From matrixsynth:
Tag: cat
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CatSynth pic: Funki Porcini
From sendling, via matrixsynth:
Click on the full size image to spot the cat, the synths and the “hidden messages” in this large collection.
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Get Well Hendrix
Sending good thoughts for our friend Mr Hendrix, who was feeling rather ill this week. But he is doing a lot better now.
Plus, that is one of the cooler “get well” graphics we’ve seen on the Cat Blogosphere, so we had to post it
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CatSynth pic: Tali and Serge
From Carbon111, via matrixsynth:
There is also a wallpaper-sized version on SYNTHWIRE.
For those who may not know, the Serge Modular Synthesizers are kits that can be assembled to build large custom analog synthesizers. There are classic editions, and new editions. You can visit matrixsynth for more images and info, or visit the unofficial fan site.
You also check out more Cats on Tuesday
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Weekend Cat Blogging: What Did You Eat?
Our friends Kashim, Othello and Astrid are dedicating Weekend Cat Blogging to our fellow cat blogger Sherry “Sher” Cermak of What Did You Eat?. She passed away suddenly last Sunday.
Sher was also an accomplished food blogger, and we have made some her recipes before. So in addition to Weekend Cat Blogging, we are also participating a tribute hosted by the “Bread Baking Babes” this weekend and preparing her last recipe.
So let us move to the kitchen and dining area of CatSynth HQ:
And with Luna ready to supervise, let us begin:
Angel Hair Pasta With Red Pepper Pesto
[Adapted from Food and Wine.]
3 medium red bell peppers or bottled roasted red peppers
1 tablespoon pine nuts
1 small garlic clove, smashed
1/4 cup basil leaves, plus 2 tablespoons chopped basil
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 pound angel hair pasta
1/2 cup grated pecorino cheeseRoast the red peppers over a gas flame or under the broiler, turning occasionally, until charred all over. Transfer the peppers to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let cool. Peel, core and chop the peppers. (We opted for the bottled peppers here at CatSynth.)
In a small skillet, toast the pine nuts over moderate heat until golden, about 4 minutes. Let cool.
Transfer the peppers and pine nuts to a blender or food processor (If your food processor has been sitting in a box at the bottom of a kitchen cabinet since moving, make sure to clean it first.) Add the garlic and whole basil leaves and blend until coarsely chopped. Add the olive oil and cheese and puree to a chunky pesto. Season with salt and pepper.
In a large saucepan of boiling salted water, add the pasta and cook until al dente. Drain and cool slightly under running water. Transfer the pasta to a bowl and toss with the pesto. Season the pasta with salt and pepper. Top with the chopped basil and pecorino and serve at room temperature.
Now let us raise a glass and toast…
More tributes can be found at Weekend Cat Blogging, hosted at Astrid’s food blog. I’m sure the boys won’t mind too much.
The Carnival of the Cats will be hosted here at CatSynth tomorrow. Click here to submit your entry.
The Bad Kitty Cats Festival of Chaos will be hosted this week at Pet’s Garden Blog.
And of course the Friday Ark is at the modulator.
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The Fourier Transform of a Cat
We at CatSynth never miss an opportunity to combine mathematics and cats. Recently, our friends at Walking Randomly posted this image:
It was created by Andrew J. Bennieston, and inspired by this comic from xkcd:
Unlike the number theory and other mathematics we like to post here at CatSynth, the Fourier Transform is part of our stock and trade. There are many variants, including the Discrete Time Fourier Transform which one of the basic tools of signal processing and sound synthesis:
Basically, what a Fourier Transform does is decompose a signal (or any time-varying mathematical function) into separate frequencies. If you have a spectrum representation of a sound, this is output of a Fourier Transform. Similarly, if you have a graphic equalizer on your stereo, it can be seen as operating on a very low-resolution Fourier transform, as it allows one to raise and lower different frequency ranges of sound.
For images, “frequency” corresponds to detail. Highly detailed areas of image that change from pixel to pixel are high-frequency, while areas of constant color or intensity are lower frequency. Another variant of the Fourier Transform, the Discrete Cosine Transform, or DCT, is more often used with images because it tends to put more information in lower frequencies.
Theoritcally, one should not lose any information when taking a Fourier Transform of a signal (or image) and taking the inverse to retrieve the original. However, in Bennieston’s image, which applies two DCTs to the original image, results in the “ghost” that loses a bit of the original detail. Certainly, some is due to the rounding error when doing any calculations on the computer, but it seems like more than that. Most, likely, the DCT is more sensitive the boundaries, i.e., what happens at the beginning or end of a signal.
DCTs are often used in “lossy” image and audio compression, such as JPEG for images. However, I have rarely seen them used in music applications, where one tends to see more general Fourier Transformations, which correspond more closely to an intuitive understanding of musical frequency.
As such, it would be interesting to work with DCTs in a musical context and see what transpires. If we ever get around to this project, we will certainly post it here on CatSynth.
This post is part of the Carnival of Mathematics which is being hosted this weekend by Logic Nest.
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CatSynth video: cat prelude
From subtone on YouTube, via matrixsynth:
Sounds a bit like a 1980s power ballad…or a music store from my deep dark youth (the two have a lot in common).
Check out more Cats on Tuesday.
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Weekend Cat Blogging #163
It’s time for the Weekend Cat Blogging #163 round-up:
Luna will supervise the festivities from one her high perches.
Thanks to everyone who wrote in to wish us a happy second anniversary of CatSynth. And with that, let us begin…
Breadchick threw out her back lifting some heavy amplifiers (another reason why we at CatSynth prefer software for our audio work). But fortunately, LB is there to look after his mom. Breadchick is in the pro-audio business, so maybe she will come visit us at CatSynth while recovering for music, audio and feline fun. Oh, and that New England breakfast is looking pretty good this morning…
We move from pro audio to Music and Cats, where Sergei is puzzled by the behavior of his siblings Sasha and Lyra. They have been fighting a bit, and Sergei doesn’t understand why he can’t curl up with them for naps. “Sergei’s a lover, not a fighter, so he gets out of Sasha’s way, and looks to his people for affection.” We at CatSynth wish more humans were like that.
Things are more peaceful at Rosa’s Yummy Yums, where Fridolin has been an angel and doesn’t even mess with Maruschka. “He can be such a loveable cuddly kitty when he is not behaving like an evil little ‘monkey’!“
More feline friendliness can be found at Sammawow, with some great “then and now” photos of China Cat and Willow napping. It is great to have some constants in life, like the setting for these naps, that one can return to for years.
Napping appears to be activity of choice this weekend (and perhaps most weekends). And there is a serious snoozefest at CorgiFeathers featuring Titania and Oberon. A Midsummer’s Night Dream, anyone?
A little more activity can be found with Chica and Pumuckl, who are pretty intent on something on their ceiling. You will have to follow the link to find out what it is…
Our friends at the House of the (Mostly) Black Cats share some pictures of the friends (or rather, pikshurs of furrends). There was a little bit of difficulty with a disposable camera, and apparently much cursing (by their mom) as a result. But they still have some great pictures to share.
Our friends Samantha and Tigger are hosting the Bad Kitty Cats Festival of Chaos this weekend. The theme is “Christmas in July.” Now if it only it was Channukah in July…Time for some WCB Apocrypha!
Arthur and the other cats at Gattina’s are mouse hunting. Fun all the whole feline family.Of course, it wouldn’t be Sunday without Lectionary Readings from LOL Cat Bible.
We were happy to receive wishes from our house-panther friends, including Mickey the Black Cat.
And Mr. Hendrix.And that concludes the round-up for now. As always, we will continue to post entries as we receive them through Monday morning, so all are still welcome to participate.
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CatSynth 2nd Anniversary (and Weekend Cat Blogging)!
July 19 is the Second Anniversary of CatSynth!
And by coincidence, we are hosting Weekend Cat Blogging (really, it is a coincidence). So we invite all our friends to participate and celebrate with us. As always, please leave a comment with your link, and we’ll post it during the roundup later this weekend.
Of course, we must post the photo of Luna that started it all on July 19, 2006:
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and some fun stats for the occasion. Over two years at CatSynth, we have:657 articles.
2,476 comments.
106,000 visitors.
298 “catsynth pics.”The latter is using some custom analysis tools I created for the occasion, which also provide the top 33 tags/categories here at CatSynth:
cats 738 synthesizers 444 luna 280 music 169 news 136 wordless wednesday 101 weekend cat blogging 97 wcb 94 art 90 highways 85 personal 79 modernism 54 san francisco 50 stats 39 electronic music 35 experimental 34 carnival of the cats 32 mathematics 29 podcast 29 mp3 28 kitty 27 keyboard 26 friday ark 25 analog 23 photography 22 reviews 22 video 22 cotc 21 black cat 20 cats on tuesday 20 festival 19 california 18 chaos 18 Some tags, such as “photography”, should really be much higher.
Many readers may recall that last year, on our first anniversary, the site went down due to a rather annoying problem with our service provider, and we were sent into exile at the CatSynth FEMA Trailer. So we are leaving an anniversary post at the trailer as well.
A year ago, we at CatSynth had no idea what was going to be in store for us over the next year. A new job, a new home, a new life.
We traded the sun and greenery of our old home:
for our new home:
and life in the big city:
But some things remain the same. Luna, of course, is always here. And our friends and family. And CatSynth!
And we’ll still be here, continuing to do what we always do…
Some other significant milestones this weekend:
The 200th Friday Ark boards this weekend at the modulator.
Our friend Dragonheart is two years old today.
This is week also includes several birthdays for friends, whom we won’t embarrass by announcing their ages on our rather public forum…
It’s only one weekend after the Bad Kitty Cats Festival of Chaos first anniversary, so let us include it as well. This weekend’s edition will be at Life from a Cat’s Perspective with Samantha and Tigger.
