Tip of the Day

[bill5]

Yes MPNers are here to give you sage advice on everyday things that most people already know about!  I'll start:

 

If you put a beer or bottle of wine in the freezer to cool it quickly......use a timer (like the one on the micro) so you don't forget and leave it in too long. I'm reminded of this as I sip on my beer slushy. 

[Anderton]

You know those rubbery outsides of some electronic gear that get sticky and weird after a few years? Goo Gone will get rid of the stickiness.

[Paul Vnuk Jr.]

16 hours ago, Anderton said:

You know those rubbery outsides of some electronic gear that get sticky and weird after a few years? Goo Gone will get rid of the stickiness.

 

Won't it eat away at the rubbery finish? I have an old Fatar 88 key controller, and the entire case is sticky and gooey so I am close to throwing it out...its Pre USB...but it has a killer weighted action. Same key bed as the Kurzweil PC88-MX.

[surfergirl]

Coincidentally, I posted this a few hours ago on the Guitar Forum. Don't use 2 sided tape to attach pedals to your pedalboard. When I went to rearrange my board I was able to remove the small pedals by aggressively twisting them. I had to used a large screwdriver shoved in as far as I could to pry the larger pedals off. I had 2 of those 1 was a $30 Klon clone, so I did that first to see if there would be any damage before I did my Deluxe Electric Mistress. I will be using Velcro from now on.

[Anderton]

5 hours ago, Paul Vnuk Jr. said:

Won't it eat away at the rubbery finish? 

 

I've used this trick multiple times with no ill effects. Here's how to do it:

 

1. Spray a paper towel with Goo Gone.

2. Wipe vigorously on the affected surface.

3. Don't let the Goo Gone sit around on the surface. Take another paper towel or clean rag without Goo Gone, and wipe vigorously on the affected surface to get rid of any excess Goo Gone.

 

This has worked every time for me

[Anderton]

But answering a question doesn't qualify as a tip, so...buy several short AC extender cords. Then you can maximize the use of your barrier strip when dealing with weird wall warts that cover up multiple outlets. 

 

[bill5]

Have a yellowjacket hive hole in your yard? No need to buy insect sprays and all. Just get a big shovel, scoop up a shovel of dirt elsewhere, and PLOP it over the hole (you should check for similar holes nearby). 

[Piktor]

1. Have gratitude for something every day. 

2. Avoid having expectations of people that you do not control. 

3. Eat a bowl of Bran Buds, followed by two or three large mugs of water (or any other non-poisonous liquid)  before bedtime. Drink them early enough so that you don't have to get up in the middle of the night. Just sayin'.

4. If you want to play hockey, watch hockey games. If you want to play better, listen to good musicians. If you want to write lyrics, read poetry, even if you do not always understand it. Read something daily. Read it silently and read aloud. Soak in the feeling of it. 

5. Compose and record your own music, even if it isn't great. Do that for years and years. Make yourself happy. Do NOT make your friends and family listen to it. If and when you do make it available for anyone to hear, make it known that you do not expect feedback of any kind. (It is near impossible to get civilians or musicians to hear and appreciate new music, especially if it has not been hyped in some way.) Congratulations. Now you can die knowing that you are an "artist", even though the world doesn't yet know how awesome you are...assuming that there will even be a functioning world by the time your grandkids are adults. (I suspect not.)

6. To accompany singer-songwriters on organ, start by pushing in every drawbar except the 8 foot one.  Alter Leslie speed frequently and use the volume pedal expressively. Use additional drawbars to color the song from there. That doesn't work every time, but it works often enough. 

 

 

 

[o0Ampy0o]

On 8/10/2023 at 7:09 PM, bill5 said:

Yes MPNers are here to give you sage advice on everyday things that most people already know about!  I'll start:

 

If you put a beer or bottle of wine in the freezer to cool it quickly......use a timer (like the one on the micro) so you don't forget and leave it in too long. I'm reminded of this as I sip on my beer slushy. 

I have tips for slushy beer and wine: I like slushy beer and wine. However, frozen solid it has expanded and can crack a bottle, pop a cork and cap or distort a can such that it will topple over. The timer of some form addresses this when you desire slush too.
 

If you don’t stop the freezing of beer just after it begins to get slushy it effects the carbonation rendering it flat. Beer on the way to freezing and still just slushy tastes different than beer that has frozen solid and is defrosting on the way back to liquid even though the bite of carbonation may have been completely impaired by the solidification on the way down in temperature. So, it isn’t merely slushy beer that I like, it is specifically fresh beer cooled down to slush temperature. 

[o0Ampy0o]

Tip: The key to everything is the rhythm. Everything has a rhythm aspect.*  You don’t necessarily have to find the one that exists in the thing, the key is finding the rhythm inside you that is harmonious with an adjacent rhythm if one is present. Even an abrupt sharp change can be a smooth transition when it has an appropriate rhythm. 
 

* Rhythm is everywhere. This is a sound based forum but I am speaking of more than audial rhythm. (i.e. visual, physical shape, organization of information, flow of energy, behavior, language, thought processes, emotion, family dynamics, etc.)

[bill5]

11 hours ago, Piktor said:

two or three large mugs of water (or any other non-poisonous liquid)  before bedtime. Drink them early enough so that you don't have to get up in the middle of the night.

Make up your mind   

 

Quote

4. If you want to play hockey, watch hockey games. If you want to play better, listen to good musicians. If you want to write lyrics, read poetry, even if you do not always understand it.

I kind of disagree with these, not that I think they're "wrong" but they're too general. If I want to play hockey, I'll play hockey. Life to me is not a spectator sport (granted this viewpoint is shifting with age!). If I want to play better, I'll practice. That doesn't mean I don't want to watch hockey or can't learn from listening to other musicians though. As for poetry, IMO most poetry would make lousy lyrics and vice-versa.

 

Quote

5. Compose and record your own music, even if it isn't great. Do that for years and years.

Make yourself happy.

Again, make up your mind!   

 

 

 

[David Emm]

Never accept the offer of a suspicious white powder in a foil Nestle's Crunch wrapper from a man with a milky eye and only 3 consecutive visible teeth.

[bill5]

So 4+ teeth = OK?

[bill5]

Avoid "bonded leather" furniture. I am learning the hard way it does not hold up over the long haul. Either pay more for out-and-out leather or downshift to cloth. 

[Piktor]

7 hours ago, bill5 said:

Make up your mind   

 

I kind of disagree with these, not that I think they're "wrong" but they're too general. If I want to play hockey, I'll play hockey. Life to me is not a spectator sport (granted this viewpoint is shifting with age!). If I want to play better, I'll practice. That doesn't mean I don't want to watch hockey or can't learn from listening to other musicians though. As for poetry, IMO most poetry would make lousy lyrics and vice-versa.

 

Again, make up your mind!   

 

 

 

Agreed Bill. I wasn’t suggesting that you watch other people and NOT do the thing yourself. However, without models I think that one would just spend too much time reinventing the wheel. Good models are more effective than poor ones. 

 

As for the poetry idea, I realize that pure poetry and lyrics are not the same thing and I agree that there is a lot of poetry that would not work as lyrics. Some of it is also pretty obscure for me, though I might still enjoy reading some of the lines. However, there is clearly poetry in some of the best song lyrics. Though I never paid attention to lyrics when I was younger, today I can’t bring myself to listen to listen to songwriters that don’t even seem to try to avoid cliches and obvious, lazy rhymes. What I suggested was that one try to absorb some of the sense and devices of poetry. I love hearing a line that creates an image in my mind or conveys a powerful idea without just saying the thing literally. Some of Joni Mitchell’s work does that for me. To each his own. BTW, this idea of soaking in poetry is not my original thought. 

I hope that you were not suggesting that you would be miserable writing music. 😁  
I was reflecting on the fact that I have a friend who always sends recordings of songs and seeks some sort of validation. My question to him is isn’t enough that you think that there are good? Of course, I was not thinking about commercial success. 

 

Maybe the thoughts that wrote earlier were not so clear, as I was consuming a non-poisonous liquid at the time of writing. 

[bill5]

13 minutes ago, Piktor said:

Maybe the thoughts that wrote earlier were not so clear, as I was consuming a non-poisonous liquid at the time of writing. 

Well, there's your problem.  :swigs beer:

 

I hope you realize my post was mostly tongue in cheek! Good points all around though.

 

[Nowarezman]

Sleep in and don't consider it time lost.

 

nat

 

 

[bill5]

I assume you're talking weekends for those of us employed.   

[Anderton]

Boiling water in a microwave oven can create superheated water, which appears cooler than it is because the water doesn't visibly boil. When the water is disturbed, like when you take the cup out the microwave, it can erupt out of the cup and cause serious skin burns. The solution is to put a wooden chopstick or coffee stirrer in the cup when it's in the microwave. This lets you see when the water is boiling, and prevents superheated water.

 

[o0Ampy0o]

Hard boiled eggs using a microwave, not recommended especially if you are a second off with the time. My friend blew up an egg in the microwave and said the smell was worse by far than the mess.

[Anderton]

One more microwave tip...because microwave cooking heats unevenly, it's best to use low power, like 40%, and give a little bit of time to rest before giving another blast at 40%.

 

I cook salmon in a microwave and people are astonished at the results. The trick is to cook slowly at 30% power, and coat the fish's outside with a thin layer of olive oil to hold in the moisture while it cooks. Cook until the temperature is around 135 degrees. Above that, the cell walls bond to each other, which makes the salmon like the way you get it in most restaurants

[bill5]

pffffffft. Micro 100% power all day, every day.  For salmon, I cook like 20-30 secs, let sit a bit, rinse and repeat as needed.  Hadn't thought about the olive oil though, have to try that. It's great how many things you can micro. Like frozen veg's - do it right and it's like having them steamed.

 

Speaking of micros, yknow those styrofoam trays meat come in and there's all that raw juice in the bottom in that thing they use to soak it up? I nuke that tray for about 30 secs and it cooks all of that, which minimizes both smell and possibility of drawing insects. I do similar with the wax paper between burgers or any similar things with food residue on it. 

[Notes_Norton]

Use the outside of the rotating plate in the microwave oven. Food heats up more evenly there than in the middle.

 

When carrying an instrument in its case, always put the side that opens closest to your body. That way, if a latch gives way, your leg might save your instrument.

 

And when closing your instrument case, even for a second, whether the instrument is inside or not, latch it. Make it a habit, when the lid gets closed the latches are engaged.

[o0Ampy0o]

Loved fish: halibut and sword fish, salmon mostly if BBQ'd.

 

Then I read an article on the worms that were wiggling in packages at a major grocery store. I did a little investigation to see how common it is and saw pictures. That was that.

 

I was having a discussion with a friend who is a chef. He described how he had found worms many times when preparing fish. They just remove them and cook the fish. They don't serve sushi.

 

From a distance ladybugs are almost cute. Magnify any bug and you will see they are tiny monsters.

 

The only cute bugs I have seen were in A Bug's Life.

[o0Ampy0o]

The match made in heaven:

 

The microwave oven and bacon.

[Threadslayer]

Get an air fryer and you'll find yourself wondering if the microwave is worth the space it takes up.

IMO/OOO/etc.

[Notes_Norton]

Definition:

Frying: the cooking of food in hot fats or oils, usually done with a shallow oil bath in a pan over a fire or as so-called deep fat frying, in which the food is completely immersed in a deeper vessel of hot oil.

 

So what you have is not an air-fryer, but a small convection oven.

 

That's my tip of the day.

[Anderton]

If you don't think a guitar effect is touch-sensitive enough, turn down the input drive. If you have a hardware Helix, engage the pad.

[David Emm]

Tip generously. Anything that could even remotely call for a tip often involves added sweat and aggravation. Showing appreciation that sticks to someone's ribs goes a long way towards balancing it out. Waitpeople have to do a multi-planed juggling act backwards in proverbial high heels at times. Or there was the day a gentleman at Home Depot helped me render the last stage of a fix on a damaged keyboard stand, so I slipped him $20. He said "You don't have to do that." I said "Well neither did you, eh?" He smiled and took the $20. That's a good template to keep on hand.

[bill5]

I know I'll probably take heat for this, but I HATE tipping. I'm supposed to pay someone for simply doing their job? And when I do tip, I usually tip what is fair vs "generously." I loved being in Europe where it's not standard practice and not expected.