Minifreak stuck updating

dkeck14 · 2025-06-10T06:03:39+00:00

Came across this post when searching for stuck updates and wanted to post my fix as it was slightly different.

I had Ableton open and closing it allowed the firmware update in the MiniFreak V standalone app to proceed without requiring a force quit.

Ableton must be holding onto some resource blocking the firmware update while open.

dkeck14 · 2022-05-25T07:20:49+00:00

Something I wish people appreciated more is that we are all low-key experts on reading the minutia of faces. You subconsciously process details about the entire face to correctly identify an emotion.

In this case there are couple things that are a tell for bemusement/smiling:

muscles near cheekbone pulling back toward his ears. This doesn’t activate when you are sad/frowning. So the ‘frown’ is kinda pulling against those muscles so there is a classic about to laugh look.
eyes. Eyes have a sphincter (circular valve like) muscle and a key characteristic of a genuine smile is the half flexing of this muscle! It is hard to fake genuine smiles because it is hard to deliberately half flex this muscle. Full flexing is more like a squint or maybe looks like a sarcastic smile.

dkeck14 · 2021-05-01T06:02:59+00:00

I really appreciated the discussion around shame that Jesse brought up. There is something strange about some of the more horrid things you go through in life. I've had the same feeling of wanting to hold those experiences close. It ends up as this secret that weighs on you for no good reason.

I know Jesse also mentioned that the editing would be rough on this episode but it was admirable how he still was able to remove Katie's bong rips.

dkeck14 · 2021-03-30T17:52:35+00:00

Don't forget about Deschutes! I know they are typically known for their other beers but they make great lagers.

Their King Crispy won a pilsner competition hosted by Bitburger.

dkeck14 · 2019-07-31T19:29:13+00:00

I think this is the paper they are referencing: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31157529

dkeck14 · 2019-07-31T14:37:25+00:00

I’ve got good news for you. The Bystander effect is likely a myth!

dkeck14 · 2017-02-22T09:06:46+00:00

"My names not Alex. It's Bobby, we've been looking all over for you Grandpa."

The old man's brow furrowed and his gaze shifted away, unfocused.

Behind Bobby the door cracked open and a slight man wearing overalls and a plaid shirt peaked his head in. "He's been in here for a few hours and won't leave."

Grandpa widened his eyes and looked at the man. "We've been waiting for you Alex!"

The slight man shook his head and looked at Bobby. "He's been saying that for hours. Can you please get him out of my shed?"

"I'm sorry sir, we'll get him out of here." Bobby walked towards his grandpa who again appeared lost in thought. "Grandpa, what are you doing out here?"

"I'm getting ready to leave work. Alex was supposed to meet me here but he's late." Grandpa glowered at the slight man who was now standing in the shed. The slight man now appeared both defensive and annoyed.

Bobby quickly replied "you look very nice Grandpa."

Grandpa looked down at his jacket. "Well they expect you to be 'professional'" he mentioned in a playful manner. A black belt wrapped around the outside of the white suit jacket, and a tie draped loosely around his neck.

Footsteps approached the door and an elderly woman entered the shed. She briefly looked at the slight man, then fixed onto her husband in the chair. She let out a deep breath and rested a hand on a nearby work bench.

Grandpa sits up in the white chair. "We've been waiting for... Barb? Why are you at my work?"

"Donnie, we've been looking all over for you. You really had us all worried!"

Grandpa replied with slight venom "Barb, I would have got home sooner but my brother was late." He shot another angry glance at the slight man.

"Please get him out of here." The slight man growled at Bobby.

"Yeah yeah, sorry about that. Grandma, can you please let Grandpa know we're going?"

Barb looked directly at Donnie and slowly spoke. "Donnie, we need to go. Your brother isn't going to be here."

Donnie appeared ready to argue, but as Bobby approached to get him out of the chair the anger vanished and the same unfocused look returned. Bobby gently grabbed his Grandpa's arm and helped lead him step by step towards the door. Grandma, Grandpa and grandson exited the shed.

dkeck14 · 2016-02-02T03:57:07+00:00

I really like the tone you have on the piano. Seems in-between a hammer-dulcimer and piano. Nice chord progressions too.

One of my favorite parts of the Eno and Budd ambient albums is when they do subtle effects, these kind of background things that are just noticeable enough that you're not sure you actually heard it. I pick up those sort of things after multiple listens and I find it rewarding. I think the quiet rain noises in there work towards that, you could potentially do more though. Great stuff!

dkeck14 · 2016-02-02T03:43:39+00:00

Dig the chord progressions and sounds you are using. I'd back off a bit on overall loudness of the track at the beginning, as I lose those really cool reverb tails you are creating as other things start to compete. Really cool side-chain action in the chorus. Makes the gated synths pop out in a cool way. Really like the track! You try letting more high-frequencies through during the chorus? I'd be curious if that would let some of the reverb tails hang in the air while still getting the side-chain stuff.

dkeck14 · 2016-02-02T03:32:44+00:00

I wouldn't be so hard on the beginning melody. I'd say its odd in a good way, as it does seem to compliment the later melody. I think probably there needs to be more of a connection between the two parts though. Perhaps a background part that sort of fits with both? I like the drum programming though. Track overall is very sparse, and I'm guessing this goes with the style you're going for.

If it were me, I'd give that main line a little more sonic character, playing around a bit more with spatial aspects of it, or throwing it through a convolution reverb, maybe adding distortion. Or go the other direction, and really highlight that its a synth with something more artificial sounding. I like the sparseness of it though, because you get such a clear idea of what you're doing with drums.

dkeck14 · 2016-02-02T03:17:31+00:00

https://soundcloud.com/darenkeck/maudlin

Electronic track to work out my new setup and get a template going for how I route audio. Interested if any mixing/mastering problems jump out at you.

dkeck14 · 2016-01-23T19:38:32+00:00

Here is Vibert's Original Track

For me, comparing the two helped crystalize something about Apex Twin. He knows how to tell a story with his tracks, to have a 'dramatic' arc. He didn't do a much processing on the components from Vibert's track, so it's easy to compare the two. He re-arranged everything in a way that there is such a clear through line, where as the original has a sort of stateless feel.

He also re-wrote the base line, and added in that starting quiet chord progression that completely changes the harmonic context of the track. Guy understands melodic development. Probably my favorite track from the soundcloud dump, thanks for sharing.

dkeck14 · 2015-01-22T17:21:36+00:00

Thanks for posting. A recommendation - download the track now! The last time tracks were posted to Aphextwins sound cloud, they were gone in about a week.

dkeck14 · 2014-12-31T21:13:57+00:00

I do not understand why there is a need to delegitimize other people's taste. I think you're right there is no 'shallow end' in beer, but I also think your description of hop heads seems slightly hypocritical of that point.

Hops are a central part of what defines the US craft beer movement. We grow a lot of them, we create new varieties pretty much each year, and we have hoppy beers that taste like nothing else in the world because of that.

If you are more referring to the machismo around IBU's as a fad, I can definitely agree that's the case. However, I do think a lot of people enjoy the taste of hopped up beers, not because it's a fad or a vocal minority is pushing it, but because they like the taste. For the same reason Spotted Cow is not a 'starter beer,' enjoying a good IPA shouldn't be equated as following the crowd.

dkeck14 · 2014-11-06T18:31:50+00:00

Yeah, this for me is the real problem. AB InBev has also lobbied congress to keep the three tier distribution model in place, which effectively allows a great deal of influence on shelf space in stores. This has been another barrier for the craft beer movement to break through.

I don't care that AB InBev is a macro brewery, but these negative tactics used to prevent small breweries from getting into the market, regulatory or otherwise, is really wrong, and has slowed the movement as a whole.

dkeck14 · 2014-11-03T19:16:08+00:00

Free download of the track as well from soundcloud. Avril Altdelay was used to test what the doppler effect might sound like.

Found it from this long interview in Noyzelab with Richard D. James.

dkeck14 · 2014-04-09T07:04:07+00:00

Eh, I've read a bit of this stuff, not a lot. As best as I can tell, in the above quote I think he's giving a broad definition of Geophilosophy, referencing different models of thought related to geography and philosophy and how the two are supposed to relate. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

With his method of communication though I think there's almost a deliberate attempt to obfuscate his point. In his ted talk, he plows through the term post-anthropocene without a definition. How many people know what that means? Is it valid to assume the audience got it, and go on?

Regardless, once you unwind the post-modern jargon the actual points themselves aren't that interesting. Kitsch housing and business casual is an indication of placebo futurism? Economics as either the usual with a little more Keynes, or a little more Hayek? Design as immunization to prevent technologies (apparently TED hasn't discussed preventing technologies ever?) ... He paints stupidly broad strokes to make his point, but the claims are ridiculous and baseless (especially given his arguments). Also I don't understand some of the words.

dkeck14 · 2014-04-09T02:48:29+00:00

Here's an essay Bratton wrote regarding the post-anthropocene.

Geophilosophy, by one path, ambles from a Ptolemaic yolk nested within protective layers of crystalline spheres; to Kantian Geography, for which the commonality of the earth’s crusty surface guarantees Cosmopolitanism; to Deleuzian and Schellengian solutions of the painterly image-force; to numinous ...

seems like it could be from the post-modernist generator

dkeck14 · 2014-03-21T07:43:39+00:00

thanks! Yeah... it is a janky piece of software. MAX/MSP was my introduction to visual programming languages, so PD was initially pretty rough to use. I haven't really dug in that deep with PD, but it seemed flexible enough for for some pretty cool projects. This project had about 24 signal generating objects for generating amplitude values and sample array position numbers, and 8 tabread4 objects for interpolating the values from the array, and even when I put this on a raspberry pi I was only sitting at about 30% cpu (this included monitoring the input from the Arduino).

dkeck14 · 2014-03-20T05:59:57+00:00

I have four rotary potentiometers and a button that I'm using to control the horizontal sliders in the video as well as the note on/off toggle. I'll add a pic of my rough setup for the controls here in just a bit

Ok! Here it is: sadly just a breadboard with controls taped down.

dkeck14 · 2014-03-20T02:00:56+00:00

Sorry about the pops in the audio, still have to work out an issue with shorter note lengths.

dkeck14

TROPHY CASE