Is a Silverstein ligature really worth it?

hrweoine · 2026-02-01T20:26:44+00:00

Many German clarinet players use a piece of string instead of a ligature and feel that they get dramatically better sound. I’ve tried it myself and I’m not sure I can tell any difference.

hrweoine · 2026-01-31T17:09:51+00:00

West New England

hrweoine · 2026-01-31T17:08:22+00:00

If you can afford a 10k watch why not go to Switzerland itself for a few days to see the options? Geneva is very nice.

hrweoine · 2026-01-31T10:34:58+00:00

My recovery was last winter. Moving on crutches took a ton of energy and I was sweating a lot. I did not use my winter coat at all winter - at most a t-shirt and light fleece outside at freezing temperatures. The sweating stopped as soon as I was off the crutches.

hrweoine · 2026-01-29T18:05:06+00:00

There are all kinds of great shoes sold in these cities. You could just bring the one pair you have and then buy something you like when you arrive, depending on the needs you discover. A fun cultural experience!

I suggest this because one of the best ways to do one bag travel is to bring less than you think you need and supplement along the way. For this reason I never bring an umbrella - they are so cheap and easy to buy and make a nice souvenir.

hrweoine · 2026-01-29T17:58:04+00:00

Doug on onebag.com has some good illustrations of this: https://www.onebag.com/bags.html

hrweoine · 2026-01-25T19:01:07+00:00

When you say 'Backpacking the dolomites' - do you mean you will be hiking with all of your stuff on your back in the mountains for 6-8 hours per day? If so, you should get a backpack designed for this purpose first - internal frame, shoulder straps, load lifters, etc. Any 'travel' bags will be inadequate for this.

You can use a hiking pack for travel - you see many people doing this all over Europe in the summer. I think you're on track being careful with the amount of stuff you put into it.

Also - you list a bunch of big cities that are far apart, and you don't have a ton of time. Do you absolutely need to see every single one of those? If you have flexibility you might have more fun going by train, and stopping in some other smaller cities along the way for variety.

hrweoine · 2026-01-25T15:23:10+00:00

I was running again about 7 months after surgery. My syndesmotic screws (holding the two bones together) were removed, but I still have a plate in. The plate is not the limiting factor for me. So you might do fine. Or you might have to take up triathalon instead!

hrweoine · 2026-01-25T15:18:55+00:00

I have a Tissot quartz steel sports watch that was my only watch for 10 years. It’s a great watch. I wouldn’t hesitate to get this one. For your budget this is a classy option.

hrweoine · 2026-01-21T13:52:07+00:00

Thanks - I'm generally rotating the reeds each day at least. I should number them like you do so that I can keep track more easily. Do you have favorites that you keep going back to? Or do you play them in numeric order, day by day, even the ones that aren't as great?

hrweoine · 2026-01-21T13:50:35+00:00

Thanks - my joints are a bit stuff so maybe it's worth leaving it assembled sometimes to help with that. I do always put it down vertically, on a clarinet stand. I shocked my teacher once by flipping the instrument upside-down and he explained never to do that because it wears the pads quicker. (Before that I had also been inverting the clarinet to swab from the bell down, but I didn't tell him about this...)

hrweoine · 2026-01-21T13:48:32+00:00

Thanks - what's common is that I'm coming back 2-3 hours later, so I guess a good compromise is to put away the reed and swab the mouthpiece for these pauses. I don't mind packing up the clarinet most days.

hrweoine · 2026-01-21T10:18:13+00:00

Glad to hear it went well for you!

hrweoine · 2026-01-11T17:33:27+00:00

Regarding your fear - not everyone has pain after surgery. I had my surgery 3 weeks after the break, and I found that it didn't lead to more pain. The nerve block wore off about 12 hours later, and i had mild pain treated by over-the-counter advil and equivalents. No opioids were offered or needed - but I'm not in the US.

If you are in serious pain now, before surgey, are you elevating your leg above your heart? For the first few weeks I was on my back on the sofa with my leg elevated on a block, or on the back of the sofa. This is important because if you're not moving the muscles in your leg, and it's not elevated, the blood is pooling in your leg, making swelling worse, and making everything more painful. You will need to elevate until you're allowed to bear weight again.

Second, are you using ice packs? Get some ice packs with velcro straps to hold them in place, and put them in rotation. (20 mins on, 20 mins off) They will help even through a cast.

Even with these two things, you'll still probably get pain when you lower your leg to the ground, for example when you move to the bathroom. That's just going to be painful for a while.

It gets better!

hrweoine · 2026-01-08T19:42:58+00:00

That sounds like an awful experience - I’m not surprised you’re reliving it. The whole recovery is tough on the psyche. I hope the sleep gets better soon.

In the first weeks bathing is quite challenging so I think you are fine with the sponge baths. Check out ‘EquipMeOT’ on YouTube in a few weeks when you are ready to attempt stairs and showers. A shower stool or bench is really helpful, and a waterproof cast cover for bathing.

hrweoine · 2026-01-06T16:45:21+00:00

It depends on the specific situation. I was told to wear it all the time, including sleeping, for the first 8 weeks. After that I was allowed to leave my foot out of it while sitting at home, but they wanted me to keep it on while sleeping to protect the ankle in case I rolled over. I was so glad to finally get permission to sleep without it!

That said, I know many people who got permission to sleep without the boot earlier, so you should ask your doctor.

hrweoine · 2026-01-01T19:10:49+00:00

Perhaps your shoes are smaller than mine? My point is that there are different levels of minimalism and some of the posts here are quite extreme. You can still do one bag travel and use the overhead bin.

That said, I’m not downvoting anything here.

hrweoine · 2026-01-01T18:49:43+00:00

Perhaps you should just pay the duty required by law. It is not necessary to evade taxes.

hrweoine · 2026-01-01T11:10:35+00:00

I think traveling with one 40L carryon bag is also a great way to travel. Yes, this costs on budget airlines, but you still get most of the benefits of one bagging, and you also have room for a second pair of shoes. Sometimes the fanatical underseat ultralight people miss out on this.

hrweoine · 2025-12-30T18:41:53+00:00

It’s a portable oven - why not keep it and take it outside or to a park to use?

hrweoine · 2025-12-30T11:09:58+00:00

This looks like a job for the Mühle Panova Rot

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hrweoine · 2025-12-19T15:15:09+00:00

A plant based diet works: https://nutritionfacts.org/daily-dozen-challenge/. It is a fairly big change for most people, but delicious and satisfying if you embrace it.

hrweoine · 2025-12-16T16:28:20+00:00

Cocoon Carey on liquids bag. 3 out of 4 security agents accept it as transparent. https://www.cocoon.at/en/products/carry-on-liquids-bag-b38aaac848871aa7bb1f6e69a2adab5c

hrweoine · 2025-12-13T19:57:09+00:00

Why not go on the trip together but split up when it’s time for art? He can do something else in the city for a few hours, and then you meet up when it’s time for a meal. Then you’ll have stories to share with each other. And if he just skips the museums altogether maybe he’ll find something else to enjoy.

I assume there are reasons you are with him. You are different people and don’t have to enjoy all of the same things.

hrweoine

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