neonascent

Musical Instrument Digital Interface, or MIDI, is an industry-standard electronic communications protocol that defines each musical note in an electronic musical instrument such as a synthesizer, precisely and concisely, allowing electronic musical instruments and computers to exchange data, or “talk”, with each other. MIDI does not transmit audio - it simply transmits digital information about a music performance. (from Wikipedia entry)

Many may know that I’m a keen musician with some sound engineering experience. This project is to combine music and geekery interests and see what comes out of the mix. Yesturday I completed my first MIDI device. It is just a test of concept really; the first step in hopefully some more advanced MIDI/sound manipulation.

I use a PIC16F84 chip at 4Mhz to directly talk to whatever MIDI device the circuit is connected to. The homebrewed MIDI transmit code was taken from Ross Bencina’s site on MIDI development with PIC and Basic Stamp which, if you are interested, is a great resource.

Here is some of the technical material to help you get started quickly on your own MIDI project:

• My rejigged source code for 4Mhz operation (I also add turning on the “Okay” LED)
• Link to annotated circuit schematic
• PIC16F84 Datasheet (comprehensive programming information and specs)

Edit: If you are experimenting at all with MIDI output devices, you will probably benifit from a computer based MIDI monitoring program. This lets you examine the raw MIDI data being sent by your device, and helps greatly in troubleshooting. I am currently using the aptly titled MIDI Monitor found at OBD Software as it is free and does a fine job.

Edit: I’ve recently completed a remote automation project that lets you turn 110-240vac devices on and off via the a webpage or WAP on a mobile phone. It’s a very fun project! If you’d be interested in a write-up (schematics, code, etc) then leave a comment here, and I’ll get writing!

A friend and member of the Japanese art students’ collective “A-trippers”, Haruka Nishii, is exhibiting as part of the “4 LDK” exhibition themed on Japanese-Australian distance/connection. The exhibition is being held at Arts on Bourke in Sydney, opened Monday the 6th, and will close Sunday 11th.

Haruka has a cute concept of the universality of hugs, and has created a perfectly unintimidating, accepting free hug partner - Cecil (pictured above). Of course I’m biased, but I think Haruka’s is easily one of the best works there - there are alot of very literal explorations of the question of distance, with the exception of a few sculptures, and of course hers involves fun patron participation.

Pictures are taken capturing the sublime experience of huggedness, and I’ve offered to serve them from here. Once the exhibition is over the scanned polaroids will be archived at: http://hugs.neonascent.com.

Via USATODAY.com:

A twelve-year-old boy visiting the Detroit Institute of Arts with his school has stuck a piece of gum to a $1.5m abstract painting.

The gum did not bind to the fibre of the painting (”The Bay” by Helen Frankenthaler), and the museum’s conservation department expects that after the appropriate chemical treatment the painting will be fine.

It is funny to see this sort of thing going on, and how people react to it. In a very real sense, the boy was entering into a discourse with the painting. I have a friend who due to his healthy scepticism of most modern art is constantly urged to subvert it. My gut feeling is that someones creative work should be respected. Not out of a social-relativism that judges all things as equally valid/good, but because it supposedly carries a great deal of value to whomever produced it.

I am extremely confident that this story would not have been run if the painting was valued at a more modest price. This seems to suggest that the unconsidered engagement of the school boy with the painting was apt: to the journo the story is implicitly about the high value and not about a simple act of vandalism.

Via BBC:

Allied Press has obtained video and transcripts of President Bush receiving “very strong warnings” on the safety of New Orleans’ levees against hurricane Katrina. These warnings, given to the President by Michael Brown the chief emergency response official on the eve of Katrina’s landfall, stated there was a chance the levees would be broken. The president apparently responded that “We are fully prepared”.

The video is damning given that four days after the storm Bush commented: “I don’t think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees.”

The Beautiful Machine - 2005

The Beautiful Machine was both an opportunity to design and etch my own circuit, and a cathartic personal engagement with my love-interest of the time.

The face of said love-interest is etched onto one side of a dual-sided circuitboard, and forms part of the circuit. On the other side is a solid state arrangement to control the segmented LEDs. There are two-modes; “LOVE” and “NONE”. Not particularly difficult to interpret, although it reflected my surprise at how quickly and profoundly changes can happen.

• Link to Flickr photo set