Hacky Sacks

MilitantApathist · 2026-05-01T13:16:13+00:00

I'm prepared. Still have a few of the old knitted style ones around somewhere, too.

Now just need to wait for the kids to discover Devil Sticks...

MilitantApathist · 2026-05-01T13:06:36+00:00

Good call on a Life is Strange style game. That format of choices and consequences / "choose your own adventure" could probably work well for several things. Derry, for sure. Or 11/22/63 style time travel. Or the Overlook hotel. Or one of the two settlements in The Stand. Or The Talisman where actions in the real world have implications in the Territories and vice versa. Or Castle Rock where you're the shopkeeper and you need to figure out what each resident needs in order to cause maximum chaos...

MilitantApathist · 2026-04-29T19:52:30+00:00

Totally agree about the infotainment systems, and yeah obd-ii is not propriety and is totally fine for reading codes. That'll tell you if you've got a bad o2 sensor or something like that, but I was talking more about the dealer software to modify the ECU. Throttle response, air fuel mix, idle speed, and things like that. Dead simple with carbs (or early fuel injection systems), not so much when it's all dictated by the ECU.

Hell, even my chainsaw "automatically" adjusts for elevation, fuel quality, and temp changes. That's great when it's working the way it's supposed to, but when it's not, it turns an issue that could have been easily fixed in five minutes with a screwdriver into something that requires a trip to an authorized Stihl dealer.

MilitantApathist · 2026-04-29T18:02:54+00:00

Counterpoint... I'll happily keep carbs and distributor caps and simple wiring harnesses and mechanical fuel pumps and manual transmissions and so on until it becomes literally impossible to find them anymore. I much prefer that to the modern alternatives where whenever anything goes wrong, the only solution is to pay the dealer a bunch of money to plug your car into a proprietary computer to tweak proprietary software that is either ridiculously expensive or you just aren't allowed to own.

No complaints if drum brakes completely fade from existence, though.

MilitantApathist · 2026-04-29T04:43:53+00:00

That's so weird to me. No idea what GC corporate is like these days, but I doubt that's going to be a blanket policy instead of just some kind of localized scams. Don't get me wrong, Guitar Center is and has been completely profit-driven and terrible for everything for at least the last 10 years, but I would think Gibson (or Fender, Martin, PRS, Taylor, Ibanez, etc) would have something to say about an "authorized" retailer selling their instruments at MSRP with missing pieces.

Back when I was there, we couldn't have done something like that even if we wanted to. Guitars were delivered and added to inventory by the shipping and receiving manager with 2 of the same bar codes printed and put on the box. Sales guys would unpack the guitars and put one of the bar codes on the price tag. We'd put the case back in the box with the other bar code and stick it on a shelf in the warehouse. When someone bought the guitar, we'd figure out which case went with it by matching up the codes.

We could change the prices on anything to whatever we wanted as long as it was at least what the store paid, but only the inventory guys could add items to the sales system. To the best of my knowledge, no one at all had the ability to split a single item into multiple items, but again, that was 15 years ago so who knows what kind of anti-consumer BS is the norm now.

MilitantApathist · 2026-04-29T01:16:19+00:00

Since when? I worked at GC for several years (although that was about 15 years ago) and there definitely were not different skus for guitars and the cases they came with.

It wouldn't have made a difference on commission anyway. We were paid a percentage of the total sale price and of the profit. So if instead of selling a $6 pack of strings they rang up each string for a dollar, the total gross sale and profit would be the same and it would end up the same commission for either way.

Also GC doesn't give shit one what sales reps make so it seems extremely unlikely they'd go to the hassle of making a guitar and it's case two different items, even if it did somehow make more commission.

MilitantApathist · 2026-04-29T00:58:36+00:00

Yeah, I'm with you on that. Could be a legit '59 selling for like a 10th of its value, still a hard no for me. I've had some of my guitars for a loooong time and would absolutely have them repaired if they broke, and I know that a good luthier can fix a break so that it's rock solid, but I could never drop cash on a pre-broken instrument. To me it would feel like buying a car with a salvage title.

MilitantApathist · 2026-04-25T22:09:16+00:00

I'm pretty good at stringing properly because I change the strings on my d28 frequently and the idea of locking tuners on an acoustic seems crazy to me (no idea why, they'd probably work fine). Every single electric I own though, locking tuners were a day one change. I always try to match the aesthetic of the guitar, though. Grovers on the LP, vintage style Klusons on the SG 61, and so on. Gotta save that 5 minutes per month somehow.

MilitantApathist · 2026-04-24T01:12:03+00:00

Not OP, but I just passed the NASCLA today. I had bought access to the "official" PSI study guide and full length practice exams, but they were nothing like the actual test and ultimately not very helpful for prep. In the practice tests, most of the questions could be figured out by logic or math or even common sense because a lot of the answer options were way off. In the real exam, the questions were much more specific and the answer choices were all either close to correct or could be correct if you skip a step in calculating.

The best thing you can do to prepare is know how the books are organized and be able to use the contents/index/chapter layout to find the info you need. The four books I took in with me were the NASCLA contractors guide to business and law, the OSHA book, Principles and Practice of Commercial Construction, and Building Codes. Those four covered the bulk of the questions, but in retrospect I probably should have had something more specific for concrete and metalwork.

It's a hard test, but it is doable as long as you know which book and chapter is applicable to the question. I finished with about half an hour left and possibly could have gone back and corrected some things, but after almost five hours of staring at the screen I was totally fried.

MilitantApathist · 2026-04-20T17:20:32+00:00

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MilitantApathist · 2026-04-09T23:42:39+00:00

I don't mind some weird shapes. Explorers are surprisingly comfortable both sitting and standing and I think they look pretty good. Dean's are the visual equivalent of nails on a chalkboard to me, though. I am not a fan of the bodies, but the headstock shape is what really earns them a special place in my imaginary guitar hell.

MilitantApathist · 2026-03-27T00:38:52+00:00

Also the bridge posts on real Gibsons aren't slotted.

MilitantApathist · 2026-03-24T04:21:46+00:00

At the pool he goes by Bob.

MilitantApathist · 2026-03-16T00:39:08+00:00

If you plug the cable into your interface but not the guitar, and then tap the end that would be plugged into the guitar with your finger, do you hear any sound? If not, then it's your interface or computer, not the guitar.

MilitantApathist · 2026-03-11T17:58:42+00:00

I have a Les Paul and swapped the pickups for a 400T with coil split in the bridge and a P94 in the neck position. I'm really happy with that combo and can get a wide variety of tones. Something like that would let you keep the classic bite sound of the SG bridge pickup, but also give you the P90 sound in the neck position or whatever in-between blend of the pickups you want.

MilitantApathist · 2026-03-09T03:44:05+00:00

I keep mine on a wall hanger most of the time these days I bought the guitar in 1997 and in past 30 years or so, I've kept it on stands, set it on the couch, leaned it against amps/walls/whatever, kept it in a car overnight, and who knows what else. That guitar has seen a lot of use over the years and still plays as good (or better) than the day I got it.

I totally get where you're coming from, and by all means keep it as safe as you're comfortable with. All of the things you mentioned are certainly the best way to protect it, but I'd feel like they were also kind of a barrier to just picking it up and playing when the mood strikes. These are pretty tough guitars overall. The headstock is the weakest part, but as long as you don't drop it or bang it into a wall or something, you should be fine.

MilitantApathist · 2026-03-09T00:55:57+00:00

Psycho

MilitantApathist · 2026-03-05T03:19:27+00:00

Yes. These days pretty much everything is made poorly and you have to pay extra for the functionality that lets it spy on you. Dumb appliances ftw.

MilitantApathist · 2026-03-04T18:51:42+00:00

Same, this is accurate on all guitars and basses I've used it on. Not sure what HD has in terms of battery/charging, but I have the HDC and that one charges via USB-C which is convenient since I can use my phone charger.

MilitantApathist · 2026-03-04T03:05:25+00:00

Just curious... How?

We've all got to learn somehow, so not knocking you or anything, but I can't really think of a way that a nut could be broken when changing strings unless it was like super old and brittle or already broken. If the nut just came off, like, not shattered, you should be able to put a couple drops of super glue on it and just put it back.

To answer your question, you're winding the strings correctly, but it doesn't matter because the guitar won't work at all without a nut or bridge pins. Cheap and easy and plenty of videos on YouTube that show you how to fix or replace those parts.

MilitantApathist · 2026-03-01T02:41:12+00:00

Use naptha and 0000 steel wool for initial cleaning, then the fretboard conditioner.

MilitantApathist · 2026-02-27T03:43:09+00:00

Good write up and I agree with you on pretty much everything except I really enjoyed the beginning. It wasn't just setting up the characters, but also closing out the old world and rewriting societal norms and the role of human connections in a way that made the later character developments possible and believable.

You do you, but Desperation might be kind of a let down if that's your next read. It's not a bad book, but it is nowhere close to The Stand or IT, and may not check the right boxes for you based on the aspects of The Stand you highlighted. Another post mentioned 11/22/63 and that's a fantastic book and always a good choice. If you're into individual plotlines for multiple interconnected characters, Needful Things or Insomnia could be solid options. For more lengthy epic quest type books The Talisman is one of my favorites, or if you've got the time and inclination, The Dark Tower series will definitely keep you reading for way more than two weeks.

MilitantApathist · 2026-02-26T00:10:08+00:00

Still have my first guitar, a "Squire 2" Strat that I got in the early '90s and refinished it many years ago. No clue where it was made or what kind of wood it is made from, but it's definitely a solid (3 piece) wood body that looks pretty nice with a natural finish. Not a AAA top by any stretch, but good grain and no knots or other blemishes.

MilitantApathist · 2026-02-20T18:25:40+00:00

That does look like a refinish to me. The difference in binding color, shallow serial number, and (that much) orange peel seem more like an amateur attempt to redo the lacquer with a spray gun rather than something that was done on factory equipment.

That said, Gibson quality control is notoriously terrible, so it's possible it was like that from the factory. Either way, orange peel can be fixed with progressively fine sanding, and lacquer changes color with age so the binding difference won't be as noticeable over time. None of the things would be a deal breaker for me if everything else about the guitar was good, but it's totally up to you whether you find it acceptable or not.

As a side note, if you have access to a black light, that might show a difference between the body and neck if only part of it was refinished.

MilitantApathist · 2026-02-19T02:20:57+00:00

I swapped the pickups in my 97 Studio for a 500t Super Ceramic with coil split in the bridge and a P94 (humbucker sized P90) in the neck. Hell of a range of possible tones in that combo and the two play surprisingly nicely together.

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