Random Thoughts

[Randall]

Okay. Now what? A random thought had recently popped into existence inside my brain. Unfortunately it also popped right back out again, leaving a feeling of uncertainty about any of this being real.

 

[Randall]

While pulling another all-nighter obsessively remastering No Time To Run, I experienced a brief bout of auditory pareidolia that sounded so incredibly lifelike that it startled me into thinking that maybe I had an EVP event. It turned out to be a DAW artifact that occurs when moving a track segment while it is playing.

Unfortunately I have not been able to recreate the exact experience. This leads me to believe that I may have actually heard something very lifelike. It sounded like me talking on a phone, to myself who was on the other end. No vocal track at that location. Only piano and faint percussion.

The thing about this experience is that digitally speaking, the combination of bits that recreated the sound must be in 'the box' ... someplace. However the likelihood of getting the order just right again seems highly unlikely. It's like this newer version of Schrödinger's Cat, with a far larger possible combination of outcomes.

Some of these artifacts remind me of the sound effects used in The Matrix. I better get some sleep. Gene reminded me we have an early show with John Olsen at 2PM this afternoon.

 

[marduk]

While pulling another all-nighter obsessively remastering No Time To Run, I experienced a brief bout of auditory pareidolia that sounded so incredibly lifelike that it startled me into thinking that maybe I had an EVP event. It turned out to be a DAW artifact that occurs when moving a track segment while it is playing.

Unfortunately I have not been able to recreate the exact experience. This leads me to believe that I may have actually heard something very lifelike. It sounded like me talking on a phone, to myself who was on the other end. No vocal track at that location. Only piano and faint percussion.

The thing about this experience is that digitally speaking, the combination of bits that recreated the sound must be in 'the box' ... someplace. However the likelihood of getting the order just right again seems highly unlikely. It's like this newer version of Schrödinger's Cat, with a far larger possible combination of outcomes.

Some of these artifacts remind me of the sound effects used in The Matrix. I better get some sleep. Gene reminded me we have an early show with John Olsen at 2PM this afternoon.

That reminds me of something that happened more than 10 years ago.

I was transcoding Muse's Black Holes and Revelations album on my linux desktop at the time, and didn't realize that I also had the mic enabled. In the track for "Hoodoo," my then toddler son walks in, talks about the model starship Enterprise I had in my den, and walks out.

For years when that track would come on, I would swear that I could hear him talking even when he was nowhere near. Finally, I figured out what was going on.

Of course when I flipped to all macs, and they did their 'music match' thing, I lost that .mp3. I should dig it out sometime. It was mixed perfectly into the song.

 

[Randall]

Anyone interested in participating in a round table this week or next. ?

 

[Randall]

Anyone who knows of other musicians who like to make their own CDs, please post something about them here, or look for a new thread in the near future on this subject. BTW at 60+, I feel more like a geriatric with a hobby than a "recording artist". I'm also okay with that. Lots of senior citizens have hobbies, and many of them are far more talented than I am. I think it's totally cool for them and feel really glad to be among their ranks, because now if anyone asks why I do this, I finally have a legitimate excuse.

 

[RobinS87]

I realized recently that we are all in some kind of incomprehensible simulation.
Because the laws of logic sometimes just don't work as they should. After all, tell me, you also noticed something that defies any explanation.

 

[marduk]

I might be, depending on the day and time. Kids are back to school this week, it's a bit busy.

 

[Gene Steinberg]

I might be, depending on the day and time. Kids are back to school this week, it's a bit busy.

We normally record on Thursday from 4 to 6 PM Mountain Time and then usually do another 40-45 minutes for After The Paracast.

 

[marduk]

We normally record on Thursday from 4 to 6 PM Mountain Time and then usually do another 40-45 minutes for After The Paracast.

Sorry folks, slammed at work until late this evening.

 

[Gene Steinberg]

Maybe next week.

We just confirmed a fellow traveler of sorts, Chris Rutkowski, for this week.

 

[Randall]

Sorry folks, slammed at work until late this evening.

Thanks for updating. Sometimes we forget some people have real jobs.

 

[marduk]

Thanks for updating. Sometimes we forget some people have real jobs.

If that's what you call sitting in your dining room and shouting at people via your computer all day!

 

[Gene Steinberg]

Tell me it's not your family you're shouting at.

 

[Randall]

Tell me it's not your family you're shouting at.

I'm pretty sure @marduk's situation is work from home, and that the people he's yelling at are a lot like Larry, Moe, and Curly

 

[marduk]

I'm pretty sure @marduk's situation is work from home, and that the people he's yelling at are a lot like Larry, Moe, and Curly

Yup. Instead of coming into the office and talking to people face to face in meetings, I'm sitting at home doing that virtually.

My commute is fantastic though!

 

[Randall]

The Scientist's Dilemma With The Paranormal

Is it that scientists feel it's beneath them to fair-mindedly examine all the evidence?
Or is it that scientists feel afraid to fair-mindedly examine all the evidence?
Or are they just in total denial about there being any evidence?
Conspicuously missing in the list is the element of truth.
What does this imply about scientists?​

 

[Randall]

Hey maybe this might be a good place to mention that Christian Kromme would like to come back on the show. What a perfect opportunity to ask his opinion about Fox's neXt Trailer ...

 

[Randall]

I woke at 4:00 AM. The ceiling was dimly lit by the aqua colored LED readout of the stereo amplifier. It had been left on because it had no remote and I had been binge watching the Babylon 5 saga until I couldn't stay awake any longer. As I floated in the pale blue glow of the background radiation, I began to wonder why there was such division in the world.

There are people who are obviously much smarter than I am, as well as people who are far more intuitive. Together they should be able to solve pretty much all the problems. Instead, they often seem to have no idea what the other is talking about. Why? It was then that it became clear that intelligence doesn't illuminate that which the intuitive senses, and intuition offers no explanation for what the intellect grasps.

Consequently, the more a person is shifted toward one side or the other, the farther away they are from seeing the whole picture. The intuitive knows something is wrong, but complex formulas are beyond their grasp. The intellectual can readily solve complex formulas, but doesn't see that they may have little or nothing to do with the real world.

Somewhere between the two is a picture with optimal brightness and contrast that gives the experiencer the dynamic range to see more clearly than those at either end of the spectrum. At first we might be tempted to think that this is a good thing. However, because each end of the spectrum are each other's experts, the ones in the middle aren't seen by either side as having any credibility.

In this situation are two polarized factions, plus a third the middle that is getting attacked from both sides. So next time you feel like you're being attacked from all sides, don't despair. Chances are good that it means you are actually the one with the clearest view of all, and it really is the rest of the world that's crazy.

 

[Randall]

Q: If it's possible that you are the only real person in this realm, and the rest are avatars or AIs, how do you know your not in that situation right now?

Clues:

1. Does the rest of the world sometimes seem animatronic?
2. Do you sometimes feel like you're living in a dystopian sc-fi hologram?
3. Does what should seem to be the simplest of logic somehow escape certain people?
4. Have you experienced paranormal phenomena?
5. Does your pet sometimes seem to be able to read your mind?

If you answered "Yes" to three or more out of five, you could be the only thing that's real in your universe. This may or may not help you get a date. If you do get a date, and you are having trouble communicating, make sure to double check clue number three.

 

[Randall]

Today, for the first time, I openly defied the COVID-19 restrictions in public by giving a hug to a homeless person.