Bsuking

 I was up messing around with Ebay stuff, and also putting in some hours trying to find something that needs to be shipped out but after looking for it *again* now, I have to conclude it's just plain gone. 

The laws of physics only *mostly* apply here. Things disappear all the time. 

I got my practice in although I felt really tired. If I can just come up with a consistent way to hold the flute and place my lip on the mouthpiece I can get a killer tone every time. That's the problem - not being able to blow, but to get the position right and have the flute not shift around. 

I don't remember having this problem before when I was playing a student flute. I'm beginning to wonder if I should get one of the student ones out, go over the pads with the "Pad Juice" I bought and put teeny amounts of trumpet valve oil (since actual Yamaha key oil seems to be unobtainable now) on the various places that need it, and start working with it, to see if there's a difference. It may be a matter of being easier to play but with a mediocre tone. 

I follow r/busking on Reddit and ... man, "Bsuking" is not a typo here. In the Before Times, there were always interesting posts by people getting out there with all kinds of instruments from the spoons to the French horn, and now it's just some bot that posts stuff seen over in Europe, mainly nice middle-class kids with guitars, and people asking what mic and amp to use with their huge, battery-dependent setups. The number of actual buskers, people who, young or old, have always wanted to get out there and finally did it, got out there because they need the money, etc. is vanishingly small. And almost none are from here in the US any more. 

The last holdouts for busking will likely be places that are sort of international crossroads like San Francisco around Fisherman's Wharf, Waikiki, Jerusalem, etc. Being a busker at all, and goodness knows the bar is low, is becoming a much rarer skill and it remains to be seen if that makes it more valuable. 

So I must conclude that along with busking having disappeared from the streets of my city, it's nearly disappeared all over the US.