a price like that.” 

So with those comments in mind I was talking with J2B as the auction ended. Soon J2B decided it was best to get some food and while I was left alone, the power of Christi, Evelyn and Braden took over… next thing I knew, I was calling Christi and Braden to hold up their end of the bargain and help me move 2000 records.

The start of my Personal Conservatory begins!

With that in mind, I have decided to start a sub-blog on my blog here to detail the story of the records. I also plan on listening to one album from start to finish everyday and posting what I listen to. In a few years, I hope to have listened to every record.

Do you have any ideas on a title for such a blog? I am at a loss… email me ideas!

Other than that, I am told Braden is going to be an ass and ditch me on the hike to pick up the records. Jerk. Send him hate mail here.

Last year I aquirred a rather large lot of 78 RMP records that I’ve been wanting to listen to and probably transfer into the computer at some point. Mostly though, I am looking forward to listening to the albums on the turntable rather than clicking a digital file. Yeah, eventually the records will wear, but that is the nature of the medium. I’ll take some wear and tear for the feeling of pulling a record from it’s sleeve, setting it on the platter and moving the tone arm to the edge. To me, it’s an art. Albums were compiled by the artist in a certain way for a reason and listening from start to finish exactly as the creator intended is quite an enjoyable experience. There may be tunes that I don’t care for, but there is a reason they were put between cuts 2 and 5. Cd’s and computers take the fun away; Too easy to just skip a track or download the one song.

So 33 and 45 RPM turntables are no trouble in my cave, but the 78’s have sent me to the net in search of a new [to me] turntable. Initially I wasn’t to sure if I wanted to go with something vintage or newer, but I think I’ve settled on going vintage because when I think about… older stuff usually works better, lasts longer and often in my opinion looks cooler (sometimes.) Plus, I was also thinking the technology for 78’s was perfected back in the day, so chances are the quality would be better because they really knew what was going on. Besides, in the end what matters most is the quality and type of needle you can get for the unit.

I think for quality purposes (most important to me) it looks like I’m going for a unit which requires a magnetic cartridge. Often cheaper units and portable units being sold today use a cheap ceramic cartridge. Ceramic cartridges have a more limited frequency range than their magnetic counter part, in addition the ceramic cartridges track at a significantly higher force (causing more damage and distortion.) I could go on, but if you are truly as interested in it as me I’d suggest reading about it on wikipedia as to spare the not-so-interested readers.

Unfortunately, I have yet to buy a turntable for the 78’s… but, I do have a few bids in on ebay. However, in the research and hunting I’ve come across some interesting turntable tech that I’d like to share [the point of this post!]

How about the i-pod of turntables? Designed in response to Sony’s walkman, this is one stellar unit. Meet the Audio Technica Sound Burger, a perfect complement to your morning paper read in the break room. Just pop in three “C” batteries with your fuzzy earbuds and you are good to spin. And if you are looking to make your player unique, be sure to personalize it with your very own color choice, just like your ipod.

Link 1, Link 2, Link 3 for more info on the Sound Burger

I mentioned earlier about the art of records… an exhibit in the Arizona State University art museum called, “The Grove” brings on an interesting form. This youtube video cleverly titled, “Step into the Grove” covers it well.

Finally, if you have some money to spend and you want some character in your turntable, check out these tables. I want the Oracle Delphi MK V Turntable or the Roksan Radius 5 Turntable.

Our countries’ lifestyle of wanting cheap goods, but strict environmental and labor standards has come at a price. We have been a major contributer to the smog problem facing the Olympics. We made policies, we passed laws and we pushed the factories halfway around the world so we wouldn’t see the environmental impacts. Out of site, out of mind… until now. Now we are sending the worlds greatest athletes to the “out of sight, out of mind” place.

While much of the major media outlets are loving this chance to complain about it being China’s problem, I’d like to take a moment and thank our government policies for working so well. The laws and regulations have worked to protect us from experiencing a dirty and polluted environment, by moving it far away and encouraging cheap imports. Oh wait, those our our citizens visiting that place we pushed all the filth to?

Doh!
Karma sucks. 

Solution you ask? “American Made” will comes at a new price: not cheap. Quality goods made in factories with a strong respect for the environment and labor won’t be found in China. Said factories will equate to higher costs for the goods to be produced. If we decided to start paying, then we will see a change that we can actually believe in. Yes, thats right a “change.” (I’m not the only one who can talk about change.)

Otherwise cheap goods will lead to more crazy rules from governments as global warming climate change is on everyone’s mind. Who would want to live under such strong and confusing rules about when you can just drive your automobile? Especially when the pollution at this point is mostly coming from factories, not automobiles. Citizens of China are paying for the price of factories to produce our cheap crap - and now we are too.

“The plan unveiled Thursday is not so severe; it maintains the odd-even restrictions but adds a new prohibition that bans driving on days that match the last number on a motorist’s license plate. (Anyone with a plate ending in 9 could not drive on Aug. 9 or Aug. 19, while other motorists with odd-numbered plates could still do so.) “ 

From the obesity epidemic of 2004 to the i-generation we now have the hearing epidemic. Since many people hate to take personal responsibility for anything, I think we should blame the creator of the i-generation, Apple and all their i-pods with earbuds. Or maybe we blame Sony for all those walkmans?

Maybe it would be best if people just live with their mistakes and share their experiences or lessons learned with younger generations. Not that any younger generation would listen, because its all about the “me” right now. The “Me Generation:” I want it my way and my way only, because it’s all about me and I don’t care what you have to say unless it agrees with me!

From the LazyBoy video below; one of my favorite political videos (along side “Work It Out” by Jurassic 5):

The Great Obesity Epidemic of 2004.
“How’d you get through it grandpa?”
“Oh, it was horrible Johnny, there was cheesecake and pork chops everywhere.”

Based from a Yahoo news article:
“One of three U.S. adults already suffers from some degree of hearing loss and the use of personal stereos and an aging population may create ahearing impairment epidemic, researchers said on Monday.”

It’s the crazy scientists that I like the most; The ones that think outside the box. I am a huge fan of Nicola Tesla, yeah the crazy guy who wanted to build a death-ray. But Tesla had some revolutionary ideas and inventions which contributed to much of the technology during the twenty century (and even today still!) If you are ever fortunate enough to bribe from me my list of dead or alive people that I’d like to meet, Tesla is at the top.

Another wonderful scientist which I am going to start reading more about is the french scientist Jacques Benveniste. Benveniste believed that water cold hold a memory… if he was right, then he has totally changed history and just about every physic book ever written. Check out the BBC article on him, is a good one. And if you want to dig down deep and be nerdy there is a great briefing of Jacques Benveniste on wikipedia.

Thank-you xkcd for expressing my nerdy love

This past weekend I ventured northwest on Southwest for a weekend in the windy city. An absolutely fantastic time with some amazing food. The plane ticket alone merits the pizza experience; I’d easily get a pizza once a week if I lived within distance. The popcorn in that city is just as stunning - we had the buttered mix. With my health conscious locked away for the weekend, there was some good food to be had. Plus, the views of the city, great weather, public transport and fantastic friends all add to the great Chicago taste.

I suppose I should also credit Southwest for a good trip as well. Infact, Southwest exceeded my expectations with the complimentary peanuts and drinks. I didn’t know those were still included as part of the flights? Props to Southwest. Plus, there is the whole Skymall experience… who doesn’t like making a wish list?

Some picks from the weekend:

Chicago Pizza  Cloud Gate

Sears tower Chi Town

Meeeeeee

We are going into their culture… why should they adapt to appease us? When in Rome, do as the Romans do… I guess “When in Beijing” doesn’t apply?

“Concerned that canine dishes might offend animal rights groups and Western visitors, Beijing said restaurants expected to be popular among foreign visitors must stop serving dog meat ‘to respect the dining customs of different countries.’ ” Yahoo Article Link

It would suck to live in a society where a government can dictate your restaurant’s menu. Personally, I am a vegetarian… so to me a dead animal is a dead animal. No difference between eating a dog, cow, donkey, horse, pig, cat or chicken - it’s all dead animal. So what’s the difference? Even though I don’t eat meat, I would not change my menu to appease some people in another culture.

—

In other world news…
Looks like Englanders are upset over google mapping their streets over “privacy” concerns. Seems to me, from a country that is always busy taking away more rights from it’s citizens… that everyone would be up-in-arms over more important matters. So someone mapped your street… big deal!

Privacy? What privacy do you have now? Your government does more spying on it’s own people through wire tapping, internet spying and CCTV; a google map of your street is the least of your concerns.

Stick to it Google!