Archives
AudioControl Maestro M9 and Director D2800 (8 channel)
How could the same company that makes the Maestro M9 even consider releasing an amplifier to go with it as noisy as the Director D2800? After installing the 8 channel Director D2800 in my rack to deliver the music signal from the Maestro M9 to the ceiling speakers it was only a day before we […]
September 4, 2018
2016 dated COTY Best Crown is Best Mistake in the Series
Collectors love a good mistake. The Krause nominators made a whopper of a mistake and no one in the broader panel of judges caught it. In fact, the coin received the plurality of votes to win the category of best crown. The winner of the 2016 dated coin in the “Best Crown” category is the […]
August 27, 2018
Athelstan: The Making of England
Athelstan: The Making of England by Tom Holland is an excellent short biography of the first king of a unified England. The book is part of the Penguin Monarchs series, which offers expert accounts of England’s rulers in a short, highly readable format. As vividly detailed in the book, the unification of England was a massive achievement, given […]
August 20, 2018
OPPO Discontinues its Award-Winning Audiophile Disc Player
The OPPO 205 is the best CD/DVD/Blu Ray player on the market with a high-end DAC chip. Unfortunately, OPPO Digital is discontinuing its line of high-end Blu-ray players and headphones. The OPPO UDP-205 Ultra HD is an audiophile’s dream machine, having received numerous great reviews and attracted many loyal users. The player is equipped with two […]
August 14, 2018
Franklin D. Roosevelt: A Political Life
Franklin D. Roosevelt: A Political Life by Robert Dallek opens a window into the President’s mind and psychological profile of this ambitious man who used his family name and privilege to its best advantage. There are many good biographies of FDR, but none portray him as much as a political operative and opportunist than this one. For […]
August 6, 2018
How Hemp Became Criminal in the United States
As New Jersey begins to talk about marijuana legalization, the value of hemp should not be overlooked. Hemp and marijuana are both from the species cannabis. However, because hemp contains nearly no delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), it can’t be used as a psychoactive drug. Rather, it has a wide range of industrial uses, including dietary supplements, skin […]
July 30, 2018
What Is a Firmware Update?
If you own a smartphone, digital camera, tablet or similar device, you’ve probably been asked to conduct a firmware update. You’ve likely also wondered what is it and why is it necessary? In basic terms, firmware is software that is embedded in a piece of hardware, which can range from a DVD player to an iPhone. […]
July 23, 2018
Is Apple iOS 12 Really Groundbreaking?
Apple recently unveiled iOS 12 at its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2018. Now, the question is whether the new software version is truly revolutionary or whether Apple is becoming too complicated? Apple continues to unveil new versions of its iPad and iPhone software. While each release includes new features, many upgrades come at a cost, […]
July 16, 2018
Rare Galvanos by Edward Warren Sawyer Sold at Auction
A collection of 18 Native American portrait galvanos sold for a total of $64,560 at Heritage Auction’s recent Long Beach Expo. The works are widely regarded as Edward Warren Sawyer’s most significant contributions to medallic art. Sawyer trained with Hermon Atkins MacNeil, who designed the Standing Liberty quarter dollar, at the School of the Art Institute […]
July 9, 2018
Appointing the Next U.S. Supreme Court Justice
Last November, during the Presidential election, was the time to express concern for the ideological makeup of the United States Supreme Court for this generation Not now. It is too late. When America voted for Donald Trump as President, they may or may not have realized it, but they voted to use his litmus test […]
July 2, 2018