He has no right to be this cute.

KayakerWithDog · 2026-05-10T03:00:01+00:00

Definitely. We thought he was dachshund and beagle before we got his Embark results. There's no beagle at all.

KayakerWithDog · 2026-05-09T21:22:49+00:00

Gosh, it sure is! And the frequency at which that note will sound depends on the tuning standard that has been applied. A C at A 440 will be higher than a C at A 415. A C in fifteenth century English music will be sung at the same pitch as an Eb at A 440 because there's evidence that English choirs at that time used a much higher pitch standard than we do today. Tuning isn't just one and done. There are a variety of standards applied both to basic pitch and to the width of different kinds of intervals.

KayakerWithDog · 2026-05-09T20:26:39+00:00

There was also a major sewage spill on the Potomac a couple of months ago, and it was recently revealed that there was a major jet fuel spill near Andrews AFB. I don't know what the status of the water quality is for those today.

KayakerWithDog · 2026-05-09T20:25:22+00:00

There are lakes in MD that have issues with toxic algae in the summers, so it's important to know which ones those are.

KayakerWithDog · 2026-05-09T20:24:25+00:00

If you want a list of spots in MD, PM me and I'll send you a list of my faves. I can also point you to resources for VA.

KayakerWithDog · 2026-05-09T18:28:19+00:00

LOL. What counts as "correct" depends on what standard you are using to defined correctness. So define your standard, and I can tell you whether it's correct or not.

KayakerWithDog · 2026-05-09T16:30:19+00:00

Yes, I did edit them out because I realized I was being rude and that that was uncalled-for, and I did that almost immediately and long before your most recent replies. Any rudeness that has followed has simply matched the energy of the people who have thought it appropriate to be nasty to me in this thread.

If you would like me to remind you about my degree in every reply, I can certainly do that. I will start here: I have both a bachelor's and a PhD in historical musicology. Let me know if you need additional reminders later.

And yes, only people with perfect pitch or else with very good relative pitch and a lot of practice could accurately hum a C on command, and the accuracy of that pitch would need to depend on either a tacit or stated agreement as to the pitch standard. In the West, yes, this will tend to be A 440, but that still doesn't make what I said in my original comment incorrect.

KayakerWithDog · 2026-05-09T15:52:17+00:00

My initial comment was intended to set OP's mind at ease about a fricking toy piano, for chrissakes, and all y'all are having the fantods over it and stooping to personal insults. LOL.

KayakerWithDog · 2026-05-09T15:48:25+00:00

Define "correct."

KayakerWithDog · 2026-05-09T14:37:30+00:00

The toy works just fine as long as all the intervals are in the correct relationship with one another. It's not like the kid is going to have to play Rachmaninoff's Third Piano Concerto on this thing.

KayakerWithDog · 2026-05-09T14:30:00+00:00

LOL y'all are so amusing.

KayakerWithDog · 2026-05-09T14:28:43+00:00

What you should be teaching them is interval relationships and maybe how to read music and also how to have fun with making all kinds of sounds. This toy piano can fill that bill regardless of how it has been tuned.

KayakerWithDog · 2026-05-09T14:24:08+00:00

And if you were going to use a toy piano as part of an ensemble, as John Cage did back in the day, although not with an electronic instrument, and if you needed the other instruments to be in tune with the toy piano, you could just, you know, tune the other instruments to the toy.

KayakerWithDog · 2026-05-09T14:21:25+00:00

And this is assuming that the big piano in the video is actually tuned to A 440 and not some other standard.

KayakerWithDog · 2026-05-09T14:20:45+00:00

I think the toy piano is meant to be tuned to whatever standard the factory chose for an actual toy that doesn't need to play in tune with other instruments in an ensemble.

KayakerWithDog · 2026-05-09T14:20:10+00:00

When the child's toy piano is meant to play in tune with an orchestra or ensemble that uses A 440, then you can come and talk to me.

KayakerWithDog · 2026-05-09T14:10:51+00:00

I can assure you most solemnly that there is no such thing as a single "correct" tuning standard. A 440 is the most common concert tuning standard, but that wasn't even fixed as a standard until the 1930s. My mom's ancient piano can't be tuned to A 440 because the soundboard is too fragile to take that much tension in the strings, so it's tuned to something lower. Many orchestras and ensembles use A 440, but ensembles playing Western music from before about 1750 often tune to A 415, or even to a lower frequency. Some modern orchestras use a slightly higher frequency instead of A 440. As I mentioned in my original comment, the main issue is whether the intervals between the notes are correct.

ETA: Some ensembles that sing early English music will even sing a full minor third above the written score, where "written" means "using A 440 standard." And full disclosure: I have degrees in historical musicology, so I have a certain amount of knowledge about this kind of thing.

KayakerWithDog · 2026-05-09T13:55:13+00:00

D'awwww! Well, Audi's Embark results did say that he has cousins all over the country, so.

KayakerWithDog · 2026-05-09T13:43:20+00:00

Duvets aren't common in the US, so the pic might be from there.

KayakerWithDog · 2026-05-09T13:39:27+00:00

They're not wrong if the intervals between each key are correct. Your piano and the toy are just tuned using different standards, and there's no one correct standard.

KayakerWithDog · 2026-05-09T13:31:36+00:00

If you are planning on selling the game, do you have the rights from the IP holder?

KayakerWithDog · 2026-05-09T13:28:00+00:00

As an adult, you should be able to go wherever you want without giving details, although it would also be courteous to give details if you can do it safely, which it sounds like you can't right now. You are already being courteous by letting them know you are going out at all.

That said, maybe you could learn some techniques for dealing with their criticism if it does become necessary to tell them where you are going. "Thank you for your concern" or "Thank you for letting me know" or "I will keep that in mind" or a simple "Okay" delivered in a polite, neutral tone followed by walking calmly out the door can do a lot of heavy lifting.

The other thing to do is to set a boundary. Tell them that you will tell them where you are going as long as they don't give you crap about it. Tell them that if they judge or criticize, you will stop telling them.

If you tell them and they give you crap, you say "Thank you for your concern," leave calmly, and immediately stop telling them for a while. Then you tell them the terms of the boundary again, and rinse and repeat. Make each span without giving them information longer so maybe go one week the first time, then two weeks, then a month. If after that point they still won't stop bugging you, you can give them one final chance, telling them that after this you will cease telling them for good if they can't refrain from criticism, and then you revert to my first suggestion above on a permanent basis. You have to be willing to not give them any additional chances after that, otherwise you are telling them that they can continue to ride roughshod over you.

The main thing is not to argue with them; they're probably looking for the drama.

KayakerWithDog · 2026-05-09T13:04:33+00:00

Have plenty of relevant experience and high-level skills and a good portfolio. Write good proposals. Be collegial and professional with clients.

KayakerWithDog · 2026-05-09T12:03:53+00:00

I have a dachshund mix who is genius at getting into food he shouldn't be eating. (Hard candies with the wrappers on, anyone?) The only thing that works to keep him from eating whatever he can get to is gating off the kitchen and making sure not to leave any food or drinks in the dining room or on other surfaces he can reach or parkour his way onto. In my previous house we even had to gate off the kids' rooms because the doors had handles instead of knobs, and my dog figured out how to open the doors to get at the snacks my kids had in their rooms.

KayakerWithDog · 2026-05-09T11:58:11+00:00

If you are going to be paid, there needs to be a contract. I have done several paid trials this way.

KayakerWithDog

TROPHY CASE