I felt bummed out by this morning’s post and I don’t want this to be a maudlin newsletter so here’s a vlog of me complaining about stuff that’s none of my business in the weight room. I’m afraid the audio is still shitty and I don’t know why; I’m trying to figure out what’s up with that as I have a Yeti Blue USB mic which is supposed to be pretty good, as far as I know.
Hi Freddie. re: audio, my armchair advice is as follows. Apologies if you’ve heard it all before.
First, check if your computer’s audio routing is actually inputting from the mic instead of some internal mic on the computer. I don’t think this is your problem, though; the audio quality is fine enough that I think it’s coming from the Yeti.
Second, double-check the pattern on the mic and the direction it’s pointing. I haven’t used a yeti in a while but I think the side with the Blue logo is the “front”. Speak into that on the cardioid setting (looks like a heart, on the dial with the different patterns on it), and I’d recommend speaking a little closer to it.
From there, you can adjust the input gain/volume from the mic (iirc there is a dial on the mic for this, in addition to whatever gain adjustments you can make in the software you use) to taste in order to get a bit more of that public radio host sound. This, combined with (if possible) a gentle noise gate to help mute the current room noise you’re picking up between words, could go a long way towards better audio. Hope any of this helps.
It seems that you've disabled comments on your previous post re "I would like closure," so forgive me for posting a comment here. A poem "Wild Geese" by Mary Oliver, full of the grace that we all need at some point in our lives:
You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting -
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.
Graceless people will never forgive you, so don't even try to gain their forgiveness. Graceful, generous people will forgive you without requiring you to beg. Move on.
When I'm asked to spot, I always ask how many reps the person is going for. If they give me a number, I try to avoid moving my hands toward the bar until that rep. If they don't...well, I have to play it by ear but it's a good sign that I might have to jump in earlier.
Thanks for the look into something I have no experience of--I've never done weightlifting significant enough to require a spotter or anything, so it's interesting to hear about this whole world were I have no idea how it works. I love that you cover such a large range of topics.
Hang in there, Freddie! It's tricky to comment on something like your post this morning bc there's a danger of stumbling into being patronizing or just dumb, but for what it's worth, I thought it was beautiful and...human? Just startlingly, fully human. Everybody's fighting not only to chart a good course but also just to fucking stay afloat. Keep floating, man. It matters, and there are people out here who appreciate you.
So much shit people do at the gym annoys the ever loving shit out of me, I just ended up putting together a rack and weight set in my garage. I lift by myself now, nobody is ever using the equipment when I want to use it. Nobody is offering unsolicited advice. I don't have to fight the January crowds of dude in running shoes doing quarter squats. Or the guys doing curls in the squat rack. And I never have to have a conversation with anyone about what is wrong with my programming. I can go in and do my 5x5 sets and leave. Its been fantastic.
I'll just post this here. Your body and closure posts offer a level of shockingly honest brilliance that I don't I've ever come across. At least for me there is a deep level of truth that I've never discussed with anyone - it's just too personal. And you shared that level of intimacy with the world. I'm so impressed and in awe.
I said this the other day but I feel bad for men, with this idea that you need big muscles to be attractive. It sounds complicated and risky. I guess it’s an evolution thing—you’d want to mate with someone who can make the best hut and move the rock furniture around. Or maybe they’d carry the women and kids before shoes were invented.
I suppose I’d lift weights if it gave me bigger boobs. Maybe. But cardio is the only thing I find remotely enjoyable.
The audio is intelligible, which is the main thing. The only problem that stands out is that there's a little bit too much reflected sound (from the desk top and the room) relative to the level of direct sound from your voice. This is compounded by the Yeti's slightly unusual frequency response: it has a sort of a "hump" in the low-mid frequencies from about 200 to 900 hz, which happens to be *exactly* where off-axis, reflected, "boxy" sounds occur in a smallish room. Bringing the mic closer to your mouth would greatly clear that up.
Freddy! You should test out that sweet mic by coming on my podcast to chat about your book and some other interesting topics. I figured this would be the best way to get a hold of you. If you're down, shoot me an email at TheRewiredSoul@gmail.com or let me know the best way to get in touch
You've had some fairly detailed technical advice on the audio, but it sounds to me like you just need to turn the mic gain down a bit and site it closer to you. At the moment I think it's clipping the input signal & picking up too much room ambience.
If your recording software shows your incoming db level, keep it peaking well below 0.
I feel like a lot of these complaints in the second half of the video (and, incidentally, the thing from earlier today) would be handled if people just showed a little bit more empathy and humility. I’ve done supersets. I don’t know if I’ve ever used a “crowded” gym but I’ve done them when other people were there. I’ve never had a problem taking the few seconds to wipe down the bench (if relevant) and if someone else tries to work their set in, well, tough shit for me. I’m not training for the Olympics. If I have to take an unplanned rest, or even change up my plan, it is what it is. Nothing I’m doing in a gym is more important than being decent to other people.
Hi Freddie. re: audio, my armchair advice is as follows. Apologies if you’ve heard it all before.
First, check if your computer’s audio routing is actually inputting from the mic instead of some internal mic on the computer. I don’t think this is your problem, though; the audio quality is fine enough that I think it’s coming from the Yeti.
Second, double-check the pattern on the mic and the direction it’s pointing. I haven’t used a yeti in a while but I think the side with the Blue logo is the “front”. Speak into that on the cardioid setting (looks like a heart, on the dial with the different patterns on it), and I’d recommend speaking a little closer to it.
From there, you can adjust the input gain/volume from the mic (iirc there is a dial on the mic for this, in addition to whatever gain adjustments you can make in the software you use) to taste in order to get a bit more of that public radio host sound. This, combined with (if possible) a gentle noise gate to help mute the current room noise you’re picking up between words, could go a long way towards better audio. Hope any of this helps.
I like Autumn Pumpkin's jaunty cap. But who is the rather intense looking fellow in the background, stage left?
It seems that you've disabled comments on your previous post re "I would like closure," so forgive me for posting a comment here. A poem "Wild Geese" by Mary Oliver, full of the grace that we all need at some point in our lives:
You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting -
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.
Graceless people will never forgive you, so don't even try to gain their forgiveness. Graceful, generous people will forgive you without requiring you to beg. Move on.
When I'm asked to spot, I always ask how many reps the person is going for. If they give me a number, I try to avoid moving my hands toward the bar until that rep. If they don't...well, I have to play it by ear but it's a good sign that I might have to jump in earlier.
Thanks for the look into something I have no experience of--I've never done weightlifting significant enough to require a spotter or anything, so it's interesting to hear about this whole world were I have no idea how it works. I love that you cover such a large range of topics.
Hang in there, Freddie! It's tricky to comment on something like your post this morning bc there's a danger of stumbling into being patronizing or just dumb, but for what it's worth, I thought it was beautiful and...human? Just startlingly, fully human. Everybody's fighting not only to chart a good course but also just to fucking stay afloat. Keep floating, man. It matters, and there are people out here who appreciate you.
"Hey, I was using that piece of equipment!"
"Well you aren't any more."
So much shit people do at the gym annoys the ever loving shit out of me, I just ended up putting together a rack and weight set in my garage. I lift by myself now, nobody is ever using the equipment when I want to use it. Nobody is offering unsolicited advice. I don't have to fight the January crowds of dude in running shoes doing quarter squats. Or the guys doing curls in the squat rack. And I never have to have a conversation with anyone about what is wrong with my programming. I can go in and do my 5x5 sets and leave. Its been fantastic.
I'll just post this here. Your body and closure posts offer a level of shockingly honest brilliance that I don't I've ever come across. At least for me there is a deep level of truth that I've never discussed with anyone - it's just too personal. And you shared that level of intimacy with the world. I'm so impressed and in awe.
I said this the other day but I feel bad for men, with this idea that you need big muscles to be attractive. It sounds complicated and risky. I guess it’s an evolution thing—you’d want to mate with someone who can make the best hut and move the rock furniture around. Or maybe they’d carry the women and kids before shoes were invented.
I suppose I’d lift weights if it gave me bigger boobs. Maybe. But cardio is the only thing I find remotely enjoyable.
as god as my witness if i see you curling in the squat rack i'm going to tell you to fuck off
The audio is intelligible, which is the main thing. The only problem that stands out is that there's a little bit too much reflected sound (from the desk top and the room) relative to the level of direct sound from your voice. This is compounded by the Yeti's slightly unusual frequency response: it has a sort of a "hump" in the low-mid frequencies from about 200 to 900 hz, which happens to be *exactly* where off-axis, reflected, "boxy" sounds occur in a smallish room. Bringing the mic closer to your mouth would greatly clear that up.
As an outsider looking in, I don't totally condemn nor totally exonerate you, but I WILL read you.
Freddy! You should test out that sweet mic by coming on my podcast to chat about your book and some other interesting topics. I figured this would be the best way to get a hold of you. If you're down, shoot me an email at TheRewiredSoul@gmail.com or let me know the best way to get in touch
You've had some fairly detailed technical advice on the audio, but it sounds to me like you just need to turn the mic gain down a bit and site it closer to you. At the moment I think it's clipping the input signal & picking up too much room ambience.
If your recording software shows your incoming db level, keep it peaking well below 0.
do you listen to your own music when you lift or have you learned to tolerate the gym playlist?
I feel like a lot of these complaints in the second half of the video (and, incidentally, the thing from earlier today) would be handled if people just showed a little bit more empathy and humility. I’ve done supersets. I don’t know if I’ve ever used a “crowded” gym but I’ve done them when other people were there. I’ve never had a problem taking the few seconds to wipe down the bench (if relevant) and if someone else tries to work their set in, well, tough shit for me. I’m not training for the Olympics. If I have to take an unplanned rest, or even change up my plan, it is what it is. Nothing I’m doing in a gym is more important than being decent to other people.