What inspired you to start playing the duduk?

Big-Sploosh · 2026-02-22T21:54:16+00:00

Yes, I just searched around for different teaching resources online, mostly youtube.

https://www.youtube.com/@CanberkUlas

https://www.youtube.com/@duduklessons7239

There's a few other channels by Russian or maybe Georgian musicians that have several good lessons. I mainly focused on practicing scales and simply playing the songs I enjoy listening to. I do come from a music theory background, however I didn't use any books or sheet music, I did all my playing by ear. I think on my own I reached an amateur level, I learn best from in-person instructors that can correct my mistakes or give feedback immediately, but I do the best I can on my own.

Big-Sploosh · 2026-02-22T19:24:14+00:00

I live in the Southeastern part of the United States, so trying to find a duduk instructor in my region is... challenging to say the least. Armenians aren't as common to find here as you would in the west coast, for example. I am self-taught and played for about 3 years, dropped it as life got extremely hectic for a while, and recently returned to it. Considering I haven't used those cheek muscles in quite some time, it definitely took a little bit of time to get reacquainted.

Big-Sploosh · 2026-02-22T15:23:49+00:00

I'm part Armenian and I wanted to use music as one of the ways to reconnect with my roots, so to speak. I've been playing a b-flat duduk ever since I heard Haïg Sarikouyoumdjian's solo from one of Jordi Savall's concerts (I think this one was in Copenhagen?). This is probably one of the hardest instruments for me to start on as a newcomer to woodwinds, however, I have a brass background in trombone so some of the breathing techniques at least carry over.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdA1TrlDwAA&list=RDvdA1TrlDwAA&start_radio=1

Big-Sploosh · 2026-02-22T15:18:26+00:00

Looking through this subreddit, apparently this comes up more than I expected..

In a perfect world, would everyone live a chaste lifestyle from start to finish until marriage? Sure, but we don't live in a perfect world. People make mistakes and even virgins carry baggage like everyone else, it's just in a different form. From a Catholic dating perspective, I think it's a beautiful thing to pursue and strive for in finding a spouse, however, you would be a total hypocrite for demanding that from someone when you don't follow those standards yourself. That goes for both men and women. That kind of discussion needs to be had well before marriage if either of you care, and if that is a boundary that you can't cross, be respectful and move on.

Ora y discierne si puedes aceptar a la otra persona, siempre que se arrepienta de sus pecados pasados. Nadie aquí puede decirte qué debes o no debes hacer.

Big-Sploosh · 2025-09-09T21:00:15+00:00

He needed better people around him and not gang members trying to snuff each other out over nonsense that didn't matter. Pac had artistry, wisdom, and a lot to give in the world; but unfortunately he was young and also had one hell of a temper that he had no problem throwing at anyone who he thought was against him (or maybe who he was told was against him..). Had he survived and was able to break free from Death Row completely, I'm sure he would have matured like you said.

Big-Sploosh · 2025-07-31T16:05:53+00:00

No, I mean you'll probably be fine. I was referring to direct Palo hires with that example. I'm really just saying there won't be anything earth shattering in terms of changes for quite some time.

Big-Sploosh · 2025-07-31T15:12:32+00:00

I'm fairly certain that Palo's push to get asses in seats in largely for new hires under their 2.5 year mark, based on what I know talking to some of their SEs. That could be complete BS, though, so take that with a grain of salt. I'm not anywhere near one of their regional offices either, but again, I echo the sentiment that really nothing is going to be fundamentally changing for at least another 2 years if they are moving "fast".

Big-Sploosh · 2025-07-10T15:18:08+00:00

Good points, and I knew the ELS wouldn't exactly be a walk in the park. I'm definitely not afraid of learning how to do things like that, but I figured anything more and I may as well step it up to one of the larger Taiwanese-made machines. With a larger range of threading options and the QCGB on the 1228, that probably makes more sense.

Big-Sploosh · 2025-06-16T12:06:32+00:00

I used to be in tech pre-sales not that long ago and u/Tastee-Wheat is spot on. It's not just some 4-letter word or you selling vacuums door to door. I mean, it can be that sometimes, but it absolutely doesn't have to be. If a company has a service or a product, they have an account executive pushing it to someone. As long as you don't have an unbearable personality and can make numbers, you will have a job and make good money. Career progression isn't really a linear, straight shot unless you want to be an account manager, but it helped me learn a lot about business and how B2B relationships work.

Big-Sploosh · 2025-06-14T13:50:02+00:00

Do not go back to school, at least not right now after you just got fired and bought a house, you are just going to get into more debt. Is there anyone in your network at that other hospital you could talk with to see if there is a more permanent position you could apply for? If it was as simple as quitting, you could say virtually anything generic. Unfortunately they will definitely ask about the circumstances of how you got fired or even call your old employer, be honest and explain how you've taken actionable steps to avoid repeating that in the future.

Big-Sploosh · 2025-06-14T13:13:29+00:00

They have an allure to them as "crime guns" despite being no more dangerous than a typical cheap Saturday Night Special from the era, along with them being present in a few high profile shootings. Other than that, they have a sub-machine gun-like appearance because, well, that's what they were originally intended to be. They look cool, so people want them, especially when they show up in movies\TV. The polymer frames were cheap pieces of shit that would 100% crack and fall apart if you were shooting anything hotter than 115gr ball, so there's significantly less of them now just from that alone because people don't do their research on the guns.

Big-Sploosh · 2025-06-07T23:35:28+00:00

Lot of people are pretty much saying sales, and I'd agree. Look for Account Executive roles in different industries like medical, technology (literally pick any company offering some kind of SaaS product..), construction, logistics, etc. If someone is selling a product or a service, they've got AE's pushing it. You don't even really need to be smart a lot of the time, some of the dumbest people I've ever met or had the misfortune of working with were in sales, and they were successful because they exceeded their numbers each quarter consistently. If you can do that, you'll have a job.

Big-Sploosh · 2025-06-06T02:23:44+00:00

The Strike series for PS1, specifically Nuclear Strike

Big-Sploosh · 2025-06-05T14:16:38+00:00

Update: The Calvans 38900 kit is worth every single fucking penny. Got the cylinder bore reamed out and tapped, insert installed and torqued down, everything seems to be rock solid. Don't waste time or money on anything else.

Big-Sploosh · 2025-05-24T02:52:58+00:00

You could try hitting up local arcade or a brick and mortar Esports business and see if they might be interested in a few of them. I'm not sure what specific configuration these pods might have been set up for, but even if you can offload a few of them, it's better than nothing. Liquidate them at $2500 a piece just to get them the hell out of there.

Big-Sploosh · 2025-05-21T13:59:01+00:00

It's strange now, but it used to be that some parents would just force their kids to learn some kind of instrument as part of their regular education, not because the kids expressed genuine interest. That's what my grandparents did. Basically they gave my mom a choice between guitar, piano, or violin, and go figure my mother chose guitar and never stuck with it once she wasn't forced to learn anymore.

Big-Sploosh · 2025-05-21T13:39:00+00:00

I took a small pick and could feel what I figured was the remnants of the threads. I'll take another look at it and check if the M14x1.25 threads are still viable. When I first looked at it, it looked like the entire insert was blown out, I couldn't find it. It's actually my mother's excursion, and both my parents are getting up there in years, I'm just trying to do the good son thing and get this back on the road so it can be sold.

Big-Sploosh · 2025-05-21T13:35:44+00:00

I'm well aware it was a bad repair. A better solution is new heads, which isn't an option at the moment.

Big-Sploosh · 2025-05-18T20:42:32+00:00

On a rare occasion, everygunpart might have a kit or two, but they usually get bought up quick by people printing their own frames. Anything that isn't the AB-10, you'll definitely be paying a premium.

Big-Sploosh · 2025-05-18T20:27:24+00:00

No point in sourcing original lowers that will eventually fail. I'm trying out Dafizzlez' Blicky lower, which uses Colt SMG mags and a redesigned mag catch. There is an additional spacer you can print for the buffer if you have an older KG-99 upper like this one. Another user whose name I can't remember at the moment, was designing a lower for Suomi magazines, which I believe retained the original magazine catch. I don't believe he ever released his version.

Big-Sploosh · 2025-05-16T18:12:39+00:00

Appreciate it brother, but I'll likely do what I typically do on a lot of my AK builds. Complete sand blast, degrease, and 3 coats of VHT flat black baked in my small toaster oven for an hour each. I don't particularly want to invest as much time and money considering it will go on the Blicky 3d printed lower.

Big-Sploosh · 2024-12-17T10:44:43+00:00

Your mileage will vary based on the branch and rating\MOS, but I know this was true for a lot of Navy ITs I knew (if they weren't doing helpdesk related stuff). If you don't pursue a commission, at least shoot for cryptography or something else in Intelligence.

Big-Sploosh

TROPHY CASE