right now, i think i had the right idea but it could be a few different causes.

i uninstalled the drivers, uninstalled cubase, reinstalled both and then ran my fancy registry wipe that just decimates everything in windows. media player. explorer. almost all the services. it's just ripped down to the kernel. in the process,  i realized that the user mode driver framework got reinstalled somewhere along the way, and i don't really know how or where that got involved. it's actually something that i wipe out in the registry sweep. it's gone now. it might have been something that was interfering with the drivers, too.

but on top of all the windows media garbage that got installed was some real audio drivers. i don't know how that got on there. nobody has used real audio for anything in, like, *decades*.

whatever it was, i'm back to the sweet spot i was looking for. i think that it should hold. that means i might have to redo a few of the later mixes. but, that's just fine with me - what i needed was a clean sound to get the mixes down in the first place, and i think it's finally there.

the registry sweep also perked the pc up a little. i guess it had picked up some crap over the last two years. i actually don't think i've ever gone this long between reinstalls, but it's a function of the fact that it's set up to be stable....

regarding this fucker at the mixing desk theory, it's obviously rather ridiculous to think somebody is remixing my material from a distance. but something that's maybe a little less ridiculous is the idea that i'm under audio surveillance due to my political rants. realaudio is low quality for music, but it would be useful for sending small file sizes out. and, if they're under contract, they're going to keep using it. if they're picking up a signal in here from somewhere and routing it through the out on the pc, the ambience is going to affect the sound quality. and, while i wouldn't expect the driver reinstall to address that, i *would* expect the registry wipe to. it's pretty dramatic.

at the end of the day, i don't really care if the cops have a mic in here. i mean, i'd rather they didn't, for obvious privacy reasons. but, they're going to do what they're going to do, and it's not really that big a deal to me. i fantasize about myself as a historical figure; that's raw data of some historical interest, as i often talk to myself. but, where it gets bothersome is when it's invasive. it's the same deal as with these annoying characters that show up on my facebook that seem to be some kind of executable. read and log my facebook. whatever. don't inject executables into the text, it's fucking annoying.

and, so i need to put the request out: if you're going to have me under audio surveillance, and i can't prevent, at least please have the courtesy to not do it in such a way that affects my ability to create. i have three computers in here that you can route the signal through, if you have to. the laptop i'm typing this on is a vanilla 7 with a webcam and will provide you with far greater abilities to get data. just leave my recording pc alone, please.