Author: Joey deVilla

Categories
Accordion, Instrument of the Gods It Happened to Me

Happy New Year…Oops, wrong house!

Us in November at one of our “locals,” Southern Brewing and Winemaking.
We don’t have any photos of us showing up to the wrong house,
but we pretty much looked like this.

We started off our New Year’s Eve at the wrong house.

We meant to go to our friend Shelley’s house for her New Year’s Eve party. It’s a meaningful spot for us, because when we started dating eleven years ago, Anitra took me to the same party, and we looked like this:

Us at the same party in 2012.
Click the photo to read the original blog post.

With the pandemic and other parties, it had been a while since we’d been to Shelley’s, and I led us to the wrong house — one that was two doors west of Shelley’s. We rang the doorbell, and an unfamiliar face answered.

“Hello!,” said the gentleman at the door. He was maybe about my age, maybe a little older, with glasses and close-cropped hair and a goatee. He looked like he could’ve been one of Shelley’s friends whom I didn’t know, and I instinctively walked in.

As soon as we were completely inside the house, we knew we were in the wrong place. We’d walked into a smaller gathering, made up of the couple who owned the house, and another couple who were visiting. They’d been sitting in their living room, and from the looks of it, they were having a nice conversation over what looked like a bottle of Lagavulin. Nice.

We all had a good laugh as we introduced each other and shook hands. Anitra and I were about to leave when I had an idea.

“Hey,” taking a quick guess as to their preferred era of rock music. “Have you ever heard AC/DC on accordion?”

They hadn’t — at least until last night.

Categories
It Happened to Me

2022 in 12 pictures

January 2022. A New Year’s Day bike ride through Seminole Heights.
February 2022. At the Tampa Theatre,
March 2022. A wedding anniversary long weekend in St. Augustine, complete with filling our own bottle of whiskey!
April 2022. A little breakfast before World Ukulele Day in Clearwater.
May 2022. Lunch at La Palette in Toronto.
June 2022. An unusually sunny and warm week in London.
July 2022. Getting coffee and tea at Spaddy’s.
August 2022. Flying to a conference in Salt Lake City (my second of the year).
September 2022. At the birthday party for the Glazer Children’s Museum.
October 2022. Oktoberfest hijinks at the “Heart of Agile” meetup outside St. Pete.
November 2022. Hanging out with the zymurgists (beer brewing scientists) at our neighborhood happy hour at Southern Brewing and Winemaking.
December 2022. Flying to Toronto for an early Christmas visit with family.
Categories
Florida

When Florida grocery and drug stores are open on December 31, 2022 and January 1, 2023

“Clean all the things meme” with the caption “Happy New Year’s Eve - It’s almost 2023!”

For your convenience, here’s a list of when grocery and drug stores in Florida are open on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. Enjoy, and have a happy new year!

StoreHours for New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day
Albertsons🎉 New Year’s Eve: 6 a.m. – 8 p.m.
📅 New Year’s Day: 6 a.m. – 9 p.m.. More details on their holiday hours calendar.
Aldi🎉 New Year’s Eve: 9 a.m. – 8 p.m.
📅 New Year’s Day: Closed.
BJ’s Wholesale🎉 New Year’s Eve: 9 a.m. – 7 p.m.
📅 New Year’s Day: 9 a.m. – 7 p.m.. More details on their holiday hours calendar.
Costco🎉 New Year’s Eve: 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
📅 New Year’s Day: Closed.
CVS🎉 New Year’s Eve: Regular hours. These vary by store.
📅 New Year’s Day: Regular hours. These vary by store.
Duckweed Urban Grocery🎉 New Year’s Eve: 8 a.m. – 10 p.m.
📅 New Year’s Day: Hours vary by store. Visit their site for details.
Earth Fare🎉 New Year’s Eve: 8 a.m. – 10 p.m.
📅 New Year’s Day: Closed.
Fresco y Mas🎉 New Year’s Eve: 7 a.m. – 10 p.m.
📅 New Year’s Day: 7 a.m. – 10 p.m.
Fresh Market🎉 New Year’s Eve: 9 a.m. – 8 p.m.
📅 New Year’s Day: 9 a.m. – 7 p.m.
Harveys🎉 New Year’s Eve: 7 a.m. – 10 p.m.
📅 New Year’s Day: 7 a.m. – 10 p.m.
Publix🎉 New Year’s Eve: 7 a.m. – 9 p.m.
📅 New Year’s Day: 7 a.m. opening, with most stores closing at 7 p.m.. Use the store locator if you want to find a Publix that’s open later.
Safeway🎉 New Year’s Eve: 6 a.m. – 11 p.m.
📅 New Year’s Day: 6 a.m. – 11 p.m.
Sam’s Club🎉 New Year’s Eve: 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
📅 New Year’s Day: Closed.
Sprouts🎉 New Year’s Eve: 7 a.m. – 8 p.m.
📅 New Year’s Day: 7 a.m. – 10 p.m.
Target🎉 New Year’s Eve: 8 a.m. – 9 p.m.
📅 New Year’s Day: 8 a.m. – 10 p.m. Check the store locator for details.
Trader Joe’s🎉 New Year’s Eve: 8 a.m. – 6 p.m.
📅 New Year’s Day: Closed.
Walgreens🎉 New Year’s Eve: Regular hours. These vary by store.
📅 New Year’s Day: Regular hours. These vary by store.
Walmart🎉 New Year’s Eve: 6 a.m. – 11 p.m.
📅 New Year’s Day: 6 a.m. – 11 p.m.
Whole Foods🎉 New Year’s Eve: 7 a.m. – 9 p.m.
📅 New Year’s Day: 9 a.m. – 9 p.m.
Winn-Dixie🎉 New Year’s Eve: 7 a.m. – 10 p.m.. In-store pharmacies will close at 6:00 p.m..
📅 New Year’s Day: 7 a.m. – 10 p.m. In-store pharmacies will open at 9:00 a.m. and close at 6:00 p.m..
Categories
Florida Music Stranger than Fiction Tampa Bay

For sale in Tampa Bay: A gorgeous monster “Eurorack” analog synth setup for $28K

A massive setup of various analog synthesizer modules — think of a commercial airplane cockpit, but with more patch cables — in three large racks, effectively creating a wall of knobs, buttons, cables, and the occasional LCD screen.
Tap to view at full size.

I can’t justify spending $28K on this monster analog synth setup, but maybe you can. If you’re working on a soundtrack or sound design for a movie or game, or the next big electronica/EDM/electroacoustic masterpiece, this collection of systems assembled into three racks just might be the thing you’re looking for!

The seller’s based in Clearwater, and the lucky buyer will have to pick it up there or someplace nearby, and you’ll probably need at least an SUV with the back seats folded down to drive away with three racks’ worth of gear.

Upper two racks of the synth system.
Tap to view at full size.

Here’s what the ad in Facebook Marketplace says:

Condition: Used — like new

Massive Eurorack setup including three Doepfer A-100 cases. Everything has black panels and has a nice aesthetic. I have extra panels for a few items that didn’t come in black. I have almost all the original manufacturer boxes.

Also will include a huge lot of organized eurorack cables, extra power cables, and misc screws and parts.

This is a truly incredible setup!

Must pickup in Clearwater or arrange for meet-up in Florida. I can drive to your or meet you – free – depending on location. Not willing to ship – way too large, heavy, and delicate.

Lower two racks of the synth system.
Tap to view at full size.

Here’s a modular grid view of the upper case:

Detail view of all the components in the upper rack.
Tap to view at full size.

You can see a larger view of the upper rack here, and it contains the following:

  • Schlappi Engineering 100 Grit (black) Low Pass Filter, VCA, and Distortion with Brass Touchpoints
  • Schlappi Engineering Interstellar Radio (Black Panel) – DESTRUCTIVE TRANSMISSION LINE
  • Schlappi Engineering Angle Grinder (Black) – Sine waves and grinding feedback
  • 2hp Freez (Black Panel) – Freez is a voltage controlled locked looper
  • Erica Synths Black CV Tool – Full analogue CV and audio processor
  • Erica Synths Ringfade – Ringmodulator/Crossfader/VCA
  • Empress Effects ZOIA Euroburo – Complete Modular System by Empress Effects
  • Erica Synths Pico INPUT – Instrument input booster
  • Erica Synths Drum Mixer Lite – Compact Drum Mixer with a compressor
  • Erica Synths Drum Stereo Mixer – Stereo mixer, 4 stereo in, with limiter
  • Erica Synths Black Stereo Mixer V3 – 4 input stereo mixer
  • Erica Synths Black Output Module v2 – High quality output mixer and stereo panner with balanced outputs and headphone amplifier.
  • Expert Sleepers ES-5 mk3 – Gate, Clock and Sync expander for the ES-3 Lightpipe to CV DAC
  • Expert Sleepers ES-9 – USB Audio Interface
  • Erica Synths Fusion VCO2 – Full analogue sound source with lots of distinct features
  • Erica Synths Fusion VCO2 – Full analogue sound source with lots of distinct features
  • Erica Synths Fusion VCA-Waveshaper-Ringmodulator – Unconventional VCA/Waveshaper/Ringmodulator
  • Erica Synths DIY Polivoks VCO II – Updated design based on the original Polivoks VCO
  • 4ms Company Ensemble Oscillator (Black Panel) – Black panel for the Ensemble Oscillator
  • Erica Synths Black Double Bass – Erica Synths Black Double Bass is unique module that combines two transistor suboscillators (-1 and -2 octaves) and lowpass filter.
  • 2hp ADSR (Black Panel) – Four Stage Linear Envelope
  • Erica Synths Black Quad VCA2 – Four channel voltage controlled amplifier and mixer
  • Erica Synths Pico VCA – Dual linear VCA
  • Erica Synths Black Quad VCA2 – Four channel voltage controlled amplifier and mixer
  • Erica Synths Drum Mixer – Dedicated Drum Mixer with a compresor
  • CalSynth uO_C – Micro Ornament & Crime in matte black
  • Acid Rain Technology Navigator – Attenuator, Attenuverter and Mixer
  • Erica Synths Black MIDI-CV v2
  • Polyend Poly 2 – Polyend Poly 2 MIDI to CV Converter
  • Instruō Harmonaig – Chord generating quantizer

Here’s a modular grid view of the center case:

Detail view of all the components in the center rack.
Tap to view at full size.

You can see a larger view of the center rack here, and it contains the following:

  • Erica Synths Black Polivoks VCF V2
  • Polivoks VCF with original programable opamps
  • Erica Synths DIY Multimode VCF – DIY Multimode VCF based on AS3320 chip
  • Erica Synths Fusion VCF3 – Resonant 24dB/oct lowpass filter
  • Erica Synths Black LPG – Novel LPG design with a decay envelope
  • Erica Synths Black Dual ASR EG – Full analogue looping AD/ASR envelope generator
  • Erica Synths Fusion Modulator – Complex, all analogue modulation source
  • Xaoc Devices Zadar (black panel) – Optional accessory replacement panel.
  • Alyseum MATRIX II – 16 X 16 Sequential Matrix I/O router.
  • Synthesis Technology E370 Quad Morphing VCO (black panel) – Quad Morphing VCO
  • Erica Synths Bassline – Full analogue synth voice module for ultimate acid basslines
  • Neutron Sound Dust of Time – Dual stereo oscillator with modulators
  • Modbap Modular Osiris – Bi-Fidelity Wavetable Oscillator
  • ST Modular OBERHAUSEN – Complex Oscillator
  • CalSynth uBraids II – Mutable Instruments Braids Oscillator Module
  • Erica Synths Drum Mixer – Dedicated Drum Mixer with a compresor
  • Synthrotek 2HP Buff Mult – Compact buffered multiple
  • Moog Music Inc. DFAM – Drummer From Another Mother – Semi-Modular Analog Percussion Synthesizer
  • Erica Synths Sample Drum – Sample Drum with the current screen
  • Erica Synths Bass Drum – 909-style Bass Drum Module
  • Erica Synths Snare Drum – 909-inspired Snare Drum
  • Erica Synths TOMS – Low Tom, Mid Tom and High Tom in a sigle module
  • Erica Synths HiHats D – Erica Synths take on classical 909 HiHats sounds
  • Erica Synths CLAP – Classical drum machine Clap sound in eurorack
  • Erica Synths Cymbals – Distinct topology digital/analogue cymbals module
  • Erica Synths Dual Drive – Dual overdrive/distortion
  • Synthrotek 2HP Buff Mult – Compact buffered multiple
  • Erica Synths Black Output Module v2 – High quality output mixer and stereo panner with balanced outputs and headphone amplifier.
  • Synthrotek 2HP Buff Mult – Compact buffered multiple
  • Moog Music Inc. Subharmonicon – Semi-modular synthesizer based on Trautonium and Rhythmicon concepts for Moogfest 2018
  • Erica Synths Drum Stereo Mixer – Stereo mixer, 4 stereo in, with limiter
  • Erica Synths Drum Sequencer with Black Keys – X0X-style live performance oriented sequencer
  • Erica Synths Pico Mixer – 3 channel DC coupled mixer for CV and audio signals
  • Erica Synths Pico Mixer – 3 channel DC coupled mixer for CV and audio signals
  • 1010 Music BitBox 2.0 Black Panel – Sampler, Looper, Slicer & Recorder
  • Synthrotek 2HP Buff Mult – Compact buffered multiple
  • 4ms Company 1hp Blank Panel – 1hp Blank
  • Erica Synths Drum Stereo Mixer – Stereo mixer, 4 stereo in, with limiter
  • Blue Lantern Modules CMOS Clock Divider – Musical Clock Divider
  • Moog Music Inc. Moog Mother-32 – Complete semi-modular voice with sequencer and keyboard

And finally, here’s a modular grid view of the lower case:

Detail view of all the components in the lower rack.
Tap to view at full size.

You can see a larger view of the lower rack here, and it contains the following:

  • XOR Electronics Nerdseq – IO Expander – IO Expander black
  • XOR Electronics Nerdseq Black Aluminium Front – The Nerdseq is a Hybrid Tracker Sequencer
  • XOR Electronics Nerdseq – ‘More Triggers 16’ Expander Black – 16 additional trigger/gate outputs
  • Poly Effects Hector (Black Panel) – (Black panel version of Hector)
  • Synthesis Technology E520 Hyperion Processor (black panel) – Stereo Effects Processor
  • Synthrotek 2HP Buff Mult – Compact buffered multiple
  • Orthogonal Devices Black ER-301 – Voltage-controllable canvas for digital signal processing algorithms
  • Erica Synths Black Joystick2 – 4 channel recordable Joystick controller
  • Instruō arbhar expander – arbhar expander (included w/ module)
  • Erica Synths Black Stereo Delay
  • Instruō arbhar – Granular processor
  • Erica Synths Black Hole DSP2 – Stereo Effects Processor
  • Endorphin.es Milky Way (black) – 16 Algorithm Stereo FX Processor
  • Erica Synths Black BBD – Dual tap analogue delay
  • Erica Synths Dual FX – 2×8 custom FXes
  • Strymon Magneto – Stereo multi-head tape delay emulation, looper, phrase sampler, reverb, clock multiplier, chaotic oscillator
  • Erica Synths Black Octasource – LFO with 8 simultaneous outputs
  • Erica Synths Modulator – An advanced modulation and pitched noise source with focus on rhythmic (but not limited to) compositions in mind
  • Erica Synths Pico RND – Combined LFO/random source
  • Acid Rain Technology Maestro – Clocked Modulation Controller
  • Mordax DATA (BLACK) – Four channel oscilloscope, Spectrum analyzer, Spectrograph, Tuner, Dual waveform generator, Clock source/div/mult, and more

Closeup of the synth setup’s sequencer section.
Tap to view at full size.

Closeup of synth system’s center rack.
Tap to view at full size.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with synthesizers (I used to be — and still am — a synth keyboardist), this rack is a killer collection of:

  • Synthesizers, which make all the beep boop sounds,
  • Drum machines, which make all the thumpy and OONTZ OONTZ OONTZ sounds,
  • Sequencers, which record the order in which the beep boop, thumpy, and OONTZ OONTZ OONTZ sounds should be played,
  • Effects, which add dimension to all the sounds, from reverb to echo to distortion to oddball sonic effects.

Closeup of synth system’s center and lower racks.
Tap to view at full size.

The asking price is US$28,000. I can’t tell you if this is a good price or not; I’m more familiar with the more conventional synths you’ll find at Sam Ash or Guitar Center than with this sort of rig.

Maybe someone should contact Trent Reznor and see if he’d be interested in coming down to Clearwater, and maybe, you know, meet up with me for a beer or two?

Closeup of right section of center rack.
Tap to view at full size.

Categories
It Happened to Me

Christmas Eve dinner 2022

Joey's hand holding a plate with green beans, liver covered in minced green onion and mashed sweet potatoes covered in herbs.
Tap to view at full size.

I know that the word “liver” strikes ice-cold fear in the hearts of many, but we love organ meats in this household. We had some amazing liver from the small farm-raised cows at Riverbend Ranch seasoned with their Cracker Cow Burger Blend, garlic pepper green beans and mushrooms, and mashed sweet potato with home-grown herbs. A great Christmas Eve dinner!

Categories
The Current Situation

“No, Mr. Claus, I expect you to die!”

Cat glowering at (and towering over) a diorama featuring a Christmas village and Santa Claus. Santa appears to be in danger.Have a safe and merry Christmas everyone — and to my friends across Canada and the U.S.: Stay warm!

Need context? It’s a reference to this scene from Goldfinger:

Categories
Stranger than Fiction

It’s still the worst take on Christmas

Cover of “Atlas Shrugged,” but with the title replaced with the more accurate “It’s Totally Okay to be a Douchebag.”

After a couple of decades since it was first published, the award for the worst take on Christmas, religious or not, still goes to Randroid Supreme Leonard Peikoff’s essay, Why Christmas Should be More Commercial. Even The Grinch would say “I think you’re taking it a little too far, Leonard.”

(I’d rather not link to it myself, but this search should get you there.)

It starts with this gem of a paragraph…

Christmas in America is an exuberant display of human ingenuity, capitalist productivity, and the enjoyment of life. Yet all of these are castigated as “materialistic”; the real meaning of the holiday, we are told, is assorted Nativity tales and altruist injunctions (e.g., love thy neighbor) that no one takes seriously.

…and it ends with this one:

America’s tragedy is that its intellectual leaders have typically tried to replace happiness with guilt by insisting that the spiritual meaning of Christmas is religion and self-sacrifice for Tiny Tim or his equivalent. But the spiritual must start with recognizing reality. Life requires reason, selfishness, capitalism; that is what Christmas should celebrate — and really, underneath all the pretense, that is what it does celebrate. It is time to take the Christ out of Christmas, and turn the holiday into a guiltlessly egoistic, pro-reason, this-worldly, commercial celebration.

In a pluralistic societies like those in the United States, Canada, and the other G7 countries, a national holiday that has religious origins can’t be exclusively religious.

But Peikoff’s take is just too dickish. He clearly states that he’s not into the whole “love thy neighbor” thing, which is based on the Golden Rule, which is something all religions and most philosophies — Objectivism being a notable exception — follow.

If there’s anything positive about the essay, it’s that perhaps it might help convince people that capitalism — especially the current variety — is not an unalloyed good.

So yes, peace on earth, good will, and most definitely love thy neighbor, and Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

In case you need a primer on the founder of Objectivism, Ayn Rand, here’s the best short video summary I’m aware of: