CatSynth pic: I'll help! (Roland JP-8080)
From John Lewis of FootFall
As we have often observed, cats seem to enjoy hiding in equipment racks. Gabriel, the cat featured in this photo, is no exception.
I remember first encountering a Roland JP-8080 at the Audio Engineering Society (AES) show in 1998. Ironically, I had just presented a paper on simulation of analog synthesizer waveforms and filters. I of course wanted to buy one after playing it – but in the years since I never did.
(Check out more Cats on Tuesday)
Weekend Cat Blogging and more: The Storm
California was hit by a nasty set of winter storms this weekend, and our soon-to-be-former home in
Santa Cruz was certainly in the middle of that:
Spectacular white-capped waves, heavy rains and high-powered winds battered Santa Cruz County on Friday causing clogged roads, sending trees and power lines into houses and buildings and flooding area roads..
Even from our window, it was obvious this wasn't an ordinary winter storm:
Even more than the rain, the real problem was the wind, well over 60MPH at times. And with wind comes power outages:
There were 46,010 PG&E customers without electricity in Santa Cruz County as of Friday afternoon, said company spokesman Jeff Smith.
We were among those customers, with power out until well into the evening. No lights, no heat, no internet or radio, and only a small amount of phone service. Perfect time for some extra long afternoon naps:
Luna has recently found this black pillow and made it her own.
At some point in the afternoon, I decided to try going out, maybe find a cafe with some electricity, warm drinks, and internet service. But it seemed that the entire town was without power, and most businesses were shuttered. This is what a hurricane must feel like as the storm approaches. A bit disappointed, I returned to the cold, dark house, for at least the warmth of a blanket and “kitty love.”
As afternoon turns to evening, the lack of light becomes more of a problem for humans. But for cats, who have excellent night vision, activities can continue largely uninterrupted:
Indeed, Luna was quite active in the early evening as darkness settled in.
Fortunately for us humans, power was restored to some parts of town by early evening, and I was finally able to go find a cafe for warm drinks and internet service (and to recharge the all important cell phone). The chatter of others and bustle of activity was quite welcome, indeed. But still no power at our house; our block was frustratingly dark even as others started to light up. I was able to spend some time and enjoy a warm meal at a the home of a friend whose power had returned, and by around 9 or 10PM our power was finally back on. As I returned to the house, I could see Luna's face peering out the window, with light in the background…
Weekend Cat Blogging #135 is being hosted by Katie and Puddy of A Byootaful Life. It seems that they are experiencing a rainy weekend as well, and they're inviting everyone to come inside.
The Carnival of the Cats has a new home at The Cat Blogosphere, and they will be celebrating the inaugural edition this Sunday.
The Bad Kitty Cat Festival of Chaos will be hosted by Ammie & Menagerie at Sleeping Mommy. The option theme is “Gotcha Day Stories.” You can read about Luna's Gotcha Day from this anniversary post back in June.
And of course Friday Ark #172 is at the modulator.
Fun with highways: Des Moines, Iowa
Like a lot of people, our attention today was focused on Iowa. And within Iowa, on its capital and largest city, Des Moines.
My only personal experience with Des Moines is traveling through on I-80, one of several major highways that meet here, including I-35, US 65 and US 6. The main highway through the city itself is I-235, which includes this cool pedestrian bridge overlooking the downtown. It actually reminds me a bit of the pedestrian bridge to the Marina in Berkeley, CA – which happens to span I-80, just a few miles to the west.
[click for photo info]
But this pedestrian bridge across Gray's Lake is even more interesting:
[click for photo info]
And yes, they hold this big event every four years in Iowa. And somebody gets to win it. This year, congratulations go to Barack Obama.
While we at CatSynth are not officially endorsing anyone (why would we do that?), we have enjoyed watching Obama's rise, along with the more youthful, energetic and sophisticated crowd that follows him – the same “college kids” that were sneered at in Iowa four year ago when they supported Howard Dean.
And of course we have no illusions about CatSynth's contribution, but it's a nice footnote if I he does go on to become President…
Wordless Wednesday clever response
Andrée from meeyauw had a clever response to our Wordless Wednesday post. Unfortunately, this site does not allow HTML in comments. But we at CatSynth can post such forbidden text in articles, so here it is:
✳❏❏■❅❒ ❏❒ ●❁▼❅❒✌ ✩ ◗❉●● ❄❅❃❏❄❅ ◗❈❁▼ ❙❏◆ ▲❁❉❄✁ ★✡ ★✡ ★✡ ★✡ ★✡ ★✡ ★✡
Wordless Wednesday: Dingbats
2007 farewell
Today we bid farewell to one of our most difficult, anxious and unhappy years, certainly the worst since 2001/2002.
2007 started quietly and optimistically, but we watched things fall apart quickly, and not just for us, but for friends and family as well. Certainly, there were high points, too. And CatSynth has been one of them. But for many of us, I think, this year could not have ended soon enough.
And while turning a page on a calendar does not change things, we hope for at least some sense of a new beginning…
Weekend Cat Blogging: A day of the year
For our last Weekend Cat Blogging of the year, we weave several of our favorite photos from past into a narrative about the present.
Of course, we at CatSynth wouldn't deign to open such a narrative with “it was a dark and stormy night”. But it was a very gray morning, a bit like the Dark Gradient we posted a couple of weeks back. Yet another perfect day for lying by the heater:
Dark or otherwise, I have been an early riser of late. Even on a Saturday, up by 9AM, and fresh coffee brewing soon after. Certainly the thing to get one alert and wide-eyed:
Actually, morning coffee is an opportunity to relax and enjoy a moment before the real work of the day begins. Read a bit, listen to the radio, do a crossword, and start on some Weekend Cat Blogging. But none of it was happening. Too weary, too numb. Back to bed.
To her credit, Luna soon left her comfy perch above the heater to join me. She's always ready to provide much needed “kitty love.” Of course, she has to first knead her spot on the bed:
Cuddling up for a morning nap, and letting go of the outside world and its worries. Yes, that's what we needed. And now we will be ready to continue with our day…
Things can change very fast. A phone call around noon sets in motion events that may determine the fate of “soon-to-be-former CatSynth HQ.” I can spare you the details, except to say we suddenly need to clean up a bit more than we have been. There's all the boxes and debris such from our expected move:
along with our general sloppiness over the past few months:
But in addition to the task at hand, there is the melancholy of what we will be leaving behind. Some favorite spots, for one:
But we have our photos and our memories, and of course, we should have new favorites in our future home.
So it's back to work for us…
The main focus of today's effort is the downstairs studio/office room, scene of many creative and musical moments:
as well as some moments of comfort:
The goal for today, and indeed for much of work around the house, is simply to get things clean and organized. From complete chaos and bewilderment to something manageable, that we can envision packing up and moving. We have been fortunate to count on our friends to help us in the effort, today as well as last week. And their help has been invaluable. Indeed, the last month has reminded about friends and family and what's important in life:
It looks like we're not the only ones going through the challenges of moving. Kashim and Othello and Astrid were going to host Weekend Cat Blogging #134, but they have just moved and are temporarily without internet access. Fortunately, Samantha and Tigger have stepped in to host the New Years Edition of WCB.
The Bad Kitty Cat Festival of Chaos will be hosted by Zed Monster and The Bad Kitty Cats. The optional theme is “birds or feathers.” Hmmm, that sounds rather familiar…
Carnival of the Cats returns this Sunday to its original home with Laurence Simon. And of course Friday Ark #171 is at the modulator.
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Nin, Mount Washington Observatory cat, Retires
Well, meeyauw is quite the place for interesting reads this week. In addition to the Mobius transformation video, we have this story of Mount Washington's official cat:
Nin, the black-and-white house cat who for a dozen years patrolled the Northeast's highest peak as the Mount Washington Observatory's mascot, was officially retiring Wednesday and moved off the mountain to a valley home…
…Nin, a former stray, has been popular among visitors to the summit. His photo and a short profile are included on the staff section of the observatory's Web site.
You can read the full story here.
Apparently there is quite a long tradition of cats at the observatory on Mount Washington, the tallest peak in the northeastern US. I did visit the peak as a kid over twenty years ago, but don't recall encountering any cats. Indeed, the main pre-occupation was the nasty weather and high winds, I remember being nearly blown over by one gust. Cats are generally more nimble than humans, but it must take a certain amount of skill and judgment to Mount Washington's official cat.
Mobius Transformations video (A YouTube hit)
From our friend Andrée at meeyauw:
An informative and beautifully produced YouTube mathematics hit. There is a YouTube link, where you will find a link to the original source of the video. You can download the video to your own drive. You really should watch this, even if you don't like math (gasp).
Well, we at CatSynth of course love mathematics, and appreciated this video. It is about Möbius transformations, an important concept involving complex numbers and geometry. You can watch the video below: