I’ve been on a kick lately from my music studies. I got assigned some bossa nova to learn, so I listened to a bunch, and then since I love reading and researching, I started looking into the origins and evolution of things.

I also listen to some podcasts about social issues, and that gets me interested in all sorts of things, so I dive into history of slavery and systematic racism to learn what I wasn’t taught in school.

In my current job and the last, I’m also pretty much the only white employee, so I try to inform myself on things so I don’t say any stupid redneck stuff.

Mainly, I just want to be less ignorant whenever possible…

Lol she might possibly be an upgrade!

Good heavens, I’d hate to see which co-worker I’d get paired with! That’s some type of Russian Roulette! 🤣🤢

We had a new group in from another regional site come for training.

It turned out the one was actively also a prostitute. She was freely distributing her social media, showing people videos of herself, and asking us where the secluded parts of the campus were so she could do her thing with some of the scientists.

She didn’t do very much actual work, or at least not what she was supposed to be doing there. I give her credit for seeming to be very proud of her side gig. She seemed to really enjoy it. I think she just eventually stopped coming in after they went back to their own site, so maybe she did find herself a scientist.

Definitely the wildest person I’ve ever worked with.

I started donating to the local animal rescue. None of them get any public funding whatsoever, so all the money is going to the animals’ care.

They’re pretty open with what it costs to take care of the various animals, and I feel it’s a critical job they do.

Haven’t gotten any spam so far either, so that is respectful.

She needs premium, dude!

Preeeemium!!!

Duuuuuuuuude!!!

Oral B Smart 5000

Got it free in exchange for a survey. It’s got Bluetooth and an app and I thought it was ridiculous and I never would have paid for it.

I was still with my ex, so it’s been going on strong for at least 8 years now, and I use generic brush heads just fine. I think oral B had the highest speed if that’s your thing.

I like the Bluetooth timer module because it has a fun face on it that tells me if I’m doing good that reminds me of a tamagotchi.

The battery won’t hold the charge for days like it did, so I keep it on the base now, and it still holds enough juice to get through us brushing with it. Whenever it dies, I plan to replace it with whatever the current model is.

I only started using Reddit regularly when I learned of the third party apps, so when they killed that, this is the thing all the other quitters were talking about.

Tried out a few apps and instances. It seemed very slow and quiet, but much nicer as far as the personalities. Was just a lurker at Reddit, so I had nothing to leave behind, so I stayed here.

It’s not quite as nice now as during the mass migration, but I’ve found a nice niche for myself here and I participate much more often than I ever would have at Reddit. There’s a decent audience now, but still enough room to find your own voice and to build the type of community you want.

I like the way you think!

Rye crisps are the best part of snack mix to me!

Thank you for sharing all this! This has been one of the most interesting posts I’ve come across in a long time.

As I like learning about history as well, having historical music education helps tie things together also. You can follow who are the trendy cultural centers of the time, and different countries get the best composers, and just the attitudes of the people of the time, if you have songs meant to be played by some rich guys full orchestra, or one person playing folk music on a single instrument. With being the musician, you’re not an observer, you’re trying to embody the spirit that song was composed to share with others. It’s like a very basic time machine if you really get into what you’re doing. I think it’s really cool stuff!

Bravo, those are by far the best recorders I have ever heard! My music teacher is in a recorder quartet, so she has a few of the decent modern Yamahas, and they’re leaps better than the classroom recorders kids play, but I still don’t really dig how they sounded. Flute is her primary instrument, and I’d much rather hear her play that. The recorders in the video look like another huge step up from the Yamahas though. I do feel though they definitely serve a purpose in music education though.

I am glad there are people keeping all these instruments and musical styles alive though. Like any other bit of art/culture, it’s easy to forget about it when it goes out of style, and by the time anyone remembers, it’s all been lost. One of the surprising parts of my musical education is learning just how much of a joyous part of life music was for so much of our history. With no tv, internet, or recordings, live music was a way to have fun, an opportunity to dance or sing, a way to cross cultures and learn about places you would only ever hear stories about.

The old recorders sounded worse?! 😧 (I tease!)

What instrument did you start with, and what got you into older music and instruments?

Thought I would add a link to him. His name is Cornelius Boots, and while his name and looks don’t make him seem like he should be an expert of a lost Asian art, he is.

When I saw him take the stage at the cherry blossom festival, I was worried about some cultural misappropriation about to happen, until he explained his story, and it was only after I got home, I found out he was from the GoS soundtrack.

He has a wide mix of styles he plays in from traditional Japanese to modern hip-hop and rock inspired works. It was fun to see him explain the history of the instrument, show us how it works differently than other flutes, and to talk about the revival movement of the music. He seemed like a really cool guy.

I got to see the guy who played the shakuhachi for The Ghost of Tsushima.

He said that it had pretty much been forgotten until it started to get interest from outside of Japan and now there is worldwide interest again. People had to go back and figure out the old music notation and melodies and translate them into something modern musicians could read.

Or a wider, lower doggy door to let it park in the closet.

I forget about all the cords and other random things it would grab! You have to somewhat vacuum proof your space.

Docking under a couch would be handy. It’s been like it lives in a cave. 😆

Thanks! I’ve mostly enjoyed my Shark upright for a number of years now and I had wondered about their vac-bots.

Neato looks to have gone kaput last year. The shape seemed to have positive benefits over the typical round ones. I wonder why no one else has gone that direction.

The 2-in-1 mop and vac Roombas looks exciting, though at a heck of a cost at the price of a Miele or 6 of my Shark uprights.

It’s wild these are on their tenth generation. I think mine was a 2nd.