Thumbuki as seen from Space

There are times when you just have to say, “Enough is enough.” And I’ve had enough trying to perfect thumbuki before officially launching. I have a mostly functional website with incoming content and a decent layout. There is no reason, no reason at all, to put this off any longer. That’s why I’m launching thumbuki, right…. wait for it… right… NOW!

w00t! (streamers and noise makers)

Thank you. Thank you. You’re all too kind. But before you get too excited, I want to make sure you realize that there are still many issues that need to be resolved here.

As of right now, thumbuki seems to render properly on Mac Firefox and Safari. On Mac Opera, picture subtitles are most definitely off. Fixing this is going to be a high priority. The other big issue for now is that I have not seen how this page renders on PC or Linux. Good news is that I do have an old PC and an Ubuntu boot CD lying around somewhere. These issues will be fixed for maximum cross platform/browser compatibility in the near future. I’m sure there are bugs hiding in all the nooks and crannies of my html. So I’ll need to validate my code as week. I’ll get some time this weekend to do this.

One last thing… Special thanks to my good friend PAgent of PAgent’s Progress for pimping my blog last night. u r teh r0×0r!! Your free oven mit is in the mail.

My first solder

Earlier this week, I stopped by my local Radio Shack and picked up a soldering iron, wire, and a stripper. Yesterday, I finally had a chance to use it when I pulled out an old PC modem card (for practice) and went to town.

I managed to solder six wire ends to random spots on the board. The reason I didn’t do more is because the room I was in clearly wasn’t ventilated properly (got a little dizzy.) The first thing I learned was that the gauge of wire I’m using is a little too thick, though still workable. Second thing was that it was easier to put some solder on the tip of the wire first, then place the tip on the spot I wanted it connected to, and then heat the wire, causing the solder to precisely melt into place. In the end, all my wires were attached well enough that I could lift the board. And none of my solder leaked into an adjacent point of electronic interest.

This weekend, I plan on setting up a space in the garage, so that I don’t have to kill as many brain cells next time. And so that I can finally take apart a toy instrument and play connect-the-dots.

Part of Get Bent.

This Short/Preview for the Circuit Bending Documentary by Derek Sajbel (http://absurdity.biz) features Q.R. Ghazala, Nebula Girl, The Shinths, Daedelus, Dave Wright, Cynthia and music by Venetian Snares

Part of Get Bent

I would be in a state of sin if I didn’t mention early-on the internationally recognized “father of circuit-bending,” Reed Ghazala.

Ghazala’s website, www.anti-theory.com, is a haven for the odd and strange in the electronic arts. Besides Circuit-Bending, Ghazala has also involved himself with the visual arts. My favorite is his work with polaroids. Be sure to read up on the man himself.

If you are interested in giving circuit-bending a try, then the first thing you should read is Ghazala’s 19 page primer. This is more than enough (but not too much) information to get anyone started. If you want to dive even further into his world, Ghazala has written a book, Circuit-Bending: Build Your Own Alien Instruments. I’ve already ordered my copy.

Part of Get Bent