Just for fun, I’m going to build up a synth music player from the ground up. The goal will be to come up with a functioning music player that can play music as you’d hear it on something like an old NES from ’80s.
In the end, we’ll have working code that can play music like this:
I made that video from 2011, so I’ve tackled this before. I want to re-do it because I love good design principles and figured this would be a great way to help others who are learning about software development.
Software development is not just about good design, but good planning and good engineering. We have to make trade-offs as we build anything, and in this blog I’ll try to illustrate how we make these trade-offs to get good results quickly and efficiently. I’m a big fan of Lean Software Development principles, so my decisions will be driven by those principles.
This will take several blog posts, of course, and hopefully you’ll learn something along the way. Stay tuned!
I ran the installer, restarted my MacBook Pro. On restart, I brought up System Preferences/Network and the USB Ethernet adapter was nowhere to be found in the list of available network interfaces.
If you are able to get it working, please let me know. Otherwise, don’t waste your time. (I’ve put up this page so if anybody else tries it they will be warned in advance!)
This is an amazing song. It’s simple and raw with a lot of emotion. I found the chords at chordify.net, but they aren’t exactly right. Here’s what I think they should be. (The climbing bass line is what gives this song a lot of its tension, so I’ve included it. I don’t really play guitar, but I just worked some of this out on a keyboard and it seems right. Let me know if there are any corrections in the comments below.)
This Is A Flag. There Is No Wind – Los Campesinos!
[Intro] x2
E/B E/G#
Caug Caug/F#
C#m C#m
A/C# A/C#
E (not voiced)
CAN WE ALL PLEASE JUST CALM THE FUCK DOWN?
E/B E/G#
An analogy that makes sense to most
Caug Caug/F#
This opportunity it found me unmarked at the far post
C#m C#m
But I blazed it right against the crossbar
A/C# A/C#
Of the pub that you had worked in since you moved here from Bath spa
E/B E/G#
We agreed we couldn’t trust the guy that didn’t like a single sport
Caug Caug/F#
But those bow-legged suitors hadn’t given me much of a thought
C#m C#m
They said it smelled delicious but it smelt of burning flesh
A/C# A/C#
Not meant to be malicious but this is the cross we bear
E/B F#m/C# A
The story of the winter I forgot how to speak / my mind was
E/B F#m/C# A
like a nation’s flag but my breeze was too weak. / How they
E/B F#m/C# A
dragged me to the hospital sayin’ I had gone deaf, / but I
E
heard everything they said. It’s just I
A
had no interest.
[break]
E/B E/G#
Our friends have put the two of us on suicide watch
Caug Caug/F#
And every second spent away we spend watching the clock
C#m C#m
There are photos of us holding hands outside of the frame
A/C# A/C#
I was there, but wonder where our fingers were all the same
E/B E/G#
It’s like a self-restraint (It’s the size of a fingernail)
Caug Caug/F#
And then we chew it down (Yeah we chew it down all the same)
C#m C#m
Sad eyes for sad goodbyes
It’s a crime
A/C#
It’s a crime
It’s a crime
It’s a crime
E/B F#m/C# A
The story of the winter I forgot how to speak / my mind was
E/B F#m/C# A
like a nation’s flag but my breeze was too weak. / How they
E/B F#m/C# A
dragged me to the hospital sayin’ I had gone deaf, / but I
E
heard everything they said. It’s just I
A
had no interest.
I saw The Hobbit earlier today, so here are my quick thoughts on it.
I watched the 3D version at 48 frames per second. The high frame rate was amazing. In my opinion, this is the future of film.
Yes, in the initial few minutes I was worried that it looked too much like a “soap opera” and not like a traditional film. However, a short while later I let go and really got into it.
The high frame rate meant that the image was crisp and clear. There was no motion blur. It made it feel more real and immersive. Many moments felt like a play. It felt like I was peering into a real live event from my seat. I’ve never seen high def look so good.
I can understand how people are railing against this because it really does feel strange to watch film this way, but I think it’s the direction we should be moving. Being used to 24fps is just a cultural artifact. People generally don’t like change, so it may be hard to move them towards higher frame rates. In my opinion, once you let go, it really works as an experience.
Regarding the story itself, I won’t say too much other than I enjoyed it. Even though the film was nearly three hours long, it was paced just right. There wasn’t a single time I wanted to look at my watch or thought about wanting it to end soon. In fact, I wanted it to go for as long as possible. It was very immersive.
I read the book over 20 years ago as a child, so I didn’t remember the story. I will say that where they chose to end the film worked. My fears that it wouldn’t have a proper story arc were allayed. It felt like it had a beginning, a middle, and an ending. It did leave you wanting more, so it works.
I recommend that people with an open mind who want to see the future of cinema, see this film in 3D at a high frame rate. Let yourself be lost in the film and the realism.
This was driving me crazy. I upgraded to 3.4.1 of WordPress and now when I create blog posts, I can’t insert images!
I figured it out. If you have this problem, try deactivating your WordPress plugins until you find the one at fault. In my case, the Disqus plugin was causing issues. There are more tips on fixing this issue at the WordPress support page.
