1. Joschi Kuphal 吉: Wrapping up a very productive @indiewebcamp Berlin 2016 w/ a lovely bunch of people pic.twitter.com/sFfL45VN0n

    @jkphl sounds like you had a great time! Sad I couldn’t make it this time, other projects got in the way. Definitely want to attend/help organise IWC stuff in Germany in the future!

  2. if ordering rotary switches from Digikey, most of the ones they stock are adjustable (even if marked as fixed in the product description), so if the switch doesn’t seem to rotate to all of the positions, try taking the nut off and removing the index washer. I just received two supposedly “fixed-index” 12 pole switches which only rotated to 11 positions. Turns out they were actually adjustable and worked fine.

  3. Anyone trying to email me using my gmail account: I don’t know where you found that address, but I never use it and almost never log in, so it’s not a good way to reach me. barnaby@waterpigs.co.uk remaims my only active personal email address.

  4. Hey @askpaypal, your entire website and support system is broken, and I’ve received no response to my complaints about it for almost a week now. In case you need reminding:

    • the documentation about removing a debit card (https://www.paypal.com/gb/selfhelp/article/How-do-I-add-or-remove-a-debit-credit-card-FAQ1389/1) is wrong, there is no “Remove” option on the page it specifies.
    • the “Add Bank Account” functionality is broken, giving me only a vague error message for days now:

    • Your UK freephone number consistently doesn’t work, when I try to call it I just get “This number is not recognised”

    • Many links to help topics from within your own web UI are broken, leading to a “this help topic no longer exists” error page

    When are you going to fix these obvious, basic problems? When am I going to get a response to my complaints? When can I get my money out of your obviously broken system? Why do I have to post about this on my own website/twitter to try to get a response out of you?

  5. tip: Young people (under 18, in the EU) who want to create a paypal account for your enterprising businesses or other fun activities: before your 18th birthday, ONLY create accounts with disposable email addresses. Once your account gets credited with more than €2500 in one financial year, Paypal have to do an identity verification check, and when they find out you created an account before you were 18, they freeze it, and you have to create a new account with a new email address.

  6. FOR SALESOLD: Prototype “Vio” Hurdy Gurdy €2700 + P&P from Germany

    This is the twin of my current personal instrument, originally built four years ago but finished recently. The video was taken after only one day of setting up and breaking in, so it’s a bit scratchy, and intended to give an impression of the raw sound of the instrument (both acoustic and from the two internal pickups), ready for you to tame (or not, if you prefer!)

    The instrument has three chanters (currently G, d and g), two drones (currently C and G) and two trompettes, also C and G. The C drone and trompette are fitted with capos, raising the pitch by one tone. The chanter bridge height is adjustable.

    The instrument is fitted with two passive internal pickups, one on the soundboard below the bridge giving a good overall sound, and one on the chanter bridge itself, giving a very focused chanter sound (almost no trompette!). The sounds from both pickups can be heard in the video. There is one jack for each pickup, enabling you to mix them or apply separate effects externally.

    The whole body is made from flamed maple, the keys and other small details are ebony, with screwed wooden tangents. The instrument is a prototype, and therefore has some minor cosmetic and design flaws; otherwise it is a fine, working instrument at a special prototype price.

    I’ve already had some interest in the instrument and am waiting until Monday for a potential buyer to get back to me, other than that it’s first-come-first served. Any questions, etc. comment/message/email me barnaby@waterpigs.co.uk2016-10-18 this instrument is now sold to Isarnos in the UK — looking forward to hearing what they do with it! I’m currently building more instruments, drop me an email if you’re interested.

  7. Aaron Parecki: haha yeah, specific colors can be trademarked. Keep in mind that the trademark is only valid within the service or product category. So it just means someone else can't start a shipping company that uses the same brown as UPS.

    So we just have to hope UPS doesn’t suddenly “pivot” ;) The package this email was about might be of interest to you… I’m getting an X-Carve! Mainly for hurdy gurdy making, but all kinds of ideas for silly stuff to make for IWC… stamps? wooden badges?

  8. New music on a new instrument for you!

    Churfürst zu Sachsen, König von Polen Solo Mountain Dulcimer

    Originally a song from the north-eastern German Kralsches Geigenspielbuch, I play this tune as a waltz. The interpretation is inspired by the version printed in Neues aus alten Büchern 2, which I highly recommend as a source of central european dance music! “Churfürst” refers to a member of the electoral college of the Holy Roman Empire, whose job it was elect the pope. “König von Polen” refers to him also being the king of Poland.

    The dulcimer is my newly finished european walnut + reclaimed cedar + ebony hourglass model of my own design complete with floating bridge, inlaid chromatic fretboard and reversed GCgg tuning. It’s the same size as a regular DAdd dulcimer but with a shorter scale length due to the bridge being further up the instrument.

    The recording was made using two C1000S microphones and the internal passive pickup, run through an AKAI EIE Pro.