frozen octopus

I was doing some testing of a module called Feeds yesterday. I am migrating a ton of old blog posts to this blog. It is a perfect test for migrating data via .csv file with the module. The last time I tried it out with a large set of albums, the module choked on importing the tags. This time around, it imported about 90 plus albums I listened to with the tags in one import. That ruled. I tried it out again with a bunch of old blog posts, and it imported them all as well. That ruled even more.

Past is a Slight Pain

Setting up the .csv file to import old data isn't the most fun task. It is a lot better than doing things one by one, though. Since all my old info is in .txt and .md files, I am sure there is a way to get it into a .csv. I am actually having good luck doing that lately with various tools. This is a do this in chunks while listening to a long podcast or audiobook task. Lots of tidying.

Excited For the Future

Getting new information into a .csv file is a breeze. So many apps allow you to append to a .csv file, like Shortcuts, Drafts, etc.

For example, I can Shazam what I am listening to right now and have it append it as text to a .csv file with an Apple Shortcut. Now I can import the list of things I listened to with three clicks in the blog. That is magical.

When you start doing it with a Watch or voice command, then it becomes 2001: Space Odyssey level. You can start doing things like voice dictating ideas into blog posts. Capture all the thoughts from the day into a spreadsheet, edit all the random thoughts together, and set up a blog post. Again...three clicks to post.

Save the .csv file in the right spot, and you can post from a phone. That is wizard level. That is get things done on a train level or while you are killing time at soundcheck level.

Lately, I am all about having a starting point or anchor point. When I am stuck on where to begin tasks, chores, or errands and I can't decide where to begin, there is the starting point. Go there and head out.

In computer mode it is the to-do app where all things flow into. For home mode, I start at the back right corner of the office/living room and work out from there. On drums it is a paradiddle on the snare but lately it is a half-time shuffle.

The goal for me with a fixed starting point is to eliminate the "where to start" and "what to start on" decisions. If I can get moving on things, I'll keep going for hours. Getting going is the slog through the mire for me. 

Just got the proofs back from the factory for our new cassette. Everything seems okay, so they can start making them. Hopefully, we'll have them for our shows coming up in Ibaraki and Nagano.

Excited to see them when they are done and excited to get this album out into the world. It is a lot more raw and live-sounding than previous releases. We wanted to bash it out quickly and in as few takes as possible.

We left a bunch of little glitches in the recording because so much old punk music I love has glitches too. They make the recordings sound human, which is a valuable thing lately.

It has been a while since I posted anything here. It was an intense two weeks, and some areas got put on the back burner to simmer.

My friend's band, Flavor Crystals, had a short tour booked and needed a temporary drummer. I haven't been back to the US in five years, so it was a nice way to get me to travel back. I have made that trip so many times, but I needed a push to go this time.

Their real drummer, John Menke, is so good, so it made learning the songs and getting the shows a breeze. It was good times focusing in on just the drum parts on their songs. I'd put on headphones, take an urban hike, and sort out the vibe of each drum part.

My plan wasn't to copy each song note for note but to get the feel down. I figured that for the other members, if it felt right, then they could not worry about me so much. It seemed to work.

I am noticing a slowdown in my posting here lately.

I think it might be from having to post so many show promotions. I feel like I already wrote something, then I don't write anything here.

It also could be partly from the news lately.

Sometimes when the world news is really big/hot, it has a dampening effect on wanting to write.

It could be partly the weather. It is getting hot here quickly, and I am not used to it yet.

The humidity in Japan is a lot different than where I am from. It always takes a while to adjust.

It could be the device as well. I love my laptop, but I am a little sick of typing lately.

I should switch to the iPad and Apple Pencil, maybe. There is also pencil, paper, and then scanning with the phone, which works very well actually.

Not a huge issue, but something is off lately, and course correction is in order. Listing out all the excuses, gets them out into the light and they dry up.