Cinoclav's Field of 32 Day 14

@eonfifty that’s such a perfect giphy for “extra bidets”, omfg.

@eonfifty @UncleVinny

Big bidets for big butts?

Too late to edit, but restarting my MBP fixed my copypasta problem.

If anyone is interested in the audio-industry-standard headphones, here’s the link to them on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Sony-MDR7506-Professional-Diaphragm-Headphone/dp/B000AJIF4E/

@DennisG2014

I own those Sonys. And they are so good.

When I want headphones they are my current go-to.

But … I’m lazy and most of my current listening is audiobook/podcast. And my LG Tones are perfect for that.

And extreme audio range and gorgeous fidelity are pointless for spoken word (when the listener’s focus is on the content, not on the nuance of the vocal performance).

And bt controls and bt means no wires = pretty great.

So … At the moment, re my life, lazy wins

Re those Sony’s

PS Amazon often discounts those Sony’s in Nov-Dec if you know someone who deserves a nice gift.

@f00l They’re nigh indestructible, too. The ear-pads will wear out after awhile, but replacements are readily available for (checks Amazon)… hmm, apparently as little as $10 for generic, up to ~$30 for genuine Sony.

I’m about 15 years behind current technology, so the iPod Nano I use for portable listening has no Bluetooth.
If I ever get around to activating the ~3y/o iPhone SE I bought a couple of months ago, I may consider Bluetooth buds.

@DennisG2014

Bt will not give you the fidelity from those Sony’s, but you already know that.

You have the right nano. Because you can operate it without looking at it.

I still have and sometimes use an iPod classic.

Bt earbuds (pref LG Tone Plus, because they have the right controls and form factor) are just the thing for spoken word.

Any gen will do. I usually pay around $30 for refurbs.

Only don’t get the 730’s (v old ones). The power control tend to break. Then you can’t turn them on.

Don’t get knockoffs.

Re that iPhone SE

Great audiobook and podcast player. You don’t have to activate it with a cell carrier.

Just activate w apple over WiFi and then you have a wonderful audiobook and podcast player.

For podcasts I like the downcast app. There are other good ones. Overcast and pocketcast are good apps.

Apple podcast app sux by comparison.

For audiobooks:. I mostly use audible or other instant download apps. Audible so is excellent.

If you have ripped CDs to make mp3/MP4 audiobooks - they might have to be loaded via iTunes and cable onto device. I never figured out how to do these well on i-device otherwise. So I use Android for that.

I strongly recommend that whatever podcast or audiobook player you go with, you get one that allows speed controls (so that you can play at 1.5 speed or whatever).

Also one that does jump fwd/back 20-30 sec using the bt headset controls.

@f00l I’m not into audiobooks or podcasts, I only listen to music on the Nano; NPR on my car stereo is really the only talking I listen to.

When I’m listening to music on my Nano or other portable, I’m not particularly concerned w/ sound quality - as long as it’s not glaringly awful, it’s good enough. I continued to use those cheap, flimsy retro-walkman style headphones until fairly recently, when I finally gave in to the buds.

I rarely use the Sonys to listen to music, unless I’m in the process of making it. I used to do production sound recording for video/film; that’s what I bought the Sonys for. Before that, I spent some time as an engineer in recording studios - they always had those Sonys on hand.
I live alone in a house (as opposed to a condo or apt.), so when I’m listening to or playing music at home, I do it through speakers at high volume.
Haven’t done any pro-audio work for awhile, so the Sonys had started to gather dust, but I just recently dusted them off to start recording myself playing music again.

I did activate the iPhone via wifi, synced it w/ all my Apple stuff.
Unfortunately, considering it’s one of the main uses I got it for, it’s about 5gigs short of being able to hold my whole iTunes music collection.
At the moment, I’m only using it for music in my car and occasionally taking pics or video with it.
I bought it, begrudgingly, because the 2019 Toyota I’m leasing came with a giant touch screen infotainment system that does fuck-all without being paired to a smart phone.
Seriously, it does AM/FM and about a month more of free-trial Sirius/XM, fuel consumption/trip info, and that’s it.
Has a ‘Nav’ button, but no nav software - needs a smartphone for that.

So, eventually I’ll get around to getting cell service on the iPhone, just to have ‘integrated’ nav in my car but I don’t want to give up my ancient flip-phone for actual phone calls.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Also wanted to mention, for the 11 years that I had my Subaru w/ an iPod integrated head-unit, I used my 2nd gen iPod (touch-wheel) for music. When the hard-disc drive in it died, I modded it with a SSD in the form of a CF card - got 2 additional GB, too.
Was really bummed to finally retire it when I got the new car but, thanks to it no longer containing a battery or having the appropriate connector to get power from the car, its days were done.
That iPod w/ 32gb storage held my whole music collection, whereas the iPhone with the same stated capacity only holds ~26gb of music.

@DennisG2014

I’m not into audiobooks or podcasts, I only listen to music on the Nano; NPR on my car stereo is really the only talking I listen to

I became addicted to audiobooks in the early '90’s; when unabridged audiobooks finally starting taking off in market share. This was “listen on cassette”.

Back then I got them from the public library or from eBay or from a local shop that offered monthly subscriptions.

I love them. I own (legal purchase, not torrent or whatever) lots. Too many.
I want more.

It took me a while to learn to listen effectively; as I was accustomed to reading using eyes. Practice, and learning the art of the quick rewind, fixed that, and fixed my missing a bit due to distractions.

Mutitasking (“reading” with ears and also doing something else w hands/eyes) is amazing. For me.

As for the narrator’s personal presence: I can “listen to” or “listen thru”, depending in the narrator and the material. Again, practice. I don’t let a narrator “bother me” unless the narration is terrible.

Many examples of great narration are out there: both the US and UK narrations of the Harry Potter series. The narration of the John L Carre Smiley series. There are many others.

There are some bad fits. For instance, anything mathematical will be dicey as audio material, tho there are blind mathematicians who have learned to do it.

I usually run books at 1.25 to 1.75, depending on the book and the narrator.
The history of recorded narration is strongly related to recorded audiobooks for the blind. In early days done on wax records etc. No easy way to skip back. The narration was a bit slow on purpose. That standard remains. The narrators professionally speak by default to someone who prefers a slower speed. The assumption is that listeners who prefer faster speech will be tech-savvy enough to speed it up.

Re podcasts and NPR.

Podcasts just keeping getting better and better. I’ve recently been in love with some of the Dan Carlin history-focused ones, such as on Caesar vs the Celts.

There is so much excellent podcast content out there on every possible topic. I don’t have time to listen to even a fraction of what I covet listening to. So much good stuff.

Re NPR. For 20-30+ years I was an addict. (From the 70’s onward I think.) I still subscribe to the local station. But I haven’t listened in years.

I used to be able to get ME and ATC as podcasts, which meant I could skip around easily and run them at my preferred speed. If I could still get them as podcasts, I would listen to them.
These were from WBR. But the podcast feed stopped.

The current NPR narrative speeds have just gotten too slow for my taste. IE my taste in narration speed changed.
And I don’t love their apps at all, or didn’t, the last time I used them.
And similar info-perspectives can be had elsewhere, esp re politics, current events, and law.

So I kinda give up on NPR for the time being. Every once in a while I go check on them.

Anyway I’m glad you have a setup you enjoy.

If you are into history, there are amazing history podcasts out there. One guy spent 5+ years doing Roman history. Another person did that for the Byzantine empire. Similar exist for China, Japan, UK, France, the middle-east, etc etc etc. And the new world.

And lots of special history topics such as war, econ, communication, religion, culture, revolutions, etc.

So give podcasts a try if your current connect starts to feel stale.

Re those Sony’s. I’ve never worked in audio etc, but every audio or video studio I’ve ever been in or seen pix of had many of those lying around.

@f00l Are you a fan of Sci-Fi novels?
People in forums about The Expanse (sci-fi novel series turned TV series) rave about the guy who reads the audiobooks - actor Jefferson Mays.
I didn’t recognize his name, but his face is very familiar, he’s been in tons of stuff.

I’d be curious to hear what all the fuss is about over his narration, but I think I’ll always prefer reading novels over listening to them.

@DennisG2014

Unfamiliar with that series but will put it into the list of to-do’s.

@f00l
/image cheating iuds

@f00l Oh…I think I get it.

And all along I was thinking it was the caretaker, old man @mike808…

@mike808 @therealjrn
I’m not sure what happened. I was trying to be lazy and get @cinoclav to figure it out for me.

@cinoclav Not to get all “Perry Mason” on you @f00l, but you gave yourself away with this question:

Did some clever clever clever person create a bunch of cute alt uid’s in order to mess up the voting?

We ALL know @mike808 isn’t that clever, and certainly isn’t that cute…so who does that leave us with? YOU!

:roll credits:

@cinoclav @mike808 @therealjrn

I got that idea of what happened from something @cinoclav said about it. But I’m not sure. And I’m too tired to look it up.

And I’m too tired to do anything like that anyway.

And whoever did that is just copying @ignorant.

@cinoclav @mike808 @therealjrn

Here’s what seems to have happened:

Phony votes for pop sockets.

I did my part in being idiotic by voting for both. But I didn’t use multiple accounts.

/giphy too lazy

SOCKET POPPIT STAHPIT

@cinoclav @f00l @Ignorant @mike808

And whoever did that is just copying @ignorant.

@ignorant? Why are you trying to throw @ignorant under the bus? hmm…seems to be a desperate move by a desperate desperado. And we ALL know Texas is just chock plum full of desperadoes. :hang_em:

@cinoclav @Ignorant @mike808 @therealjrn

@Ignorant wished to avoid being GOATED.

When was it? The voting for Oct 2016 GOAT? I remember it was right after @OldCatLady’s turn, and then right before @PlacidPenguin and then my turn in Dec 2016.

Someone created a bunch of uid’s which resembled those of regular Meh community members. But with clever substituting of I’s, L’s, and 1’s, so the new “fake” uid’s could not be distinguished from the trad member names due to the limits of the font for showing voting names.

@ignorant was GOATed anyway.

And later, @ignorant admitted (with considerable amusement) to being the person who messed up the GOAT voting.

So I’m hardly messing with @ignorant here. I’m fact, @ignorant successfully messed with me and with many of us at the time.

Credit where credit is due.

/giphy ignorant

@cinoclav @f00l @Ignorant @mike808 @OldCatLady @PlacidPenguin

Oh…you’ve been holding this in a long time haven’t you @f00l?

Yet more motive for messing with the brackets and trying to blame it on @Ignorant. SMH

The tangled webs we weave…

@cinoclav @Ignorant @mike808 @OldCatLady @PlacidPenguin @therealjrn

Yeah that’s me.

/giphy all messed up

Being “messed up” is bigger and better in Texas btw.

@cinoclav @f00l @mike808 @OldCatLady @PlacidPenguin @therealjrn
I’m innocent I tell ya!

I have no horse in this race so no reason for sabotage or subterfuge.

@f00l @Ignorant @mike808 @OldCatLady @PlacidPenguin @therealjrn Well I certainly didn’t think it was you!

@cinoclav @f00l @mike808 @therealjrn OMG I’m learning so much Meh history today…

@Ignorant

Here’s your horse.

/giphy horse

Satisfied? Happy now?

You’re welcome.

@thismyusername

@cinoclav BLAME. What was I thinking?

Right Bracket (Day 9-16) (Goat reversed the order)
9: Pearl Jewelry
10: Funky Socks
11: Contigo Bottles
12: PopSockets (of course!)
13: AA & AAA Batteries
14: Earbuds
15: Candy Corn
16: Knives

Fixing my vote on Contigo as well. Drat!
Because I have integrity. It’s not as if I’m deciding that some votes are more “legitimate” than others after the fact. This isn’t a US Congressional or Presidential election.

@cinoclav You’ve had a big day. Good Night.