alp's recent activity
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Comment on Actual underrated films of the 2020s so far in ~movies
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Comment on How have you changed in the last year? What are your goals for this year? in ~life
alp (edited )Link ParentI’ve upgraded over the years as I’ve learned things and got better at this hobby, but my newest setup and method really made me so much more happy with and proud of my recordings! These days I use...I’ve upgraded over the years as I’ve learned things and got better at this hobby, but my newest setup and method really made me so much more happy with and proud of my recordings! These days I use two DPA 4061 lavalier mics, plugged in through Microdot to XLR adapters into my Tascam DR-40X recorder. The DPAs are expensive but beautiful in how they sound, so so worthwhile. The DR-40X is massive and has huge (albeit surprisingly good for what they are) internal mics attached, which make them a hassle to get into venues with overzealous security checks and overly unwieldy to use in the moment, so I plan on replacing that with a smaller recording unit without internal microphones.
I record binaurally these days, too: I repurposed some silicone ear clips and use them to hang my mics through my clothes and over the back of my ear and hanging in the centre of my ear pinnae, so they can catch the reflections of what I’m recording from the shape of my ear. While I used to stand further back when I used cardioid mics for a good stereo image (a 90° PAS—the angle between the left speaker stack, me, and the right speaker stack), I combine this binaural method and these omnidirectional mics with a nearly 180° PAS, i.e. at the front, a couple of metres from the performer(s). This brings a pretty different, very wide stereo image with lots of separation between the instruments in the recording; perhaps not to everybody’s taste but I’m proud of it!
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Comment on How have you changed in the last year? What are your goals for this year? in ~life
alp Link ParentWow, what amazing news; not sure if there’s any better form of change than this! All congratulations!!Wow, what amazing news; not sure if there’s any better form of change than this! All congratulations!!
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Comment on How have you changed in the last year? What are your goals for this year? in ~life
alp Link ParentThank you very much! I think a lot of the poor way I treated them was down to a shift in attitude: because I’ve always had the poor habit of making excuses for others and assuming positive intent...Thank you very much!
I think a lot of the poor way I treated them was down to a shift in attitude: because I’ve always had the poor habit of making excuses for others and assuming positive intent to a fault way beyond the benefit of the doubt when others treat me poorly, I caught myself transferring that to other people in my head. So in this period when all relationships were overwhelming me and I just felt like running from those I cared about, I justified letting obligations slip and letting friendships fizzle because I thought “oh, they’ll coldly understand that I still love them and mean only the best while I pretend they don’t exist.” It took a couple of my closest relationships separately sitting me down and telling me how hurtful my doing this had been and how unloved I’d made them feel for me to snap out of this terribly unempathetic line of thinking that assumed that only I had feelings, and that the warmth I feel from my friends’ love is still symmetrical no matter how I view it in my head during a slump!
Since then, while remnants of the burnout still linger, I’ve just been really throwing myself into actively reïnforcing that symmetry, not just despite but especially when I’m in a period like this. It’s a pretty universal (almost juvenile) revelation, but I suppose that with things like this we learn them once intellectually and a second time truly, when we lapse and have a rude awakening, so I suppose this was my second learning. The past year seems to suggest that this approach has been somewhat successful but it’s an ever ongoing effort!
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Comment on How have you changed in the last year? What are your goals for this year? in ~life
alp (edited )LinkWhat a wonderful thread idea; thank you! In 2025: I finally learned (very late) that universally vital truth that it’s always possible to really hurt those you love, no matter how kind your...What a wonderful thread idea; thank you!
In 2025:
- I finally learned (very late) that universally vital truth that it’s always possible to really hurt those you love, no matter how kind your intentions are. On the recovery from a bad burnout in 2024 I found myself lapsing in the consideration with which I treat my most precious people, and I’m so lucky that those people are patiently still close to me, after I’ve really worked to keep this lesson in mind no matter the state I’m in. This is something that will be in my mind through 2026 and I hope every year thereäfter to ensure I’m being as considerate and caring as my loved ones deserve.
- I unexpectedly discovered, following a happy change in job and sector, a real enthusiasm and love for financial regulation in central banking, and it’s strong enough that I’m now dedicating myself in the year and years to come to using the opportunities available to me to reskill from my data science background into prudential supervision. It is SO fun!!
- Having moved away to a quiet serene old village last year, I also picked up a lot of those little tenets that are important when working to actively maintain a social life with those one loves when distance is no longer to hand. Through actively working to strengthen those relationships that I could potentially have been taking for granted prior, I’ve furthered my hobby of mountain hiking and scrambling and hope in the year to further my goal of bagging each of the 242 English summits!
- I’ve also this past year accidentally stumbled into a side role as a live concert engineer, where my hobby of discreetly making high-quality audience audio recordings of the many concerts I attend gathered enough steam to have three of my favourite artists release said recordings as physical live albums, one of my proudest achievements! I really hope to carry this momentum into 2026 and keep these contacts I’ve built up in this process to reach out to more artists and do things more above board and officially where I can, and seeing where it goes. One of these contacts, a documentarian I already greatly respected, has already invited me to work on audio for his coming film, which is such an exciting progression for me already!
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Comment on What's a culture shock that you experienced? in ~talk
alp Link ParentDitto here—not sure if it’s regional but that very cat’s-mother quote is exactly what I’d be told as a child in Yorkshire! How interesting that this exists in both the U.K. and France but not our...Ditto here—not sure if it’s regional but that very cat’s-mother quote is exactly what I’d be told as a child in Yorkshire! How interesting that this exists in both the U.K. and France but not our neighbours; I’d really love to know the history here.
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Comment on Jet Lag Season 16: Hide + Seek United Kingdom | Trailer in ~hobbies
alp Link ParentAs a Hebden Bridge lifelong local who spent most of that episode getting giddy about everything little thing they passed in that episode (and cringing at the unpleasant and unrepresentative child...As a Hebden Bridge lifelong local who spent most of that episode getting giddy about everything little thing they passed in that episode (and cringing at the unpleasant and unrepresentative child on the canal), and who also coincidentally happens to be a lesbian, I can definitely confirm your assessment of that legacy! The reputation at some point definitely started to become a self-fulfilling prophecy, and by 2026 you’ll definitely struggle to walk through the centre for more than a few minutes at a time without encountering a happy couple or two.
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Comment on Not-so-humble brag: What are you proud of that you don't normally get to talk about? in ~talk
alp LinkI’ve been so, so happy and proud of myself this year! My longtime hobby of making audio recordings of every concert I see this year accidentally seemed to turn into something else, as 3 out of...I’ve been so, so happy and proud of myself this year!
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My longtime hobby of making audio recordings of every concert I see this year accidentally seemed to turn into something else, as 3 out of probably my top 10 favourite artists all separately have released (or are in the process of releasing) my recordings as live albums. The honour of seeing artists who mean so much to me, and then to hold in my hand an album of theirs that they have released that contains my own tape… what a feeling!
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I’ve also switched jobs and sectors, moving to the public sector to the Bank of England, and for the first time in my life not only am I working for the public good over a company’s bottom line, but I actually feel respected and known for my own skills, and honestly seen; for the first time I feel happy and at home in my career and can clearly see a plan of what I want to do and how I want to move forward from here, and to happily plant my feet in the fascinating word of financial supervision is something that I’m so truly excited to do.
Thank you, 2025! And thank you @DefinitelyNotAFae for such a lovely thread :)
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Comment on The Berkshire mystery: Where exactly is "Berk"? in ~humanities
alp Link ParentAbsolutely! Although the footnote concerning Devonshire threatened to be more interesting than the main subject of the video—definitely a good diving point for further research!Absolutely! Although the footnote concerning Devonshire threatened to be more interesting than the main subject of the video—definitely a good diving point for further research!
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Comment on Offbeat Fridays – The thread where offbeat headlines become front page news in ~news
alp LinkIn today's BBC: Woman's shock as goose smashes through front door. Geese do what geese do!In today's BBC: Woman's shock as goose smashes through front door.
Geese do what geese do!
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Linus Åkesson - 8-bit Boléro (2025)
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Comment on Jet Lag Season 16: Hide + Seek United Kingdom | Trailer in ~hobbies
alp Link ParentOh wow, must have been a different programme of similar format in exactly the same place then! What’re the odds?Oh wow, must have been a different programme of similar format in exactly the same place then! What’re the odds?
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Comment on Jet Lag Season 16: Hide + Seek United Kingdom | Trailer in ~hobbies
alp (edited )LinkAh, I've been wondering for a fair part of this year what television programme I'd show up in after some people sprinted past me near my house chased by huge cameras! I live in a pretty touristy...Ah, I've been wondering for a fair part of this year what television programme I'd show up in after some people sprinted past me near my house chased by huge cameras! I live in a pretty touristy village in the North so we get a fair few things shooting here, had presumed I'd missed whatever it was. Spotted them in the trailer here (at the very end with the disappointingly vulgar child), though! Can't wait for this!
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Comment on Ireland among countries boycotting Eurovision after Israel allowed to compete in ~music
alp Link ParentI suppose that Ireland is much closer and more tied to the U.K., so more likely to be of more immediate relevance to BBC readers?I suppose that Ireland is much closer and more tied to the U.K., so more likely to be of more immediate relevance to BBC readers?
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Comment on Reselling tickets for profit to be outlawed in UK government crackdown in ~music
alp LinkThis was fantastic news! It is odd to see cited the impetus herefor as the recent Oasis uproar, considering that that was caused by Ticketmaster’s predatory dynamic pricing system and not touts,...This was fantastic news! It is odd to see cited the impetus herefor as the recent Oasis uproar, considering that that was caused by Ticketmaster’s predatory dynamic pricing system and not touts, however this is still a big step, and it will also hit Ticketmaster et al via their own reselling services plus the abolition of astronomical hidden service fees. May the trend continue, laterally and vertically…
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Comment on Paris had a moving sidewalk in 1900, and a Edison film captured it in action in ~transport
alp LinkNot at all related to the technology itself, but it’s interesting/amusing to me that this amazing piece of history in a film was preserved for this long, kept in such great condition and quality,...Not at all related to the technology itself, but it’s interesting/amusing to me that this amazing piece of history in a film was preserved for this long, kept in such great condition and quality, cleaned, scanned, and brought to our eyes on our computer screens, often in our hands… all for the picture to be rendered largely incomprehensible because of, of all things, digital compression!
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Comment on What are you reading these days? in ~books
alp Link ParentWow, while I’m yet to dive into Sátántangó (also having moved his works up the reading list since he won the Nobel) I’m intrigued by your thoughts on the ending of Lot 49! I always adored the...Wow, while I’m yet to dive into Sátántangó (also having moved his works up the reading list since he won the Nobel) I’m intrigued by your thoughts on the ending of Lot 49! I always adored the ending to that book, with a beautifully exhilarating final chapter leading to what I saw as a pretty perfect conclusion to everything the book had built, so I’m fascinated to hear our opposite opinions there! What about the ending gave you that reaction?
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Comment on Lankum - Ghost Town (The Specials cover) (2025) in ~music
alp LinkOh, the joy to hear this! Thank you for sharing, @cfabbro. Lankum and The Specials are two of my favourite artists, both seeming to express similar passions and philosophies through such opposite...Oh, the joy to hear this! Thank you for sharing, @cfabbro. Lankum and The Specials are two of my favourite artists, both seeming to express similar passions and philosophies through such opposite means—the folk against the urban, the isolated against the united, the occult against the dry—and yet this crossroads is so perfect! I read that Lankum, despite being so well-versed in boldly Strange covers, of were initially quite reluctant to take on a song like this, so I’m so glad that they did.
If only Terry were still with us to listen!
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Comment on Looking for a beginner turntable and near field speaker in ~hobbies
alp Link ParentI have just learned that: Wharfedale speakers are actually made in Wharfedale; There are more of us Yorkshire folk on Tildes than I realised; and I finally know what monitors to go for in my...I have just learned that:
- Wharfedale speakers are actually made in Wharfedale;
- There are more of us Yorkshire folk on Tildes than I realised;
- and I finally know what monitors to go for in my amateur home studio.
Thanks!
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Comment on lain sings u duvet in ~anime
alp LinkDisappointed that I’d misread and it was Lain and not a bloke called Iain…Disappointed that I’d misread and it was Lain and not a bloke called Iain…
Far from under the radar, and I also believe it might have got a Golden Lion nomination amongst its sea of Razzies, but I was really impressed by Joker: Folie à Deux last year. Following that fantastic first film that was written to be self-contained must have been a tough approach, but the metafictional response it took was… well, for a film of its status, brave, I thought. I thought it unfair that this film was near-universally panned for taking the route that the Twin Peaks reboot was adored for!
Folie à Deux was hardly a masterpiece but I respected it so much for doing what it tried to do and I think it succeeded almost across the board.