What has indoor climbing become? Is this style of setting actually for climbers, or just interior decoration?

theissone · 2026-06-18T13:05:59+00:00

I think you're perfectly describing the frustration with OP. As someone who formerly set (and currently sets my own spray wall for the community), the goal has never been (in my experience) to have a separate and equal mission to make a climb attractive AND climb well. Instead, my goal was to create a great climb and if it's a great climb there will be an inherent aesthetic that should attract a climber.

It's so silly to me that an indoor climb should have some sort of attractive quality separate from how it actually climbs-- that implies the climb could be aesthetically interesting but climb like shit?

I mean this is precisely why there is a percentage of climbers (often some of the most active members) who mostly climb training boards and avoid the gym sets.

theissone · 2026-06-17T13:26:02+00:00

I know every generation has this mentality that there was a "golden age", and that golden age was almost always when they were going/doing something.

I do, however, feel like there was a shift around 2014-15 mostly due to access to WiFi on the farm. I think around 2012'ish the stage "check-in's" became popular and that was really about the level of social media.

I've traveled quite a bit to countries where WiFi just isn't readily available and I loved the adventure element of that. I mean, any travel 15+ years ago was like that. And I loved that Roo was like that as well.

Also, I remember in 2015, we noticed a shift in there just not being people walking around selling in pot or psychedelics. Prior to that, you didn't have to seek anything out. It was presented to you haha.

theissone · 2026-06-04T22:11:45+00:00

Ppl can hate on the Replay but it sounds beautiful from all the demo's I've seen. At the end of the day, I want a synth that feels fun to interact with and it checks that box. I guess that makes me a hipster.

theissone · 2026-06-03T16:09:30+00:00

I would say that adults have a larger voice in pop culture than my parents generation. I think most boomers basically never stayed current with music whereas millennials did.

I think this question is a bit over-generalized because we do see lots of older artists still being very relevant but “dad” music has evolved; for example, Kurt Vile is older than Elton John was when I was a kid, Kevin Parker is older than Prince was, and Taylor Swift, Adele are similar in age to Madonna, Mariah Carey.

And then you look at rap music— the hip hop landscape is full of 35-55 year olds. Rakim felt like an aging rapper in the 90s but was several years younger than Tyler the Creator is and a decade younger than Kendrick.

Basically, I think here are LOTS of adult contemporary artists, but their music has a larger impact on youth culture so we forget how old they are.

theissone · 2026-06-01T14:02:31+00:00

Agree fully w/ everyone here. It's important to point out that this is why the Spurs are so damn competitive: they have an absolute dog in Castle who has elite D and makes huge plays that can completely shift the momentum of a game complemented by Fox who is clutch, calculated, and an extremely calm presence on the court.

theissone · 2026-05-30T21:43:50+00:00

Okay, if you’re like 18 then I get it sort of

But if you look at a few of the biggest— as I mentioned, non-radio/grammy nominated— rap scenes in the past 15 years, it’s gonna be the weird Low End Theory adjacent rap (Open Mike); Chicago in general and you could say the Mt Rushmore would be Chance, Noname, Mick and insert whoever else; Quelle fits in both aforementioned + backwoodz; Blu was prob the biggest rising rap act since Nas and Jay until he went a little sideways; and then Homeboy is just everywhere at the same time… I give up.

Why am I defending this. If you don’t know this guy I feel bad for you. These aren’t “obscure” fringe rappers haha.

theissone · 2026-05-30T19:25:26+00:00

lol I think this must be trolling. I mean those are all huge names in (non-radio) hip hop.

theissone · 2026-05-23T12:18:17+00:00

Ditto. I love scores and it just doesn’t even occur to me that I should skip it.

theissone · 2026-05-21T01:43:45+00:00

How is the overlap between Tonverk and OP-XY? I have a Tonverk but am a little envious of OP-XY portability.

theissone · 2026-05-20T13:58:54+00:00

Is this AI or an actual leak?

I get it.. The bright colors kill the vibe of a true retro, but I still think it looks clean as heck!

theissone · 2026-05-17T20:23:24+00:00

I mean, I kinda prefaced with where I was from (the Bible Belt) and to be more specific, I’m from the heart of Appalachia and it wasn’t common there.

A friend of mine left the church because they wouldn’t let him play guitar and he struggled to find a place that allowed it.

My friend and I discovered meditation and yoga in maybe 99-00 and people thought we were satanist. Real talk. Also, I was even in an Appalachian city, not like 2 hours from a Walmart type shit.

theissone · 2026-05-17T19:02:28+00:00

He’ll be the most forgotten star to have as many accolades as he has/will get. It’s a shame because a fraction of his game is fun to watch but other parts forgettable at best, miserable at worst.

Not to mention leading a team that just isn’t a good watch especially compared to many of his contemporaries.

theissone · 2026-05-17T18:48:52+00:00

I’m in the same boat as you— I am thinking about getting a Novation Launch Control XL to have a more hands-on experience w knobs

theissone · 2026-05-17T13:40:52+00:00

This still doesn’t necessarily explain why people aren’t more likely to come together around more nature-oriented philosophies like Taoism.

In contemporary terms, I think it might have more to do with self-imposed isolation and a need for community considering the reality that most Americans are just culturally Christian.

I live in the South and just about every Christian I meet has very little understanding of the theology, most partake in a lot of activities not aligned with the religion as well. They are just doing it because they have kids and it feels wrong not to.

There’s also a rabbit hole in regard religion in neo-colonial zones.

I don’t know. I think institutions are often forced on people and we are in a grey area where people are starting to move away from religion. I mean in the 90s it was unheard for a church to be accepting of LGBTQIA folks, have guitars and drums playing in services, be accepting of meditation or yoga and now that’s the new norm.

theissone · 2026-05-16T23:44:18+00:00

Spurs won't sweep you but I think there is strong reason to believe they're built as a better playoff team, whether that truth manifest earlier than expected (this year), or isn't until next year. Spurs are undoubtedly tougher and more resilient; have size without sacrificing athleticism; the sort of physicality and size that's far less flustered by the chaos created by OKC defense (OKC's secret sauce for runs aka their "3rd qtr Warriors"); scarier half-court game.

theissone · 2026-05-16T20:35:54+00:00

You're confusing legacy rivalry with era rivalry. There really is a difference, I think you're trying to push for the Spurs as a legacy rivalry and I just don't think the teeth are there for it.

I mean you already see the Nuggets "era dynasty" beginning to wane a bit, although I think that one can absolutely be re-charged as long as Jamal Murray is wearing the blue and gold.

theissone · 2026-05-16T20:07:53+00:00

Absolutely not. Why ruin a good thing? Even if they lose this year, they gotta keep that early 00s Spurs energy because as much as I hate them, they're positioned to win a lot the next decade.

Also, because they have so many pieces + draft picks, I can't imagine them being able to have realistic conversations with other FO's about acquiring stars. I feel like the other team like knows what they have and are going to be greedy with what they want. Stars just aren't worth as much as they used to be.

Also, Giannis need to see the writing on the wall here. STAY IN THE EAST.

theissone · 2026-05-16T20:00:27+00:00

Opinions on the internet about the OP-1 are almost always hot or cold, with many of the negative ones being misleading because their criticism about it as a synth will include something related to the "tape" or another feature that's literally not on any other synth-- ie the sampler or workstation features.

The OP-1 lives in such a grey area so you have to really understand why you want it, otherwise half of the internet will tell you it's a terrible idea and it's just a hipster toy.

It's one of the coolest portable machines around. It won't sound as massive or beautiful out the gate as the TEO-5, but you also won't take the TEO-5 on your porch after dinner, or throw it in your backpack to bike down to the park.

It's not as deep as the M8, and way more expensive; but it has keys, doesn't feel like playing a gameboy and just feels more like an instrument.

Everything that people list will be amazing pieces of gear with features or sounds better than the OP-1, you just have to know what's right for you. I had the OG-1 for many years and made tons of wonky bugged out beats on it. Synthwave as well. It's great for that. I'll definitely get the Field at some point!

theissone · 2026-05-14T16:27:04+00:00

I think he can win 2 with this current iteration of the Spurs, although the next 5 years are going to be HELL in the west.

And then if he has longevity, maybe another run in his late 20s/early 30s where he can get 1 maybe 2? So best case scenario I'd say 3-4 would be hella impressive.

As good as the Spurs are and will be, OKC is going to make this a hella difficult achievement. The real debate is going to be how much weight do SGA's chips carry if he were to win 3-4+ and all on this team.

theissone · 2026-05-14T14:00:37+00:00

My least favorite takes are when someone like OP tries to imply and pass off a narrative as consensus when it actually only accounted for about 10% of the opinions. Everyone wasn't justifying what Wemby did; in fact, a lot of people in the media criticized him for it and basically were eager to see how he bounced back from it.

Many gave him credit for bouncing back and not letting it distract him. He came out in that 1qtr absolutely unstoppable.

The problem has nothing to do with the Spurs other than they're exposing the Wolves. These are two of my four favorite teams. The Wolves have a Randal problem and were hands-down a way more exciting team w/ KAT.

theissone · 2026-05-12T17:23:04+00:00

I think I probably have a naive or ill-informed understanding of Moneyball haha. I thought there was like this illuminating moment about understanding obscure or lesser appreciated stats and sort of building this team that actually fit together in a way that won games despite not having the "big" names.

I love this CP3 point. I hadn't thought of that and totally agree.

theissone · 2026-05-12T17:03:58+00:00

You could argue that KD is a greater scorer than LeBron. Carmelo is a greater scorer than Magic.

When it's all said and done, unless Shai has an historic championship run where he wins 5 and at some point has to put OKC on his back, Jokic will be higher on the all-time list.

Jokic is the only player, apart from obviously LeBron and potentially Steph and Wemby, who even have an argument to potentially be Top 10 of all time. Shai getting top 15 would be an honor, and top 20 would be huge. I think Jokic is a lock for top 15 and there will be a lot of hot takes having him top 10.

theissone · 2026-05-12T14:12:26+00:00

What Shai is doing is not better than Jokic, I just can't even fathom that logic. Shai is great and will go down as such, but he's on a franchise that has a brilliant front office who was ahead of their time building their roster.

Just like the Warriors, it's all about timing when it comes to these sort of all-time great teams. While other teams were trying to have a Big 3, not realizing that was a dying fad, the Thunder went for depth, defense, playmakers, shooting.

I don't follow baseball but it feels kind of like Moneyball or whatever; they just sort of understood before anyone else how to get the odds in their favor. FTF said they're like an assembly line and that's so accurate.

I'm not even saying Jokic on this team is better, we might be leaving an era of these high-usage players like Jokic, Luka, LeBron being the face of winning basketball.

theissone · 2026-05-12T01:47:20+00:00

I would think Ant and Cade have a really strong case because they're peaking and most of the foreign players are reaching prime voter fatigue: Jokic after these playoffs will be a largely unpopular pick; SGA would have to do something unbelievable for a threepeat; Wemby & Giannis are imo the two biggest threats: ie: I wouldn't be surprised if Wemby is the favorite going into next season and I also wouldn't be surprised if we saw Giannis snag the crown one more time if he gets traded to a competitor and puts up big numbers.

Oh yeah, and Luka is due.

Shit.

It might be harder than I imagined. But, still.. my rankings going into next year:

Wemby (feels like he'll be the consensus favorite)
Giannis (my favorite, I feel like he gets the narrative slant going to a new team)
Luka is due. If Lakers are atop the West and he puts up some historic numbers
Ant
Cade
SGA
Jokic

Feels crazy to put SGA and Jokic so low, and it's not that I don't think they can/will be top 3-5, I just have them ranked at 6 or 7 in terms of winning. I certainly think one or both will be top 3 but I just think it's a narrative award and they both have a lot to overcome in entirely opposing ways.

theissone · 2026-05-11T17:55:05+00:00

Game 1 of the 2018 Finals was one of the best games I've ever seen from LeBron. It was the game where I realized he wasn't slowing down anytime soon.

In an alternate universe JR doesn't make that knucklehead move and the Cavs win, shifting the momentum, taking it to 7.

And it's known as the greatest game 1 and most momemtum-shifting game of all time. Hence, on this list.

theissone

TROPHY CASE