Well its been a while since my last blog, as I have been busy gaining certs in the IT industry. It is quite an exciting time for IT and I have really been enjoying my ipad mini of late. I was fortunate to get the ipad mini the first day it came out and I haven't been disappointed. I just love the fact that I can use this device anywhere, I can study outside, either by reading pdf's, watching videos or doing practise tests whilst getting a tan & some vitamin D at the same time. I'm quite impressed with the headphone AMP on the ipad mini and it runs my Sennheiser HD 439's really well. I also have bought a usb adapter for the mini to get an extra Audiophile experience by running a USB Headphone Amplifier DAC. It sounds great with no jitter, I just wish their was a power pass through.
The other major equipment I have got is the Nokia Lumia 800 which I am getting more impressed with everyday. The reliability is exceptional and really enjoy the GPS feature. Smartphones are mature and what I love is MINITURIZATION.
This is why these iwatch rumours are so exciting...
Anyway at the moment I have cable problems---My thunderbolt drives keep crapping out, I think it is the E-sata cables and my optical cable for my Dac is causing some artifacts...
Monday, April 29, 2013
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Frustrating Bluetooth Issues with Windows 8
It has been a while since my last blog....
I have been using tumblr alot lately for my early 80s blog. What I like about tumbr, is that i can produce posts quickly, I can just put pics up and a couple of sentences.. I have been tagging all these early 80s pics in tumblr and it reminds me of the semantic web...pics contains more than a thousand words.....
more on that later...
The only things of note is the frustating bluetooth issue of Windows 8 RC. I have noticed that the RC version has enmeshed the bluetooth a whole lot more with metro than the beta and this seems to be causing issue with my Sennheiser B/T headphones. Everytime I have to restart the laptop, it loses the connection with the B/T headdphones and I have to remove it and readd them. Sometimes it gets stuck on the removing of b/t headphones and occasionally the mouse suffers this problem too. The headphones work fine in Windows 7, iphone and mac. It seems to be a metro problem and perhaps is a problem of the dual metro/windows interface..
Addendum
Just had a blue screen on Win8 RC for the first time with the bluetooth problem...I was using my Win8 RC laptop trying to get the headphones to work and out of the blue crashed and restarted.
Okay My mac crashes to with Oracle's virtual box, it will just restart out of the blue, but I think virtual box is more understandable crashing than bluetooth...
I have been using tumblr alot lately for my early 80s blog. What I like about tumbr, is that i can produce posts quickly, I can just put pics up and a couple of sentences.. I have been tagging all these early 80s pics in tumblr and it reminds me of the semantic web...pics contains more than a thousand words.....
more on that later...
The only things of note is the frustating bluetooth issue of Windows 8 RC. I have noticed that the RC version has enmeshed the bluetooth a whole lot more with metro than the beta and this seems to be causing issue with my Sennheiser B/T headphones. Everytime I have to restart the laptop, it loses the connection with the B/T headdphones and I have to remove it and readd them. Sometimes it gets stuck on the removing of b/t headphones and occasionally the mouse suffers this problem too. The headphones work fine in Windows 7, iphone and mac. It seems to be a metro problem and perhaps is a problem of the dual metro/windows interface..
Addendum
Just had a blue screen on Win8 RC for the first time with the bluetooth problem...I was using my Win8 RC laptop trying to get the headphones to work and out of the blue crashed and restarted.
Okay My mac crashes to with Oracle's virtual box, it will just restart out of the blue, but I think virtual box is more understandable crashing than bluetooth...
Saturday, June 2, 2012
Windows 8 Release Preview
Windows 8 Release Preview (64 Bit)
Okay so this review is quite late for Windows 8, but the Release preview has just come out.The thing is I had installed Windows 8 CP using Virtual Box on the Mac and had found it was quite a frustrating experience. You really need to install this as a proper OS rather than a VM, and I also don't recommend using Metro for desktops.
So just recently, my KMS license of Windows 7 PRO ran out on my 6 month old Acer 522 Netbook featuring an AMD APU that can utilise 4 gigs of ram and has superior graphics to the Intel Atom.
So I had the options of going back to Windows 7 starter and lose 2 gigs of ram as well as a really watered down OS; pay $200 for Windows 7 Home Premium; install Ubuntu 12 or install Windows 8 until January next year.
Before I go on with my choice of Windows 8, I am really disappointed with what Microsoft did to the netbook market; by replacing XP with the crippled and much maligned Windows 7 Starter. To have to spend another $200 to utilise a proper OS (the upgrade cost to Windows 7 Home Premium) is a really poor money grabbing debacle, particularly when Mac users only pay $29 for a full upgrade to the next OS. This is something that Microsoft has to have a clear look at with their OS and not to sell so many SKU's at ridiculous prices.
Okay so I chose Windows 8 because it is free and Ubuntu had too many problems with sleep and graphics issues on my netbook. Usually when I install an OS I would format the HD and clean install. I was lazy previously and decided to upgrade to Win 8 CP over the top.The install took a lot longer than what I am used to, but then I didn't have to reinstall apps and copy files over (copying 500GB of music is never fun).It worked perfectly. The second time round I decided to do a clean install and upgrade to 64 bit. Everything worked perfectly after install, no need to find drivers. The release preview is much smoother and far more polished than the CP and I have been very impressed.
I was pleasantly surprised how smooth Windows 8 ran and how quickly it boots up. I was greeted with the Metro screen and was disappointed that apps won't work because my screen is 1280x700. Metro is designed for a 4:3 ipad type screen that has slightly more pixels with the width of x768. So because I was 48 pixels short in width I can't use Metro Apps. It just seems to me that Microsoft is too Apple concious, and that they are restricting their OS excessively, whereas the whole reason I believe Microsoft became popular, was that it is more open to different formats, sizes and shapes!!
The Windows ORB & Windows Shortcuts
I was a big user of the ORB but as I also am a big shortcut user (which is one of the reasons why I like Windows), and I had a feeling that I don't really need the ORB. That so far has been true. All the Windows Key shortcuts have been changed which is frustrating, but I quite like the new Windows Key X shortcut as it give some great admin features, and the menu pops up to where the ORB used to be. For search I have to use Windows Key Q which takes me to the Metro interface. Most of the time I use the desktop interface which involves pressing the windows key after I log in (the windows key can swap between the metro and the traditional desktop).
The doubling of Metro and traditional desktop
Sometimes I notice there is a doubling of the interface between Metro and the traditional desktop such as bluetooth devices. This has caused some issues as on occasion my bluetooth headphones haven't worked and I have tried removing and rea-dding the device and it has been confused. I had to uninstall the bluetooth driver and reinstall it to get it to work again, and I noticed that there are 2 places to add and remove bluetooth devices, which must be why the bluetooth is buggy. So far this issue seems to have been fixed with the Release Preview. Although it is annoying and disjointing as long as it works smoothly this shouldn't really be much of an issue.
WRAPUP
You get this feeling that Metro is sort of tacked on to Windows 7 and that they have removed the ORB to make a statement that they are fresh new & innovative. I feel that the removing the start/orb is alienating to the existing customer base, and I can't see the enterprise moving to the new OS. There are a few really good improvements to Windows 8 such as fast boot times and reimaging the OS from scratch, but they are even a smaller leap than Vista to Win7!! Some tech journalists have commented that they are deliberately forcing Metro on the desktop to get developers to write for the platform. I really think you should be able to disable Metro if you don't want it as it doesn't really make sense on the desktop. I think Microsoft is to worried about Apple and the OS reflects this, it is more reactionary than innovative and they are making moves of desperation rather than anything that is well thought out. I will most likely go to Ubuntu next year as hopefully the sleep issues and graphics will have been sorted out by then. The upgrade costs for Microsoft OS are way too expensive, which is particularly upsetting, as I have mentioned before with the crippling of Windows starter.
The key to the new OS is to use windows key shortcuts and pin your most used apps to the taskbar and you can search for apps by using Windows key and Q. The problem with this is that most users are used to their way of working, particularly with heavy mouse use, rather than more efficient keyboard shortcuts. Also as Microsoft is pushing Metro, most users will be unaware of the best way to use the OS for their productivity and will find metro disjointing. There is also a learning curve for the shortcuts as they have changed which will frustate users in the enterprise.
Even though the OS is very smooth, polished and pleasant to use unlike the diabolical Vista; you can't help but think there is something odd going on. That to me is Ballmer's obsession with the ipad. Is it normal to use a 80 inch tablet as your sole device like Ballmer does? Hell No. He needs to think outside of chasing the ipad market.
We need a whole lot of different devices for different tasks. I use the ipod nano for example when I go running; the problem with the Ballmer mindset is that it is very narrow, which is why Microsoft fails to be an innovator.
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Installing a SSD drive in a Mac Mini 2011
http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/blackmagic-disk-speed-test/id425264550?mt=12
 |
| My Mac Mini 2011 |
There is a wide choice of SSD's available for the Mac, which makes the decision of what SSD to buy a bit of a chore. Research is required! Here you will find a list below of what drives to look at:
- OCZ Vertex
- Samsung 830
- Crucial M4
- Sandisk Extreme
- Intel SSD 520 or 330
I ended up choosing the Intel 330 because of the size, 180GB is perfect for me, as 120GB was too small and 240GB was too expensive. All the other manufacturers offer either 120GB or 240GB and as I currently use 110GB of space, 180GB was perfect (120GB is pushing it particularly if you consider I might expand and also for garbage collection and/nor TRIM).
Intel has just released the SSD 330 series, which is a cheaper version of the consumer pro 520.
http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/solid-state-drives/solid-state-drives-330-series.html
| Intel SSD 330 |
I had decided to save $60 over the 520 and purchase the 330 180GB @ $235AU (which is almost 1$ a gig) and accept a slight hit in performance and 2 years less on warranty (The 520 is 5 years whereas the 330 is 3 years). The warranty difference doesn't concern me too much, as I plan on replacing it in 3 years time with hopefully an affordable 1TB SSD.
Now I have read on a few forums to go for the Crucial because you can update the firmware and no other vendor can; but with the Intel you can update the firmware on a Mac using an ISO image rather than a application (Which is a better way to do it anyway). The current firmware hasn't been updated for a while so it is not as if you need to do upgrade the firmware that often anyway.
One regret is that the 330 series is a tight fit in the Mac mini as the 330 is 9mm thick rather than 7.5mm. I got it in, but it might have been easier with the 520, as I had to use the logic board removal tool. Also, screwing it in wasn't the most perfect way either having to use a 60 degree angle, but as I won't be moving the mini much and it is SSD, it really doesn't matter that much (unless you are a purist).
I really recommend getting the ifix-it dual drive kit, which has a great set of tools and can also allow you to have two drives (I am concerned about having two drives because of heat and as I already have an external drive dock that can use 2.5 or 3.5 drives over Sata or FW800, I don't really need to use a second).
http://www.ifixit.com/Apple-Parts/Mac-Mini-Dual-Hard-Drive-Kit/IF171-005
 |
| Mac Mini Dual Drive Kit |
It certainly is a lot more difficult replacing a HD in a Mac mini than with a laptop or Desktop.
I have heard of people destroying the logic board when removing the IR connector.
http://forums.macrumors.com/archive/index.php/t-1322255.html
It is not for the faint of heart. Everything is tiny in the Mac Mini and I have long hands. I had broken one side of the RAM clip before (this didn't affect the RAM) when upgrading to 8GB and felt very nervous when upgrading.
ifixit has great pictorial instructions which I used on my ipod touch using the ifixit app.
http://www.ifixit.com/Apple-Parts/Mac-Mini-Dual-Hard-Drive-Kit/IF171-005
I also recommend this picture for when you remove the IR sensor. This is where the spudger comes in handy.
The other tip I have is in regards to the Fan. I had re-connected it, but didn't test to see if it was working and had been using my Mini for an hour or so, when I realised it wasn't on. My Mac Mini was so HOT!!!!!! When I checked the Mini it seemed to be connected properly, but wasn't spinning. I pressed lightly on the connector with the spudger and voila.
http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1270544
Once the SSD was installed, all I did was press option on the keyboard to boot from a recovery USB and use Time Machine to restore. It took a little over an hour to restore and that was using a slow USB2 drive. If I used my faster drive on the firewire 800 port it would have taken half that time. Make sure you create a Lion recovery USB first before you take out the HD. Use this link below to create a USB recovery disk.
http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1433
End Result
So far I am extremely happy with the SSD. No more beach balls, and so far after a weekend the 330 has performed flawlessly. Here are the bench mark results.
 |
| Intel SSD 330 in a Mac Mini 2011 i5 2.5GHZ |
To TRIM or Not to TRIM
There is a fierce debate as to whether to have Trim on or not for sandforce based 3rd party drives in Macs. Mac OS X does not provide Trim support for 3rd party drives. There is a free tool (an unsupported hack) that you can get, but as it is a beta and a hack, there are reports of it being unreliable.
Trim Enabler
http://www.groths.org/?p=690
Others say that as sandforce drives have garbage collection you don't need Trim anyway.
http://www.anandtech.com/show/5453/trim-enabler-20-for-os-x-lion-released
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3194668?start=0&tstart=0
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Boy's Don't Cry, The Cure & Philip K Dick WTF?
Okay this isn't going to appeal to many people but so what, this is my blog!
If you haven't heard of Phillip K Dick then you should, because he is a big name in a lot of Hollywood movies. I was first initiated to Phillip K Dick when I first saw Blade Runner and was blown away by Vangelis' majestic sci-fi-analogue-synthesis and the accompanying euphoric-dystopian visions of Mr Scott & CO. Some of the opening scenes of flying cars, in the futuristic Mega-opolis of LA 2019, really blew me away, when I first saw it on VCR in the 90s.
Now as my interest in Sci-Fi movies has grown and I have became more interested in the story lines; I have become an avid reader of Phillip Dick's work over the years. Ubik is magnificent!
So what has this all got to do with Boy's Don't Cry by the Cure?
Well as a teenager I was a big fan of The Cure and I used to collect all their records and music articles I found in specialist music stores throughout Melbourne. As an aspiring musician I really appreciated the electronic effects used by the band in the early 80s albums starting with 17 Seconds released in 1980. The electronic side of things got me interested in synths and to artists such as Vangelis, and I enjoyed spending time in my music studio playing various synths, fx, guitars accompanied to my vocals.
Having read the biographies and history of The Cure (such as Ten Imaginary Years, Picturesofyou.us site, Wiki) has made me understand the Band quite well! So I find their history quite interesting as they started out as teen punk boy band (picked up by German label Hansa to become a Teen Pin-Up Boy Band that sung PUNK covers), to a post-punky band that became New Wave and to what we now know as goth!
Teen Punk Band Easy Cure 1977 UK (Peter O' Toole in this pic 2nd from the right had left before Hansa's signing)
Check out some awesome 1970s punky tracks by Easy Cure
See The Children (A sort of punk child molester's anthem LOL very funny) 1st demo 1977
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCIYH8bF77Q&feature=related
I Just Need Myself Easy Cure 1st Demo 1977
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YfMbGLEoYo
The Cure's big Hit A Forest in 1980 (Which is considered a signature song from the band) is quite otherworldly! The analogue phase and flanger effects it uses are breathtaking and was even reviewed as a DR WHO sounding song!! The song is also notable for securing the band its first slot on BBC's Top of the Pops.
I also love these tech inspired early 80s vids too. There is something TRON and futuristic about TV in 1980 and 1981, I also think of Blakes 7 too!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6s7TIwcRU8
The following PIC in an article from a 1980s Australian music column that has always fascinated me and looks Science-Fictiony even though the band isn't. (Although Robert Smith did say in a Dutch article in June 1980 that there’s one piece of music that had a big influence on Seventeen Seconds, it’s sounds rather elitist, but it’s a piece by Khatchaturian, a classical composer. It’s on the soundtrack of 2001, you know, by Stanley Kubrick … it’s two violins and a cello, I played it continuously hundred times a week’).
http://www.picturesofyou.us/80/80-6-4-oor-muziekkrant.htm
So what has this all got to do with Phillip Dick. Well I particularly like the way he bridged the genres of alternate history and science fiction and used parallel universes. Donnie Darko (of the parallel universe genre) is one of my fav films and I like that sort of esoteric stuff.
Well yes, their 1st album sounded dramatically different from their later stuff and I always liked it a lot. I thought Dempsey's melodic bass was superb and 10:15 Saturday Nite was immediately memorable when I first heard it (drip drip drip!). Subway Song is a classic stalker thriller!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NERzLlHo-D0
Even though the band did not like the studio production of the album I always really liked it. Chris Parry a former drummer produced the album and I thought he did an amazing job. I enjoyed the sparseness, crisp drum sound, jangly guitars, Robert's shrieking vocals and Dempsey's melodic bass (he was only in the band for the first album).Three Imaginary Boys 1979 has always impressed me. The album is particularly amazing considering it was their debut, but most fans I would say would overlook this album, as The cure are more known for their Goth sound and makeup.
Now I know that 17 seconds, Faith and Pornography are great albums and Simon Gallup's rocky-punky playing of his Fender Precision bass is so cool, but let's say (in an alternative universe) they didn't change their sound (like Greenday) and remained post-punk with Dempsey and his Guild B301 Bass !!!
Boy's Don't Cry was the catalyst for Robert's Goth Character. Boy's Don't Cry was meant to be a success but was a commercial failure (which is a shame as it is a good song). Out went Dempsey & his eloquenty played Guild B301 Bass and The Cure's 78-79 sound!
Boys Don’t Cry’ came on like it was a simple stab at the charts worthy of The Undertones at their most gloriously naive. How did he react to its lack of success?
"It’s like commentators in cricket", he laughs, "They always say, ‘Oh, he’s doing really well’ and then he gets bowled out. We were advised not to bring it out because of the fact that it was a pop single and it would be much better if we brought out something that was less commercial but more ‘artistically viable’. ‘Boys Don’t Cry’, ’10.15’ and ‘Accuracy’ have always been my favorite songs out of all that initial lot. I’m glad it didn’t make it in a way because then the people who’d been saying we shouldn’t put it out would then have turned round and said you’ve gotta give us another one like that one."
September 8. 1979 Sounds (UK)
What If Boy's Don't Cry became a hit, and therefore Dempsey never got sacked from the band and The Cure remained clean-cut and post punky! No Fat Bob with weird hair and makeup, just a normal Bob Smith from a clean cut post-punky band! Food for thought!
mmm I love this, Fender Jazzmaster with a Roland JC120!
Check out my version of Boy's Don't Cry using the PS3 Singstar Game. I used the optical out of the PS3 to record the track without vocals from singstar into the Mac using Adobe Audition (although you can hear Robert's Ghosting in the background).
http://theskivvys.podbean.com/2012/03/15/boys-dont-cry/
I sung Boy's Don't Cry using an AKG Perception 220 mic(which is cheap) and a Roland UA55 Quad Capture & Adobe Audition. I used a pair of Sennheiser HD650, even though they are Open Headphones; I hate using closed headphones for singing, so there is a little leakage, but the performance is more important than a slightly better sound quality.
I recorded in one take and did one small 5 second overdub. I decided not to use the compressor on the Quadcapture and instead used the multi-band compressor in Adobe Audition as well as studio reverb and the vocal enhancer effect.
I deliberately sung like a BOY for the track and am surprised that I can make my voice sound like I am 16!!!!!!!!! In the original track sung by Robert Smith it can be quite deadpan, whiney, angry & angst ridden (which I like and is what really became the Cure sound). So I decided to make the singing sound more cute and upbeat to appeal to the pop mainstream that the track was intended for! Now I am not saying my singing is better as it is not a competition, but I am envisioning the alternate universe where Boy's Don't Cry was a hit for a more pop mainstream market! The Cure a post-punky teenage pop boy band!!!!!!!!!!!!
Analysis of the Studio Equipment
I was quite impressed with the Roland Quadcapture UA 55 although I am having intermittent power cuts and will need to return it under warranty. It would be nice to have studio reverb as an option for live performances. I didn't find latency a problem because you can use the direct monitor with the unit. There is a bit of hiss & noise and am not sure if that is because it is a defective unit. The headphone Amp isn't the greatest but would you expect for such a great value product $300 AU. I can use the digital out into a dedicated DAC/headphone AMP that I have where I can enjoy the beauty of Class A amplification and something that can drive my massive HD 650 Sennheiser headphones!
I like the AKG 220 mic but obviously it is low end and does not really compare to a really PRO MIC (from what I can hear in studio recordings) . I don't know if it is me or the MIC but at times there is this vibrato type sound that I can't stand in my vocals!
I didn't like the reverb sound much in Adobe Audition and it seems to miss some depth. I certainly enjoyed the DSP I had on the Yamaha Promix01 and I guess nothing compares to a dedicated DSP chip.
If you haven't heard of Phillip K Dick then you should, because he is a big name in a lot of Hollywood movies. I was first initiated to Phillip K Dick when I first saw Blade Runner and was blown away by Vangelis' majestic sci-fi-analogue-synthesis and the accompanying euphoric-dystopian visions of Mr Scott & CO. Some of the opening scenes of flying cars, in the futuristic Mega-opolis of LA 2019, really blew me away, when I first saw it on VCR in the 90s.
Now as my interest in Sci-Fi movies has grown and I have became more interested in the story lines; I have become an avid reader of Phillip Dick's work over the years. Ubik is magnificent!
So what has this all got to do with Boy's Don't Cry by the Cure?
Well as a teenager I was a big fan of The Cure and I used to collect all their records and music articles I found in specialist music stores throughout Melbourne. As an aspiring musician I really appreciated the electronic effects used by the band in the early 80s albums starting with 17 Seconds released in 1980. The electronic side of things got me interested in synths and to artists such as Vangelis, and I enjoyed spending time in my music studio playing various synths, fx, guitars accompanied to my vocals.
Having read the biographies and history of The Cure (such as Ten Imaginary Years, Picturesofyou.us site, Wiki) has made me understand the Band quite well! So I find their history quite interesting as they started out as teen punk boy band (picked up by German label Hansa to become a Teen Pin-Up Boy Band that sung PUNK covers), to a post-punky band that became New Wave and to what we now know as goth!
Teen Punk Band Easy Cure 1977 UK (Peter O' Toole in this pic 2nd from the right had left before Hansa's signing)
Check out some awesome 1970s punky tracks by Easy Cure
See The Children (A sort of punk child molester's anthem LOL very funny) 1st demo 1977
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCIYH8bF77Q&feature=related
I Just Need Myself Easy Cure 1st Demo 1977
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YfMbGLEoYo
The Cure's big Hit A Forest in 1980 (Which is considered a signature song from the band) is quite otherworldly! The analogue phase and flanger effects it uses are breathtaking and was even reviewed as a DR WHO sounding song!! The song is also notable for securing the band its first slot on BBC's Top of the Pops.
I also love these tech inspired early 80s vids too. There is something TRON and futuristic about TV in 1980 and 1981, I also think of Blakes 7 too!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6s7TIwcRU8
The following PIC in an article from a 1980s Australian music column that has always fascinated me and looks Science-Fictiony even though the band isn't. (Although Robert Smith did say in a Dutch article in June 1980 that there’s one piece of music that had a big influence on Seventeen Seconds, it’s sounds rather elitist, but it’s a piece by Khatchaturian, a classical composer. It’s on the soundtrack of 2001, you know, by Stanley Kubrick … it’s two violins and a cello, I played it continuously hundred times a week’).
http://www.picturesofyou.us/80/80-6-4-oor-muziekkrant.htm
So what has this all got to do with Phillip Dick. Well I particularly like the way he bridged the genres of alternate history and science fiction and used parallel universes. Donnie Darko (of the parallel universe genre) is one of my fav films and I like that sort of esoteric stuff.
So an Alternate History of The Cure?
Well yes, their 1st album sounded dramatically different from their later stuff and I always liked it a lot. I thought Dempsey's melodic bass was superb and 10:15 Saturday Nite was immediately memorable when I first heard it (drip drip drip!). Subway Song is a classic stalker thriller!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NERzLlHo-D0
Even though the band did not like the studio production of the album I always really liked it. Chris Parry a former drummer produced the album and I thought he did an amazing job. I enjoyed the sparseness, crisp drum sound, jangly guitars, Robert's shrieking vocals and Dempsey's melodic bass (he was only in the band for the first album).Three Imaginary Boys 1979 has always impressed me. The album is particularly amazing considering it was their debut, but most fans I would say would overlook this album, as The cure are more known for their Goth sound and makeup.
Now I know that 17 seconds, Faith and Pornography are great albums and Simon Gallup's rocky-punky playing of his Fender Precision bass is so cool, but let's say (in an alternative universe) they didn't change their sound (like Greenday) and remained post-punk with Dempsey and his Guild B301 Bass !!!
Boy's Don't Cry was the catalyst for Robert's Goth Character. Boy's Don't Cry was meant to be a success but was a commercial failure (which is a shame as it is a good song). Out went Dempsey & his eloquenty played Guild B301 Bass and The Cure's 78-79 sound!
Boys Don’t Cry’ came on like it was a simple stab at the charts worthy of The Undertones at their most gloriously naive. How did he react to its lack of success?
"It’s like commentators in cricket", he laughs, "They always say, ‘Oh, he’s doing really well’ and then he gets bowled out. We were advised not to bring it out because of the fact that it was a pop single and it would be much better if we brought out something that was less commercial but more ‘artistically viable’. ‘Boys Don’t Cry’, ’10.15’ and ‘Accuracy’ have always been my favorite songs out of all that initial lot. I’m glad it didn’t make it in a way because then the people who’d been saying we shouldn’t put it out would then have turned round and said you’ve gotta give us another one like that one."
September 8. 1979 Sounds (UK)
What If Boy's Don't Cry became a hit, and therefore Dempsey never got sacked from the band and The Cure remained clean-cut and post punky! No Fat Bob with weird hair and makeup, just a normal Bob Smith from a clean cut post-punky band! Food for thought!
mmm I love this, Fender Jazzmaster with a Roland JC120!
Check out my version of Boy's Don't Cry using the PS3 Singstar Game. I used the optical out of the PS3 to record the track without vocals from singstar into the Mac using Adobe Audition (although you can hear Robert's Ghosting in the background).
http://theskivvys.podbean.com/2012/03/15/boys-dont-cry/
I sung Boy's Don't Cry using an AKG Perception 220 mic(which is cheap) and a Roland UA55 Quad Capture & Adobe Audition. I used a pair of Sennheiser HD650, even though they are Open Headphones; I hate using closed headphones for singing, so there is a little leakage, but the performance is more important than a slightly better sound quality.
I recorded in one take and did one small 5 second overdub. I decided not to use the compressor on the Quadcapture and instead used the multi-band compressor in Adobe Audition as well as studio reverb and the vocal enhancer effect.
I deliberately sung like a BOY for the track and am surprised that I can make my voice sound like I am 16!!!!!!!!! In the original track sung by Robert Smith it can be quite deadpan, whiney, angry & angst ridden (which I like and is what really became the Cure sound). So I decided to make the singing sound more cute and upbeat to appeal to the pop mainstream that the track was intended for! Now I am not saying my singing is better as it is not a competition, but I am envisioning the alternate universe where Boy's Don't Cry was a hit for a more pop mainstream market! The Cure a post-punky teenage pop boy band!!!!!!!!!!!!
Analysis of the Studio Equipment
I was quite impressed with the Roland Quadcapture UA 55 although I am having intermittent power cuts and will need to return it under warranty. It would be nice to have studio reverb as an option for live performances. I didn't find latency a problem because you can use the direct monitor with the unit. There is a bit of hiss & noise and am not sure if that is because it is a defective unit. The headphone Amp isn't the greatest but would you expect for such a great value product $300 AU. I can use the digital out into a dedicated DAC/headphone AMP that I have where I can enjoy the beauty of Class A amplification and something that can drive my massive HD 650 Sennheiser headphones!
I like the AKG 220 mic but obviously it is low end and does not really compare to a really PRO MIC (from what I can hear in studio recordings) . I don't know if it is me or the MIC but at times there is this vibrato type sound that I can't stand in my vocals!
I didn't like the reverb sound much in Adobe Audition and it seems to miss some depth. I certainly enjoyed the DSP I had on the Yamaha Promix01 and I guess nothing compares to a dedicated DSP chip.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
thoughts on adversity and bullying in the workplace
Just a blog about some thoughts on luck & adversity...
I have been reading about adversity lately, & upon my readings I have discovered this:
http://bethagnew.blogspot.com.au/
Hard Times come about for three reasons:
1. The result of choices we make;
2. The result of choices others make; and
3. The result of day-to-day circumstances.
Sometimes things just don't work as it is out of your control. My life has included many disappointments that have always been outside my control.
Just like catching a bad illness, every-time I have a good job that seems to be going somewhere, there has been a jealous manager to get me quickly kicked out.
There is nothing you can do with jealous managers, if you are a good at your job and a threat, they will get you out quick, and this happens to a lot of people. I am not alone here. It is common to put blame on yourself, but this last time it is really hard to say that was the case.
I have read many forums and websites and this is all too common a practise. It makes sense that there is endemic bullying in the workplace, as a lot of it is about people exploiting others and profiting from their misfortune. An insecure manager has already realised he doesn't deserve to be in the company and is a liability. He will use the staff below him to earn his living. A parasite.
The other option I can endure would be to have a "just good enough" work ethic, but that is not part of me.
The key here is how to cope with this adversity.
I have taken up running to see how good I really am. Maybe I have over-estimated myself and am in fact mediocre. With running I have full control (except for illness not brought on by a bad diet and drinking.) I can train, watch my diet and read up on how to be better. So at the moment I can run 4kms in 16 minutes. Yeah it is good, but isn't going to win myself races. I do have a sinus condition that affects my performance but it is not stopping me. I am trying to find solutions by giving up dairy, trying honey and other supplements.
So what has running got to do with bullying in the workplace?
For me it is about control. My experience in the workplace is that everything is out of your control. Whenever you do a good job that customers rave on about it is ignored by management. If you take initiative & make your own decisions and the customers rave on about about exceptional service, management step in and start to make threats (as only they want to be seen as giving exceptional service through delegating to their sub-ordinates). With running I can control the outcome, whereas in the workplace everything is out of my control, especially with the abundance of incompetent and insecure management that use their sub-ordinates as scapegoats, a common theme we have in today's world.
I have been reading about adversity lately, & upon my readings I have discovered this:
http://bethagnew.blogspot.com.au/
Hard Times come about for three reasons:
1. The result of choices we make;
2. The result of choices others make; and
3. The result of day-to-day circumstances.
Sometimes things just don't work as it is out of your control. My life has included many disappointments that have always been outside my control.
Just like catching a bad illness, every-time I have a good job that seems to be going somewhere, there has been a jealous manager to get me quickly kicked out.
There is nothing you can do with jealous managers, if you are a good at your job and a threat, they will get you out quick, and this happens to a lot of people. I am not alone here. It is common to put blame on yourself, but this last time it is really hard to say that was the case.
I have read many forums and websites and this is all too common a practise. It makes sense that there is endemic bullying in the workplace, as a lot of it is about people exploiting others and profiting from their misfortune. An insecure manager has already realised he doesn't deserve to be in the company and is a liability. He will use the staff below him to earn his living. A parasite.
The other option I can endure would be to have a "just good enough" work ethic, but that is not part of me.
The key here is how to cope with this adversity.
I have taken up running to see how good I really am. Maybe I have over-estimated myself and am in fact mediocre. With running I have full control (except for illness not brought on by a bad diet and drinking.) I can train, watch my diet and read up on how to be better. So at the moment I can run 4kms in 16 minutes. Yeah it is good, but isn't going to win myself races. I do have a sinus condition that affects my performance but it is not stopping me. I am trying to find solutions by giving up dairy, trying honey and other supplements.
So what has running got to do with bullying in the workplace?
For me it is about control. My experience in the workplace is that everything is out of your control. Whenever you do a good job that customers rave on about it is ignored by management. If you take initiative & make your own decisions and the customers rave on about about exceptional service, management step in and start to make threats (as only they want to be seen as giving exceptional service through delegating to their sub-ordinates). With running I can control the outcome, whereas in the workplace everything is out of my control, especially with the abundance of incompetent and insecure management that use their sub-ordinates as scapegoats, a common theme we have in today's world.
Friday, February 10, 2012
The invisible hand of the NWO on Australia Day 2012
Hi,
This is a belated post because I have been nervous about blogging my political beliefs since I have become politically aware.
On Australia Day 2012 we witnessed the invisible hand of the New World Order against the Aboriginal People of Australia. The NWO created a "Hate Day" against the indigenous population on Australia Day. Since my political awakening, when I gained first-hand of knowledge of a false flag government event, I have been able to see the invisible hand of the New World Order. Although the masonic buillding the Shrine of Rememberance in Melbourne had always aroused my curiosity with its ancient "ziggurat and babylonian architecture", I was blinded by the truth, until I opened my eyes and saw the suffering of most peoples around me. I was sucked in by the propaganda of "accidental reality" when our lives have been manipulated and coerced by Social Engineers thru propaganda in media, schools, universities and the workplace. Remember the most dangerous enemy is invisible or outside our ignorant peripheral vision.
The Masonic Temple "Shrine of Remembrance" that celebrates the Great Global Wars.
Is child sacrifice from the Aztecs practised here?
I was a sheeple like everyone else, being fleeced from the False Good Shepherd (Government).
Why would the Government consipire against the Aboriginal People on Australia Day when it represents a day for all people around the world to celebrate their immigration to Australia.
In fact "Australia Day" is double speak for "immigrant day". If you read any of the propaganda media on "Australia Day" you will notice that even though Australia is typically a day for Christian Anglo Saxons with the Union Jack Flag proudly waving and for drinking European beer and eating pork and red meats; the news contrasts this with non-stop propaganda talk about immigrants and how wonderful they are and how it is wonderful that we live in a "gloablised" society.
A nation of immigrants the propaganda media promotes is an oxymoron.
A nation may refer to a community of people who share a common language, culture, ethnicity, descent, and/or history.
They are of course changing this definition to suit their political beliefs.
The indigenous people of Australia are a tiny minority so why do they represent a threat to the political structure of Australia?
It is because of their nationalism. Nationalism opposes Globalism, and the New World Order needs to stomp on people who believe in Nationalism.
Once you understand the
This is a belated post because I have been nervous about blogging my political beliefs since I have become politically aware.
On Australia Day 2012 we witnessed the invisible hand of the New World Order against the Aboriginal People of Australia. The NWO created a "Hate Day" against the indigenous population on Australia Day. Since my political awakening, when I gained first-hand of knowledge of a false flag government event, I have been able to see the invisible hand of the New World Order. Although the masonic buillding the Shrine of Rememberance in Melbourne had always aroused my curiosity with its ancient "ziggurat and babylonian architecture", I was blinded by the truth, until I opened my eyes and saw the suffering of most peoples around me. I was sucked in by the propaganda of "accidental reality" when our lives have been manipulated and coerced by Social Engineers thru propaganda in media, schools, universities and the workplace. Remember the most dangerous enemy is invisible or outside our ignorant peripheral vision.
The Masonic Temple "Shrine of Remembrance" that celebrates the Great Global Wars.
Is child sacrifice from the Aztecs practised here?
I was a sheeple like everyone else, being fleeced from the False Good Shepherd (Government).
Why would the Government consipire against the Aboriginal People on Australia Day when it represents a day for all people around the world to celebrate their immigration to Australia.
In fact "Australia Day" is double speak for "immigrant day". If you read any of the propaganda media on "Australia Day" you will notice that even though Australia is typically a day for Christian Anglo Saxons with the Union Jack Flag proudly waving and for drinking European beer and eating pork and red meats; the news contrasts this with non-stop propaganda talk about immigrants and how wonderful they are and how it is wonderful that we live in a "gloablised" society.
A nation of immigrants the propaganda media promotes is an oxymoron.
A nation may refer to a community of people who share a common language, culture, ethnicity, descent, and/or history.
They are of course changing this definition to suit their political beliefs.
The indigenous people of Australia are a tiny minority so why do they represent a threat to the political structure of Australia?
It is because of their nationalism. Nationalism opposes Globalism, and the New World Order needs to stomp on people who believe in Nationalism.
Once you understand the
Hegelian dialectic
you will know that the NWO controls the Australian Labour Party & Australian Liberal Party. They pretend to give 2 different opionions so the masses think they have a choice and have freedom. People generally think of good and bad so they think they are actually choosing what they want. What they don't realise is that the Australian Labor and Liberal Party, both promote Mass 3rd world immigration into 1st world countries and the exodus of jobs overseas so that all nations will be poor and a communist/capitalist Chinese style World Govt. (UN) can take over. The 2 main parties of Australia are almost identical twins.
Once you realise Tony Abbot and Julia Gillard work for the same team because of the Hegelian Dialect (the NWO aren't stupid, don't under-estimate the cunning sly deviousness of the global elite), you can then understand their collusion on Australia Day 2012. They (Gillard Tony Abbot) might pretend to be enemies in the media but it is obviously fake.
So what is this all about then.
Well it is about the government conspiring and political propagandizing an indigenous minority whilst promoting 3rd world majorities on Australia Day 2012 so they can bring the Global-Chinese model of slavery to the world to serve the Global Elite. Hate Day against the indigenous by our Political Elite on Australia Day.
The next time you buy plastic Chinese junk from the supermarket that might poison your kids with Lead Poison, think---
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