Friday, 4 December 2020

Sci Fi Index

 Sci Fi
 
My sci fi index. 
 
The world of Science Fiction is very important to me.
What is sci-fi ??
Is it space opera ? or Marvel ? Must it be "Hard Sci-fi" to be any good?
No, no, No.

I think that the answer lies in the words: Science & Fiction.
Science is full of facts, reason & logic
Fiction is full of ... well fiction ... stories & myths.
The two words are like the opposite poles of a magnet.
They shouldn't be able to exist together.
Yet they can.
This clash is what makes Sci-fi so powerful.
Sci-fi unifies the two worlds into something new and powerful.

Synthesizers and Sci-Fi go hand in hand. 
Electronic music is about Futurism. 
Synths and drum machines represent a new future where science and technology 
hold the promise of a better world.

From special effects, to movie soundtracks they feed off each other. 
I owe programs such as "Dr Who" and movies like "Star Wars", “Forbidden Planet” and “The Day The Earth Stood Still” a great debt for introducing me to electronic sounds and music. Those early films and programs were enhanced by those synths and they in turn paved the way for commercial artists like David Bowie and Pink Floyd to expose the masses to electronic music.

 I'll update this post over time. .. The link can be found in the index to the right.


+ Asimov  - I, Robot -  - novels & Magazines

 

 

 

 


 
+ The Hainish Cycle - Ursula K. Le Guin
 

+ The Expanse - James S. A. Corey 

 



Larry Niven
+ Known Space - Part 1 & 2 - Reading order (Belters & Slower than light travel)

 


+ Hugo Awards Best Sci Fi novels of the 1950's
+ Hugo Awards Best sci fi novels of the 1960's
+ Hugo Awards Best Sci Fi novels of the 1970's
+ Hugo Awards Best Sci Fi Novels of the 1980's
+ Hugo Awards Best Sci Fi novels of the 1990's
+ Hugo awards Best sci fi novel of the 2000's (2000 - 2009)
+ Hugo Awards Best Sci Fi novels for the decade 2010-2019

 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


 

 --------------------------------------------------------------------


fav books to read for people who have trouble with sci fi

+ The Three Body Problem Books 1-3
+ Diaspora & permutation city -  Greg Egan
Neuromancer - willian gibson
The Man in the High Castle & Ubik  - phillip k dick
Rendezvous with Rama
Stranger in a Strange Land
The Forever War
The Left Hand of Darkness - Ursula le guin
Ender's Game and Speaker for the Dead - orson scott 
A Fire Upon the Deep - Vernor Vinge - the first book in the Zones of Thought series
Dune
Red Mars -  Kim Stanley Robinson. 

The Doomsday book - Connie Willis
Foundation - Isaac asimov
The Expanse series - James Corey
Hitchhikers guide
Spin - Robert Wilson
The Martian Cronicles - Ray Bradbury
Fahrenheit 451 - Ray bardbury
Red Rising - Pierce Brown
A brave new world - Huxley
1984
Altered Carbon - Richard K. Morgan 
The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress - Robert A. Heinlein
Dark matter - Blake Crouch
snow crash - neal stephenson
contact - Carl sagan
Blindight - peter wATTS
Ring - Stephen baxter
Dragons Egg - robert  forward
Blood Music - GREG BEAR


Thursday, 3 December 2020

Greyscale Algorhythm - pics

Some build pics
This is a super easy build. Recommended for a beginner.

I purchased a complete kit.

aLL the tricky surface mount components are already installed.


The Algorythm is gate sequencer in a very small size. There are smaller gate sequencers, but they tend to loose the visual ability to easily see your sequence as it plays. My fave gate sequencer is the Tip top circadian rhythm, but its very big. You can see the leds light as the sequencer runs. I feel this is a compact version of it.
 
 



 40 pin header first

 

 Jacks next
WQP-PJ3410 jacks with round nut


LED switches next



LED switch (white) PB61303-BL5 (momentary) 4
LED switch (green) PB61303-BL6 (momentary) 8

The top 4 white switches first -- Sw1 to SW4


The lower 8 (green) switches
The red mark is -ve




I found that is the space between the two PCBs was too small, shorting can occur.

So make sure the gap is there.



Links

+ Greyscale Algorhythm - Firmware 2 (Polyrhythm)
Buildguide
https://grayscale.info/algorhythm/
Polyrhythm firmware - manual 2
Manual 1

 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For more Euro DIY builds click here:
http://djjondent.blogspot.com.au/2017/12/diy-index.html
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Tasmania, Australia - Lake Lilla Track

 The borders are opening up again in Australia.
Hopefully, COVID-19 will remain under control , and people can get back to a "normal life"
 
These are some pics of my last trip to Tasmania.
With some luck, we can return soon.
 

This is the Lake Lilla Track. 
It's a walk between Dove Lake and the Ronny Creek car park
 
 
Lake Lilla, is very close to Cradle Mountain.


 
You will need a National Parks Pass for Tasmania, but this will give you access to the free shuttle bus that runs between the information centre and all of the car parks in Cradle Mountain
 

 










These pics were taken in early Dec 2011.
Which is still summer in Australia. Lovely to see some snow.






bACK at Cradle Mountain


For more travel postcards click here:


Sunday, 22 November 2020

Presenting AE Modular at ELK ELEKTRONIK Synth Meet

...

Thanks to the 5th Volt for the AE Modular presentation.


Thanks to Ed for kindly letting us use his space in Wollongong.
(A new Synth centre of NSW).

Elk EleKtroniKs - Synth Meeting Nov 21, 2020

 Great meeting.

Gee, it's so good to be able to catch up again during these Covid 19 days.
NSW has had nearly 20 days of no virus infections or deaths.  Hopefully we are out of the mess of 2020.
 
 
Thanks to Ed for kindly letting us use his space in Wollongong.
(A new Synth centre of NSW).
 

tHANKS to everyone who showed up. From The local Illawarra regions, to Sydney, and as far as Bega.

AE Modular.


Hopefully the next meeting will be soon.... maybe early 2021.



tHE  after party.