At this point, I’ve got most of what I need, but what’s listed on this sign would serve me well this new year.
What do you need for 2023?
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What do you need for 2023?
Damn right.
(And if the accordion isn’t the instrument that “speaks to you,” find one that does. Playing an instrument has so many benefits for your brain.)
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:
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.
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2022 in 12 pictures
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!
| Store | Hours 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.. |
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.
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.
Here’s a modular grid view of the upper case:
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:
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:
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
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.
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?
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Christmas Eve dinner 2022
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!