Fireworks For the Fourth
Click away!
LATEST ADDITIONS
Continue Reading »
A Catalan Treat for Your Barbecue
Yeah, yeah, we all know that you grill burgers'n'brats on the Fourth, but that only takes a few minutes and then yo have all those coals going great. What to do with that lovely fire? Here's a non-intuitive dish that will excite absolutely no one—<I>until they taste it!</I> Then you won't have made enough.
Beer Here!
What's the Fourth without beer? Here's a gallery of microphotographs of the world's most famous beers. I think they're <I>beeyootiful</I>.
The Declaration of Independence
I grew up in Charlottesville, VA, in the shadow of Monticello and a few blocks from UVA, Mr.Jefferson's university, so I always felt a tad proprietary about the Fourth of July. Schoolchildren in Charlottesville were pretty much taught that the Revolution was Thomas Jefferson and some other guys against King George.
FOIA Turns 40
Jimmy Carter says happy birthday FOIA and tells us why we need less secrecy, not more.
Music For One Apartment and Six Drummers
So <I>that's</I> why my apartment is always a mess when I get home!
You Had Better Stop and Think Before You Think, Think!
While we're thinking about thinking, think about this: Recent research confirms that animals have language, experience complex emotions, and can apply abstract reasoning—including the assimilation of previously acquired information—to problem solving. So why do we think we're so special?
Confirmation Bias
My buddy John Atkinson likes to say that what makes science work is <I>not</I> simply the measurement of observed phenomena, but the scientist's refusal to believe those measurements. I once asked him if he'd teach me to do audio measurements and he said no, "because you'd <I>believe</I> the measurements—a good scientist knows the measurements are trying to lie to him."
If you could send one piece of equipment off in a capsule through space to represent the best audio has to offer, what would it be?
Audio companies have created thousands and thousands of audio products in the last several decades. But if you could send just one piece of equipment off in a capsule through space to represent the best audio has to offer, what would it be?
EICO HF-81 integrated amplifier
If you spotted an EICO HF-81 at the local Goodwill, you'd think nothing of this plain-Jane integrated amplifier in its nondescript gray case. But if you kept on walking, you would have passed up one of the best-kept audio secrets of all time. The HF-81 hails from hi-fi's pioneer days, before chromed chassis and slick Mac transformers. It isn't ultracool-looking, like early Marantz or McIntosh gear. It doesn't have the nostalgia factor of a Fisher. It's not a supercheap eBay steal like a Stromberg-Carlson or a Heathkit. So what's the deal?