Oh, Lordy...I've become one of THEM

Downeaster

Downeaster

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Messaged Grandson asking about current music technology. Been thinking for a while that some tunes in the shop would be nice. Never have had much luck with CD players in that environment, especially with the noise and what remains of my hearing.

He immediately recommended Spotify, which I've heard of but never paid any attention to.

Well, now I have Spotify on my phone and James Gang blasting (sorta...) through my hearing aids.

Why does that strike me as funny? :laugh2: :D:thumbsup::laughing:
 
Downeaster said:
Messaged Grandson asking about current music technology. Been thinking for a while that some tunes in the shop would be nice. Never have had much luck with CD players in that environment, especially with the noise and what remains of my hearing.

He immediately recommended Spotify, which I've heard of but never paid any attention to.

Well, now I have Spotify on my phone and James Gang blasting (sorta...) through my hearing aids.

Why does that strike me as funny? :laugh2: :D:thumbsup::laughing:
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I'll be doing something similar soon...fed-up with the insufferable radio content. No hearing aids yet but that might be part of my future! I'll use a Bluetooth audio adapter to feed one of my old Yamaha receivers driving some old-time speaker cabinets. FILL the shop with tunes!
 
gggGary said:
My two remaining brain cells get confused by music. Seriously, I don't play tunes in the shop anymore. Did a bluetooth set up but ended up using it elsewhere.
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I agree at least to some extent...I often find music distracting unless its really only background music. I also find that there are a number of shop tasks/activities where your sense of hearing is one of the senses you are relying on to gauge your work. I want to hear how the lathe is cutting, the sound of the MIG arc, the sound of a grinder / sander whatever, as examples.
 
If Im working in the shop, trying to focus, I turn my TV on to some car shows or a movie or something.

It just adds some sort of background noise thats real easy to tune out in my head, but still makes a comfortable environment (if that makes any sense? :umm: ).

Then when I take a break to ease the pain in my neck (old whiplash injury), I can sit and stare at the TV for a few to relax before getting back after it.
 
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Jim said:
What??
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I love music in the shop when I’m working. I tend to play different styles of music depending on what I’m doing. Most of the time I listen to blues or classic rock, if I’m actually doing something that requires concentration then I like some soft jazz turned kinda low.
Most of the times I listen to Pandora and just select a genre of music, that gets me the fewest commercials. If I want to hear something specific then I listen through YouTube , but you have a lot of commercials there. My sound system is an old television soundbar that I plug one of my old smartphones into and I stream music through Wi-Fi. The sound is surprisingly good.
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Garage computer is an ol' hand me down (read that, free) That's so old I had to force upgrade it to Win 10.
Speakers are USB no-names (again, free).... a far cry from my ol' Kenwood amp, Teac 10" reel and Bose 501's and 901's.
Then again, after a lifetime on jet engines, my ears can't really tell the difference. :cautious: Anyway....

Youtube songs can be played advert free if you use Brave. It automatically filters out the ads. Most of the time though, I listen to Audacy Radio. In the summer months I can listen to the Royals... they have killer channels you can add to your playlist thingy. CSN Radio is my favorite. Guess I'm jus' a child of the 70's at heart. ;)

Played just loud enough to blunt the worst of the Tinnitus and life is good.

Tech tip: a few good tokes from time to time does wonders for the tinnitus also. :whistle:


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I have mild to middlin' tinnitus too (Thanks, Uncle Sam...) but I've had it so long I don't even notice it until I think about it.

Thinking seriously about picking up a wireless repeater and shooting WIFI down to the shop. A cheap laptop would be nice for perusing PDF manuals and looking up/ordering stuff without having to run to the house.
 
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Downeaster said:
Thinking seriously about picking up a wireless repeater and shooting WIFI down to the shop. A cheap laptop would be nice for perusing PDF manuals and looking up/ordering stuff without having to run to the house.
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My shop 'puter is one of my best tools.... aside from music that is.
Far as mechanical tasks... makin' modifying.... Youtube is a virtual gold mine of info. Watch a video, pause it, do the task... go on to the next step... all in the comfort of your shop.

Parts catalogues, assembly diagrams, wiring, ordering... If my 'puter broke, I'd have to close up shop. :cautious:
 
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My late friend's widow gave me his laptop as she has no use for two. 5-6 year old Acer running Win7, but perfectly adequate for surfing, videos and viewing PDF docs. Just need to wait for my bridge hardware to come in and get that set up. It's networked to my printers. It's on an old CRT-TV swing-away mount so it tucks up against the wall when not in use or I can swing it out to a comfortable working position.

I'll run it on 7 for a while and if I run into issues (which I may as Brave won't update until I do...) I'll upgrade it to 10.
 
My shop is a 30x42x14 insulated metal pole barn, so it acts like a big "Faraday Cage". Hardly any signals get in, hardly any signals get out...wirelessly or cell phone wise.

When I ran electricity out to it, I had the foresight to add TV cable to the conduit as well, so I have TV out there. I dont however, have a wi-fi box out there, so I get no internet signal. Ive tried every booster possible to piggyback off the house wi-fi but it wont permeate "The cage" at all.

My wife refuses to pay for another expensive wi-fi box through the cable company, so I come in the house and plop my butt on the couch when I need to reference something in the middle of a project (which happens quite often). This of course, irritates her quite often as well when I come in and disrupt her routine. :laugh:

Its been several years of this routine, so Im still wearing her down...she'll give in eventually. :wink2:
 
Downeaster said:
I looked today and verified line-of-sight and I'm thinking I'll mount the receiver outside the building and run at CAT5 to the laptop. Won't really know until I get the hardware and (gasp!!!!) read the instructions.
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That is what you do only after spending a couple days cussing and swearing at the junk!
 
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