CatSynth pic: Pallina and Solton Project 100

From Davide, via matrixsynth:

The synth under the cat is a pretty rare 12DCO Italian polysynth from the eighties [Solton Project 100]…. The cat is Pallina (little ball).

The blue details on the synth and in the background fit perfectly with the site theme of CatSynth, do they not?

From the same post, I also noticed this model from MFB:

The Kraftzwerg from MFB, a pre-patched but completely re-patchable mono analog beast (3 osc, a beautiful double LFO and a very nice sounding 24db VCF). The Kraftzwerg is REALLY the assembly of the modules from MFB so you are not going to loose any of the modulation possibilities.

Midnight Monday: Cat in the Window

No, this is not Luna. This black cat, featured in a holiday window display at Macy’s in San Francisco, did bear a strong resemblance.

Macy’s and the San Francisco SPCA have a longstanding program that features adoptable animals (cats and dogs) in the store’s holiday window displays. You can find more info at the San Francisco SPCA site.

Weekend Cat Blogging #187

Our first Weekend Cat Blogging of 2009 begins with Luna playing on the balcony, with some of the remaining construction in the background.

It really should be done sometime this month, after which all those extra columns and plastic will be gone. It will be great to have our full home back again. It feels like so much is waiting for that moment, including a few of our New Years resolutions.

This next photo was a lucky accident, a detailed close-up portrait of Luna giving and receiving love:

Weekend Cat Blogging #187 is hosted by Samantha and Tigger at Life from a Cat’s Perspective.

The Bad Kitty Cats Festival of Chaos will be hosted this week by Miz Mog and the Kitties at Mind of Mog

The Carnival of the Cats goes to The Whole Kitten Kaboodle this Sunday.

And of course the Friday Ark is at the modulator.

Some things never change.

New Years Resolutions

This past year has had some great moments, such as moving to the city and the recent elections. But it was also a difficult year, not in the same way as 2007 with its many tragedies and personal challenges, but nonetheless full of things we at CatSynth would like to put behind us.

In the spirit of looking forward, here are some resolutions for the new year:

  1. Write down everything. To-do lists, shopping lists, story ideas, art concepts, blog posts, reactions to things I see, books and music I want to look into, opinion pieces, random thoughts, and more.
  2. Write more consistently on CatSynth. Keep up with posts, especially timely things like music and art reviews, or reactions to news events. Of course, there will always be a focus on cats and music.
  3. Maintain the current schedule of at least one significant musical performance per month.
  4. Have at least one visual-art (i.e., photography and graphics) show before the end of the year.
  5. Join at least one additional volunteer or service program.
  6. Make five new close friends within the city limits.
  7. Re-make my studio into a space I want to spend my creative time in. That includes removing the clutter, and connecting everything up in a way that works.
  8. Remove things I don’t want, with the goal of reducing the contents of CatSynth HQ by 10%.
  9. Respond to all personal correspondence in under a week.
  10. Release a second album.
  11. Keep my financial decisions slightly less stupid that than those of the world at large.

This list may seem like a lot, but at the same time it is far from comprehensive if one looks back at the past year and things that could have been done better. But it’s a start. And a year from now, it will be interesting to look and see how many of these were successful, or at least still valid.

CatSynth pic: Analogue Synthesizer ETI project

From an auction, via matrixsynth:

(The original post has a larger pic of the synth)

This ETI Synthesizer project was built around 1979 by my father, the modules all worked when I powered them up recently (the original keyboard and power supply is not available due to someone connecting the mains to a +/- 12Volt input!) The modules consist of :

4 x VCOs
2 x VCFs
2 x VC Variable state filters
1 x Reverb unit
1 x VCLFO
2 x VC Mixers
1 x Noise/Sample & Hold module
1 x DRF
1 x Ring Modulator
2 x Dual ADSR modules
2 x Dual VCAs
1 x Dual Envelope Generator
1 x VC Envelope Generator
1 x D-A Convertor
1 PA (not tested)

Stories for the last night of Channukah

I should have written this earlier, rather than waiting for the last night of Channukah.

As most readers know, this is the Jewish holiday that lasts for eight days and commemorates one of the world’s greatest stories of energy conservation. No ritual oil has ever had a lower carbon footprint.

I wanted to share this series of new Channukah fiction that was read on NPR. Each of the stories is beautiful and modern. But I was perhaps most drawn to Holiday by Steve Stern, a retelling of the Channukah story in a somewhat dystopian United States in 2015 with chronic energy shortages, economic ruin, and cranky old Jewish stereotypes.

As CatSynth HQ is only beginning to recover from our brief little dystopia, our celebrations were rather quiet this year. But we did connect with family and friends even in the middle of everything. And I suppose that is what really counts.

Weekend Cat Blogging: Art, Fun and Rest

Luna admires a work of art, and becomes part of another:

A little humor with our art. We saw Luna enjoying her catnip-laced scratcher in a photo last weekend. Now we can all enjoy the video:

And we close out the final Weekend Cat Blogging of the year with this image of Luna in her favorite sleeping place:

Weekend Cat Blogging #186 is hosted by Salome at “Momma Astrid’s Foodblog.”

The Bad Kitty Cats Festival of Chaos is hosted this weekend by Sir Tristan TabbyCat Longtail.

The Carnival of the Cats will be on this Sunday at The Cat Blogosphere.

And of course the Friday Ark is at the modulator.