About Lugnut -- Patrick Malone

No doubt Pat. Barb will probably whap the side of my head so hard, that the point on my head will shift from the left to the right side.

Will my politics follow suit? Heheh.

...And speaking of politics, I see that W. tore himself away from the ranch long enough to visit Pat's humble burg of Nampa to conduct one of his pep rallys for the war. I must say that, coincidental or not, I quite like the juxtaposition of Pat'n'Barb picking this as an opportune time to travel to 'Frisco of all places...

We're back. Barb and I enjoyed our San Francisco visit more than I can convey with words. San Francisco is a city of uncommon beauty, vibrant and ALIVE! Thanks to the generosity of Howard (Boa2) we were able to cram way more into the short time we were there than you can imagine. Worthy of mention is the sacrifice he so willingly gave of his time in such a humble fashion. Never once did we feel like we were an inconvienence yet he devoted every second of his life to our happiness while we were there. Like Albert Porter and Larry (Cello) he seemed to enjoy every second he spent with us and within just a few minutes of meeting we felt like we were hanging out with a dear old friend. Deja Vu all over again, guys. Audiogon is filled with the most incredible, friendly and gentle people. I'm humbled.

I find it very interesting that nearly every one of the folks I've had the pleasure to meet in the last several months are well traveled and highly cultured. Most have advanced degrees. They possess a world view that I've been fortunate to glimpse second hand. Contrast that with the self image of Lugnut. Born into abstract poverty but blessed with a father desiring a better life for his children, my Dad, with his eight years of education, carved out a solid middle class life through his diligence in an apprentice program, becoming a skilled tool and die maker. Raised in a very small Midwestern farming community I was not exposed to the things we associate with culture and suffer a not insignificant amount of inferiority in this regard. Incredibly these folks with backgrounds so different from mine, welcome me as an equal and find whatever I am to be okay. Everyone has taken an interest in me as a person and made me feel as if I belong. A shared love for music does that. In the end this may be the biggest gift all of those structured notes I've listened to for all these years has given me. I truly thank God for the sheer joy that music has given me in this solitary endeavor. I'm especially thankful to Him for the surprise connection to others I would not have had the opportunity to meet.

Friday night we dined with Howard and Mehran of Sorasound. Mehran is the US distributor of ZYX cartridges. We've exchanged several emails and phone calls while conducting business. I've expressed in the forums how thrilled I am with the product line and how pleasant he was to deal with. I was not prepared for the incredible personality I was exposed to Friday night. Mehran is incredibly funny and always has a warm, inviting smile on his handsome face. I learned a lot about his incredibly interesting life and was in awe of his energy and enthusiasm. Again, with he, Howard and Barb it was like old times. The food was great and the conversation interesting but the evening ended too soon as I was feeling pretty crummy and had to retire to our room earlier than I wished. Mehran, thanks for sharing time with us and the exceptional dinner.

Saturday was really great. Our dedicated man slave showed us a lot of sights on the leasurely drive to Berkely to shop at Amoeba Records. I scored six albums that proved to be great choices upon listening once we returned home. Nina Simone's "Little Girl Blue" is a real gem. Recorded in 1958 and being one of her earliest recordings, I was amazed (again and again it seems with recordings of this era) at the sonics, the breathtaking vocals and the mastery of the piano in a style that is a good as it gets. Barb and I both sat through this stunned at how current the material seemed to be. This may be the definition of timelessness. What really rocked my musical world however was the good fortune of finding a Peter Green album I was unfamiliar with. "In The Skies" is beyond description. I figured it would be more great blues and some of it could be classified as such. Most of it defies classification. The recording was exceptional, the content pure magic. Instantly I considered it to be in my list of the top ten albums of all time. It is that good. At less than $4 and without a flaw it's the best software purchase I've ever made. The record shopping was topped off with the best hotdog Iv'e ever had.

Howard then drove us to a surprise listening session at the home of Tuan, Audiogon member gotoma8. Several other folks showed up including The_smokester, aka John Woodworth, Eric Weitzman and Jacob Ofman. John drove a very long distance just to meet us only staying for about an hour and then drove back to attend a function he was committed to. John's a great guy and I really enjoyed visiting with him. Too bad we couldn't listen to his beautiful system. Again, the effort he undertook just to have a short time with us isn't lost on Barb or I. Tuan flipped a few LP's and a little bit of those shinny little disks for us to enjoy but his fine system was overshadowed by his home. What once was an industrial building is now owner occupied apartments and are they ever cool. A wall of glass, super high ceilings, exposed HVAC, electrical and plumbing with a spacious loft for sleeping in whatever floor plan the owners designed make this one killer home. Jacob's home was two floors up from Tuan's and we went up to take a look at it as well. Guys, these are interesting places to live and I was impressed! Again, everyone was instant friends and they made us feel so comfortable being with them.

All of us except John then drove over to the home of Rob Thomas (member robthomas) for more listening. Rob's place was like the others on steroids. I really fell in love with this one and again, even though he had a very fine system I'd love to spend more time with, the home just grabbed me by the short hairs and wouldn't let go. The blend of an industrial environment, great audio gear and comfortable furnishings reminded me of being on a movie set. Rob played a particular recording I'd like very much to find by Reiner and the Chicago Symphony, Prokofieff's "Lieutenant Kije". Very Russian, great performance and a recording to die for is how these classically untrained ears would describe it. I seriously doubt I'll find this but I'm going to try. It's a must have on several audio levels. The entire group then went to have some of the best Thai food I've ever experienced. We spent several hours eating and talking, mainly about audio. Eric, a former low powered tube and horn guy, now a high effieciency speaker and mosfett solid state convert, piqued my interest on this subject which I've seen come up in these forums before but seems to be a most uncommon way to skin the audio cat. He's a big DIY'er having made his own turntable and most of his other gear. Now I'm curious to the point of wanting to find such a system to listen to. To say that we enjoyed this day and all the folks that made it special for us is a serious understatement.

Prior to leaving on Sunday we made a quick visit to the Warf so I could buy a couple of jackets. The prices were so low that I consider them free. Howard then drove us to various points of interest in downtown San Francisico. Non of these visual pleasures could have been taken in by either of us if we were left to our own devices. Not having to navigate ourselves allowed us for two solid days to take in all of the eye candy that is San Francisco not to mention the great converstions we had the whole time. We enjoyed ourselves so much that upon arriving home Barb said she'd like to plan another trip someplace right away. She's pumped up!

My apologies to the wives which I haven't mentioned. Special thanks from both of us for Howard's wife to so willingly share him with us. We didn't have the chance to meet her and this is the only disappointment of the entire trip. In a world where it's rare to meet new, quality friends at this advanced age I've been richly blessed through my experience this past weekend. Deja Vu all over again.

Thank you Howard.

Boy o boy, Pat, after reading this I feel like I've been on the unofficial San Francisco Audio Club members' rally with you myself. Thanks for posting it--the fun you had comes across in spades. And thanks all you guys for showing Pat and Barb such a good time !

Pat,
From the moment I picked you and Barb up at the airport on Friday, it felt like I was with family. Sure, as we've discussed previously in this thread, it would be only appropriate to chronicle this weekend as something even greater than it was, as though answering to that human inclination to make heroes of one another. But dammit, it's all true! Pat and Barb just go straight to your heart, and it's as simple as that. Spending the weekend with them was the highlight of my year.

Despite having talked a lot this weekend, I did not get the chance to tell you (Pat and Barb) that I nearly missed the opportunity to be with my wife, Gina. When I met her, I found her to be enjoyable. But she had not traveled, she wasn't my physical type, she had not finished college, and we shared no common hobby interests, except for motorcycles. However, by the grace of whatever force you care to call it, it dawned on me over dinner one evening that I was looking in the wrong place if I wanted to have a life-long relationship with someone. And in that instant, I realized that life blossoms in Gina's presence. People feel at their best when they are with her. Now, that is certainly a quality that could sustain a relationship forever, and it is exactly what I immediately felt from you and Barb. You give life to those around you. I saw it over and over, all weekend long. In my view, this is the very pinnacle of humanity, sparking life in a way that makes you inseparable from those around you.

Thank you both again for being who you are. That in itself is truly overwhelming.
Love,
Howard