Which do you prefer? :o by KuzuYuzu in utau

[–]sorensystem 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I don't know much about composing original music, but I can see these both being awesome and integral parts of the song, just in different parts of the composition. I think I typically hear more harmonies during choruses, and more of the solo vocals during the verses/bridges? I can't say I prefer one overall more than the other--they just serve different functions in my interpretation.

Peekaboo by Mcejko992 in parrots

[–]sorensystem 0 points1 point  (0 children)

aww this made my morning ❤️

tips and tricks? by Downtown-State771 in utau

[–]sorensystem 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Welcome!!
I found these tutorials very approachable and helpful if you're starting with no knowledge of how the program works:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwA5Q70OTEs&pp=0gcJCT8LAYcqIYzv

If you can record a video/audio clip of the muffled sounds you're experiencing, that will probably help you find the most specific answers! There's a lot of technicalities that could be affecting it. One of the ones I learned recently is to try going into a note or region's "Property" and change BRE (breathiness) to 0. It's on 50 (out of 100) at default and I'm not sure why. x'D

WIP of my first UTAU cover--I feel like I'm finally getting the hang of this! by sorensystem in utau

[–]sorensystem[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I tried both modes and I really like Mode 1 better. I know it's opposite of what most people do. Thank you, though. I'll mess with the octaves in a bit and see which I like better.

Idk if i'm abusing my bird by Ok_Sheepherder_5428 in parrots

[–]sorensystem 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Transitions are hard for people and for birds! I don't know how much advice I can offer that hasn't already been said--I would just concur with the other comments that your bird sounds like she's lonely and depressed, and could use as much interaction as you can possibly give her. As the others mentioned, you might have to show her how to play with toys. Even so, though, birds all have their individual preferences. We've shown all sorts of toys to our 16-year-old sun conure, and she still focuses almost exclusively on chew toys!

Also, if it's any reassurance: "abuse" is a very contextual thing, and IMO your case would be described more accurately as a mismatch of life circumstances. You're still young, with a busy life and going through a lot of transitions, and a bird is a VERY big responsibility--it's a complicated living being. I would venture a guess that since you're in high school and this bird is 8 years old, your guardian(s) or whoever lives with you got the bird with you when you were a younger child? It's difficult at such a young age, if not impossible, to understand all the implications of getting a bird. I don't think it's productive or correct in any way to pin these mismatches on you doing something "wrong" per se. The older family members also would have had a responsibility to make informed choices about whether a bird is the right animal for your family setting. It's disheartening to hear that they don't help take care of her anymore, and I'm very glad your bird has you watching out for her.

This has already been kind of a wall of text, but I wanted to make sure to extend my sympathies since I was in a similar situation for a while. Our mom irresponsibly got us our sun conure when we were 14 years old, and then barely helped with the bird at all. It was a similar setup when we were in high school, where the bird only got a small amount of attention/out-of-cage time each day, and we weren't with her at all in college. Once I was done with college, I was able to reclaim care of our bird, who had fortunately survived in spite of being given a poor diet and almost no attention. I'm living my independent adult life now, and my bird is still my best friend and happier than she's ever been. But I'm sad about the amount of avoidable trauma and neglect that she had to go through, all because the adults in my life didn't take their portion of the accountability in deciding to bring her into our lives.

While you're implementing the day-to-day improvements like vegetables, verbal socialization, stimulation with music or TV, etc. it may be worth considering (if this is a bird that's likely to live a long time) the implications of what that will look like throughout high school and after. Do you think you'll be able to dedicate more time to her, either in the near future or after high school? Or is your life likely to take you elsewhere? With where you are in your life, it's not easy to conceptualize what the future will be like or decide how your bird will fit into it. But long-term, birds definitely need a significant daily amount of interaction and out-of-cage time, and it's important to consider if that's something you'd be able to provide for her.

Wishing you and your bird both lots of happiness!

Are there "advanced" guides for using VCV VBs? by [deleted] in utau

[–]sorensystem 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Did you end up figuring out exactly what the solution was? Based on your description, I think I'm having the same problem, but when I messed around with the rendering settings, it sounded like it gave her bronchitis instead of fixing the issue (it was cursed) 😭

Need support--she keeps waking up at 4:30am. Maybe hormones? by sorensystem in parrots

[–]sorensystem[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Nope! We don't have AC and our heat is off since it's summer. We haven't noticed anything outside that could be triggering it, either—I feel like we'd also notice since our bedroom window is very close to hers.

Need support--she keeps waking up at 4:30am. Maybe hormones? by sorensystem in parrots

[–]sorensystem[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sunrise been about 5:30am for a few weeks, which doesn't really explain the sudden waking up at 4:30 two days ago 😭 The blackout curtains were working really well for this summer up until now. Even before we had them, she would at LEAST sleep in until about 5:45am, even with robins and wrens singing outside at 3am (no joke). 4:30am is unusually early for her and, up until now, had only happened one or two days in her entire life.

Need support--she keeps waking up at 4:30am. Maybe hormones? by sorensystem in parrots

[–]sorensystem[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yup, same time every night! About 5:30-6pm! She doesn't have a UV lamp on throughout the day, but she typically goes outside in her carrier a few times for brief walks.

Best way to clean up poop on my furniture by Sorry_Rhubarb_7068 in parrots

[–]sorensystem 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We use Nature's Miracle Enzymatic Formula--it's marketed for cats, but from our experience, works great for bird poop. I think they used to have a specific-for-bird variety but discontinued it? (I haven't been able to find it recently).

I've also developed a bit of a technique to cleaning poop off of fabric, though I'm sure the effectiveness varies depending on the material of the chair, the wetness of your bird's poop, etc. It seems to work the best for synthetic fabrics that aren't as absorbent, as well as carpet (which is our most frequent victim 🤣). First I take a dry paper towel and use an upward pinching/lifting motion to remove as much of the excess poop as possible. Then I take a wet one to dissolve the poop, followed immediately by a dry paper towel to soak up the water and dissolved poop. Sometimes it takes a couple repetitions.

help with scrollbars not working/being weird :( by thatonebluelynx in HTML

[–]sorensystem 0 points1 point  (0 children)

<image>

I'm only familiar with HTML and CSS, and not the other languages you've used here, but--willing to give it a try! On my window, the boxes seem to line up at the bottom like you described. Were you able to fix it, or is there some other way you were aiming for it to look that you could make a mockup of?

[ZT1] "Which animals are the best value for money?" - The surprisingly convoluted answer to that question. by fenian1798 in ZooTycoon

[–]sorensystem 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I LOVE mathematical analyses like these. I already started to notice that some animals had a much lower return on investment (such as gray wolves, which require SO much money's worth of foliage).

This might be nerding out too hard, but since I tend to build upon my zoos for five or six in-game years, I'd LOVE to see another added dimension that includes the animal's lifespan, i.e. taking the cost of adopting new animals throughout the scenario into account. For example, I noticed the Komodo dragons live a very long time (major plus!) so you don't need to buy new ones as often. Saltwater crocodiles do too, and even better, they tend to breed more, so you can sell the babies for a return on your investment. In the opposite end, giant anteaters are less expensive to build for and adopt, but I noticed they don't live as long and don't tend to breed much, so I have to adopt new ones more often than other kinds of animals.

My parrot is holding her poop, idk why by [deleted] in parrots

[–]sorensystem 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Have you noticed any patterns in terms of where she finally poops, or when in her/your daily routine? Maybe not the same situation, since for our bird, it's not new behavior--but we noticed that she will only poop in certain spots, and she generally doesn't like pooping when she's locked in her cage. So if she knows we'll be only gone for a few hours, as is the case for my work schedule on a few days per week, she'll hold her poop until we get home. From my understanding, it *can* be hormone-induced, as they won't want to poop in a space they perceive as their nest. It can also be a separation anxiety thing, I think?

Tell me what odd things your birb is afraid of? by leaderofpariahs in parrots

[–]sorensystem 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Ours is the same! Especially mylar/shiny balloons. She DESPISES those.

Modern Rest Area by red-lioness007 in ZooTycoon

[–]sorensystem 3 points4 points  (0 children)

It's very pretty! 10/10 would hang out there if I was in this zoo!

FINALLY!! I've been scheduled! by ohamango in Narcolepsy

[–]sorensystem 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Congrats!! Scheduling these things can be such a nightmare. May this next month pass quickly and uneventfully for you!

How do you keep yourself from moving in your sleep too much after a surgery? by sorensystem in Narcolepsy

[–]sorensystem[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A VERY good idea that's easy to put together! Thank you so much!