Japanese Road Music

From the BBC Music Magazine,
Nov. 11, 2007:

Japanese researchers have come up with a novel alternative to the car radio, with the invention of a musical road surface. ‘Melody roads’ have specially-placed grooves cut into the asphalt, which lead to musical notes being heard inside the car when it drives over them. By calculating the exact distances needed between grooves to give different notes, the Hokkaido Industrial Research Institute has worked out how to transform rumbling road noise into recognisable melodies. With each one lasting for around 30 seconds, melodies can be heard on three sections of road in northern Japan.

This quirky musical invention came about after a bulldozer driver accidentally scraped notches into a road, drove over them, and heard a series of notes. Engineers at the research institute in Sapporo acted on his discovery, creating several test roads in Japan. Large coloured notes painted onto the road warn drivers of the upcoming blast of music. 28mph is reported to be the optimum listening speed, with the tempos being affected by different driving speeds.

‘You need to keep the car windows closed to hear well,’ The Guardian reports one Japanese blogger as saying. ‘Driving too fast will sound like playing fast forward, while driving around 12mph has a slow-motion effect, making you almost car sick.'

I think that is so cool.

Lemmings and the Luftwaffe

Some friendly online political banter with a good buddy of mine who, inexplicably, manages to vote incorrectly in every possible election reminded me of one of my favorite computer video games from yesteryear.

Yes, it was Lemmings. Go check out the link...some very interesting trivia about game design and stuff.

Another game that I truly, truly loved in the early days of computer games was Secret Weapons of the Luftwaffe, from LucasArts. I used to get up an hour early in the morning so that I could play this game before making breakfast for the family and going to work. It was a multi-faceted and challenging flight simulator, basically, that enabled you to fight WWII's air war over Europe. My favorite fighter plane was the P-51 Mustang, very closely followed by the P-38 Lightning which could rain an unbelievable torrent of death and destruction on the Nazis. The most difficult was the B-17 Bomber. Spectacularly rendered, it actually let you toggle amongst the pilot seat, various gunner turrets, and the bombardier's station to conduct battle. Flying one of those deep into Germany, doing some damage, and then flying all the way across Europe to land back on British soil was no easy task, even in the virtual realm. It was a difficult game to win and highly addictive.

If I had either of these today, I would get nothing done, I'm sure.

Flurry of Activity

We have snow flurries this morning. It doesn't really seem cold enough, but it is certainly noteworthy, nonetheless.

I am working on a project today that is about to eat my lunch. I have to finish and FedEx a presentation in order to complete my qualification requirements as a "Certified Church Consultant". I've had the lengthy written test done for some time, but I have procrastinated on writing the thesis, knowing that it would be time-consuming and challenging.

Why do we do that? Well, I know some of us don't, but a lot of us do routinely put off difficult or unpleasant tasks until the very last minute. As if delaying the inevitable somehow makes it more, uhm...evitable. In fact, as all of us procrastinators know, this type of temporary denial of reality makes our lives not easier, but rather more stressful and unnecessarily frustrating.

And yet, here I am writing on my blog about procrastination instead of doing the work that needs to be done. I wonder how late FedEx is open...

UPDATE: It's nearly 5:30 EST. I may make it...I've got about another hour-and-a-half to finish, 30 minutes to spruce it up a little, and then high-tail it to the FedEx office. It could happen.

UPDATE: Yeah, I got it done. Dropped it off at FedEx at 7:50, a full 10 minutes before closing. Because I'm not one of those guys that waits until the last minute. Yeesh, how lame would that be?

We are winning the Anti-Anti-War War

I don't rant often, but I wrote a snarling bit of prose not long ago about how I hoped that Hollywood would shrivel up and die as a result of their despicable efforts to wring profit from the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It was not possible then and is still not possible for me to understate my complete disgust with the actors, actresses, producers, directors, writers, et al, who have made and released this year's batch of anti-American, anti-military movies.

This report and the accompanying comments, one of several such floating around in cyberspace, is based on box-office numbers, and bears out that most of the rest of America feels the same way.

Robert Redford, this guy wants to kick your treasonous ass to Texas and back.

My Blog Are Pretty Smart...

...according to this:

Get a Cash Advance

Actually, though, if my blog is communicating at the "College (undergrad)" level, what this probably means is that my blog is not really that smart, but it thinks it knows darn near everything. Oh, and please send money.

h/t to The PapaGolf Chronicles for this momentarily amusing amusement.

Rube Goldberg

More solid proof that mankind is not just another mammal. We are special.

This short video shows an amazingly creative bent and I think you will all be satisfactorily amused.

I have always loved this kind of thing. When I was a kid I used to make things like this, although certainly not on this level of genius and complexity.

Drive-by Blog Entry

Just checking in... some scattershot thoughts, notes, and activities.

First, it's freakin' winter here today. No snow, yet, but it is 25 degrees, counting the wind chill. And it is gusting at 40mph. Time to yank the A/C window units and actually do that weatherstripping project I've been thinking about for the last month.

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My brother has a blog. It is in this cool community site that his church has launched. It is sort of like a Facebook-style social networking thing. When I get time, I'm going to learn more about it and see if it might work at our church, too. I jointed their community yesterday so that I could post snide comments and random jibes, and I really like the vibe and feel of it. Check him out and read about his self-diagnosed obsessive-compulsive approach to writing (or not-writing). Heh.

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Today I am neck deep in putting together a training presentation on A/V systems for worship that I will be conducting at a local church this evening. I'm looking forward to it. I used to do this kind of thing a lot, some 10 years ago or so. Training volunteers in this area of ministry is very satisfying. It is a balance of 50% basic audio technical info and 50% relational servant/leadership info.

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At church this past weekend, my son Jordan, with our worship team, led a song during the offertory called "The Blessing", by John Waller. The response of the congregation was astounding and inexplicable. He did do a great job, playing piano and singing, and it is an effective, powerful song, expertly arranged by our worship director. But the outpouring of emotion surprised us all. Jordan has played on our teams for years and is a very gifted musician, but this is the first time he sang the lead as a soloist. That was really the only difference this week and, still, that doesn't explain the weeping, the effusive affirmations, the hugs from strangers, the people calling us at 7:15 AM the next day just to tell us how moved they were by that song. Nancy, who works at our church, said staff and congregants alike were all still talking about it on Monday.

The funny thing is, JP actually didn't even know for sure that he was singing that song until last Friday, the day before the first service. Also, Nancy and I have always known he could sing and play, so we just assumed that he would give it his best shot and that he'd probably do well. He does have a knack for that. Sure, we were proud of him but, honestly, for us, it was kind of routine. As a family, that's kind of what we do and have always done...we go, we play and sing, we worship. And then we do it again next week.

But there was something different this time. The Kid was at the nexus of some kind of spiritual watershed event, I think. I don't have the answers, but I am intensely curious about what God is doing and what He is planning, both in the life of my son and in the life of our church.

I hope to have a video clip in a couple of days and, if I can figure out how, I'll post it.

"Gimme some sugar, baby"

The topic is TV viewing habits...and I don't mean watching the nuns on the Catholic channel.

In my family, tastes differ sharply. In fact, I tease my wife sometimes about her unseemly fascination with the "true crime" genre and how, to me, most episodes seem to be about some sweet mid-western wife who unexpectedly dispatches her husband in some peculiarly vile and creative way. Spooky, I say.

And both she and my son have always shared an enjoyment of horror movies, slasher flicks, and all manner of cinematized supernatural terror. Most of the time they eschew the outright demonic, but I do not care for any of them.

Except for this one.

I really like Evil Dead III: Army of Darkness. Directed by Sam Raimi, brilliantly written by him and his brother Ivan, and starring the inimitable Bruce Campbell, this is one of the most entertaining movies ever. Campbell is possibly the best B-movie hero to ever swagger across the dollar-movie screen, and I am definitely a member of the fan club. Hopefully, we'll get to watch it this weekend. For me, it is "The Princess Bride" of horror movies.

And here is a hilarious commercial Bruce Campbell made for Old Spice. Just what you need to get rid of that Evil Dead smell.

This is very, very funny to me.


Here is a link to Campbell's IMDB listing.

Statistical Analysis and Tommy Walker

I very rarely look at my blog stats. I go for months at a time forgetting that I have a counter and I always have to look up my password to get into the Statcounter site. Honestly, if I were interested in racking up hits or tracking who was reading, this would be a totally different kind of joint around here. I like hearing from my friends, and I've met several folks through blogging whose friendships I really value. But beyond that, I just don't care whether I'm popular or not.

But one aspect of my blog statistics does intrigue me. It is interesting to me that the most popular keyword phrase that time and again seem to direct people to my blog are "when I don't know what to do". It refers to this post, wherein I talk a little about one of my favorite Tommy Walker songs. I imagine that the people typing that phrase into their search engine have heard this song somewhere and it has resonated with them in a certain way. Most people don't actually read my post, and nobody actually leaves a comment. But that's okay.

That song bears an especially penetrating message of hope, in a world largely adrift in desperation and hopelessness. I am more than happy to do my small part keeping that message afloat.

Home again...

Home again and happily so. It was a good trip, as business trips go, and will likely be fruitful. Travel and accommodations were perfectly fine, without snag or complaint. That is, until I got to my car in the parking lot at the James Cox International Airport in Dayton on my return Saturday afternoon at which point I found that I couldn't find my keys. They remain lost to date, presumably in Atlanta, but who knows...they still haven't turned up. Nevertheless, thanks to my son, I made it back home in time to catch the end of the worship rehearsal at church and the evening's service.

The highlight of the trip was, without a doubt, the worship concert that I attended Thursday night. Diante do Trono ("before the throne") is the worship team of Igreja Batista da LaGoinha, a large evangelical church in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, that I mentioned in a previous post. I had been invited by Randy Adams, who is the recording engineer for most of the Diante Do Trono's worship recording projects. (Go here to see a list of Randy's astounding discography.) The amazing thing was that these friends of mine from so far away, whom I had never met in person before, happened to be in Atlanta at the same time I was, performing at a local church that was less than a mile from my hotel.

My friend and colleague, Jeff McLeod, and I stood behind Andre Espindula, the chief engineer whom I have known telephonically and virtually for several years now. It was a joy to meet him in person at last. The worship was wonderful. They had a full rhythm section, background singers, six-piece horn section and a pair of young dancers. Ana Paula Valdao Bessa is the worship leader and she is a great leader, possessing a wonderful voice and a strong passion for the gospel.

Jeff and I speak enough Spanish between us that we could roughly interpret the Portuguese lyrics and speech, although the languages are, in fact, very much different. It is not the first time that I have worshipped in a non-native tongue and, hopefully won't be the last. I believe that Heaven will be very much like that. It is likely that in Heaven, the Lord will reverse the curse of Babel so that we will all speak and understand a common language, but it is undeniable that the children of God come from every time and every culture on Earth. And language is an integral, inseparable part of cultural identity.

An especially moving segment was when Ana spoke at length to the predominately Brazilian audience of some 1200 or so people about the need for them to remember that most Christian believers in Brazil were saved as a result of the efforts of American missionaries over the last 150 years. She encouraged them to now do all they can to, in turn, embrace and positively impact their adopted country. I was somewhat undone emotionally by the passion of her prayer for our country, the outpouring from the people, and the power of the worship song that followed, Águas Purificadoras.

After the concert, at Andre's request, the host-pastor of the Brazilian congregation took us back to the green room and introduced us to Ana. As it turns out, we share a number of friends in Texas, where she went to college in the early 90's. She was humble and gracious, and it was very considerate of her to spend time with us after a rigorous evening. They were to leave by bus later that night for Miami, Florida for the final concert on the tour before returning home.

What an unexpected blessing this was, and one I will remember often for years to come.

More Groovy stuff

The new Midas XL8 digital audio console is amazing. Not only does it boast extraordinarily high quality and an amazing feature set, it has more cool lights per square inch than anything else I've ever seen. This little pic does it no justice, but it really is one of the most beautiful, aesthetically satisfying high-tech device I've seen in a while. Multiple interactive display screens, hundreds of illuminated knobs and buttons, it is stunning...like something out of a sci-fi movie.

To really see how beautiful these 3-dimensional decorative tools are from Rose Brand, you need to go to their website and follow the links.

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They are very cleverly designed and beautifully made, consisting of a spandex-like material stretched over a stick frame. They come in several sizes and are quite wonderful.

And, just to demonstrate the diversity of this tradeshow and prove that it is by no means all about technology, across the aisle from our booth is Starry Host Design. This is a company devoted to the design of creative worship spaces for children. They partner with churches and focus on facility planning, security, and an engaging, artistic environment for children to learn about God. Their website cites an important statistic, that "80% of the decisions to follow Christ occur between the ages of 4-14." Personally, I can testify that more than once, when our son was young, we decided whether or not we would attend a particular church based on the discernable quality, or lack thereof, of the child care. A church that wants to reach out to and meet the needs of young adults with families need to understand how critical this is. It doesn't matter how beautiful the sanctuary is, how wonderful the worship music sounds, or how great the preaching may be if the needs of your kids are being ignored.

This is the last day of the show and I fly home tomorrow. I had a great time last night at the Brazilian worship concert at Cumberland Community Church. I will write more about it later, but it was great to see in person some friends that I have only known for several years by phone.

Groovy stuff I saw today at WFX - Atlanta

Here are a couple of the more interesting products that I have seen here in the WFX exhibit hall.

Earthworks is a renowned manufacturer of innovative microphone solutions. Their newest product is really the cat's pajamas, though, their PianoMic System. At $4500 retail, you aren't going to find it on every piano you see, but it does sound extremely good and it solves several long-standing technical challenges in mic'ing a grand piano. Larry Blakely, their chief marketing guy, said that at the recent Audio Engineering Society (AES) show, they were swarmed by people interested in this new item.

Next is a peculiar product, really. The Corevalus SamePage System is, essentially, an electronic, computerized music stand. And, although my company is a dealer, I have been skeptical of what I've read. Having now seen a good demo and been able to play with the system myself, I am starting to come around. It has a touch-sensitive interactive screen that enables you to highlight or circle specific passages. It does some simple transposition. It uses a customizable database of songs, which enables the worship leader to easily add or subtract songs from a set list...while playing. The foot controller, used for turning the pages, works exceptionally well, which surprised me. There are a number of other commendable features that range from the convenient to the ingenious.

This is a young company with a new and fairly radical high-tech concept. Sorry, but I couldn't find any decent still photos of the product, but if you go to their website via the above link, they have a short online video demo that is pretty cool.

Also, Bill, Jeff, and I ate bison burgers at Ted's Montana Grill, a restaurant chain owned by Ted Turner who blurs the distinction between being insane and being insanely wealthy. The burgers were great and so was the hand-squeezed lemonade.

I will try to post more on other interesting things I see and do.
And perhaps eat.

Worship Facilities § The Premier Conference for Growing Churches

Okay, this is where I am:

Worship Facilities § The Premier Conference for Growing Churches

And these are the folks with whom we are sharing our exhibit space:

Adaptive Technologies/Allen Products - They make all manner of ingenious hardware for hanging speakers, monitor screens, and such. Suspending big heavy things in the air is serious business and, in their field, these guys are the best.

M-Audio - Computer audio interfaces, keyboards, software, speakers and in-ear monitors.

Intelix - Sophisticated audio distribution gizmos. Mixers, processors, and a slew of really cool little electronic signal conversion products called baluns.

TOA Electronics - Full range of pro audio tools, including the super fantastic HX-5 mini-line array.

I've already run into several old friends and seen some very impressive new professional lighting, video, and audio technology, targeted primarily at the house of worship market. I have some pics, but no way to upload them at this point. It's all incredibly geeky and don't for an instant think that I fully understand what all of this stuff does.

WFX - Atlanta, GA / Gospel from Brazil!

It was never my intention for my blog to be merely a recap of my calendar, nor just a haphazard aggregation of news items or semi-interesting links. However, for the time being that is what it has devolved into.

It is what it is. At least for now. And so that is why it is at least apropos, if not otherwise commendable, to report that I will be in Atlanta for the next few days attending and participating the Worship Facilities Expo and Conference (WFX). It should be fun, actually, and the plan is that it will develop business for my company. I'll be hanging out with Bill (Braveheart) Wallace and Jeff McLeod (of the clan McLeod), two of my esteemed colleagues.

Which is good. Isn't it? Of course it is.

An interesting synchronicity is that during the time I am there some friends (and very good clients) from Brazil are leading a worship event on Thursday night in a church just a mile or so away from my hotel. Diante de Trono, which is the worship team from Igreja Batista da LaGoinha, have come all the way from Belo Horizonte (I love the sound of that name...it means "beautiful horizon" in Portuguese). They are an extraordinarily dynamic church and, though I have several of their recordings, I have never seen them live. It should be outstanding. One of my very good friends, Randy Adams, records and produces much of their work and he will be there, too. This may well be the highlight of the whole trip.

Worship in Dance

Thanks to Heidi for posting this on her blog. This is an unexpectedly moving presentation.

World's Smallest Radio

This is a picture of what is no doubt the world's smallest radio.

"The nanotech device is a demodulator, a simple circuit that decodes radio waves and turns them into audio signals. By hooking the decoder up to two metal wires, University of California at Irvine professor Peter Burke transmitted music via AM radio waves from an iPod to speakers across the room."

"You sneeze and you're dead, man."

I like this guy's attitude. So do his wife and neighbors.

IgNobel Prize or Brain-freeze Epidemic Grips Norway!

Sigh.

My first inclination was to just simply ignore this whole Al Gore/Nobel Peace Prize thing but, really, it is the very definition of an Egregious Offense. Historically, this particular category of the prizes has a checkered past, with past winners including Jimmy Carter, Yasser Arafat, and various United Nations agencies, individuals, and unindicted co-conspirators. But still, what a load of crap.

There are two tiny shimmers of silver lining that rim this dark cloud of stupidity: First, evidently Gore is not going to pursue any kind of domestic political advantage on the strength of this new public relations wave.

Secondly, I do like very much that Gore got to say to former President Jimmy Carter what most of America would like to say to him, "President Carter, please do not call me any more."

Wood Shortage

Here is an alarming article about the serious problems in obtaining quality wood materials for making musical instruments. Real ebony and good koa wood is virtually unobtainable at any price and even Sitka spruce, which seemed to be endlessly abundant 20 years ago, is becoming harder to get and increasingly expensive.

This is a real problem, people. Not like that global warming yadayada.

Baby Pictures...

Hey! Drop everything and go look at these baby pictures. Who doesn't like baby pictures?!?!