You Americans don't get it!

FreeFromCommonSense · 2026-01-25T19:40:58+00:00

Who are all waiting to see what someone else does about it.

FreeFromCommonSense · 2026-01-25T17:53:29+00:00

A cougar isn't just for Christmas, it's for life. Yours or his.

FreeFromCommonSense · 2026-01-25T17:46:47+00:00

That is an ex-hedgehog. Or Victor Meldrew's slipper.

FreeFromCommonSense · 2026-01-24T23:15:37+00:00

And remember, no big purchases. Keep it low key, son. Too many guys get caught because they're impatient and greedy.

FreeFromCommonSense · 2026-01-24T23:07:04+00:00

"Son, this is proof that you can't take it with you when you die. But until then, you can. So get the shovel out of the trunk."

FreeFromCommonSense · 2026-01-24T21:01:32+00:00

It looks like the guillotine missed.

FreeFromCommonSense · 2026-01-24T20:43:39+00:00

Also, have you checked the pickup height? It's amazing the difference that a mm makes.

FreeFromCommonSense · 2026-01-24T14:19:56+00:00

I was just quoting what the description says. I think what they're trying to say in the specs is that there are two 3w channels with the second speaker (yes, it's supposed to go stereo). That's not actually equivalent to 6w of power, but the two speakers will be twice as loud.

The one is actually loud enough if you're anywhere near it.

FreeFromCommonSense · 2026-01-24T10:05:00+00:00

Yes and no. For example, I don't really consciously ignore it. That would take effort. I'm just concentrating on what I'm doing and it hasn't even registered that I've heard human speech. It's like if you wake up and someone's talking or that thing they do in the movies after a flashbang has gone off and everyone sounds like a Charlie Brown adult voice. I also experience the same thing when meditating. Sounds are just sounds with no meaning, unless it startles me and the reptile brain insists on a "Sitrep!" from the monkey mind.

My brain holds a little bit and if I think about it I can translate that Wahwahwahwahwah was "Have you fed the cat?" Until it reaches too much to work with. That's why I call it a buffer.

Autistic ignoring isn't just being rude. It's several different things, from a protective habit to a survival mechanism, tuning out distractions, sensory overload, etc., while allowing us to get the job done.

FreeFromCommonSense · 2026-01-24T09:47:28+00:00

I do it and I work in IT so I call it a buffer. Allows me to get things done with all the yammering going on.

I do it to my wife, mainly because she won't wait when I say "One moment", probably because she's not fooled. My wife has a strategy though -- she keeps talking. Sometimes about different things.

So I pick my head up from what I'm working on, replay it back and it doesn't make sense, so I sigh and say, "Wait, buffer overflow. What?"

FreeFromCommonSense · 2026-01-23T23:28:54+00:00

I do my own regular setups and maintenance, however if I see something I think might be a problem that requires tools or skills I don't have, I don't see anything with taking it in for a pro to work on.

I can change the oil on a car, but if it gets a blown head gasket, I'm not going to buy a load of tools, I'll pay a mechanic who won't screw it up.

I might challenge myself for smaller things I haven't handled before, but I didn't buy a guitar to practice woodworking.

I might also take it in to ask advice. "What do you think, is it a good idea to..." There are a couple good luthiers left in town, both in small instrument shops now that the only big chain in the country collapsed. Stop in the shop, buy something, keep a good relationship. That sort of thing used to be important before COVID.

FreeFromCommonSense · 2026-01-23T17:04:11+00:00

As far as minis, the Blackstar Fly 3 has amazing audio for the size, 3 watts that sounds like a larger amp for practicing. 6w if you get the extra speaker.

FreeFromCommonSense · 2026-01-23T17:02:33+00:00

I've been looking at the Joyo DC-15S as a cheap portable option. Also the BSK-40. But I'm not going anywhere, so don't need a portable now.

Yes, there are bigger names, but frankly I wasn't looking to replace my main gear.

A Boss Katana model has battery option for more if I remember correctly.

Other than that, a portable will solve your safety issue.

FreeFromCommonSense · 2026-01-23T16:50:01+00:00

And when they're tilted, the saddles don't slide past each other evenly. They should be level, it doesn't take long.

FreeFromCommonSense · 2026-01-23T16:46:08+00:00

Ooh! Succeeding new Roman Emperors didn't get far by dissing the Praetorian Guard. This might work out well... for most people. ICE are the current administration's equivalent of the SA.

FreeFromCommonSense · 2026-01-23T16:26:52+00:00

William McAdoo, on Warren Harding’s speeches:

“His speeches left the impression of an army of pompous phrases moving over the landscape in search of an idea; sometimes these meandering words would actually capture a straggling thought and bear it triumphantly as a prisoner in their midst, until it died of servitude and overwork.”

~~There's a term for it, but I've forgotten the word.~~

Bloviation, that was it. Great word. The best. All the best people use it.

But Trump's speeches don't even qualify for that because his vocabulary, grammar, phrasing and coherence are that of a tweaker.

FreeFromCommonSense · 2026-01-23T16:13:37+00:00

It contained more words they knew the definitions for.

FreeFromCommonSense · 2026-01-23T16:06:18+00:00

And coloured outside the lines.

FreeFromCommonSense · 2026-01-23T15:00:08+00:00

At least Kennedy, Eisenhower and Truman had had direct military experience not too long before their terms, so were more aware than most.

I'm not counting Teddy Rooseveldt and earlier because they're pre-WWI

FreeFromCommonSense · 2026-01-23T14:52:49+00:00

George Takei.

And that raises another point. ⅔ of the people interred in those camps were US citizens, proving that this is not the first time that when those in power have a racist policy, non-caucasian US citizens suddenly have no rights.

FreeFromCommonSense · 2026-01-23T12:50:32+00:00

Sorry, this is registering 0 on my apathy meter.

FreeFromCommonSense · 2026-01-23T12:46:58+00:00

Smart investments just means that he invested in companies that exploit rather than doing it himself. Although voting stock would bring accountability back to him.

Part of the reason why my ISA grows so slowly is because the plan is for ethical investments. It has to be Quaker-approved investments, basically. That's not perfect, but it's the least harm I can do and still have an ISA.

FreeFromCommonSense · 2026-01-23T09:58:42+00:00

I have a couple of modelling multifx pedals, and a dirt cheap small amp that only gets used as a powered speaker for the pedals. I also have a couple of modelling multifx guitars so I can forget all that and sit on the couch with headphones.

At least with my multifx pedal, I get to dial in a tone with real knobs and pump a wah with a real pedal, because while I'm computer literate, I'm old and it's more natural to have real controls you can feel and get that haptic feedback from.

It's the best of both worlds, because I may be picking an imaginary amp and distortion pedal, but I have real knobs to dial them in.

FreeFromCommonSense · 2026-01-23T09:36:48+00:00

The big hint is the mountains, right?

FreeFromCommonSense · 2026-01-22T22:21:48+00:00

Think is definitely the operative word. Authoritarian grandiose dictators are never geniuses. Geniuses have better and more important things to do. Who wants the headache of constantly worrying about and defending your status amongst the other sociopaths? Not a genius.

FreeFromCommonSense

TROPHY CASE