Questions you want answered.

bnpederson wrote:
Coldstream wrote:
RolandofGilead wrote:

Do the Fairies of Gloss Angeles have a deep respect for marriage and don't want to destroy the devotion made by those humans and Fairies who marry or is it that humans who marry Fairies become immune to the Fairy magic that makes them think their time in Gloss Angeles was a dream and that's why humans who marry Fairies can't leave Gloss Angeles?

Whatever you're smoking, I want some.

He asked the same thing in the Random non sequitur posts catch-all thread. It makes me think this is some weird SEO thing, or guerrilla marketing. RonaldofGilead going for the twelve year long-con.

??

Dakuna wrote:
bnpederson wrote:
Coldstream wrote:
RolandofGilead wrote:

Do the Fairies of Gloss Angeles have a deep respect for marriage and don't want to destroy the devotion made by those humans and Fairies who marry or is it that humans who marry Fairies become immune to the Fairy magic that makes them think their time in Gloss Angeles was a dream and that's why humans who marry Fairies can't leave Gloss Angeles?

Whatever you're smoking, I want some.

He asked the same thing in the Random non sequitur posts catch-all thread. It makes me think this is some weird SEO thing, or guerrilla marketing. RonaldofGilead going for the twelve year long-con.

??

It's his slightly less cool brother. Big fast-food empire, but on the creepy side.

Not to be confused with his ese from out Wese, Ronaldo F. Gilead.

Is there a such thing as an apartment friendly musical instrument (ie minimal or no disturbance to neighbors) to learn to play as an adult? my best random guess would be an amplified electric something or other?

Electronic piano with earphones.

Acoustic guitar is quiet and pretty inoffensive in general. There are also practice kits out there for everything from drumsets to trombones that let you plug in headphones to not annoy people.

The more important determinant is what you want to play.

Edit: We also have a thread for musicians, come join us for more advice or just to chat!

Bagpipes.

Go big or go home.

Jonman wrote:

Bagpipes.

Go big or go home.

I was going to suggest pipe organs myself.

Apropos of nothing, my mother had a Hammond organ while I was growing up, but we had to give it away when we moved. Which may be why I was never properly enthusiastic about learning the piano, because a piano only has one keyboard and no stops.

I have an old family friend, a former physician, who plays the pipe organ. He has one installed in his house. Takes up about half of the upper floor (like, two bedrooms joined together) and part of a room on the first floor (where the keyboard lives). When he turns it on, giant louvers open to suck the air in, and it breathes. He can make the whole house shake if he wants to...

Jonman wrote:

Bagpipes.

Go big or go home.

Irish (Uileann) bagpipes are suitable for playing inside, if you like the instrument. And if you're learning the tunes, you can get a MIDI chanter and use it with headphones, though you'll need to learn to coordinate the bellows at some point.

What kind of music do you want to play? That can influence the instrument you choose.

I personally like the recorder, which is relatively simple to start with. Start with an alto, not a soprano, and it carries a little less. I'm in a house, not an apartment, and the most notice I've gotten from the neighbors is a request for Stairway to Heaven shouted over the fence.

Tuba.

Robear wrote:

I have an old family friend, a former physician, who plays the pipe organ. He has one installed in his house. Takes up about half of the upper floor (like, two bedrooms joined together) and part of a room on the first floor (where the keyboard lives). When he turns it on, giant louvers open to suck the air in, and it breathes. He can make the whole house shake if he wants to...

That man is my hero.

It's been mentioned, but just about every instrument on the planet can be muted to a level that's acceptable to play in the morning/evening. I can play my fiddle with it muted 1 room away from my sleeping fiancee. She does sleep like a rock though, so your millage may vary.

What instrument are you interested in?

Dakuna wrote:
Robear wrote:

I have an old family friend, a former physician, who plays the pipe organ. He has one installed in his house. Takes up about half of the upper floor (like, two bedrooms joined together) and part of a room on the first floor (where the keyboard lives). When he turns it on, giant louvers open to suck the air in, and it breathes. He can make the whole house shake if he wants to...

That man is my hero.

My first thought is that man was Vincent Price. Also one of my heroes.

Fidget toys for students?

I have 3, 3 hour lectures a week and often find myself zoning out or fiddling with my laptop. Despite the culture around fidget spinners, I was fiddling with my friend's son's device and found it oddly compelling. Any advice on picking up something similar? Maybe one of those cubes? I'm sure there are plenty of options that existed before spinners and cubes too.

And as an aside, does anyone find these actually help focus or am I just grasping at straws here?

I have no advice on fidget spinners per se, but I can say you might not be grasping at straws. I have a problem where I'll tap or click my pen or whatever else I can get my hands on incessantly in meetings/presentations and not even realize it until I feel the dagger-stares of others. If I stop, I'll lose focus on the presentation. What helps me is taking some other silent thing to play with. My favourite is a small stone that I turn over in my hand and rub with my thumb. Eccentric? Maybe, but it works for me. I have an aunt with a similar problem, but her office culture is such that she can knit (really!) during meetings and that helps her a lot. My point is, almost anything can be a fidget spinner if it works for you — it's mostly a matter of finding the item that satisfies your need and doesn't distract others.

I have the benefit of watching lectures online with this course, so no chance of distracting anybody but myself! Your comment on knitting is interesting, as I've often felt the desire to work on something mindless while I pay attention to another stream of information. E.g, I really like playing silly clicker games or Pokemon/mindless JRPG grinding while watching a movie -- I don't have to pay attention, but my hands are busy and I'm progressing with something. I often struggle to make it through an entire film without such distractions.

Obviously, a fidget toy doesn't let me "progress", but keeping my hands busy seems worthwhile.

My wife took up knitting in grad school precisely because having something to do with her hands helps her concentrate. I've also been in meetings where fidget toys were provided.

I kind of like fidget cubes, but made the mistake of buying a dirt-cheap knockoff with a couple of sides that don't work.

You can also try Crazy Aaron's Thinking Putty as well. For portability grab the mini's.

Take notes on the lecture?

^ I do take notes in the lecture, I'm after something to fidget with using my free hand.

BadKen wrote:

Tuba.

Honestly, the thing that bummers me out the most about the fact that I'll probably never own a house is that it'll never be reasonable for me to get a tuba.

I have a collection of stress balls and a fidget cube at my desk for maintaining focus. I've also been known to knit in class, been debating trying it at one of our nonsensical meetings. I also doodle a lot on note pages and sometimes keep silly putty in my purse.

Basically just seconding all the above suggestions, and yes this is a real thing.

Cubes are better than spinners because you don't have to pay attention. Spinners are just toys.

I have an electronic bubble wrap keychain and it's good useless entertainment.

I would use the cube in work meetings that were particularly frustrating to center myself, and found it pretty calming.

A_Unicycle wrote:

Fidget toys for students?

I have 3, 3 hour lectures a week and often find myself zoning out or fiddling with my laptop. Despite the culture around fidget spinners, I was fiddling with my friend's son's device and found it oddly compelling. Any advice on picking up something similar? Maybe one of those cubes? I'm sure there are plenty of options that existed before spinners and cubes too.

And as an aside, does anyone find these actually help focus or am I just grasping at straws here?

I've got a fidget cube i keep at work and find it very useful. the nice thing about the cube is that its small and silent so it's an easy thing i keep in my lap during a meeting or something as well.

This is the one I got, pricier than some, but really well constructed and the non-clicky pieces are actually silent like they should be.

A few weeks ago an older lady who works in the dean's office called me down to look at a mysterious piece of technology they had found wondering if I could identify it for them. It was a fidget cube

It was fun trying to explain the purpose of the device to them. I think they thought it was a fancy remote control or something like that.

Rykin wrote:

A few weeks ago an older lady who works in the dean's office called me down to look at a mysterious piece of technology they had found wondering if I could identify it for them. It was a fidget cube

It was fun trying to explain the purpose of the device to them. I think they thought it was a fancy remote control or something like that.

Trick, missed.

IMAGE(http://cdn.captainbluehen.com/wp-content/uploads/lLxCoWM-1024x896.jpg)

My 10-year old would like to try playing The Sims. I am reasonably certain it is appropriate for her, but want to make certain...

Is it?

Maybe play with her for a while? Help her design the house. Maybe you "drive" the game at first, with her input?

Unless you're like me, and video game dolls and houses and AI "friends" seem entirely appropriate for a ten-year-old, and you just say "go to it, yell if you have problems". But I'm a Damned Liberal. My son led Asheron's Call raids when he was ten...