Ive been actually writing some stuff on the BSP and KS, recreated and planned out the next steps for the modular on VCV Rack.
Once ive figured it out ill post a track or two =D
Ive remade an old song of mine ‘Ruffage’ and im pretty happy with it.
And another new thing that came from some noodling a progression.
Got some good progress made learning structure and how to use the BSP… chaining and scene things.
Ive got that ‘you just learned a thing’ feeling
Also realise ive got to make more effect modules =D
Sometimes I just want the headlines at a glance. In keeping with the “no computer (well not really a computer)” theme I present this reasonably accurate reinvocation of classic British teletext, specifically the old news headlines page of ye olde BBC Ceefax service.
It’s not perfect because the real Ceefax service had actual journalists who were adept at fitting headlines to the procrustean requirements of teletext while retaining reader comprehension. This emulation simply scrapes headlines from the BBC News website, clips them to size, and assigns the story a page number.
It still works quite well, though. It presents you with a single-page digest of news, so you can instantly tell if it’s worth looking at any of the stories.
I think I’m getting pretty well now. The right hand doesn’t seem to mind me using it to hold the phone. The orthopaedics people (yay universal free medical care, no annoying bills!) say the antibiotics have done their job. I was in pain and rather scared of being hurt more effectively for about a month because my main defence was down and I was still taking care of a sporadically violent person. The threat still exists but in the extreme case I could sacrifice my hand to save the rest of me.
Also now I can get back to practising music on the electric bass and the electronic drums.
I’m still abed but hope to be back to making noise soon.
In the meantime, I’m about to put a couple of keyboards up for sale;
A Roland juno-Di, superb for gigs and has a hard case.
A Beringer Deepmind 12.
Pm me if there’s any UK interest.
I’m about 6 months behind on all the posts here and it’s going to be a chore catching up but I’ll get there.
it’s disturbing in a way that we will be entering a 4th year of this forum and still have that spectre of cv19 lingering about… soon a 10th of my lifetime will have been under the cloud of this simple yet effective organism…
So, I quit Twitter a long time ago, and I haven’t used Facebook since 2009. A sizeable fraction of the best Twitter people have migrated elsewhere, mostly to the Fediverse (often called “Mastodon” because that’s the dominant server software). The fediverse is obviously changing fast, in part due to the massive influx of refugees. For now at least, it’s somewhat less ghastly than the Twitter shouting match and you have much more control.
If you’re on the 'verse I can be found at @bitnik@musician.social, at least for the moment. I’m thinking of following @AriaSalvatrice 's lead and self-hosting, which would involve a migration from musician.social.
Free money! I applied for a artist grant from my city and actually got 326 € for rent of my studio/workshop. More noise and synth designs for the world with Finnish taxpayers money.
Ok, I have just moved to disability adapted housing. Ground floor so i can get out unassisted. Fabulous but a third of the size of my last place so two weeks in im still playing furniture jenga.
Normal service will resume as soon as i can find space.
Best to all x
What the hell?! More free money. Now a 2300 € grant from a private art foundation to record a second album for my hardcore punk/metal band in a proper studio. Applying for these grants has been a bit of a joke for couple of years, but it’s like becoming a comedian, no one’s laughing now.
And it’s not that we couldn’t get proper sound with my home studio, but it’s so much better to focus on just playing in a studio and not all the recording-shenanigans. Here’s the previous album we released in January: Huoneen syyllisin mies - Murhenäytelmästä tilastotiedoksi - YouTube
Hey, that album is fun. For a few minutes there it was as if I was listening to John Peel on the BBC in 1977 and he was playing the latest two-minute anthems.
Just watched Tove the other day, so I know Finnish culture (in both Finnish and Swedish) is thriving.
So, I’ve been absent for a while and things have not been great, unfortunately. I don’t really have the ability to explain what’s been going on as well as my wife just did to a treatment place, so I’ll just paste it here. I feel bad that I haven’t been around the forum for a while and also not been able to continue the Eurokosmo line for now, but here is why…:
Hi there,I am the mother of a 16 year old with an NG tube and ARFID and SMA Syndrome. F is in a complicated situation and it’s been really hard to find the right care for them (they/them pronouns). I don’t know if X is the right program either but I am writing today with hope that it might be. They are currently with Stanford Children’s Health in Palo Alto, CA and their doctor told us of X.
F got the NG tube about one month ago and is on it around the clock but eats some by mouth. Prior to getting the tube, there was a lot of weight loss and it was getting very, very concerning. They also have severe anxiety and OCD. Their pain doctor began suspecting MALS or SMA syndrome several months ago when F had abdominal pain, nausea, some vomiting, and weight loss that was not better explained by other things. They had multiple abdominal nerve blocks, and a celiac plexus block. They’ve been a selective eater for years but the abdominal pain and nausea were present for around two years and worsening, and they became gradually more and more afraid to eat, and would eat fewer and fewer foods. In the past several months the pain and nausea and vomiting got worse. They had a CT angiogram and ultrasounds, confirming SMA syndrome, plus Nutcracker Syndrome.
Notably, though, the doctors at Stanford feel F does NOT have SMA syndrome because the upper GI x-ray series does not show an obstruction. When I sent all 4300 DICOM images to Dr. X who is a diagnostic radiologist specializing in SMA Syndrome, for a second opinion, he confirmed the SMA Syndrome dx and Nutcracker Syndrome dx and disagrees with the interpretation of the upper GI series (I’m including emails from him attached to this email in case F’s SMA syndrome is relevant to X). One email is his response after I shared the CT scans and ultrasounds and Stanford reports with him, and the second email is Dr. X’s response to me when I shared that the radiologist at Stanford who performed F’s upper GI series told us “You know, many of us believe SMA Syndrome is not a real thing and there’s no good literature to support it” and “F should just start eating” after he saw no obstruction on the upper GI series and therefore concluded F does not have SMA Syndrome…I just wanted to share that for context.
It seems as though ARFID developed and worsened as a result of the SMA Syndrome or maybe it caused the SMA Syndrome - we don’t really know. F has always been a relatively anxious kid but had a pretty happy and full life that became increasingly smaller and then rapidly declined over the past several months. They now only eat about 4 foods, have multiple panic attacks most days, cry/sob at times about food smelling/tasting too strong, have a fear of throwing up, fixate on how their stomach feels empty, burning or painful, etc. It is debilitating. Compounding all this probably is the fact that they had to stop Cymbalta somewhat abruptly when insurance stopped paying for it and it became prohibitively costly. They went on Effexor briefly but it caused too much additional nausea so they stopped that, too.
The NG tube is at least preventing them from starving to death but their quality of life is nonexistent at this point. Most eating disorder programs will not take them because of the NG tube and they don’t “qualify” for inpatient ED treatment because their weight is not “low enough” thanks to the NG tube. We found a virtual ED treatment program for ARFID but are really not confident that virtual treatment will be sufficient. Their needs are complex.
They take Zoloft, titrating up (currently on 75mg nightly up from 50mg nightly), Klonopin for panic attacks though we try to use it sparingly. Some of the only time they can eat is when the Klonopin is in their system. Sometimes the Klonopin doesn’t seem to work. They also take Lyrica, Periactin, Aygestin (to try to suppress periods because doc suspects they may have endometriosis but unsure…possibly Nutcracker Syndrome could be causing super painful periods), Vitamin D daily and Celebrex as needed for severe period pain.
I can also share the DICOMs if that is useful in any way. Is F possibly a candidate for the Inpatient Feeding Program? They want to be able to eat again and we want that for them. My husband or I can stay with them the entire time. We will do anything we need to do. If they are not a candidate, do you know of any programs that would take a teen who has an NG tube and ARFID?
Thank you so much for your time, and for reading my rambling email.
i’m a father too. It hurts reading your lines and trying to imagine your situation. I hope there will be a positive solution for you and your beloved ones. I send you strength and all the best!
