[macdonjh]

But at the same time, I very much have to stress: Be reeeeeally careful what you wish for. Personally, I do not need that kind of lowest common denominator blandness in my audio gear that such a benchmark will inevitably result in.

Amir seems to me to be one of those who, for one reason or another, is far more invested in the process than the result or the reality. That approach tends to lead to predictable results, which often have little or nothing to do with reality. You find this sort of scenario sadly common at big long-established companies and on college campuses.

@Jason Stoddard addressed these points in a Chapter (but maybe not a Verse...) a few months ago. The inertia of big corporations causes them to find a comfort zone and do everything they can to stay there. Others, wanting to get in on the game become copy-cats. I agree with you guys, the result is a "race toward mediocrity". It can also be worse with specialist things like audio and performance cars, since the masses don't appreciate the differences between "daily driver" gear and high-performance gear and so there's a rush to the lowest common denominator.

Thank goodness for artisans and smallish companies who want to do different, whether it's better or not.

Are you suggesting we put a fence up to CA residents out? I like how you think.
@Jason Stoddard I'm joking!!

@Jason Stoddard doesn't have to worry, he's now a TX resident with a vacation home in CA.

No, what Texas is doing here is much smarter than a fence: They build Texas Roadhouses all over California to teach us folks that Texas food just suuuuuuuuucks. That's much more likely to keep us Californians from ever wanting to move to Texas.

Not even worth a response...

 

[Ripper2860]

Yeah. The fact that at Texas Roadhouse they don't serve quinoa and brussel sprouts probably has them scoring low with CA food critics.

 

[ArmchairPhilosopher]

Not even worth a response...

Just to be clear: I didn't mean to say that Texas food would be bad in general. Quite the opposite; from what limited experience with real Texas cuisine that I have, it's among the best in the nation.

No, my point was that whatever it is that Texas Roadhouse is selling here as "Texas cuisine" is so horrendously bad that it might just put off those who don't know any better. Which, in California, would just about be the majority.

While those who DO know better won't be fooled by a Texas Roadhouse and might still make the move to Texas. But those tend to appreciate Texas a lot more for what it is instead of wanting to transform it into a second California, so the damage they can do is relatively limited to begin with. Nothing a good Texan can't deal with, right?!

And who knows, some of those appreciative Californians might even create well-paying jobs in Texas and praise their local wines on YouTube streams.

 

[ScotchNeat]

No, what Texas is doing here is much smarter than a fence: They build Texas Roadhouses all over California to teach us folks that Texas food just suuuuuuuuucks. That's much more likely to keep us Californians from ever wanting to move to Texas.

They do that with BBQ too. Texans talk up Mesquite as the be-all end-all of smoking wood, so everyone else will use it. That frees up stock of Oak and Pecan so they can make BBQ that actually tastes good.

 

[sam6550a]

Are you suggesting we put a fence up to CA residents out? I like how you think.
@Jason Stoddard I'm joking!!

I believe that they are welcome, but are asked to check their "In California, we did it this way" speeches at the border.

 

[sam6550a]

Yeah. The fact that at Texas Roadhouse they don't serve quinoa and brussel sprouts probably has them scoring low with CA food critics.

Or vegan prime rib or BBQ.

 

[dufferdan]

Funny thing is I also have a bear story.

A friend of mine, a serious rock climber with amazing strength, had recently fallen while bouldering and broken his right wrist. Instead of climbing he was hiking with his wife and dogs in the Sierra. A bear popped up (black bear cause that's thankfully all we have in Cali) on the trail and his dogs took off after the bear. Well the bear pins one of the dogs and it is obvious that it will kill it and my friend jumps on the bear and starts clubbing it with his cast! The bear did get claws into his inner thigh and he is lucky that he more or less rolled out of it (nice scars do exist) and the bear ran off. The dog was carried back to the car and recovered completely.

Now you are probably wondering if the dude is actually crazy or not. The answer is a strong affirmative!

Not to threadjack the Schiit audio thread with bear stories, but my son was tree planting in Northern Alberta/BC many years ago when a black bear started to stalk him. Clearly he was being hunted. My son turned and faced the bear, held up his shovel and pack of saplings and started to talk to the bear as he slowly backed up. the bear was unfortunately calm and followed him, at the same pace. (this is a very bad sign….a confused bear you can influence, once it has made up it’s mind, you are likely lunch). My son bumped into a stump, got on top of it to make himself look bigger and started to wave his arms and yell. His supervisor hears him and starts booking over to his location, a few hundred yards away. In the meantime, the bear is calmly watching, and , in my sons mind, preventing him from making his 10 cents per tree planted….so my son charges the bear. At this point the supervisor is in place and starts yelling, etc….the bear backs off a bit, giving the supervisor time to call in the helicopter to drive off the bear. The bear came back a second time as T got started planting again, so the helicopter had to be recalled, the second time the bear didn’t come back. This particular bear had to be eliminated a few days later as it was too habituated to humans and wandered into camp looking for food…and did a lot of damage.

 

[JohnnyCanuck]

never mind

Neverminded


JC

 

[Roy G. Biv]

Texas Roadhouse doesn't represent Texas food anymore than Cracker Barrel represents southern food. Both are sub-par chains IMO.

Edit - My dad used to live a few miles south of Estes Park, Co. Outside his back door was essentially Rocky Mountain National Park. The problem with bears in his area wasn't with the bears. It was the humans who would intentionally leave food for bears to find so that the bears became more accustomed to being around/seeing people. Not for nothing, a park ranger was asked why it was so challenging to have properly designed bear-proof dumpsters. His reply was that there's a significant overlap of intelligence between the smartest bears and the stupidest humans.

 

[Ripper2860]

Yeah. TRH sucks even by NC standards.

 

[ArmchairPhilosopher]

Texas Roadhouse doesn't represent Texas food anymore than Cracker Barrel represents southern food. Both are sub-par chains IMO.

Shush, you're ruining Texas' entire plan!

 

[bcowen]

Texas’ new strategy to keep Californians from moving there:

FWIW (and that's FWIW, not Ft. Worth), I like Texas Roadhouse. Consistently good food and service (at least around here). Yeah it's not 5 star cuisine, but then you don't have to pay $100 for a house salad either. Noisy, but sometimes I get hungry when I'm drunk so I fit right in,

 

[ScotchNeat]

Texas Roadhouse doesn't represent Texas food anymore than Cracker Barrel represents southern food. Both are sub-par chains IMO.

Don't know what one would expect of a chain headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, whose first few locations were in:

Clarksville, Indiana
Gainesville, Florida
Cincinnati, Ohio (failed)
Clearwater, Florida (failed)
Sarasota, Florida (failed)

Sounds authentic to me.

 

[dufferdan]

Amir seems to me to be one of those who, for one reason or another, is far more invested in the process than the result or the reality. That approach tends to lead to predictable results, which often have little or nothing to do with reality. You find this sort of scenario sadly common at big long-established companies and on college campuses.

I don’t get the sense Amirm’s sense of investment is necessarily a bad thing. He has methods for measuring response curves, distortion and other factors. He also listens to the item after review. I think a lot of his comments of what he hears are pretty reasonalble and has a bit df. A self deprecating sense of humour. I see his recommendations as being grounded more in the technical measurements rather than listening impressions, which is find if one takes that at face value. But we all hear something different and some us can discern differences and some cannot. His comments on, for instance, tube gear, with respect to high levels of distortion, he doesn’t like it, but some may really enjoy it’s impact on their listening. Why do many guitarists use tube preamps and amps in their live and studio playing, precisely for the distortion and what it adds to their performance.

I am really enjoying my Modius/Magnius/Lokius stack with various headphones, I also enjoy my original Bifrost/Valhalla 2 combo I have had for the better part of 9 or 10 years now. (I wish I had picked up the multibit upgrade, but that is water under the bridge). Having his measurements reported and explained, i have found quite valuable. In many ways, it certainly shows when the overpriced Emporers clothes might be a bit thin…..

 

[RickB]

He will be happy to know that this will not be a problem, as I already avoid his "magnum opus" any way I can.

Fact: Amir is a very smart and capable guy.
Opinion: Just not smart and capable enough to see the big picture. His intent is laudable, but his solution is flawed.

"It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it."