7:35am – 07 Feb 23
Greetings all, I hope this reading finds you well. This is my first blog post for 2023 and, while I have nothing specific to blog about, it’s one of those occasions where I just felt the need to post a brain dump of sorts.
It’s my second of two scheduled work from home days and I like to get up and relax, with some tea, in the quiet of my home before the workday has to get started. I was perusing Reddit after taking out the trash this morning (as it is Tuesday) and happen to come across a post in the r/fieldrecording subreddit that described a user’s website that caters to the sounds and soundscapes he’s recorded, globally, over the last 6 years (or more). What caught me eye about the site (which should be the approach for a well designed sites) is capturing the viewer’s attention, prompting them to stay as long as possible. By the way, the site is Mindful Audio. I got interested in field recording a few years ago and, after some research, picked up an entry-level Tascam DR-07X. For the type of field recording I do (which is no where near a professional level), it’s served me well so far, allowing me to add a nice sound effects to my library, especially foley that may be useful for original music composition for film (it’s still referred to as film today, right?) In any event, it was actually the presentation (and listening to a few of sound libraries) of the Mindful Audio site that urged me to post this blog.
As for the day job, things are starting to get a little busier as opposed the workload in the last quarter of 2022. I’m pretty much splitting my time between work on two NASA planetary missions and the biggest thing is to manage my time and maintain focus on the work needing to be produced on schedule. I won’t make it any more complicated than that. Working from home is massively convenient (I don’t miss the commute of 45 to 60 min one way), but at the same time, provides more distraction. I make it habit to review a collection of visual productivity quotes I’ve collected via IG posts of the years and it does help. The main thing I know needs to be done is to exercise discipline and consistency like I exercise my body – discipline is a muscle too.
On the tech side of things, how about that ChatGPT? Definitely the massive buzzword in 2023. I’ve read my fair share of articles, but just like DALL-E(?), Lensa AI, and the like, I have no desire to use it. There is no doubt that it is an invaluable tool, even in it’s infancy stages, but I prefer to sit back and quietly watch its development. I’m back to my Python coding journey and the goal is to complete Round 3 of the #100DaysOfCode challenge. That primarily involves finishing the remaining chapters I’ve chosen in the Python Crash Course, Volume 1 text (yes, Volume 3 is now out, but the differences don’t warrant me jumping to it until I get a good grip on the basics taught in Volume 1).
Lastly, Twitter. I mentioned to another long time friend, tech/podcasting brother, DarrenKeith, that Twitter seems far less “Musk-ified” these days, BUT, that could only be because of the paths/actions I take (which provide avoidance of certain things). I kind of new, all along, that Twitter wasn’t going to crash and burn, despite the initial doomsday posts about such and seemingly massive exodus to Mastodon. I did establish an account there just in case, but haven’t been back to visit for quite some time, mostly likely because my tweets are crossposted there via a tool suggested by fellow blogger and Twitter maven, Clay Lowe.
In any event, time to begin transitioning into the workday. Thanks for reading, I hope your day (or whenever you’re reading this) is all you need it to be.
oceans of rhythm,
Fresh!
