I'm speaking up late to second the opinions about wool rugs. Quirt had quite a few nice wool Turkish-style rugs. (Not hand-tufted, I don't think.) When we bought a house together, we had three elderly incontinent animals. We had wood and tile floors and we needed them completely bare for the frequent cleanups. The rugs went in the garage. They stayed there for about seven years with no climate control, until we moved here. Now we have young animals, and the rugs are the perfect colors and style for this house. I was nervous to see what condition they were in, but they were perfect. No stains. No fading. The pads were in bad shape, and that may be what protected the rugs from the elements, but the rugs were awesome.

@Steve-Miller said: @Mark Very nice! I remember when you were just getting in to audio, and predicted that you would end up with a fantastic system. Looks like you have! Did you assemble the system all at once or were there steps along the way? Yes, I tend to get very serious about things I like. Music is like breathing to me. Without it, I will surely die. Totally steps along the way. Most of the system is pre-owned equipment. What we like to call "Audiophiliac Disease" results in people who have way more money than I, spending obscene amounts of money on things only to catch the related disease called, "Upgradeitis". This leads to a very healthy pre-owned market where you can find absolute gems for up to 80% or more off their original Retail price. Not unlike luxury automobiles. The vintage pieces like the Cassette and Reel to Reel decks are from a customer of mine. They are the result of bartering.

@Steve-Miller said: I wonder how much of that surge pricing goes to the drivers. Google’s AI says Uber calculates the customer fare and the driver’s pay separately — one algorithm to find the maximum for what customers are willing to pa for a ride, another separate algorithm to find the minimum for what drivers are willing to accept to provide a ride. I don’t think anyone is surprised by this. Uber also invests a lot in autonomous driving technology, so all this will become moot anyway when the customers develop enough trust in cars that drive themselves.

@Mary-Anna said: Oh, and the choir rehearses at a church right across the street from my house. I can walk out my front door five minutes before rehearsal and be there with time to spare. That's great!!

@RealPlayer said: I wonder if a Bluetooth signal is what tells a thief there’s a device inside. I never thought of that, but it seems possible. Probably need to completely power things down as well....

In CA there are dozens of hamburger restaurants owned by Greeks. Interesting that they all look nearly alike with nearly identical menus even though they are each individually owned. The menus include classic hamburger fare, Mexican food and always a few Greek items. Best value available for lunch on the road. My friend grew up on an Army base in Greece and speaks the language fluently. If he ordered in Greek we always got free food!

Link to video

[image: 1780973240413-4e4e5198-628b-4f4f-bf8b-ddfafa7759f2-image-resized.jpeg] I posted this a few years ago to Facebook with the heading “Optical Illusions in Everyday Life” and the caption “Both internal circles are actually the same size.” It won me a “You win the internet today” prize.

Holy wow, that’s spectacular. I could totally live there if I had unlimited funds and several full time gardeners for the topiary.

@beelady That second one looks like it's right up my alley! Thanks!

@Axtremus I scanned a few pages just to get a feel for what's in that bill. Very interesting and a good reference. Thanks for posting it!

[image: 1780933398048-20260607_213416-resized.jpg]

@AdagioM said: I sold my digital piano several years ago. Roland FP something or other. I like the way sound runs through me from my acoustic piano way better. Same! When we moved from Japan back to the U.S., for a long time (7 years?) a digital was all I had (apartment life). After I finished grad school, I kept the digital even though I had two different uprights (not at the same time), both were kind of crummy, but I always played the acoustic pianos, even though they were not the greatest instruments. But when I bought my grand, I finally sold the digital. I knew I would never play it.

@AndyD Beautiful stuff!