so, "what exactly, do ya do..."

what do you guys do for a living?

where ya from?

I live in SE Pennylvania - I'm a consulting systems analyst. I've worked on a lot of fairly large finance-related projects. I'm sort of off my beaten path working on a project known simply as "AC2" - Advanced Control Center - which is a project underway at PJM Interconnection, an overseer of sorts of the power generation, transmission and distribution companies in the NE US.

I work on Energy Management Systems and with our QA team. Can't really say much more than that.

Red,

I'm a software architect, doing all sort of things in the IT field, team leader/player or one-army-man, as needed. If you go to www.globalinsight.com you'll see what my work materialized in most recently. I'm not saying that all that web site is written by me alone, God forbid, I don't want to offend my colleagues. There are other pieces of software working deep inside the company's server farm that have my fingerprints on them.

I live in Springfield, PA, 10 miles from Philly, Red, we might be able to shake hands.

My most important "project" is my 6 years old daughter, which, of course, is my top-ranked passion as well

I'm in IT security for a company (Corillian/Checkfree/Fiserv) that does online banking, billpay, ACH transactions and a lot of other things related to money.

I live in Beaverton, OR.

Interestingly, I used to work as an IT guy for a small company in Fremont CA that installed and maintained EMS in the area, mostly for schools. They were the area's dealer for Alerton, which is now part of Novar, which is now part of Honeywell.

I'm a mechanical engineer (licensed PE in Tennessee and LEED accredited professional) working for a consulting engineering firm that does HVAC, plumbing, fire protection, power, lighting, and fire alarm design. We work mainly for architects, although we do work directly for building owners at times. I specialize in HVAC design ( here\'s a sample from a few years ago ), although I also have some involvement in plumbing and fire protection design (since I have to sign & seal those trades). Like all of our PE's, I do double-duty as a project manager for some jobs, but starting back in June I have also become our production manager. Oh, and I oversee our IT systems in my free time.
Born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee, although I spent four and a half years at Mississippi State University along the way. Grew up in midtown, less than a mile from Rhodes College (the school whose library is pictured in the link above), but live in east Memphis these days. Wife and I have a daughter who is almost three and keeps us and our two cats busy as much as possible.

BloggingITGuy - you mention online banking, billpay, ACH, and other stuff. My wife works for a local bank and has over the years worked in their online banking department and credit card department before settling into a project manager slot working with any projects that affect core bank services (which at the moment means lots of Patriot Act and Know Your Customer stuff).

so far a lot of technical stuff - not surprised there.

Alexandru M - I live in Lower Salford (approximately 1.5 miles from the Lansdale Exit on the Northeast Extension) - you are indeed pretty close!

BloggingITGuy - I had no idea that EMS systems could have such a concise responsibility, i.e. schools. This is my first EMS project and the PJM footprint is something measured on a national map. It's actually fascinating stuff. Just very complex at times to grasp.

Gonk - anyone would've guessed engineer, even Mechanical Engineer, but I wouldn't have guessed your forte was HVAC. I thought for sure you worked in something closer to A/V technology. I'm sure most of us wish we could. I know I do.

I'm a Master Electrician in charge of the Electrical Department at the TD Banknorth Garden in Boston Ma. Although I went to Wentworth Institute and recieved An Associates Degree, I recieved most of my training through IBEW Local 103's apprenticeship program. We are responsible for installing and breaking down the Celtics and Bruins and any concerts and shows which come here. We're also responsible for adding power, controls, lighting, lighting control programing, IT infrastucture, and any electrical problems that arise.

I grew up for the most part, in a suburb of Boston, called Weymouth, (2nd oldest English settlement on the North American continent!).

I also have daughters, one 13, (Why can't I have a boyfriend?), and the other 10. We who have daughters are blessed. They'll take care of us when we get older!

Happy Holidays

Yeah, I'm no expert on EMS...I was just the IT guy there, but from what I saw there, you could have anything from a simple EMS for a single house, to an EMS for a multistory building, on up to one for an entire complex and above that, as you said, one for multiple geographic regions.

It really is cool stuff though. Being able to see what's going on for HVAC, lighting, security, etc. for whatever discreet unit you have displays built for (floor, building, campus, etc.) with the ability to troubleshoot and make changes remotely.

Compared to that, the banking/finance space is kind of boring, but from an IT security stand-point much more rewarding. I spend a good portion of my day helping financial institutions shut down phishing sites, for instance.

A news report that I just saw said that something like 7 billion dollars was lost to phishing last year in the US alone. So it's nice to be a part of attempts to stem that flow.

Heh, interesting. TD Banknorth is one of our customers.

My professional career and my interest in audio are related.

My journey into audio, and eventually home theater, began as soon as I was able to enjoy my father’s Heathkit amplifier and 4-way speaker system sourced from an H. H. Scott turntable. The loudspeaker kit consisted of two Klipsch-designed, Jensen driven enclosures with an 8” woofer and rectangular horn in one box on a larger corner-fitting range extension base containing a 15” woofer and a small tweeter. Quite a magnificent sound for the home in the late 50's and early 60's. About a year ago I saw a pair of these sell on eBay for $1400.

My interest in electricity and electronics began with my grandfather’s smile and Lionel trains. He was an electrical engineer. As an infant, I would be held up to a wall light switch and be excited that my pushing the switch at one location could turn a light on and off at another location – an early showing of the male affinity for ‘remotes?’ My first word was “Ight,” short for “light.” In early adolescence, I tinkered with high-voltage and related projects that began with my acquiring an early 1900’s book called The Boy Electrician. This eventually led me to learn about tube-based amplifier and radio circuits.

Quite a few years later, and these two interests were fused as I bought a half-working Realistic solid-state stereo amplifier for $25 with paper-route earnings, traced the parallel circuits of the left and right channels until I found a bad soldier connection and restored the full functioning of the unit. With this working, and a new stereo cartridge, I resurrected my father’s turntable and loudspeaker, and used them along with another loudspeaker my grandfather had built. In the early 1970’s, 25 watts-per-channel RMS could really rock the house with such efficient speakers.

Combine this mix with an interest in performance drama and photography through high school, let the television production bug bite me as part of a studio audience and some time behind the scenes with the director and technical director, then add a few years of EE and mass communication education, and technical video production is where I’ve spent the better part of the last three decades professionally - educational audio and video in the late 70's, radio and television broadcasting in the Middle East in the early 80's, video editing and related production into the early 90's, indepedent large video/audio display production for trade shows, conventions and the occasional music video, commercial or film until 2001, now government news and information television production in Washington, DC.

My other pastime is hydrofoil sailing (I gave up a motorcycle years ago, so the boat is my ‘pocket rocket’), which gets me out in good weather and helps me keep and learn skills related to sailing and modifying boats. Do some web-browsing for the Windrider Rave sailing hydrofoil if you’re interested.

RedSIinPA,
Mechanical/Process/Industrial Engineer for a 'little' company - TI in the Big D.
I play in the DLP group. I work in Product Integration.

Prior to Engineering, i played for Uncle Sam in the Air Force, as a Crew Chief on KC-10s. I visited the Pursian Gulf in the first skirmish.

Audio bug was started when i was young. I would visit my grand fathers house in Michigan. I would listen to his various systems including: AR original loud speakers, Dahlquist 10's, Celestion 6's, Klipsch kg2, Mcintosh Pre and CD, Quad separates (pre/amp), Sony 2 channel Amp from Japan, B&O turn table, Sequerra tuner, etc....

Of course this was carried on by my dad and now to the rest of the family (3 boy's)….

My better half and i are blessed w/ a la nina. She is all rug rat who is a blast to be w/....

That's cool...any idea when TI will be pushing out 3 chip solutions for RPTVs?

Wow, in the face of this expertise it's no wonder I sometimes get "lost in the sauce" when discussions get somewhat technical. I am a Denver-based marketing consultant, doing tv, radio, print, web, etc. media advertising. Also have written occasionally for "No Depression", an alt-country (whatever that is) music magazine based out of Raleigh-Durham, NC, and also play around as the lead singer in a bar-band called Courtesy Flush - comprised of friends from all over the USA who get together every now and then (whenever travel permits) to rock like the aging self-styled rock stars we are.

To all,

I am really impressed with all of your backgrounds. I have always suspected that we had one of the brightest groups of customers in our saloon. Now I know it!

Best regards,

Peter Tribeman

Hmm, I wonder what Peter Tribeman does for a living?

Hehe

as the token canuck/frenchman...
I run a catering company right here in Montréal...
feeding mostly tv and movie crews & cast...
food & music are way up there on the list of important things...

This is a fun thread - thanks for starting it, RedSIinPA. Oh, and thanks for letting us all gather here in your virtual watering hole, Peter.
Energy management systems and temperature controls have come a very long way in the last 15 years or so. The days of pneumatic controls are well and truly over, and we have clients these days with unified campus-wide controls networks that are web-based and cover HVAC systems, lighting controls, emergency generators, and even some plumbing. Even though we design the building systems and specify how they are all linked together, we don't often get to see a lot of that - just the submittals on it so we can make sure they've got the right idea on the sequence of operation, unless we also do commissioning on the project and end up getting a look at the final interface while putting the system through its paces - but it is some cool stuff. And I've been fortunate to work on some pretty interesting projects, including well-implemented control systems and some other impressive stuff.

I am also a french canadian.
I work as a audio recording/live sound tech for a radio/tv broadcast company.
been into audio since I started singing as a teen. did the university thing as a vocalist and went to college for electronics.

Great thread.

I’m a retired physician. Practiced in Illinois for many years. Moved to Northern Maine 12 yrs ago, worked a while and then retired. Now, in retirement I’m as busy as can be with new business. I’m a FFL (Federal Firearms Licensee), specializing in Title II firearms (machineguns, silencers, short barrel rifles & shotguns etc). I don’t have a storefront and don’t want one. I’ve sold/transferred to/from many states for non-prohibited persons, mostly collectors and investors.

My music/audio passion trumps this, however. Some background is appropriate. In my sig you will note “4-channel”. Having a passion for capturing live music (of the kind I like) since teen years I was fortunate to become friends with some extremely knowledgeable people in the Chicago area in the mid 1970s. We (sometimes me included-sometimes I couldn’t go) recorded many many many big bands and name acts over the years and have prized recordings. I should add that we never pirated them. We simply came away with studio-quality live material recorded at the performance venue. So we listened to our recordings as recorded, rather than gated, limited, or modified. We used Crown CX844 machines (analog 4-channel tape recorders), AKG or sometimes Neumann mics. Ourlistening rooms had 4 preamp channels, 4 amp channels and 4 sets of speakers, back into the 1970s. I still have my Crown ES 224 (electrostats) in my office, which I shall never sell. Two recordings I made in 1983 were sent by me to the artists. One was issued commercially and I think sold to another company which issued it on some other label. I have seen them occasionally on ebay. I recently found the other tape and sent a CD to the other artist. He is working on releases so he can sell the CDs. Both are famous jazz musicians. When asked what I wanted for the material I told them to put my name on them as recording engineer.

Beause tape deteriorates we embarked on a project to preserve this precious material. We would have liked to use 4 of the 6 Dolby Tracks on a 5.1 disc. And eventually I found a dts conversion program. One of us independent of myself also was able to transfer the material from analog tape to dts CDs. We initially played them back on a DVD player which had dts decoding capabilities. Some of us have an outboard dts decoder. This allows us to play the dts CDs on a regular CD player, sending its digital bitstream to the decoder and then to the 990. Very convenient. My Sony 455s (one classical, one jazz), my stand-alone Tascam CD 01U player, and my Alesis Masterlink ML9600 all feed a MSB Digital Director, which feeds the decoder. So my dts discs play thru the fronts and surrounds (because that’s the assignment I give). But because my living room is hybrid I send the analog outs of the decoder to the 7.1 of 990. Using the SBR and SBL of the 7700 I feed two more up front speakers, replicating the 4 channel array of “yesteryear”. Also I archived the 4-ch material to Alesis HD24XR, using 4 of the multi channels. This also feeds the 7.1 analogs of the 990. A patchbay is normalled for the decoder output and I patch the Alesis outputs. This way I can make extremely long (exceeding the 80-minute limit) programs.

Only within the past few years have I gotten into 5.1/HT. The Outlaw 990 is a key feature in this and gives me great flexibility. I posted pics in a thread, but can’t find it now.

So what now? Clear the snow. Put another log on the fire. Listen to some good music. Eagerly anticipate the next Outlaw pre/pro. Not much to record in far Northern Maine. I came close to getting to record THE AIRMEN OF NOTE last year. My associates recorded them in 1968. No problem. Some idiot got in the way here, but the bandleader said would not have been a problem. I’ve not been able to identify anyone up here who is really into good music and good sound. So.....let’s put pn another CD and relax...............
BTW: If I’m wrong and someone on this thread is in Maine, or wants to discuss this send me a PM. I hope I haven't bored anyone with this post

I'm an electrical engineer (MSEE). I work for the US Navy on various R&D projects here in Panama City. I got interested in audio in college and my first system included 4 of the legendary AR-3a Acoustic Research speakers. I worked a few years in Baltimore at an audio store, experiencing Klipsh, B&W, Magneplanar, Dayton-Wright, Kef, McIntosh, and many other brands of the day.

Other than HiFi, I scuba dive (I have current US Navy qualifications) and referee soccer (234 matches this year alone). I've been known to put in a few miles on a bicycle, doing a transcontinental ride back in '84 and riding the last 18 RAGBRAIs.

Married, two daughters (both in college, one in grad school).

nfaguys - wow - not bored here!

BloggingITguy,
I have been out of the country for a little while starting up a new line....
Let me do a little research into that direction. I have heard some rumblings. I would think a lower cost 3 chip projector would be closer to hitting the shelves.

As for TI main competitor, Sony, The SXRB is officially done in projection and cinema.

You mean SXRD? When you say it's officially done, you mean Sony is going to be replacing it with something else?

Do you think that Sony is putting all their eggs in the LCD basket while trying to get OLED going?

That's too bad, I like LCoS as a technology. Sony's offerings have been plagued by reliability issues though.

I'll second that - glad to hear from you, nfaguys.

Thanks for your kind words guys. I really learn a lot on this forum. I referenced a pic which I posted. Can't find the post but here are links.

Living Room System (Left pic)

Living Room system (Left pic-dog is paying attention...as usual)

Had to take two pics as Liv Roomn is not deep enough to get back far enough to show the four up -front KEF 107s. These give me the 4 ch sound from the old 4-ch tapes (now transcribed to dts discs and hard drives). the surrounds are not in the pic. They are also KEF 107s.

If anyone is interested in conversion to dts send me a PM and I'll tell you about it. The only advantage is has over stereo CDs, however, is for putting more than 2 channels on a CD.

One more thought about dts: If I had bought the program to put it on DVDs I could have very long programs. [Might do it]

Merry Chistmas and Best wishes for the season to all current and future outlaws, and especially to the guys at the outlaw HQ.

I'm the decidely non-technical guy among you engineers and IT folks. I'm an executive at a trade association based in Arlington, VA. I live about 18 miles from work, in Fairfax Station, VA; not too far from George Mason University.

My educational backround includes a BA in English/Writing and a Masters of Public Administration (MPA).

Married. No kids. One dog.

My interest in audio was sparked when I was in college: first buying my brother's gear when he upgraded; then getting a subscription to "The Absolute Sound. Then, right after college, I took a sales job at a boutique hi-fi store in Old Town Alexandria. I learned a lot and got spoiled being able to buy things at dealer cost. But after three years, I had enough and sort of soured on the whole audio racket. It wasn't until 20 years later -- when the home theater craze hit -- that my interest in the hobby was rekindled.

Speaking of hobbies, my other interests include: fly fishing, scuba diving, wine collecting, photography, cooking. Oh, and renovating my house -- a project that seems like it will never end.

One of the better posts. I work on very high energy (6-9 Mev) cargo screening X-ray systems at POE's around the country. Seaports, airports, highway crossings. Lotsa travel. Had the Hi-Fi bug since high school and started with Dynaco MKIII tube amps. Studied electronics in college because I wanted to know how it all worked. Been in the electronics field ever since. Hobbies are photography, camping, hunting, boating, Potomac/Chesepeake Rock fishing, home repair, travel, home entertainment. 3 kids, wife, dog. We have 2 in college this year so it's a tough year. Son graduates in May.

Happy and safe holidays to everybody!

Pretty cool to see the amount of knowledge on this board. I truly respect people who can understand all the technical jargon. I've always been more of a listener and dependent on what I hear rather than knowing exactly what's going on the technical side.

I work as an A/V Manager for 1300 seat religious venue in NYC. I have a degree in music and sound recording though I've learned more from real life situations. I've worked everywhere from recording studios to working as a studio technician for ESPN.

The audio bug bit me early in life as I come from a family that is musically talented. The high fidelity part comes from a family friend who showed me what a well designed system, that just happened to be Mark Levinson's Demo System, can sound like. I've always been more on the bang for the buck side which explains why I still love my 1050.

As for family, in the past two years I've gotten married, moved to a new house, and was blessed with fraternal twins. So, the audio system hasn't been updated in a bit.

Twins! We ended up just having a singleton with Kate, but with three sets of twins in our immediate family (my dad and his identical twin brother, my wife and her fraternal twin sister, and twin older siblings of my father-in-law) we're well acquainted with the world of twins. I see lots of fun and exciting times in your future.

Wow...with all the technical backgrounds I feel kind of intimidated to post mine, but here goes. I work in the public sector for my state DOT. Though I work with lots of engineers, I’m not one myself. I am primarily a contract manager, but I do have the opportunity to do some technical work...I have to review construction documents and specifications and prepare bid documents for transit facilities/vehicles and ferryboats/terminal facilities. That’s the interesting part...most of my time is spent making sure agencies the state contracts with are meeting state and federal requirements.

My addiction to audio began early by listening to my dad’s hi-fi down in the basement (which wasn’t much more than a console stereo with turntable). My first encounter with hifi sound came at my buddy’s house, whose dad had a setup of a Marantz integrated amp and Garrard turntable with some JBL full range speakers. I was hooked from that time forward. During college I worked with a buddy of mine installing PA systems. That continued to fuel my hifi addiction, and down the slippery slope I've slid.

I'm married, 4 kids (2 still in high school), a dog, a cat, and about 30 horses (my father in law's).

Thanks to all for your insights and opinions.

Happy holidays to all.

Thanks! Our girl is now walking and the boy is working on it so the game has changed. My system is only two channels at the moment due to needed child proofing methods!

At an early age my son loved to put on my headphones....just like daddy

And they love to turn the dials.

Enjoy !!

This is a very cool thread.
I'm Logistics Manager for an automotive components manufacturer about an hour south of Raliegh NC.From Cincinnati originaly whith numerous stops in between in the US and Europe.
Married with one daughter, one grand daughter, and a grandson due any day now.
I've been into electronics since I was about 12 and my mother, who worked for RCA brought home one of the first stereo systems to be mass marketed.
Great to learn a bit more about you guys.
Hope everyone has a super holiday!

Have either of them found the remote controls yet?

I'm A blue collar guy, a Union Heavy Equipment operator, the formal term is Operating Engineer,Dad Got me hooked on audio early on, He had A scott preamp and Lafayette mono amps and these huge lafayette speakers ,12 inch drivers with a metal horn in the middle of them and garrard turntable and roberts reel to reel. my first nice system was kenwood separates and klipsch heresy's bought in 1984, all of which I still have stored at moms house.

OK.
Going way back. Hooked in high school.
And this dates me.
Turntable: dunno. don't remember.
Amp: Regency (combined preamp and amp)
Speaker: Electrovoice 15 inch TRX

....in those days it was called: "hi-fi"

Oooooooops:
Forgot to mention:
Pentron tape recorder (with the green "magic-eye")
Shure microphone Shure 55S - but the earlier model

I retired a few years ago as a Wastewater Treatment Plant Superintendent for a local municipality. While employed there, I also set up a number of MS Access database programs (sewer billing, DMR's, pretreatment, etc.). I also work part-time as a commercial fisherman in the summer.

I originally got into audio while stationed in Germany in the 1969. My first set up was a Sansui 2000 receiver, Kenwood speakers, AR turntable (and a lot of vinyl from that period) a TEAC tapedeck (still have everything except the TEAC)...I then moved on to a B&K ST202 amp, Conrad Johnson Sonographe SC22 preamp.....along the way, I've had a Marantz receiver, a NAD integrated amp, numerous CD and DVD players, Aiwa tape decks, several other pieces of NAD (still use a NAD tuner for a bedroom setup)....on and on......I might even have an 8 track somewhere in my basement....

Question for nfaguys: Not trying to out you or anything, but is one of the famous jazz musicians you've helped out the tenor saxist Sonny Rollins? If so, then you and I have spoken on the phone: I interviewed someone from Maine who kinda fits your description a couple years ago for the entertainment weekly I work for. If it's you, I'm doubly glad to discover we're both Outlaws.

I'm sure everyone had guessed that I'm technically challenged. I write about the arts for a living, mostly music (duh!) but also film, books, theater, whatever. Oh, and NRBQLou, I'm quite familiar with No Depression; mentioned it in a freelance piece I did for the leftie weekly The Nation a little bit ago.

I was never into audio as much as music, but I can trace the beginnings of a growing interest in sonic concerns back to a piece I was working on some years ago about the sound quality in nightclubs. It was like a "report card" on NYC venues, and I noticed that the sound in rock clubs was generally substandard (oh hell, just plain wretched) when compared with even the most oddball little jazz spots around town. Still don't really know why it registered then, because by that time I'd spent most of my adult life in performance spaces. (Admittedly, though, it could be the influence of my wife, whom I've said elsewhere in the forum is much more of a sound person than I am.) I should stress that noticing this hasn't made me hate music that's recorded badly—which actually, is way more pop and rock of all stripes than I ever imagined—but it has made me aware of the different tiers of possibility. And boy, have I learned a lot of invaluable nuts-and-bolts stuff from the cats in this forum.

tru blu wrote:

Question for nfaguys: Not trying to out you or anything, but is one of the famous jazz musicians you've helped out the tenor saxist Sonny Rollins?

Don't I wish!! Would have liked to have recorded him. The two that I recorded that I sent to the artists were: The Candolis (Pete and Conte Candoli) - this about 12 yrs ago, recorded Chicago 1983. Also Frank D'Rone, whom I recorded in Chicago 1983.

This one will be available soon thru his website which is Frank D\'Rone website . It is cited on the "News" page. Frank has decided to name it "Falling In Live with Love", which is the name of one of the songs on it. He is, IMHO, one extremely talented person, both singing and on guitar. And also a very nice guy.

Others, recorded, but not issued (and the tapes are "somewhere in boxes after our move to Maine") include Carl Fontana, James Moody, Lionel Hampton, Adam Makovicz, Phil Wilson, Makoto Ozone, Anita O'Day, Clark Terry...and maybe some others. Several recordings were of Northern Illionois Univ Jazs Ensemble with some of these artists.

I'm pretty much "shut down" not since not much to record here in Northern Maine (moose, deer etc???). Also because of this I sold my A#1 best microphone on ebay seveal yrs ago.

So now I listen and enjoy the music.

Just wondering if anyone else out there has had the same passion as I.

great responses, guys. Just wanted to jump back in to wish you a happy holiday. It would seem I'm among the younger in the crowd @ 29 y/o.

I can't really say I grew up with anyone who was really into the hifi scene. But my dad's old technics turntable + technics receiver + paramount (now defunct) full range speakers was all I needed to catch the music bug. I grew up listening to all his original Doors, Beatles, and Zep albums. I thought at the time his system rocked. FFWD a few years and I met my father in law who was the first person I ever knew with B&W speakers and a true passion for both music and HT.

Good stuff!

I'm retired! Mostly.

I spent 35 years working my way up and running the family printing business. I have lived my entire life with 50 miles of my present location except for 4 years at Loyola University New Orleans.

Now I do some bookkeeping work for the local BSA council and my church and have become the homemaker to my family.

Janet and I have three children, a 28 year-old daughter in Chicago, a 26 year-old son in ABQ, NM. and a 22 year-old special-needs son who lives with us.

I hav always enjoyed all types of musc but only in the last few years invested in quality home and car audio equipment.

Happy Holidays to all!

Doug

Wireless network systems here. I won't mention the names of our core customers but their initials are Verizon Wireless, at&t, Sprint and some regional carriers. We still do some land line work but the company that has this 14 state region just had an ex CEO get sentenced to a 7 year prison term along with 10's of millions in fines. Point is, because of this, that company hasn't spent money in years. Want their initials? Q.W.E.S.T. But the wireless folks have been keeping us extremely busy. It's a great job and I absolutely love what I do but so far, my favorite part of the career has been just this past week. It was the first of 3 weeks vacation. Ha ha.

I travel frequently for both work and leisure, (Gonk: sorry I missed you in Memphis a couple of weeks back), I play some guitar and as far as listening to music is concerned, my preference is analog. (All the way down the path.) The Home Theater Bug bit me in January of this year but I am pleased to announce that the fever has finally broke. I've got it dialed in, I'm settled in and truly enjoying it.

By the way everybody, nice to meet you. This is a great thread. I also would like to say I've learned a lot here on these forums with everybody is so willing to share the information. Thanks so much.

Frank

I hope you had fun while you were in the land of the King - and that you found some good barbecue while you were here. I meant to PM you about a good place very close to Sun Studios (don't know why it didn't occur to me immediately when you mentioned Sun).

I've got a buddy who just finished a nearly ten-year stretch working in Texas with a couple different telecom firms doing mostly wireless systems design and testing. (Need to call him this afternoon, come to think of it...)

We found the best barbecue in all the land. Went to the Blues Cafe twice. (5PM and about 1130PM) There is no substitute for Memphis Barbecue. None that I've found anyways. The meat fell off the bone and when it finally did make it to my mouth, it melted. The cole slaw, baked beans, even the toast tasted better than anything I've experienced. Loved it.

Sun Studios epitomizes what I said in my previous post about listening to music. (analog) Some of the best artists made some of the best music ever recorded in that room. (Howlin' Wolf being a personal favorite.) That journey through that studio was an education. To me it was like walking into the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. - Graceland was awesome too. (Enough said.)

As usual, I wish we had more time but we did cover a lot of ground in the 2 days we were there. So yeah Gonk, I assure you we had the best time possible.

To my fellow Outlaws: go get some of that barbecue.

I work as a senior consultant for a boutique consulting firm in Oakland, CA (near SF) and live in Santa Clara. We specialize in high-end Microsoft and security technologies and dabble in business consulting. Yahoo, Google, Motorola & TPG are a few clients. I was a Microsoft MVP for 2006/2007 in Unified Communications (Live/Office Communications Server). My current gig is CIO and M&A Director for a business unit of Motorola's Digital Video Solutions group. I've been there almost a year during their acquisition hit (7 in one year) but will probably be finishing up soon and moving on to something different.

I also write for Network World magazine online . I wrote a book last year on Windows Server 2003 . I've got a few copies left if anyone's in the industry and wants one.

I started out in aerospace engineering first developing satellite simulators then working in antenna design and high encryption. Some of my work is part of Dish Network, DirectTV, Sirius (aka CDRadio) and almost every satellite weather report (GOES).

In my spare time I play beach volleyball, LOTS of beach volleyball. I practice 4-5 times a week and play a few AVP (pro) events in the summer. In addition to music/HT I'm also passionate about wine and have a ~1800 bottle cellar. It's hard to beat a great glass of wine and good music through outlaw gear.

B&W 804S (on order)
B&W HTM3S (on order)
NHT IC4
Pioneer Elite 50" PDP
PS3
Oppo 981HD (on order)

This is truly an odd situation for me. I have watched this thread develop over the past week or so and I find that I'm the only person on the list willing to admit that I'm a lawyer, not a techie. I'm in D.C., and do mostly appellate litigation and media law. I know, it's an odd combination, and I sometimes find myself on both sides of issues related to the public and the criminal justice system.

Was in Memphis in October and found myself pulled toward the Germantown Commissary, as usual. My daughter used to live there, as did my sister for a while in the '90s.

Hehe Bob, my best friend's a lawyer. I'm the best man in his wedding. He's in big-$ personal injury however. Dreyer, Babich and something... I always thought I wanted to be a lawyer, IP law for me, however there was too much money in tech at the time I got out of school.

The Commissary is good - although I haven't been by there in many years.

Bob, if you own an Outlaw Product, you're a techie.

duplicate post

I work as an electronics engineer in audio equipment design and as an engineer/editor/recording engineer in sound design and music for feature films. I've composed the music soundtracks for a couple dozen films, and did soundtrack restorations for the re-release of several major Hollywood films. Just recently I was part of the design team which designed the current Outlaw multi-channel amplifiers.

The "home theater" in my signature was really designed and built as a mini-dubbing stage where I did my film sound work, hence all the pro-audio signal processing gear and computer sound editing equipment.

I'm retired too, from teaching - psychology, hence the name - at a community college in the San Joaquin Valley in central CA, but now happily living in Santa Barbara. My interest in audio goes back to the 50s and I built Dynakits in the early 60s, the same period when I got the AR turntable I still use, but with a Mayware unipivot arm in place of the original. Most of my listening is classical music, not HT, which may be why I like Magneplanar speakers so much, plus the Yaqin tube buffer that's my latest audio acquisition.

I still use Dynaco MK IIIs (although modified) for the amplifiers for the woofers in my left and right main speakers (active bi-amplified system). I've used just about every tubed amplifier in this role, and the Dynacos still sound the best. In some areas, the designers had it right the first time, in this case, in the 1950s.

In my shady past I was a classical music critic, composer/conductor (a brief yet undistinguished career , although Altec once told me my music didn't suck ), computer magazine editor, and videogame designer.

At present, I develop/edit books on film and music technology for Apple, Inc. Stuff like these:

http://www.peachpit.com/store/product.aspx?isbn=0321303342
http://www.peachpit.com/store/product.aspx?isbn=0321502922
http://www.peachpit.com/store/product.aspx?isbn=0321502655

Not to mention, being a savior of abandoned kittens.

Wow Bob. I've used the Apple Pro Training Series to learn Final Cut Pro and have found the books to be excellent. Nice job. I guess we have some Apple experts on the forum.

With my limited education, I joined the Armed Forces where I recieved the best education a life could buy.
I finaly ended up a Union " Sprink " installing fire surpression systems. After a fall from a ladder 3 years back at age 51, I retired early. ( reluctantly )
My passion for music came by way of my 1st joint.( thank you Marine Corps)
Grew up in Bakersfield Claif where heros came in the name of Merle Haggard and Buck Owens. My military travels took me far away from my norm where I was introduced to what I had always considered " Hippie Music". After my 1st joint, I became weak , my budies subjected me to Cat Stevens, Jethro Tull and finaly the Moody Blues" Timothy Leary" It was at this juncture I craved a Sansui reciever and speakers with 15" woofers, not a Craig 8 track player.My craving hasn't subsided.

Ever been to the hospital and had blood work done? If so, there's a pretty good chance your results were processed by code written by yours truly...

I was also part of a team that developed an advanced medical error flagging application. Less than 24 hours after being turned on in the first production environment it caught an error that would've killed a patient.

I now work on internal software instead of client stuff.

--Chuck

I am a IT guy focusing on Storage Networking (SAN) technology (fibre channel and iscsi). In laymens terms i help design IT infrastructure for mission critical servers that are attached to disk storage subsystems the size of refrigerators. I work closely with tech companies like EMC and Hewlett Packard. I work for a large software company in redmond, WA and have been here for almost 13 years.
I have twin daughters who are 19 months old and make me really appreciate the human condition. I am a big english soccer fan as well. In my younger days i did quite a bit of backpacking and have travelled to 25 different countries.