Cherry Audio has a modular softsynth, called “Voltage.” It’s currently (as of October 8, 2018) $150, in a bundle that includes the core product, plus 69 modules as well as an additional set of percussion modules and settings for the synthesizer. It looks like it’s a competitor for four softsynths with which I have varying [...]
The Story of my Hand
Back in October 2016, I had a hospital stay, with surgery for an infection in my left thumb. In some ways, it’s not that big of a deal, in other ways it was a very big deal – they used terms like “life-threatening” after the surgery was successful. There’ve been some long-term effects, some physical, [...]
Irony
Irony is immersing yourself in “Ready Player One” while everything’s going on around you. (I missed a landing while watching the end of the movie, even though I’ve seen it before.)
The Golden Rule
I’ve been thinking about the Golden Rule lately, and it’s confusing and difficult for me. It’s also confusing and difficult to express. I am fairly certain that this post will come across as whining and petulant. Who knows, maybe it is – but I don’t think so, and that’s not the intent with which it’s [...]
My Favorite NBA Players, 2018 Edition
I’ve been watching the NBA Finals this year – Part Four of the Cavaliers/Warriors battle – and it got me thinking about who my favorite current players are. Thus, I had to establish criteria. My favorite players don’t have to be the best players – just the ones I like to watch most… but it [...]
Rush and Religion
I recently read “Random Samples: Demystifying the Magic Music of Rush,” because I’m a giant Rush nerd. It’s a good book, for what it is; it’s actually more of a personal memoir of the author (Jude Joseph Lovell) and his recollections of a few specific albums (particularly Grace Under Pressure and Counterparts, although other albums [...]
Postwar Philosophy
I am struggling to read John Fowles‘ “The Magus” – and I may not finish it. Despite its place in popular literature as a significant postmodern work, it may join a small set of its literary fellows: books I’ve only begun and dropped through lack of interest. It’s not the writing; the writing, while fairly [...]
My thoughts on a better gun control policy
My thoughts on a rational gun control policy, as a non-lawyer: I’m fine with semiautomatic weapons with replaceable magazines being made illegal for private ownership. They’re fun; they’re not actually useful except for specific purposes. This is probably the least important change I would make. Like, if you have a rifle, you’d have a fixed [...]
We have failed our children on gun control.
Americans have absolutely failed our children on gun control – and I probably don’t mean that the way you think. There’s no way to write this without sounding like I’m ignoring nuance. I totally understand the responses from both sides: those resenting the politicization of a shooting (on both sides), and those screaming that this [...]
I’m still here.
It turns out that I’m still here, still writing, just not publishing anything. I’m out in the woodshed, basically, writing stuff to myself and evaluating, trying to let my work age, trying to shape it into something that fits the intentions I have for it. I’m still writing.