Tools

The best tools for the job – part 2

Music Creation and Editing

When it comes to music creation/editing software and tools there are rabid fans of just about anything you can find. These tools are by no means the only thing available, and there might even be some that don’t do the job as well as others. These (as all the picks in this series) are just the ones I happen to like.

Sequencing:
For sequencing (MIDI) work I like Anvil Studio [Windows]. I have been using it for several years now, (since around ’99 or ’00 or so) and it works great for composing music. I generally create a complete melodic piece, and then split it into ‘chunks’ which I can use in my loop composition package. I then work out the harmonic tracks based on the whole, figure out the thematic elements and work that into a set of harmony ‘chunks’ which are (mostly) interchangeable throughout the melody line.

Using MIDI pieces directly in a loop composition package is generally not such a good idea. You’re generally stuck with whatever MIDI interpreter is built into the package. Which is why I then take my ‘chunks’ and convert them to wav files using TiMidity++ [Windows – Linux – BSD – OSX]. Since TiMidity++ uses Gravis Ultrasound compatible patch files and/or SoundFonts (essentially sample libraries) to convert to wave, you get the benefits of a sampling board, and you can turn your MIDI files into well-voiced wavs.

Of course, well-voiced wavs still aren’t completely ready to pull into a loop composition. They need to be edited, manipulated, sometimes warmed and riched, sometimes fuzzed and occasionally pitch-shifted or time-stretched (when the piece starts to deviate radically from what I started with – which happens more often than you may think). Plus there are those direct recorded samples (usually done with something like the built-in Windows sound-recorder) of things like hand drums, didgeridoo, or some weird sound that I thought would be cool. All of these need to be edited before importing and for that I currently use WavePad [Windows]. I used to use Syntrillium CoolEdit (which has now become Adobe Audition) but I couldn’t keep up with the ever rising license costs. So far, WavePad has been able to do everything I need it to do, so I’m not feeling too bad about it. I have also tried Audacity which I love under Linux, but feel the interface of WavePad suits better.

Once I have all my chunks and loops, it’s time to assemble them. For this I use eJay Music Director Gold [Windows]. I have tried other packages (like Acid and FruityLoops) but so far have been pleased with what I can do in Music Director. I may try other packages again some time in the future – but for now I am sticking with what works!

Tools

The best tools for the job

I am often asked by my Linux-using friends why I am using Windows, while my my Windows-centric friends wonder why I am using Linux or BSD and my Mac-user friends ask why I’m not using Mac at all. The answer to the last is easiest – I don’t have a Mac.

As to the other questions, it depends on what I am doing at the moment. I don’t think that Windows is inherently better or worse than Linux or BSD, nor do I think that all software that costs money is evil. I think it all comes down to asking the question: “What is the best tool for the job I am doing?”

With that in mind, here is the first installment in the list of my picks:

Web Development (HTML/PHP/JavaScript): Adobe HomeSite (previously Macromedia HomeSite, previously Allaire HomeSite). [Windows]

I have been using HomeSite for several years now, and despite the changes in company ownership, it continues to be the best tool available for general web development.

In the realm of rapid development, HomeSite has a built-in ftp client, and you can also set it to use a server running locally to see PHP pages and Perl CGI in action. For that I prefer Xampp from ApacheFriends, because of its ease of installation on Windows and the fact that it makes creating a local Apache/PHP/MySQL setup a snap.

The down side to HomeSite is that it doesn’t understand Python/PSP, and changing the tab settings to use spaces instead of tabs seems to be broken in the latest version. I thought it used to do that, but I may be mistaken.

The only tool that comes close is Bluefish [Linux] which seems to be improving in great strides. When I need to whack out a quick web document while in Linux that is the tool for which I reach.

Although Bluefish understands Python it still doesn’t quite work the way I would like it to when highlighting and parsing PSPs. Maybe, when I have the time I can write a plug-in for HomeSite to do just that.

Tomorrow: Music Editing/Creation Tools

Writings

I’m still here

Just to let the myriad of my readers know (all both of them!) that I am still here. I just decided to take a weekend.

I figured that since I had a three-day weekend I would avoid working on anything other than the house for a couple days. That was actually very nice.

Now, however, I find out that not checking my email accounts several times a day, in fact letting them go for more than two whole days, I am facing an incredible amount of catch-up I have to do. The old saw that “Hard work pays off later, procrastination pays off right now” comes with an unspoken caveat: while procrastination might pay off right now, the check still needs to be handled later!

Alaska

(Yet Another) Augustine Update

Word just came over the radio that all flights into and out of Anchorage International Airport and the Kenai Peninsula have been
postponed until 3PM tomorrow due to the danger of ash above the 30,000 foot range.

CORRECTION: Listening to the rebroadcast (which was much more in-depth than the first announcement) it turns out that Era Aviation and
Alaska Airlines have suspended all flights between:
Anchorage and Fairbanks
Anchorage and Homer
Anchorage and Ninilchick
Anchorage and Seattle
and all flights in and out of Homer and Ninilchick, while all flights in and out of Kenai are expected to stopped at dark (because of the inability to see any ash clouds.)

Needless to say, we are currently on “alert” here at the university, getting ready to shut down and bag everything if the higher-level winds shift.

One of our coworkers who is currently involved in a cross-country ski competition in the lower 48 says there is no news of
the volcano down there.

Alaska

Augustine Updates

There have been three more eruptions so far today and the status has been moved back up from “orange” to “red”.

From the Alaska Volcano Observatory Augustine Eruption Page:

January 13, 2006
Level of Concern Color Code: RED

Several explosive events occurred at Augustine Volcano this morning: at approximately 3:55 AM AST (13:24 UTC); 8:47 AM AST (17:47); and 11:22 AM AST (20;22). Pilot reports and satellite imagery confirm ash clouds in excess of 30,000 ft above sea level moving eastward. Seismic data suggest that pyroclastic flows and lahars (volcanic mudflows) are occurring on the flanks of the island and possibly extending beyond.

Similar short-lived explosive activity is expected to continue over the next several days or weeks. Individual explosions are expected to produce ash plumes accompanied by pyroclastic flows and lahars (volcanic mudflows) on the flanks of the volcano.

More information is also available at National Weather Service, Anchorage Forecast Office – Augustine Coordination.

2DL

Finally got some samples up

I finally got around to uploading some samples from the first released 2DL album for Now

Since the fastest upstream rate I can get here without going to a managed T1 (why, oh why, can’t I get an unmanaged T1 here?) is 360kbps the files are in lower quality MP3 and limited to only the first two minutes of each song. They are, however, decent enough to give you an idea of what we (2DL) are doing.

To access the samples go to http://www.evardsson.com/blog/2dl/ and check them out.

I do ask that you are gentle on my server, though, for the reasons listed above.

Alaska

Augustine Eruption

Mt. Augustine started spitting ash this morning, as we all knew it would. (Details available at The Alaska Volcano Observatory.)

Currently all the ash is staying East of Anchorage, but if the wind shifts we’ll get plenty. That may mean a long day or night for me and my co-workers as we power off every piece of equipment with a fan or moving parts, bag all the servers and PCs and seal the server rooms and wire closets with plastic sheeting.

In case you were unaware, volcanic ash is actually tiny pieces of glass and it can do serious damage to electronics, glass, cds, car paint jobs, your lungs, ad infinitum.

Python

My First PyBlosxom Plugin!

Ok, ok, I know. It’s not a big deal. But it is to me!

I have been looking all over for the amazingly elusive breadcrumbs plugin for PyBlosxom
and found it nowhere. So, having the kind of attitude I do, I decided to try my hand at it. You can see the results in action on this site.

Prior to now, all the Python coding I had done was directly related to either server maintenance or parsing large text files.

If you would like a copy of my breadcrumbs implementation you can download it here.

Writings

Procrastination vs. Brain Breaks

Why is it that when things really get busy you find yourself thinking about everything but the task at hand? You have to wonder, are there still vestiges of teenage procrastination (the “I-can-get-it-done-any-time” syndrome) lingering about.

Perhaps the real reason is that after working long hours on a project, any project, the brain just needs to rest. Perhaps, just like those long sets at the gym that leave your muscles feeling bloodless and dead, long bouts of intellectual strain leave you brain-tired.

BREAK

I happen to think that may be closer to the truth. I have put in many long hours trying to get this site up and functional, and it has already been through several iterations, software-wise, to get to the point it is now (about 50%, functionally speaking.)

There are lots of other things I want to implement here, but am finding it hard at the moment to sit and concentrate on coding. So, I guess this is as good a time as any to throw some content up in the writings section, and to test the readmore functionality while I am at it.

Once I have this up and have taken a brain break, (I think a stupid movie may be in order), I will have to get back on what I am doing.