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Friday, August 22, 2008

Technology be damned...

Had a devilish time this morning trying to program a MIDI file for eventual conversion to audio. My PC "doesn't like" Cubase very much (my new laptop fairly likewise), and it has a tendency to add a certain element of "latency" when trying to play MIDI on a keyboard, so I use a free program called MIDI Maestro which is great for programming (no latency) but is lousy for editing. I program using MIDI Maestro on the PC and then copy across to the laptop to edit in Cubase and THEN copy it back to the PC to "play" using MIDI Maestro. I record the resulting audio on my laptop using Cool Edit Pro. Left, right, left, right...

Well, that's the plan anyway...the new laptop has Windows Vista, which doesn't much like DVDs burnt on my PC using Nero Express. And vice versa - the PC can't seem to read DVDs burnt on the laptop under Vista. After about 30 minutes trying to transfer the files physically, I gave up and sent myself an e-mail from the laptop to the PC, attaching the edited MIDI file.

That worked fine, except that when I went to record the resulting audio, my laptop didn't like my audio interface, even though I'd used it a few weeks ago in Castleisland. After much cursing, swearing, plugging/unplugging the interface, starting up/shutting down Cool Edit and eventually re-booting the laptop, I ended up having to re-install the drivers for the interface. That worked in the end and I got all my work done.

The laptop was supposed to solve a number of my technical problems. Not so sure now that it's all going to be a happy relationship - however, I suspect that the real culprit here is Windows Vista rather than the laptop itself...

Regards,


djp

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Well, Derrick, water you know?

Came back from a wee shopping trip up in Kildare today and found this little beauty in the space in front of the bungalow we are renovating...

We're installing a geothermal heating system and that involves drilling a deep hole - deep enough to encounter a source of warm, subterranean water. Here's hoping they drill deep enough to find oil, but not deep enough to find magma...:-)

Regards,


djp

Tuesday, August 05, 2008

Cat-egory



Korky's little secret is out - he, sir, is a "she", sir...:-)

Regards,


djp

My Top 10 iPod tracks - 01/08/2008

  1. (5) - Easter Parade - The Blue Nile
  2. (-) - Do It - Buzzcocks
  3. (1) - I'm Afraid - The Cardboard Lung
  4. (-) - One Day Like This - Elbow
  5. (-) - The Greatest Show On Earth - JP Den Tex
  6. (-) - Living On A Thin Line - The Kinks
  7. (2) - Ben Kenobi's Theme - Patrick Gleeson
  8. (3) - Lullaby - Pugwash & Friends
  9. (-) - No Way Of Knowing - A. Tent
  10. (4) - Le Soleil Est Pres De Moi - Air

Regards,


djp