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Digital
Revolution, Analog Revelation
Sam Aurelius Milam III I don't remember how long ago music CDs first became available. It must have been during the early 90s, I think. At the time, I was skeptical. I believed that the sound of an analog recording was better. Those of my friends who were technofreaks chided me as old-fashioned, a stick-in-the-mud. They told me that I was merely accustomed to the deficiencies of analog recordings. They said that after I'd listened to digital recordings for a while, and cleansed my hearing of the old analog cobwebs, then I'd realize the superiority of digital recordings. One thing led to another and, for the next several years, I was pushed around a lot. I was forced to leave Mere Keep and move to the farm. I was forced to leave the farm and move to Arizona. I was forced to leave Arizona and move to Georgia. During all of the commotion, most of my possessions remained in boxes. For a lot of that time, I didn't even know which boxes contained my collection of audio cassettes. For most of those years, I listened almost exclusively to digital recordings. The main reason was that my various computers could play digital recordings. My need for the computers was more urgent than my need for my modest sound system, so the sound system remained packed in various boxes while I always put the computers into service as soon as I could manage to do so. Over the years, I listened to CDs, then to digital audio files in the computers, then to digital audio streams. I listened to a lot of music. I always have. From an early age, I've listened to music. Recently, back in September I think it was, I was looking for my old life vest which, incidentally, still remains among the missing. During the search, however, I happened across one of my boxes of audio cassettes. I'd previously located my old Sony tape deck, a relic of the 80s. It was already connected to my old Sony receiver, a relic of the 70s. I'd been using the receiver but I hadn't yet used the tape deck, for lack of tapes. I put a tape into the tape deck, pressed the Play Button and, sadly, it wouldn't work. Sometime during the years of moving and storage, the drive belts had failed. I spent some time and some funds on eBay and bought some replacement drive belts. Sadly, the tape deck still wouldn't work. Something more serious, something beyond my limited ability to repair it, had failed. My previous efforts to get old things repaired suggested to me that people who repair old electronic equipment exist only in my dreams. So, my beloved old Sony tape deck took a trip to Hall County Recycling, bound for that big recording studio in the sky. I went to Wal-Mart and asked the kid in the electronics department for an audio cassette player. He pointed to the only remaining videocassette player in his vast collection of DVD and Blu-Ray players. "No," I said, "an AUDIO cassette player." Starting to look puzzled, he pointed to his collection of iPods and other such technocrap. I shook my head. He seemed utterly baffled. He didn't have the remotest clue about audio cassette players. I spent some time and some funds on eBay and, on Monday, October 26, 2009, my lovely new tape deck arrived. It's a JVC TD-W209 Double Cassette Deck. What a deal! I got it for a mere $22, plus shipping. I connected it to my receiver, grabbed a couple of tapes from the box, inserted them into the drives, and pressed a Play button. Nothing happened. In my excitement, I'd forgotten to plug in the power cord. With that corrected, I began to test things. By chance, I'd grabbed recordings of Vivaldi and Mozart. Those are good recordings for a test. I hadn't intended to actually listen to the music but only to test the machine. However, as I wandered around the room engaged in other tasks, I gradually began to notice how good the music sounded. I stopped and listened. I thought that it must be a much better tape deck than I'd expected it to be. It sounds really full and rich, I thought in surprise. Then, suddenly, the truth hit me. My ears had noticed it right away but it had taken my conscious mind a little longer to figure it out. For the first time in about 15 years, I was listening to an analog recording. That was it! After all of those years of listening to nothing but digital recordings, I was finally accustomed to them. The technofreaks had been wrong. Digital recordings are not better. Music is good, however it's recorded, but I believe that people have been unduly submissive to forced obsolescence. We should listen to what we like, not to what the advertisers want us to buy. I recommend analog recordings. After all, in spite of the technofreaks, sound remains inherently an analog phenomenon. Please use the enclosed envelope to send a contribution. I prefer cash. For checks or money orders, please inquire. For PayPal payments, use editor@frontiersman.my3website.net.
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Letter to the Editor
To: editor@frontiersman.my3website.net I love reading letters to the Frontiersman, and your responses to them. By the way, I realize that I said something unclearly in my letter [November 2009, page 2 —editor]. When I said that "libertarian" ideas had only been around since the 1600's, I was thinking of the ideas on which the Libertarian party is based, which draw heavily (but indirectly) from the "Enlightenment" philosophers such as Descarte, Hobbes, Hume, Lock, etc. However, you are absolutely right that "libertarian" ideas (in the sense of a free or anarchist society) have been around forever! Ancient Greeks, ancient Chinese, medieval Englishman -- they all had the basic concept, although not the same name.... Also, I'm becoming somewhat more inclined to think that most people are inherently unwilling to be free, but I'm not sure that I would choose "stupidity" as the exact reason. It seems to me that some people are tend to be rather aggressive, and that even more people tend to be submissive. This may be something that can be affected by upbringing and environment -- I don't know. If it's a matter of emotional inclination, well, that obviously involves intelligence to some extent, but what do you think about the whole thing? —Sir Donald the Elusive
Of course, he might have been wrong. —editor
Stray Thoughts Sam Aurelius Milam III Nazithink — In 1933, the Reichstag building was burned. Hitler's people blamed it on the Communists. Hitler declared that anybody who wasn't for him was against him. The Enabling Act of 1933 was passed, increasing the power of the government. We all know what happened after that. In 2001, the World Trade Center was destroyed. Bush's people blamed it on the Muslims. Bush declared that anybody who wasn't for him was against him. The Patriot Act was passed, increasing the power of the government.. You don't need a crystal ball to figure out what the future holds. If we sit and let it happen, is that stupidity? Florist Friars
The Obstacles in Our Paths
Kids Are Quick
Please use the enclosed envelope to send a contribution. I prefer cash. For checks or money orders, please inquire.
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Acknowledgments My thanks to the following: SantaClara Bob; Lady Jan the Voluptuous; my mother; Dewey and Betty; Lady Nancy the Enchanting; Eric, of Soledad, California; and FL, of Delano, California.. — editor
Court Quotes From Humor in the Court and More Humor in the Court, by Mary Louise Gilman, editor of the National Shorthand Reporter. Forwarded by Don G.
Funny One-Liner Original Source Unknown. Forwarded by Don G. A used car isn't always what it's jacked up to be. Funny Signs
Frontiersman Subscriptions and Back Issues — Printed copies of this newsletter, either subscriptions or back issues, are available by application only. Cancellations — If you don't want to keep receiving this newsletter, then print REFUSED, RETURN TO SENDER above your name and address and return the newsletter. When I receive it, I'll terminate your subscription. Reprint Policy — Permission is hereby granted to reproduce this newsletter in its entirety or to reproduce material from it, provided that the reproduction is accurate and that proper credit is given. I do not have the authority to give permission to reprint material that I have reprinted from other sources. For that permission, you must go to the original source. I would appreciate receiving a courtesy copy of any document or publication in which you reprint my material. Submissions — I solicit letters, articles, and cartoons for the newsletter, but I don't pay for them. Short items are more likely to be printed. I suggest that letters and articles be shorter than 500 words but that's flexible depending on space available and the content of the piece. Payment — This newsletter isn't for sale. If you want to make a voluntary contribution, then I prefer cash, prepaid telephone cards, or U.S. postage stamps. For checks or money orders, please inquire. For PayPal payments, use editor@frontiersman.my3website.net. The continued existence of the newsletter will depend, in part, on such contributions. I don't accept anything that requires me to provide ID to receive it. In case anybody's curious, I also accept gold, silver, platinum, etc. — Sam Aurelius Milam III, editor
For PayPal payments, use editor@frontiersman.my3website.net.
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