Sunday Stuff
Sunday, January 26th, 2025 06:41 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
snoozefestaudio |
26F and clear tonight, going down to 15F
I'm definitely noticing the days getting longer.
Part of it is that they are getting longer, but there's also the fact that the December gloom is long gone.
When skies are thick with cloud cover, night falls faster than when they are clear.
December into early January, around here, is always guaranteed gloom every day... super thick clouds from one horizon to the other, all day and night.
But we always go back to blue skies and sun, through the second half of January... which amplifies the effect of the lengthening days.
Never put on pants yesterday (Saturday). Just hung out at home in my long johns and socks... a hoody on, over my T-shirt.
For years, with a dog to walk, that was never an option.
But now that I've realized it is... I'm doing it more often.
In FL STudio, I'm slowly re-working the dynamics of every song.
At first it was just, Tuesday Siren (formerly NYC Gargoyles), but that actually went so well, that I realized I should do it to every song.
Never Rains has been done, and now this weekend, Closer To You.
I'm doing this all through the velocity controls... meaning for the quieter sections, the velocity of each drum strike, and every instrument note are lowered.
It does mean they're quieter, but it's different from simply cranking down the actual volume, because drums and instruments have a different quality at full velocity... they smack harder... like they would in real life, if you plucked or struck them harder.
It definitely sounds a lot more realistic, adjusting the velocities down, than if I were to, "ride the faders," as they used to say in the analog days.
Closer To You has really come a long way since it's days as the first test recording!
Most of the composition has not changed at all, since August of 2023, but the drum, bass, and guitar sounds were updated, the panning scheme was updated, and now... with the dynamics having been adjusted... it really pops!
In the analog days, compression was huge!.. The total flattening of dynamics... crunching everything to the exact same volume, so that everything could be heard equally well, and the song was as loud as it could be, without distorting.
That was a game to get the signal out over the noise... the hiss on the tape, or the crackle on the vinyl.
And it continued into the digital era because of dance clubs!.. where now, the noise you wanted to get above was the crowd in the club itself!
And panning also fell into disuse, thanks to dance clubs... because who cares if the high hat is off to the left, or the crash is off to the right, when you're listening in a huge, noisy bar, with 10 giant speakers?
But I do now see the kids at the high school wearing actual headphones, these days!
Air pods and ear buds are finally giving way to actual headphones again... which makes sense, because bluetooth was never designed for audio!.. and jamming little beans into your ears is painful, and sounds like shit... and they get lost!
I'm definitely producing this album for headphones... partly because I just can't blast the music in speakers, here in this apartment, like I was able to do at the house.
But I've always produced for headphones in the past.
The difference is that, in the past, I struggled to make sure the music sounded just as good in open speakers, as it did in headphones... which does require compromises.
But those were still the days when people had entertainment centers in their livingrooms, with pairs of speakers on either side of a stereo system... turn table, CD player, radio, etc.
These days, open air audio is mostly in the car... but car systems are usually shit... way too bassy, with tons of traffic noise, and fan noise in the car... and it's background music, because you're going somewhere, and your focus is primarily on that.
So, this time around, I'm not as worried about what the songs sound like in the open air.
I'll still do what I can to make sure they don't suck dick in open air, of course.
But I am way more interested in optimizing the mixes for headphones.
Today, I was up by 3PM, and went straight away to the AutoZone on Galena, which is on the way to Aldi.
I got my engine code read, and it turns out to be the, Mass Airflow Sensor... which is either dirty, or failing.
I bought a can of cleaner that may be able to clear it up... when sprayed into the airflow system, through the intake under the hood.
The car won't pass emissions until it's been resolved, but it's not a dire threat to the engine.
As for why the car is in 4WD, and how to get it out... I have to do some research still.
That too is not ideal, but also not an immediate threat.
Got the groceries at Aldi after AutoZone, and, back downtown, walked my two bags back from the garage... seeing that SAME red convertable hogging the loading zone, like it does every weekend.
But at 4:45PM, it WAS still light out... which brings us back to the start of the blog entry.
All clean & shiny... and while the laundry was going, I did the dynamics for, Magic Monday.
So, I'm about halfway through the album on that global tweak.
I need to start doing more field recordings... out the window, and around downtown... to get the sounds I need for the songs that don't have sound effects yet.
The four that do sound so good!
It's been too cold to try lately, but now the forecast is calling for 40sF, out through the 4th of February... which is warm enough.
January ends on Friday, meaning I'll have been living here for seven months!
The critical mission in February is to get the car straightend out, and have it pass emission, and get re-registered.
But I need to let Fernando know, by the end of February, that I want to upgrade to a 1BR as soon as one comes available.
Because by March 1st, there will only be four months left on this current lease!
And it could take that long for something to open up!
I did finally talk to Kristina about the issue I'm having, logging into the employee portal.
It's thanks to the move from custodial, at Cloud, to maintenance, at Potawatomi.
Custodians log in with their employee ID numbers, but maintenance and grounds log in with GeoStaff email addys as their usernames.
So I did get that email address, I was assigned, but there are still other things that haven't been updated... like the fact that Mark is my new supervisor, etc.
I'll need access to that portal before I officially apply for the 1BR.
I got this studio apartment based on the janitorial pay scale at Cloud!.. so now that I'm making, like six more dollars per hour, I should easily qualify for a 1BR.
My question is... will they require a new deposit?
They had me do a double-deposit to get in here!.. so I feel like that should carry over into a new unit, as long as I leave this current unit in the same shape as I found it.
And, I mean... I changed the toilet diaphragm... fixed the shitty kitchenette drawer... got the bathroom vent working... and improved the weatherstripping around the door!
And it won't be any big deal patching & painting in here either.
And once it's been painted, there won't be any trace of the cigarette smoke.
So... it seems like that double-deposit should be golden!
Also, these studio units are always in HUGE demand by college students.
So, Fernando has an incentive to get me out of this flat, and into a 1BR, which are harder to fill, when they come vacant.
I'm thinking all the time now, about how nice it would be to have a bigger fridge, in a bigger kitchen area, with more counterspace... and an actual oven!
I'd be able to prepare actual food, rather than just living on air-fried frozen food!
That's the key to any kind of healthy diet!
But... two windows, more room, and more storage space is key to everything else!
I'm tired of this little life raft!.. I want a place I can really call home!
Still, the tower itself is the bigger home... and now that I've been through both the dead of summer, and the dead of winter here, I feel like this is a fine place to spend the next several years.
I've done the cold walk from the garage at night, when it's ten below. It's fine!
I've got a grasp of the air-handling situation, and that too will be fine, once I'm in a unit with two windows.
The laundry room's great!.. toilets are great!.. electrical is great!.. wifi is fine!
Neighbors are great!.. neighborhood is fabulous!
My commute is fabulous!
And of course, the view!.. is... sensational!
That's my only worry, is that I get a 1BR on a lower floor facing west, and the view's not as cool anymore.
But it would still be fine... and still be worth it.
And who knows!.. I might get a 1BR up on 18, still facing east!.. and really be jazzed!
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