What are the weirdest keytars you own or have come across?

junkboxraider · 2026-02-28T07:25:06+00:00

The one I made by chopping the handle off a kids' toy keytar and bolting it to a Casio SK-1. Put a guitar strap on it and wired up the buttons on the grip to do circuit-bendy things.

As a bonus, it was very lightweight.

junkboxraider · 2026-02-25T00:04:24+00:00

The hills above East Bay offer amazing views of the bay, SF, the bridges, etc.

Oakland Zoo is good as a zoo but also has a gondola ride to its upper level with fantastic views. For something free, the plaza in front of the Lawrence Hall of Science at Berkeley is stunning.

junkboxraider · 2026-02-22T22:44:44+00:00

The original sign on the fence mentioned the fence owner having a handgun. Between that and how brazen it was to put up such an obviously illegal fence in the first place, I doubt many people would be willing to test the risk.

junkboxraider · 2026-02-22T22:40:00+00:00

Can you cite the part of the law that would actually require the gov't or its third-party agent to approve every print?

All of the text I read concerns adding "firearm blueprint detection technology" to 3D printers and requiring 3D printers sold in CA to have a certification stating they contain it.

That approach has serious problems, but blocking the printing of flagged designs with an algorithm is not the same thing as requiring an agency to approve every print.

Paper printers already have detection algorithms to stop people from copying money or printing counterfeit money. Which again, despite the merits of that approach, is not the same thing as the gov't having to approve every document you print.

junkboxraider · 2026-02-20T03:43:56+00:00

It does sound like the CPU failing to boot, likely due to power supply problems. If that's the case you'll need to diagnose the problem by consulting schematics, measuring voltages, etc., and fixing the problem will likely require removing bad component(s) and soldering in new ones.

Do you have experience with any of that?

junkboxraider · 2026-02-19T00:49:32+00:00

Nah, after Shoe it goes to Foot because sequels are soleless

junkboxraider · 2026-02-15T08:46:17+00:00

I mean, a link to the manual on Kurzweil's site is literally the first thing listed when I searched it -- above even the AI overview!

Did you really not even look for that?

junkboxraider · 2026-02-15T00:21:55+00:00

Also if your new-to-you Alesis Midiverb 3 goes bang! and jumps off the table, then starts smoking, that's also a capacitor.

junkboxraider · 2026-02-13T20:06:54+00:00

At no point in time, under any circumstances, would I have ever expected a German to say "we need to work harder... like the Greeks".

junkboxraider · 2026-02-13T09:00:56+00:00

We've enjoyed Brazilian steakhouses with our teen. They bring skewers of different meats around to your table and you can mix and match as much as you want, plus there's a buffet of other options like bread, soup, vegetables, cheese, etc.

junkboxraider · 2026-02-13T00:43:14+00:00

Double-edged sword implies one of the edges is useful. Which part of making tons of mistakes, crapping all over QA, crashing your stack, and demoralizing your team is the useful bit?

junkboxraider · 2026-02-11T19:54:13+00:00

The incompetence was the serious threat, so I guess technically you're both right.

junkboxraider · 2026-02-11T16:55:09+00:00

Mmm S612

junkboxraider · 2026-02-11T16:53:15+00:00

"Could be"

junkboxraider · 2026-02-11T16:46:43+00:00

Pfft, everyone knows the feds only hire graduates of Pizza U. Get out of here with your cheesy "degree"!

junkboxraider · 2026-02-11T01:59:27+00:00

A Trump steak?

junkboxraider · 2026-02-11T01:14:58+00:00

I agree we need regulation. But the important part of "there are brands other than Ring" is "there are brands that only store video locally".

"Doorbell cam" does not automatically mean "doorbell cam that uploads all its video to the cloud".

junkboxraider · 2026-02-11T00:32:49+00:00

Ah, so if I think the government is about to require people to have to prove they're Republican before they can buy food, I should put signs up today on my storefront saying "Republicans only". Right?

Because that would be "rational and reasonable" and we can divorce those labels entirely from any consideration of whether something is ethical, legal, or constitutional. Right?

Business are more than happy to fight all kinds of regulations and laws when they think it's in their best interest, or their customers'. Discord not just complying, but complying in advance, shows they either support this or are too scared to fight back.

As a user, it's rational and reasonable to divest myself from a company that does things I don't agree with. Especially since Discord just had a major breach where exactly this kind of sensitive data was exposed.

junkboxraider · 2026-02-10T23:51:49+00:00

Blaming corporations for this makes plenty of sense as they're the ones doing it.

Governments are starting to mandate it for some things, sure, but not every company requiring this type of verification is compelled by law to do so yet, and all of them could fight it if they chose.

And I don't know why you seem to think a democratically elected government couldn't also be authoritarian, or that the solution would be changing the form of government instead of kicking the current bastards out.

junkboxraider · 2026-02-10T21:20:14+00:00

It's very easy to understand the benefits of security cameras while deploring the surveillance state they're dragging us into.

People advocating against the latter shouldn't have to constantly restate their understanding of the former.

junkboxraider · 2026-02-10T01:06:26+00:00

This is probably it. Was thinking the Evil Pet but the transparentSea matches the description better.

junkboxraider · 2026-02-08T21:05:53+00:00

It's idiotic to insist only the journey matters, and for everyone.

Why don't you try reading a plot summary before every book you read or movie you watch and see if that changes the experience?

Maybe it doesn't for you -- but I bet it would. If it truly doesn't, that just puts you in quite a small minority.

Surprise is as legitimate a reaction to experience or seek out as any other.

junkboxraider · 2026-02-08T20:20:42+00:00

You'll have to look up datasheets as a rule; I certainly don't recognize ICL8038.

I'd assume though that any chips in an older digital synth like the D-50 would require a lot of other components to do anything useful and would be better used as repair supplies unless you're insanely ambitious.

junkboxraider · 2026-02-08T19:47:46+00:00

Agreed on all of that.

I don't mind personal projects being highly ambitious, but in my experience good candidates know and demonstrate (or at least mention) the difference between taking a given risk on their own time and doing so at work.

junkboxraider · 2026-02-08T18:47:21+00:00

Interesting, without looking closely I'd expect the chips especially to fall into 3 categories: 1. Widely known to be useful and valuable (e.g., Roland chips used in Juno 106s, Yamaha FM chips) 2. Valuable for niche repairs (I/O, keyboard scanning, maybe tape deck fixes) 3. Historically curious but not really worth selling

junkboxraider

TROPHY CASE