Memory Tunnel
Why I Prefer Simpler Electronics
Happy Easter! I always try to release music on or just after the first of the month. April is no different, with releases by Rushton (beats), Samesed (imperfect recordings), Saag Paneer (drone), The Desperation of Drowning Men (ambient w/ field recordings), and Calmer Feeling (ambient), but I’ll talk about those next week because this post is going out on Sunday, March 31st and all of that music isn’t yet available.
On May 1st, I am releasing a new album under my full name. It’s called Memory Tunnel and features 14 tracks of ambient electronics. Two singles have been released from it so far, “Thread Sleep” and “Public Static Void”.
If you’re on Spotify, you can pre-save the Memory Tunnel album by clicking here.
I hosted some video livestreams this week - this video was kind of a collage deconstruction thing that I was very happy with:
And this video was going to be a collage, but it didn’t go beyond adding some paint to the ink, and using clear gesso to remove some layers. This is also quite lovely and I might make it into a bag or t-shirt:
And for my Rant of the Week, I’ll talk about Simpler Electronics when it comes to video:
I was in my mom’s basement, doing some more cleaning up and sorting, when I happened across this Cisco Flip Video device in a box.
After retiring from work, my mom used to enter a lot of contests. At age 90 today, she does it sporadically today, but she stays in touch with a group of people who enters contests and has meetups at local restaurants.
Around 2011 or so, my mom won a Cisco branded Flip Video camera. She normally gave electronic things to me as gifts, or to sell on eBay, but I don’t remember this and I have no record of it in my email.
As you can guess, the AA batteries were very corroded. But I got that cleaned out and, after some effort, got new batteries to power it on.
There’s not much to the menu. You can set the date, and that’s it. The funny thing is that you can’t set the date any later than December 31, 2020.
It was at that point where I was completely charmed by this camera. It’s so ridiculously easy to use. Just point and press a button. It records in 720p, 16:9 ratio, and 30 frames per second. Output is via a USB-A dongle on the side that pops out.
2011 was several years before video cameras on smartphone were really a thing. So why did the Flip Video camera disappear? From what I read, it looks like Cisco bought Flip Video in 2009, rebranded it as Cisco product in 2010, but then shut down everything in 2011 with the excuse that they weren’t really a hardware company.
I remember these devices flooding the “non-profit” aftermarket in 2011 and 2012. TechSoup offered two of them for $185. And when nobody bothered, the devices ended up as contest promotions.
I plan to use the Flip Video camera. It’ll be like a “field recording” camera. Maybe I can get some stills from the videos. The device certainly fires up and starts quicker than me reaching for my smartphone, launching the photo app, switching it to video, fat fingering everything, and then being unable to see any of the micro-icons telling me this or that.
This past week, I’ve also been looking to find a “vintage” 2 meter amateur radio handheld rig that will work with modern repeaters. I’ve been out of the “ham radio” game for many decades, but I’ve kept my license going and I rejoined the local club before last winter. I wasn’t able to make this month’s local group meeting so I could talk with some old-timers. Trying to figure out what’s good for my situation by searching the internet is a pain. Modern handheld mobile rigs are tiny and require extra software and cables for programming the device. No thanks!
I’d also like to get a simple shortwave receiver - something dial-based rather than digital. Again, I’m not a fan of deep menus and programming. eBay can be a crapshoot, and some of the prices can be absurd. I don’t mind paying some money, but I’d rather buy it locally.
Another thing I’m looking for are old Casio or Yamaha keyboards, particularly those with built-in drum machines. Not that long ago, these were a dime a dozen at Goodwill and Salvation Army, but it seems they’ve all been bought up by retro enthusiasts or tech-modders. The ones I want aren’t too expensive on eBay, but there’s not many of them right now. It’s a waiting game.
That’s it for this week.
You know where the Mark Rushton Gallery is located.
I’ll be back next week with playlists and new releases in music.