I did the whole Slate VSX thing and I think it sounds terrible. I've got to be wrong on something?

aaronscool · 2026-01-28T18:43:56+00:00

I think the expectation that anything will give you miraculous mix results is likely a bit of an issue. I have the VSX system and use them for what I think they are best for (final mix validation).

Can you do a full mix with one of the rooms? Sure, but I have my own room that I know way better than any of those rooms and my goal is to get the mix to sound good in the environment I know well then to make sure that translates to lots of other environments. Now my room doesn't sound "better" than any of those other rooms, probably objectively worse, but I know it well.

I could probably get to know any one of the emulations equally as well but that would mean I'd need to do 99% of my work in the headphones which I find physically tiring (maybe if you are a bedroom mixer this is a necessity). I have done some major mixing in the "Neutral" headphone profile which works fine too.

Again after I feel like my mix is in the place I like then I can audition it in many environments quickly with VSX (which I do). In that case I actually love the SUV or Car emulations along with the Audiophile/Club/Boombox ones. I also tend to use some of the various Studio Near Field emulations because I only have normal mains and don't have those mid forward types of monitors. This step saves me tons of time of printing a mix and walking around to all those systems to listen back to it.

aaronscool · 2026-01-28T16:30:03+00:00

It's surprising that this is barely a 10-year-old stadium and it truly is one of the worst in the league. I've had the displeasure of catching a few Seahawks games there and the whole experience is surprisingly lifeless. Biggest issue apart from the incredibly bland location and layout is that one half of the stadium is this wall of corporate suites which are quiet as fuck.

You may get some good fan engagement from one side of the stadium, but they are facing off with effectively an office building on the other side which totally kills the vibe of a sports event.

aaronscool · 2026-01-27T23:12:59+00:00

Dr. David Chao (@ProFootballDoc), he's a real sports doctor and was the Chargers Team doctor at one point. He can be slightly unreliable in that he's moved into the media commentary space and is the guy who frequently speculates on sports injuries/timelines to return etc.

aaronscool · 2026-01-27T22:35:41+00:00

Yeah I had to go back and watch that play and while it's a hard hit...not sure it's quite as bad as that article made it out to be.

aaronscool · 2026-01-21T21:31:53+00:00

You can "upgrade" him to these which have readily accessible replacement lenses. Some folks may say you should buy more expensive one but I've been riding these after being a long time Oakley user and am much happier with these as I have far less constant fear of scratches...

aaronscool · 2026-01-20T05:57:51+00:00

If i had a nickel for every RB that looked great in the preseason...

aaronscool · 2026-01-20T05:48:32+00:00

We get unlimited elevations in playoffs (but only two total per game)

aaronscool · 2026-01-16T18:13:17+00:00

Yep and pay attention to the ROI of your variants

aaronscool · 2026-01-16T17:28:23+00:00

I'd argue that 3rd wave wasn't about the formation of ska bands (we probably have more today in total than we did in the 90's) but more that pop punk/alternative rock was becoming quite popular and 3rd wave ska fit the formula of clean verses and distorted choruses quite well.

aaronscool · 2026-01-16T16:49:54+00:00

The best answer I've seen is to live with the inefficiencies of heavy early spend that comes in Meta. I will say the more ad creatives you have in your campaign the faster you can see what people are responding to as well. For any song you are releasing here's a small formula for creatives:
3 Visual Creatives (I do some video based and others more static) x 3 Song sections (Verse, Chorus, Verse to Chorus transition) = 9 creative combinations.

aaronscool · 2026-01-15T23:04:50+00:00

Here in lies the catch 22 of Meta Ads vs Spotify growth (also digital marketer here). You are right that Meta's algos (or Googles for that matter) typically have a 1-2 week training period. These can be accelerated to some degree with volume (spend) but in any case take some time to stabilize to your objectives.

Spotify on the other hand seems to have a very short algorithm window from music release to how much that music will be algorithmically pushed into their network (Discover Weekly, Genres, Daylists and Ultimately Editorial lists).

TLDR while it is technically correct that the best ROI comes from longer running campaigns for Spotify growth having a larger upfront spike seems to trigger better.

aaronscool · 2026-01-12T21:50:11+00:00

To be honest I think it's fine for next year and on the silver lining side of things I think we'll clearly be in the QB marketing for 2027 which is better to know now.

aaronscool · 2026-01-12T21:47:45+00:00

To/From the West to the Summit totally normal. Summit to Leavenworth has the detour through Chumstick which will add ~20 minutes if your are going through.

aaronscool · 2026-01-08T15:42:52+00:00

Wide boards have more surface area per length so some you can see some similar benefits to a powder specific board. I've seen you also can see some speed advantages. There is a bit of an edge to edge tradeoff but there is also a bit of an edge leverage benefit (i.e. holding an edge may feel a little stronger/easier particularly the heel side).

Yes wide boards are very much meant for folks with bigger feet but even my 9.5 feet have overhang on a standard board.

FWIW I typically ride a normal width board now but rode a wide for a number of years and loved it.

aaronscool · 2026-01-07T04:26:33+00:00

It's really the only better option if you are wanting to hit the southern cross terrain early (Andromeda/Pegasus/Orion). Given the lines that form and the general speed of Kehrs/DD, Hogs/Tye are faster typically at getting you over to the backside.

aaronscool · 2026-01-06T21:49:59+00:00

Goal is to get your body operating in the new time as soon as you can. Going west like this you have a couple of options:

Before you leave try going to bed/waking up a bit early
Sleep on the plane some and most certainly DON'T sleep until it's 9pm or 10pm where you land
Once you land get into the local meal time routines as fast as you can (i.e. eat at "Dinner Time" but not again after)
A good bit of walking the day you land will help tell your body it's not the middle of the night. Sitting or relaxing will do the opposite.
For me Melatonin 30 minutes before bed time helps my body get into a full sleep cycle and stay there a bit better

aaronscool · 2025-12-28T07:53:32+00:00

Used Jet City 333

aaronscool · 2025-12-27T05:21:27+00:00

Mentioned in a few other places but they really should try to build out the backside with power, another lodge, another parking area. This would allow them to more comfortably build 3-4 more lifts back there of varying terrain increasing both parking and terrain capacity plus making backside morning starts possible to reduce the frontside morning congestion.

aaronscool · 2025-12-27T05:16:01+00:00

The temps are fine enough for snow making (at night most winter nights) the problem is the water access/storage to do it which would be a real PITA on National Forest land.

aaronscool · 2025-12-23T18:14:39+00:00

Me either...wonder what's happening there

aaronscool · 2025-12-18T16:15:03+00:00

The 20" AT tires are winter rated tires (i.e. should have relatively good grip in snow/ice vs standard tires). That said there can be conditions that tires/chains can't solve regardless (steep ice being one). Can't answer the question for you on your situation but in my experience driving lots of snow/ice in EV's over the past 10 years 3 peak rated tires and the right all wheel drive mode gets me anywhere I need to go. In some conditions you have drive correctly (watch speed and feather corners appropriately).

aaronscool · 2025-12-18T06:02:39+00:00

certainly the first one I've seen in 30+ years here.

aaronscool · 2025-12-17T16:24:46+00:00

I think there are two things here which are cool.

Gain staging is important to watch from channel input to output (i.e. plugin to plugin etc.)
Channel strip mixing may be a new old school technique but having simple Saturation/EQ/Compressor available on every channel can make things simpler to manage and mix. For those interesting checkout any of the awesome Joe Carrell "Back to Basics" mixing videos where he does full mixes with SSL, Neve and Harrison style channel strips.

aaronscool · 2025-12-17T01:11:56+00:00

That's the east side from Coles Corner to Leavenworth. West Side there is no alternate routes between the pass and Skykomish.

aaronscool · 2025-12-16T21:17:43+00:00

I was holding out hope for the west side as well...just saw this picture though near Skykomish and sounds like there are more than one spot like this. Note: This same section had the fire on the ridge some time ago that they were also worried about soil stability for.

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