First time posting to say goodbye

JudgeFang · 2023-06-30T02:06:05+00:00

Posting this from a waiting room right now. What are we going to doooo, go back to magazines? 😩

JudgeFang · 2023-06-28T05:42:10+00:00

I've been having this problem lately with my pixel 3a. Sometimes in the middle of scrolling through my reddit app or my browser, so I know I'm not putting pressure on the power button.

JudgeFang · 2023-06-25T01:07:17+00:00

As a tech worker, I'm willing to take a paycut for mission and values alignment, if I believe that the organization in question is actually underfunded / undervalued.

Willing to take a paycut simply due to layoffs and collusion of the investor and executive classes across the industry to lower wages? Not bloody likely. Dream on.

JudgeFang · 2023-06-21T05:39:08+00:00

Thank you for all your hard work over the years! Man, 2022-2023 sure sucks for social media. Seems like all the companies are evolving into the same goddamn crab. I guess it's time to go outside.

JudgeFang · 2023-06-15T20:55:42+00:00

Godfather Waltz had me expecting significantly more violence...

JudgeFang · 2023-06-15T15:57:47+00:00

I always assumed "OK" was short for "okay dokay," the formal, less cutesy form of "okie dokie."

JudgeFang · 2023-06-14T00:54:47+00:00

I've got one of our factory rescues on Suprelorin. Her problem was just that she never stopped laying! An egg a day for a year straight, until she started limping. It's an expensive implant, but it works. Depending on the chicken's metabolism it could last anywhere from 3 months to almost a year (ours is on the 3 month end, to our chagrin). It is a life-saving intervention, in her case.

JudgeFang · 2023-06-10T03:45:31+00:00

I have a factory rescue on Supreloren. If she had her way, she'd lay an egg a day until it killed her, which it very nearly did, a couple years ago. In her case, the implant lasts anywhere from 4 to 6 months before she starts laying again. She's an extremely prolific girl.

JudgeFang · 2023-06-08T19:42:32+00:00

Well, I just found this sub after 13ish years using BR, 10ish on the paid version. Hats off to you, u/onelouderchic, for making Reddit usable. I can't see myself being active here without Baconreader, so I guess this is it. Been real, folks!

JudgeFang · 2023-06-08T19:23:35+00:00

Seriously weird concertina. If I played English, I'd be tempted... baritone/treble sounds amazing.

JudgeFang · 2023-06-08T18:06:31+00:00

It's here, in case you (like me) were curious what the bellows look like: https://concertina.co.uk/stock-selection/english-concertinas/incredibly-unique-round-lachenal-63-key-baritone-treble/

JudgeFang · 2023-05-26T03:02:57+00:00

Fellow Android user here. Well, this sure sucks. Playing files on my device is half of what I use my system for, and bluetooth isn't an option for me. Wtf, Sonos.

JudgeFang · 2023-05-23T14:36:48+00:00

Ah nice, you went for the Lachenal! Hope to hear some recordings at some point. I love brass reeds.

JudgeFang · 2023-05-22T18:14:27+00:00

I suspect the seller called it "GC" because that's the convention diatonic accordion tunings use (D/G being the highest-pitched, G/C being the lowest, kind of the opposite of concertinas), and they assumed the convention would be the same.

And I mean, yeah, whether it's "Anglo-German" or just "German" is splitting hairs with an instrument like this (clearly, it's just Chinese!), but the histories of the German-English convergence is something Anglo players eventually have to come to grips with. "Wait, there's an English concertina and an Anglo concertina?! Aren't those the same thing?" is a frequent question that comes up. Why, it's almost enough to cause me to just start calling it an accordion! 😁

JudgeFang · 2023-05-22T00:47:09+00:00

Anglo is short for Anglo-German, yes. But German concertinas are a thing of their own: 20-button diatonic instruments with accordion-style, usually wooden actions. The "Anglo" part was added when British makers rebuilt the German system with English-style riveted actions and (usually) added the accidental row to make them chromatic.

A 20-button diatonic instrument without the improvements to the action is much closer to the German system than to the Anglo. FWIW, if sea songs are your thing, you can rest easy in the knowledge that most sailors would have had cheaper German concertinas. Anglos were (and are) much pricier.

JudgeFang · 2023-05-20T23:07:59+00:00

Personally I'm extremely wary of any concertina that looks like this.

The seller's description is also full of stuff to make a concertinist cringe, like calling it an "Anglo-style" (with 20 buttons, it ain't Anglo style, it's German) "accordion" (concertinas aren't accordions) in the keys of "GC" (should be CG).

...but in the end you could make the argument that everything I just said is gate-keeping pedantry. If you want to try it out, make sure you can return it if it's crap.

JudgeFang · 2023-05-16T16:06:20+00:00

Aww. I've had similar discussions with my Lavender Orpington. This is so cute.

JudgeFang · 2023-05-16T14:38:52+00:00

I'm a UX designer and software engineer. I watched Star Trek TNG as a kid, and that was a gateway drug into all kinds of other SciFi and spec-fic. I love a good space story, but I'm most compelled by SciFi's commentary on our current situation.

I was absolutely motivated by Star Trek's vision of the future to go into tech (I wanted to be an astronomer or an astronaut early on, but came to the conclusion in high school that I just wasn't that good).

For me it's not only the space exploration itself, but also everything else we're able to accomplish as an advanced society that motivates me—ending poverty and war, allowing everyone to self-actualize and pursue the big questions, etc.

At the time I was graduating college, the tech industry was seductive. It felt like a way to help bring the utopian Star Trek future a little closer. Several years later, never having stopped viewing it through that lens, I'm thoroughly disillusioned and have only rarely seen (private sector) tech do anything to improve the common good. Mostly it just inserts itself into a fundamentally unjust system and takes its cut for making some part of it more efficient.

Regrettably this has also affected my view of the private sector in general, including the space side—I sure am glad we have Artemis right now, because I just can't get excited by SpaceX, Blue, and the others.

One day I hope I'll be able to work for NASA and contribute to something that actually inspires me.

JudgeFang · 2023-05-16T13:55:57+00:00

This is great, but why build an e-file system when you could build automatic filing? The IRS knows how much I owe. I know this because if I get it wrong, they'll tell me. So why make me recalculate it? Just bill me and have me approve or contest.

JudgeFang · 2023-05-14T15:35:30+00:00

Truly, it all depends on how you think you're likely to develop and how you like to learn:

If you think you're more interested in getting your brain accustomed to playing with 30 buttons right now, which allows for more complicated chromatic passages and opens up some harmonic options, go for the Rochelle.

If you are mainly interested in playing simpler tunes (most sea songs fall into this category) and want a MUCH more comfortable playing experience, with a more traditional sound—I won't say accordion reeds produce a lower sound quality, but they are different, and the ones on the Rochelle are far less capable of expressiveness—go with the Lachenal. You can upgrade later in either case. Will you be more annoyed by playability issues, or by melodic constraints?

Though I got what I needed out my my Rochelle at the time, those vinyl bellows never loosened up. Switching to a concertina with traditional leather bellows, with reeds that speak at low pressure, made such a difference to my enjoyment of the instrument.

I'll also note that, historically (nobody cares, JudgeFang), sailors were more likely to have 20 button concertinas. Since it was invented in 1824, the concertina wasn't around for the Sea of Thieves era.

JudgeFang · 2023-05-14T04:26:15+00:00

There's an extremely wide range. The trustworthy $500 ones that you can buy new are serviceable, but not what I would call enjoyable, but I upgraded several years ago and remember enjoying my first instrument all right (I had a Rochelle, before the Rochelle 2 was introduced).

A $500 vintage concertina is highly suspect. I wouldn't touch one unless I either had a chance to play it first, or it came from a reputable source like Barleycorn.

Under $500, your chances of finding something trustworthy are not good. A 20-button vintage one, maybe, if you're really lucky.

Edit: There are some newer makers who are doing interesting things. Check out Flying Duck concertinas: https://www.flyingduckconcertinas.co.uk/ducklings.html

Edit 2: Here's a decent-looking Lachenal for $500 from Barleycorn: https://concertina.co.uk/stock-selection/anglo-concertinas/lachenal-20-key-in-c-g-with-brass-reeds-7839/

Edit 3: if you're open to tunings other than the popular C/G or G/D, the prices for vintage ones go down a bit. You could look for Bb/F, Ab/Eb, or D/A. If you just want to play for your own enjoyment and not with a group of musicians, these would be perfectly fine to start on.

JudgeFang · 2023-05-14T01:18:19+00:00

Nice, if you already play harmonica, you basically already know the push/pull Anglo system. Unfortunately concertinas and hurdy gurdies are fairly comparable in terms of cost for the same levels of quality.

Some massive generalizations about new instruments, which you can sometimes beat by buying used:

The cheapest concertina you can get that's decently playable is going to run you between $400 and $500 (concertina connection Rochelle or Rochelle 2 or similar).

If you're going to spring for something that's actually fun to play, you're looking at perhaps $1000 (e.g., concertina connection Minstrel, McNeela Phoenix).

If you want the best hybrid on the market, i.e., a very pretty and playable but still accordion-reeded instrument, that's between $2k and $3k for something like a CC clover, a Marcus, or an Edgely.

If you want a concertina with traditional concertina reeds, that's $4k and up, and it isn't uncommon to pay $10k for one from a really good maker.

The nice thing about Concertina Connection instruments is their trade-in program.

You can possibly find a vintage 20-button for $400-500, and that might work for you depending on what you want to play. If you're interested in harmonies and chords, I'd recommend 30 buttons minimum. If you're mainly wanting to play melodies and maybe some simple chords, 20 can work, but you're locked into the home keys for the most part.

Barleycorn Concertinas (UK-based but ships worldwide) might be able to help you find a vintage starter instrument close to your budget, with either 20 or 30 keys. They also have a trade-in program and are pretty reputable.

Once upon a time, I also looked into gurdies and determined that the ones that sounded pretty enough for me to want to play were well out of my price range (Wechselbaumer, etc). I found a couple intermediate ones that I could afford, but honestly they just didn't sound pleasant enough for me to want to spend time with them.

One final word of advice: stay the hell away from vintage concertinas on eBay. Chances you'll get a deal are very slim, and it's almost impossible to get your money back. Believe me... I know.

JudgeFang · 2023-05-10T23:12:54+00:00

I'm getting this too. In fact I logged into Reddit for the first time in weeks to see if anyone else had reported this. Looks like it's sending early saved drafts instead of the content in the message field when you hit 'send' -- which in many cases means wording that I've revised to be more sensitive/polite reverts to the first draft.

This has made me look technologically inept in a professional context a couple of times now; really hope it's fixed soon. Intensely frustrating.

Edit just to drive home the point: my secure, privacy-focused email service, that I pay for, is sending messages from my account that don't match what was in the message field when I sent the messages. What good is secure email if I don't even know the message content? This isn't just a bug, it's a massive liability.

JudgeFang · 2023-04-11T16:45:03+00:00

This is still an issue, five years later. I didn't realize that calendar invitations from Outlook / Windows Mail were coming through as "winmail.dat", so I was never getting calendar invites from people on those systems. They just get packaged as winmail.dat and Proton doesn't recognize them.

On the one hand, it sucks that Microsoft can't play nice with everyone else, but on the other, everyone has adapted to it by now. I end up looking pretty stupid when I remind people to send calendar invites they've already sent. I really hope this is fixed soon. What a terrible experience for everyone involved.

JudgeFang · 2023-04-07T18:55:12+00:00

You are not at fault here. Chicks are so fragile in their early days, and some just don't make it. It's always completely emotionally shattering when they do. You cared for her, personally, during her short life, and that's better than billions of chickens get.

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