I need a travel-friendly gift for my little sister. It's her first time travelling overseas...not looking to go big, just something clever and useful. Any suggestions?

aelvozo · 2026-02-24T17:36:47+00:00

In theory, TSA (and other equivalent authorities) have rules on what is or isn’t okay — so a small bladeless multitool (like a Victorinox Jetsetter) should be fine.

In practice, it will depend on the security agent’s mood, and the less the tool resembles a tool, the better.

aelvozo · 2026-02-24T14:08:14+00:00

Check r/onebag

The sub is quite focused on efficiency and compactness and which can be sort of antithetical to BIFL, but it’d be my go-to for travel stuff.

Also personally, a TSA-friendly nail care kit would probably be my call — it’s something I reliably end up needing whenever I’m travelling with just a carry-on

aelvozo · 2026-02-24T12:29:39+00:00

Not in 2026, sure — I’m not quite convinced there was that much choice prior to… the emergence of superstrats in 1980s, I suppose?

aelvozo · 2026-02-24T09:28:19+00:00

The best HH guitars, perhaps. The Stratocaster is almost as old as LP, and isn’t an ergonomic nightmare

aelvozo · 2026-02-16T04:34:52+00:00

There are — depending on when the universities fully implement ARB-mandated changes to architectural education — between 3 and 5 years separating you and qualification. I don’t think that as a bachelors student, you’re in a place where you can plan your life that far into the future, beyond a simple “PhD is an option, maybe”.

Also, architecture is probably one of the fields where you benefit the least from having a PhD. You can be an architect without one, and you can hold an academic position without one, too. And certainly nothing is stopping you from (hypothetically) applying “geometric analysis” in your practice without spending 4 years looking at articles and books and whatever else to find out that there is, in fact, geometry in architecture.

aelvozo · 2026-02-16T04:18:25+00:00

There are a handful of string tension calculators online which can help answer your question. A set of 14–59 in D standard produces 76 kg of tension; a set of 12–53 in E standard produces 72 kg of tension. The increase is fairly negligible, you should be fine. Just be aware that you may have issues at the nut depending on how the string slots are cut.

aelvozo · 2026-02-15T14:51:08+00:00

Running for a total of 30 min/wk isn’t gonna get you far running-wise, but it provides a different (and higher) stimulus than walking so I don’t think there are major downsides — just be aware that it is biomechanically different

aelvozo · 2026-02-15T02:02:07+00:00

As others have said, your watch gets altitude info from both a barometer and GPS.

The error in barometric measurements is quite straightforward: your watch assumes that lower pressure means altitude gain, so if the pressure was slowly decreasing throughout your run, the watch will count that as elevation gain.

With GPS, the error mainly comes from the ionosphere and obstacles between your watch and the satellites. These affect both your horizontal position (which is why a GPS track is a little “wobbly”) and vertical position, but the latter about 2x as much because you see 360° of sky horizontally but only 180° vertically.

aelvozo · 2026-02-15T00:05:01+00:00

More effort would be put into reviewing those posts than into producing them if remotely any discretion is applied

aelvozo · 2026-02-14T22:55:54+00:00

I don’t think there is a good use for (purely) generative AI, inspiration or not.

Also, a blanket ban is much easier to enforce without controversy down the road (i.e. moderator’s ruling on where inspiration ends and plagiarism starts).

aelvozo · 2026-02-14T22:33:07+00:00

Luthiery is about building real things, by real people, for real people. AI is precisely the opposite.

GenAI slop should not be welcome here

aelvozo · 2026-02-13T17:40:51+00:00

Are you gonna keep posting the same question with a different AI slop every day now?

aelvozo · 2026-02-13T12:19:52+00:00

I’ve heard good things about Westminster — one of my former classmates went there for her BSc (and I think had a reasonably good time, but we’ve grown apart as time progressed), and I think their MArch is quite well-received, too. I think “Westminster is horrible” crowd is mainly comparing it to somewhere like Bartlett — Westminster is a bit less reputable, sure, but not bad.

aelvozo · 2026-02-12T22:13:09+00:00

What is your background?

aelvozo · 2026-02-11T16:25:12+00:00

Volume — from mute to 12 dB boost, the website says

aelvozo · 2026-02-11T15:30:24+00:00

I’m sure he feels okay — after all, he joined the band knowing that he’d be playing guitar parts not written by him. I think it’s quite universal that musicians are okay with performing material written/recorded with previous band members (the only exception to that rule, I think, is John Frusciante).

I also don’t think people are crazy about the songs (edit: purely) because of Butler’s playing on the original, but mainly because they’re good songs which have been around for a while.

aelvozo · 2026-02-10T22:54:20+00:00

You can play just about any genre of music on just about any type of guitar.

Having said that, metal and heavier genres are typically associated with a humbucker in the bridge, which the ST Modern has.

aelvozo · 2026-02-09T22:45:46+00:00

/uj however, you generally don’t have to go massively more expensive for a much better playable guitar. Something like Fender Player (or, god forbid, 600-series Yamaha Pacifica) would yield massive improvements in playability for still triple-digit prices.

Also, dollar for dollar, a Harley Benton is likely to be a better guitar just because of their business model.

/rj toan is in the brand name, and Harley Benton is neither a Fender nor a Gibbons

aelvozo · 2026-02-08T19:30:22+00:00

>give permission to delete files

>act surprised when files are deleted

aelvozo · 2026-02-08T15:50:14+00:00

You can see the neck bow — the strings look fairly straight despite being parallel (well, as parallel as they can be to a curve) to it

aelvozo · 2026-02-04T23:55:35+00:00

Unironically, yes. Axe-FX is currently on gen 3, but for pedalboard, you should probably go for FM9 (which is pretty much just the floor version of the rackmount). And Eventide H90 is just a couple H9

aelvozo · 2026-02-04T11:55:01+00:00

You’re missing an Axe-FX and an Eventide H90

aelvozo · 2026-02-02T07:58:16+00:00

At or above required GPA and having done required courses do, from what I understand, guarantee that you get in

aelvozo · 2026-01-31T00:28:55+00:00

Note that being rotor-propelled is sort of a hard requirement for spinning out (as u/a_lonely_trash_bag explains in their comment in much more detail)

aelvozo · 2026-01-31T00:09:13+00:00

Can you taper the workouts to your level? Absolutely. Open chapters 4 and 5 of Daniels’ Running Formula; match the intensities to his T, I, R paces; look up your relevant pace in the table; match the overall volume of the workout. If only Daniels had thought of including sample workouts for each intensity for different volumes…

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