As I write, I am recording my old Harriet the Spy LP and 10" from vinyl to my computer. It took a kid to explain this to me (via YouTube) after years of hanging around "adult" co-workers that couldn't shut up about how great Apple is/was for audio/video but had no idea how to transfer "real" music to a computer.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2CU-4OCLtSU
I write "real" because I don't care what anybody says, a vinyl copy of any album will always sound better than a CD or downloaded version. Yes, I know one can screw around with mixing and make things better, but I'm not going spend a year of my time learning to efficiently use a mixing software just to make my vinyl recordings sound more like CD's or vice versa. In fact, I didn't even break out the old component equalizer, as I am after the original form of the music, hisses and pops included. I guess I'll have to get around to it, eventually, once I start recording my own music, again, but I've not picked up the guitar in nearly a year. I miss it. Maybe I'll get something recorded and get it on here in a month or so.
So, the caveat with the above video, that he doesn't mention, is that recording straight from your turntable is not enough if it doesn't have a built-in pre-amplifier. So, having been fortunate enough to inherit a second component stereo system, I simply hooked up the record player to a stereo receiver (which also lets you ground the player...a good noise reduction technique) and connected the y-adapter to a stereo cable that runs to the "Tape Rec Out" on the back of the receiver. As well, I'm just recording sides at a time (though, with GarageBand, I don't think it is any big deal to split up the track into songs...I just don't need that level of compartmentalization or order).
The spare stereo stuff is Japanese Technics and Panasonic stuff that a co-worker was tossing so that he could simplify his life. Again, though, I'm left thinking that those with this tendency would rather unload brain baggage but take the easy way out by dumping the dollar-based. As evidence of this argument, just think of how many people you see in a day with their faces buried in palm sand. Those that I know with "everything devices" seem to never be done learning how to use the things and to never reach the point where their second brains make their lives any easier.
Oh well, I've got two beastly component stereo systems, now, and it's made recording this stuff so much easier. Now if only I could keep the girls' grubby mitts off the setup.
I originally thought this entry might be filled with griping about work (although I "work" very little), but I think it will suffice to say that doing the right thing with a business and making money are not mutually exclusive, but they seem to have become so where I work. It is grueling to work for people that mistake large-scale economic booms and busts with immediate acumen and bad decisions and that are convinced that the occasional big-dollar bike sale is better than regular income from moderately-priced bikes and parts and accessories that people will always buy, economic trends be damned. I still like the job, but when days are declared good only when an unrealistic income threshold is reached, it begins to feel like I'm wearing those good old corporate concrete shoes (incidentally, the shop is now an actual corporation).
I'm going to start doing Sundays at Caw Caw Interpretive Center, again, where I was once the full-time Natural History Specialist. I cannot wait, since it is a roving interpretive position facilitating self-guided canoe trips...seemingly the perfect gig. I've also still got my tie-in with Drayton Hall Plantation, where I am paid well for the very rare days when they require my assistance. I will probably try to combine these two into something more substantial in the future, since I'm about ready to get the bike shop back down to one day a week.
On the literary front, I just finished the Bike Snob book and, I must say, it was quite a bore. I suppose if riding is not your thing, and you just want something to help you peek in on the rest of us, it is mildly amusing and somewhat informative, but, having just read the Cyclists' Manifesto (an even bigger bore), this book is something I would recommend you just leave on the shelf. Pick up something better, like Island, by Huxley, which I just finished and by which I was amazed. It was one of those books that I finished hoping somebody capable had adapted to the screen. It was a very visually-stimulating read, and it is a terrific primer on anarchist principles and effective, egalitarian existence. It's got me so interested that I've put a hold on "Doors of Perception," which I just never gave a chance (partially, I must admit, because of the absolute garbage band that claims to have named themselves after it).
I did just get another bicycling book from Garrett that looks a little more engaging (there's even a mention of RAMBO in it...the band, not Sylvester's alter-ego), but I felt drawn to another style for a break, so I started Muir's "First Summer in the Sierra." I think it'll help me get back into the interpretive frame of mind.
Here are a few recent photographs. The hornworm devastated my pepper plants, though they weren't producing that much this year, again. The cactus photograph is from our trip to a friend's condominium in Brevard, NC (as if Opuntia needs any help getting new places). The girls are enjoying the recent shift from the "feels like 115 degrees" realm to the "feels like 100 degrees."
Also, here is something that made me laugh my ass off. Please forgive the offensive nature (don't watch it if you are easily annoyed by foul language and sexual content), but for those of you that enjoy this kind of thing, you will not be disappointed.
Best album I've transferred from vinyl, so far (I'm at Dinosaur Jr., though I cheated on a few favorites, like the Harriet the Spy)...Dead and Gone "God Loves Everyone But You." Go listen to that one, again.
