Kaymyth

I have a Lasik consultation scheduled in a week! OK, so Western music is based on twelve distinct tones. Each scale utilizes eight of those tones, with half and whole steps in between them. Your standard major scale starts on a specific note (referred to as the "tonic"), and then progresses whole step, whole step, half step, whole step whole step whole step, half step, and ends on a higher version of the tonic. The start and end notes are considered to be one octave apart. This is, incidentally, why the piano has white and black keys. The golden standard scale is "C" - and so to play a major scale in C on the piano, you use nothing but the white keys. Starting a major scale on any other note will require the use of one or more black keys in order to create the correct pattern of whole and half steps. Minor keys use a different pattern, but they're a bit weird, as there are three versions of each type of minor key - natural, harmonic, and melodic. Honestly, there are textbooks out there that explain the differences between these better than I can off the top of my head. There's actually a lot of mathematics and physics at work in music. If you take, say, a properly tuned violin, and pluck its A string, it will play a A for you. If you place your finger precisely halfway down the length of that string and pluck the string again, you will get a A precisely one octave higher. Each successive octave requires halving the length of the remaining string. Then with brass instruments, things get really fun. Ever noticed that a trumpet only has three valves? Did you think, perhaps, that each note has its own unique valve pattern? Nope! Brass instruments work on a musical concept called "partials". Basically, when you hear a note, you're almost never only hearing that note. There is a set and series of overtones that vibrate within that note, giving it richness and color. Brass instruments take advantage of this. When playing a note on a brass instrument, each fingering has a base note. Each note above that is a partial; by adjusting and tightening your embouchure, you can change the note you are playing without ever moving your fingers. From the base note, the next note above that you can possibly play is its octave. Above that, and it goes to a perfect fifth, and then to the second octave. The higher you get, the closer together the partials get. Incidentally, the F horn (often incorrectly referred to as the French horn) is a tenor instrument played in the alto and soprano range. Horn partials are notoriously close together, and thus players must have very good ears and a sensitive embouchure in order to play the instrument well. It can get complicated enough that most college-and-above horn players use a "double" horn that has a second set of piping that you can switch over to with a thumb toggle. It's set in a different key and offers a different partial sequence. Technically, woodwind instruments have partials as well, but they're very difficult to access. I can get a couple out on my flute, but generally the instruments aren't designed to take advantage of it. And...I think that's enough for you to chew on for now.

So far, my experience with pinap berries is that they guarantee the Pokemon will hop out of the ball on the first roll. Yeeeahhh, I think that's not so much the RNG as the game is preprogrammed to balance itself by giving a high IV Pokemon less than stellar movesets. I've noticed a pretty consistent pattern there. You're more likely to get a better moveset in the 70-80% range.

Weight loss is tough, because our bodies are programmed to freak out and assume that we're starving. The body's desire is to get back to that "safe" place where it started, because it's stupid and doesn't understand that we don't have to fight bears for our food anymore. I use a calorie tracker app. It's helped so far; I lost and kept off 10 pounds in 2016. I'm moving into high gear now, with a goal to drop at least 20 by July. It's hard. I want to eat all the things. But I look at my tracker and say, "No, Rosemary. But you can eat some of the things! And you can exercise and eat a little bit more of the things, but not so much more as to completely negate those calories you burned." Things to remember: 1) Don't try to lose too much too quickly. My goal is doable; the average would be a pound a week, which is perfectly healthy and sustainable. 2) If you can successfully reach your goal and then maintain that level for a year or so, your body will eventually reprogram itself to acknowledge that as its new "safe" weight. So it's not just about losing - you have to be just as diligent about staying there.

Yeah, they've defaulted the Pokemon to being closer to you than before. It's going to take some recalibration. Also! If you catch higher evolution Pokemon, you get more candy! This needed to be in the game from the beginning, IMO.

Thanks! It was good to meet you, too! So far, I think I've just caught fairly common Gen 2s, but It's fun to see new things skulking around out there. And some of the other updates are really nice - that XP bonus for catching on the first throw, for instance. Verra nice. S'just been pining for the fjords. No, seriously, there's still a fairly substantial dedicated player base. The holiday events have been helping a lot, and the release of Gen 2 has infused some new life into the game. I imagine we'll see another big uptick when the weather gets consistently nice.

I'd be a good resource. I took almost all of the coursework necessary for a music degree; there's some stuff that I've forgotten, but music theory, aural skills, a lot of the basics about how and why different instruments work the way they do - I have tons of knowledge.

It's really a matter of safety. I can't adjust for other people on the path if I don't know they're there. Same with people on foot (or slow riders) that I'm about to pass - if they don't know I'm there, they don't know to keep from wandering into my way. If callouts trip your social anxiety, a bell or a horn are acceptable notification noises.

Y'all are silly. I blame a fellow I dated briefly back when she was a young pup. He kept referring to her as "KITTY!" I think it gave her an identity complex. Also, other dogs are things to be feared and distrusted, but cats are potential BFFs. And I must say, you've never truly seen a feline expression of ultimate disgust until you've witnessed a dachshund enthusiastically lick a cat on the face.

I would not dispute this. Point of order: Leia is a dachshund. Though I'm fairly certain she thinks she's a cat, she is most definitely a dog.

Because it looks really spooky, and part of Rashek's intent with the Inquisitors was for them to be terrifying.

Right. In which case, riding your bike on it is illegal in most places, as well as extremely dangerous to pedestrians. Which brings me to MY pet peeve - Cyclists on the hike and bike trails who don't do pass callouts. There were, like, three times on Saturday where a faster cyclist zipped by me without a word, startling me. Hey! You! It's not that hard to call, "On your left!" a few seconds before you pass! I did it dozens of times! It won't kill you, I promise, but pretending to be a ninja on a bicycle might actually cause an accident.

But the Last Moderator is me. No, really! I'm the last (e.g. most recent) person on the Shard who was promoted to mod...

OK, I can't tell if you're using the British or American version of "pavement" as they basically mean the exact opposite of each other. In the UK, pavement = sidewalk. In the US, pavement = road. In most municipalities, bicycles are treated as vehicles under the law, and are not permitted on sidewalks (except when that sidewalk is a section of a designated hike and bike trail). Creating a bike lane may be a way for the city to try to encourage more bicycle traffic in order to reduce car congestion.

Meh. I don't really like bacon.

I just got back into my full weight loss routine for the year. Ultimate goal is to lose at least 20 pounds (this would bring me back to my wedding weight). A bit more would not go amiss, though I think 30 would probably be a safe upper limit, as this would bring me to 140. Current plan (started from last week): Lose 10 pounds by JordanCon (late April). Lose another 10 pounds by God Auction (mid-July). Well, guys, I just weighed myself and I lost 2 pounds this week!

Then you will have learned valuable lessons about yourself and relationships and gained experience for leveling up the next one. It really does vary from site to site. eHarmony tends to attract a lot more Srs Biznes people than sites like Match or OKCupid. Well, just like @Erunion said, it depends. Is there pain involved? If yes, then go see a doctor. If no, then you're probably OK. If there's sometimes pain and sometimes buckling of knees or rolling of ankles, then I'm terribly sorry that you have my joints.

I dunno. I watched the first episode, and it struck me as going for, "This guy isn't actually mentally ill, he just thinks he is because of the way his powers work."

I mean, it's worth a look. They might've gotten more progressive in recent years. (That's the site that hooked me up with James.)

Wait, has eHarmony actually started doing same-sex matching? They used to flail their hands around and claim that they didn't know how.

It's easy in the beginning. But the higher the rep, the bigger the space between rep levels (with the exception of a few oddball ones that got thrown in for giggles), so the waits get longer and longer.

Pretty sure that @Quiver ought to be writing the DCU movies. Somewhere, in an alternate universe, he is, and the DC movies are actually better than the MCU ones.

Not specifically on LJ (it's been well over a decade), but if you Google image search "Jensen Ackles cheerleader" you will find them.

There was no offense! I am well aware that I'm an outlier, and it really doesn't bother me. I'm generally in a position to be "out" as pagan both online and in the real world, and consider it my duty to sort of normalize and desensitize people to the concept to help out the people who are too nervous to go public as of yet. There are some stereotypes, and most of them amuse me. Few of them actually fit me.

I see my reputation as being the board's token pagan has taken on a life of its own.

Unfortunately, the night sky doesn't photograph well if you don't have a really fancy long-exposure camera rig.