robertreynolds

Music | Photography | Tech

[robertreynolds @robertreynolds]

@takeo_watanabe Wow. I like this a lot. Matches the quiet wildness of the nature around you perfectly.

[robertreynolds @robertreynolds]

@tomshardware I purchased a dish washer from them online. They delivered a beat up broken washer to my house, then claimed that the warranty was invalid because it had physical damage. They absolutely would not budge. I ended up contacting PayPal and after a month, PayPal reversed the charge.

[robertreynolds @robertreynolds]

@AnilBatra @AsifInsights True.

[robertreynolds @robertreynolds]

They are absolute criminals. I purchased a dish washer from them online. They delivered a beat up broken washer to my house, then claimed that the warranty was invalid because it had physical damage. They absolutely would not budge. I ended up contacting PayPal and after a month, PayPal reversed the charge.

[robertreynolds @robertreynolds]

@KayumiPSW Koala is better by every measure

[robertreynolds @robertreynolds]

@kasaitakara You seem like someone who would really love FMS.

[robertreynolds @robertreynolds]

@chav_khun

[robertreynolds @robertreynolds]

@mrdapperducky Hang in there. There is always a light at the end of a dark tunnel.

[robertreynolds @robertreynolds]

I’m very likely moving to a place with a lot less space and clearing out my collection. Next few months should be interesting to see how interested people are in an older but “nonvintage” lineup. Bu the way, I love your MPC 3000. I had one for a minute and it’s my favorite of the Akai lineup.

[robertreynolds @robertreynolds]

@DJDesign90 Can confirm. A lot of dudes have yet to realize this.

[robertreynolds @robertreynolds]

Spot on

[Ana @ana_in_tx]

The GenX urge to delete your entire internet presence and go back to a pager, mixtapes, and a film camera is real.

[robertreynolds @robertreynolds]

@Matsuyama_ras Sick 🔥

[robertreynolds @robertreynolds]

@mkttter Normally my songs all sound similar on cycles. Not in a bad way though. What you’ve created here is beautiful and unique. Nice job.

[robertreynolds @robertreynolds]

@narumishin_ Where can we find it?

[robertreynolds @robertreynolds]

@KasekihunterLv3 I like this a lot.

[robertreynolds @robertreynolds]

@kasaitakara I’ll always have a love-hate relationship with AI when it comes to music. That’s the best I can do.

Programming a generative algorithm is different than telling @suno to “make me a rap song”.

What you’re doing is beautiful, creative, and authentic.

[robertreynolds @robertreynolds]

@_nok__ 🔥 Dope. Keep up the good work.

[The Real Mike Rowe @mikeroweworks]

A couple years ago, Mikala Sposito applied for a work ethic scholarship from my foundation. She asked for $2,700.00 to help realize her dream of becoming a welder. (Actually, her first dream was to become an Olympian. As a kid, she excelled at horseback riding, dance, soccer, and track, but not quite at the Olympic level. So, Mikala adjusted her dream and focused on something within her reach. Precisely the kind of commonsense approach to making a living we try to encourage.) Toward that end, Mikala filled out the application, jumped through all the necessary hoops, and signed the S.W.E.A.T. Pledge, as all applicants must.

According to our internal ranking system, which is inherently subjective and relative to each batch of new applicants, Mikala scored a 94, and was awarded $2,100.00, or roughly 80% of what she asked for. This is typical of the average percentage awarded to an excellent applicant. As a rule, we almost never award the entire amount requested. We want our recipients to have some skin in the game, and we encourage all applicants to apply for additional scholarship funds elsewhere, which Mikala did. But in this case, if I had it to do over again, I think I’d have awarded Mikala the full $2,700.00. Why? Because this woman is precisely why I award work ethic scholarships in the first place, as recent headlines prove. Headlines all over the country that identify Mikala Sposito as the sole welder to represent Team USA in the upcoming @WorldSkills Competition in Shanghai.

This is a very big deal. The World Skills competition is often referred to as the Olympics of the skilled trades, so it looks like Mikala’s dream is coming true after all. And it seems to me her journey is worth a brief encapsulation. Before she applied for a scholarship from mikeroweWORKS, Mikala demonstrated an affinity for welding in SkillsUSA. As a senior at Dexter High School, she won 1st Place at the SkillsUSA Michigan high school competition and went on to place 14th nationally. Then, as a freshman at Washtenaw Community College, she repeated her success by taking 1st Place in the Michigan college division. She then advanced to nationals, where she finished 8th in the country. That earned her an invitation to the Team USA pre-trials, which whittled the nation's top 16 young welders down to three. At the final USA Weld Trials at the Robotics Technology Park in Huntsville, Alabama, each competitor was evaluated on precision, safety, technical execution, craftsmanship, and multi-process capabilities under extreme time constraints. Mikala Sposito took the Gold, officially becoming the first woman to represent the United States in welding at WorldSkills. Next week, she’ll face off against the absolute best of the best from all over the world.

I should point out that Mikala would prefer it if the press didn’t make a big deal of her gender, and I completely understand. (She’s a welder – not a “weld-her.”) But today, the industry is in desperate need of proof that women can and do excel in the trades. Nationally, just 4.3% of tradespeople are female. At mikeroweWORKS, our female applicants are closer to 20%, but I assure you that percentage could be much higher. Companies are anxious to recruit talented welders of any gender, and women need to understand and believe the opportunities are real. Mikala prove that in spades, and I want to offer her my sincere congratulations, and invite all of you to do the same. Because Mikala Sposito is exactly what our country needs a lot more of. People who understand that talent is never enough to compensate for laziness.

In her application, she wrote, “Hard work beats talent any day of the week, and nobody is going to outwork me. Period.”

She also connected with every point of the S.W.E.A.T. Pledge but said the final tenet resonated with her the most. “Some people choose to be lazy. Some people choose to sleep in. I choose to work my butt off.”
My favorite quote, however, is Mikala’s response to seasoned professionals who see her wield a torch and call her a “natural.”

“I’m not a natural,” she says. Far from it. And none of this came easy. I worked and trained 60-80 hours a week for two years to get here.”

Regardless of what happens in Shanghai, the job offers are already piling up, including the most recent from SpaceX. She hasn’t graduated yet, but the future looks bright, and I for one would not bet against her.

PS. I never do this, but since my name is in the title of the foundation, I suppose I can. Mikala – please accept the additional $600 you requested from mikeroweWORKS two years ago. Shanghai is expensive, and since you’re representing all of us, we’d like to provide you with a little walking around money. The check is in the mail.

Now…go get the gold!