The AI-generated cat pictures thread
Netflix "Explained: Fairy Tales". The original Grimm Brothers' Rapunzel had the man climb her hair to "do" her. The consequences of unprotected sex led to her being expelled from her posh penthouse suite. The book was panned by the critics so they changed it to be more kid friendly. And more violent.
Boost Pope
iTrader: (8)
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Chicago. (The less-murder part.)
Posts: 33,039
Total Cats: 6,607
Bragging just a little bit here.
Soon, I will be able to watch cat videos on a somewhat larger scale than before.
I've been wanting to do something like this for years. I finally have both the physical space and the "I think I can allow myself to express some confidence that I'll be in this place for a while" sense to allow me to do so.
In the process, I learned two things.
Due to the hilariously acute angles involved, ultra-short-throw laser projectors are really goddamned sensitive in terms of positioning. Getting them dialed-in is a nontrivial process. If you fart loudly, the alignment goes out.
The walls and floors in this house are nowhere near straight or flat. It's like the place was built prior to the invention of laser levels. And also prior to the discovery of penicillin, the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and therefore World War I, etc.Took me two days of "just walk away and have a drink, you're too frustrated to continue this properly right now" effort to get that screen perfectly flat. There are a lot of "well, that didn't work" holes in the wall behind the fabric.
Soon, I will be able to watch cat videos on a somewhat larger scale than before.
I've been wanting to do something like this for years. I finally have both the physical space and the "I think I can allow myself to express some confidence that I'll be in this place for a while" sense to allow me to do so.
In the process, I learned two things.
Due to the hilariously acute angles involved, ultra-short-throw laser projectors are really goddamned sensitive in terms of positioning. Getting them dialed-in is a nontrivial process. If you fart loudly, the alignment goes out.
The walls and floors in this house are nowhere near straight or flat. It's like the place was built prior to the invention of laser levels. And also prior to the discovery of penicillin, the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and therefore World War I, etc.Took me two days of "just walk away and have a drink, you're too frustrated to continue this properly right now" effort to get that screen perfectly flat. There are a lot of "well, that didn't work" holes in the wall behind the fabric.
Before my divorce, we built a custom house in which I made sure to spec out a home theatre room in the basement. I did oodles of research, figuring out the ideal room dimensions to optimize sound, plus the best way to insulate it for sound (so I could enjoy movies at ear-splitting volumes without disturbing my then-wife):
The interior frame was decoupled from the rest of the house:
All wiring for networking, speakers and ceiling-mounted projector was pre-installed (as future-proofed as I could make it at the time).
The walls were decoupled from the interior frame using acoustic spacers, plus double-sheets of drywall and blow-in insulation:
The ceiling (also two layers of drywall) was hung from acoustic decoupling springs:
All these decouplers and drywall were installed and hung by me and my two brothers, and it was quite the task. We left the finishing to the builder.
A platform was included, for better sightlines in the back row:
And it was painted a neutral grey (so that reflections off the wall wouldn't wash out the projected image):
Carpet was also a neutral colour:
For some reason, I can't locate pictures of the finished room. It had custom recliners for four in the back, a 720P projector (1080P was ludicrously expensive at the time), THX 7.1 sound and a 100" 16:9 screen. The speakers I chose were ridiculously good, as was the amp and source equipment (DVD and Laserdisc only, as this was before Blu-ray). An 18" sub filled in the low end (and was the reason for all the insulation).
If I had to do it again, I would do a few things differently. First, decoupling the floor would have been relatively easy to do and would've helped soundproofing. Second, the door was insufficient to the task:
It was an insulated, outdoor-spec door but definitely the weak link. The correct way to do it is with a small atrium (i.e. two doors) and that would've prevented more than a few "turn it down!" admonitions. Finally, I didn't think to add more HVAC. With all the equipment going, the room heated up quite quickly and eventually the door would have to be opened in any case. More ventilation would've helped but a third, independent, HVAC zone would've been ideal. As with any project, you have to go through it once (or thrice) before you figure out the correct way to do things.
Regardless, it was a fantastic place to watch a movie or concert, and I miss it very, very much.
The interior frame was decoupled from the rest of the house:
All wiring for networking, speakers and ceiling-mounted projector was pre-installed (as future-proofed as I could make it at the time).
The walls were decoupled from the interior frame using acoustic spacers, plus double-sheets of drywall and blow-in insulation:
The ceiling (also two layers of drywall) was hung from acoustic decoupling springs:
All these decouplers and drywall were installed and hung by me and my two brothers, and it was quite the task. We left the finishing to the builder.
A platform was included, for better sightlines in the back row:
And it was painted a neutral grey (so that reflections off the wall wouldn't wash out the projected image):
Carpet was also a neutral colour:
For some reason, I can't locate pictures of the finished room. It had custom recliners for four in the back, a 720P projector (1080P was ludicrously expensive at the time), THX 7.1 sound and a 100" 16:9 screen. The speakers I chose were ridiculously good, as was the amp and source equipment (DVD and Laserdisc only, as this was before Blu-ray). An 18" sub filled in the low end (and was the reason for all the insulation).
If I had to do it again, I would do a few things differently. First, decoupling the floor would have been relatively easy to do and would've helped soundproofing. Second, the door was insufficient to the task:
It was an insulated, outdoor-spec door but definitely the weak link. The correct way to do it is with a small atrium (i.e. two doors) and that would've prevented more than a few "turn it down!" admonitions. Finally, I didn't think to add more HVAC. With all the equipment going, the room heated up quite quickly and eventually the door would have to be opened in any case. More ventilation would've helped but a third, independent, HVAC zone would've been ideal. As with any project, you have to go through it once (or thrice) before you figure out the correct way to do things.
Regardless, it was a fantastic place to watch a movie or concert, and I miss it very, very much.
Last edited by DeerHunter; 11-14-2021 at 07:44 PM.
Boost Pope
iTrader: (8)
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Chicago. (The less-murder part.)
Posts: 33,039
Total Cats: 6,607
That's exactly what I started envisioning in 2003, when I had a new home built in Maineville, OH.
I did pre-plumb the entire place with conduit during the construction phase. I went in at night, after work, and installed low-voltage rings and conduit drops in literally every single wall down to the basement. And sure as heck, the drywall folks who came in a few weeks later just trimmed 'em all up perfectly like they were on the prints.
But I wound up moving to San Diego almost exactly a year after moving in, so the basement theater plans never materialized.
I have no such cable access here, but I am blessed with the miracle of MoCA. Time and technology is a thing.
Still a fair bit of work to do. Got the wiremold attached to the wall at baseboard level and decided to call it a night.
Anyway, here's a thing with a cat:
I did pre-plumb the entire place with conduit during the construction phase. I went in at night, after work, and installed low-voltage rings and conduit drops in literally every single wall down to the basement. And sure as heck, the drywall folks who came in a few weeks later just trimmed 'em all up perfectly like they were on the prints.
But I wound up moving to San Diego almost exactly a year after moving in, so the basement theater plans never materialized.
I have no such cable access here, but I am blessed with the miracle of MoCA. Time and technology is a thing.
Still a fair bit of work to do. Got the wiremold attached to the wall at baseboard level and decided to call it a night.
Anyway, here's a thing with a cat:
If you build a room in a room like DeerHunter or use resilient channel, you have space for cabling. I used resilient channel and rubber spacers for my master bedroom to decouple from the living room and ceiling. Not as good as completely separate framing, but it's quite good with the spacers.