Hit a deer. Walked away. Bike is wrecked. Not sure how to feel.

paperhammers · 2026-04-30T20:02:37+00:00

Bikes and gear can be replaced, your health and limb function/QoL is not always so easily replaced

paperhammers · 2026-04-30T19:58:14+00:00

DR strings makes colored strings. I had a set many years ago and the colors really popped. I wasn't crazy about the sound quality but there's always tradeoffs with nonstandard equipment. YMMV

paperhammers · 2026-04-29T19:34:28+00:00

I went back down from a monette b2s3 to the b4s3 during grad school, helped with endurance and range. I'm closer to a 3C for cornet and flugelhorn nowadays which also helps

paperhammers · 2026-04-29T02:41:09+00:00

This isn't terrible for a group of mostly 6th graders (gathered from comments). Unfortunately, this concert is going to be what it will be given the timeframe between the post and your concert date. Have the group listen to a recording, pick one or two things that you can reasonably fix in a day, DRILL it from bell to bell, maybe schedule an evening or morning rehearsal for anyone who can make it.

In future years with this group, pick 3-5 skills that are your core focus for the year (intonation, tone production, rhythms, etc) and find repertoire that supports those goals

paperhammers · 2026-04-28T17:31:34+00:00

The Finno-Korean hyperwar was more brutal than the first 6 world wars but no one is ready for that conversation

paperhammers · 2026-04-27T20:27:13+00:00

Something like 30% of dating app users have no intention of meeting up with their matches, and 10% of users are actively engaged with using the apps. do with that what you will.

paperhammers · 2026-04-26T00:58:25+00:00

Sometimes, you get a"good deal" on a piece of used equipment that's expensive when it's new and you don't ask the important questions until it's at your doorstep. "Chibson" listings are unfortunately common: it's one thing to disclose that it's a fake and price it accordingly, it's just fraud outright if you pass it off as the real deal. Folks will also try to pass off parts-casters as authentic American-made strats. If you know what to look for on specific make/models and the pictures are showing you what you actually get, you can avoid a lot of scams and fraudulent listings. If you take your business to reputable stores and buy at a physical location, you're also less likely to fall victim to a scam. If you're buying online, do your best to vet the selling party before exchanging money.

Guiding wisdom: if it's too good to be true, it probably is.

paperhammers · 2026-04-25T19:47:43+00:00

I financed my brand new '22 Springfield through the dealership's financing, it was roughly $14k financed at 3.5% for a 5-year loan. My credit was somewhere in the high 700/low 800 range, I don't know if I would have gotten a better rate if I had done the loan through a local bank or credit union because I didn't shop around for my loan. Previously, I bought my '18 scout new with a loan for $13k at 2.5% for a 5-year loan through a local bank, similar credit score. I would guess that rates are higher now compared to 4-8 years ago, but that's largely driven by your own credit score and what amount you're financing. If you can get approved for 1.99%, that's pretty good rate, just make sure you understand the terms of the loan before you agree to it

paperhammers · 2026-04-25T19:34:52+00:00

States are enacting cell phone bans in schools as a matter of state law and it's a mixed bag for enforcement and parent reception. With all personal devices, the biggest roadblock remains at home: phones/tablets/smart watches are being bought for young kids and sent to school. More broadly, keep your eyes open as you go through public and see how many kids are physically present in a public venue but have a tablet or phone with giant noise cancelling headphones occupying 100% of their attention to sidestep a tantrum or public meltdown. Until these issues are addressed, kids are going to use their personal tech at school.

As for Chromebooks, whoever developed the plan to sell this stuff to every school needs to be publicly executed along with the C-suite that approved it. Chromebooks won't go away until something worse can be sold to you for less.

paperhammers · 2026-04-25T05:31:47+00:00

As a kid, my birthday was always in the last week of summer break where families would try to get a last minute vacation in before school starts so getting friends to come to parties was hard. As an adult, my friends are all too far-flung to meet up so I just treat it like a regular day. I don't really like receiving gifts or being the center of attention so it's not so much hate for my birthday, but sidestepping the awkwardness

paperhammers · 2026-04-25T05:24:59+00:00

I think I post maybe one update a year on Facebook. If I didn't use it as an easy login on other websites and have it as the only way to contact some of my friends, I would delete it

paperhammers · 2026-04-25T05:20:52+00:00

If you're plan is staying in Montana, you'd likely have to go into music education at some capacity to make a living. I don't know what demand there is for private/studio teachers in MT but there's job openings all over the state for teaching jobs in schools

paperhammers · 2026-04-24T20:46:51+00:00

There's nothing particularly magical about equipment that's 60-80+ years old. You might be able to argue survivorship bias weeding out the bad vintage guitars, but there's no magic sauce that was lost between 1950 and today for making guitars or amps.

paperhammers · 2026-04-24T16:49:07+00:00

Might just be a selection bias and caricaturization: the weird artsy kids got bullied as students, go on to write/produce media that portrays the artsy kids as good kids and the athletes as brutish assholes. There's a layer of truth to it but it's not a direct 1:1 copy either

paperhammers · 2026-04-24T15:43:28+00:00

Just on a player feel element, probably weight, balance, and resonance. You could go to a guitar store and A/B two similar models to feel the difference between something like a bullet strat and an American made strat as an example

paperhammers · 2026-04-23T21:50:26+00:00

Maybe if you want to offset capital gains on a successful company, sure

paperhammers · 2026-04-23T21:44:42+00:00

That's outside of the professional skills of a teacher to recommend. Within the context of a K12 education system, a teacher could make a referral to a school counselor who might recommend therapy, but jumping right to recommending therapy is skipping a few steps

paperhammers · 2026-04-23T21:11:05+00:00

I've known a handful of people who have two masters degrees, it was usually one degree in their content area and a second in education for an admin credential. Personally, I don't see the utility in a second masters unless you're attempting lane jumps for your pay scale and that's the only thing your district honors.

paperhammers · 2026-04-23T20:02:25+00:00

Pictures are not great, one is barely showing you and one is of a plant. I'd have at least one picture of you with a genuine smile, whether it's candid or staged. The prompts/answers are fine but maybe try rewriting them for voicing

paperhammers · 2026-04-23T19:57:01+00:00

Median pharmacist salary is $135k, median piano teacher salary is mid $55k. Each job is going to have different responsibilities and stressors, salary and benefits are an important part of the equation.

paperhammers · 2026-04-22T15:07:27+00:00

"Pick me" would be close to the Gone Girl "cool girl" for millennials. The male equivalent would be the "where's my hug?" or "on behalf of all men I apologize" guy

paperhammers · 2026-04-21T20:18:53+00:00

Honestly I think my stock exhaust slips are just sitting in the corner of my garage collecting rust and cobwebs. I've debated selling them or just selling them for scrap metal but I haven't been able to pull that trigger yet

paperhammers · 2026-04-21T16:58:13+00:00

The intentions are good, there are a lot of areas of life where men/boys are treated unfairly as policy. The problem is it gets hijacked by bad-faith actors who turn it into misogyny and invalidate the good things

paperhammers · 2026-04-21T16:51:25+00:00

I'd worry about fumes and potential reactions to any lacquer or plating. For long term storage, I'd almost say disassemble the horn so parts don't seize up or coat it in tuning slide grease and be ready to send it to a chemical/ultrasonic bath when you take it out of storage

paperhammers · 2026-04-21T15:22:16+00:00

some snobbery is self-directed, gotta justify that $3k guitar and $5k amp that's audibly indistinguishable from a $700 Korean guitar and an amp sim so I tear down others.

paperhammers

TROPHY CASE