That blog (you may expect xposts, don't worry) needs some new mojo or something. New description etc.

Here's stuff I do that is "bloggable":

1. Music Stuff
1. Guitar Technician Stuff
1. Basic Tech Stuff
2. Tech "experiments"
2. DIY Audio Recording Stuff
1. Basic Audio Recording (in linux)
1. LADSPA effects
2. Software
2. Recording technique "experiments"
3. Noodling that results from recording technique
3. Equipment "tour" Review videos
4. Video Production Stuff
1. Basic Video Editing (in linux)
2. Video editing experiments
3. Video encoding process (in linux)
5. Actual full-fledged videosongs
6. Songwriting
7. Album reviews
1. New Albums
2. Old Albums
3. Johnny Cash Albums
2. Book stuff:
1. Book reviews (including synth books)
2. Book vlogs a la Fragment Friday
3. Electronics stuff:
1. Pedals
1. Pedal Design
1. Mainstream and/or Boutique pedals
2. DIY
2. Pedal Construction
3. Pedal Mods
4. Pedal Reviews
2. Synth Theory
1. "top-down" (modules, waveforms, topology0
2. "bottom-up" (transistors, etc)
3. Circuits 101
4. Synth Circuit demonstrations

I think I should be able to get on a schedule or something. For instance, I could assign a percentage to each big topic--I could make a decision along the lines of "I want 30% of my posts to be about synthesizers". I could look in my archives and notice that only 25% of my posts had been about synthesizers, and then, well, I'd know what my next post topic would be.

Then I could subdivide each big topic into percentages for each subtopic, etc.

I feel like this kind of system would help me stay diligent about posting, and also ease the difficulty of deciding not just what post to make next, but what kind of work I should be doing IRL! If my next post is supposed to be about a song I've written and I haven't written any ... well I guess it's time to write a song!

I think I'm not going to post the percentages publicly, mostly because I don't want people telling me "ZOMG you did it wrong" and also so I can reserve the right to tweak the numbers.

Do you think I'm missing anything? Which of these topics sounds the least boring? Which sounds the least interesting?

And now ... how to wrap up that list of topics into a sentence that describes me.

So I took it to the next level and got myself a Dremel 545 Diamond Wheel--it's an abrasive cutting wheel using diamonds as the abrasive agent, so basically it can cut anything. It's the only Dremel accessory that can cut glass reliably. I got one because I had a project in mind--reusing whiskey (or other) bottles as drinking glasses. Just cut the tops off, round off the edges, and there you go! Then maybe after I get good enough at it start etching cool designs in them and sell them on Etsy or something. Just a random thought. I like reusing. It's like recycling, except intelligent.

Anyway, here is the video of me cutting glass with my Dremel for the first time. Also, enjoy my new facial hair.

Thoughts?

Uh. Where was I?

I carved the replacement nut for my acoustic bass guitar, but I'm having trouble completing the setup process.

I corrected the neck curvature to 0.012", which made a huge difference, but it doesn't seem to be enough.

Here is a diagram showing the three adjustments that affect string action--the amount one must press down to fret a note--on a guitar.

Basically if the action is too high, the intonation will be (more) sharp because your fingers will have to push so far that they actually change the tension in the string. In addition the player's fretting hand will hurt. (More.) And if the action is too low, then the string won't have enough room to vibrate--when it vibrates it will hit the next fret up, causing a buzzing sound, which is usually unwanted.

Nuts are slotted, and the action is set by filing the slot deeper--you can only reduce it. On an acoustic, the bridge is a single piece of plastic as well, that must be sanded to the right height. You set the nut and bridge heights for each string separately. But if you file them too low, you can raise it by cramming shims of wood (or sometimes razor blades) underneath--but this possibly slightly changes the sustain and tone of the guitar. Also, shimming raises the height for all of the strings, not just the one you're working on.

Anyway, 0.012" still seems to be too high. I sanded down the bridge until the strings started buzzing, but the action is still actually way too high, in terms of feel and intonation. So I guess the curvature is still the problem, even though the general recommended measurement is anywhere from 0.012" to 0.002".

Another problem with adjusting the bridge on this particular guitar is that it has a piezo pickup in it, which consists of two thin sheets of metal with four little ceramic blocks between them, and the bottom of the bridge is funny shaped so that the blocks fit between them.

Basically what I'm saying is that shimming is out of the question, as is buying a slab of plastic and carving the bridge from scratch myself.

The curvature is adjusted by manipulating a sort of tension rod that goes down the inside of the neck, called a truss rod. I'm a little nervous about tightening it any more than have already because it's kind of an adjustment that you don't want to have to mess with much, because if you break it you've basically ruined the neck, possibly "totaled" the guitar. But I guess it's what I have to do. If I get this right then the acoustic bass will hopefully cease to be the least favorite instrument I own.

OK. I guess I'm not really here, but I'm somewhere.

I've read that there are no geniuses in problem-solving, that genius is just the ability to break a problem down into smaller parts--parts requiring ordinary intellect. Or that the genius isn't the intellect itself, but the breaking down of the problem pre-application of intellect to it. Of course people do have different levels of intellect, some can make bigger jumps than others, but the range of ability there is small in humans. What differs is the ability to break things down to the right size for yourself.

But most people don't think about this when they try to solve problems, but here I am trying to solve the meta-problem of my own problem solving system itself. Perhaps we all have a genius inside, and if we exert enough effort on our own personal version of this meta-problem we'll crack the shell and let our genius loose.

It would be nice if this was a preface to an amazing post, but this is what it's actually about.

MY TO DO LIST: NOW WITH MORE NESTING:

• Guitar maintenance
• ABG
• Correct neck curvature
• Purchase second capo
• Correct bridge height
• Measure bridge tuning compensation accuracy
• Grind nut
• Select and mark proper slotting (dremel -- large engraver)
• Maximize bottom surface contact (dremel -- fine sander)
• Grind nut top height (dremel -- coarse sander)
• Slot nut (dremel - small engraver)
• Shape nut back and sand slots
• Fix tuning compensation
• Compensate sharp strings
• Grind nut extentions
• Glue extensions
• Glue nut
• Strat
• Bridge Saddles
• Dobro
• Grind nut (same as ABG minus tuning compensation)
• Fix string overlap issue
• Seedbox
• Abscond with parents old PC
• Linux
• software: rtorrent, ssh, ftp, samba etc
• peripherals
• transfer relevant data
• re-add every goddamn thing from what.cd
• Convert dresser to media center
• Drill lots of goddamn holes
• ???
• Profit
• Synth DIY
• idk breadboard some shit or something, think of a goddamn project