clockwise starting with the turntable: Grado Laboratory Turntable, McIntosh MC240 power amp, Jensen TR-3 speakers, KLH Model8 FM tuner, Conrad-Johnson PV-2a preamp, NAD CD player.

The stands for the jensens are home made. The Jensens have been replaced by a pair of JBL C36s.

^^nice stuff, thinktubes. Ahh, are those the tubes that inspired your screen name?

Such cool stuff!

Because fatherhood is sometimes the biggest test of all:

I waded through the freewheel and axle issues with the Paramount, getting it ride-ready Thursday for El Tour de Tucson Saturday.
I left work Friday night and dashed off to the expo and picked up my number and other essentials.
We handed off the children to grandma Betty that night so they could be at her place while we rode the next day.
At 6am on ride day I got a call from my daughter saying that my not-quite-four-year-old son, nursing a cold when we dropped him off, was miserable and crying and wanted to be home, not at grandma's.

My wife rode. I did not. There will be another.

We have one tree in front of our house that always hangs on to it's leaves, long after all the other trees in the neighborhood have dropped their leaves. With the snow yesterday, the leaves still stayed on the tree. This morning, though a metric ton of leaves came off the tree and are now on top of the snow and on the shoveled sidewalk. Kind of odd and bass acquards.

Quaking Aspens have long been used as notebooks and drawing pads in the American West by the shepherds who accompanied the flocks to their high mountain summer pastures.

Most often the inscription consists of a name, a date, and a hometown or area in the Basque country.



But the subject matter runs the gamut from the poetic to the pornographic. Most of the flocks no longer travel into the mountains in the areas that I frequent.



As the trees age and die the florid script of the shepherds is disappearing.



They are replaced by crudely carved messages of "Drew Loves Jessica."
Those who study these carvings call them "dendroglyphs."

Brent

Would like to print a few hobby cards I can give to peope who say they have some old bikes to sell.

Would be a marketing master stroke if I had a t-shirt with that design too!

And I'm not joking about the cards....the design a real attention getter!

My wife and I have a bunch of vintage glass:

I have been working on a bunch of Lionel trains as of late. I just gave my Uncle 3 complete sets of my old Lionel trains for his Grandsons to enjoy as they are 4 & 6yrs old. Most of what I gave him are MPC Lionels but I am building two 2034 Steam Engines from 1952 to be his main engines as they will pull more then the Light Weight MPC's. I like buying Trains that need work cheap & then build them up. I have a big collection of N, HO & Lionel trains that I just don't have anywhere to set up along with HO slot cars. I bought out a Closing Hobby Shops inventory of HO Trains about 5 years ago, mostly Ahearn, Walthers & Bachman.

Glenn

Before & After Pictures of a 1952 Lionel 2034 Engine, 1130 Engine, Lionel Line Tender & NYC Caboose which was missing Railings & Smoke stack,

Saw my first Google self driving car, no steering wheel and all (I have seen their research vehicles for years which were modified cars/suvs) and wonder.....how do you just go for a drive or cruising. No real way to put a destination for those. or how do you see something of interest and interrupt you planned route? Coffee and to work now

I'm fairly confident it will wander off course without any input.

I know I do. Just check out this thread.

oh look, ducks.

That is incorrect.

The correct answer is 42.

Now we only need to sort out what is the right question.

By the way, I like those tree dendroglyphs, Brent. Some are very artistic.

I dig that lamp too. I have a floor lamp of roughly the same vintage, with tripod base.

this counts as something else....my effort to go viral with a bad performance

this is undoubtedly the world's worst Chistmas Elf Rap. It's only redeeming benefit is that it is short

Merry Christmas


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swKB4s4_WFw

Yeah...that's pretty bad.

Good as any place to ask. What gifts have you decided to get you significant other/spouse?

Cripes. Don't ask. What do you get for a woman who doesn't want anything?

I've been relying on ear rings for way too long.

I'm taking my wife to see "It's a Wonderful Life" at a local, independent theatre this Sunday. Other than that I'm fresh out of ideas.

I sold my Cinelli supercorsa and bought a sailboat. Islander 26 bahama. My family is very excited! No regrets.

I got my wife a theremin. She's gonna love it.

Have I mentioned... Alicia Witt?

I know her only as St. Alia of the Knife from the planet Arrakis, brother of Paul Muad'Dib. I should check out her piano skills.