XPRTNovice

This question is exactly where my handle came from.

[MODREVIEW] Wow, I can't remember the last time I saw a Broderbund symbol. Where in the world IS Carmen Sandiego, anyway? I will say this genre is not my forte, but I think I can still offer some constructive criticism to bring it to the next level. -Melody pickup at 1:09 could be a bit stronger. The wubs, as Timaeus said, do bury it a bit. You might try to find some more creative ways to get it to come out - panning, compression, etc. Experiment. - In a similar vein, those arps that go on top of the wub could come out a bit. Just a touch. - I could probably take a little more of the kick drum throughout. It's not doing as good of a job as I think it could supporting the whole mix. Maybe some more "thwap" in the 2k range or punch compression might help it really cut through. - I personally don't have a problem with the lead at 1:39 - Arrangement wise, it's a little short, but still well within OCR guidelines. Great job with this, and best of luck! [/MODREVIEW] -

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This is awesome man, congrats. Jill is probably melting all over you!

I'm hoping to have a 99% complete track by July 1st. Going out of town this week but next week I'll kill it.

Thanks DJP, I forgot about remote desktop. I'll check it out.

Windows 7. I'm not sure what setup is best, but basically I just need access to files on my computer while I am traveling. I don't need to run programs from that computer or anything.

Hey - I'm looking for a good remote access client that I can have on my home studio computer, so that when I travel, I can access all the files on my home computer if a voiceover client needs it. Can you guys recommend one that's secure?

Well, yeah, but I still finish everything by about 5-6 PM every day. Trust me, I know what it's like to flirt with burn-out and lose. I'm only working 15 hours/week for my "day job" which really isn't my day job any more.

Fitness/hippie/gaming related question - I like nerd swag that I can use practically that isn't just pins or shirts. My hair is also getting too long to work out without it slapping me in the eyes. Do you guys know a place I can get sweet gaming/nerd/anime sweatbands? I've checked thinkgeek, but I'm not up to snuff on good places to buy that kind of stuff... Oh, in fitness related news, I got invited to become a parkour instructor. Woot! Now I have FIVE jobs!

Enjoy your birthday OR DIE.

Hope you had a great one Wes!

Best of luck man! Here's to a speedy recovery.

Hey there. I don't have the song in front of me at the moment, but I'll try my best to answer these. Also, I'm not sure where this is written down, but I think you're only expected to get one Mod Review per song. I'll check on that though. - The 1:30 staccatos' volume seems to change up and down at non-standard intervals that seems more like mistakes and humanization. - Contrabass stabs might sound quite nice, yes! Just something to round it out a little without bringing in the mud. - The trumpets/trombones at 2:20 sounded like they were splitting the part. It might be a trick of the ear, but to me it sounded like the trumpets dropped out in the middle of the line for maybe 2-3 notes in a way that struck me as weird. Solo those tracks, and if you don't hear anything funny, ignore the comment. I'll check on the one-mod-review-per-song rule, because I could have sworn I read it but I can no longer find where I thought it was written.

REVIEW OF MODILY MOD This is a really cool interpretation of these two pieces, which include the only pokemon game I've ever played, so that's a plus. You've got some great elements of classical orchestration combined with a really sort of modern art flair. Here are my nitpicks. - Lovely intro with a great swell. - The string marcatos in the back of 35 ish seem like they're on autopilot a bit. You might want to adjust them to make them sound a bit more natural; right now they sound a little hammered to me. - I think the flute lead at :45 comes in too strong...just that one phrase, though. - I like how the harp creeps out of the mix to become the segue instrument around 1:30. - The flute that comes in at 1:37 sounds very dry and it's quite noticeable in contrast to the rest of the samples and mixing you've done which has been so warm and full. - String entrance at 2:23 is a biiit abrupt. - I have a similar complaint about the flute staccato at 2:50; it's drier than the rest of the stuff to my ears. A touch more verb and it'll sit better, IMO. - Love 3:55; great moment. - I'm not as much of the squeezing out effect at 4:15. It sounds like the song completely ends and really breaks up the continuity you've got going on. I'm not sure if that was just a mixing thing or if you chose it for stylistic effect. - Enjoy the swapping of prominence of brass/winds at 4:50; very well done. - The piano that starts at 5:05 ish is a little plunky and, in my opinion, doesn't fit as well with the nice things you've got going on. The rest of the mix at that point is smooth and you've got a piano that kind of goes chop-chop-chop-chop. - Love the re-entry of the full orchestra at 5:50. The trumpets could come out more there, though; they are really singing the melody, so let them out! Right now I feel like that section is a bit bottom heavy. - The clarinet entrance at 7:13 could be moderated a bit to be less abrupt. - I hear a very faint string artifact in my left ear at 7:41...like after they fade out, they come up again for a split second. - I think the last note could fade out a bit more gradually...like the whole orchestra is letting out a slow breath. Overall, I really do like this. It's got a great feel, it's so warm it makes me want to hug a pokemon. My production critiques are very nitpicky, and I think this already has a fine amount of polish. Great job. YOU'VE BEEN MODREVIEWED

MODREVIEW Hey there. Very cool take on this. I love the way it makes me think of Monster Bash. - This is a personal taste thing, but the dual-panned wind SFX in the beginning that start a half second apart throws me off. I would just start them simultaneously. - Bassoon around 0:50 sounds a little off to me. Probably the most unrealistic sound in the whole soundscape...I might consider replacing it with another instrument, or have the swells more graudal/slow rather than up and down so often. - Pay close attention to the accented viola marcatos at 1:30 ish. Some of them feel like they're just a touch out of volume. - Overall could use more low end support from the orchestra, prior to beat drop. it feels a little bottom-light, especially for the feel of the piece. This problem goes away at 1:45 when the beat drops, though. - Beat drop at 1:45 felt like it could use something more...maybe a cymbal crash? It's a great moment in the piece though. - The spooky leads are great. - Brass hits at 2:20 confused me a bit because I couldn't tell if the trumpets and trombones were playing in unison; it sounds like the trumpets come in a little delayed. That might be fine, but do take a listen and make sure it's how you intended. - String lead at 3:05 gets almost completely lost behind the orchestra hits that were previously brass hits at 2:20. Also, listening to the orchestra hits definitely makes me think that there's some production issue going on at 2:20 that you need to take a look at in the horns. ^^Now having read Timaeus' comments on the lead confusion, I see that I might be suffering from the same thing. You do need to decide which is the lead and make sure that comes out, because I'm having trouble figuring it out. Those stabs could be the lead, but so could the long notes behind it. - Nice panning of the vibes on the way out. Nice vibe performance in general. I like this piece a lot; great job with it. I think with a couple of subtle adjustments this will be an easy pass. /MODREVIEW

Sprint workouts are great. Mark Sisson has one that I really like because it's not just running. Let me see if I can find it... here it is! I never knew how much hopping could make you want to die. Workout #4: Sprint Drills 4 x 50m strides at 75% effort. Ten second rest between efforts. One minute rest before next exercise. 2 x 50m skipping. Drive knee as high as you can (try to hit your chest), taking off and landing on opposite leg. Then launch off, and land, with opposite leg, driving other knee high into chest – like an exaggerated skip. Strive for maximum height instead of length. Fifteen second rest between efforts. One minute rest before next exercise. 2 x 50m bounding. Take as long a stride as possible, focusing on keeping your balance rather than speed. Thirty second rest between efforts. One minute rest before next exercise. 2 x 50m hopping. Take off on both legs and jump up and forward. Focus on achieving a good balance between height and length. Swing arms to assist effort and ensure a balanced landing. One minute rest between efforts (you’ll need it, trust me). Two minute rest before next exercise. 4 x 50m full speed sprint. One minute rest between efforts.

It's <10 years old in a quiet neighborhood; I plan on putting up some type of special acoustic drywall . I should be good!

Yes, absolutely. I forget that not everyone is in super-serious government jobs.

While we're having a bit of a side discussion on throwing out resumes for debatable etiquette violations, I thought I'd also get to the heart of this post and offer some advice. Literally two weeks ago I was involved in hiring my own replacement (it's a weird situation) so I was basically the person who recruited, reviewed all the resumes, and conducted the interview for this position. While I'm not HR or authorized to hire anyone myself, everyone in the chain took my recommendations without question. So take this with a grain of salt. Here are some things I noticed. - Look counts. Not in FANCINESS, but in READABILITY. If your resume looks like it came from a Notepad document, it's hard for me to digest the information and makes me wonder when you say you are proficient in Microsoft Office if you are blowing smoke. But flower patterns are annoying, so find a balance (like Meteo said, balance is key) - Read the job posting. I had over 50% of the people who were applying for a job that they were barely tangentially qualified for. It was clear they had dispatched a generic resume to every job in that field, and they were easy kills for me.

As for them being important, I've never gotten a job where I had references on my resume, and almost nobody has ever asked me for any, so they can't be THAT important. Anecdotal logical fallacy, etc, I know. But still. But I'll quote the old wives tale about resumes being a page long, and people (again, I think sort of harshly) throwing out resumes if they go halfway to a second page in this sort of huff. What does a list of names tell you about that candidate that is so much more important than their education, work experience, accolades, certifications, etc? Obscuring the reason for leaving a job is shady; saying "I have amplifying information for you if the rest of this interests you" is not.

Aw man. Maybe next year. I think I could technically swing it, but it's probably one of those things that it would be smart of me to let go. MAGFest, though! MAGFEST.

Erm, not to react, but this seems kind of unnecessarily harsh. If you're going to complain (not that you have, I am being hypothetical) that resumes are more than 1 page, but then also complain that a candidate doesn't want to waste space typing out names of people...I dunno. This seems like a really silly reason to throw out an application. EDIT: Further, you give no reason why this is the most unprofessional thing ever. I would think like, profanity in a resume might be better qualified . But really, what makes this so unprofessional?

In real life I don't hear those fucking annoying beeping noises when I'm about to die. though maybe that might be a good warning indicator.