Geek-end report

So, I never did get as far as laying down tracks over the weekend, but I did manage to figure out the directory structure I'm going to need, and get it all put together and documented. This involves three different subdirectories under the pseudo-user record's home directory: tracks, albums, and songs. The actual recording happens under tracks.

It also involves not one but four ``home directories'' for record: one for the RedHat-based distribution I've been using so far, one for the Debian-based distro we'll be using from now on, one that they symlink to on the huge partition that they'll share with ripped CDs, downloaded .iso images and the like, and a dummy for use elsewhere on the network.

I've also figured out how to get the recording box to boot differently when it's being used as a recorder; that bit isn't complete yet but won't be terribly hard.

chaoswolf and I spent some time last night discussing the economics of the music business, and figuring out what to record first. That will be The Programmer's Alphabet, mainly because we want to replace the truly horrible recording that Eric Gerds has been playing on Filk Radio.

The main task facing me at work this morning is to finish merging the changes mr_kurt made to my Java mini-server's plug-in architecture, and rip out the overcomplicated setup code I started out with. Mildly tricky, since I don't want to break anything in the process, but basically trivial.

Almost forgot

Went to the Container Store with the Younger Daughter to look at some drawers she wants for a nightstand, and to buy her a new bulletin board and whiteboard. A rather pleasant interlude, though I don't think she has the idea of recreational window-shopping down completely yet.

Modified Rapture!

We can record! chaoswolf and I laid down some test tracks this evening. The setup is an unbearable kludge, with the CPU perched precariously on a TV tray table, the display (through the magic of X11) across the room on the machine the flower_cat usually uses for Windows, and me sitting on the edge of the bed (as I usually do when I'm practicing by myself). But it worked!

Audacity works pretty well, though it would be nice if it had VU meters. We'll make do with envy24control, ganked from CCRMA because it doesn't seem to exist as a Debian package (odd). Took a while to figure out how to split tracks, and it doesn't seem to be able to record from just the right channel -- only stereo or left. Well, we can work with that. Thing about audacity is that the Wolfling thinks it's "Chaos-proof". Tried snd, which seems more featureful, and she hated the UI. (And I couldn't get it to select the second sound card, so maybe it's just as well.)

Maybe by Thursday I'll have figured out a more stable hardware configuration.
(cross-posted to mdlbear_albums)