Blown Electros

Yeah... Four 300v (2 serial/parallel) in a powersupply for 500 volt out. Reverse connected. Exploded after about 10 seconds.

Sure. I will not suggest that it happens "all the time", but I have had a c ouple of big, honking (5,000uf @ 80V) coupling caps go off like Roman candl es, leaving no other marks and giving no warning. These things had little r ubber plugs on top - and the only visible evidence after the show was that the plug was missing. Made in Scotland, as it happens.

Peter Wieck Melrose Park, PA

Hello, and if it isn't Scotch, it's craaaap! Sincerely, and with apologies to the creators of a very old Dan Aykroyd SNL sketch),

Blended scotch is not fit to clean toilets.

Balvenie Double-Wood is quite nice, however, for a mid-range single malt.

Peter Wieck Melrose Park, PA

Bien sur, Peter, and offerings from Macallan, Glenfiddich and Glenmorangie ain't bad either, IMHO. And there's always that smokey peat essence to be had in Sam Adams' Scotch Ale as well. I screwed up - I should have said "Scottish" vice "Scotch". OK, back on topic. Sincerely,

My grandfather was born in a peat hut on the Isle of Skye. To the end of his days he insisted on being called a Scotchman, not a Scotsman.

I cordially dislike whisky in all its flavours.

Cheers

Phil Hobbs

I remember my high-school English teacher explaining that Seltics lived in Boston and were mostly over six (6) feet. Keltics, on the other hand, live in Ireland, Scotland and Wales, and parts of Brittany and come in all sizes and shapes. Scotch was for drinking, Scots were people, scotties were dogs (we have one), and Scottish was the generic.

His favorite phrase, which I use on occasion was: "I know what you said, bu t I am still trying to discern what you mean."

He was a stickler, to this day, whenever I am asked "Can I.... ", my very n early instant reply is: "I don't know, can you?" Whenever I meet classmate s, now over 50 years later, we still drop that line on occasion.

Peter Wieck Melrose Park, PA

Actually they're both correct forms.

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Well, forty years ago you could have argued it out with him, but I would have bet on him even at that date. ;)

He arrived at the Western Front in time to be at the sharp end of the battle of St. Julien in April 1915, and served at Ypres, Passchendaele, Arras, and Vimy Ridge, continuing through the Hindenburg offensives and right up to the armistice. His battalion, the 8th Canadian Infantry (aka the Royal Winnipeg Rifles (aka the Little Black Devils)) had the very rare distinction of never having given up a trench throughout the war.

Of course that near-suicidal bravery meant that they sustained 500% casualties in the process. That was a way they had back then--Granddad was badly gassed at St. Julien (the first use of gas on the Western Front) but as soon as he was vaguely vertical they sent him back to ther front. He was one of about 50 survivors of the original thousand volunteers, and despite having only half his lung function, lived to be 87.

I wish I'd known then what I know now about the history of the RWR--he never talked about the war even when asked. The most he'd do was to rub his thumb and forefinger together and say "A man's life wasn't worth that." I hope to see him again one day.

But I digress.

Cheers

Phil Hobbs

Dammit now I'm going to have to pull the cork on my bottle of a'bunadh and pour a dram.