tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172555520574028929.post8206042026853999271..comments2023-03-24T03:31:39.269-05:00Comments on The Friday Challenge: The Friday Challenge - 5/22/09~brbhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10845253722980029012noreply@blogger.comBlogger38125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172555520574028929.post-64151493007658197442009-05-23T07:43:13.000-05:002009-05-23T07:43:13.000-05:00According to my friends who read Lovecraft, his be...According to my friends who read Lovecraft, his best storry is "At the Mountains of Madness," which I have tried to read several times. If that's his best story, it's obvious Lovecraft was writing for an audience that didn't include me.Henrynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172555520574028929.post-13551455663904649422009-05-23T01:24:11.000-05:002009-05-23T01:24:11.000-05:00Oh yeah, and I've read and absolutely love Lovecra...Oh yeah, and I've read and absolutely love Lovecraft. The man was a freak of writing. His particular tone and weird word choices just seemed to pull me in, deeper and deeper. I loved the way he seemed to prefer to leave most things undescribed instead of diving into gorey detail. I wish I could remember the story names, I loved so many of them in the big collection, "The Dunwich Horror and Other Tales" or some such.Tomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172555520574028929.post-63536639296418094672009-05-23T01:21:09.000-05:002009-05-23T01:21:09.000-05:00I wanted to do Murder Day. Everyone who was born ...I wanted to do Murder Day. Everyone who was born on a particular set of days would be allowed to murder anyone they wanted that day without fear of prosecution. But, I figured some people would hold back their murders, selling their services as protection to those who thought themselves likely to be offed. Perhaps an actual story from the perspective of an old mercenary guarding some low life. Who knows...Tomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172555520574028929.post-14493343430380881922009-05-23T01:16:11.000-05:002009-05-23T01:16:11.000-05:00I didn't realize that Towel day was on Memorial da...I didn't realize that Towel day was on Memorial day. I'm so there!<br /> snowdognoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172555520574028929.post-59877133963721131032009-05-23T00:51:22.000-05:002009-05-23T00:51:22.000-05:00Alas, I didn't know about Towel Day! Someday I'm g...Alas, I didn't know about Towel Day! Someday I'm going to have my own random holiday based on some insignificant bit of my life. I'm also going to have my own theme music. Someday.torainfornoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172555520574028929.post-91175931989430220742009-05-22T21:10:48.000-05:002009-05-22T21:10:48.000-05:00Hey, I'm a hoopy frood, of course I'll celebrate T...Hey, I'm a hoopy frood, of course I'll celebrate Towel Day!Henrynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172555520574028929.post-84781580661113044192009-05-22T19:09:31.000-05:002009-05-22T19:09:31.000-05:00I think I must be giddy from the idea of a three-d...I think I must be giddy from the idea of a three-day weekend, compounded with finishing the seasonality program. Sorry.<br /> <br />I wanted to ask y'all if you are going to celebrate Towel Day, which this year happens to fall on Memorial Day.Arisianoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172555520574028929.post-59710211807989423382009-05-22T19:05:48.000-05:002009-05-22T19:05:48.000-05:00Okay, down to business.
Snowdog: Great card, a...Okay, down to business. <br /><br />Snowdog: Great card, and pretty, too. Trouble is, I would need so many. I would send them to myself.<br /><br />Rain: You really got into it. I can picture it. I especially liked the food, all having something to do with money, and the traditions of how everyone celebrated. And the new currencies. I think the cleverness award belongs to you this time.<br /><br />Henry: I read your story at work, and I had to squelch myself hard to keep from making too much noise. Very funny and enjoyable.<br /><br />Ben-El: A very tempting idea. I would have trouble deciding on one thing a year to veto. The environment was disturbing, but maybe that’s the prerequisite of such a holiday.<br /><br />Vidad: Did you draw the picture? It has a faint resemblance to a bee. So this is just one giant baby shrimp? “It” will eat our souls? How big is it going to get? Ugh, never mind. **shiver**<br /><br />I’m voting for Rain, because she had all the details.Arisianoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172555520574028929.post-8374808719263546802009-05-22T18:19:41.000-05:002009-05-22T18:19:41.000-05:00That was one of my favorite tricks with the old an...That was one of my favorite tricks with the old analog synths. Microtonal scales, macrotonal, having two oscillators track parallel 5ths in conventional diatonic tuning with a third oscillator inverted. (E.g., the low notes were on the *right* end of the keyboard.) You got some fascinating tonalities that way.<br /> <br />One of the things we were really proud of with the Soundchaser was that the keyboard tuning was just a data map. In a matter of seconds we could flip the keyboard from diatonic tuning with tempered intonation, to just intonation, to Pythagorean, quarter-tones, whole tones, programmed transpositions, all sorts of deranged things. You could even tune it so the top octaves of the keyboard were a given range in one tuning -- say, tempered intonation -- while the bottom octaves were the same range in just intonation.<br /> <br />We probably sold a hundred copies of that software, worldwide. And probably 90% of them went to brass or reed players who just wanted to be able to play B-flat or E-flat parts without figuring out the transposition.~brbnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172555520574028929.post-25069479160856843942009-05-22T17:52:30.000-05:002009-05-22T17:52:30.000-05:00Cool, ~brb! I didn't know that.
I love non-conv...Cool, ~brb! I didn't know that.<br /> <br />I love non-conventional tunings. A couple of my musical instrument inventions have had alternate notes added.<br /> <br />The notes between our standard scale always fascinated me. Vidadnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172555520574028929.post-22017656270331470932009-05-22T16:58:10.000-05:002009-05-22T16:58:10.000-05:00Interesting information, I never heard about it be...Interesting information, I never heard about it before...not even in Junior High band. My thanks to you both.WaterBoynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172555520574028929.post-58202021759948725522009-05-22T16:43:55.000-05:002009-05-22T16:43:55.000-05:00Sometime between 1909 and 1950, they changed the p...Sometime between 1909 and 1950, they changed the pitch of all the notes to be slightly higher. Supposedly that makes them sound sweeter. My piano was bought used, so I don't know exactly when it was made, but the first time it was tuned, the tuner scratched the date (1909) inside, so it's at least 100 years old. When I was taking lessons in high school, my teacher wanted me to play along with a record to help me learn the finer points of how that piece should be played. I think it was Liebestraum. Or Clair De Lune. It sounded so awful when I tried it, that I couldn't stand to do it, because my piano was tuned 4 cycles lower. I've talked to piano tuners about it, and they recommend against trying to tune my piano up to the new standard. They say it will warp the board and it won't hold its tune.Arisianoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172555520574028929.post-90226385238729527192009-05-22T16:37:04.000-05:002009-05-22T16:37:04.000-05:00The old European standard for A above Middle C was...The old European standard for A above Middle C was 435 Hz. In the 20th century that was upgrade to 440 Hz. Some classical music purists insist on tuning to A435 (or thereabouts), which makes it just enough off-key to be really annoying if you're trying to play along on a conventionally tuned piano. <br /> <br /><A HREF="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pitch_%28music%29#History_of_pitch_standards_in_Western_music" REL="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pitch_(music)#History_of_pitch_standards_in_Western_music</A>~brbnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172555520574028929.post-31606356581461904882009-05-22T16:36:46.000-05:002009-05-22T16:36:46.000-05:00The old European standard for A above Middle C was...The old European standard for A above Middle C was 435 Hz. In the 20th century that was upgrade to 440 Hz. Some classical music purists insist on tuning to A435 (or thereabouts), which makes it just enough off-key to be really annoying if you're trying to play along on a conventionally tuned piano.<br /> <br /><A HREF="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pitch_(music)#History_of_pitch_standards_in_Western_music" REL="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pitch_(music)#History_of_pitch_standards_in_Western_music</A>Lamont Cranstonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172555520574028929.post-10478450320087283732009-05-22T15:57:22.000-05:002009-05-22T15:57:22.000-05:00if they can add four cycles to every note so I can...<EM>if they can add four cycles to every note so I can't play my piano with a recorded song</EM> <br />Please to explain...?<br /><EM></EM>WaterBoynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172555520574028929.post-89188597026022399192009-05-22T15:34:01.000-05:002009-05-22T15:34:01.000-05:00...one would think...Heck, that was one thing I re......one would think...Heck, that was one thing I really liked about my last job. I was able to work from home on a fairly regular basis, just connect through on VPN and get to work.<br /> <br />But...a lot of employers still prefer to see their employees at desks rather than wired in...<br /> <br />-=ad=-Alnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172555520574028929.post-80654928382553022009-05-22T15:27:41.000-05:002009-05-22T15:27:41.000-05:00That makes sense; I should have seen it, but the '...That makes sense; I should have seen it, but the '<EM>'have your favorite musician die immediately after doing his best work'</EM> bit threw me toward the music angle.WaterBoynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172555520574028929.post-13200229808447458902009-05-22T15:04:46.000-05:002009-05-22T15:04:46.000-05:00It is definitely inaccurate historically. But tha...It is definitely inaccurate historically. But that didn't bother me. If they can change when the year begins and ends and if they can add four cycles to every note so I can't play my piano with a recorded song, then I can move February back a few millennia.Arisianoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172555520574028929.post-52898488809890008422009-05-22T14:58:20.000-05:002009-05-22T14:58:20.000-05:00You did. You did. Arisianoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172555520574028929.post-6408374532728495412009-05-22T14:55:05.000-05:002009-05-22T14:55:05.000-05:00I liked them all, but I have to vote for Arisia. T...I liked them all, but I have to vote for Arisia. Twisted story idea and I absolutely loved the card.<br /> snowdognoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172555520574028929.post-82837491174242386032009-05-22T14:48:47.000-05:002009-05-22T14:48:47.000-05:00Do'h! I was trying to reply to Waterboy!Do'h! I was trying to reply to Waterboy!snowdognoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172555520574028929.post-18409931285488844312009-05-22T14:47:44.000-05:002009-05-22T14:47:44.000-05:00The clue is in the name of the holiday. The Phanto...The clue is in the name of the holiday. The Phantom Menace was released on May 19, 1999 and stands as the definitive lesson against hardcore fandom.<br /> snowdognoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172555520574028929.post-37800130637376131582009-05-22T14:23:37.000-05:002009-05-22T14:23:37.000-05:00Any Shatner reference is entirely in the mind of t...Any Shatner reference is entirely in the mind of the reader. Or is it in the mind of the writer and he doesn't even realize it's there? There would be no help for him! I. Can't. Accept that!Henrynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172555520574028929.post-23865224417693587012009-05-22T14:22:20.000-05:002009-05-22T14:22:20.000-05:00Fine. It wasn't clever. It was inspired. Happy?...Fine. It wasn't clever. It was inspired. Happy?<br /> the banditnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-172555520574028929.post-81244978083069311872009-05-22T14:15:33.000-05:002009-05-22T14:15:33.000-05:00Don't we live in the digital age? Shouldn't you b...Don't we live in the digital age? Shouldn't you be able to SQL from home?the banditnoreply@blogger.com