


And Gawd blefs us, evey wone!
–Simon

Tales from Easement Acres



And Gawd blefs us, evey wone!
–Simon
First off, look at this:


Do I care that I’m posting this? Obviously the answer is no, because when deadbeats get misassociated with my contact information I start to lose my patience with the eternal onslaught of – in this case – modern carpetbaggers. I myself get the occasional clickbait version of a mailer in my mailbox to sell my own home, but the frequency at which the texts come in soliciting sales for this place lends me to think that something’s not going well.
According to the Montgomery County Auditor, Fred bought this abode in 1993 for $17,000. It’s now worth $15,380, and owes taxes of $34,356.81. Ouch. But it has well water, I think. And a bad storm sewer? The tax assessment codes are hard to understand.
But maybe Fred’s a nice guy. Maybe he just fell on hard times or simply held onto the property for some reason. One never knows the full story, and I don’t care to find out more, so stop texting me about it!
This guy though:
Definite deadbeat.
–Simon
I got one on Thanksgiving over at the in-laws. I used the Fox Model B again. I like that old double-barrel, though it lacks the accuracy and range of my 870. Still, it’s a lot easier to carry and maneuver. Tradeoffs.

–Simon
The Tenants have once again expanded. This time, the Holiday Provision has been added, which defines a separate selection process during holiday periods.
αPWN
The Tenants of Cinematic Selection (rev. 122024-1)
Given:
Procedure:
Termination Provision for Minors:
Candidate Additions:
Holiday Provision:
Tenant Modifications:
–Simon
Many moons ago I was gifted a Yamaha RX-V667 by my indulging lady, to replace a prior AV receiver that lacked HDMI support. Predating the kid’s existence, it has stood the test of time.
But then I acquired an AppleTV 4K, then an Xbox Series X, then a 4K Sony TV. The V667 lacked 4K support, and was the last component to be upgraded. So I finally did, with the RX-A4A:

In the Yamaha AV line, the V models are their more consumer budget-friendly series. The V667 was at the time the top-tier of their V models. The A models are their AV nutjob series. The A4A is their 3rd out of 4, so I’ve upgraded myself by 2 models when comparing to their top of the line V models. The prices start to get ridiculous when going higher than that.
I’m fond of the Yamaha AV brand. People seem to gush nerd juice over Denon and Onkyo, but I think that’s just entrenched brand awareness. And just as the community is also quick to dismiss Bose speakers, I find their sound profile quite agreeable for the price point, provided they’re only speakers and not full systems (which do indeed suck). (Also, why won’t Bose make a standalone subwoofer?)
I suppose I’m somewhere in the middle, as I don’t know anyone else who will trade the wireless soundbar simplicity for wiring 6-11 individual speakers throughout a room, but also myself I’m not willing to go $20K in on a home theater sound setup. No, my perfectly adequate sound system is around $2.5K in value now, but I guess it’s what one’s familiar with and how far a budget can go.
I also scoff at people who put TV size and visual resolution as their top priority, but I was also guilty of being more interested in the 4K visual upgrade on a receiver, as I thought my 5.2+2 Presence Dolby Digital setup was about the best there was. It turns out that there have been some technological advancements I hadn’t experienced. Dolby Atmos is just…holy crap. I also thought that this priority of visual over auditory was the reason I had observed a declining focus on sound mixes and discrete channels, when in fact the now matrix-based approach for more subtle sound immersion had just moved beyond what my V667 could process correctly.
And combined with Dolby Vision – HDR 4K! Just, wow.
Anyway, thus concludes my tech nerd post. I am an audiophile hypocrite. Who knows what the future will bring me next.
–Simon