From 3217bac13f3f204d28d37e83b59f086b83749074 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Frederick Yin Date: Sun, 3 Sep 2023 23:42:14 -0400 Subject: meta: move related posts to music/ and umich/ --- docs/music/early-sunsets-over-monroeville.md | 152 +++++++++++++++++++++ .../img/early_sunsets_over_monroeville/editor.png | Bin 0 -> 343604 bytes .../export_analysis.png | Bin 0 -> 871418 bytes .../early_sunsets_over_monroeville/intro_strum.ogg | Bin 0 -> 153409 bytes .../mic_oscillations.png | Bin 0 -> 17512 bytes .../img/early_sunsets_over_monroeville/mixer.png | Bin 0 -> 229432 bytes .../prechorus_lead.ogg | Bin 0 -> 329006 bytes .../prechorus_plucks.ogg | Bin 0 -> 188670 bytes docs/music/img/index/ibanez.jpg | Bin 0 -> 92441 bytes docs/music/index.md | 50 +++++++ docs/projects/early-sunsets-over-monroeville.md | 152 --------------------- .../img/early_sunsets_over_monroeville/editor.png | Bin 343604 -> 0 bytes .../export_analysis.png | Bin 871418 -> 0 bytes .../early_sunsets_over_monroeville/intro_strum.ogg | Bin 153409 -> 0 bytes .../mic_oscillations.png | Bin 17512 -> 0 bytes .../img/early_sunsets_over_monroeville/mixer.png | Bin 229432 -> 0 bytes .../prechorus_lead.ogg | Bin 329006 -> 0 bytes .../prechorus_plucks.ogg | Bin 188670 -> 0 bytes docs/projects/index.md | 8 -- docs/random/index.md | 1 - docs/random/us_lessons.md | 46 ------- docs/umich/index.md | 5 + docs/umich/us_lessons.md | 65 +++++++++ 23 files changed, 272 insertions(+), 207 deletions(-) create mode 100644 docs/music/early-sunsets-over-monroeville.md create mode 100644 docs/music/img/early_sunsets_over_monroeville/editor.png create mode 100644 docs/music/img/early_sunsets_over_monroeville/export_analysis.png create mode 100644 docs/music/img/early_sunsets_over_monroeville/intro_strum.ogg create mode 100644 docs/music/img/early_sunsets_over_monroeville/mic_oscillations.png create mode 100644 docs/music/img/early_sunsets_over_monroeville/mixer.png create mode 100644 docs/music/img/early_sunsets_over_monroeville/prechorus_lead.ogg create mode 100644 docs/music/img/early_sunsets_over_monroeville/prechorus_plucks.ogg create mode 100644 docs/music/img/index/ibanez.jpg create mode 100644 docs/music/index.md delete mode 100644 docs/projects/early-sunsets-over-monroeville.md delete mode 100644 docs/projects/img/early_sunsets_over_monroeville/editor.png delete mode 100644 docs/projects/img/early_sunsets_over_monroeville/export_analysis.png delete mode 100644 docs/projects/img/early_sunsets_over_monroeville/intro_strum.ogg delete mode 100644 docs/projects/img/early_sunsets_over_monroeville/mic_oscillations.png delete mode 100644 docs/projects/img/early_sunsets_over_monroeville/mixer.png delete mode 100644 docs/projects/img/early_sunsets_over_monroeville/prechorus_lead.ogg delete mode 100644 docs/projects/img/early_sunsets_over_monroeville/prechorus_plucks.ogg delete mode 100644 docs/random/us_lessons.md create mode 100644 docs/umich/index.md create mode 100644 docs/umich/us_lessons.md diff --git a/docs/music/early-sunsets-over-monroeville.md b/docs/music/early-sunsets-over-monroeville.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..97b8212 --- /dev/null +++ b/docs/music/early-sunsets-over-monroeville.md @@ -0,0 +1,152 @@ +# Early Sunsets Over Monroeville + +2023-01-16 + +One evening, Mom entered my room when I practiced ukulele. She was like +"you should record smth" so I did. + +I went for Early Sunsets Over Monroeville ("Monroeville" hereafter) by My +Chemical Romance (MCR), for following reasons: + +- I happened to be playing that song +- It's one of the few MCR songs acoustic enough for the ukulele, the only + pitched instrument I can play +- [Billy Cobb made a cover](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVYs4kvBii8) + and I enjoyed it immensely +- There is one more reason but it's complicated so I put it at the end + +The work began on 2023-01-12 and ended on 2023-01-15. + +## Step 1: Learn song + +Monroeville is structured as follows: + +- intro +- verse 1 +- prechorus 1 +- verse 2 +- prechorus 2 +- verses 3, 4, 5 that have more or less the same lyrics but get + increasingly emotional + +I found [the ukulele +tab](https://ukutabs.com/m/my-chemical-romance/early-sunsets-over-monroeville/) +and learned to play the chords. Then I spent a few showers to practice the +vocals. + +## Step 2: DAW + +I know this can't be a one-take because I only have one mic, and the uke +would completely demolish my untrained voice. Also, this song is like +5 minutes long. + +I did try recording and putting together clips in Audacity before, but +without bars and beats it was a pain to synchronize. + +This time however, I installed [Ardour](https://ardour.org/) and gave it +a whirl. A few hours and ready to go. + +## Step 3: Rig + +My rig: + +- second hand soprano ukulele +- USB lavalier mic for online lectures +- overear headphones, never used for six years +- a laptop + +## Step 3: Record strumming + +This is like rhythm guitar in the original composition. Chords were not +too hard, but it took a while to play on tempo. This is me strumming the +intro: + + + +## Step 4: Improvise + +I improvised a riff to imitate the prechorus melody. This was done by +plucking the G string. I just clipped my nails, so to make it sound +brighter I used a guitar pick. + + + +## Step 5: Record drums + +I recorded some clips of me slapping my thighs but ended up discarding +them because (a) they sounded off-theme and inconsistent, and (b) it was +stupid. Also this is an acoustic cover so drumless would be just fine. + +![Screenshot of the editor window](img/early_sunsets_over_monroeville/editor.png) + +▲ It was this moment that I decided thigh drums didn't go well with +Monroeville. + +## Step 6: Record lead + +I found [lead guitar tabs on +Songsterr](https://www.songsterr.com/a/wsa/my-chemical-romance-early-sunsets-over-monroeville-tab-s22636) +and transposed some of it for the ukulele. This is the prechorus lead: + + + +My fingers were not good at fretting and picking strings on tempo, but in +a choir of tracks these imperfections were easily concealed. Near the end +I accidentally rang strings I wasn't supposed to touch, but luckily they +were somewhat in key. + +## Step 7: Record vocals + +It took a few tries to place the mic somewhere stable enough, but there's +still this kind of low-frequency oscillations in the waveform: + +![](img/early_sunsets_over_monroeville/mic_oscillations.png) + +Good news is it's barely noticeable. + +I could not go as hard and emotional as Gerard or Billy in the second half +because (a) I never trained myself to scream, and (b) I've never had any +experience with a zombiefied romantic partner. As a result, the second +half sounds emotionless, which is a tradeoff between that and being +completely out-of-tune. + +## Step 8: Mix + +It's just playing with faders, panning the tracks, and dragging some +automation curves to conceal the noise in the vocal track when I kicked +over a trash can. + +![Screenshot of the mixer window](img/early_sunsets_over_monroeville/mixer.png) + +▲ This was the Hackerman moment of the project. + +I also added a reverb filter for the vocals. + +## Step 9: Export! + +Enjoy: Early Sunsets Over Monroeville (ukulele acoustic cover) + + + +Ardour gave me this window but I don't know if it's bad or good? + +![Peak: -2.7 dBFS, true peak: -2.7 dBTP, integrated loudness: -20.3 LUFS, +loudness range: 6.4 LU. Below are waveform, spectrogram and +LUFS-over-time.](img/early_sunsets_over_monroeville/export_analysis.png) + +## What's the one last reason I did this? + +twenty one pilots did a livestream recently where Tyler shared a few demos +of theirs tracing back to the Regional at Best era, circa 2010-2012. Here +we have a clip (MP4, 17.4 MiB): + + + +Tyler put the gang vocal track on solo where he was like "__HELLO__ e-yeah +a-yeah a-yeah hello hello hELLO". It was cringe af but the song was +incomplete without it. + +And I, a musically illiterate engineering student, have one more reason to +justify my own piece of carefully mixed cringe. diff --git a/docs/music/img/early_sunsets_over_monroeville/editor.png b/docs/music/img/early_sunsets_over_monroeville/editor.png new file mode 100644 index 0000000..47b49da Binary files /dev/null and b/docs/music/img/early_sunsets_over_monroeville/editor.png differ diff --git a/docs/music/img/early_sunsets_over_monroeville/export_analysis.png b/docs/music/img/early_sunsets_over_monroeville/export_analysis.png new file mode 100644 index 0000000..cb0f944 Binary files /dev/null and b/docs/music/img/early_sunsets_over_monroeville/export_analysis.png differ diff --git a/docs/music/img/early_sunsets_over_monroeville/intro_strum.ogg b/docs/music/img/early_sunsets_over_monroeville/intro_strum.ogg new file mode 100644 index 0000000..5811be9 Binary files /dev/null and b/docs/music/img/early_sunsets_over_monroeville/intro_strum.ogg differ diff --git a/docs/music/img/early_sunsets_over_monroeville/mic_oscillations.png b/docs/music/img/early_sunsets_over_monroeville/mic_oscillations.png new file mode 100644 index 0000000..61767c9 Binary files /dev/null and b/docs/music/img/early_sunsets_over_monroeville/mic_oscillations.png differ diff --git a/docs/music/img/early_sunsets_over_monroeville/mixer.png b/docs/music/img/early_sunsets_over_monroeville/mixer.png new file mode 100644 index 0000000..a2eafd5 Binary files /dev/null and b/docs/music/img/early_sunsets_over_monroeville/mixer.png differ diff --git a/docs/music/img/early_sunsets_over_monroeville/prechorus_lead.ogg b/docs/music/img/early_sunsets_over_monroeville/prechorus_lead.ogg new file mode 100644 index 0000000..0b0d4e2 Binary files /dev/null and b/docs/music/img/early_sunsets_over_monroeville/prechorus_lead.ogg differ diff --git a/docs/music/img/early_sunsets_over_monroeville/prechorus_plucks.ogg b/docs/music/img/early_sunsets_over_monroeville/prechorus_plucks.ogg new file mode 100644 index 0000000..88f9699 Binary files /dev/null and b/docs/music/img/early_sunsets_over_monroeville/prechorus_plucks.ogg differ diff --git a/docs/music/img/index/ibanez.jpg b/docs/music/img/index/ibanez.jpg new file mode 100644 index 0000000..4ba6ed6 Binary files /dev/null and b/docs/music/img/index/ibanez.jpg differ diff --git a/docs/music/index.md b/docs/music/index.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..0f9e272 --- /dev/null +++ b/docs/music/index.md @@ -0,0 +1,50 @@ +# Music + +I was not raised a music person. As a young kid I had near zero exposure +to formal music education. + +In sixth grade I joined a brass band as a percussionist (the conductor +looked at my teeth and said "nyeh"). For most of my band career I was in +charge of the bass drum, but I did learn the snare drum, the timpani, and +the drum kit a lil bit. My favorite performance however was Takarajima, +where I played the agogo (the soul of this musical number, despite being +just one bar over and over again). + +As a side effect, a disadvantage I had to all the other band kids was that +I can't really read pitch. I did not know what a Bb minor was. + +Fast forward to 2021. The summer I graduated high school, I decided to +challenge myself to learn ukulele. My father got one secondhand for me. it +turned out you only need a tiny set of "easy" chords to get started. You +can sing in other keys with a capo. And if that doesn't work, the song +probably isn't made for the ukulele anyway. + +The uke sounds pretty, sure, but I'm afraid my hands are too fat to press +adjacent frets, especially bar chords. My setlist effectively stopped +expanding as of 2022. + +So in the winter break, early 2023, I took the other extreme and invested +in a bass (known in guitar world as long boi). It is a red Ibanez GSR200 +PJ bass, the only model that'll ship in 3 days. The date of arrival is +2023-02-02. + +![Body of a red bass with stickers of Konqi, twenty one pilots, "Blåhaj +Simp" and "This Machine Kills Homophobes"](img/index/ibanez.jpg) + +I learned most of my songs from [Rod +Nieder](https://www.youtube.com/@rodnieder). + +However only less than a week later I found out I was somehow admitted +into UMich. Afraid that the airline might wreck it, I decided not to take +it with me across the ocean. Instead, I will buy a Squier that costs about +the same. (I know it makes no real difference, but I kinda prefer the +Telecaster-style headstock that has all pegs on one side.) + +Sorry about the infodump. Here's the blogposts under this category. + +## [Early Sunsets Over Monroeville](early-sunsets-over-monroeville) + +![Editor window in Ardour DAW](img/early_sunsets_over_monroeville/editor.png) + +I recorded the ukulele, did the vocals, and mixed them in Ardour. Result +is an acoustic cover of "Early Sunsets Over Monroeville". diff --git a/docs/projects/early-sunsets-over-monroeville.md b/docs/projects/early-sunsets-over-monroeville.md deleted file mode 100644 index 97b8212..0000000 --- a/docs/projects/early-sunsets-over-monroeville.md +++ /dev/null @@ -1,152 +0,0 @@ -# Early Sunsets Over Monroeville - -2023-01-16 - -One evening, Mom entered my room when I practiced ukulele. She was like -"you should record smth" so I did. - -I went for Early Sunsets Over Monroeville ("Monroeville" hereafter) by My -Chemical Romance (MCR), for following reasons: - -- I happened to be playing that song -- It's one of the few MCR songs acoustic enough for the ukulele, the only - pitched instrument I can play -- [Billy Cobb made a cover](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVYs4kvBii8) - and I enjoyed it immensely -- There is one more reason but it's complicated so I put it at the end - -The work began on 2023-01-12 and ended on 2023-01-15. - -## Step 1: Learn song - -Monroeville is structured as follows: - -- intro -- verse 1 -- prechorus 1 -- verse 2 -- prechorus 2 -- verses 3, 4, 5 that have more or less the same lyrics but get - increasingly emotional - -I found [the ukulele -tab](https://ukutabs.com/m/my-chemical-romance/early-sunsets-over-monroeville/) -and learned to play the chords. Then I spent a few showers to practice the -vocals. - -## Step 2: DAW - -I know this can't be a one-take because I only have one mic, and the uke -would completely demolish my untrained voice. Also, this song is like -5 minutes long. - -I did try recording and putting together clips in Audacity before, but -without bars and beats it was a pain to synchronize. - -This time however, I installed [Ardour](https://ardour.org/) and gave it -a whirl. A few hours and ready to go. - -## Step 3: Rig - -My rig: - -- second hand soprano ukulele -- USB lavalier mic for online lectures -- overear headphones, never used for six years -- a laptop - -## Step 3: Record strumming - -This is like rhythm guitar in the original composition. Chords were not -too hard, but it took a while to play on tempo. This is me strumming the -intro: - - - -## Step 4: Improvise - -I improvised a riff to imitate the prechorus melody. This was done by -plucking the G string. I just clipped my nails, so to make it sound -brighter I used a guitar pick. - - - -## Step 5: Record drums - -I recorded some clips of me slapping my thighs but ended up discarding -them because (a) they sounded off-theme and inconsistent, and (b) it was -stupid. Also this is an acoustic cover so drumless would be just fine. - -![Screenshot of the editor window](img/early_sunsets_over_monroeville/editor.png) - -▲ It was this moment that I decided thigh drums didn't go well with -Monroeville. - -## Step 6: Record lead - -I found [lead guitar tabs on -Songsterr](https://www.songsterr.com/a/wsa/my-chemical-romance-early-sunsets-over-monroeville-tab-s22636) -and transposed some of it for the ukulele. This is the prechorus lead: - - - -My fingers were not good at fretting and picking strings on tempo, but in -a choir of tracks these imperfections were easily concealed. Near the end -I accidentally rang strings I wasn't supposed to touch, but luckily they -were somewhat in key. - -## Step 7: Record vocals - -It took a few tries to place the mic somewhere stable enough, but there's -still this kind of low-frequency oscillations in the waveform: - -![](img/early_sunsets_over_monroeville/mic_oscillations.png) - -Good news is it's barely noticeable. - -I could not go as hard and emotional as Gerard or Billy in the second half -because (a) I never trained myself to scream, and (b) I've never had any -experience with a zombiefied romantic partner. As a result, the second -half sounds emotionless, which is a tradeoff between that and being -completely out-of-tune. - -## Step 8: Mix - -It's just playing with faders, panning the tracks, and dragging some -automation curves to conceal the noise in the vocal track when I kicked -over a trash can. - -![Screenshot of the mixer window](img/early_sunsets_over_monroeville/mixer.png) - -▲ This was the Hackerman moment of the project. - -I also added a reverb filter for the vocals. - -## Step 9: Export! - -Enjoy: Early Sunsets Over Monroeville (ukulele acoustic cover) - - - -Ardour gave me this window but I don't know if it's bad or good? - -![Peak: -2.7 dBFS, true peak: -2.7 dBTP, integrated loudness: -20.3 LUFS, -loudness range: 6.4 LU. Below are waveform, spectrogram and -LUFS-over-time.](img/early_sunsets_over_monroeville/export_analysis.png) - -## What's the one last reason I did this? - -twenty one pilots did a livestream recently where Tyler shared a few demos -of theirs tracing back to the Regional at Best era, circa 2010-2012. Here -we have a clip (MP4, 17.4 MiB): - - - -Tyler put the gang vocal track on solo where he was like "__HELLO__ e-yeah -a-yeah a-yeah hello hello hELLO". It was cringe af but the song was -incomplete without it. - -And I, a musically illiterate engineering student, have one more reason to -justify my own piece of carefully mixed cringe. diff --git a/docs/projects/img/early_sunsets_over_monroeville/editor.png b/docs/projects/img/early_sunsets_over_monroeville/editor.png deleted file mode 100644 index 47b49da..0000000 Binary files a/docs/projects/img/early_sunsets_over_monroeville/editor.png and /dev/null differ diff --git a/docs/projects/img/early_sunsets_over_monroeville/export_analysis.png b/docs/projects/img/early_sunsets_over_monroeville/export_analysis.png deleted file mode 100644 index cb0f944..0000000 Binary files a/docs/projects/img/early_sunsets_over_monroeville/export_analysis.png and /dev/null differ diff --git a/docs/projects/img/early_sunsets_over_monroeville/intro_strum.ogg b/docs/projects/img/early_sunsets_over_monroeville/intro_strum.ogg deleted file mode 100644 index 5811be9..0000000 Binary files a/docs/projects/img/early_sunsets_over_monroeville/intro_strum.ogg and /dev/null differ diff --git a/docs/projects/img/early_sunsets_over_monroeville/mic_oscillations.png b/docs/projects/img/early_sunsets_over_monroeville/mic_oscillations.png deleted file mode 100644 index 61767c9..0000000 Binary files a/docs/projects/img/early_sunsets_over_monroeville/mic_oscillations.png and /dev/null differ diff --git a/docs/projects/img/early_sunsets_over_monroeville/mixer.png b/docs/projects/img/early_sunsets_over_monroeville/mixer.png deleted file mode 100644 index a2eafd5..0000000 Binary files a/docs/projects/img/early_sunsets_over_monroeville/mixer.png and /dev/null differ diff --git a/docs/projects/img/early_sunsets_over_monroeville/prechorus_lead.ogg b/docs/projects/img/early_sunsets_over_monroeville/prechorus_lead.ogg deleted file mode 100644 index 0b0d4e2..0000000 Binary files a/docs/projects/img/early_sunsets_over_monroeville/prechorus_lead.ogg and /dev/null differ diff --git a/docs/projects/img/early_sunsets_over_monroeville/prechorus_plucks.ogg b/docs/projects/img/early_sunsets_over_monroeville/prechorus_plucks.ogg deleted file mode 100644 index 88f9699..0000000 Binary files a/docs/projects/img/early_sunsets_over_monroeville/prechorus_plucks.ogg and /dev/null differ diff --git a/docs/projects/index.md b/docs/projects/index.md index 40deb60..bc1a59b 100644 --- a/docs/projects/index.md +++ b/docs/projects/index.md @@ -40,14 +40,6 @@ beginners are now ex-terrified beginners. My first workshop made from scratch. Well prepared tech-wise but not social-wise. -## [Early Sunsets Over Monroeville](early-sunsets-over-monroeville) - -![Editor window in Ardour DAW](img/early_sunsets_over_monroeville/editor.png) - -Unlike previous engineering projects, this one is musical. I recorded the -ukulele, did the vocals, and mixed them in Ardour. Result is an acoustic -cover of "Early Sunsets Over Monroeville". - ## nand2tetris ### [Part 1](nand2tetris_1) diff --git a/docs/random/index.md b/docs/random/index.md index 05c7fbf..9c34d64 100644 --- a/docs/random/index.md +++ b/docs/random/index.md @@ -20,4 +20,3 @@ Nevertheless, occasionally I leave a permanent trace along the way. - [xkcdbot](xkcdbot) - [Playlist to put on on my deathbed](deathbed_playlist) - [Of Potato Chips And Food Globalization](potato_chips) -- [Lessons in the US of A](us_lessons) diff --git a/docs/random/us_lessons.md b/docs/random/us_lessons.md deleted file mode 100644 index f17dc4f..0000000 --- a/docs/random/us_lessons.md +++ /dev/null @@ -1,46 +0,0 @@ -# Lessons in the US of A - -Recently I made the mistake of living in the US of A, the paramount -capitalist hell of the modern world. As a consequence, I had to relearn -some facts, because everything works different here. - -## August 2023: Moving in - -### The good - -- They put free pads and tampons even in the men's bathroom -- I can ride the bus for free with my student card -- By custom I should greet the bus driver, who will greet back -- Food comes in absolutely gigantic portions -- Central campus is much more walkable than I thought -- A French press is very easy to use and much cheaper than a coffee - machine -- To request a stop on a bus you just pull the rope-y thing -- You can take all the time you need to get off the bus. No pressure to - stand up in advance. -- Pedestrians have absolute right of way, I hypothesize you could even - cross the street blindfolded and not get hit by a car - -### The bad - -- Power outages happen every year and somehow people are okay with it and - do nothing to improve the infrastructure -- Toilet paper comes in single ply by default -- Apartments don't have ceiling lights and rely on floor lamps. There is - a dedicated outlet wired to a light switch which I found by poking with - a multimeter -- Everything in the supermarket seems reasonably priced as long as you - don't convert it to your home currency -- The washing machine isn't working?? -- Power failure?? In IKEA??? -- The carpet makes my desk jiggly -- Drinks are most often cold, even chilled. Even chocolate. -- Internet failure?? In a university??? - -### The neither - -- Kroger closes at 10 pm -- The cord to a power strip is very, _very_ thicc -- My apartment has a coaxial port for internet which I've never seen in my - life -- Michigan law does not require you to have a front license plate diff --git a/docs/umich/index.md b/docs/umich/index.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..de608b8 --- /dev/null +++ b/docs/umich/index.md @@ -0,0 +1,5 @@ +# University of Michigan + +so basically i live in ann arbor now + +- [Lessons in the US of A](us_lessons) diff --git a/docs/umich/us_lessons.md b/docs/umich/us_lessons.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..61bedb9 --- /dev/null +++ b/docs/umich/us_lessons.md @@ -0,0 +1,65 @@ +# Lessons in the US of A + +Recently I made the mistake of living in the US of A, the paramount +capitalist hell of the modern world. As a consequence, I had to relearn +some facts, because everything works different here. + +## August 2023: Moving in + +### The good + +- They put free pads and tampons even in the men's bathroom +- I can ride the bus for free with my student card +- By custom I should greet the bus driver, who will greet back +- Food comes in absolutely gigantic portions +- Central campus is much more walkable than I thought +- A French press is very easy to use and much cheaper than a coffee + machine +- To request a stop on a bus you just pull the rope-y thing +- You can take all the time you need to get off the bus. No pressure to + stand up in advance. +- Pedestrians have absolute right of way, I hypothesize you could even + cross the street blindfolded and not get hit by a car + +### The bad + +- Power outages happen every year and somehow people are okay with it and + do nothing to improve the infrastructure +- Toilet paper comes in single ply by default +- Apartments don't have ceiling lights and rely on floor lamps. There is + a dedicated outlet wired to a light switch which I found by poking with + a multimeter +- Everything in the supermarket seems reasonably priced as long as you + don't convert it to your home currency +- The washing machine isn't working?? +- Power failure?? In IKEA??? +- The carpet makes my desk jiggly +- Drinks are most often cold, even chilled. Even chocolate. +- Internet failure?? In a university??? + +### The neither + +- Kroger closes at 10 pm +- The cord to a power strip is very, _very_ thicc +- My apartment has a coaxial port for internet which I've never seen in my + life +- Michigan law does not require you to have a front license plate + +## September 2023: Settling down + +### The good + +- They hand out free shirts and swag at the pride event +- Drag shows, fully unhinged +- I can just _get_ a Kroger card? Like for free? + +### The bad + +- Ann Arbor buses just… stop operating at 20:00 on Sunday?? +- _One_ bus per hour?? Unimaginable in Shanghai + +### The neither + +- My textbook is "loose leaf", which means a pile of pages I have bind + myself. Pro: I can carry only the chapters I want. Con: I have to use + zipties as a dirty hack before my binder arrives -- cgit v1.2.3