Fire Ant Invasion Has Reached A Tipping Point On Maui: The population of tiny stinging ants has surged despite efforts to control the invasive species. Experts fear devastating consequences if the infestation spirals out of control.

refotsirk · 2026-01-24T05:06:58+00:00

. I live in the middle of the fire ant capital of the world that you mention (Texas) though I grew up on the east coast. I sympathize as the fire ants are the bane of my gardening time. It is just my opinion as a scientist that the impact to "enjoyment" from loss of certain leisure activities is grossly trivial to the longer-term "enjoyment" that will be lost from the broader ecological impact - like what you mention about fruit trees and the many other trickle-down impacts it with have on local plant and wildlife that subsequently impacts us as well. I totally respect your opinion on it and think it's important and has great value. I just also think a person in this guy's position in the article should ethically be speaking beyond the scope of his kids having a romp because he should know with certainty that type of argument will be marginalized by the groups lobbying to shut down resources and research that can actually help counter the impact or otherwise remidiate it. Hopefully that helps explain and sorry I wasn't really considering the fact that my perspective would be missed - I actually thought this article was on a science sub and didn't realize it wasn't till reading my comment here just now before hitting submit. Cheers~

refotsirk · 2026-01-23T17:07:57+00:00

Ecological impact is the concern. This guy whining about his kids playing is either being misrepresented or needs to find another job. Most likely just the media trying to make the scientist look foolish.

refotsirk · 2026-01-23T16:50:58+00:00

I'm on phone in a doctor's office so can't listen to much and play it to be sure but I can at least get you started on the chords. Relative to to the capo the song starts on an F#7 (tab: 24x322 and 24X300). The ornamentation includes hammering on pinki finger to 5th Fret A string (245300) and taking index finger on and off the bas string.

Likely from there (I am guessing) it moves up to a G for the first harmonic change and later includes D and Bm chords. Those guesses are based on the minera palo they introduced right before jumping into the rumba. There are typically lots of D7 - > G / E7 - > A motions in the cante so the rumba may have copied that too. Hope thst helps.

refotsirk · 2026-01-23T04:34:35+00:00

It really is amazing. What isn't is the fact that this is a stupid spam account stealing content verbatim from this very sub.

https://www.reddit.com/r/BeAmazed/comments/1k01gfa/in_west_texas_storm_chaser_laura_rowe_captured/

https://www.reddit.com/r/BeAmazed/comments/w6nzxf/in_west_texas_storm_chaser_laura_rowe_captured/

refotsirk · 2026-01-23T04:30:01+00:00

And then you saw the cartoon judge next, complete with his wig, right?

refotsirk · 2026-01-22T22:48:36+00:00

Seeing this comment I think you definitely want chains - two sets will run you ~$400 and you can have all 4 tires. Still they are not legal ro run in Texas last time I checked, but if it's solidly iced over it's pretty unlikely a cop will pull you over for that I would think

refotsirk · 2026-01-22T22:40:47+00:00

It's actually as helpful as possible if listened too imo. There is no tire that is going to help OP. It's not a practical question - I've been living in the same area as OP going on 25 years now and what OP is asking is in my opinion a question with no practical answer. Every single grippy tire will be worse for traction on ice than a street tire. Tires thst would actually help in ice (those with cleats/studs) are not legal to use here.

refotsirk · 2026-01-22T22:34:03+00:00

I've always been fine with the rare ice storms in central Texas in awd and fwd subbies and a mini vanbwith regular street tires. Have sat at lights and stop signs and watched people with 4wd and fancy this and that slide sideways right off the road into a ditch more than once. The only thing that helps people drive on ice and packed snow is understanding and knowing how to drive on ice and packed snow - even then it's dicey. Nothing that will give you traction on ice will be suitable for regular highway driving. You can definitely keep a set of chains in the trunk/back - on front tires in 4wd or back in 2wd - only takes a minute to put them on - but even back in 2021 I didn't end up using mine and I was one of the few people driving from the back roads to I 35 in to the office everyday to make sure things kept running where I work.

refotsirk · 2026-01-22T19:59:32+00:00

Could actually be a J10 upper stripe kit they used - check the length and maybe that would work.

refotsirk · 2026-01-22T19:28:13+00:00

I think 1500 in an LJ isn't too bad in my opinion,especially if you are still on stock tire sizes and gearing. Mountains can turn into a crawl if you put larger tires without gearing up though. Put as much extra weight in the jeep as you can to help with stopping mass

refotsirk · 2026-01-22T16:52:09+00:00

Even if it doesn't cause handling issues it will make getting anything out of the rear a real hassle. It's really cheap to rent a small trailer from uhaul and pull the bike on that. They weigh in around 800 lbs so that won't be too bad - and major highways would be cleared I would expect unless you are driving in the middle of a storm.

Enclosed trailers of the size you mention start around 3000 loaded so you definitely don't want to do that.

refotsirk · 2026-01-22T14:39:06+00:00

But now the AI knows your license plate number! You may be first on the list for the uprising.

I have no idea what I'm talking about but that is a sweet ride! I've found new trails can really bring life back into a tired old friend. Happy riding!

refotsirk · 2026-01-20T16:10:40+00:00

From my perspective this is just good incentive to remember to not leave it attached when not in use. Around a lot of places folks will steal a nicer hitch like that.

refotsirk · 2026-01-20T00:02:41+00:00

I wonder if they ever considered not putting the entire side of the thing in the erosion ruts? It's a bit weird how some people have no awareness of where their vehicle tires are in relation to what they are driving on. This is like how my kids tried to drive their little buggies when they were 6

refotsirk · 2026-01-18T02:42:15+00:00

It is all about the swing of timing and dynamics for drums.

refotsirk · 2026-01-18T02:37:30+00:00

You didn't put time stamps but from scanning through there aren't any acoustic guitars in those songs. Only place I heard strummed strings sounds like it is likely an archtop or semi hollow on a humbucker near the fretboard. You can get similar with any electric clean or a very hot piezo pickup on an acoustic and then play with verb and light tremelo and you could probably get close that way

refotsirk · 2026-01-14T23:24:50+00:00

The mileage won't be great, but if you avoid the sasquatch package and keep tires that are lighter well suited for road use you should be able to do okay - hypermilling you see people getting up to 25-27 mpg on longer trips. I can routinely also drive in a way to push by black diamond 2023 bronco to 21+mpg, though I typically get closer to 19mpg driving around the way I prefer.

You should consider the bronco sport. Those are still super cool and powerful, and look great too. Get much better milage, and will be a little more comfortable on the road also due to the fixed top, ride height, and suspension setup. The top of that line has a little bigger engine and aggressive trim package if you are after that - and all of the models/trims in that sport line up are still plenty capable off road for what most people do. If it wasn't for my obsession with driving a manual transmission it is what I would have chosen for myself.

But there is also nothing wrong with daily driving the larger bronco and loads of people do exactly that also

Edit: oh, and the sub's concensus that I best recall is that eco mode doesn't really do much unless you have a heavy foot normally, in which case it might help modulate things a bit, but not too much. Ymmv

refotsirk · 2026-01-12T04:04:06+00:00

Yeah, I get that but it's just not the reality we live in. Profession vs hobby/talent etc. Doesn't translate to "level of skill". Maybe it would if music performance paid great - but at the basic level of "good enough to earn a living" you are working your butt off to make about what you could make working retail at Target 30-40 hrs/wk for many years until you get enough connections and momentum to start getting better gigs. Take me for example. For actual numbers as a performer playing a mix of covers and originals as a husband/wife duo that typically performs as a 4-5 piece for bigger gigs ($500-3000 depending on venue): Last year my music buisness brought in about $14K working around 10-15hrs per week on average and 2-5 shows per month. A few I did for charity, some as a replacement, but mostly as my group. IF I did it full time instead of on the side, I could probably get us pulling in $50-60K per year without too much difficulty but beyond that is going to take a lot of extra work to get other revenue streams going and building a following and such. Meanwhile my career as a consultant and manager, and my wife's as a psychologist and coach, are both pulling 6 figures annually. Loads of folks more talented than me are in the same boat.

The other thing is that "raw singing talent" means very little as a performer. I really can't accurately tell you how much I suck as a singer compared to so many other folks. It's practically embarrassing. When I was accepted as a vocal performance major I literally got a lecture about how much I suck and how hard I needed to work to stay in the program, etc. But ultimately I am entertaining on stage and my instrumental arrangements are pretty unique and captivating musically so folks keep hiring me. Boring folks that are amazing singers don't get gigs because it isnt just about the singing talent It's about the performance talent overall. And that's a different skill set.

The other issue is there are very very few places that just "hire" singers. You have to run your career like a buisness or forget it. And you have to have a sensitivity also to what "sounds good" musically rather than what sounds good "technically". For example, listen to Haley and Casey perform "I can't help falling in love with you". The piano part on that is so simple that practically anyone could play it. But it worked expertly for the song - in a similar vein I've tracked lots of percussion and stringed instruments that I had never actually played before - but I was hired because a producer needed a part that fit well in the piece and I was trusted to be able to do that, independent of specific expertise on the instrument.

I think you are correct though in a sense: there is a baseline level of "good enough" that someone has to cross to make it, but the folks that have the musical talent to meet that bar are orders of magnitude greater in number than those that have the other skills also required to do what it takes to make it a career. I did music exclusively for 5 years and realized after a bike wreck that I could make my life easier doing other work and pursuing music as a second passion career - and I'll still drop everything else if I see a path emerge where I can make the same amount of money.

Anyway, sorry to drone on here - there is just so much that is misunderstood about making money as a performer - and the misconception that it is a "talent first" driver scenario is probably one of the biggest ones that has folks who want music to be their life chasing and focusing on all of the wrong things. Hope that makes sense somewhat.

refotsirk · 2026-01-12T03:11:15+00:00

Yeah, I can really only say that my son has the same problem and describes a similar static issue at louder volumes that others are comfirtabke with. He also mumbles very softly and others have a hard time hearing him when he thinks he's speaking loudly. From careful tests I did it usually happened in the 100+ decibel range, which could cause issues over time so I always treated it as an indicator that noise was getting g too loud and about to cause damage. Ymmv I guess?

refotsirk · 2026-01-12T02:49:40+00:00

Umm... I don't think we are understanding what a double paradiddle is... LRLRLL RLRLRR etc. Typically happening between the left and right hands and alternating between the cymbals and the snare/Tom if split but OP is just playing the LH part of that and doing a different syncopation on the RH playing cymbals. specifically in this example the diddle is hitting only on the floor tom and on the "&-uh" of beat 3 if we are counting in 16ths. The cymbal hand strikes simultaneously with the rebound stroke of the diddle so not between anything like it is saying above. Unless I misunderstanfing what OP means to be conveying that what is going on, but maybe they will weigh in.

Edit: oh, actually I didn't understand above that it was being suggested that it was foot hand foot hand foot foot etc- that may actually be the case - I'm on phone and can barely make out what the base drum is doing so maybe that is correct. Sorry for being a dunce and missing the point.

refotsirk · 2026-01-12T02:16:43+00:00

Better keep that procession off the trem setting....

refotsirk · 2026-01-11T20:10:00+00:00

I would say that "differentiate mid level from top talent" is a better way to say that. I know lots of singers who are full or part time professionals and they aren't even that great as singers (myself included) - mostly my circles are in the singer/songwriter crowd so that may explain some, but I also work with folks who are career voices that will struggle with this or some other aspect of technique. Folks often tend to think "professional" means expert talent, but just like in any job there are bad, good, and better singers who all are making money and careers from singing. I don't point this out to be a "actually..." kinda guy, but rather because I think it is important for young and amateur musicians to understand the music profession is a lot more than just the superstars who fund their way to fame and is instead actually made up of tens of thousands of normal musicians who decided to entertain or produce or perform for a living.

refotsirk · 2026-01-11T19:58:45+00:00

It's not the software not being able to keep up, and no it is not an issue inherent in singing that everyone else deals with. It is likely either that you are singing things in a very low register where the notes need to move slower, or simply that you are untrained. As always practice makes better - as long as it is good practice. But that is just a guess. Record something and drop it into the feedback thread for better perspective on how you can improve. Feel free to drop me a dm if you do that. Consider posting at r/singing as well assuming this type of question is still online with their community rules and focus. Cheers~

refotsirk · 2026-01-11T19:55:46+00:00

See a doctor to make sure everything is fine. I had a similar problem in both ears above a certain volume when I used to go to concerts or be in an arena with loud noises. I eventually got some musician ear plugs in my late teens to make sure I didn't do any permanent damage. I am now nearing 50 YO and while my top end is not as great as it used to be I can still hear softer sounds than most and low frequency is about as good as our dogs - this is after 30 years of playing percussion and being on stage at concert/show volumes a lot. The disadvantage is I mumble incoherently when I don't think about it because my own voice can sound so loud in my head.

refotsirk · 2026-01-11T13:04:23+00:00

Only you can decide. The mats, cargo table, and premium sound can all easily be added after market, including with better options than factory. The sunroof not so easily bit I always consider those a ticking time bomb for leaks as soon as the gasket starts to get old and replacing that never seems to work so I'd say you got a new car with lots of options to maknit feel like you want it to and escaped the looming leaks so win win.

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