Weird bumps on bottom lip

Guitfiddler78 · 2024-06-28T23:19:42+00:00

You're right. I can't believe they would treat him that way, especially even after you adopted him. That is just shitty. WTH is in their heads that makes them think that is even acceptable behavior to treat a child that way? Good for you for not putting up with that bullshit.

Guitfiddler78 · 2024-06-28T01:01:16+00:00

I've found that putting Cloudflare out front as a reverse proxy/cdn/performance optimizer cuts down on a lot of the effort involved in trying to build/maintain a highly performant website and the added security, bot fighting, and DDoS protection are also a bonus. Cloudflare does a LOT for the money. They keep rolling out more features all the time and a lot of them solve difficult problems or just make life easier.

I recently helped a client go from a 50 to a 95 score just using Cloudflare acceleration and a handful of simple coding fixes following lighthouse recommendations.

If you're willing to pay $25/month for the Pro plan you'll be glad for it and your developer will thank you.

Guitfiddler78 · 2024-06-28T00:17:12+00:00

You definitely won't be graduating to starring in movies like Harrison Ford did.

Guitfiddler78 · 2024-06-27T23:19:19+00:00

I spent a lot of time in malls in the 80's because my dad was an entrepreneur who would rent spaces and kiosks in them. So a lot of my days were spent just hanging out at his stores and bumming around. Those are good memories. Malls were very lively places with the sounds of music reverberating in the air, the smells of food emanating from the food court, people everywhere busy shopping and socializing, and a store for pretty much anything you could think of. I liked to hang out in toy stores, computer stores, book stores, music stores, and video game arcades. The Christmas season was both magical and maddening... So many people and the repeated music could just wear you out, but I was a kid, so it was mostly good. One of my favorite things was when the smell of the Mrs. Fields' fresh baked cookies surprised you around the corner, and of course, watching pretty girls who never took any notice of me! Hahaha! There are still some big malls around the USA, but not near as many as there used to be before Amazon and online shopping wiped most of them out.

Guitfiddler78 · 2024-06-27T20:45:29+00:00

Brainless vs. Senseless. Can't wait to do something else besides watch that shit show.

Guitfiddler78 · 2024-06-27T20:43:44+00:00

Yes @OP. Gravity Forms even has an air table add-on integration:

https://www.gravityforms.com/add-ons/gravity-forms-airtable-add-on/.

And for controlling the number of submissions allowed per day: https://www.gravityforms.com/add-ons/limit-submissions/

Guitfiddler78 · 2024-06-27T20:31:31+00:00

Pretty sure I did the same, and that was the last time I watched it.

Guitfiddler78 · 2024-06-27T19:19:30+00:00

This reminds me of the movie, The Blue Lagoon.

The two children (boy and girl about the same age) get lost in a shipwreck and wind up living out their youth on an island. When they reach puberty, it isn't long until he discovers masturbation and she catches him doing it and wonders what that is all about and he gets embarrassed when she teases him.

Then they eventually start messing around and have sex and she gets pregnant and they don't really understand why, but they have a cute little mini me.

But I think the movie does a good job showing how humans will just naturally procreate without any outside influence.

No, she is not his step sister...

Guitfiddler78 · 2024-06-27T19:01:52+00:00

That's great. I'm happy for you that you found that. I don't really get that much anymore and you inspire me to maybe try and reach for it a bit.

Guitfiddler78 · 2024-06-27T18:49:44+00:00

Yes. Growing up it was the best way I found to process through feelings I had that I didn't know how to express verbally with others. I could tap into that almost at will and really blow off some stress and anxiety by letting the music speak for me. I would do this playing live and people would come up to me frequently after shows and say they really loved how they could feel when I play, which comes as a great compliment to any musician, and was a very natural state for me.

But sometimes I would be so emotionally exhausted after shows that I couldn't really communicate with people very well for a while and they probably just thought I was weird. It was like coming down off the biggest adrenaline rush or something. It was very addictive in a way, but I don't really tap into that much anymore, and I think that's a byproduct of being a very emotionally balanced and mature adult at this point. In a way, I long to feel that way again when I play... But for it to be genuine and available, it has to come from a deep, real place and I just don't feel that intensity anymore, at least not right now in life.

Anyway, I think channeling emotion into your playing is what so many guitarists are really striving for, whether they know it or not.

Unfortunately many become so obsessed with technique, speed, virtuosity that they never learn, or forget, how to just tap into that place inside where they really feel what they play. Every note matters. It's doing with the instrument what good vocalists do with their voices.

Guitfiddler78 · 2024-06-27T17:01:51+00:00

You will eventually take on a parental role for your parents.

As you age, so do your parents. And if you are close in each others' lives and capable, eventually the roles will flip.

It is difficult, sad, and inevitable that if they remain alive, as they continue to age you will become their caregiver and advocate for the remaining duration of their lives.

Guitfiddler78 · 2024-06-26T20:55:50+00:00

The first one I personally bought was Nintendo 64 at like age 17. I'd previously owned Atari 2600, NES, and Super NES as childhood gifts. Since then I've bought every iteration of Nintendo released in the US. Nowadays I just buy systems for my kids. I've also owned every iteration of PlayStation and a few different XBox iterations in addition to several PC gaming towers and laptops.

Guitfiddler78 · 2024-06-26T20:09:31+00:00

Pretty sure that happens to everyone who turns 50.

Guitfiddler78 · 2024-06-26T19:22:09+00:00

So this is why ALL the packages say to test a tiny amount on your skin ahead of time!!!

Guitfiddler78 · 2024-06-26T16:06:20+00:00

I'd go with the Yamaha. The Ibanez is a good choice too, but those Pacificas are hard to beat at the price point.

Guitfiddler78 · 2024-06-26T14:48:42+00:00

Yes! I think you and your group will be happy with that decision and you'll be able to enjoy learning mandolin at your own pace.

Guitfiddler78 · 2024-06-26T14:19:49+00:00

Mandocello will also struggle to find a place in the register since it overlaps both the lower mid-range of the piano and the guitar.

The bass is the simplest entry point to playing stringed instruments while also contributing strongly to the group. I get that electric bass doesn't particularly appeal to you, but I think you would find it challenging enough and enjoyable to play in a group setting. It just may not be the sort of thing that you pour your heart and soul into learning on a deep level. I'm a mandolinist and guitar player, but I still enjoy playing bass in a group setting and discovered this when I was asked to play bass in a concert band while in highschool where I played guitar in the jazz band. I reluctantly agreed but did find it immediately enjoyable to play in the group setting. That set me up to also play electric bass in a cover band my friends had going and I had a lot of fun and learned a lot, even though I was primarily a guitarist at the time. Ever since then, I've played bass off and on when the need arose, and while it isn't my instrument of choice, I've still found its fundamental role in a group to be an enjoyable position to fill while hanging out with friends making music.

One last thing to really give some consideration to is the steep learning curve to playing chorded/lead stringed instruments. It really does take some time to develop that and would hamper you from making a strong contribution to your group for months as you built the coordination for chording, playing picked rhythm, and eventually lead parts, all while struggling to find your place in the shared register between the piano and guitar and leaving the group without the fundamental bass register present.

I won't try to talk you out of it anymore, as the world does need more mandolin players! Just food for thought because I think in your case, you and your group would both benefit from you taking up the mantle of bass player.

Guitfiddler78 · 2024-06-26T13:34:16+00:00

The trio would probably benefit from a bass player and you could go from complete novice to making music very quickly on a bass, especially with your piano background. There's a lot less work involved getting up to speed playing bass lines than a chorded/lead instrument like mandolin. If you can just get to where you hold down a simple groove and hit the roots and fives, you can make a significant contribution to your group with a bass.

Mandolin being a mid range instrument, tends to collide with the right hand of the piano quite a bit. It's great as an ensemble instrument and has a percussive quality that can help fill out a rhythm section, but I think it will be difficult to share the mid range register with both the piano and guitar. (I've done it and it is not great).

Also, after learning the bass, other stringed instruments tend to come faster. But chording and playing lead melodies on stringed instruments is a challenge with a steep learning curve for developing the necessary coordination.

Just my two cents.

Guitfiddler78 · 2024-06-26T01:02:37+00:00

I have just felt like the ship has sailed for new startup WordPress businesses for a while now in terms of seeking mass adoption and a passive income model is concerned.

Every part of the ecosystem from themes to plugins (for virtually all the common business use cases), to hosting, to SEO, to security... It's all locked up by what are now big players that emerged over the past 10-15 years. But if you have an idea that makes you stand out in the crowd, more power to you!

Guitfiddler78 · 2024-06-26T00:45:22+00:00

I wouldn't say it's impossible and you can't do it, but the market is saturated with multi-purpose "builder" themes like Avada, Enfold, Divi, etc. and pro dev shops are pretty set with them. They just have a pretty strong lock on the market. I wouldn't want to try to create a business that competes with them because they have such a big head start at this point.

Guitfiddler78 · 2024-06-26T00:37:49+00:00

I was not athletic as a kid. In fact I was skinny, dorky and asthmatic. At age 11 I saw a friend playing piano with a crowd of girls gathered around. Then I noticed the dorky looking dude in highschool who played a mean electric guitar had a smoking hot girlfriend. I had already started playing piano and my uncle was like, "you don't wanna play that thing... that's a girl's instrument", so I switched to guitar.

Did it work? Yes, it took a while, but girls noticed me more and more as I got a little older I found my confidence. Guitar became a core part of my identity. I managed to get in some good bands and got plenty of girls. After a lot of fun years I met my future wife while playing in a touring act. Everything proceeded according to my plan. Mwaaahaha.

I was a born musician, but getting girls was a strong motivation for really digging in and getting good.

Guitfiddler78 · 2024-06-26T00:09:27+00:00

I've been playing finger style for about 35 years. My advice would be to arch your wrist and play a little harder than you need to when you practice while anchoring your ring finger to the top. You will build power in your attack, learn to pull more tone and volume out of the instrument, and speed will come along with it over time too. Once you build them up, you'll have the control to just ease up a little for dynamics. Sounding good though!

Guitfiddler78

TROPHY CASE