Atomic Fireballs

A person can be so right, for all the wrong reasons

2008-06-15T13:37:00-07:00

While doing some research on 3D imagery I stumbled upon this quote from a newspaper columnist who was reviewing a Bjork concert:

"Bjork's songs are like stereograms -- you know, that brightly colored, jumbled-looking computer-generated art that you have to stare at, relaxing your eyes, until a central image emerges from the background."

I have a slightly different definition. Oh, I couldn't agree with him more that Bjork's music, and indeed her whole visual approach, is VERY much like a random-dot stereogram... you walk away from it with your eyes crossed and sporting a headache.

In Tom's Life, He Loves You More!

2008-05-29T14:17:00-07:00

Tom Yarbrough has (finally) released his first CD, "Far Cry From Gone", now available via ~~iTunes ($9.99)~~, Amazon ($8.99) and others (but please buy it from Amazon as I can't stand Apple's stance on DRM and the greedy bastards have the nerve to charge a dollar more than Amazon!). On Tom's web site he mentions that the album "Far Cry From Gone" took, and I quote, "several years". Man, that is an understatement! I've known Tom nearly as long as he has been active in music, so I have been exposed to some of the tracks on his album for nearly as long as I have known him. It always seemed like he was JUST ABOUT ready to release something, but finally after years of dicking around he has released his first (but hopefully not last) commercial album.

Obligatory mini-review:

I am not an expert in genres, but to my ignorant ears it would seem Tom is shooting for something like "adult contemporary country". That isn't even close to my cup of tea, so it make reviewing this an exercise in "target demographics"; if you are NOT Tom's usual audience, then consider what I have to say since I am not an ass-kissing fanboy, and if you ARE Tom's usual audience then you probably clicked off this page when I said "ass-kissing fanboy". That's fine, I have nothing to offer you because our tastes are likely too dissimilar.

"Far Cry From Gone" is a VERY well-engineered and performed collection. With something like 8 years to work on some of these songs you would think Tom would be able to play them well (he does), and with various friends in Nashville who play instruments or have their own recording studios you would expect that the mix sounds professional (it does). A great example of how Digidesign made the world a better place for all of us.

As I said, I am the last person to tell you what is good in "adult contemporary country", so if there is any chance I will sit still and listen to something it is because it contains some sort of crossover appeal. Tragically, Tom does not seem to have a single hard rock/heavy metal song on the whole disc (WTF Tom!?!) so I have to limit myself to songs with a "pop" sensibility. THAT limits me to one song, the title track.

"Far Cry From Gone" is one of the oldest songs in this collection, and in my opinion quite capable of moderate crossover success. Not everyone will like the style, but as a dyed-in-the-wool headbanger and avid worshiper of my lord Lucifer I still find this track has a great feel and groove to it.

The song "Far Cry From Gone" was the official test song of the very first iTrip, back in 2003 or so. I had gotten a hold of a ZIP file being passed around Griffin labeled "rough mixes", which contained three of Tom's work-in-progress songs. Of the three ("Far Cry From Gone", "Cool Water" and "Tell Me") I thought the track that stood head and shoulders above the rest was "Far Cry From Gone". One day while testing handmade iTrip prototypes I needed an audio file that panned back and forth between the left and right channels, so I grabbed a microphone connected to my computer and threw together an audio file of me droning "left... right... left... right..." in a emotionless monotone for 30 seconds as the channels switch back and forth. While effective, around the thousandth time I played it my co-workers began to get annoyed and begged for something less intrusive and grating. I really don't know why I selected "Far Cry From Gone", but I loaded it into (the now defunct) Cool Edit and quickly started muting 5 second blocks of alternating left and right audio. The result was amazing... it just so happened to fit the tempo of the song for the first two verses, so that you'd hear "I'm a long way from leaving baby, I'm a far cry from gone" coming out of the left speaker and then "When you get home in the eve'nin, baby I'll be hangin' on your arm" coming out of the right speaker, and so on. VERY cool coincidence of my editing. This hard-panned version was named something like "Far Cry From Gone (Hard Pan)", which Tom thought sounded like a cool name for a band. This file was sent to Griffin's manufacturing partner, preloaded onto an iPod to be used for test purposes. A short time later a desktop PC-based test system was devised, also using Tom's edited song. Reports from the Chinese factory girls was that they liked the song, although they eventually did get savvy enough to start using their own Chinese songs as test files, but for at least a year (probably two) every iTrip in the world had played some of Tom's "Far Cry From Gone".

I often play guitar and sing at my friends parties and social functions. I have recently taken to playing "Far Cry From Gone" (in a slightly simplified version... hey, I'm no Tom Yarbrough!) and most everyone who hears it is extremely impressed. I am pretty sure if I was 20 years younger, had my frickin' hair and passed the song off as my own composition I could get laid by chicks who thought I was really tender and creative. Much as I would love to claim it for my own I instead steer people to Tom's website, particularly now that the album is finally out. So Tom, don't bother suing me for performance royalties; the gigs were unpaid, the set list was not advertised, and I think I may have gotten you a couple paying customers! ;)

I notice the final release mix of "Far Cry From Gone" is 4:20. Heh. Heh heh heh. Is Tom trying to send us all a secret message, ala The Beatles?!? Is Tom a closet head? IS Tom the walrus?!?

Speaking of The Beatles, and the role they play in Tom's life... well, let's just say "In Tom's Life (He Loves You More)". WTF am I talking about? Ladies and gentleman, devotees of Tom, his mission and his music... I HAVE A RARE, UNRELEASE STUDIO RECORDING OF TOM!!!! YES!!!! O.K., the reality isn't so dramatic, but I do have yet another Tom story...

The man who effectively ran Griffin for nearly a decade (sup, Van!) was keenly interested in expanding the Griffin product line beyond the video monitor adapters Griffin was known for at the time (this was in early 2002, years before the iTrip or Powermate). As a guitarist he was keen on integrating our latest product, the iMic USB sound card, with a cheap multichannel audio mixer, and bear in mind this was YEARS before Apple even thought of GarageBand (mad props to Van). Since the iMic was my project, and since I was also a guitarist who could appreciate Van's vision, I was given the task of building a proof-of-concept device. Basically I soldered the I/O's from an iMic to the I/O's of a $100 mixer and shoved the guts inside the mixer's case with only a USB cord to betray the fact that the mixer was modified. Van brought a decent quality mike (probably an SM-58) and an electric guitar, and we did a little testing. During the testing I was recording EVERYTHING, "one take" with no interruptions, with the intent of analyzing the audio later.

Tom wandered by my cubicle and saw the mini-rig I had going, so I passed off the guitar to him while I fiddled with the hardware and recording software. He started plinking out a melody, so (lacking a mike stand) I grabbed the live mike and held it in front of Tom's face. Without hesitation he broke into the first verse of The Beatles "In My Life", which he amusing screwed up partially by getting the lyrics out of order and then trying to backpedal and correct it (in the span of one second), at which point he gave up on the lyrics and just hummed the rest until he finished. Someone happened to walk up as we were doing this and Van began to explain to them what Tom and I were doing. Tom put down the guitar when he was done and went back to his desk.

I then saved the file I had been clandestinely been recording this whole time, and the real work began!! Operation: TOM'S FIRST SINGLE!!!!

I'll spare the details, but I took two mono tracks (Tom's vocals and his guitar playing) and ran them through several of the effects in Sound Forge, to ultimately build a pseudo-stereo final mix of a song I now call "In Tom's Life (He Loves You More)". I think it is a must-listen for all Tom Yarbrough fans, so I have thoughtfully posted it online!

boomp3.com
BTW, here is a picture of Van (left), Andrew House (middle) and Tom (right). Van and Tom were creating/celebrating "Look Like Andrew House Day", much to Andrew's considerable concern. Van's inclusion of plastic "rotting inbred country yokel teeth" certainly helped put his effort over the top! If you listen carefully to "In Tom's Life (He Loves You More)" you can hear a vocal murmuring, which is Van talking in the background. The murmur turned out kind of Beatles-like too!

So, I believe that "In Tom's Life (He Loves You More)", which I "released" around May 2002 via the internal Griffin file server to anyone who wanted it, constitutes the first public single and to date ONLY Beatles cover tune from Tom Yarbrough. Tom, if you include it on your next CD as a hidden bonus track, I want engineering credit!

I include this picture "just because". This was an Andrew House idea that I executed in about 15 minutes. Tom was not asked or consulted... or thrilled at the result. ;)

The meaning of "versus" and "with"; a lesson for the kids

2008-01-28T11:29:00-07:00

"Versus" generally means "opposed to" or "against", while "with" generally means "and" or "in partnership".

Therefore, a porn movie called "Savannah versus Peter North" would be fairly inaccurate, as the featured performers are not engaged in traditional adversarial behavior. Nor would "Ludacris versus Kris Kross" be remotely accurate unless the two rappers started shooting at each other during the recording session. It isn't a battle, it isn't even a competition of skill, it's a fucking rap song, niggaz! You wanna be stupidly "modern" just for the sake of sounding different? Why not "Ludacris + Kris Kross"? I really hate the misuse of a mathematical symbol to mean "and", but it is better than "versus"! Oh yeah, I forgot, that fucking teen emo version of Shakespeare's "Romeo + Juliet" (the movie that started me on my long path of hating Leonardo DiCrappio) pretty much fucked that up for everyone.

Pretty RAD after all

2008-01-19T19:22:00-07:00

I received the first of my two RAD 2.0 robots, and I must say I am impressed. I can see why so many people snap these up for robotic platforms, as the track drive and arms/waist are very functional and there is a ton of space inside to cram electronics. In this installment of the on-going saga I detail the basics of a stock RAD, and discuss where I might go from here. Read all about it here in Chapter Two: Pretty RAD after all.

When I am 75 years old...

2008-01-18T15:45:00-07:00

I will still be unable to hear certain spoken numerical sequences without breaking into gansta rap. I could be sitting in the community area of my nursing home, a UPS driver could come in and ask someone where room 187 is, and I will be muttering under my breath "yeah, and you don't stop... cuz it's one eight seven on a undercover cop..". A guy could be having a heart attack at a mall while people are screaming "CALL 911!", to which I will be muttering "...nine one one is a jokey joke now!".

I Can Has A Robot!

2008-01-08T15:21:00-07:00

I have finally found something to inspire another serious long-term static entry; my ongoing story of buying/fixing/hacking a couple of old Toymax RAD 2.0 toy robots. Read the first chapter of what is sure to be a ridiculously long process of turning an old toy into a modern marvel: Chapter One - I Can Has A Robot.

Why stupid people shouldn't be allowed to vote, or How Kurt Vonnegut Was Mostly Right

2007-12-07T22:18:00-07:00

The danger of implementing "the will of the people" is that the people are frightened lemmings who not only don't understand virtually all of the issues they vote on but actively REFUSE to learn about them in any detail. So maybe these people shouldn't be allowed to vote. Maybe, if you REALLY want to vote, you should have to PROVE you are capable of making intelligent and informed decisions and not just regurgitate what you heard on FOX News.

It has always shocked me that most people absolutely cannot (or will not) see something from an opposing viewpoint, and without this simple effort you cannot possibly claim to understand an issue. We are all comfortable with our biases and pre-conceived notions of the ways things ought to be, but I have seen an alarming number of people actually avoid having their viewpoints challenged in any way. I have no doubt there are some foolish hippy tree-hugging Democrats or Libertarians or Green Party or whatever that will embrace the ideas of their chosen representative without seriously thinking the issues through, but I have observed this first-hand in a number of co-workers over the years and since they were all Rush Limbaugh-listening ultra-Republicans I have a rather ingrained notion that this is how it goes with southern right-wingers. Don't get me wrong, this is not to say they do not have a vast recall of data on the subject! Indeed, the thing that bothers me the most about the Rush Effect is that people get a piece of distorted information provided to them by their favorite source (Rush, church, political leaders, etc.) and because it fits in absolutely perfectly with their (actually Rush's) worldview they NEVER THINK TO QUESTION IT. I have a serious problem with people who refuse to question things. Particularly when it comes to politics; even if something appears to be favorable to my views I still ask myself basic questions like "how do the people proposing this benefit?" and "what does the majority of the opposing viewpoint have to say about it?". But as a general rule, around here anyway (TN, and anecdotally from news reports around the country), people are hand-fed by their godly idols exactly the necessary bits of information required to validate their personal viewpoint... which is really just the viewpoint of their godly idol overlaid onto their own. I simply do not want these ignorant people, and I mean that in the literal sense, to have any say about their system of government. Kurt Vonnegut had an interesting idea in some of his novels; there are two classes of people, "citizens" who have done a mandatory stint in the government's military to prove they are more active and conscientious than the other group, and "civilians" who notably lack certain rights that we assume today, such as the right to vote. Now, I sure don't agree with or suggest a mandatory military stint for ANYONE... the military breeds nothing BUT narrowminded conservatives in my far less than humble opinion... but there is something to the idea that it should be necessary to prove a minimal level of competence in order to vote.

I do believe that a person should be LICENSED to vote. Yes, licensed. To drive a vehicle, you must prove that you understand the majority of the relevant (vehicle and traffic) law and display a reasonable proficiency in making the correct choices. For the far more serious issue of flying a plane the education and regulation are stunning, and generally keep all but the wealthiest dumbasses out of the game (poorer dumbasses can't afford it). Saying that we should all have equal rights is foolish; you wouldn't want your neighbors collectively voting on how to perform open-heart surgery on you, you would want someone who has proven they have an adequate command of the relevant facts before they go mucking around in your chest cavity. Someone licensed to muck about in your chest cavity, because they have proven they know how, is called a "doctor". Hell, on a far simpler level a person who is authorized to pilot several tons of metal propelled by expanding gases produced by explosive combustion down multiple intersecting preconfigured areas of operation... well, that would be a licensed driver of a car. Anyone who thinks a voter can't cause as much damage as a vehicle driver hasn't looked around lately.

I would like to see "voter testing" to verify that a person is CAPABLE of making an INFORMED decision based on the majority of the available facts. I realize that you have to eliminate personal belief and prejudice in such a test, so I am not suggesting there is a single "right" answer to most questions, but you should be required to explain your reasoning for coming to the conclusions you did. I would LOVE to see something like a court room setup, because that is all I can think of right now that is already in place and capable of rendering decisions by committee (jury); a jury of 12 political "proficients" of all political leanings (elephant, donkey, nutjob, Nader... ;) that would actively question the "voter candidate" about their ability to think things through. This would eliminate the vast majority of voters, especially in the south, but I am saying that is how it SHOULD be. Honestly, most of my neighbors have absolutely no idea what is going on in the world save what Fox News tells them, and they agree with the views of whatever right-wing guest is on, with no regard to checking facts or finding out what the other side thinks. I rarely agree with Republicans, but you can bet your ass that if an issue is important to me I will find out what the Dems say negatively about the Reps, then go find out what the Reps are saying about the Dems on this issue. BOTH SIDES LIE! At the very least they deliberately distort the facts so that they are hard to understand, so you HAVE to check out both sides and read between the lines. Anyway, I think turning court houses into "voter confirmation hearings" would be outstanding, and I think you should be hauled in for review every few years, maybe every 2 presidential elections (8 years). That would work well for EVERYONE. Let's say a new voter is signed up in 1977, right after Jimmy Carter got into office. Dems, who lost the re-election of Jimmy Carter to Ronald Reagan could look forward to having those voters reviewed in time for the 1984 election in the possible vain hope that "the voters just didn't get it". Swap those presidents and dates with incumbent Clinton moving towards his second term and the Reps would love it too. I would happily attend night classes or home study to get my "credits" to take the jury test, and those that do not will overwhelmingly fall into the category of "people that no sane and thoughtful man would want voting". Man, I hate to get all Vonnegut, but maybe there IS something to the idea of "citizens" and "civilians".

(C) 2007 Don Stratton

Goodbye, Catherine

2007-09-18T11:39:00-07:00

After a drawn-out illness that only took about a week but somehow felt like a month, my dog Catherine died last Sunday morning. I have never eulogized anyone or anything before, but the days leading up to her death really tweaked my melon and for some reason I felt like I really wanted her to have... I don't know... recognition. It was surprisingly easy to write, although I did have to stop a few times and choke back the tears. As old as I am I cannot imagine ever having a dog like her again, and I will miss her.

My final thoughts about Catherine will be permanently kept in the "Static" section under "Stuff" in the article "Goodbye, Catherine".

Proton Geeks: the site all Proton users must see

2006-04-26T21:01:00-07:00

When I was researching my purchase of a PIC micro BASIC compiler I discovered the Proton Geeks web site dedicated to the Crownhill Proton compiler, and thanks in part to the efforts of users like this it gave a lot of weight to my decision to go with Proton's complier. While the site is not flush and laden with every code frag you could ever dream of, what is there is carefully crafted and extremely well done. There are projects and tutorials on some remarkably sophisticated subjects like playing back WAV files from an SD card, or using a PIC as a MIDI controller, and they have some software available in the form of system plugins or standalone apps that can really make development a breeze, such as the GLCD bitmap creation tool or the code frag library manager. All in all, absolutely must-see stuff for anyone using Proton.

Proton Geeks

Homemade PCBs done very well

2006-04-12T17:44:00-07:00

I remember my first PCB, made with press-on traces and a Radio Shack etching kit. Rough work, but by the 3rd board I got pretty damn good. Today, I couldn't imagine drawing or pressing traces on a PCB since there are so many better ways, but I still can appreciate etching my own board. I have been looking for a cheap and effective way of doing limited production prototyping, and this is the best looking method I have ever found short of photoetching.

Toner Transfer System

Homebrew 3D laser scanner

2005-11-30T08:00:00-07:00

Man, the extreme teknohacks just keep coming. This guy made a 3D laser scanner system out of a line laser, a webcam, a PC-controlled stepper motor system and a little homebrew software. He does not give you construction plans or firmware, as he wants to encourage people to make the system better by doing it themselves. He explains the theory and his general construcion in great detail, so I wouldn't be surprised if someone takes him up on the challenge.

Homebrew 3D laser scanner

Someone modded the iTrip LCD!

2005-11-21T09:43:00-07:00

I love stuff like this, especially when it is on one of "my" products. This is your basic "crack the case and extend the antenna" mod. Not at all technical, and fun for all ages, so all iTrip LCD owners should take a peek.

iTrip LCD mod

Now you know the horrible truth

2005-11-17T08:54:00-07:00

I love those guys at Despair.com! Back in the day that Griffin was cool I spent an evening with Paul ordering about $300 worth of posters for the office (some of which we never did have the guts to display). This is one of their newer posters. Very cool joke about engineers. Everyone go buy one.

Inspiration poster

Another Google Map thingy

2005-10-20T10:02:00-07:00

This one plots census data from 2000 over top a given region. Note that it starts centered on southern California, so just zoom out and recenter on the location of your choice. Shows demographical info for a 1, 3 and 5 mile circle. Note to self, after viewing my neighborhood: move, soon.

http://65.39.85.13/google/

Google map + war driving = free WiFi in Nashville!

2005-10-20T09:44:00-07:00

This is a great application of the Google Maps API; users submit locations where they have found WiFi access and this site plots it on Google Maps. Informative, if for no other reason than I found out that all local Krystal burger joints have open access points. I still don't want to EAT there, but now I know it is cool to just hang out in their parking lot. ;)

http://www.nashville2600.org/wifi.html

Of course it was a pr0n link... BabeEngine.com!

2005-10-17T20:13:00-07:00

Figures my first link would be to a porn site... sorta. This is a fascinating search engine that appears to take user-submitted links to web sites with free content, and allows you to search for said free content by a lot of specific parameters. Like em' with "big tits", a "choker" and a "lollipop"? Three checkboxes and a "Find Babes" press later and you've got what you want! Well, no, not really. That didn't get any hits the day I tried it, which I only did for the sake of accuracy in this link report. :) But hey, more common yet uncommon parings like "fishnets" and "kitchen" got me two hits! w00t! Here's hoping they drive Google right out of business. ;)

http://www.babeengine.com