Make sure to maintain low expenses. Don't let money burn a hole in your pocket. No FOMO.
Keep your cash/tinder dry as this next six months will see scary market and economy volatility. Warren Buffet has more cash set aside than he ever has. He might know something.
When you do decide to put the cash into an investment, use Dollar Cost Averaging to dribble it in, that way you don't get caught putting it into something all one day and the next day it drops 50%.
Don't do any real estate for four to five years ... read history of 2006-2011 and see how FOMO swept people up in the bubble only to crash. Houses were let go at 50% off sales.
Choose some safety exit on any investment. If you 'buy and hold' a stock that drops 50% you must hope they can get 100% price appreciation to get you back to even. Few stocks double. If you are out at only a 15% loss, using discipline to overcome hopium, you can put that cash into a better investment.
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The only way around the problem is make the bunker large enough, and stocked well enough, for the security people and their families too. Everyone there is on the team, it's family friendly and a safe location for all involved. Only hire security people with a reason other than themselves to thrive.
That's why many of the super Billionaire bunkers are so huge. It's not so they lord over everyone there, it's so they can save more people to save each other.
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Depends on the Billionaire's information connections.
They may build a riot-proof bunker on a remote island, but that is not the apocalypse scenario happening; their bunker may be five hundred feet under water.
Or it's in a remote location, accessible by a Tesla Cybertruck, but then buried under Pompeii-style ash from an assumed extinct volcano. How do you dig out? No one knows you are there to dig down, even if they cared.
Many are building in the wrong locations, fighting the last apocalypse, with the wrong information.
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And ... Sharks with Lasers! Buh ha ha ha...
There's an old farmer's joke that applies here: Farmer was finding watermelons stolen from his field, in desperation he put up a sign "one of these watermelons is poisoned". He goes out to check the field the next day, finding scrawled across the bottom of the sign "now there are Two watermelons poisoned".
When the 'Gubment has only six minutes between detection and return volley decision .. not a reliable solution for common folk.
What "upgrades" do you think you need?
I see too many parts thrown at guitar "upgrades" than what is needed. These are usually pickups, tuners, bridges/trems; all the high cost bits. Or high danger swaps like nuts. I used to flip guitars and the number of screwed up nut swaps, sellers telling me "it's a wall hanger guitar" thus selling it cheap, was frankly surprising. Nut setup is critical to playing in tune but parts swappers don't realize that.
The only mods I do on Squier are control cavity components: pots, switches, jack. Then evaluate frets for level and do/get a fret level job and setup if they are out. But most Squiers and Squier-competitor guitar factories now understand they sell more guitars to a beginner who keeps with playing than to go cheap on the fretwork with just a single guitar so the beginner finds playing hard and quits.
The failing on Squier is neck carve, do you like chunky necks? If so Squier can be problematic, some are normal carves but many are skinny due to removing wood from the rear shoulders while WxD dimensions are similar to MIM/MIA. Squier-competitor brands copy MIM/MIA. Get pictures of the neck and see if the neck carve starts behind the fretboard glue line and you know you have a MIM/MIA carve-copy. If the carve starts at the fretboard leading edge cutting back an an acute angle it will feel skinny; which some players like. I had to stop buying Squiers for myself, I like 'em chunky.
Be prepared for a lot of boring tedium and mess. Do you love sanding? Favorite part of guitar building?
Many guitar players dream of stripping a guitar until they are about half way through. They finish the project but never again do they desire stripping another guitar.
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"I've tried using Gimp ... the UI is just clumsy and unintuative"
I say the same thing going from Gimp to Photoshop. It's just user habits you've built up over time about where to find how to do things fast. It's just a relearning process. A few advanced techniques may be harder to emulate but most work is fine.
There is a Gimp mod, not sure how active/updated lately, where it uses Photoshop menu layouts. Might be a macro plug in. Look for "Gimpshop" or similar. I never followed it because I use native Gimp.
Inkscape for vector work (illustrator substitute).
Krita. There is Pencil that looked interesting a few years back and Pencil, or another program, were set up to handle comic book artwork and that production flow. I never did comic books but it looked like a cool program.
You can google "alternatives to photoshop" and probably find other options.
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Looks like a really fun guitar.
? Do they make a maple fretboard version? I find all-maple necks maintain much more stable tuning through humidity and temperature fluctuations.
JM neck pickup is a perfect choice for a Tele.
? What style of JM pickup construction did they use? There must be a dozen variations and the only one I'd want for a neck pickup is a classic alnico pole and thin bobbin style.
I rotate the control plate on all my Teles (V-T-Switch to the rear).
I rewire all my Teles with a 4-way switch to get series humbucking mode for a stealth LP.
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One of the reasons Hendrix got great sustain was his upside down headstock ... longer strings beyond the nut stretch more and create more friction energy losses at the nut (and string trees) reducing sustain. Hendrix, by accident of playing a righty guitar lefty, had short treble strings so they could ring longer.
Clever way to cut the headstock and make the flip but you could also buy a new neck. Fun project though.
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First, look at series switching options. Johnny Marr signature Jaguar uses the Telecaster 4-way switch to put both single coils in series humbucking mode. It's like having a Les Paul Junior with one big humbucker. Equivalent of a 14-15kohm hot humbucker (Super Distortion, JB, etc output range). Some do a push/pull tone pot or an added toggle switch, or drop the strangle switch option and rewire that. Many paths. You can temporary hard-wire (say with wire nuts) both your pickups in series direct to the output jack (use amp for volume and tone control) to test if you like that solution.
If you are intent on an HS or HH body mod:
Get a harbor freight 1/4in Trim Router with a flat base and a top bearing laminate cutter bit. Use a trim ring to trace the pattern you need on a piece of plywood you drill/cut/chisel/file to the correct size so the bearing can follow it. Then clamp the template to the body where you want to trim out and go slow, progressively deeper. You may need a stand-off for the template at first and then reposition it as you go lower. Any waviness in the template shape will transfer to your body cuts. Bit can chunk out stuff. Make sure to maintain vertical contact and not tipping the router. Larger routers are more challenging to hold position as they are strong than you are during kickbacks.
Alternative is a drill press with enough throat depth to use fostner bits to hog out material and then a hand chisel to clean up edges and corners. This can be problematic too (thin wall between drill spots makes the bit jump and kick the body out of clamps.
Or use a hand bit and brace drill with hand chisels.
Look up Eddie Van Halen's Frankenstrat. He carved out the bridge humbucker and Floyd Rose trem cavities himself ...
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Exporting currency and debt.
That is swiftly changing as the number of members in BRICs increases.
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Melt them and pour into one of the old containers (using new wicks).
Just make sure you use a 'double boiler' method to melt the wax (pan of water with the wax jar you want to heat inside). Direct flame can burn your house down.
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Perhaps a motion sensor + timer delay that turns on a little fan with a dryer vent to the outside...
Is your current trem arm a screw in style? The conventional solution is first don't lose the little spring in the bottom of the hole as that spring is designed to stop rattling. The second fix if you have or do not have that spring is teflon tape used for plumbing wrapped around the threads before threading in. Wrap counter clockwise as looking at the end of the threads so the tape doesn't unravel when screwing the trem arm in.
I generally just remove trem arms as trems are a distraction device from playing. Too easy to whammy instead of getting better at playing. Too easy to futz around with tuning stability due to whammy gymnastics instead of getting better at playing. No trem arm no rattles.
When upgrading the guitar, keep the old parts bagged and tagged and when you sell it you can move the parts to your next guitar.
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Look up Andytube YouTube channel. maybe he went through your model or one similar.
Get the owners manual out, some PDFs can be found online. And clean and oil with new oil as described in the book. Check for broken items or frayed cords. Any machine I unplug when not in use. .
When I looked into this years ago, finding scholarly articles, there is a known issue with forming oils used when the top of the aluminum can is cinched onto the base. Processing chemicals of the can bodies and lids are washed off prior to filling, but trace amounts of (possibly 'food grade') crimping oil remain.
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The important factor: what kind of playing do you do? How hard do you hit the strings? Your ideal string height will be vary different than other players.
Mr 32nd note Shredder Mc Shredder: thickness of a hair above the frets for nearly touch typing the notes while sweep picking that glides over the strings as if holding fly wings.
80's Punk player: gap wide enough to put your fingers between the strings and the fretboard, because any closer and the strings will rattle as you hit them so hard using a rusty trowel for a guitar pick.
Typically 2mm is a target for average 'out the door from the factory', but a setup tech will match your playing style. Too high of strings and you'll find the notes go out of tune when fretting. Some guitars have uneven frets and need a little more string relief to avoid rattling for average players.
I set my own guitars up around low E 2mm but then lower action for each of the other strings.
Watch a dozen episodes of youtube channel Daves World Of Fun Stuff to get a good handle on the process steps. Yes, he's super grouchy, but he's repeatable in the process. Sam Deeks channel and Frudua channel also have good walk-throughs.
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OP, look for the book "when money dies" by Fergusson. Then look at Venezuela, Zimbabwe, etc etc markets while their currency value fell. Their stock exchanges were hitting all time highs not because the fundamentals of the companies were good, but because the value of the currency was rapidly falling. Hyperinflation is just a faster rate of inflation, look at the Venezuelan price for chicken .
Check out shadowstats dot com site.
Also, for doom scrolling:
-China and Japan have held most of the US Treasuries. Poor politics with China and fragile Japanese Banks see that unwinding fast. Yellen ran to China a few months back begging to buy US Treasuries, amid all the Taiwan political activity.
-Warren Buffet has gone to significant cash holdings. Does he know something "more than the average Bear"?
How many posts in this thread are by traders who lived through more than one market downdraft? 2008, 2001, 1998, 1987, 1980...
The hyperinflation problem is the biggest risk to "the market crashing soon" concept of not happening for a little while. So keep your eyes on that situation to target "the when", but also set some cash aside to protect yourself, just like buying home or vehicle insurance.
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Not hope, OP is just trying to warn. Warren Buffet has slid a lot of stocks into cash, waiting for the dip too.
Easy appearance fix: make a small curtain and curtain rod to hang over it like there's a window. Attach heavy felt to the back side of the curtain (like part of a moving blanket) to absorb noise. Or have a heavy Tapestry kind of wall hanging that drapes down. Go to a hobby store or furniture reupholster business and buy a yard or clearance/remainder bin of heavy weight and interesting design to hang like artwork.
Look for self adhesive sound deadening mastic and apply to the back side of that plastic box. The box works like a speaker amplifying whatever sound is there. The mastic is kind of like tar so you'll want it on the unseen side.
There are water-hammer solutions (if you are getting the "thunk" when the valves shut off) to go behind the box, soldered into the pipes below the valves. Basically closed tubes so air in them absorbs the shock. This is a plumber-level project, expensive.
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Has anyone made a “cover” for their washing machine bulkhead hook ups that’s more soundproof and more appealing?
DIY