Monthly Archives: April 2014

The Big Picture

Posted on April 27, 2014 by midiguru

Physicists have pretty well established that the way the universe works depends on the values of a small bunch of numerical constants. The strength of gravity, for instance. If gravity were slightly stronger, stars would all collapse into neutron stars, … Continue reading →

Posted in evolution, random musings | 4 Comments

The School of Velocity

Posted on April 20, 2014 by midiguru

I have a couple of advanced cello students (high-school age) whom I’d like to prepare for symphony work. They can already play 95% of what a classical composer calls for — but then there’s that other five percent. In a … Continue reading →

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Virtual Snapshots

Posted on April 16, 2014 by midiguru

Time for a tiny bit of boasting. In the course of working on my upcoming much-too-large text adventure game (“The Only Possible Prom Dress,” look for it before the end of the year, I hope), I decided the player character … Continue reading →

Posted in Interactive Fiction | Leave a comment

Life Is a Brewery

Posted on April 15, 2014 by midiguru

I’m re-reading a couple of science books I read a few years ago — The Violinist’s Thumb by Sam Kean and Microcosm by Carl Zimmer. Both are about cell biology, and while they’re addressed to the intelligent layman, they’re not … Continue reading →

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Tiny Everything

Posted on April 13, 2014 by midiguru

A couple of months ago I learned one or two pieces in Book 4 of Bela Bartok’s Mikrokosmos. And recently one of the people on the Xenharmonic Alliance II group on Facebook posted a link to a really nice piece … Continue reading →

Posted in microtonal, music | 2 Comments

More Fun with Software

Posted on April 12, 2014 by midiguru

I happen to be involved in two software-heavy pursuits — electronic music and writing interactive fiction. The differences between the two fields may be of interest to nobody but me, but this is my blog, so here goes. The software … Continue reading →

Posted in Interactive Fiction, music, random musings, technology | Leave a comment

Reading the Bible as Literature

Posted on April 11, 2014 by midiguru

I just don’t seem to be able to let sleeping dogs lie. Having aroused some contention over the question of whether the Bible qualifies as literature, I bethought myself to examine one of its better known fables in that light. … Continue reading →

Posted in religion | 4 Comments

Is the Bible Literature?

Posted on April 10, 2014 by midiguru

A friend of mine recently suggested that intelligent people view the Bible not as “the word of God” but as literature. Let’s leave aside the fact that Jesuit priests are reputed to be highly intelligent. I don’t know any Jesuits, … Continue reading →

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Soft Touch

Posted on April 7, 2014 by midiguru

Bought a new laptop yesterday, a high-end Toshiba. No particular reason for choosing Toshiba — it has the features I want (wide screen, big hard drive, four USB ports), and the local Fry’s had it in stock. Unfortunately, the touchpad … Continue reading →

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