Q: “Boy, has this thread gone off the rails ...”
Well Tom, I genuinely hope you are not offended, as nothing of such a nature is intended.
Conversations are a little like Trains……. Trains having arrived at a destination, often travel to further destinations of little import possibly to us as an individual ……
But someone benefits from their continuous movement forward.
And many of us really like cars…… Although of zero significance in the USA, the Rover debacle here in the UK was far more devastating nationally than the recent problems at Quantegy were in the U.S.
Why should that be of any interest or relevance to a thread on F.M.E? Well the Corporation’s that I am involved with, for instance, spend an incredible amount of money sponsoring great Classical Concerts featuring the Top Artist’s and Orchestra’s with show's in the World’s Best Concert Halls. In Europe in certain Cities, we place massive screens in City Squares so that everyone, whoever they are, can enjoy the Concert’s for free. We Sponsor Great Opera, Top Jazz Shows, Electronic Music Shows, and a great many different genre’s indeed all over the world.
Artist’s, Musicians, Studios, Mix Engineers, Mastering Houses, all directly benefit from this sponsorship.
But it doesn’t end there. We sponsor all kinds of Sport’s, Golf, Sailing, Motor Sport, Arts and Culture.
People on this REP site and in many parts of the world all directly benefit from this.
I know for a fact that three businesses represented on this site alone, have had Major Art Exhibitions sponsored in their particular Cities, in the last four months. And all this is on top of quite stupendous monies freely given to Charities, with the deployment of hugely expensive practical resources, wherever this is appropriate in specific parts of the world.
We have to run business with an economic efficiency, second to none anywhere in the world, in order to be able to achieve such ends, having to generate profits on an unprecedented scale, to enable such benevolence to be possible.
We could put extra money in shareholders pockets.
We could pay the shop floor workers more.
We could reinvest at a higher rate.
We do of course, look after all those things anyway, but instead of increasing them astronomically further, we try to give something back to the world, of a much higher order altogether.
Tom, I note you are from Pennsylvania.
One business that the type of Industries that are of financial interest to me would interface with, is the Pennsylvania Paint Group. This example, is a small business on the scale I’m talking about, but it should be of interest to you, because you and your children will probably benefit from it at some point, if they go on to higher education.
PPG Industries Foundation 2004 Financial Highlights
Education - 2,175 Human Services - 1,209 Culture - 275 Civic and Community Affairs - 200 Health and Safety - 79 Direct Grants - 3,938 Matching Gifts - 1,394 GIVE Grants - 134
TOTAL - 5,466
These Amounts represent numbers of $ Millions.
So for last year we are talking about PPG simply giving away $5,466,000,000.
This is a Company that simply vies for contracts with the Companies I get financially involved with. Small potatoes then… But if anyone here can give away an equivalent percentage, of the income of their business, to good works, as this company does, then hats off to them. I salute them!
If they can’t afford to do that, then perhaps it’s obvious that there is a great deal about the efficient running of a business that could be learnt from studying such companies.
It’s hard to do that however…….
And not discuss them……
When a convenient opportunity arises.
But a great many people within the Audio Industry, directly benefit from the shows that particular companies sponsor; and the work, massive Global Corporations provide, benefit a great many people in your profession albeit indirectly.
Probably you benefit too….
I very much hope that that is the case!
But I can well understand such conversations not being the original intention you had in mind…..
Q: “The whales speak. We just fail to understand the language.”
Q: “The SOSUS system has heard "conversations" at least 1000 miles away!
It's the loudest animal sound.”
It’s amazing the number of post’s I have seen on many different threads throughout the whole REP site that make reference to Whales, and what we can learn from them.
There seems to be an ever growing ground swell of interest in them…..
But it’s most especially satisfying to me, to see two people I think a very great deal of and care about, warmly agreeing, and expressing in writing so movingly, their common interest in Whales.
Long may this keenly awaited Concorde continue……..
Q: “... in 99' we got so lost driving thru Oxford on our way back to London.”
It’s perplexing to contemplate…. But the fact is high flying public transport experts from all over the world come to Oxford to learn how to deploy practical and effective transport policies. This came home to me a little while back when there were certain problem’s besetting Tokyo. You see, the head of the Tokyo Transport System was my next door neighbour for a while. But despite all this quality expertise, being handily available, the fact remains that due to the local and county council’s inner stress's, Oxfords transport structure itself, is confusing to people unused to its peculiar idiosyncrasies. Indeed it is, even to those well familiar with its frustrating eccentricities.
Q: “Oxford to London is a hell of a drive, for England!”
If you study a map of the U.K. you will find that although motorways flow out from London freely in all directions. The two best roads, both flow in a Westerly direction out of London towards just North of, and just South of Oxford respectively.
It takes many years to fully implement a properly structured transport policy, and the particular political party in Government, will change before plans can be properly developed. But although Governments change, the Civil Servant’s and high powered Mandarin’s that advise the Government, remain the same. They, mostly live in the area between North and South Oxford, and London itself as a group of individuals.
Q: “We drove in and around Oxford for 2 hours looking for an exit to London!”
Better to stay in Oxfordshire is the obvious conclusion that should be drawn.
Ask Paul Frindle………
Q: “Finally dead-ended on campus... the tweed-clad denizens just looked at us like "silly colonists"...”
Heaven Forefend!
Q: “of course driving "left" didn't help any.”
Ah……..!
You should of gone ‘Right’ then…..?
Parking is the single biggest problem…..
I get driven into Oxford, dropped off and picked up, because of the parking situation and a while back was waiting for my car to arrive, when a big blue Roller with a young student at the wheel, parked right in front of me in the middle of the street.
Now…. I’ve lived in Oxford all my life, but even I don’t do this Jay.
And for a moment……………………
I succumbed to the sin of envy……...!
A young student, in a Roller, parking in the middle of the road, like he owned it!
I was envious..
How stupid..
But I was.
And then he started to get out of the car, and it seemed to take a quite little while for him to do so….
Giving my eyes time to grow even greener.
And then, he was fully out of the car, and I saw him stood to his complete stature.
He had only one leg, and used an arm support, in order to be able to walk.
Off he hobbled to the Bank with his unequal gait!
I could have kicked myself!
And I learnt a very salutary lesson.
All the time I was looking at him and envying him, he was looking at me, stood there bold as brass on my two legs, and in all probability, envying me…..
Envy…. No wonder it’s a sin……
Q: “Who's the best UK ME ?”
With the greatest respect, I gave a clear answer to this earlier……
P: “There are many excellent mastering engineers doing a solid job that really deserve a good pat on the back. We even have some in this country, remarkable though that might seem, but as soon as you mention a particular personal favourite, you do risk the possibility of disenfranchising those you haven’t mentioned.
And I would never want to do that……”
Q: “the tailor that cuts the best, cuts the least.....!
Congratulations….
Love the dots…..
Errr…
Ummm….
Arrrggh…….
I feel, the better the Tracking and Mixing is done, the less should actually need to be done at the Mastering Stage. A direct transfer would mean that the Mastering Engineer had enough experience, competency and brilliance to know that anything he ‘improved’ would actually take away something from the recording.
Mastering Engineers that are this good, are rare, but ideal.
Tracking and Mix Engineers that are this good are also quite rare, but this is what I feel people should be aiming for when recording.
I once mentioned to George on the Massenberg Forum, just how much better Al Schmitt’s recordings sounded to me that everybody else’s recording’s I had heard.
I’m sure he greatly appreciated the point of my comments.
Unfortunately, I believe most M.E.’s will have plenty to do on the overwhelming majority of recordings they have the professional misfortune to encounter in future.
P
P.S. Aren't Whales Terrific?
What is it that they are telling us about Audio?
Do we know it all already? Or is there more we could learn?
Could Whales be the one's the teach us something spectacularly significant?
It's great that Bill and Dave are SO united in their love for and understanding of Whales.
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