Yet Another Elephantine Rant...

[Three Valves]

What I got out of this...

Post all you like and make tangents and jokes and all that...

Thanks Buddy!!

[bort]

tl;dr

but...

Wade, that King of the Hill video is awesome. I never *loved* that show, but it certainly had its moments.

That's the worst, when you go to Home Depot, and they don't tell you where things are, but ask "what is it you're trying to do?" I'll have to answer "What difference does it make?" next time. Better yet, I'll just act like I never heard their question, stare blankly, and then ask again where it is.

[MaryAnn]

Your post reminds me of why Doug Yeo left the internet. He ran into kids who had no idea who he was, talking to him the way this kid talked to you, or worse. So we all lost out because he simply was not going to engage in that. Your bozo probably WAS an 8th grader, and it was probably fun for him.

[Three Valves]

So, I walk into Baltimore Brass and David Fedderly offers a few pointers about intonation on my Yamaclone.

I says, "Oh yeah, just who the Hell are you??" (I knew who he was)

Hilarity ensued.

[Three Valves]

When my cats go, I'm walking into the DMV with a bill for $400 and getting a waiver.

(Just in case anyone asks)

[roweenie]

Elephant, I'm really sorry that you had those experiences on that other forum - unfortunately, there are sociopaths and nut-jobs out there that hide behind the anonymity of the Internet to intentionally make other peoples' lives miserable (and I suspect some of them are like that in their personal lives, as well). IIRC, we had a few of those here, and thanks to intelligent moderation, they are here no longer.

I also agree that people who give advice or pontificate on things of which they have little-to-no knowledge can be extremely frustrating. People should know their limitations, and act accordingly - unfortunately, that's not always the case. In any event, abusive behavior (in person or online) is never appropriate, and should not be tolerated.

I see your "rant" as being more correctly put, a person venting to his friends about his frustrations, and asking for help in finding solutions to very real problems.

Changing the behavior of others can oftentimes be a infuriating, fruitless task. Personally, I've done a great deal of soul searching, and after a succession of a few health and personal issues, I've firmly resolved to be more like a duck, and let "water roll off my back", simply because I don't have the physical and emotional energy to do otherwise - I've found it to be very liberating.

I believe a forum is only as good as its moderators and the corresponding class of people that frequent it; let's face it, not all forums are created equal. I consider the source, and do my best to adjust my expectations accordingly.

I've found the tenor of this particular forum (the only one I frequent at present, BTW) to have improved immensely over the last several months, and that's a great thing. I've tried hard to improve along with it. As such, I think this forum is a truly awesome place to get really useful information, and if I have to wade (no pun intended ) through some less-than-useful stuff in order to obtain it, I'm willing to overlook the occasional affront or setback to get it.

"Civility is beauty of behavior".

(PS - it's a great thing to have you back here - one of those before mentioned folks that I have received excellent advice from is YOU ).

[Donn]

I see your "rant" as being more correctly put, a person venting to his friends about his frustrations, and asking for help in finding solutions to very real problems.

Doesn't he seem to be asking us not to be dopes? I guess that's sort of vaguely the same thing, but not exactly help in finding solutions. More like helping by not getting in the way of finding solutions.

The Helleberg 120S example, though ... what can be done, there, anyway? Does any of us really know enough about how mouthpieces work, to speak about them intelligently? I can find out cup internal diameters, albeit to scarcely comparable measurement standards, but backbore and other important playing parameters would be hard to write about even if I could see them. I can detect slight differences between various more or less comparable mouthpieces, but of course that's with me playing, my particularly low placement and weird teeth and how much of my lips take up space inside the cup, etc., so even if I could reliably communicate how they work out tonally (which I sure can't and I don't expect anyone to ever succeed at this), it would be a stretch to expect the same for another player -- so it's absurd to try to approach it from "who cares about the parameters, here's how it works" perspective. Questions about mouthpieces are very rarely well formed - they may be articulated in detail and in good English, but they ask for something that can't be delivered.

[pittbassdaddy]

Living in the rust belt, I have had to replace my fair share of exhaust components (and cars ). Most bolt on replacement exhaust kits do not fit well (as in made to *fit* as many models of vehicles as possible), and will rattle/leak/fail within 3 years.

If you are serious about getting the exhaust of the car fixed correctly with OEM quality parts up to OEM spec and it is not drivable, I would recommend having the car towed. Most dealerships have a parts department that is willing to sell you OEM parts with their standard markup. I've had issues with non OEM cats not operating with in the specified band that the computer is looking for and triggering the check engine light which results in failed emissions inspections in my state. Different O2 sensors and/or placement of those sensors and cats can cause this issue too. Most dealerships (at least in my area) do not weld. There is likely a *good* custom welding and exhaust shop within 100 miles of your location that could custom bend the exhaust pipe(s) that you need and weld in OEM replacement parts.

The place that I go to typically has 4 types of customers rolling in:
Those that want an OEM quality replacement that they don't have to worry about
Projects in need of a new custom built exhaust from engine to exit
Lifted trucks that aren't LOUD enough
Cars that are just shy of scrap metal dragging something that needs to be reattached for $50 or less .

Considering that cars are almost never a good investment: If you love the car, its worth it to get it fixed right. If not Band-Aid it get something else.