Monthly Archives: September 2009

Beastliness

Posted on September 23, 2009 by midiguru

On May 4, 1886, a contingent of police marched into Haymarket Square in Chicago, bent on dispersing a peaceful labor rally. Someone (it was never determined who) threw a bomb into the midst of the police squad, killing half a … Continue reading →

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Responsibility Run Amok

Posted on September 18, 2009 by midiguru

Headnote (not footnote): The analysis of the contract shown below is, for the moment, still accurate, or as accurate as I know how to make it. But today I spoke to an individual at the City Attorney’s office who seemed … Continue reading →

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What Was

Posted on September 16, 2009 by midiguru

Becoming fascinated by history. Specifically the latter part of the 19th century. It was an amazing period. I started out reading about Chicago, which is fascinating enough, but Chicago was only a microcosm of the whole period, a sort of … Continue reading →

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Reading: Strangers

Posted on September 14, 2009 by midiguru

Stayed up ’til 2 in the morning finishing J. D. Robb’s Strangers in Death, so I may as well admit it was a good story. The plot is borrowed from an old Hitchcock movie, but Robb (Nora Roberts in real … Continue reading →

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The Middle 8

Posted on September 13, 2009 by midiguru

In jazz parlance, the middle 8 is the B section in a 32-bar AABA song form. In the middle 8, the chord progression turns a corner and the song moves off into a different space. I’ve been working on a … Continue reading →

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Idiots Who Vote

Posted on September 12, 2009 by midiguru

The practice of using literacy tests to qualify (or, more likely, disqualify) voters got a very bad name in the United States during the years (roughly from the 1870s through the 1960s) when such tests were used to deny the … Continue reading →

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That Windy City

Posted on September 11, 2009 by midiguru

Doing a little historical research on Chicago in the 1880s. If you were awake during American history class, you may recall the Haymarket affair, at least vaguely, but the more I learn, the more I want to know. The labor … Continue reading →

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Advanced Techno-Babble

Posted on September 6, 2009 by midiguru

Poking around in craigslist tonight, glancing at ads for writer/editors. A company called Sybase is looking for a writer. I don’t think it’s me, but I was curious about what they do. Their home page is designed with all kinds … Continue reading →

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Author! Author!

Posted on September 4, 2009 by midiguru

Both Inform 7 and TADS 3 are very, very powerful authoring systems for interactive fiction (i.e., text-based games). What’s odd, if you think about it for a minute, is that the authoring systems are so far out in front of … Continue reading →

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Indemnity We Trust

Posted on September 2, 2009 by midiguru

Until today, I was planning to start teaching cello this fall at a sort of high-end private music studio. Unlike the three teaching studios I’ve been associated with most recently (including Ingram & Brauns in Pleasanton, where I still teach), this … Continue reading →

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