Covid-19 Community Support and Mental Wellness Thread

originally posted by: Hefficide

See the weird part of this is that I have zero interest in insects and have never deliberately set out to study or watch anything remotely related to the subject at all...

Yet somehow my YouTube recommendations worked out in such a way that I can honestly say, I know the channel they're discussing and I'm a little sad about the ants.

Youtube can be a fantastic wormhole to crawl into, you end up in the weirdest places.
I'm there for music mostly..btw you mentioned Death Angel earlier on, new album..pretty good. You will of course find it on youtube.

Check out the tarantula channels, I have a few(tarantulas).

a reply to: vonclod

Golden retriever puppies.
They are the definition of warm and fuzzy.

originally posted by: Phage
a reply to: vonclod

Golden retriever puppies.
They are the definition of warm and fuzzy.

Nice dogs, great disposition.

Tarantulas not very cuddly, can be interesting, in a watching fish kinda way.

a reply to: vonclod

Good point.
Watching fish is calming for the most part.

Feeding time with saltwater fish can be, something other than calming...entertaining. Yeah, that's it.

a reply to: Phage

Never done saltwater, but I have always had excellent luck with the freshwater fish myself. I have the aquatic equivalent of a green thumb.

a reply to: ketsuko

Did you ever feed them live things?

(muahaha)

a reply to: Phage

Watching fish is calming for the most part.

I enjoy the Netflix aquarium.

a reply to: Phage

We chopped up a worm for them the other day.

And I always end up with pond snails after summer tubbing. My male A. cacatuoides has gotten big enough that he'll eat smaller ones. He shakes them right out of their shells. I've only caught him at it once or twice, but there are empty shells all over the place, including an assassin snail shell. So I'm assuming he snacked on it too.

I'll let a bucket sit out through rainy season and periodically strain out the mosquito larvae too. They love that.

originally posted by: Phage
a reply to: vonclod

Good point.
Watching fish is calming for the most part.

Feeding time with saltwater fish can be, something other than calming...entertaining. Yeah, that's it.

My dad always had a nice salt tank or two, great memories of that growing up..those fish have personalities.

I inherited a salt tank from a friend, lots of live rock, only a few fish, but lots of shrimp, and other miscellaneous critters. Feeding time was when everything emerged from the rock. The minute food hit the water, they knew.

Tarantula feeding time can be traumatic, I'm getting soft I guess..feel bad for the crickets. I have successfully fed one some turkey meat tied to a string.

a reply to: ketsuko

Mosquito wigglers. Yeah.
I'd toss termites in there during swarming season. Which is coming soon. Dammit.

a reply to: vonclod

That's the worst thing about having a snake. We've never gotten it onto frozen thawed successfully. So it eats live. I feel bad for the mice, but at least he goes quick.

a reply to: vonclod



6 string multiscale. The guy I bought it from had done the body, which is finished in nitro. I did the neck, and thats finished in tru-oil/wax process that Ive been working on. Frets all leveled, crowned, polished, etc. All CTS pots, switchcraft switch, cloth pushback wire.

It has a vintage EMG single coil for the neck and Dave Mustaine LiveWire in the bridge. Ive tried a bunch of different ones, and have settled on these. Love the bridge, but would prefer a passive single coil neck. Im workin on it, but its tricky and the EMG isnt bad at all. Its low on the priority list.

Strings: 13, 18w, 26w, 36, 48, 62
Tuning (generally): A or A# Standard (kinda..)

I would really prefer an 8 string, but the 8 string headless start to jump up in price even at the low end. Ive been pining after a Strandberg 8 to do the final mods on, but well see if that ever happens. This ones neck was warped a bit too (I knew that going in), but it still has pretty normal playability.

The headless design is critical because it removes weight from the headstock (wood, tuners) and puts it at the bridge. Both needed to happen to get it to sit right!

The 6 string allowed me to test out everything without worrying too much about scratching it up

a reply to: Serdgiam
Very cool! thanks.

Heavy bridge, and fat strings..must sustain nice, I like the heavier gauge myself. I have a 7 string Baritone which is nice for the drop tunings. I was considering a fanned fret guitar(best of both worlds) but..came to the conclusion..I suck..lol

Good luck, nice start!

originally posted by: ketsuko
a reply to: vonclod

That's the worst thing about having a snake. We've never gotten it onto frozen thawed successfully. So it eats live. I feel bad for the mice, but at least he goes quick.

Decades ago, I had a Ball Python, I guess I was ignorant at the time that frozen thawed could of been an option, so live it was. I always felt really bad. Now days most here are captive bred and trained(if you can do such a thing) to take thawed.

a reply to: vonclod

I would genuinely suggest multiscale guitars! They just give every string great tension. You can find used 7 string Multiscale Harley Bentons frequently at ~$150. They can be hit or miss though..

I got one of the HBs and refinished the neck, electronics, etc. and it was my #1 until I couldnt play "normal" guitars anymore. Using a normal shape & weight distribution, alongside how much I was playing equaled.. Needing to go to the custom design ASAP. Still wasnt able to play for a few months in the meantime though.. That was rough.

Compared to a lot of people, Im absolutely terrible. But, Im a helluva lot better than I used to be! I think the only one we can really compare ourselves to in stuff like this is.. ourselves. So, if you are even a little bit better than the very first time you picked up a guitar, youre probably doing something right.

For any of its faults though, this 6 string headless sounds very good. It all came together in a true Gem. I usually play either edge of breakup or high gain, and it does both fantastically. Which is good, because its the only one I can really play lol

Daily feelgood.

This little kid has cycstic fibrosis, and he beat his case of COVID. Good for him!

a reply to: vonclod

Ours is a kingsnake. I knew he was started on live when we got him, but I thought I could get him onto frozen thawed since kings are supposed to have such strong feeding reactions.

He never did wean over, and I tried all the tricks I found: braining, chicken broth, everything like that. The only times I could get him to take one was fresh off a shed.

A dear longtime friend has just become a number in the Michigan COVID-19 death count. He had many health problems but I hadn't thought that someone so big and dynamic would fall in this epidemic.

Shai Dorsai.

a reply to: Byrd

I am so sorry to hear it, Byrd. How did you find out?

a reply to: Byrd

Sincere condolences