SSL

I've always been amused by the sound of the SSL buss compressor. And nowadays you can get one in kit form for about $500 USD.

The 300 Series, v16

If we are actually going in this direction, sphere "cockpit" or "command module," and some sort of other thing at the nose, I gotta figure out how we build this. Um. It won't be easy. I'm thinking some sort of CNC-cut foam on top of a welded or bolted frame. I mean, the actors have to be able to open hatches and crawl in somehow.
If we end up really hating seeing the bicycle wheels we can put the skirts down really low -- just a couple inches off the ground.
Now that I'm looking at this I'm wondering if we want the hatches to actually be down low rather than on top. I have a sequence where a character is riding with her head out the hatch but maybe that gets altered? I don't know.

Cruiser 300 series version 09

Now I'm thinking we want the practical vehicle to be entirely remote-controlled and not have anyone have to actually ride in it.
The top of this is a Soviet moon landing vehicle.

V09

The idea I'm trying for is to have a creepily organic undercarriage which sort of "exposes" itself in the middle section, with a more geometric and block-y top section.
Obviously, I did not model the wheels, the lunar lander, or the woman. Heck, I didn't even model the other pieces, which are just greebles that I bent. Huh. I actually removed all the parts I may have actually modeled.

This is actually the bottom of a Soviet lunar lander.V10

And this is version 11:

V11

Unloading desktop images.

So obviously my ad campaign didn't work.

This is Meydl. Not actually helping.

Chance Shirley's Frito's and Meatless Chili

Laura: Front desk guy assured me that BBQ Fritos are better than the original and you know? He's not wrong.

Chance Even better: plain Fritos covered in chili!

1. Brown 1 pkg (12 oz) Litelife Smart Ground - http://lightlife.com/products/smart-ground-original …
2. Add half of the chili kit ingredients (minus salt and flour) (save other half for next time) - https://www.walmart.com/ip/Wick-Fowler-s-Texas-Style-2-Alarm-Chili-Kit-7-CT/10314625 …
3. Add 4 oz tomato sauce
4. Add 8 oz water
5. Mix well, then simmer low for 15 min

This serves about six. What I do is freeze the other five servings in little tupperware things. Then I can reheat a single serving (thaw, put it in skillet with water, cook off the water) later.

The fake meat is super dry, so spray Pam on your pan before you brown it. And I like to stir in a little olive oil to simulate grease.

It took some trial and error to get it right. But for my primitive palate, the above ratios work well. (I also add in some random extra spices just ’cause I like it super spicy.)

Oh... serve the fake meat chili over Fritos with a little bit of shredded sharp cheddar cheese.

Drew: I'm not so much with the super-hot. But Wick Fowler does make a kit for wimps.

Passive mixing

I've been amused by the idea (idea, mind you, not the reality) of a completely custom-made DIY mixing board.
There is a reason those things don't exist. They're really really really hard to do. The moment you add one new feature to a channel, you may as well just go buy an Allen and Heath mixer and get your work done.
Passive audio mixer w/o pots.
Still, I'm amused by the idea of a 6x2 mixer for classical music. I was kind of thinking in terms of a completely passive design. Feeding the line out of external mic preamps into it, you go through some transformers and Penny&Giles 120mm analog faders, and there ya go.
Still, not quite as easy and one might hope. Actually, what I don't get (yet) is the interaction between channels when you start turning some up and others down in a totally passive mixer.
But in my research I've come upon some amusing things. Like a completely hand-made tube mixer. You're looking at about $1000/channel designed by a former Neve engineer (I know, right?) at Custom Tube Consoles.

Reading up on his designs started me down the path of looking at Helios 69 "passive" EQ designs. Which is kinda cool.
___

Also: 3D printable headphone holders.

Multi-stage saturation "colour" kit.

Eye Cat King Size

I'm trying to get the ergonomics right for my desk. Eye height and monitor distance are on the agenda today.

$550/month gets you a dedicated desk and 3 hours of laser/CNC time at The Fat Cat Fab Lab in NYC.

Bad King has a whole bunch of z-brush greebles which have .obj. Greebles, man. Free.

I never realized how smart the A1, A2, A3 paper sizes were. Man, they sure beat our dumb sizes.  

I guess this Twitter story is a novella. I'm calling it "Night of the Combat Witch." https://storify.com/abellware/night-of-the-combat-witch

I suppose I could use November to write the novel. Because, as always, I have so much time on my hands.

I'm now on Venmo. You know. The kids. They love it.

Learn then thou the Project Engine

The Project Engine

A simple project management tool the runs inside Google Sheets. Collaborate, communicate and succeed with The Project Engine The Project Engine is a bundle of Google Sheets that form a project management tool. It is designed to help teams of all sizes collaborate, communicate, and succeed. The Project Engine consists of four major components: 1) The Team Member List is where you assemble your team and assign them roles. Admins can assign projects to Team Members, who in turn can assign tasks to each other. 2) Each Team Member gets their own Team Member Sheet. From here they can view all the projects and tasks to which they have been assigned. Once they complete a task, it gets stored in the archive section of their sheet, creating a record of all their hard work. 3) The Master Project List shows you all your projects. You see what's coming up and who's working on particular tasks. 4) Each project gets a Project Sheet. From here, the project managers and Admins can work together to plan all the stages of a project, assign tasks to the right Team Members, share information, and automate activities to keep the project moving forward. The Project Engine comes with a Getting Started Guide to help you get the most out of its tools.

Pretty good for a $220 3D printer

Here is a kind of awesome open-source document on the Monoprice 3D printer. The printer's got a 120mm cube area for building. And it works pretty darn well. The filament is a pain to get actually inside the extruder, you have to fiddle with it for a bit. But after that it's good to go.

You can use any brand of PLA or whatever you want with it. I got some Hatchbox PLA for it. Very sweet.

This is the printer:

пингвин должен молчать

Alibaba -- cheap bicycle.

Moar bikes.

And more 3-spoke wheels.

Motorized bicycle kits.

Cheapo WalMart conversion kit.

BikeBerry conversion kit.

Polyurethane microcellular foam

Wow. This post looks like a Russian troll-bot took over my blog. Shockingly, it's still just me.

Dragon Girl Preliminary Art

From the great Chance Shirley.

Version 1

We're going punk rock here.

Version 2

Wooden mics and suchwise.

FiveFish Audio makes a vacuum tube preamp kit for a 500-series rack for $190.
JLM Audio, in Australia, makes an opto-compressor 500 series kit for just under $400 (USD.)
Here is an early prototypes of the "Wooden Microphone." The inherent structural issue is revealed in the second image.

Oops.

Austin Ribbon Microphone

The Austin Ribbon mic kits are very sweet. All the parts you need and really good instructions. I got mine with the Cinemag transformer. I don't understand why transformers sound so different from one another. That is beyond me. Cutting and installing the ribbon is a surprising level of pain in the tuchus. Lucky for me the Marsian Queen did that part for me. Also lucky? Having a FabLab to build in.

Laser engraved with the secret elephant language of course.