Messages

1

Essentially Flyertalk / Re: Peanut Butter

« on: June 05, 2025, 05:46:25 PM »

That's not peanut butter that's peanut puree. No thanks.

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Essentially Flyertalk / Re: Peanut Butter

« on: June 05, 2025, 05:30:23 PM »

I'm sorry I said anything at all. I don't want to start up the creamy vs crunchy debate again. Just know that it's gross and I'm right.

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Essentially Flyertalk / Re: Peanut Butter

« on: June 05, 2025, 01:50:45 PM »

We ran out of Members Mark™ Natural No Stir Creamy Peanut Butter midweek. I didn't want to go to Sam's just for peanut butter so I did a Target pick up order. Got it home and I accidentally ordered crunchy.

Question for crunchy pb lovers:  Why do you hate yourself?

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Essentially Flyertalk / Re: Learning Piano

« on: June 03, 2025, 03:40:44 PM »

Yeah I struggle with the left hand. Especially with syncopation, which is what my son told it's called when the left hand is playing a rhythm that doesn't match up with the right hand. Almost impossible for me.

If I'm able to press the keys at the same time as the right I can eventually figure it out most of the time.

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Essentially Flyertalk / Re: Learning Piano

« on: June 03, 2025, 09:51:03 AM »

Yes! We are the same!

I also exclusively learn by watching the falling keys method on YouTube. I did learn to play Epiphany from the movie Soul using actual sheet music but it was just note by note finding the C key and then counting to what key I needed to play lmao. Then I just have to memorize it because looking at the sheet music as a whole is like looking at a paragraph written in Japanese or something.

I constantly say to myself I need to start back at the basics and learn to read music and learn where the keys are and all that stuff and then I don't and instead learn to play the first 30 seconds of Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol before moving to learning the first 30 seconds of the Top Gun Theme then moving to Right Now - Van Halen for cat football reasons.

Like you, I just find it really fun to play something recognizable. I have no interest in practicing scales lol.

lol exactly. i can't fathom actually ever reading sheet music. that's why webpianoteacher's method really appealed to me. the problem i have with him is that i never watched all his tutorials and don't really care to - so i don't know exactly what all his various squiggly lines mean. also, the production quality of his lessons are objectively bad - it's sometimes very difficult for me to tell which keys he's pushing with which finger, and when. which means i have to waste a lot of time going back 5-10 secs to try to decipher what he did. then he will realize he mis-wrote something, so he'll say it but then race through it. then he'll skip to a different part of the song without telling you. some tutorials are certainly better than others, but i find the whole experience to be somewhat aggravating. unfortunately, he has many of the songs in his library that i want to play, which is why i never cancel.

if you could combine piano with nate's presentation and teaching style, with webpianoteacher's song book and general approach, i'd be a much happier bad piano player.

not sure if you've ever used them, but the silicone labels you can place on top of the keys is incredibly helpful, but with an obvious downside. i was at my in-laws house, and they have a piano. it was suggested that i play one of the two aforementioned songs that i actually know how to play. so i sat down and prepared to play. but without my silicone labels, i literally couldn't even get started. i was completely lost. 

learning sheet music is pretty easy.  you don't really need to know the rhythm/counting stuff -- especially if you're playing familiar music.  But recognizing which notes are where is very helpful.  I know webpianoteacher (or just "sean" as we call him in my house) does a whole walk through on theory which is helpful and interesting (imo).  the circle of fifths, in particular, is mindblowing just to see how all of the puzzle pieces fit together.  idk, i think it's interesting.

Really, if you can just get a feel for knowing what notes are in what keys and knowing the general chords associated with the keys, that goes a long way.  OTOH, if that feels like homework or boring or whatever, don't bother with it!  keep having fun playing piano!  but the circle of fifths is neat and i bet you guys will agree if you watch a 10-15 minute youtube video on it.

im gonna have to check out the circle of fifths. one thing i figured out only recently was that my method for practicing is awful/inefficient and my timeline for learning a new song is insanely unrealistic. as a complete newb, with no real training, i really thought i was going to learn a billy joel song beginning to end in a couple of days - and that the path to progress would be fairly linear. what makes it worse is that when i get stuck, instead of focusing all my time/energy on the part where im stuck, i always play through the part i actually know leading up to that point. again and again until the stuck part. so i'll play 25 seconds of stuff i know, get stuck, smack myself in the head, then return to the beginning. then i repeat the 25 seconds of stuff i know, then get stuck again, then back to the beginning. i repeat this process again and again, and keep getting stuck in the same spot. why wouldn't i just stay on the stuck spot until i get unstuck? it makes no sense and i have no idea why i do this. my only theory is that video games i played as a kid reinforced the idea of always going back to the beginning - like mario after getting bitten by a piranha plant. you go back to start!

literally LOL'd at the thought of you sitting down at your in-laws piano at thanksgiving or something and then having a panic attack because the keys weren't labeled.

what made this worse is a 6 year old took my place and ripped through a very solid version of ode to joy (she takes lessons).

We are the same piano player. I've played the first half of Severance roughly 5,000 times all the way through, and the last part (the part I struggle with) about 12. Always start over. Maybe there is something comforting to an insecure piano player about always going back to what you know instead of sitting in the struggle and fighting through it. Probably a life lesson in there.

I also had a similar experience with public humiliation. We were at my wife's grandma's nursing home and there was a piano in a common area. My son was playing songs for her and several older people gathered around and were listening. Then my wife said I should play In Christ Alone (old people love hymns) so I sat down to play, but the piano was different than my digital keyboard and it broke my brain. It wasn't even that different, just the difference between a piano and a digital piano but it did something to me. I got through the first few bars and kept messing up/went blank. Probably some stage fright in there too, but I really think if it was my home piano I would have been fine. I stood up and said, bring the kid back up, and my son went back to playing Interstellar or something.

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Essentially Flyertalk / Re: Learning Piano

« on: June 03, 2025, 09:35:00 AM »

I think the severence theme could transition into the hook(?) from dre's the next episode and your audience would go wild. Just something to think about.

My son plays Fur Elise and transitions into Still D.R.E... it's pretty epic.

lol this is the song i meant anyway 

Hell yeah

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Essentially Flyertalk / Re: Learning Piano

« on: June 02, 2025, 02:13:37 PM »

I think the severence theme could transition into the hook(?) from dre's the next episode and your audience would go wild. Just something to think about.

My son plays Fur Elise and transitions into Still D.R.E... it's pretty epic.

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Essentially Flyertalk / Re: Learning Piano

« on: June 02, 2025, 02:08:00 PM »

Yes! We are the same!

I also exclusively learn by watching the falling keys method on YouTube. I did learn to play Epiphany from the movie Soul using actual sheet music but it was just note by note finding the C key and then counting to what key I needed to play lmao. Then I just have to memorize it because looking at the sheet music as a whole is like looking at a paragraph written in Japanese or something.

I constantly say to myself I need to start back at the basics and learn to read music and learn where the keys are and all that stuff and then I don't and instead learn to play the first 30 seconds of Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol before moving to learning the first 30 seconds of the Top Gun Theme then moving to Right Now - Van Halen for cat football reasons.

Like you, I just find it really fun to play something recognizable. I have no interest in practicing scales lol.

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Essentially Flyertalk / Re: Learning Piano

« on: June 02, 2025, 11:55:16 AM »

_33 what are you playing these days

I finished the Severance theme a couple weeks ago. That was very hard for me but also very satisfying.

Now I'm working on Amazing Grace to add to my hymn collection which right now only includes In Christ Alone (my favorite and the first one I learned).

I also really want to learn the Jurassic Park theme this summer. Basically I want to know how to play the most random collection of music of all time lol.

I'll post some videos of some of these this summer. And everyone else can post videos of them playing songs on the piano too if you want.

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Essentially Flyertalk / Re: Learning Piano

« on: May 30, 2025, 04:57:41 PM »

I tried to play some stuff on a regular piano the other day and it was so weird! Like it's essentially the same instrument as my weighted digital piano but feels so different playing.

Probably why the purists say you can't really play until you can play on a normal piano.

Maybe it's like the difference between playing electric vs acoustic guitar? But maybe not, I dunno.

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Kansas State Basketball is hard / KSU Basketball Team Players

« on: May 26, 2025, 02:19:39 PM »

Could someone make a list of players who are on the KSU basketball team? Thank you.

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The New Joe Montgomery Birther Pit / Re: Transgender issues (not necessarily in sports)

« on: May 22, 2025, 09:31:04 AM »

This is so incredibly insulting to black people who lived through the civil rights movement.

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Essentially Flyertalk / Re: Lawn Care

« on: May 19, 2025, 09:45:30 PM »

Been easy for me so far. Just tap it on the ground for more string. Hasn't gotten stuck yet but I've only used it a few times. And like I said different to load than ones I've had in the past but watch a YouTube video and it's pretty simple.

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Essentially Flyertalk / Re: Lawn Care

« on: May 19, 2025, 12:42:40 PM »

i have a Stihl string trimmer and i really do not like the string-feeding mechanism (?) which is like the entire point of a string trimmer. i have already replaced it once with an upgrade, and it still sucks crap. my yard is very small but there are a lot of edges/sidewalks/landscaping etc so it's really more important than the lawn mower. you guys really saying an electric one is the way to go?

Yes absolutely. My 40v Ryobi claims to have a 50+ min run time. Which works great for me since it only takes me about 15 minutes to trim my whole yard. Then I slap the battery on my blower and clear off the driveway/sidewalk.

When you say you don't like the 'string-feeding mechanism' are you saying it's hard to load, or you don't like the process of getting more string while trimming? The Ryobi isn't hard to load but it's different. At least from anything I've had in the past.

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Essentially Flyertalk / Re: Lawn Care

« on: May 19, 2025, 09:59:04 AM »

Got the Ryobi 40v and its way better than the crappy Black and Decker I had for 10 years. Only problem is I suck at using it so far. I either ain't cutting enough or I'm scalping the crap outta the grass. Just user error though. Bought the edger attachment as well which has been working well. 40v has plenty of power

I had no idea they made a weed eater for the 40v. My lady friend has the 40v Ryobi mower that I mow with there but the weed eater she has just uses a standard drill battery and is pretty pud. Definitely going to look into it.

I also just purchased the 40v Ryobi. Much, much better than my little 20v Craftsman. Also I have a 40v Ryobi Chainsaw and Leaf Blower. I honestly love everything Ryobi I have bought.

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Essentially Flyertalk / Re: Shows that have you by the balls, or vag...

« on: May 19, 2025, 09:53:01 AM »

My wife and I found MAID on Netflix to be a great show. It did a good job showing how both domestic violence and poverty become generational traps that are so hard to escape.

Give MAID on Netflix a try if you haven't already.

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Essentially Flyertalk / Re: neighbor stories

« on: May 15, 2025, 02:52:20 PM »

I have lived in this house for 9 years and one of my diagonal neighbors introduced himself today as I took the trash can to the street. He's lived in that house since the 80's. I have a giant tree in the front yard (no clue what kind) and he told me he calls them "Fake Sugar Dick (WARNING, NOT THE REAL SUGAR DICK!) trees" because the branches will spur off in random locations.

Now the only neighbor I haven't talked to is the people that moved next door 3 years ago.

I agree that only Fake Sugar Dick (WARNING, NOT THE REAL SUGAR DICK!) trees have branches.

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Essentially Flyertalk / Re: Recent motion picture viewing - Add your own!

« on: May 13, 2025, 02:46:55 PM »

If y'all want a nice date night movie, I suggest Nonnas. Quite heartwarming. Also for you NYC Cats, it's based on a true story.

My wife and I enjoyed this movie. The older I get the more I appreciate a nice heartwarming movie with a wholesome theme and a happy ending.

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Essentially Flyertalk / Re: Shows that have you by the balls, or vag...

« on: May 07, 2025, 10:43:38 AM »

Is Ted Lasso going to get a reboot for a new season?

It is. They are shooting right now. It's been rumored that Ted is going to leave Richmond to coach a women's team run by Keely and Roy will take over Richmond. I feel like season 4 won't have much Ted at all, given Sudekis was pretty vocal about being done after season 3.

Sounds like it will continue to follow the trajectory of the show as getting worse each season.

Yes

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Other Sports (Tiger's Back) / Re: The Royals

« on: May 04, 2025, 04:07:06 PM »

bombs away   

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Essentially Flyertalk / Re: Shows that have you by the balls, or vag...

« on: May 03, 2025, 10:53:20 PM »

Is Dark Matter good?

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Essentially Flyertalk / Re: Facts about Topeka

« on: May 01, 2025, 07:25:16 AM »

Sure, if you love being stuck behind a mile of cars on a 2-lane highway 

The way God intended.

My mom is from Silver Lake and my dad is from Rossville. 24 is in my dna.

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Essentially Flyertalk / Re: Facts about Topeka

« on: May 01, 2025, 07:06:26 AM »

Just take 470 idiot

I have been, king idiot.

Actually just take the Oakland Expressway up to 24 hwy and take 24 all the way to Manhattan. The way God intended.

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Other Sports (Tiger's Back) / Re: The Royals

« on: April 30, 2025, 10:27:38 PM »

Noah Cameron is from St Joe. Went to my kids high school. 

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Essentially Flyertalk / Re: Cocktails of Champions

« on: April 25, 2025, 12:33:44 PM »

Do you use an egg white in your gin fizz? I had a whiskey sour with an egg white one time. Didn't care for it.