Cats

Weekend Cat Blogging with Luna

It’s a new year, and Luna is ready to play.

She always seems particularly eager for attention when I am about to leave home, which point she launches into a rather effective guilt trip. But this week she has been getting quite a bit of extra attention, between the New Years vacation and my feeling under the weather the last few days. It has actually been a good time to catch up on cats and electronic music.

The Carnival of the Cats will be hosted tomorrow by Nikita and Elvira at Meowsings of an Opinionated Pussycat.

And the Friday Ark is postponed until next week…

CatSynth pic: Quasimidi Rave-O-Lution Drum Machine SN 42262

Another “cat not included” auction photo courtesy of a matrixsynth:

“Cat not included!”

“This unit is unexpanded (hence the moderate price)… There are many technical photos of this synth at http://www.loscha.com These pictures are of the actual unit you will be buying.

The power socket has a slightly broken shell, but the plug holds in no problems.”

KORG Polysix/Mono-Poly era knobs.

CatSynth pic: M-Audio Venom Synth Keyboard

Via matrixsynth, where you can find more info.

49 full-size keys with velocity
12-voice polyphony
Features 512 single patches and 256 multi-sound patches
41 oscillator waves and 53 drum sounds sampled from vintage analog and digital FM synths and drum machines
Three oscillators per voice
FM, sync, and dynamic wave-shaping
Three LFOs and three AHDSR envelopes
Four-part multitimbral
Four independent MIDI-syncable phrase sequencers
Two global bus effects and one inset effect per part
Classic arpeggiator
Tap tempo and top-panel BPM control
Built-in USB 2.0 2-in, 2-out 24-bit audio interface
Microphone, instrument, and stereo line level inputs
MIDI in and out via 5-pin DIN connections
Large custom LCD display
Four rotary encoders for editing and performance control
Assignable pitch bend and modulation wheels
Vyzex Venom software editor for Mac and Windows included”

Cool cat not included.

We think the cat probably prefers the box 😉

Weekend Cat Blogging: Return to the Beginning

Weekend Cat Blogging is coming to an end as a public event with today’s edition, so we are going back to the first time Luna participated, back in August 2006.

Luna is much younger here, a skinny adolescent. This was also our first post to receive comments. It is sad to see Weekend Cat Blogging end officially, as it has been an important part of rhythm and structure of CatSynth, and a major way we met many of our regular friends. But times change. We will keep in touch with everyone though individual blogs as well as Facebook and Twitter. And we will continue to have our own “Weekend Cat Blogging” posts featuring Luna, and our annual wild-cats post near Earth Day.

Weekend Cat Blogging #394 is hosted by Jules and Vincent at Judi’s Mind Over Matter.

The Carnival of the Cats will be continuing into new year, and this week’s edition will be hosted at the Tuxedo Gang Hideout.

And the Friday Ark is at the modulator

Weekend Cat Blogging: SF SPCA Macy’s Holiday Windows

Every year, the San Francisco SPCA teams up with Macy’s to produce Holiday Windows featuring adoptable pets at the flagship store in downtown San Francisco. It’s a great holiday tradition here, and an opportunity to find new homes for pets over the holidays.

Over the past seven years, the Holiday Windows have helped the SF SPCA raise nearly $400,000 and find homes for over 2,300 animals. Thank you to our friends at Macy’s for their commitment to helping us find loving homes for San Francisco’s cats and dogs.

There were mostly kittens and adolescent cats on display when I visited the windows earlier today. I was particularly taken with this pair of black-furred brothers.

There is always a theme to the windows, and this year it appeared to be gift boxes, as if these kittens were to both be a gift and to receive a gift.

But the windows also often feature a city vibe as well.

To find out more about SF SPCA Macy’s Holiday Windows, follow this link. And if you happen to be in the San Francisco area this holiday season, I recommend stopping by Union Square to see the pets.

Weekend Cat Blogging #394 is hosted by pam and sidewalk shoes.

The Carnival of the Cats will be hosted this Sunday by Nikita and Elvira at Meowsings of an Opinionated Pussycat.

And the Friday Ark is at the modulator.