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Thread: Hello From the Blue Ridge Mountains in North Carolina

  1. #1
    Join Date: May 2017

    Location: High in the Blue Ridge Mountains where the NC/TN/VA borders intersect

    Posts: 6
    I'm Timothy.

    Default Hello From the Blue Ridge Mountains in North Carolina

    Background:

    We live at an elevation of about 3,500 feet where the borders of North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia kind of intersect. Our county has about 22,000 people living here and the biggest town is about 1,300 people. But for some strange reason we have a 24 hour Walmart.

    However, civilization, as defined by access to Trader Joe's, Whole Foods Markets, Costco, Sam's Club, Barnes & Noble, Best But, etc. is but a 90 minute drive away.

    My wife and are retired. She's a former educator, while my life was somewhat different. I began working as a Field Operator for the NSA, DIA, MACV-SOG (you should google MACV-SOG), and the NCIS. I travelled to many different places and did some interesting things for 4 years. I then went back to school and got an MBA and I worked for various Fortune 500 companies in Product Management, Marketing, and Advertising.

    I then had an epiphany and realized I wasn't really doing anything useful in corporate America.

    So I went back to school and became certified to teach almost any subject, but I particularly enjoyed working as a Special Ed teacher working with high school students with severe disabilities. I did this until I had to leave the classroom when I was diagnosed with a particularly virulent and aggressive Stage IV cancer. The docs tell me less than 300 cases are reported annually, worldwide. And I was given a 20% chance of survival.


    That was two years ago and I'm currently cancer-free. I was OK with the 20% odds: When I was younger (and much more stupid ) I would often volunteer for Special Ops assignments with low probabilities of success and I always came back, I never lost a man from my team, and I never got shot.

    As I told my lovely wife of 44 years, I was OK with 20% odds as I had faced unfavourable odds in the past in my Special Ops days and I always came back.


    My first audio system was a Sansui 5000A, a Dual 1219 with a Shure V-15 II, and AR 3a speakers, all purchased from the PX's I had access to while travelling. The AR's sounded better than anything else I listened to.

    As a side note, the first concert I ever attended was Jimi's Hendrix's last performance in the United States. He performed in the Honolulu Civic Center on the night of August 1st, 1970. This was the first rock concert I ever went to. What a way to start!

    I bought a "hold back" ticket on the day of the show and was seated at the center of the first row. I can actually see the back of my head in the photo at https://piglets1975.blogspot.com/201...07350982854001

    I was spoiled for life: No subsequent concert (many different artists) ever measured up to Jimi's performance on the night of August 1st, 1970. It was a magical evening.

    My User ID:

    I have since become an avid collector of used vinyl and FM Tuners (I am one of the moderators for Yahoo's FM Tuner Group at www.fmtunerinfo.com). I currently have over 25,000 records in my basement and about 20+ FM tuners. Even though we live in a TV "dead zone" (no over-the-air TV signals can be received in our area), we can pick up very listenable college and Public Radio FM signals from North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia.

    My System:

    Click on https://cgi.audioasylum.com/systems/6137.html for my system and my listening preferences. I am particularly fond of Celtic music, and most of the people living in our area are of Scotch/Irish decent and there is an incredible Bluegrass presence in our area. Several years before Doc Watson's death, my wife and I visited a charity fund raiser he was playing at. It was a very small venue (less than 200 people) and it was all acoustic (no mics or amps). I had a Canon digital camera with built in stereo mics and I was able to capture most of his performance.

    I spend my days listening to music and cleaning LP's. And I am very content.
    The West won the world not by the superiority of its ideas or values or religion but rather by its superiority in applying organized violence. Westerners often forget this fact, non-Westerners never do."
    ---------------

  2. #2
    Join Date: Feb 2013

    Location: W Lothian

    Posts: 99,005
    I'm Grant.

    Default

    Welcome Timothy. Nice intro, and hope you enjoy yourself. Hopefully you have a better than 20% chance of staying here So your in Fort Bragg country then... Guess with your background you maybe were there once..
    Regards,
    Grant .... ؠ ......Don't be such a big girl's blouse

    I've said it before and I'll say it again: democracy simply-doesn't-work
    .... ..... ...... ...... ................... ..... ..... ..... ..... .....
    FIIO K7 BT, M11 PLUS, BTR7, KA5 - OPPO BDP-103D - PANASONIC UB450 - PANASONIC 4K ULTRA HD TV - PIXEL 6 - AVANTREE LR BLUETOOTH - 2* X600 SOUNDCORE - HEADPHONES INCLUDE, FIIO, NURAPHONES', FOCAL, OPPO, BOSE, CAMBRIDGE, BOWER & WILKINS, DEVIALET, MARSHALL, SONY, MITCHELL & JOHNSTON - 2*ZBOOK'S- MERCURY BD ROM, ROON, QOBUZ, TIDAL, PLEX, CYBERLINK, JRIVER - MULTI HDD'S -

    Oh my god! There's nothing wrong with the bidet is there?

    “Nothing discloses real character like the use of power. It is easy for the weak to be gentle. Most people can bear adversity. But if you wish to know what a man really is, give him power. This is the supreme test. It is the glory of Lincoln that, having almost absolute power, he never abused it, except on the side of mercy".

    “You see these dictators on their pedestals, surrounded by the bayonets of their soldiers and the truncheons of their police ... yet in their hearts there is unspoken fear. They are afraid of words and thoughts: words spoken abroad, thoughts stirring at home -- all the more powerful because forbidden -- terrify them. A little mouse of thought appears in the room, and even the mightiest potentates are thrown into panic.”

    "You don't have free will. You have the appearance of free will.”

    “There's a war out there, old friend. A world war. And it's not about who's got the most bullets. It's about who controls the information. What we see and hear, how we work, what we think... it's all about the information!”


    ***SMILE, BE HAPPY***

  3. #3
    Join Date: Apr 2012

    Location: N E Kent

    Posts: 51,624
    I'm Geoff.

    Default

    Hello Timothy. Welcome to AOS.

    Good intro. You have an interesting background.

    I spotted the mention of Coral loudspeakers. That company made some great stuff.

    If you have further plans for your Hi-Fi, we'd like to hear about them. We're always interested in what members may have in mind.

    Feel free to join in the chat. There's plenty to get involved with.


    Enjoy the forum,
    Geoff.
    It is impossible for anything digital to sound analogue, because it isn't analogue!

  4. #4
    Join Date: Nov 2008

    Location: North Down /Northern Ireland/ UK

    Posts: 19,484
    I'm Neil.

    Default

    Welcome Timothy to AoS

    Interesting introduction hardly does justice to what you were up to, back in the day.

    I too collect FM tuners and have probably as many as you, and I am a member of your Yahoo group but haven't posted anything as you guys know much more than I do.

    Look forward to your contributions on the forum. And hope and pray the cancer stays away.
    Last edited by Spectral Morn; 16-05-2017 at 21:39.
    Regards Neil

  5. #5
    Audio Al is offline Pishanto Specialist & Super-Daftee
    Join Date: May 2012

    Location: Dagenham Essex

    Posts: 11,215
    I'm Allen.

    Default

    I currently have over 25,000 records in my basement

    Welcome and much respect with the record collection

    Please stay and join in with the forum
    [

  6. #6
    Join Date: May 2017

    Location: High in the Blue Ridge Mountains where the NC/TN/VA borders intersect

    Posts: 6
    I'm Timothy.

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by struth View Post
    Welcome Timothy. Nice intro, and hope you enjoy yourself. Hopefully you have a better than 20% chance of staying here So your in Fort Bragg country then... Guess with your background you maybe were there once..
    Hi Grant,

    Fort Bragg is about 4 hours from my home. Actually, DEVGRU did not exist when I served, so I've only been to Bragg to visit my cousin, General Henry Hugh Shelton, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of staff from 1997 - 2001. In the family he was known as "Little Hugh" as he was 2" shorter than his father (I doubt anyone in the military ever called him "Little Hugh" and lived to talk about it). Service in the military runs in our family: Both my parents served in WWII (my mother was actually a Navy Pilot - She had a pilot's license before she had a driver's license, but that's another story).

    Regards,

    Tim
    The West won the world not by the superiority of its ideas or values or religion but rather by its superiority in applying organized violence. Westerners often forget this fact, non-Westerners never do."
    ---------------

  7. #7
    Join Date: Sep 2009

    Location: Derbyshire

    Posts: 9,228
    I'm Josie.

    Default

    Welcome to AOS, Timothy.

    What a great introduction. Thanks for taking the time with that.

    So you have seen Jim play... man, you are uber cool. Although I'm too young to have seen him I'm interested in anyone who has as he's (along side the beatles, and stones, the doors, Neil Young, the Floyd and Jefferson airplane) simply magical.

    Glad your with us. 😁

    Jo

    Sent from my 9001X using Tapatalk
    Ultrafide U500DC power amplifier - Croft Vitale )highly modified) - TRIO L-07D Turntable - Denon DL103C1 - Funk Firm Houdini - Lentek MC head amp - 15" Tannoy Monitor Gold Loudspeakers in Lockwood Major cabinets (From Trident Studios) - Tannoyista SPEC 3 Custom Crossovers - VanDamme Black Speaker Cable


    Tannoyista.com

    Facebook

  8. #8
    Join Date: Feb 2013

    Location: W Lothian

    Posts: 99,005
    I'm Grant.

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Vinyl Rules View Post
    Hi Grant,

    Fort Bragg is about 4 hours from my home. Actually, DEVGRU did not exist when I served, so I've only been to Bragg to visit my cousin, General Henry Hugh Shelton, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of staff from 1997 - 2001. In the family he was known as "Little Hugh" as he was 2" shorter than his father (I doubt anyone in the military ever called him "Little Hugh" and lived to talk about it). Service in the military runs in our family: Both my parents served in WWII (my mother was actually a Navy Pilot - She had a pilot's license before she had a driver's license, but that's another story).

    Regards,

    Tim
    Cool, always nice to have something running in the family. I like to see folk follow in footsteps. My Dad was in RAF during ww2.And he was not conscripted, he signed up. The things you do when young eh
    Regards,
    Grant .... ؠ ......Don't be such a big girl's blouse

    I've said it before and I'll say it again: democracy simply-doesn't-work
    .... ..... ...... ...... ................... ..... ..... ..... ..... .....
    FIIO K7 BT, M11 PLUS, BTR7, KA5 - OPPO BDP-103D - PANASONIC UB450 - PANASONIC 4K ULTRA HD TV - PIXEL 6 - AVANTREE LR BLUETOOTH - 2* X600 SOUNDCORE - HEADPHONES INCLUDE, FIIO, NURAPHONES', FOCAL, OPPO, BOSE, CAMBRIDGE, BOWER & WILKINS, DEVIALET, MARSHALL, SONY, MITCHELL & JOHNSTON - 2*ZBOOK'S- MERCURY BD ROM, ROON, QOBUZ, TIDAL, PLEX, CYBERLINK, JRIVER - MULTI HDD'S -

    Oh my god! There's nothing wrong with the bidet is there?

    “Nothing discloses real character like the use of power. It is easy for the weak to be gentle. Most people can bear adversity. But if you wish to know what a man really is, give him power. This is the supreme test. It is the glory of Lincoln that, having almost absolute power, he never abused it, except on the side of mercy".

    “You see these dictators on their pedestals, surrounded by the bayonets of their soldiers and the truncheons of their police ... yet in their hearts there is unspoken fear. They are afraid of words and thoughts: words spoken abroad, thoughts stirring at home -- all the more powerful because forbidden -- terrify them. A little mouse of thought appears in the room, and even the mightiest potentates are thrown into panic.”

    "You don't have free will. You have the appearance of free will.”

    “There's a war out there, old friend. A world war. And it's not about who's got the most bullets. It's about who controls the information. What we see and hear, how we work, what we think... it's all about the information!”


    ***SMILE, BE HAPPY***

  9. #9
    Join Date: May 2017

    Location: High in the Blue Ridge Mountains where the NC/TN/VA borders intersect

    Posts: 6
    I'm Timothy.

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by struth View Post
    Cool, always nice to have something running in the family. I like to see folk follow in footsteps. My Dad was in RAF during ww2.And he was not conscripted, he signed up. The things you do when young eh
    I have a huge amount of respect for the RAF!

    IMO his service helped win the Battle of Britain and kept the Nazi's from invading. All of the RAF were true heros. And he's right about the things you do when you were young: I believed in our mission and I truly thought I was invincible. Aah, the follies of youth. Today I find it difficult to process some of the things we did, and I can't even share this with my lovely wife.

    My wife's dad was the maintenance officer in charge of keeping P-38 fighter planes flying in the Pacific Theatre. He was personally tasked with prepping the P-38's involved in the Admiral Yamamoto shoot-down on April 18th, 1943. He had to install special equipment for the mission, and his wife (who had not yet met) actually assembled and calibrated some of the equipment (back in the States) he installed in the P-38's. What a small world. Even stranger, the April 18th date of Yamamoto's shoot-down is my wife's birthday. How strange is that?
    The West won the world not by the superiority of its ideas or values or religion but rather by its superiority in applying organized violence. Westerners often forget this fact, non-Westerners never do."
    ---------------

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