Archive for May, 2009

Beatbox Sound Sequencer

Sunday, May 24th, 2009

screenshot

Here’s my final project for Multimedia Authoring II:

Beatbox Sound Sequencer

Go try it out! Click on HELP for a quick guide on how to use it.

The main controls you’ll want to use are the RESET button and the colored buttons on the right, corresponding to different sounds. Also, give DEMO 4 a try to see what it can do.

I’m acutely aware of the major issue with the app. Not only are the sound timings slightly off, but more insidiously, the sounds occur nondeterministically. That is, given a pattern on the timeline, you’ll hear slightly different timings each time the sounds are played. At the moment I’m not clear on how to fix it. While these mistakes are fractions of a second short, they can still be very noticable. It will definitely bother music majors.

However, I think Beatbox is fun to play with despite its faults.

If you want to try importing a timeline, give this a shot:

1200 540,160,4 638,280,4 722,160,4 512,160,4 512,280,4 302,200,4 484,200,4 694,160,4 652,200,4 456,160,4 484,280,4 694,280,4 386,160,4 512,200,4 666,160,4 540,200,4 330,240,4 638,160,4 456,240,4 302,280,4 694,240,4 456,200,4 610,280,4 358,200,4 484,160,4 540,280,4 274,160,4 666,280,4 456,280,4

Accidental Developments in Produce

Wednesday, May 13th, 2009

The Potatoes
Near the beginning my sophomore year, I naively purchased two potatoes with the intention of cooking and eating them. Instead, the potatoes languished on my bookshelf for nearly two semesters, wrapped in a plastic bag and untouched.

The second time I ever looked at them was when I was cleaning out my room and preparing to leave Pittsburgh for the summer. Taking them out, I noticed that the bag was shaped a bit strangely, and I soon found out why.

growth_potato_1

I knew potatoes grew sprouts if left alone for a while, but I had no idea they could become so unearthly and tentacular. They had clearly sucked the life out of the potatoes, which had become shrunken and shriveled. It looked like the potatoes needed an exorcism. I resisted the urge to fling the bag away.

growth_potato_2

The sprouts did look pretty awesome though. Nature had impressed me.

growth_potato_3

The Onion
This year, I bought an onion, wrapped it in a bag, and put it in the refrigerator in the misguided hope of making stir-fry at some point. So you can guess what happened when I took it out several months later.

growth_onion_1

Despite my experience with the potatoes, this one caught me by surprise. I had no idea onions could sprout so much stuff, in the fridge no less. Compared to the potatoes, the onion’s growths were quite pleasant and green and fresh-looking. And reminded me of Cthulhu.

growth_onion_2

growth_onion_3

I was so fond of the onion that I decided to bury it in a secluded corner of a field nearby. I wasn’t sure that’s how onions work, but I thought it was worth a try. I dug a small hole and dropped it in.

growth_onion_4

When I went back to check on it after a few days, the onion was gone. I suppose it looked too delicious and got hefted off by some woodland creature. Ah well; it will be remembered.

Growth: Full album