As usual, click the image to see a doublesize version.
One of my friends in Fairfax, VA noticed the cutest little pups hanging around their shed – until they realized it was 3 coyote pups that apparently had a den under their shed – and then they realized where the neighborhood cats might have gone!
Its expected to see pictures of them living out west, but VERY intriguing seeing these guys less than 30 minutes from the White House or the Capitol!
Closeup of a butterfly in the azaleas just off our back patio.
As usual, click the image to see a doublesize version.
Enjoying a cool Sunday afternoon with our wanna-be-outdoor cat, Teddy!
(We don’t let him actually touch the ground except warm days in Winter …)
And what do I see from that chair? Its a nice view towards the house, even more pleasant with all the azaleas in full bloom, the sound of the waterfalls (just below the gargoyle) for our pond, the Japanese Maple … just a very soothing Sunday afternoon.
2006 British & European Classic Motorcycle Day, May 21, 2006 ,Butler’s Orchard, Germantown, MD – featured Marquee – Vincent!
Triumph Come Home Rallye
June 9-10-11, 2006 – Spring Grove, PA
Virginia British Motorcycle Club Rallye October 1st, 2006 – Leesburg, Virginia
I built the crossovers last week and they sounded great. Saturday was a rainy day so I opened the cabinets up by pulling the 15 woofers. Once open, I mounted the crossover to the inside of the cabinet, wired the 3 drivers to the network using thick copper zipcord, then after a few tests, Emma and I cleared the tops of the shelves and lifted these 100+ lb monsters up onto the shelves.
We lost a bit of Bass, compared to their previous position on the floor in front of the shelves, but they do sound nice and we have our floor back again!!!
This weekend was our 9th Anniversary – 9 years ago on April 1st, Emma and I became a couple.
To celebrate, we bought tickets to see Casey Stratton at Jammin’ Java in Vienna, VA!
Casey posted the setlist as:
The Everlasting Voices / The Hardest Part
Cellophane
Sunflower
When the End Arrives
Harvest
Shenandoah
Opaline
Pray For Rain
Its a great show, Casey is very talented and has an amazing voice – if he comes to your town, by all means, go see the show!
Grass is starting to grow around the far end of our yard, forsythias are blooming, and the Hostas are popping their shoots up out of the ground. Even the fish are more lively now that the days are warming up.
The speakers are ancient (circa 1969-72) and many parts are NLA – No Longer Available. That just means I can improve them while I restore them. One thing I have already done is to add the slot tweeter to extend the high frequency range.
Another goal I have while working on these old speakers is to make them look better and fit our home’s style. Thats a tough goal with big dark walnut boxes that are just under 2’x2’x3′. One reason I got them so cheap is because the grills were lost/damaged years ago – exposed speaker faces may excite my inner-geek, but functionally, there’s no reason not to cover them up. But again, these are long out of production – so – If I want grills, I’ll have to build them myself.
My car was stolen off the parking lot at work Nov 29th and stripped. The Allstate Adjuster I was just working with decided to fix the car, even tho Sandy at the dealership told them (and me) that these kinds of extensive rebuilds can take a long to locate all the parts. The 2000 Honda SI is apparently still worth a huge part of what it sold for – I paid $16k for it new in May 2000, and now, 5 years & 75k miles later its bluebook value is still around $12,000! Its a great car – averages 30 miles-per-gallon and has the vTec engine – stomp the gas pedal and when you hit 4,500 rpm (to around 7000rpm) it sounds and feels like a big 4 barrel carb or supercharger has kicked in. A very quick little car.
I bid on these old (mid-70’s) JBL 2-way Studio Monitors on ebay a few weeks ago. The problem was, due to the size (2′ x 3′ x 2′ and roughly 100lbs each) they were listed as “Pickup only” – and they were just outside Philadelphia, PA. Well, turns out I had the best bid and won them for a very reasonable fee.
Due to last weekend’s snow we weren’t going to do any roadtrips- so we made plans to do a 1-day roundtrip on Sat 18th.
We left Fairfax around 9:15am – got to Top 10 Music outsde Philly at 11:45 – had the speakers loaded and covered by 12:30.
And what would a trip to Philly be without Cheese-steak subs. Chris gave us directions to Leo’s Steaks – and he was right – they were to die for … I’ve never had anything like that in DC – Philly Cheese-steaks are like crack – Emma even bought another sub to bring back with us!
Anyway – we were home before 7PM, hauled the speakers inside, and I wiped them down with Tung oil to freshen the walnut veneer a bit.
I bought them knowing I’d need to add a set of high-tweeters and redo the crossover network for long-term use, but the woofers alone were worth more than I paid or the complete speakers. So fair I’ve listened to some old Who, Jaco Pastorius, Weather Report, The Concert for George (Harrison) and a few other things – the bass is tight and amazing! Once I get them finish freshened up a bit more and get the high-tweeters installed I can put them up in the corners where my old JBl L36 speakers (bought new in 1976) sit now. I’ll put the L36s in the back of the room for surround sound use.
And the birthday thingee? Why, its today, Feb 19th! The speakers are like a fine gift to me!
