Maybe something you learned the hard way, or something you found out right before making a huge mistake.
E.g., for audiophiles: don’t buy subwoofers from speaker companies, and don’t buy speakers from subwoofer companies.
One of the biggest things that most amateur filmmakers or video makers make is not getting sufficient tone.
Before shooting, record a fairly long stretch of just the ambient sound in the area where you’re filming so that when you are editing, it can be laid under the audio tracks and help to smooth out the jumps in audio from different clips.
This makes a lot of sense and I wouldn’t have thought about it.
Could you offer any tips about recording ambient tone? Just like some omnidirectional mics in the space for 5-10 minutes? Or just the same mics you use for performers or the field recording (eg shotgun mics)?
I’ve always just used the same ones that I use for performers because I’m poor.
If possible, make sure there’s no recognizable voices or anything like that because the tone will be repeated through the scene, so any voices are going to repeat as well. So when you’re doing it, tell your actors/crew to be quiet.
Hobby: Chess
Tips: Ill state a few mistakes here that I see beginners do a lot (mistakes that I also made as a beginner and had to learn to not do and why not to do them).
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Don’t give check just because you can give check. Beginners love to just check you with zero follow up. Its like it creates a sense of purpose for their moves but without a proper follow up it is a waste of a move.
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Consider the fact that I can make moves and formulate my own plans. Half the game is what you play and the other half is what your opponent plays. If you only consider your moves/plans, I, and any chess player beyond a beginner, will easily beat you.
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Every move has a purpose. If you make a move and I ask you why you made that move and you cannot provide a reasonable reason, then you either wasted a move or got lucky and just happened to guess a good move.
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Dont try to learn opening theory as a beginner. You should learn the three main opening principiles (develop you pieces, get your king to safety, and control the center of the board) and some very common lines to play but after that you should move on to the middle game and end game. Revisit opening theory once you understand the game at a deeper level. It will make it easier for you.
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You paid money and spent time travelling to tournament. You have over an hour on the clock and you oppenent just made a move. Stop and think for a moment. Dont rush your moves and try to play instantly all the time. You waste time, money, and the day since you played like shit (whats the point?).
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(Last) Do NOT have an ego or underestimate your opponent. Especially of they are a little kid. There are two types of kid chess players: the ones who learned how to play 5 minutes ago and the ones that humble you. Very little in between there. There are two types of (non-kid) chess players: those who think a 10yr old kid by default sucks at chess, and those who have played enough kids to realize what the fuck is up. It is funny to watch the former turn into the ladder. Those kids at tournaments are such wild cards
Do you have any good learning resources for number 4?
If you want to get into openings I recommend getting a set of openings for yourself for white and black.
White: 1. d4 and then London System is easy to play and works most times to get a good setup. Super easy way to have you prepared almost 50% of the time. I personally don’t play it though, I’m an 1. e4 player.
Black:
Don’t start with Sicialian. It’s good but it’ll take a long time to learn enough lines to handle whatever the opponent throws at you since they almost decide which variation you play.
Against 1. d4… King’s Indian defence allows you a straight forward path to casting and develop 2 pieces. Then strike in the center. For a more spicy option there’s the Benoni which has traps for people who blindly go London System.
Against 1. e4… French defence is pretty straight forward since you end up doing the same stuff every game. Attack the pawn on d4. You could also go for 1. … e5 but since it’s the most common move you can get opening knowledge advantage way faster by playing French or Scandinavian. You’ll have to know both if you decide to play 1. e4 at some point and play Italian or Ruy Lopez which IMO are more fun to play.
After learning the main move order for the first 4 or 5 moves then watch some videos on each of your defence. Remote chess academy is a very fun channel on YouTube for learning openings.
Good at tactics?
Try some gambits. You sacrifice a pawn and come out guns blazing. If people don’t know the gambit you’re playing they’ll have to spend a lot of time calculating. You force them to thread the needle or at the minimum lose a piece.
If you want to know how it looks like check out some games with Paul Morphy. He’s winning against players that would 2200+ FIDE rating with the King’s gambit. That opening develops wicked fast but has the King naked.
That depends on exactly what you are looking for and what level of play you are at. A general source that I do like for these sorts of topics is Chess-Networks series “Beginner to Chess Master”. I think its well put together and easy to understand/digest for beginners. Its free (youtube) which is also nice. Of course you can find many more like these on youtube. I just like Chess-Network for this type of series a lot.
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EDIT: I added a few things… can anyone tell I have ADHD yet?
When keeping a plant alive, you need to look up how it likes to be in the wild, and try to EMULATE that best you can. Monstera deliciosa has root rot? Well in the wild their roots are very compacted, maybe that gallon sized pot needs to be downsized. They also grow on trees, give it some support, etc
Cast iron cookware: when seasoning the item you need to apply the thinnest layer of oil possible. It should look almost like you’re trying to wipe the oil away or clean it.
PC building: your local electronics recycler is an amazing place to get simple fundamental equipment. You won’t find a 5090 in the bin, but you’ll find cheap ram, any cable you need is 1$, hell, my NAS is a 22tb (after redundancy) raid array where I paid 7$ for each 2tb drive. Sure, it’s slower and clicks like hell sometimes, but it’s in a closet, and I can lose a few drives before I lose my data.
Car/motorcycle repairs: your local chain auto shop probably loans/rents specialty tools. (This is pretty well known but still) need a tool to compress your brake cylinders when changing pads? It’ll cost 10$ rather than like 80$.
Gardening: mulch. In my area the sun is an absolute killer in the day while I’m working, so laying mulch over the soil keeps it from drying as fast
Cooking: following recipes isn’t that hard for most things, the way you know that you’ve really leveled up is when you start to realize how certain flavors and textures interact, and come up with something new or, more often, start modifying and improving recipes
Terrariums: the most crucial aspect is the amount of water. It will easily make or break (or kill) your plants and design. A good drainage layer, followed by chunkyish soil, and a layer of peat moss is the way to go most times. Also, BUGS. springtails and isopods are a learning curve but are an insanely helpful group of fellas.
Hiking/backpacking (not exactly niche?)
- Don’t buy a ton of stuff for day hikes. You need less than you think. If you carry enough for an overnight there is a good chance you’ll be so slowed down that you’ll end up staying overnight.
- Carry the ten essentials. GPS’ run out of battery and you can end up in areas without satellite reception. Always have a compass and paper map and visualize your route before going if you are backpacking in deep. Be aware where roads and bailouts are relative to your route.
- Occasionally look behind you to get an idea of what the route back will look like if you’ll be returning the same way.
- If it doesn’t look like a trail, stop, you need to backtrack to the last sure spot. Don’t plow ahead blindly thinking it will resolve itself.
- Winter hiking means less daylight and more stuff (slower). Plan accordingly.
- “Mountains generate their own weather”. Bring some light raingear and insulation even if it is warm at the trailhead. I’ve started in 80+ temps and gotten snow near summits.
- Carry hiking poles. They are invaluable for things like stream crossings. They saved me from breaking a leg stepping down boulders once.
- If the trail is blazed and you can’t see them look up and behind you for them, sometimes they are painted high up for snowpack.
- Carry traction (ice creepers) if going up into the mountains in spring/fall. Early/late snow and ice is common. In winter bring crampons.
- Always check the weather, especially for mountain hikes. Be ready to turn back or change your plans if the weather looks sketchy. Don’t get “summit fever” just because you made a special trip.
- If you are shopping for gear spend the most on boots. They will be the major deciding factor in how comfortable your hiking is. Make sure to break them in before a trip. I’ve been on a multiday mountain trip where a guy had brand new boots and his feet were bleeding by day 3.
- If winter hiking and there is a snow pack wear gaiters (or built in ones). Snow in boots = cold/wet feet = frostbite. I’ve seen too many people have to turn around because their boots were getting packed with snow and they were suffering.
- Make a list of necessary gear before your trip, then check it off the list as you pack. This helps ensure you don’t forget anything. You can even categorise the list, so you can easily see what kit is in which pockets/dry bags.
- Dry bags are incredibly useful if you hike in wet weather or ford rivers. Different coloured bags can help with categorisation, for example, you know the yellow bag is fresh clothes, the green bag is camp kit, the blue bag is water filter and chlorine tablets, the red bag is electronics, etc. This makes finding stuff a piece of piss and saves rummaging.
For camping, in cold weather switching from being active to resting can be miserably cold. To combat this you can fill a heat tolerant water bottle with some boiled water, wrap it in a shirt or sweater to prevent burning, and put it into your sleeping bag to warm it up quickly. You can also sort of do the reverse for when you wake up. You can put your clothes for the next day in a small bag and sleep with them in your sleeping bag. That way they won’t be frigid when you’re trying to dress.
Better yet understand that none of your gear makes heat, you do. Think of your sleeping bag and clothes as batteries that need to be recharged periodically and your body is a generator. When you shiver that is your body trying to burn calories to produce heat. You can stay much warmer by keeping busy and moving around than you will by standing around a fire. When you wake up cold in the middle of the night, move your legs like you’re riding a bicycle while laying on your side. It won’t take long to warm up. Also keep an isolating layer between you and the ground like a foam sleeping pad. It also works for when standing on frozen ground.
I used to drag my clothes into bed with me in winter when I was a kid. No central heating, no double glazing, no insulation, no carpets. Might as well have been living in a tent.
To combat this you can fill a heat tolerant water bottle with some boiled water, wrap it in a shirt or sweater to prevent burning, and put it into your sleeping bag to warm it up quickly.
The first time I did this I ended up so hot that I had to take it out. Its a wonderful trick and I have woken up spooning the cool water bottle in the morning
I have an old school hot water bottle that I use like this… In my house.
Don’t use thick lube for unresponsive yoyos and vice versa. Thick lube will make an unresponsive yoyo more responsive which you don’t want.
And don’t stress about playing a soulslike a certain way and don’t listen to gatekeeping haters. Play whatever way you want - it’s a game after all and you bought it for your pleasure
Stopping down doesn’t always give you sharper images. You may run into diffraction softening.
Focusing and then stopping down may shift your focal plane. Try to focus at your chosen aperture.
Try to use the electronic shutter function for astro photography. Even the shutter moving across the sensor can cause vibrations.
The 500 rule is useful for astro, but with modern higher resolution sensors, the NPF rule is better suited.
Not getting amazing astro shots? You may need to modify or buy a camera that is sensitive to Hα (Hydrogen-alpha) removing the infrared/IR filter off your camera will allow you to shoot full spectrum. Although you will need something to only allow 450 to 520nm and from 640 to 690nm into your sensor.
Sensors will always have dead or stuck pixels. You can take 10-20 black frames to try to help your image processor find and erase them.
Optical vignetting is common when you shoot wide open. Stop down 2-3 stops from your max aperture to try and remove the effect.
Shooting expired film is fine, just make sure you over expose 1 stop per decade it’s expired. So a 20 year old film, shoot 2 stops over exposed.
To add to the film thing: if travelling with film, keep it in carry-on bags and ask for hand checks. Film gets exposed by the radiation from machines at checkpoints; the higher the ASA, the more it’ll get ruined. 400+ will for sure be destroyed by a scan or two.
I ruined 4 rolls of the best street photography I’ve ever done from a trip to chicago because I didn’t know about it.
Woodworking
Measure twice cut once is rookie numbers. Measure 10 times, cut a test piece 5 times, measure twice after each, then do your real cut.
This is a bit of an exaggeration, but you get the idea.
Also, measure after each operation to check your work as you go so you can spot mistakes as early as possible. This includes checking for square, doing test fits, and all manner of sanity checks to ensure that your operations are achieving the desired results before you repeat them on other pieces or move on to do more work on those same pieces that may already be ruined or need fixing.
For glue up, always always always dry fit first. Then plan ahead. Put all your clamps on and have them adjusted before you add glue. Once the glue is on the time is short and you need to have everything ready and waiting.
If you use a table saw, take it seriously. Always use your riving knife when possible, be mindful of the control you have over the pieces, use push sticks and sleds and jigs to improve stability and safety, always wear ppe. Check that your blade is aligned to your miter slots and your fence. Having a slight relief angle on your fence can be good, but never have it canted towards the blade. That can be dangerous. Also make a crosscut sled, they’re amazing.
Beware of dust. It causes cancer and it lingers in the air. Wear a respirator and use ventilation when possible.
Make or buy a workbench with a vise and some hold down capabilities. Being able to hold your work easily is a huge benefit.
If you are looking to improve your accuracy and precision, buy a nice hand plane and learn how set it up, sharpen it, and how to use it. They are absolute game changers. Also make or buy a shooting board for it. Also, buy a machinist’s square, a set of feeler gauges, and a nice 36in aluminum straight edge and learn to use them.
Etc
Obviously that’s a lot, and a lot of it it depends on what you’re actually trying to do, but those are all things that have helped me a lot in my journey towards making furniture, picture frames, cutting boards, etc
There’s two types of costume contests, cosplay contests that break things down by experience, and random Halloween contests that are basically reenactments of popularity contests in high school.
The former you’re gonna enter as a journeyman unless you built something so outrageous they gotta up the difficulty level. Make sure you have a TON of documentation and pics and explanations on how you did things. The judges are gonna wanna know how hard you worked on things and the amount of detail you put into it. If you spent 8 hours on the gold colored filigree on your bracers you damn well better mention it Typically unless you’re doing best performance, you get three poses and you’re off the stage. By the time you hit the stage the judges typically made their decisions so play to the crowd and do what looks good on film. If you are going for best performance, don’t feel pressured to use your full five minutes, or however long they give. Waaay to many people overstay their welcome, you wanna leave the people wanting more, not less. Hit your points, your high note, and if you’re still only halfway through your time, whatever. You’re not disqualified if you don’t use your time completely, and people will greatly appreciate someone moving the schedule faster than usual.
For the latter Halloween costume contests, effort means NOTHING. You could’ve thrown the damn thing together in five minutes and win, and if you spend 16 hours on it it will not improve your chances. The venue is looking for costumes that look great on the social media, is a character they love, makes them laugh, blows their mind, causes the venue to cheer, and (this is the most important bit) appears in front of whoever the hell is judging the competition. It’s 1 to 3 people who pick on the previously mentioned criteria. Each judge is gonna be a little different. Some judges listen to the crowd, some judges love horror films so every slasher villain goes on stage, some judges do NOT know what the hell a star wars is. The one thing that all judges have in common though, is that they exist in a 3 dimensional space and only have eyes in front of their head. If you’re a wall flower that doesn’t interact with people, you will not win the contest unless the judge is also sharing your wall. Build a dance circle, tip the bartender to figure out who’s judging tonight (they may or may not know) but if you wanna win, physics dictates that you appear in front of a judge as they wander the venue. That is more important than your costume.
Boardgames
Its easier to make gamers into friends than it is to make friends into gamers
Being a DM is not about telling YOUR story, it’s about coming together with your players to create a story. So even if you are going off a pre-written campaign or story you created, you are incharge of the story. Let the rule of fun reign. If a battle is taking forever you can cut down the number of enemies or the enemy’s abilities. Your in charge and if done right your players don’t even know.
Thanks to the internet you also don’t even need much. Get your hands on a core book and a dice set used by all is all that you need to play. Sure maps and miniatures are fun but some systems don’t need them, some players are perfectly fine with the theatre of the mind play, or some small toys on a self drawn grid on sheet paper can work.
Sure maps and miniatures are fun but some systems don’t need them, some players are perfectly fine with the theatre of the mind play, or some small toys on a self drawn grid on sheet paper can work.
Some big streamers have done massive damage to she hobby by bringing the image that map and miniatures are necessary, and not at best a nice to have, at worst a distraction.
Sure I use sometimes a sketch on paper, but very rarely miniatures, and never accurate ones. Role-playing game isn’t about miniatures
Servers: it doesn’t have to be built for the purpose. In a pinch, any PC will do.
Chess: Fried liver attack doesn’t work above 700 ELO and is easily countered with a possibility for a smothered mate.
Guitar: Playing 5 minutes every day is better than playing an hour once a week.
VX hobbyists- I’ve noticed a lot of people start off by configuring their encabulators with the original series of kleinhoffer cam ratios, trying to get maximum deltas with the least vacuum pressure possible. It’s really better to start with dylomatic induction coefficients even if it initially seems more complicated, you’ll have an easier time later with the more commonly available j-discs.
Nice try, Big VX
Observing groups is a very useful skill, in minutes you can tell who’s where in the hierarchy, what the cliques are, how well they coordinate, how information flows, and where influence springs from.
This let’s you not only insert yourself at the right moment, peg, and place for maximum efficacy, but also informs you of barriers, challenges to overcome, and next steps for the group to act better together.
Hobby/skill/interest in Group dynamics, useful for coaching, creating community, project organisation, and group coaching.
This does seem like a very niche hobby.
Language learning: I tricked myself into building a daily flashcard study habit by using gambling as an incentive. I bought a box of Magic the Gathering packs and allowed myself to open one a day only after I had finished my daily flashcard study. According to Atomic Habits it takes roughly 50 days for a habit to be set in stone as part of your daily routine. A full box of Magic packs took me to day 36. Feels like a bit of an unethical life pro-tip, but once you’re over that hump of forming the daily habit it becomes a lot easier, so find a way to hack your brain and make it feel rewarding until it becomes automatic.
