Year: 2008
DELLiciously Mine
The estimated delivery date for my new DELL Inspiron 530 was two weeks, but here it is five days later, and I’m using it right now. The integrated video connector is, alas, merely VGA, but as I said before that’s all right with me, and eventually I’ll get a standalone video card with DVI.
And lest any doubters out there think XP Home doesn’t support a Quad-Core processor, this fragment of a screen shot is from Device Manager…
… and this is from the performance tab of Task Manager.
General Idiocy
Army Gen. David Petraeus can’t be ignorant, so he must be an idiot. Or he thinks we’re idiots.
The so-called “surge” was supposed to give Iraq “breathing room” to get its political act together. Obviously, the troop build-up had nothing to do with the reduction in violence, as proven by what happened in Basra. It could happen again at any time, and there’s nothing the American military can do to prevent it.
There’s a power struggle in Iraq. The latest example happened to be between two Shiite factions, one of which is the alleged ruling government. Prime Minister al-Maliki took military action in an attempt to assert his political control over Muqtada al-Sadr, and even with our help he didn’t exactly win. Hey Petraeus, you know what this is called?? CIVIL WAR!
Petraeus knows that if he says a single word that isn’t in keeping with what George Bush wants to hear, his career is over. Bush says he listens to the generals and not politicians, but the generals who tried to speak the truth are gone. But ya know what Petraeus needs to think about? If McCain isn’t elected president, his career is over anyway.
The Bush-Cheney apologists are now reduced to making two weak and sorry points justifying our continued presence in Iraq:
- There was less mayhem for a while
- We broke it, so we have to fix it
BUT WE CAN’T FIX IT! The mess over there will play itself out whether or not we’re there. The first order of business for the next president must be to get us out of Iraq.
The Beatles’ Story LP — Side 2
EMI REDD.37 “Stereosonic” Mixer
Here is producer George Martin in 1963, with engineer Norman Smith, who is sitting at what appears to be a REDD.37 mixing board. When the REDD.51 was delivered it was positioned facing the window. The Beatles can be seen below.
EMI REDD.51 “Stereosonic” Four-Track Mixer
For the technically inclined, or anybody who enjoys superbly produced books, I once again recommend the RTB Book: Recording The Beatles, by Kevin Ryan and Brian Kehew. In a way, the star of the book is the EMI REDD.51 mixing console. REDD is Recording Engineering Department Development at EMI. I previously posted pictures with the REDD.51 that was used (mostly) by engineers Norman Smith and Geoff Emerick to record the Beatles here and also here.
The original gatefold LP release of “Let It Be” has this photo of a REDD.51, which is missing from later LP pressings, and likewise the CD.
I remember being a wee lad, staring at this picture, having an idea of what the equipment did, and wondering if John was actually working the console. Today I know that Lennon was totally inept technically, and he never would have even touched the controls, let alone mastered their use, except perhaps for playback volume.
Clarification: Beatles engineer Geoff Emerick, in his memoir Here, There and Everywhere, says that during the production of Revolution 9 for the White Album, Lennon took a hand at the console, “doing bits of panning and looking after the overall level so things didn’t get out of hand and distort. The whole thing was extremely haphazard; if he raised a fader and there was no sound, he’d say “Where’s it gone?”
The next picture was taken in early 1964, shortly after the REDD.51 was delivered, brand-new. That’s Norman “Hurricane” Smith sitting at the REDDy. 😉
Click to enlarge
One bit of trivia about the first pressing of “Let It Be.” Besides having a red Apple label, both sides are engraved with the names “Phil + Ronnie.”
