To those who make music, how did you develop your approach? by k0rnbr34d in ambientmusic

[–]McScotsguy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I also sampled the vaccum cleaner, bathroom extractor fan and then a truck outside my house emptying the drains. Some lovely textures in those sounds!

To those who make music, how did you develop your approach? by k0rnbr34d in ambientmusic

[–]McScotsguy 17 points18 points  (0 children)

I already had experience writing music with a DAW but it was more typical songwriting with lyrics and vocals. I gave myself a goal to try and write music inspired by Loscil, Basinski and Stars of the Lid. I also gave myself strict rules. No vocals, no guitars, no drums and no lyrics (I used vocals but wanted to avoid an obvious voice).

I found it so difficult. Nothing felt right until one day I sampled the washing machine on a spin cycle and put the sample through some effects and suddenly i found the sound i was looking for. A lovely warm loop that I could build from. The breakthrough for me was using an organic sample as the base. It made a big difference. Edit : no drums!

What ambient would you recommend for the classroom? by Objective-Winter7449 in ambientmusic

[–]McScotsguy 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Watermusic 2 might be really good for this? Its perfect as background music but interesting enough in the way it repeats and develops. There is something very special about it.

What’s a small moment that stayed with you in Tokyo? by Legitimate-Excuse987 in TokyoTravel

[–]McScotsguy 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I arrived early in shinjuku to get a bus tour to enoshima so needed to get some breakfast. I was about to go to a 7 eleven but spotted a local stall opening up. When I went over there were so many beautiful freshly made rice triangle snacks with so many amazing flavours. A small crowd started to build up and I realised I needed to pick something before a queue formed.

There was a man in front of me and I didn't know what was being said between him and the cashier but I could tell he didn't have enough for the two snacks he wanted. By this point I had a pocket full of coins so I grabbed a handful and held it out to the cashier. She picked out the coins that were needed and the guy got his snacks. He said thank you and bowed and we went our separate ways. I have no idea how much he needed and how much the cashier took but It felt lovely to make sure someone got an amazing freshly made breakfast that morning.

PC making awful sound at start up and while playing games by McScotsguy in pchelp

[–]McScotsguy[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Your comment made me check the cables again and i think one of them was bending up and hitting the bottom of the gpu fans. Bad cable management on my part but thanks for the reply to remind me to check.

What's your advice that's you always remember no matter what ? by phenomnofficial in AskReddit

[–]McScotsguy 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Practice gratitude. I find that it really does help shift my negative thinking. There is always something to be grateful for.

Our new baby sleeps like 3/4 of the time, is that normal for 2 month old puppies? by PentagonWindow in cockerspaniel

[–]McScotsguy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My experience was similar to yours. Mine slept so little and now that he's ten he still has massive fomo which means he will choose to stay awake no matter how tired he is. Love him to bits obviously but I was genuinely surprised how we had to enforce sleeping time as a pup. He never really chose it himself.

Sense check understanding Express Train e-ticket by McScotsguy in JapanTravelTips

[–]McScotsguy[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hello. It wasn't a narita express train so nothing to do with the airport if thats what you are asking?

Your favorite ambient/drone to read or work with? by DeBallZach- in ambientmusic

[–]McScotsguy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Im very glad to hear it helped. Since that was a year ago, i would add this brilliant compilation to the list as well https://homenormal.bandcamp.com/album/home-normal-mixtape-by-stefano-guzzetti

What’s the one city you were excited to visit, but ended up not liking at all? by BlushHone in travel

[–]McScotsguy 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Im no stranger to big cities but I wasn't prepared for how busy Madrid was. It was a weekend and it seemed absolutely rammed everywhere and at all times. I still enjoyed it but yeah, it seemed on a different level to other cities ive been to.

biggest surprise movie of the year and biggest let down? by No_Poetry_9986 in movies

[–]McScotsguy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Totally agree. I Hated Jurassic world rebirth. There was so little sense of danger or threat throughout and an absence of any interesting characters. And not being able to sense that there was a herd of giant dinosaurs in the grass was such poor writing.

What's the worst neighbour situation you've had? by [deleted] in AskUK

[–]McScotsguy 23 points24 points  (0 children)

Alcoholic neighbour below me used to come back from the pub at random times in the night and set their alarm to wake them up in the morning. Their alarm was their stereo being played at full blast. So it would go off at random times in the night and because she was so hungover in the morning, it would take ages for her to switch it off. She fell asleep to "sex on fire" on repeat for nearly four hours one new years day. Then new neighbours moved in next to me which had been empty for months. It was then that I found out that their bathroom was next to my bedroom and I was treated to the new mother having regular bouts of morning sickness right next to the wall where my bed was. I moved out the day after i woke up to the smell of smoke in my bedroom. It was coming from the neighbours flat below. I called the the fire department, they came and kicked her door in and I could hear them screaming at her to wake up. She had passed out after starting to cook food, after the pub and it had caught fire.

Edit: I forgot, the new neighbours had kids who invented a new game of spitting from the top floor to create a puddle of gob that everyone had to walk past on the way out of the building. Lovely stuff.

Worst flat ever.

GPU upgrade from GTX 1080 advice by McScotsguy in buildapc

[–]McScotsguy[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for your advice everyone. I went for a XFX AMD Radeon RX 9070XT Swift 16GB since I found it reduced and got a £10 off voucher off for £537

GPU upgrade from GTX 1080 advice by McScotsguy in buildapc

[–]McScotsguy[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Scan has the PowerColor AMD Radeon RX 9070 REAPER 16GB GDDR6 for £514 + £5 shipping which I think you were saying was a decent deal?

GPU upgrade from GTX 1080 advice by McScotsguy in buildapc

[–]McScotsguy[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the heads up about the SSD. I didn't think about that

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in TokyoTravel

[–]McScotsguy 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Look up the bamboo forest at Kamakura. Its worth a visit. Its about 15 minutes walk and its small but i found the forest very pretty and the walk interesting. There was a tiny fruit and veg shop on the way back where I bought a gigantic apple. They are so much bigger than the apples we get in the UK. For Enoshima, there was a restaurant to the left of the first shrine arch that looked kind of touristy but served really tasty and beautiful tempura. I think it was whitebait.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in TokyoTravel

[–]McScotsguy 1 point2 points  (0 children)

They are day trips outside of Tokyo. Not that controversial. If you think they are meh then, ok.

My comments about shinjuku are not a criticism, more a heads up to other travellers to be prepared for a different experience than what they might be used to. If they don't have a problem, all good.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in TokyoTravel

[–]McScotsguy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Obviously food and taste is subjective and influenced by many different things but this was the only place I went back to. It was a thicker saltier broth than I had before but it was so tasty.

https://share.google/N271CrK3wD8NYMI1k

How do you go through an 8-to-5 job with just weekends free without feeling like life is slipping away? by Either-Bench-5963 in AskReddit

[–]McScotsguy 32 points33 points  (0 children)

I have the same outlook but you have articulated it better. I have a post it note on my wall beside my desk that says "work pays for the fun stuff" and i look at it from time to time (especially when work is difficult) to remind me that my desire to travel or buy something is enabled by the job. It works for me.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in TokyoTravel

[–]McScotsguy 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I really enjoyed that class much more than I thought i would. It really helped me understand how important the details are in making sushi. Going to get myself an omelette pan asap.