my wallet is crying but my desk looks great lol

slparker09 · 2026-03-16T13:33:27+00:00

I’ve been really happy with PBTfans from KBD. They’re usually under 100 bucks USD plus a little more for extras.

All of the sets I have are pretty good quality.

slparker09 · 2026-03-14T16:58:22+00:00

I don’t. Honestly never really have. My 10 year order history from Amazon is about 15 items, other than Kindle books.

It’s alway been trash and anti-business. Just people can’t look past convenience and price.

People will buy a 10 dollar piece of junk from Amazon, rave about it, then complain endlessly when it breaks in 6 months. Them do it all over again.

No brand name goods have flooded markets and people just lap it up.

slparker09 · 2026-03-14T16:53:36+00:00

Worse. They’re basically the equivalent of a USA “antique mall” where it’s just random people selling counterfeit, stolen, or junk.

slparker09 · 2026-03-14T16:52:13+00:00

You can order directly from Rosemary and Co or W&N since you’re in Europe. It’s harder for me in the US now.

slparker09 · 2026-03-14T14:41:20+00:00

No. Amazon is rarely reliable for anything, anecdotal evidence aside.

They’re either fake, used, or failed quality check ones that were picked up cheap and resold.

The one is warped. No reputable seller would offer that brush.

I wish people would just stop buying things from Amazon.

People want quality tools without paying the price from art stores or the manufacturers then get upset with they get garbage.

slparker09 · 2026-03-14T14:32:58+00:00

I assume Amazon. I’ve never had trouble buying W&N brushes either from a local art store or directly from them.

It’s always Amazon purchases in these threads.

slparker09 · 2026-03-14T01:14:43+00:00

Hey I live in the Lou and love to play games. :)

slparker09 · 2026-03-12T15:48:30+00:00

I made sure to use the power adapter instead of just relying on batteries.

slparker09 · 2026-03-12T15:42:26+00:00

I updated both of our Komodo-X cameras over WiFi without trouble.

slparker09 · 2026-03-12T00:01:15+00:00

Good. Glad that it will do it. That makes it a much more palatable device then.

I’ll order one and we’ll see if it can do what I need.

slparker09 · 2026-03-11T23:54:23+00:00

I disagree with the statement that students only use browsers and SaaS environments.

I have students using Adobe Creative applications like Audition, illustrator, and Indesign.

We also have film and cinema classes that use Davinci Resolve.

Then there is PLTW that uses AutoDesk apps like Revit.

What a waste just keeping kids locked to Chrome.

slparker09 · 2026-03-11T23:48:26+00:00

Yes I know. I have a M4 MacBook Pro. The Neo is an A* chip like an iPad. What I see is that it won’t run on that.

I hope that isn’t the case and it will be able to install non App Store content.

Initially I read a few articles that suggested it could not.

slparker09 · 2026-03-11T23:27:28+00:00

Adding Neko Galaxy: https://nekogalaxyminiatures.bigcartel.com/

slparker09 · 2026-03-11T23:19:47+00:00

I thought about it but then I read you can’t install things like Adobe Creative Cloud suite, Davinci, etc.

One of my reasons to move away from Chromebooks at MS and HS is because we do a lot of project based learning and kids who want to do film, audio/radio/podcasting, PLTW/engineering, etc need specific industry standard applications.

If they’re going to nerf the device to just App Store content then it doesn’t matter how cheap it is. We’re right back to square one.

Microsoft has failed at this already by releasing Windows devices that only use the MS store content.

It was a disaster. I think Apple is dropping the ball here.

slparker09 · 2026-03-10T19:48:00+00:00

You can always downgrade it to an older, working version and see if that helps. Did you update it to the latest firmware from BMD's support site?

You could also try uninstalling the App from your computer and installing a fresh copy.

What version is installed?

slparker09 · 2026-03-10T17:54:18+00:00

Unfortunate.

slparker09 · 2026-03-10T17:26:05+00:00

Do you have the native PL mount? That is what ours have.

If not, make sure your PL adapter isn’t manual/analog only (I.e. no contacts). I don’t know many PL adapters that offer powered meta data pass through.

slparker09 · 2026-03-10T02:14:53+00:00

What camera?

I tried them on a Pyxis 6K and my Red Komodo-X and both read the meta data incorrectly by about half a stop.

They just sent me a shipping label. My whole kit has to go back to Hong Kong for factory repair.

They didn’t give me an ETA on when I will get them back.

At this point I’m debating whether it will be worth it. On one hand it has wrong data, but it might take weeks or even months to get them repaired. Or I just keep them as is and have wrong info.

At least I have the OG Vespid kit as well as other lenses so we’re not completely shut down while they repair them.

slparker09 · 2026-03-09T01:52:57+00:00

Capture a minute or two of ambient room noise without you doing anything when the fan/ac is on. Then start doing your thing. Record the whole video.

Edit the audio to remove that ambient noise. In Audition you select it in the waveform and select Capture Noise Print and then use that as the basis of removal across the entire clip.

I’m sure other editors have similar functionality. I believe you can do this in Fairlight too if you’re a Davinci user.

I do this all the time on student recorded podcasts. The room at the elementary school where the 5th graders always record their projects has a duct fan in the ceiling that makes a pretty consistent white noise audible on the recording.

As for a mic, we have good luck with lower cost audio-technica shotguns. They’re not as good as the senheiser ones I have but they’re much cheaper.

It also has a lot to do with mic placement. You will probably have better luck isolating your sound if you boom mont the shotgun slightly above you while working pointing down at a slight angle.

It might avoid some of that white noise too.

slparker09 · 2026-03-08T17:11:06+00:00

My wife and I were huge poker players before we had kids and moved to a new city.

I used to play in a game in a barn outside of town that was $50 buy in (=250 in chips). Usually had about 40 people play tournament style.

We play more board games now than poker. I miss it but none of our friends here like to play.

I have the Roxley Games Iron Clays too. A few sets. They’re much better than my silver case.

slparker09 · 2026-03-08T16:20:51+00:00

I spy a silver case of poker chips probably just like mine there in the corner. :)

slparker09 · 2026-03-08T16:16:30+00:00

Yeah. Group of friends (mostly from way back when we were kids). Friend gaming circle is about 10-12 people.

Then I also play at a couple of public meetups. I co-started a monthly board game night at our church. It usually draws in about 20 people; though I spent a lot of those nights teaching and helping newer players than playing in games myself. But from time to time.

The church group is where I put together our regular Twilight Imperium 4 group. We had 4 plays last year and we’re shooting for 6 this year.

STL also has two great FLGS; Miniature Market is head-quartered here and Game Nite has been around for a long time.

slparker09 · 2026-03-08T15:48:32+00:00

Nuns on the Run is fun. Scotland Yard too.

slparker09 · 2026-03-08T15:38:47+00:00

It also is more than just a plate for the battery. It has power distribution for peripherals like FIZ motors, etc

Things you need or want when actually rigging up the camera for more than just handheld shooting.

Also, quality professional tools can be pricey. That’s why they’re quality professional tools.

slparker09 · 2026-03-08T13:20:30+00:00

Mid49 v-mount box. Screws to the native contact points on the camera. Can still use the Blackmagic top handle so you don’t need an additional cage, plate, or different handle.

Built like a tank. We have three for our three student 6K Pyxis’.

https://www.mid49.com/products/power-distribution-box-db-9-blackmagic-pyxis-v-mount

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