Sunshine

Well, the curry was excellent, the sunny afternoon seems to suggest beer and maybe making a start on that painting.

That's my best photo of this morning, one of the few where he didn't move as the (slow) click on my phone camera kicked in.
Listening to OMD's Sugar Tax - great album. Not totally sure why they covered Kraftwerk's Neon Lights (cos it's easy to play?) but it's all very nice indeed. Must remember to record Joolz tonight as they're on.

Right, gonna make some shortbread and chill.

Had some good ideas about Cirklon fills while out walking. Using accumulators and very short patterns I can have pitch, velocity, whatever rise for as long as I hold down the fill button. I'd need to put an accumulator reset in the main pattern I guess so each time I release the fill it's ready to start again next time. I could even use mask events that watch the accumulator and, after a limit is breached add new notes/events. Aye, set the fill pattern to tbase 32 then have it 2 steps long, second step conditionally masked. Then at the point you decide on in the progress of the accumulator, have the step become unmasked. You could have a snare that got gradually louder or higher in pitch then, after a while, flipping into double speed.

Blimey, just put the latest OMD on and had to turn down the levels on the CD player drastically. Seems they discovered Waves Ultramaximiser!!

Agreed to new review, sample library so short and it does look interesting too, which is always nice.

A minor success

Hey, they're all I aspire to really. But I got an email from the council's environmental lady after I contacted her regarding the new road and toad tunnels. They didn't know it was the largest breeding site for toads in the area (why would they, they're only the local council?) but now they do she's putting in more measures for protection. Not stopping the road, nothing can do that, but could be tunnels and other crossing stuff. Even if it means I have to go out there with a lollipop I will!

Went to Garstang market and got a lovely curry, starving now cos it's fasting day but nearly done.

Wrote Andy a review of malestrum. A bit OTT perhaps but what the heck. I'd hate to review music as any kind of job though, impossible task!

Backing up Octatrack. Considering taking the Perfourmer instead of SH101 to Gareth's party. Would mean taking that little keyboard too but could maybe add my SX700 delay to the flightcase and avoid having the Eventide floating around. Can never make my mind up on this stuff! Did some groovy new Octatrack patterns, including one where I have the last step of a pattern set the rate to 32. I can then slip into a new pattern and the whole thing will play through at half speed (this is a static drum skel 32 bars long), providing I don't have any trigs there changing it.  Did some fun stuff with violin and ethereal vocal samples making them into weird little tunes. Could probably avoid taking the ESX-1 too, realistically. Cirklon and Proteus can cover extra percussion duties and I'm populating more and more fill patterns. Course the pattern list for each track doesn't distinguish between ordinary patterns and fills on a track and maybe it should... Colin busy building so won't try and get that one in. Song-level patterns and fills would be more important to me at the mo...

Relieved we didn't get camper van. Hoping bad karma visits itself on the second hand car dealer though as he revealed himself as a prime example of the breed.

Another twist

So the van is no more, not entirely sure the garage guy loves us but I get to keep my lovely car and continue to crawl into my little tent at festivals. Weird to see Pat indecisive and I still worry that I changed her mind, although I tried my best to be supportive all the way. The idea now is we'll still go away but stay in nice, warm guest houses and hotels. With the money saved by not having a van we can afford some pretty nice hotels! Let's see if we end up going anywhere though...

I also applied for a job. Not the ideal shifts actually cos one is Saturday night (so will have to reschedule mum visiting day) but apparently there are lots of applicants so I shouldn't count chickens. The shift patterns would've meant very little opportunity to use camper van and I think it contributed to... hey, you don't care about this stuff. I fecking don't!

Job would mean I can tell library company to bugger off and would be free to carry on aimlessly pottering with my own music etc. Regular cash would mean we can basically spend our savings without fear and have a jolly good time rather than me worrying we're frittering them away. Shame it involves working Saturday night though, will get in the way of some parties and festivals I'm sure.

This week I've mainly worked on my novel. Been reading Douglas Adams which both intimidates and inspires. My prose needs so much work, no wonder his took a long time. Getting the right flow is a real artform.
 I know I should do some tunes for Gareth's party but the idea of totally winging it is appealing. I could maybe buy an Analog4 and just take that and the Octatrack, no Cirklon needed. Indeed, Cirklon is looking increasingly like the bit of kit I use just to name Octatrack patterns for easy access just cos I can't fit many synths in that little rack box. Can I be arsed with yet another rethink?

Still no sign of the cash owed by the twat who sold me the Yamaha, he's just pissing me about now and my sympathy for his mental issues is dwindling. A guy was selling an akai MiniAK locally, which would have been potentially good for gigs. If the cash comes I may put it towards that. Thierry did extensive work on my theremin, changing his design for the bass mod based on my feedback. Sounds like a real improvement, what a guy!

At least I slept last night, first night properly in a while. Wonder if that really was the van or something else? Getting old dude... too old for night shifts?

This has been yet another meaningless entry, for which I apologise.

Camper than Liberace

Yes, I've reached that special point in my dotage where I bought a camper van. It's definitely camper than my lovely car which, sadly, must go so we can a) afford it b) find room for it. Actually b) is something we should have considered before the shaking of hands but that's not how we do things round here. My dear wife of 25 years likes me to be dynamic and plough in and this I have done.

I've therefore offered to buy the garage adjacent to ours. It's dropping down so will require removal and a new garage building. Still, campsites are quite cheap on a daily basis even if petrol, vans, garage building, concrete bases etc. aren't. Hey ho. I think I can forget my dream of exploring european cities until the next lifetime.

Here is a picture of the van. Should be useful for festivals and suchlike.

Today is towel day. I know where mine is and why it smells so bad. I had planned to finish the track I started yesterday but, alas.

http://soundcloud.com/smokyfrog/queldamaged-shortened-version

A bit strange, all Octatrack oddness and cirklon fills, a few blops from the esx

Good day, gonna apply for job on nights. Two a week but not weekend ....

Ah, cheap CDs!

Amazingly my (admittedly not very extensive) advertising of the JIC live performance from 2007 in Spain has generated precisely one purchase. Is £4 too much to ask? Could be, I just bought 6 CDs for a tenner from a shop in Preston. These are by:
Nightmares on Wax
William Orbit
OMD
Radiohead
Shamen
Rachmaninov
I have no idea what order I will listen to them except the William Orbit will probably last as I think I have it already, doh!

Re-sent the liner notes for my LP and tinkered with them only slightly. Had a nice stroll with Pat and generally sussed a few things. This evening I may go to OMD in Manchester but it's equally likely I'll stay in and get hammered with Tony. I do intend to go see Damo Suzuki on Sunday though and Tim Blake mentioned a Hawkwind gig at Jodrell Bank, which I'd quite like to attend.

Bought some nice paper to paint on plus a new brush. Tim posted a watercolour that is absolutely amazingly good. Thank heavens art ain't a competition cos he's way, way more talented than I am. Hey ho.

And so it goes

... that my life has become divided into days, each distinguished by some minor event or other. Perhaps it's the day when I put the bins out or go to visit my mother. Thursday is fasting day, although my ongoing viral thing has meant the last two Thursdays have not counted as being Thursdays. There's no indication that this has damaged the concept.

Today Phil was having his brain op. Having received a tweet from him, it seems they returned at least some of his brain. This is a massive relief.

So today is one of those days when Pat works. So I've cleaned out and fed her horse and now a meat-free burger is fizzling in the oven. Soon it will be joined by something out of a tin - mushy peas perhaps - and if I'm feeling especially gourmanghastic, a fried egg often fits well into this simple repast. Jeez, it's come to this, that I document the extent to which I have nothing worthwhile to record.

We visited the museum of Preston today. There were a few kids in wheelchairs there too looking quite disspirited at being there and in general I suppose. There was quite a high staff to visitor ratio but the coffee machine delivered a satisfying cappuccino. I believe I paid excessively for a creme egg. I'm trying to think of other highlights but failing miserably. If you've never visited Preston you're lucky. If you have visited Preston but have missed the museum, count yourself as partially lucky.

Tomorrow is Wednesday. I have nothing on my calendar for it so it's very possibly my blog entry will be equally verbose and equally pointless. I've typed just long enough for the burger to be almost eatable. Oh, I got a photo at the museum of my face gurning through a strange lens. If you're really unlucky, whoever you are who reads this thing, I may post it tomorrow. But that's enough excitement for one day...

Turns out more excitement was possible. I had some pasta stuff instead of the mushy peas. How's that for a status update? Perhaps I should tell you about my neighbour and his obsession with my fence? I caught him hitting it with a hammer yesterday although what, exactly, he hoped to achieve was unclear. Poor chap seemed very agitated so I will have a think what I can do for him.

And while I'm here:

Sunday spent

Nothing much happened today. I was told how I once painted a bedroom mural involving a castle and a rainbow. Pat remembers it too, clouds it had too apparently. Trouble is I can't recall doing it, how weird is that? Anyway, I have a new one to do involving a bear and a rabbit, that's all I know. About time I got the paintbrushes out, been meaning to get a canvas for some acrylic work so perhaps this will be the spur I need.

This evening, with no real need to do anything, I'm gonna have a beer and a smoke and work on Eternity Program. Seems a long time and I've been doing the same chapter forever so gonna move to another part of the story. Making it a series of related short stories does make it easier to write in one sense but knowing how far to follow each strand is the hard part.

Listening to "Adrift", a classic album nobody knows about, which is a shame.

Last night I recorded this. http://soundcloud.com/smokyfrog/lost-volts

Sunday evening, writing went well. Some dots have lined between them now. Track seems to have been appreciated. Folks must be listening with bass. :)

Um

I don't seem to have much to say lately. Still a bit ill but the news of good pal's brain tumour seems to have left me without any desire to communicate. His op on Tuesday so after that hopefully we'll all perk up.