dempa.init5.net » Life in general

Updates, updates, updates…

dempa — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 09:14:39 +0000

Someday… Hmm.. Yeah, someday, I *will* start to update this blog. For now, I’m testing out a cool new WordPress plugin named “Photo Dropper“.
photo credit: vl04

Sorry for the lack of updates

dempa — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 09:35:32 +0000

To anyone still reading this blog:

I’m truly sorry that I haven’t been able to write anything interesting here for a really long time. Due to personal issues my time, and frankly, my interest in updating the blog has been minimal.

I’ll try to correct this sometime in the future. Stay tuned. :)

Site now iPhone friendly

dempa — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 20:56:46 +0000

I installed an excellent WordPress-plugin called iWPhone WordPress Plugin and Theme. It automatically detects when a visitor is using an iPhone to browse your site and reformats all your content to better suite that device. It works like a charm.

…ehm, how do I know that? I bought an iPhone 3G 16GB (black). Damnit! I said I wouldn’t but I couldn’t resist the urge. I’m a weak, weak man. :) On a brighter note, it’s a fantastic piece of hardware. No doubt about that. Now, give me my navi software! (Look, there’s hope!)

Update: Looks like 3DVU is releasing some sort of navigation software for the iPhone soon? I’m not that interested in their particular software but it makes me hope that other companies will be able to release their applications for the iPhone as well… or?

iPhone? Yes, please. But not right now.

dempa — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 12:36:26 +0000

Ehm, what? Well, of course I want an iPhone. However, due to lack of real navigation software, I’ll wait a bit before making the plunge. Several popular vendors have announced that they have or are at least interested in porting their applications the iPhone now that it has a GPS chip. However, there is some debate over whether or not it’s even possible due to Apples current SDK terms.

Slowly starting to make music again

dempa — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 11:48:41 +0000

I’ve been experimenting with a few tracks the last couple of weeks. Nothing worth releasing (yet), but at least there’s *some* progress. I’ve been busy renovating both the master bedroom and the study (where I make music) this summer. I stowed away my old Korg O1/Wfd synth and replaced it with an M-Audio KeyRig 49 keyboard. Much smaller (the O1 is 61 keys and a full fledged synth/workstation) but also somewhat “low budget”. The worst part though, has been getting used to pitch bend/modulation wheels (the O1 has a joystick with pitch bend on the X axis and modulation on the Y axis).

Initially, I had my eyes set on an M-Audio Axiom 49 but a) it’s much more expensive and b) they didn’t have it in stock at the store – and I’m a first class “impulse buyer”. And by the way, c) I probably wouldn’t make any more music with the Axiom than with the KeyRig, so why bother?

Let’s hope I can crank out some tunes soon!

Upgrade to WordPress 2.3 + new hardware

dempa — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 06:58:42 +0000

I’ve just upgraded to WordPress 2.3. It’s been out for over three weeks. This is how badly this site is run nowadays. :) On the music front; I’ve actally done some composing lately! Yes, you read that right. Of course, nothing ready for release just yet but keep your fingers crossed!

Oh yeah, I got me a new soundcard the other day (week). I’ve been using a crappy Soundblaster Live all these years, but with the kX drivers, you can actually get a decent latency (with decent I mean somewhere around 21ms, which is really bad but better than the default). Anyway, I bought a Delta Audiophile 2496. It’s a very popular card in the budget range and, in my opinion, best bang for the buck (atleast if you don’t need lots of ins and outs). It cost me 995 SEK (which is roughly 110 EUR) and now I’m experiencing a latency of 1ms. Not bad.

The sad truth…

dempa — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 22:06:43 +0000

…is that I have nothing to write about. It’s 5 months since my last blog post. It’s over a year since my last song release. :( Now and then I take some time to listen to some of my own tracks. I really (really!) wish I could get my inspiration back. I want it to be fun to make music again. Is there some rehab camp for lazy, uninspired musicians that I should know about? :)

D’oh!

dempa — Tue, 20 Feb 2007 21:38:40 +0000

Aah, the famous Homer Simpson quote. If I’m not making any sense, I’m referring to the title of this post. Anyway, the other day, I thought I’d try to make some music. To the few of you who listens to my music: I’m sorry, I wasn’t anywhere near successful. Aaaanyway, when I fired up the sequencer I couldn’t get it to record any MIDI data. In fact, my computer wasn’t receiving any MIDI data at all. The first thing that should have popped up into my mind: Check the cables. Think about the title of this post again. It didn’t pop into my mind. Not at that time anyway.

I started to reinstall sound card drivers left and right. I must have spent an hour trying to figure this thing out. Then I remembered! I had to pull my son (soon two years old and always up to no good) out from behind my desk. Did he accidentally pull the cables out? Naaah… or? Yes, of course!

D’oh!

Back at work

dempa — Tue, 23 Jan 2007 09:11:12 +0000

Today, I’m back at work. I haven’t been here for a month, which feels a bit strange. I have a lot of catching up to do, so I guess I’ll keep this short.

Sick like never before

dempa — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 14:33:00 +0000

So, it all started with my son. He fell victim to some influenza thing going around. It all started with the usual symptoms; runny nose, fever, cough etc. Later on he got “croup”, which can be scary but most of the time it’s harmless. He then got a very high fever (41 deg Celsius) and we had to take him to the hospital. As it turns out, he had contracted a couple of infections as well (otitis and pink eye), so he’s on antibiotics now.

After all that had settled down and while he was on his way to recovery, the rest of us got sick. I’m on my 8th or 9th day sick now. Can’t just get rid of the damn thing. However, I’m better now than I was five days ago, so I guess I’m on the right path. My son was nice enough to share some of his infections with me, so now I’m on antibiotics as well. :)