index.md (8625B)
1 --- 2 title: "Dispatch #14 (April 2024)" 3 date: 2024-04-08T00:17:19-04:00 4 draft: false 5 tags: 6 - dispatch 7 references: 8 - title: "From ink to pixel to ink – Manu" 9 url: https://manuelmoreale.com/from-ink-to-pixel-to-ink 10 date: 2024-04-03T03:08:41Z 11 file: manuelmoreale-com-n8by1u.txt 12 - title: "Favorites of February 2024 | Brain Baking" 13 url: https://brainbaking.com/post/2024/03/february-2024/ 14 date: 2024-04-03T03:26:56Z 15 file: brainbaking-com-iscreo.txt 16 - title: "Why keep writing? | Eddie Dale" 17 url: https://www.eddiedale.com/blog/why-keep-writing 18 date: 2024-04-08T03:59:40Z 19 file: www-eddiedale-com-nvwl9r.txt 20 - title: "Own Your Web – Issue 12: Finding Your Rhythm • Buttondown" 21 url: https://buttondown.email/ownyourweb/archive/issue-12/ 22 date: 2024-04-08T03:59:41Z 23 file: buttondown-email-v1a73n.txt 24 - title: "'I'm not a cynic, I'm disappointed' – the _Software Crisis_ Easter Sale – Baldur Bjarnason" 25 url: https://www.baldurbjarnason.com/2024/the-software-crisis-easter-sale/ 26 date: 2024-04-08T03:59:41Z 27 file: www-baldurbjarnason-com-vcrrh1.txt 28 - title: "Why We Can't Have Nice Software - Andrew Kelley" 29 url: https://andrewkelley.me/post/why-we-cant-have-nice-software.html 30 date: 2024-04-08T03:59:42Z 31 file: andrewkelley-me-jlnnop.txt 32 - title: "Churn" 33 url: https://johan.hal.se/wrote/2024/03/05/churn/ 34 date: 2024-04-08T03:59:43Z 35 file: johan-hal-se-sgfcqg.txt 36 - title: "Any Technology Indistinguishable From Magic is Hiding Something" 37 url: https://www.fromjason.xyz/p/notebook/any-technology-indistinguishable-from-magic-is-hiding-something/ 38 date: 2024-04-08T04:03:07Z 39 file: www-fromjason-xyz-37bvry.txt 40 - title: "Your Blog Should Have an About Page | Brain Baking" 41 url: https://brainbaking.com/post/2024/03/your-blog-should-have-an-about-page/ 42 date: 2024-04-08T04:04:05Z 43 file: brainbaking-com-zz8hva.txt 44 - title: "Periodical 17 – Optimization - Christopher Butler ☼" 45 url: https://www.chrbutler.com/2024-03-09 46 date: 2024-04-08T04:04:06Z 47 file: www-chrbutler-com-tatc86.txt 48 --- 49 50 Busy March! My whole family came into town for a long weekend, then we headed down to Wilmington to run a race and spend time with Claire's sister, then I was off to Vegas for the basketball tournament, and we capped things off at Lake Norman with Claire's grandmother. 51 52 <!--more--> 53 54 {{<dither C800D921-B641-41B3-88F2-992A9121F331.jpeg "782x580">}}Dad reads a bedtime story while both kids cuddle close and help turn the pages.{{</dither>}} 55 {{<dither IMG_0194.jpeg "782x580">}}Father and toddler laughing together on the pier as the sun sets behind them.{{</dither>}} 56 57 We had such a good time at the race [last month][1] that we all decided to sign up for the [Steve Haydu St. Patrick's Lo Tide Run][2]. I didn't do quite as well ([results][3], [certificate][4]) but I had a great time and I got to catch the last mile or so of the 5K with Claire and Nev (my tiny runner). 58 59 [1]: /journal/dispatch-13-march-2024/ 60 [2]: https://runsignup.com/Race/NC/CarolinaBeach/LoTideRun 61 [3]: /journal/dispatch-14-april-2024/spltr-result.pdf 62 [4]: /journal/dispatch-14-april-2024/spltr-cert.pdf 63 64 I picked up a [Roland SP-404][5] sampler -- this thing's super neat. It gives me something I can plug a guitar or microphone into, has a bunch of built-in effects, and plays nicely with the Novation Circuit Tracks (I can trigger samples with the MIDI sequencer, and I can run sound from the Circuit to the SP-404 to add effects). Here's a track I made with them called "Asperatus": 65 66 [5]: https://www.roland.com/global/products/sp-404mk2/ 67 68 <audio controls src="/journal/dispatch-14-april-2024/Asperatus.mp3"></audio> 69 70 I added some shelves to my existing workbench to hold all my music gear. Feeling good about this setup assuming I don't buy anything else (😬). 71 72 {{<dither IMG_5742.jpeg "782x580">}}A cozy basement workbench doubles as a synth playground, with keyboards and controllers neatly lined up under soft task lighting.{{</dither>}} 73 {{<dither IMG_5741.jpeg "782x580">}}Cozy basement maker space with a wood workbench, tools and a hanging bike, ready for a DIY session.{{</dither>}} 74 75 I read a bunch of great books this month. The standout was certainly [_Sea of Tranquility_][6] by Emily St. John Mandel (read [_The Glass Hotel_][7] first). I also enjoyed [_Tress of the Emerald Sea_][8] -- classic Sanderson shit. 76 77 [6]: https://bookshop.org/p/books/sea-of-tranquility-emily-st-john-mandel/17768221 78 [7]: https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-glass-hotel-emily-st-john-mandel/15791463 79 [8]: https://bookshop.org/p/books/winter-2023-tor-title-to-be-announced-announced/19018157?ean=9781250899651 80 81 I had a couple things printed this month. I made this [e-ink photo frame][9] a couple years back, and for the second year in a row, I sent all the photos off to [Mixbook][10] for a run of full-color, hardcover books I sent to my family. The frame's lasted longer than I anticipated, but these'll last longer. Also, most of my musical equipment provides its documentation as digital PDFs instead of printed manuals. I sent the PDFs for the Circuit Tracks and the SP-404 off to [print-my-pdf.com][11] and got back nice, wire-bound copies. I've made it about half way through the Circuit manual and learned a bunch already, something I'd never do w/ a 100+ page PDF on my computer. As Manuel Moreale says in a [recent post][12]: 82 83 > The more we digitize the world the more analogue, physical objects become important. 84 85 [9]: /elsewhere/making-an-email-powered-e-paper-picture-frame/ 86 [10]: https://www.mixbook.com/ 87 [11]: https://www.print-my-pdf.com/ 88 [12]: https://manuelmoreale.com/from-ink-to-pixel-to-ink 89 90 ### This Month 91 92 * Adventure: Claire and I are headed to Lisbon, Portugal for a long weekend; hoping to catch a [Benfica][13] match while we're there 93 * Project: declutter and organize -- gotta clear out some space for some big stuff coming this summer 94 * Skill: SP-404 -- so much to learn here (recording tight samples, selectively applying effects, resampling, etc.) 95 96 [13]: https://www.slbenfica.pt/en-us/ 97 98 ### Reading 99 100 * Fiction: [_Pawn of Prophecy_][14], David Eddings (recommended by [Wouter Groeneveld][15]) 101 * Non-fiction: aforementioned Circuit and SP-404 manuals 102 103 [14]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Belgariad 104 [15]: https://brainbaking.com/post/2024/03/february-2024/#books-ive-read 105 106 ### Links 107 108 * [Why keep writing?][16] 109 110 > Good question. I guess a natural follow up question is: Why did you start in the first place? Also a good question. 111 112 * [Own Your Web – Issue 12: Finding Your Rhythm][17] 113 114 > But then again, what is the point of having a personal site if we don’t put stuff out there from time to time, if we don’t document and share random thoughts, things we learned, and nuggets we found? And even though you definitely don’t have to publish daily to enjoy having a blog, it is only when you post more regularly that many of the advantages of having a personal site really start to emerge. 115 116 * [I'm not a cynic, I'm disappointed][18] 117 118 > People who point out what needs to be improved are generally disappointed optimists. 119 120 * [Why We Can't Have Nice Software][19] 121 122 > The problem with software is that it's too powerful. It creates so much wealth so fast that it's virtually impossible to not distribute it. 123 124 * [Churn][20] 125 126 > The main reason Web Components aren’t going to save you from the JS treadmill, however, is that the JS treadmill is first and foremost a cultural product. 127 128 * [Any Technology Indistinguishable From Magic is Hiding Something][21] 129 130 > But none of that really matters. We keep waiting for the next iteration of the web, or the internet, but the future is now, baby. We’re living it at this very moment. It snuck through the backdoor when no one was looking. 131 132 * [Your Blog Should Have an About Page][22] 133 134 > The site stats tell me that my about page at /about is consistently one of the most visited pages on this website. That confirms what everyone already knows: people are very curious, sometimes even nosy. 135 136 * [Periodical 17 – Optimization][23] 137 138 > Optimizing a home is a years-long process. 139 140 [16]: https://www.eddiedale.com/blog/why-keep-writing 141 [17]: https://buttondown.email/ownyourweb/archive/issue-12/ 142 [18]: https://www.baldurbjarnason.com/2024/the-software-crisis-easter-sale/ 143 [19]: https://andrewkelley.me/post/why-we-cant-have-nice-software.html 144 [20]: https://johan.hal.se/wrote/2024/03/05/churn/ 145 [21]: https://www.fromjason.xyz/p/notebook/any-technology-indistinguishable-from-magic-is-hiding-something/ 146 [22]: https://brainbaking.com/post/2024/03/your-blog-should-have-an-about-page/ 147 [23]: https://www.chrbutler.com/2024-03-09