I am Ashley Elsdon

someone who's doing some things

Tag: Geekery

Yeah, you know, just your regular geeking out with stuff.

Colossus Sequencer and Synth, it’s been too long …

Posted by on in Making things, MusicLeave a comment
Colossus Synth
Colossus Synth
Colossus Sequencer
Colossus Sequencer

I actually got these two working a long time ago, and they do work quite well, if being a bit limited, but they’re fun and that’s fine.

However, I was thinking the other day that I should give it a go with some of the other little modular things I have. The colossus sequencer has a CV out so should work with some of my other bits and pieces.

There’s an experiment or two in there I think.

Then I found my old VL-1 MIDIfier kit!

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VL1 MIDIfier kit
VL1 MIDIfier kit

I was looking for something else when I found this! I knew, or at least I seemed to remember that I’d bought one of these ages ago. Well I’ve found it and I’m planning to get it going soon(-ish). Ideally I’d like to get it running so that I can get it to work with my VL1 bot. We’ll see about that.

That’s what happens when you find a vintage computer

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My name in lights
My name in lights

This is what used to happen when you found a computer anywhere. Of course sometimes the actual words were less appropriate, if you know what you mean.

What you do when you see a vintage computer running basic
What you do when you see a vintage computer running basic

Simple but effective …

A bit of vintage computing
A bit of vintage computing

A nice collection. I wouldn’t mind that lot myself!

Spending some more time with the Olegtron

Posted by on in Sounds, TechLeave a comment
Olegtron 4060
Olegtron 4060

I do like my Olegtron. It’s a load of fun, but the results haven’t been too predictable. Normally that’s fine. In fact I like the idea of sounds that surprise, but on the other hand it’s nice to be able to plan what you want to make and how it might work. Well in my most recent session with the Olegtron it’s actually been a little bit more predictable, and I think I’m starting to get the hang of how to get certain types of pattern out of it. Which is real progress for me.

So I expect to have some example videos up soon to show the latest sounds and patterns I’ve got from it.

Getting the mCookie up and running

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mCookie Microduino USB
mCookie Microduino USB

One of those tech things that can annoy you by just not doing what you want it to. But, at last I’ve got the basics up and running. It’s a nice kit though, with a lot of possibilities, and that’s what I’m really looking forward to now.

mCookie Microduino OLED screen and parts
mCookie Microduino OLED screen and parts

Especially what I might be able to do with the OLED screen, and also the speakers too.

mCookie Microduino components
mCookie Microduino components

The audio components look good too, and the audio stuff is going to be my focus, although bluetooth could be useful as well.

mCookie Microduino sensors
mCookie Microduino sensors

When I got this kit (quite a while ago now), I got the full range of sensors too.

mCookie instructions

So now I really need to get into reading this and then move forward.

You have to love something like Serendipity

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I can’t think why I really like this, but I do. I think it’s a lovely thing, but I really don’t know why. It doesn’t fit my ideas of utility at all. If you’ve no idea about what I’m talking about, then you should know that Serendipity is an app built on Spotify’s API which shows where two people are playing the same song at the same time anywhere in the world. It is quite amazing to watch, but, as far as I can tell it has no real purpose. Not that it needs it though.

Pythonista 2.0 is a massive leap forward

Posted by on in Making things, Mobile Applications, TechLeave a comment

There’s loads of new things to explore in the latest version. Here’s what’s new:

  • Pythonista is now compatible with all iOS screen sizes — from iPhone 4 to iPad Pro, and everything in-between.
  • For larger projects, you can now use multiple editor tabs to switch between related files more quickly.
  • The Pythonista app extension allows you to run Python scripts within other apps, using the standard iOS share sheet.
  • New and refined color themes are available in the settings; selecting a different theme now changes the entire app’s UI instead of just syntax highlighting.
  • The file browser and editor have much better support for non-Python files. HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and Markdown files are syntax-highlighted in the editor, Zip archives can be extracted, and a QuickLook preview is available for most common file types, e.g. images, PDFs, and audio/video.
  • Additional templates are available in the improved “new file” menu. You can also import photos from your camera roll as image files there.
  • The console’s interactive prompt is now syntax-highlighted, and provides better support for Bluetooth keyboards (you can use the up/down keys to navigate the command history).
  • You can now read the (pure Python) source code of the included standard library (and third-party modules) directly in the app. Simply enable the “Show Standard Library” setting if you’re interested in looking “under the hood”.
  • The UI editor contains a much improved inspector panel, undo/redo support, the possibility to set custom attributes, and a lot of other refinements.
  • The new traceback navigator allows you to get a lot more information about errors in your programs. When an exception occurs, a brief summary is shown at the top of the screen, and the line where the exception occurred is highlighted in the editor. By tapping on the exception summary, you can navigate the entire traceback, even if the source of the exception is in a different file. You can also tap the `<…` marker in the editor to inspect variable values in the selected stack frame.
  • The editor actions (“wrench”) menu has been improved significantly. You can now assign custom icons and colors to your script shortcuts. It’s also possible to invoke the standard iOS share sheet from the actions menu. If you have an iPhone 6s or 6s Plus (with 3D Touch), you can launch shortcuts directly from the homescreen by pressing the Pythonista icon.
  • The improved asset picker (`[+]` button) contains more free image and sound effect collections that can be used with the `scene`, `ui`, and `sound` modules. The UI for opening the asset picker is also consistent between iPad and iPhone now.
  • When the cursor is inside a color string (e.g. ‘#ff0000’ or ‘red’) or built-in image name, a preview overlay is shown automatically. You can also tap the preview overlay to select a different color or image.
  • The new *Highlight All* option in the copy/paste menu allows you to quickly find all occurrences of a word (e.g. variable name), without typing anything in the search bar.
  • You can adjust the indentation of a selected block of code more easily with the new `⇥ Indent` menu items (in the copy/paste menu).
  • iPad only: The extended keyboard has a more compact layout by default. If you prefer a larger keyboard with an additional number row, you can enable this in the settings.
  • The completely revamped `scene` module gives you a lot more possibilities for building 2D games and animations in Pythonista. You can even use custom OpenGL fragment shaders. Lots of new sample code and a tutorial for building a simple game are available in the included *Examples* folder.

So I probably need to revisit some of my old projects and maybe even finish them!

Pi Zero, now that’s impressive

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I didn’t manage to get the Mag Pi magazine with the Zero on the front cover, I wish I’d paid more attention to that. I will pick one up at some point. It is a very impressive achievement to get a unit like this out for just £4. It gives me a bunch of ideas of things that I might (with enough time) be able to do with it.

Probably it’s a project for next year though.