This is a funny video, and she still looks pretty cute in it, though her skin appears to be somewhat flecked with marks that are not freckles, though I could be wrong. At any rate, this fallen angel of hollywood now has a parody of an eharmony ad that has been making the rounds since Monday. Figured I’d embed it here for any that just happened to miss it. Its really funny and kinda cute how she makes fun of herself.
Funny.. My mother sent me an article in a Canadian magazine called “Profit” about how to Optimize your websites for SEO purposes – this was the second article the magazine published, and was called Google Grabbers 2. It’s a fairly recent article, and she gave me the article about a week ago. In the last 2-3 days, I’ve started receiving comment spam on my blogs with LinkedIn URLs.
I thought this was strange, as I’ve never received comments with linkedin URLs before, but I recalled the article that my mother gave me about how to use your LinkedIn profile to spread linklove for your sites. I know I don’t usually discuss SEO stuff on this blog, mostly because it isn’t really an interest of mine to manipulate search results. I simply use clear, concises language and try and keep my titles and content text as clear as possible. I feel it works well enough for me, so I never bothered implementing anything I read in the article. Not to mention that after an article like that comes out everyone an their dog will be trying out those strategies…
I have my linked in profile done up accordingly in order to display my business and sites, but I do not have shill accounts meant to promote SEO only. Its a shame that everything on the internet has to be abused so that someone can try and make some money. Hopefully Linkedin fixes this.. their network is going to be covered with spam if not.
My father decided that he was going to renovate/redecorate his home office, and I was charged with the task of finding him a suitable Amplifier and CD Player combo under $1000CAD. I decided to peruse the used market, as there are typically better values to be had there. I’ve always liked the sound of Rega integrateds, as they have great character and a fantastic midrange which really brings out the inner detail of the music, while maintaining a great pace.
I happened upon a Rega Brio 2000 New Old Stock (NOS), and snapped it up immediately at $375CAD shipped. The price is fair and good, especially given the performance of the model. The main downside with the Brio is of course the lack of a remote control. Another possible downside, depending on your speakers and room size is the relatively low power of 38 Watts/Channel.
I hooked the Rega Brio 2000 to my Jungson Beauty Deity BD-1 speakers, because these are the speakers that I am giving to my father to use with his new Rega gear (I also snagged a Planet 2000 for him). I was a bit concerned about the somewhat low efficiency (86db) of the Jungsons, and how the 38 watts/ch of the Rega would handle it, but my fears were unnecessary.. the Brio 2000 sounded amazing with the Jungsons! There was tons of midrange detail with fantastic attack. Voices were extremely musical and rich with that inner detail that I’ve always appreciated with Rega. The sound was somewhat warmer than the sound with the Creek 4430SE that I had, and the sound is MUCH better than my Yulong Amp. In fact, I want to sell my Yulong and buy another Rega for myself now!
The Brio 2000 has double knobs on the front, one for volume and one for source selection. The source selector knob is kind of sticky-feeling, and not that clicky. Its not a bad thing, just not what I expected.
The back has non-gold plated RCAs, and 5-way Binding posts for the speakers. Detachable IEC power cord is nice, and the extruded aluminum case is built very well. The front fascia is plastic, as with most of the Rega components. I believe some of the higher end ones are aluminum.
The Brio also includes what some say is a legendary phono stage, but I did not try it out. I didn’t want to lug my turntable into my den in order to test the phono stage. But there are plenty of online reviews that attest to it’s superiority.
Overall the Rega Brio is an excellent amp, and given the modest $375CAD Shipped New price, I don’t think I could have found something better for less. Indeed it is a minimalist amp with no remote, and only two knobs and a button on the front, but it excels in midrange, rhythm and pace. I’m also confident that my father will be extremely happy with it!
The Killer’s hit single Sams Town was re-recorded at Abbey Road with less instrumentals, and primarily piano. This is such a great recording of this song, and sounds 100 times better than the original in my opinion. This single has been out for so long on the album Sawdust, but I just discovered this track, along with their cover of Dire Straits’ Romeo and Juliet which is another great song. Check it out if you haven’t.
