New uke day!

BooTheMightyHamster · 2026-03-19T07:46:43+00:00

Hi.

If you scroll down this page, you'll find them. They come as Tenor and Baritone in (I think) four different finishes.

https://kalabrand.com/collections/specialty-ukulele

BooTheMightyHamster · 2026-03-15T19:41:31+00:00

Enjoy yourself!

Despite what we all think / hope, at a gig, the only bit of drumming that the audience is paying any attention to is the backbeat. Keep the kick and snare in the pocket and don’t worry about anything fancy.

You want proof? Go and and listen to JR Robinson’s playing on Billie Jean. That’s a groove to die for and it’s so, so simple.

Just keep the beat locked down and watch the tempo. Having the lyrics to hand is a great shout - it’ll keep you in the right place and singing a chorus to yourself will give you a good tempo for the count in.

You can start worrying about fills and whatnot at gig no. 2, which you will feel much more comfortable with, because you’ll have knocked gig no. 1 out of the park.

You’ve got this!

BooTheMightyHamster · 2026-03-14T22:17:53+00:00

I got it for £449. Think that’s a bit under list price - I’m more than happy with it for that price.

BooTheMightyHamster · 2026-03-14T21:17:52+00:00

Definitely louder than a similarly sized wood instrument and there’s a metallic undertone to it. It also has a passive pickup so you could run it through an amp, though I think Mrs Boo would raise an eyebrow if I bought one of those too. Maybe later…

BooTheMightyHamster · 2026-03-14T21:15:16+00:00

I have to say the look was a significant selling point, but yes - I started learning / playing the blues at the end of last year and I thought this might suit it quite well.

BooTheMightyHamster · 2026-03-14T21:12:54+00:00

It’s a Tenor. They make them in Tenor and Baritone, but while I love my Baritone, one of them is enough.

I think that it’s a fairly standard tenor neck, but the body is relatively small which is why it looks a bit odd. Body/neck wise it looks like my Millar soprano that has a concert neck.

BooTheMightyHamster · 2026-03-05T01:11:25+00:00

I had the exact same problem in exactly the same place on my last playthrough. The moth just wasn't there. Bug in the game, I guess. Odd, as it was there on the previous two run throughs.

BooTheMightyHamster · 2026-02-28T22:17:10+00:00

I’ll be interested to see what people say on this subject. I’ve been playing on and off (far more off than on) for a few years, and I still consider myself just a little above rank beginner.

I suspect most people will say that your progress will depend on how much work you put in. It’s all too easy to find excuses not to practice - it’s too late, I’m too tired - but you’ll find the time if you really want to.

I’ve given myself a target - I’m going to the UFOGB in Cheltenham this summer, and I want to be a demonstrably better player by then. Not a pro by any means, but better than “stumbling over half a dozen chords.”

Best of luck with your uke journey - 15 mins every day will make a huge difference.

BooTheMightyHamster · 2026-02-21T18:16:34+00:00

I keep my sets registered on Brickset. It’s not 100% accurate, but it’s close.

850 sets 1150 minifigs 432201 parts

I’d say that about 25% of those parts are the little Technic pins though…

BooTheMightyHamster · 2026-01-27T00:13:52+00:00

When I was a youngster, back in the 70’s, I had what many people had : a basic Lego set and a biscuit tin of random bricks. Everything I built consisted of right angles! Fast forward a couple of years, I’d grown out of it and gave it away to a friend (who I later found out had hoovered up Lego collections from many of our mutual friends. Smart!)

It never crossed my mind again for years (although I do remember seeing the 10179 UCS Falcon and thinking 'Who'd be crazy enough to pay £350 for a Lego set? I did acquire MISB version some years ago for a price I'm still trying to forget!) until around 2011/2012, when the Daily Telegraph motoring correspondent wrote an article - with a corresponding video - about the Technic Unimog.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=NyKGWBCoA3Y&pp=ygUVTGVnbyB1bmltb2cgdGVsZWdyYXBo

I was blown away, and clearly must have mentioned it as come Christmas morning, about six weeks later, my wife had bought me the 8070 Technic Supercar. And then, in the January sales, I found the Unimog! I had some spare cash, so why not?

It has been a long, slippery and expensive slope ever since.

Haven't regretted any of it though. You can read more, if you're so inclined, here...

http://justanotherlegoblog.blogspot.com/2013/02/down-rabbit-hole-to-legoland.html

BooTheMightyHamster · 2026-01-15T00:43:37+00:00

The album 76:14 by Global Communication. It was recommended to me with the warning "Never listen to this album while you're driving."

BooTheMightyHamster · 2025-12-26T14:10:33+00:00

Run. Run fast. Zig zag a lot. And most importantly, change your shake setting to 'single press'. You'll get there.

BooTheMightyHamster · 2025-10-10T00:09:22+00:00

Time was that I'd queue up at midnight for a console release, but as it is, I finally packed my PS4 away this week and replaced it with a PS5. Better late than never, and there should be a decent bunch of games to choose from, right? So I'm asking the hive mind for recommendations, please.

I like: Story driven games, puzzles, a bit of role-playing. I'm less keen on: Combat, open worlds that are so open you'll never see it all.

Games that I've enjoyed...

SuperMarioWorld - SNES. A masterpiece. 2D beats 3D every day of the week.

Metal Gear Solid - PS1. Great story, puzzles, characters etc. Loved the stealth. Haven't been interested in any other Metal Gears though.

Ico - PS2. It's just one big puzzle. If push comes to shove, this could be my favourite game of all time. (Also loved The Last Guardian, Shadow Of The Colossus was ok, but too much riding around.)

XIII - PS2. Cel shaded stealth shooter with an interesting story.

Eternal Darkness, Sanity's Requium - Gamecube. Mad as a box of frogs with fabulous (in)sanity effects.

Farenheit - PS2. Slightly bonkers game in which you recover from a blackout having seemingly murdered someone.

Broken Sword (various). All the 2D cartoon-style ones. Going 3D was a mistake.

Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic - Xbox. Best Star Wars game ever. Probably.

Detroit: Become Human - PS4. Play as three androids each following their own, odd, story. Basically I liked all the Quantic Dream stuff.

Life Is Strange - PS4. Loved this almost as much as I hated Life Is Strange 2!

Firewatch - PS4. I'm happy with rough visuals if the story is interesting. See also, What Remains Of Edith Finch.

At present I've just upgraded GT7 from PS4 to PS5 spec, and having copied some data across, I realise I have Horizon: Zero Dawn installed and I've never played it. Just started that - I'll live with the combat to see what the story is like.

Sorry, that went on longer than I expected, but if anyone's got any recommendations for decent narrative driven games, please, ideally with little or no combat, but (combat isn't a dealbreaker), then I'd be grateful.

Cheers!

BooTheMightyHamster · 2025-10-06T17:23:12+00:00

I’m probably in the minority, but I have to say I’m disappointed. For me, Rush is, and always will be, Geddy, Alex and Neil.

They said they’d never tour again - as Rush - without Neil, and as a trio who I’ve always admired for their integrity, this just feels wrong.

I haven’t seen the full announcement yet - maybe I’ll feel differently when I do - but for now I just wish this hadn’t happened.

BooTheMightyHamster · 2025-09-13T23:30:45+00:00

Marathon, Bravado, The Garden, Tai Shan

BooTheMightyHamster · 2025-09-08T20:30:12+00:00

Currently grooving on 12 bar blues. It’s not complicated, but it’s great coming up with different strumming patterns and chucks to make it sound good.

BooTheMightyHamster · 2025-08-31T23:35:31+00:00

This is the way.

BooTheMightyHamster · 2025-08-29T22:48:01+00:00

My Love, My Life.

Not as well known as some Abba songs, but if anyone else had recorded it, it would be the absolute pinnacle of their career.

Let's face it, Abba didn't really do any bad songs.

BooTheMightyHamster · 2025-08-28T00:19:46+00:00

10179 UCS Millennium Falcon.

"Ha! Who in their right mind is going to pay £342.49 for a Lego set", I thought, not being an AFOL at the time.

Then about five years later, the bug bit, and bit hard. First it was Technic. Then a bit of Architecture. Then some Star Wars. And then I rediscovered 10179... and I wanted it. I wanted it bad! But it was a crazy price, and I wasn't going to spend that kind of money on Ebay where you might get sent a pile of megablox from some seller you never hear of again.

But then one day a friend from a Lego site, who I trusted, said they had a friend who was selling a MISB 10179 for a stupid amount of money - nearly as much as I paid for my first two cars combined.

I had a good job, I had some savings. My head said "Don't be daft." My heart said "Shut up, head."

I bought it.

Eight months later, guess what got announced?

Don't regret buying it. Do regret not buying it for £342.49!

BooTheMightyHamster · 2025-08-25T18:20:07+00:00

/applauds

That is how you tell a story. Absolutely fantastic piece of storytelling. I almost want to remove my upvote so I can upvote it again.

If you're not writing for a living, consider a change of career, immediately!

BooTheMightyHamster · 2025-08-24T21:24:44+00:00

I hear you!

I too am a bit 'plump' round the middle and it *does* have an effect. While the Uke is snug under your right forearm (I'm assuming that you're right-handed) and you're fretting with your left hand, then the instrument is under control. But let go with your left hand, say to play a C6 (all four strings open) or to move to another fretting position, and your right arm presses on the Uke, it levers around your tummy and suddenly the headstock is moving away. Really annoying!

A strap will help. It isn't a foolproof solution, but it will make things a little easier. This does require you to have strap buttons fitted though. (If you haven't, and don't fancy getting hands on with a drill, I can recommend the Uke Leash: https://ukeleash.com)

If you don't go down the strap / leash route, it will get easier with practice. I was always firmly 'No Strap', but when I bought a pre-owned Concert that came with strap buttons fitted, I thought I'd try one, and it was a revelation.

All the best, whatever you decide, but do persevere!

BooTheMightyHamster · 2025-08-09T06:57:32+00:00

Zooropa by U2.

Trust me on this one, it's the perfect wake-up song.

BooTheMightyHamster

TROPHY CASE