Of course the Covid pandemic isn’t over for many people…
Month: March 2023
Let the lyrics do the talking mix
A special anniversary mix for my partner, partly following the hearts in the clouds of Amsterdam mix. She loves vocals, while I tend to focus on the beats & rhythm. Looking through my collection of tunes, I was surprised how few had vocals.
With this, I started thinking about a mix using them and following a holiday in Lisbon. Tweaked an initial mix a few times to make it a better listen overall. The result is a mix which moves along at a higher speed of about 138bpm, matching the higher vocal trance and is a gift to my loving partner.
Of course enjoyable by all those who love vocal trance…
Enjoy it on my mixgarden or via Peertube!
Loop travel isn’t helpful to me, at all!
I am still loving my DJ pacemaker device but stuck on the last official firmware for my main device (I have quite a few of them just incase). I always found I couldn’t guarantee the accuracy of the looping feature if I recorded on device, so didn’t use it unless playing live. I did a blog about this a while back.
However yesterday I happened to be doing a mix and it crashed with a 201 error, loosing my currently recording mix. Very annoyed I decided to look at the lack of space left on the device (7gig left) as I don’t actually know how much working spare space it actually needs to run?
Then I started looking at the settings, I noticed loop travel which I always turned on for some reason thinking it was something good.
Deactivate/activate loop travel
This setting disallows/allows loop in-point to push end-point and vice versa.
- When in Mix mode, select Settings > Mix control > Loop travel >.
- Toggle between Off/On by swiping right
Now to be fair in the early versions of the Pacemaker firmware, the looping was hit and miss but in later versions its not needed for me.
So I turned it off did a test mix and what do you know it looped perfectly when listening back in the editor!
All this time, I avoided looping unless playing live because of this. You can imagine how happy I was going to sleep. It also means I can upgrade the firmware to the latest and get the added features.
Wait for the next lot of mixes!!!
In conversation with Cory Doctorow… in Manchester 31st May
I have the absolute pleasure of hosting the incredible Cory Doctorow in Waterstones Manchester on Wednesday 31st May at 1830.
Cory I have known for a long while through many different events and through friend. His books are simply another level, from the fictional works to the deeply powerful non-fiction ones.
There is so much to be said starting with the book of course. Now to be honest, I heard most of Cory’s books via audiobooks. However my ever so sweet partner has offered to read me red team blues, which is great because its a really good opportunity to talk about the tech/rights/data side of things which we have only touched a couple of times.
You can sign up to the conversation with myself and Cory on the waterside site. Expect a real fascinating evening of wonder and conversation covering a lot of what makes Cory … Cory.
Cory will be signing books too, so bring your questions and books.
Little update…
Of course Cory has other upcoming appearances in the UK, not just Manchester
Red Team Blues event with Tim Harford in Oxford, Monday May 29th
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/cory-doctorow-red-team-blues-with-tim-harford-tickets-574673793787
If you are in London UCL have Peter Kirstein on Thursday June 1st
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/peter-kirst
Cash still rules everything around me
Every once in a while I’m reminded I should carry some cash.
Recently I was in Lisbon, and as usually used my card for everything. However we decided to head to the beach of Cascais, as it was going to be warm (20c in Feb isn’t bad).
Of course after a while on the beach with the Diabolo and my partner, a toilet break is needed. So going for a walk around Cascais to spot a toilet in a shop, I saw a nice restaurant called Pistachio Bar. I knew I was missing a good Portuguese coffee, so I thought I’d buy a swifty espresso and make the excuse to use the toilet at the same time.
They started to make the espresso and I went to pay for the espresso with my card. But they didn’t accept card payments under 5 euros. The manager came over and they talked about the payment, I thought about other things I could do including turning it into a Americano/long black, etc all while needing the toilet still. In the end the manager turned to me and said just take it for free.
This would be great, although I couldn’t do it, especially since I still needed the toilet. There was no way I could take the espresso and then use the toilet for free. So I looked around and noticed a full bar, and offered to buy two shots for the manager and staff member. Manager said no way because they are working, however I thought some shots for me and my partner could work nicely.
I forgot shots in Lisbon is equivalent to about 2.5 shots in the UK. After finally paying and finally going to the toilet, I walked back to the beach with a espresso and two more espresso sized take out cups filled with dark rum. But happy with the positive story and a reminder I should have some cash!
On the way back I had a similar story after getting on the train back to Lisbon and realising there was no toilets on the trains. There was time to go in the station but once again there was no option for cards, so I did that turnstile hack. A angry Portuguese woman came into the male toilets and shouted at me over and over again. I tried to explain but I was kind of busy. Afterwards I offered an explanation and showed I had a legit travel card but it wasn’t enough. Conscious I needed to get the train and my partner was waiting for me, I just had to apologise again and again as I ran to the gate for my train.
As I did, I was reminded of the Wu-Tang-Clan’s Cream. Cash rules everything around me…
The night life above and under Martim Moniz mix
Its a return to Lisbon’s Martim Moniz after the heights of Lisbon mix, always reminds me of how the square is being used by many different people. I learned the old city wall runs right through it and its interesting to sit and watch the different people come, go and gather.
Bit of a moody mix during a lovely holiday in Lisbon but its winter so wasn’t as warm. Leaning on the tech trance side, this mix has a large number of new tunes and some bold choices with the crossfader, which I kept in. Its a mix which gets you bopping that head up and down with some excellent tunes.
Enjoy on my mixgarden or on Peertube!
Public Service Internet monthly newsletter (Mar 2023)
We live in incredible times with such possibilities that is clear. Although its easily dismissed seeing AI for everything, Elon changing the twitter algorithm to insure reach and even the BBC blue check mistake.
To quote Buckminster Fuller “You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.”
You are seeing aspects of this with large scale eink screens coming, BBC R&D’s remote interaction guidelines and young people falling out of love with cars.
Mozilla Festival and so much more
Ian thinks: March is the month of the 3rd virtual Mozilla festival, tickets are available now., Mozilla is also responsible for some hard cutting research into the recent data safety labels in the Android play store, which leads to even more Tiktok privacy worries.
The Public Spaces Incubator
Ian thinks: A whole number of public service broadcaster join New_Public to reclaim public spaces with a new incubator looking to tackle so many of the ills online right now. Will it be successful, I hope so, and will be a sign of the great collaborations to come
The internet in transition
Ian thinks: Another long thoughtful piece about the state of the internet within a larger existence of time and history. A lot forgotten in the endless cycle of short term news snippets
Stop talking and buy our stuff, the endless battle
Ian thinks: A reminder of the commercialisation of the internet, services and ultimately community. This thoughtful pieces is a clear reminder of the endless battle, which has been running for so long.
Leaving tech to the private sector is a mistake
Ian thinks: Rosie gets right into the nub of the problem with outsourcing technology to the private sector. In this detailed interview with Paris, you are left with the question of what happened and why?
Its so much worst for workers caught in the a dystopia of our making
Ian thinks: Another reminder of all those people doing your wishes and for so little. The separation from that buy to the dystopia, is so deliberate and carefully done. The only thing which will make it change is our conscious buying?
Encryption burn in the potential era of the UK safety bill
Ian thinks: Signal threatens to leave the UK, Meta and most others are clear this would be a bad idea to weaken encryption to save the children. Its the endless battle but we are getting a glimpse of the real result of this bill.
The illustrated field guide to social media
Ian thinks: Zuckerman and Rajendra-Nicolucci’s illustrated guide although old is a clearly engaging and a neat way to make a point specially now.
The third room metaverse update
Ian thinks: I have been following the third room work for a while now, and was very impressed to see the FOSDEM update. If this isn’t a sign of a open, decentralised, immersive metaverse – what is?
Find the archive here