Another happy builder here--finished up a Doodlebug and pupDAC from Tom's immaculate kits and added them to my work setup. Sounds wonderful... a bit too good for being at work   The ground plane on the Doodlebug was a little bit more challenging than I expected, I don't think I've ever had to...

What's intimidating you from finishing this on your own? Is it the size of the connector pins? If you don't have one, a helping / third hand tool can be really useful for holding the connector and wire in place. I think you should be able to finish this one even without prior soldering...

How about one of AMB's amps? The Mini^3 or M^3 might suit you. There's also the O2 which is a pretty straightforward build, and there are some nice tube amps over at Beezar. Are you looking for anything in particular?

I don't have a problem being untidy in terms of productivity, but my next place is basically one big room--I don't want my corner of it to always look like a tornado hit it since it'll always be in view. Your comment reminds me of Jim Williams:    

Thanks for the suggestions OddE, exactly the kind of helpful tips I was looking for :) Do you have any photos of your under-desk mounting?

Anyone have any tips on how to keep a workbench organized and clean in a small space? Right now I have a sprawling desk disaster of a work area, but I'll be moving into a small apartment soon and I'll have to be a lot more economical. Suggestions for nice parts bins or storage units? Thanks!

That DAC sounds great 00940, how do you like it?    The only DACs I can think of that fit the requirements are the Curryman DAC and ODAC, both of which come with pre-assembled boards which may or may not be a good thing depending on who you are. The eBay DACs can be a bit hit or miss. diyaudio...

You might want to ask around and see if anyone has an extra one of joneeboi's Carrie boards. It's a board for a USB-powered Mini^3 that you can easily tie a Bantam or Grub DAC to. Plug one USB cable into your comp and you're ready to go   If you can find a board the total cost will probably...

I know some alumni / current students at Northeastern. They all really like the school and they are all wonderfully practical, just-do-it people. BU is no slouch either though, that's a really tough choice >.< Good luck on your decision!   Also, in regards to your worry about your background...

Don't worry, it's fun.

Quote: And just because you score high on some silly metrics doesn't excuse you from cheating your way through school.   (FYI: "click" is spelled clique, and your sentence should be, "...accepts my clique and me.")

Quote:   Umm...

Quote:   x3   One of my pet peeves is hearing peers whine about have to learn stuff "they'll never need to know." Regardless of whether or not the material is of future, practical value, all education is going to work on one's critical thinking / problem solving, communication, work...

count me in!

This is the best I can do in the few minutes I have (I'm not a native Frenchie), but I think it gets the gist across:   Here is a rare item on eBay France, a superb scarf made of two silk squares. It’s an authentic Hermes scarf. It’s decorated with peonies, pale roses and the blue sky. This...

  Quote: I hope Seed's print magazine is far better than their site, because their site's content is... eh....   I'm more familiar with Time and Newsweek than The Economist, but I can tell you right now that Newsweek is terrible (some of their articles have been so horrid and...

K271 for me. I have two awesome and complementary mid-fi rigs with the HD600/Lambda Pros (which I funded through selling the AKGs), but there are some tracks that just sounded perfect on the K271 that I can't replicate on either.

Be warned: terrible math/science jokes below.   A neutron walks into a bar. He orders a drink and asks how much it'll be. The bartender looks at him and replies, "For you? No charge."   What do you call a tooth in a glass of water? One molar solution.   What's the difference between...

Done! Sweet site you got there

I'll add something a little more substantial when I have time, but for a bit of humor: http://www.theonion.com/video/in-the-know-are-tests-biased-against-students-who,17966/

  Pretty good, but sometimes during peak hours the download goes to a crawl.

I have one but I'm at college right now and it's very far away. If you still don't have one by the time I'm home (probably around Thanksgiving), send me a message!

Quote:   Despite the endowment, the financial aid is not nearly as good as it should be here. And you're right that there's no merit-based aid. Arg.   Quote: I know a bunch of people who have done super well for themselves with the co-op program, it's a pretty sweet...

Almost all of those companies are interchangeable, go for whatever has the best timings / price / warranty.

Running / Walking / Basketball (shooting around by myself) are all very relaxing for me. If those aren't an option: mindless video gaming. Those all clear my mind for a bit so I can tackle whatever is stressing me out afterward.