25 October 2021:
The Practical Paddler:
The "Washing Machine":
Masking CP Noises

Main Point

I now use a special masking sound track to cover the noises of CP activities. It is the sound of an old-style clothes washing machine (circa 1950) enhanced with rhythmic music (an Indian instrumental piece).

I am providing it to visitors to the CPMan website to download and try using. The audio lasts 8 minutes, so you may want to set it to repeat.

(The MP4 video version works well on an iPhone with Bluetooth speaker because the file can be stored as a picture and accessed through the Photo App for use.)

Background

As described in my blog entry of 17 Feb 2019, two buddies and I were in the middle of a paddling session in the dining room of my house when the doorbell rang unexpectedly. I immediately stopped whacking the guy. By the time I got to the front door and looked through the peep hole the visitor had disappeared. I'll never know who it was and whether he or she had heard enough to figure out what might be going on inside.

In the wake of that episode, I installed a Ring video/motion detector doorbell, but, with the short viewing range the camera had to work with, motion detector alerts reached my smartphone too late to act on. The only useful thing it provided was video of the visitor that I could view after the fact. Interesting, but practically worthless.

I have since changed my standard "punishment protocol" to provide better protection against CP noises being overheard by would-be visitors: (1) Rather than playing in the dining room, in easy earshot of the front door, I now usually play in a bedroom with the door closed. (2) More importantly, I play the "Washing Machine" masking sound track on a Bose docking station speaker next to the front door. The motoric beat and wide frequency spectrum of the "Washing Machine", when played loud enough, seem uniquely effective in covering CP noises. And with the bedroom door closed the masking noise doesn't interfere with our play or shooting video of the session.

Although I have not tried it in hotel rooms or small apartments, I think the "Washing Machine" would work better at masking CP noises than would a TV, radio or typical musical selection.