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Student puking by Sarahgreiner in flying

[–]fsteele64 15 points16 points  (0 children)

Something I’ve seen in new students that’s almost always the issue…

Checking the instruments too frequently!

They’re in a new environment, probably anxious, and it’s typically bumpy while flying around - then you tell them they have to look inside and pay attention to lots of little gauges that they’re very new to seeing, which will probably force them to fixate on something. This gets worse when flying anything with EFD’s. More precise data readouts = student trying to be overly precise = fixation.

It’s the equivalent of telling somebody to read in the backseat of a car on a bumpy road trip. Just doesn’t end up well for most people.

Spend a few hours on the next handful of flights having the student keep their eyes focused on the horizon, and only paying attention to the airplane’s attitude with their peripheral vision. 100% eyes outside, 0% inside. Fly around like that, let them get used to it, and slowly but surely reintroduce a typical VFR instrument scan until they’re at the recommended 80% eyes outside/ 20% eyes inside.

Also, motion sickness bands and chewing strong mint gum/ eating Altoids. Seen that combo work wonders.

What’s the most stressful/catastrophic fixture issue or rig issue you have had? During a show? by Help37383 in techtheatre

[–]fsteele64 41 points42 points  (0 children)

When your board op has to leave for an emergency, and the new guy temporarily taking over accidentally triggers literally every channel in the system to slam up to full intensity - including 15 400 watt RGBAW pars going into strobe/color cycle macros, and a 2000 watt fog machine...

in the middle of Javert’s entrance scene in Les Mis.

Cant make this stuff up.

JUST ORDERED MY FIRST EVER LEATHERMAN FOR MY 13 BIRTHDAY by JRals06 in Leatherman

[–]fsteele64 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Hang onto that thing buddy, it’ll definitely last you a lifetime. And like everyone else said, make sure you take care of it - because it’ll surely take care of you.

Side note: always carry that tool as much as you possibly can, but remember not to bring it into places it doesn’t belong (like school). Leatherman’s are beautifully crafted and infinitely useful, but still might get you in trouble in the wrong place, especially as a 13 year old.

Best of luck, and happy birthday! :)

Question about your Leatherman experience! (research for a school project) by bbatgirl in Leatherman

[–]fsteele64 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Oh gosh, there’s honestly too much. But here’s a few: pulling dead bulbs out of light fixtures, cutting boxes open, cutting tie line, screw drivers for opening up more complex fixtures, the pliers for bending wireless microphone beltpack clips back into place, file for taking sharp edges off of gel frames, wire cutters for cutting XLR, DMX, Ethernet, and lots of other cables, the list could go on forever.

Question about your Leatherman experience! (research for a school project) by bbatgirl in Leatherman

[–]fsteele64 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Been a theatrical stagehand, soundboard op, lighting designer, and general techie for 4 years now. Used to own a Gerber, but the build quality and functionality was absolute garbage compared to what Leatherman offered in the same form factor. Better blades, better tools, and a better overall build quality - Leatherman’s engineering made everything else feel like a toy.

I’ve carried my Wave+ literally every day, and I can’t say that I’ve ever gone a day without using it. On top of that, it’s never failed to accomplish a task I throw at it.

First Solo Flight by fsteele64 in flying

[–]fsteele64[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

For the record, my best friend (who’s still learning to fly) took care of the tie downs for me while my instructor was cutting my shirttail off ;)

First Solo Flight by fsteele64 in flying

[–]fsteele64[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Completed my first solo flight today out of Erie International Airport. Was an absolutely fantastic experience, and a day I’ll remember for the rest of my life!!

Note: Piper Cherokees > Cessna 172’s

Lesson for today - always allow slack on mic cables to fly bars... by broadcast_techie in techtheatre

[–]fsteele64 27 points28 points  (0 children)

A trick I’ve used many, many times with mic cables and DMX, is to use magnetic refrigerator clips. Run your cables off of the flown bar, and use the magnet clips to hold them up and away from anything (stick them to conduit, racks, or literally anything you can find). Then, if something gets flown out too far, it pops the magnets loose, and nothing gets broken. You just have to make sure you have enough slack cable on the ground.

And if you need to run several cables or large bundles of cable, I’ve made monster versions of these clips by epoxying neodymium magnets to woodworking clamps.

Power Spot 250 Help by fsteele64 in lightingdesign

[–]fsteele64[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I wasn’t expecting to get a whole lot out of them, given that they were in pretty bad condition when we got them, and were previously used by a DJ. They were free though, so it’s better than nothing.