WTF-Beta

I think if the rest of the world begins following Canada's example of consumer choice instead of official tariffs, that is something not easily undone by politicians.

I suppose all those seniors down there could work in the fields once their money is stolen and firmly in the rich pockets...

Republican planning: Bring back serfs!

Oh, I didn't think they were going to keep it online after the performance - cool!

Anyon have a chance to try it?

https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20250313-lithuanias-fermented-drink-to-ward-off-a-cold

"Dating back to ancient times, gira is more commonly known as kvass across north-eastern Europe where it can be made with grains, fruits or vegetables, and is widely popular in Baltic and Slavic countries where fermentation traditions run deep."

Wired has an article about this...

https://www.wired.com/2017/02/guide-getting-past-customs-digital-privacy-intact/?utm_brand=wired&utm_campaign=aud-dev&utm_medium=social&utm_social-type=owned&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwY2xjawJOqGFleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHVAEmaYEp0dK2MEMYBl9tiRdON6T5Bv199F0cF1ONItGMgSYtzvYRDIGxA_aem_Zn2BI6pxtxNgXs4ifSFU_A

There is also a 2-2:30 preconcert talk from the woman that did all the work reassembling the score from the many fragments and books that Reicha left behind. (She's also the person that formed the choir 35 years ago!)

I sing with the Depaul University Community Chorus. Our concert of the rarely performed (Midwest premier?) Reicha Missa pro defunctis is tomorrow 3pm central time.
https://depaulcommunitychorus.org/reicha-missa-pro-defunctis/

There will be a livestream on the university YouTube channel if you would like to check us out and see if you can find me...

Down the rabbit hole - once you start doing SOME work, how much else should get done too? Steinway boards are compression crowned and notorious for losing life after a few decades, (especially in the melody section) so if you are going to replace the pinblock and have all the strings out, then what about the soundboard? You are entering "full rebuild" territory when you start considering pinblock replacement.

One option I know rebuilders use to continue using a pinblock (save money) is to remove all the pins, plug the holes and redrill to the standard sized tuning pins.

But back to the question. Pins are only slightly fatter and don't change anything with the scale. However if the pinblock is compromised, larger pins can act as wedges to cause more weakness. Again, they are only slightly larger so causing more problems is the rare occurance - usually a tech will see a line of pins that are loose, indicating a possible crack in the structure of the pinblock below and hesitate before putting much large pins in.

Another possible issue with reusing strings are if there is any micro-corrosion on them, it tends to add friction where the strings pass over felt - which can cause tuning stability issues.

CA treatment - there is still a wide range of tech opinions from "that's not a real repair" to "never had a problem after decades of use". Success sometimes depends on indoor humidity at the time of application(s)

Bottom line? If you like your tech who can work in your budget, follow that recommendation because they will be the one following up on care!

I don't know anything about burner phones but wondered...
If you use a sim card and swap it to another phone that only has what's needed for travel so the number stays the same, would that work?

Only use the Brave browser in private mode (or other) to access everything you need or do on the web? It would mean signing in every time...? That is, don't use any apps except what's needed for travel?

I don't know.

I recently saw an immigration lawyer recommending a "burner phone" for travel. Yes, apparently we've come to this...

About that capo section - Somewhere in the tenor/treble, the wires change from going through agraffes (or those little brass things with 1,2 or 3 holes) on the way from the tuning pins to the vibrating section of wires - to going under part of the cast iron of the plate, which provides the termination for the vibrating portion of the string. Cast iron is softer than the wires, so they dig in which can cause both sonic and tuning issues. To reshape that little rounded off section that all those wires cross is an important step in a quality restring.

I was never a fan of tapping in strings though it is one of the 'old school' techniques that many techs respect. Difficult to say why the glue treatment didn't work. On some brands there is difficulty getting the glue down to where it needs to go, but not Steinways. Often using a glue that isn't thin enough or putting too much on at once will seal the space between tuning pin and pinblock preventing subsequent applications - instead of soaking deeply into the wood. A few light applications over time seems to work better for me rather than trying to do a "quick fix" in one treatment.

There is a lot written on 'action balancing' by different techs, but David Stanwood is perhaps the best known for a system of measuring, changing leverage and weights to achieve a much smoother playing action. This goes beyond the traditional method of returning the action to factory specs. He even came up with an adjustable leverage concept making it possible to quickly adjust for a bit heavier or lighter feel. https://www.stanwoodpiano.com/

I had one of the local wiz kids who is a great stringer do just the top two treble sections of a 9' Yamaha that gets beat up in a church... that was $1200 without repinning, though he used more expensive (better for getting beat up) wire. I don't feel the $1800 was realistic and I'd be suspicious of the $2200 too! (But that might reflect Chicago prices. Decent bass strings aren't cheap even outside of Chicago) Or are they talking about reusing the strings!?! At a minimum, the cast iron (capo section) should be reshaped before stringing.

I know many techs are squeamish about cyanoacrylate (super glue) treatment of the pins on Steinways, but it may buy time to budget for more extensive work in the future. Done carefully by someone familiar with the process (and the thinnest, best quality glue) often leads to years if not decades of consistent tuning.
The thing is, there is probably more to be done over and above just restringing and repinning to get back to performance level, so while the strings are off that would be the time to dig deeper if needed.

Why pay researchers? We can do our own research online.... Republican think.

Makes for good TV...

Watch them call for Roberts impeachment next!

Wait for the MAGA crowd to call for his impeachment...

Might be too little, too late... I can't believe people thought he would act in any sort of 'normal' way!

Saw this on FB today and it made some sense to me:

Ian Boothby
People are still trying to attack Trump by pointing out his hypocrisy, the incompetence of his staff and the reality that the economy is tanking and his policies have no hope of actually working.
These would be solid hits against any other politician, but they don’t work on Trump. Democrats are like the soldiers still shooting at Godzilla. They do it because it’s all they know how to do but it’s not working and they keep getting stomped on.
They’re attacking him like he’s a politician and he’s not. He never has been.
He’s a celebrity. That’s it. Sometimes he’s a celebrity real estate mogul, sometimes a celebrity reality tv host and sometimes a celebrity president.
Do you remember when The Apprentice was cancelled? You do? Well, good news if you liked it, bad news if you didn’t, it never stopped. It just went global. You’re living in the show right now, Black Mirror style. Nothing he does makes sense as the leader of a country and everything makes perfect sense as a reality show producer.
Everyone he’s hired have no idea how to do their job but are great reality show material. The anti-vax nut in charge of health care? The guy with no experience and a drinking problem in charge of the military? The head of the FBI can’t believe he got the gig and hired an extreme right wing podcaster as his voice of reason? How can you not watch that train wreck? Actually it’s plane crashes but you get it.
It’s a TV show and so all that matters to him are the ratings. He’s said it over and over. After the terrible Zelenskyy meeting the last thing he said was, “This is going to make great TV”. Almost 60,000 Ukrainians dead and he and Vance set up their own Real Housewives scenario where they called Zelenskyy ungrateful, bragged about themselves and made fun of his clothes. Made no sense in reality but perfect sense if your goal is ratings.
Trump is producing a reality show because it one of the only things he knows how to do. And he’s learned that it doesn’t matter how bad things get, he’ll be safe and the show will be renewed as long as there are eyeballs on him interested in what he’s doing. In the world of real life he’s a felon in court answering charges and paying for sexual assault. As long as he’s on TV he’s safe. A million Americans died from a disease he called a hoax because reality wasn’t good for the plot of the show he was producing.
He won the popular vote because doing extreme things is interesting. Keeping things in chaos keeps you the centre of attention. There’s no winning in winning, only in saying you’re about to win. Ratings go down when plot lines are resolved. You can never have a healthcare plan, a great one has to always been a few weeks away. Once something exists it becomes reality and people can judge it. Keep things nuts and all hope in the future and you’re gold.
So how do you beat him? Run a qualified sensible candidate against him? Maybe, reality has the advantage if it actually being real. But you need to weaken him first.
Remember how mad he got at Alec Baldwin’s impression on Saturday Night Live? Really got under his skin. Because Trump is about image and Baldwin’s impression was a counter image that made him look ugly. Baldwin was enough of a celebrity to enter into the only world Trump cares about. It made Trump number two on the call sheet.
The same thing happened with Steve Bannon. The hashtag #PresidentBannon started to trend after a popular editorial cartoon and some Tweets saying Bannon was the one actually in charge and it caused a big split between them. Because Trump can’t be the co-star. He needs to be what he was on The Apprentice, the be all and end all voice of authority and power. Unquestionable. With the final say on all issues. If he’s not, he’s got nothing.
He was furious at Spy magazine for saying he had small hands. So much so he bragged about his penis size in a debate. He has doctors tell people he’s taller than he is and weighs less than he obviously does. He cannot have any shortcomings. He’s a reality show character, and like most of them with the name of a real person but more fiction than an actual person.
So to bring him down you need to attack one thing, his image. You need something fictional with a core of truth that takes the place of the fiction he’s presenting. Like JD Vance having sex with a couch. A stickier narrative than the one they’re putting forth.
The problem with just attacking with the truth is it’s not as interesting or appealing as a good made up story. You need to back up the truth with facts and by the time you do that people have lost interest. It’s what John Oliver has shown, wrap the medicine of the truth in the tasty cheese of jokes and made up scenarios and that pet might actually get better.
The only things that have worked against Trump are image based. Jokes. Memes. Sketches. Cartoons. They’re the first thing you need to do in the boss level of the video game before any of your truth based hits can land and bring them down.
You’re in Season 21 of The Apprentice. Like it or not. Time to be like past Celebrity Apprentice winner Joan Rivers and get mean and hilarious. All that matters is today. No one remembers last week. People write books with the most horrific stories but they might as well take place in the Roman Empire. You’re on the reality show now, make a scene, take focus, mess with his image, it’s all he has. Once that’s gone, he falls.
Time to cancel this terrible show.

Predicting the future!