Google maps street view comes to Albuquerque
Douglas as Computers
Mar|30|2008
Google Maps has added Albuquerque to its list of cities with street view. This feature lets you see a 360 view taken from any street. It looks as the data was collected in early fall. There is still foliage on the trees but it is turning. I also noticed how the sun obstructs the view when it is low in the sky. Surprisingly, much of the university area has yet to be added. I was able to find an important landmark however. I give you “Chevy on a Stick.”
Makin’ Cables
Douglas as Recording
Mar|29|2008
I made some microphone cables today. I ordered some Canare quad star in blue and green, My high school colors. Sat down at the bench and began turning them out using Neutrik connectors. I made one heavy duty 4 foot speaker cable using some 16 gauge quad wire for the new amp. That stuff was really hard to work with and eventually got it done but it was way more trouble than it was worth. I made 4 10 foot XLR cables and 4 15 foot XLR’s. This will help with all those short runs where I don’t want to have to use 50 foot cables for an 8 foot run. It was also a good warm up for the soldering I will be doing on the amp project.
Weekend in Taos
Douglas as Architecture, Horn, Music
Mar|25|2008
I spent the weekend in Taos playing a chamber music concert. We played the Mozart Horn Quintet along with the Schubert song Auf dem Strom. The concerts went well and we performed in the opulent El Monte Sagrado Resort and Spa. The thing that got me was Read the rest of this entry »
AC15 Project – Tube sockets
Douglas as Guitars and Amps
Mar|25|2008
I have been working on the amp a lot today. Mostly I am getting parts lined up and making sure everything fits but I did quite a bit of chassis “touch up” with the dremel tool and the old standby, the hand file. Read the rest of this entry »
The Real Orange County of New Mexico
Douglas as Film
Mar|25|2008
Yesterday I saw a bus driving by the main street of my house. That itself is not very interesting by itself but I noticed it said Orange County Transit Authority. What is this bus doing in New Mexico? My guess is it is related to the new Terminator movie starring Christian Bale they are filming in New Mexico. It could be any number of film projects though. It is tough to keep track as spring usually brings in a lot of new film projects
AC15 Project
Douglas as Guitars and Amps
Mar|16|2008
I started in on the chassis for my new amp project. I’m building a 15-watt amp that uses an “Top Boost” channel and an EF86 channel. This is Vox inspired but also will have some Matchless touches. Read the rest of this entry »
Wilhelm Part II
Douglas as Recording
Mar|16|2008
It seems like most audio folks are familiar with the Wilhelm scream, the most ubiquitous sound effect in movies of the last 30 years. If you need a refresher, read about it here.
I’ve been watching a show called Breaking Bad on AMC. It was shot in Albuquerque and is set there as well. It is fun seeing how familiar places transformed into meth labs and drug dens.
I noticed something very strange while watching the show today. During an explosion which showers glass down upon some drug dealers, I heard the unmistakable sound of the Howard Dean “I have a scream” speech. Could this be the next big “inside joke” for sound designers?
Just for kicks here is the original.
Blog Class
Mar|5|2008
Today I’m teaching about blogging so this is our first post together
We can use pictures
See, here we ARE.
We can also add links
We know how to add audio
We can also add movies
Pat Metheny Trio @ the Lensic Theater
Douglas as Music
Mar|3|2008
Some observations about the concert I saw last night:
- We had fifth row seats, directly in front of PM. His hair is even frizzier in person.
- He started the evening with a few solo numbers. The first tune was on a baritone acoustic. My buddy remarked that it sounded like he had some Moog bass pedals.
- Antonio Sanchez is a MONSTER drummer. He has amazing control AND he is a tasty player. I was in awe several times during the evening. Like most fine drummers, he knows how to use dynamics effectively.
- PM likes playing in Santa Fe. The crowd was enthusiastic and seemed to get riled up the more “out” he played.
- The band seemed to switch meter on the fly whenever they felt like it.
- Christian McBride looked like he was having fun.
- They didn’t play The Red One off the new album. (Day Trip) That track smokes so I was a little disappointed.
After the concert we looked at the seat PM was using on the stage. It seemed to have a device with wire strapped to the bottom. I thought it might have been one of these. All in all, best jazz guitar concert I’ve been to since the California Guitar Trio.