Coding resumes…

Some setbacks. Mom knocked over my bow and something broke a bit. Nevermind that. Important thing is the thing that can’t break -our heavenly destiny. She has osteoarthritis. A condition where the cartilage is eaten away by the body (we all know who actually does this), leaving bone to grit against bone. This caused unusual growths and now she needs to take hydrolyzed collagen and wear a knee brace.

But on the plus side, I managed to get all my unruly pods lined up beside the firing trench. Took hours of tweaking as I wanted them to be a little jittery and spinny. Today, we do some firing.

Making more headway on Frag. I think I will wrap up tonight, roughly. A dull day of waiting for my parcel, feeling a little anxious over numerous things. Sis took Mom to a therapy gym to rebuild her knees. It’s hard to accept you can’t walk anymore.

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Coded a lot today but got almost nowhere, messing up all the logic. And the witchy Liews are attacking again. We hope to send all their followers to their funeral -see what they’re really like, these false leaders.

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Taking a break before resuming coding Frag. Been playing some guitar just fitted with fresh nylon strings.

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Good progress this Thursday. I got the swipe firing and some clashing code done. Fixed that critical duplication bug. Just another session away from completion.

Ready to turn in early...

I haven't been coding Frag the past 4 days. Instead, I am practicing my ocarina and going to church meet every weekend. I use a hair tie to get my fingers in position over the RH side last 2 holes. Maybe should do 2 loops. These last 2 fingers are my 'crazy fingers'. To play higher notes, I prepare my diaphragm as if I'm singing higher.

Took my meds, brushed, and worked out. Must drink more water. Already past 10pm. Feeling the effect of my sedatives. I shall be the first patient to get jabbed tomorrow. Think my strings will arrive on Tuesday. I hate changing strings on acoustic guitars but these folk nylons should be worth it.

Liew forces are subdued for now. How long will peace hold?

I’m replacing my Kepma Mini’s strings…

It’s almost a year since I got this charming guitar and the strings are sounding dead. Bought nylon replacements for it instead from D’addario. 66RM. Quite expensive. Reminds me of the time I tried sterling silver Aquilla alabastros on my c40. These have ball ends and normal tension. Will be getting them Monday probably.

Meanwhile, plans are afoot in Christian space. I can feel all our brothers and sisters coming together as one. The love we share is deeper and more profound. And what we believed all along is finally being proven. Proven in the metal as well as in the clay. We have so much to look forward to whether we make it to the very finish or not. I do hope we all make it to the finish.

The guitar strings I bought are 66RM and there are of course, 6 of them in a pack. D’addario means ‘dark one’. And the word Bentley (the seller) means flattened meadow aka crop circle. There is a ‘marriage’ between 2 different types of person, classical and acoustic. And when the consummation occurs, the Antichrist should make his move, supported by a church / world leader. The guitar will be used to play / record a dark melody: This Closed Space. Later, it will also perform ‘Hair’. Hair was a musical from the 60s about musicians protesting violence and curbs on freedoms.

Long ago, I was connected to the group of the antichrist by prophecy, to moderate him due to the extraordinary prevalence of telepathy. If he is Nebuchadnezzar, I am his Daniel. It could also be one I select. At least that was the agreement way back when we were kids. 

I was also thinking of 1Thess chp 4, and the phrase “alive and remain”. Yes, yet again. Why Paul says 2 words when either will make sense, unless he had a reason. Mathematically, this indicates a bigger reality of which the coincidence of living and being scattered are the sweet spot. Many will be alive, many will be distributed (ominously, for dead). This seems like hair splitting but it is the central problem of the modern church and why corruption crept in as warned by chp 5. It is the “when” and “how” of Jesus’ return. More later…

Ocarina musings…

Around 5pm last afternoon, I took delivery of my very first 12-hole plastic ocarina. I had never played a 12 before, nor heard the tone of a superlative plastic one. This only happened because one day, I knocked over my purple clay TNG pendant.

The trouble with the TNG is that I compensated for breath control by partially covering holes and breathing every pattern the same way. This was not the right way to learn or make music, IMHO. So this new bugger is a step in the right direction.

Very quickly, I dug up a chart online and started filtering it thru my normal moves -my natural way of fingering. But what was really important was that I could now travel -go on the road with my instrument. Maybe not now but at some point when things open up a bit.

Trump’s tariffs struck today. And a meeting with Russia is scheduled around a week from now -so could there be an end to war and something palatable declared for Jerusalem? Will the 70th week begin in September?

Was thinking I’d take my KORG kOS synth on the road with me as a sounding board for melodies. It has note display, IIRC so I can jot that down and put an ocarina slant over it. Won’t need to lug a keyboard and this iPad Space for spare clothes.

And I was thinking I’d give my master-grade DiZi to my niece. Must be systematic when composing music as it is a science as well as an artform -a canvas for emotions that grind against one another such that they stir the mind / will of the rational man.

I need more notebooks and perhaps will use a colored multi pen to avoid confusion of the parts. I also need to practice methodically, scales namely, and arpeggios.

And I was thinking that God takes care of us when we do His will. That He had a hand in smashing my clay TNG pendant, just at the right time. Today, we used hunger craving pangs to rein in the Liew witches who are now regrouping but their support is low and unhelpful. LiLian, perhaps it’s time to end the fight and go home.

Read my post on learning ocarina, on Medium for FREE here.

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I discovered how to increase breath pressure on the ocarina the right way. It is not by exhaling harder into the instrument, but to change your breath's pitch. In essence blow it while making a high or low feeling with your diaphragm -like singing. I find this a little stressful due to my stroke.

My new BON ocarina…

I’m waiting for it to go on delivery around after lunch, normally. Then will post some pics and maybe sound samples. Hopefully learning it will be easy. They say it’s easier than the pendant I’ve been playing with limited success / repeatability. I half hole a lot and as usual can't remember the drill.

So, the oc is on delivery at roughly noon. Good news. Hope it sounds good for the price we're paying which is far above TNG prices. Mostly, it is the new taxes Malaysia has imposed on ''luxury'' items which I guess includes music stuff -non essentials. And the thing is plastic. May have to wait 4 hours+ for it.

Found out that the BON uses the Japanese sub-hole system. The 2 subs are on the same side consecutively. This improves the tone, and I think, also simplifies learning.

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I think I have gotten over my infatuation with watches and computers. I no longer need them, nor sports equipment, and this BON ocarina will be my final purchase in that category. I also have enough stationery. Looking at things, there are several possibilities for my future. Key phrases stand out and I should clarify them: Sea of Storms / The Gold Jacket / Hair (which is a song) / Bone Flute (ocarina) / East vs. West.

To clarify, we are not talking money or fame here, but God's good work. The chronological order is important. There will be a mission to the moon, thus sea of storms, and there will be an antichrist figure or the gold jacket. He will set east and west to war, and he likes my song 'Hair" and will not kill or destroy me. The ocarina will follow me on numerous travels, where I perform my compositions in big-small dot notation (as in the Equator -a short story). There will be a full tablature below an anchor key mini tab as in the story. And it is this TAB system that wins an award as it's compact and readable.

Then there is my compound bow. It will later become something men carry around instead of firearms. People will have knives and clubs but not guns anymore. Those with bows are respected. As for tennis, I get involved in drawing young girls to the game with help from some former pro women. We set up mini courts all over the city here in PJ. 

But my main business comes from food. Cheap nutritious meals I sell thru Ruuma Cafe. Ruuma sounds like Malay for 'House'. I sell a kind of stew made from leftovers and nice spices. Also sour flatbread. I knew I would be a baker of some sort.

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Just in case any readers think I’ve sold out, my blog now gets these links added by Google. I thought what the hey, they are useful. And if I do make any money, I’ll channel it back into OSS, social media promotions and other indie funded stuff I support.

Surprise, my BON ocarina arrived but it just looks like a BON at first glance, and in reality is a China-made LOVE. It came with nothing but a lanyard and was scuffed up a bit. I was at first annoyed, having paid full price for a Korean made ocarina. But soon, I learned to work the thing and it can play well altho it does play very loud, much louder than my original TNG purple clay. There is some expressivity to the instrument and I think… I’ll keep it in the interest of doing a bit of charity for that small music store.

Made sure to clean it well, a swish in soapy water and rinse off. Clearing the breath channel too using a zip-tie tail..

Here’s the culprit, size compared to a guitar pick. I actually find the instrument too small for my big hands. But it is as we say here in Malaysia OK-lah (passable). Compared to a pendant, this is a big step up. Just be sure to not buy from certain places that are desperate or similarly dumb as … me.

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Just had dinner and am eager to write my first ocarina composition. I need to write the melody and harmony-rhythm, along with expression. Figure out what notes I’m playing from a chart as none was provided.

I made the micro quiver after all and it kinda works okay…

Somehow I can’t post images much on Blogger so I’ll just describe how I finally, after months, made the micro archery quiver for 3 heavy aluminum Easton arrows.

The thing is a strip of fabric, looped 3 times to each carry one arrow, then zip-tied snug with just one tie. I used 3M double sided tape to tape a soft steel disc to my bow sight mount and more 3M tape to affix magnets to the fabric loop ends. These 4 very strong magnets keep the 3 arrows attached quite well. In the future, I might use tacky fabric and even stronger magnets.

The quiver was designed to clip onto clothing for use, or be stowed with the bow during breaks / for transport. Think I may add another loop and magnet near the arrow heads so it’s sturdier.

Making this quiver was on my mind a lot as I had promised it to myself. Some say it is a sign of things to come, that the idea was seeded by God or his agents around me. In any case, the Mission Matthews now has its missiles.

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A pretty lazy day aside from making the quiver. I ended up zip tying the small coin magnets with some foam tape between and clamping on this to the arrow holder loops. Been 4 hours, still no droop or peel off. Am thinking of improving the design with some aluminum wire to hold the arrow heads end.

Winded up using a magnet on a ziptie to capture the arrowheads. Works pretty well and is an elegant solution. The tie tail is wedged into a riser hole. Luckily there was one nearby. You can see it in the photo above, left side, the white curved line.

The quiver is steady when the bow is held and swung in horizontal and vertical positions thanks to the arrowhead capture magnet. This must be the most basic compound bow ever built. More later…

It has no sight pins, no release, no peep, and a drop-down rest I DIY-ed. I eyeball fletched the arrows myself with turkey feathers. (neon green). After some time, vanes tear / the rubber deteriorates. My nocks are budget no-brands as they tend to go brittle after some time. Used pliers and some force to get them to fit. Perhaps should have filed them down.

I picked up the cable roller from AliExpress, which replaces Mission Matthews’ simple plastic slider that abrades a bit much. It’s the slight bulge on the vertical rod center of the bow. Some say it contributes to speed.

Fresh graphics for Frag…

 

I overhauled Frag’s graphics. They are much more appealing. Unfortunately, I had to adjust the positions of each fragment in 3 different size of pod. That was a black art. If not done right, the pods explode and reform spontaneously after whirring around somewhat. Am still lost as to the crashes due to unhandled touches on the background. Included above, is a video with the game soundtrack I sorta DIYed.

Feeling okay this morning. Somehow a bit sad. Was thinking of buying a different ocarina since the one I wanted was cancelled for late shipping.

Am looking a bit pudgy. Dieting and some exercise would help but I can’t do that much nowadays with so many in my space. Will run on Thursday. Keep up nightly brief workouts. Am eating significantly less lately.

Frag is now touch stable and ready for tuning the gameplay. I like that the pods are slightly unstable in different ways, blue versus purple, like Kylo Ren’s lightsaber. They spin and flick out a bit. Some may say this is an unfair foundation to base the game on, but I kinda like it. It’s organic, real-world. I think this is a game that older players and fighters would benefit from training at and still be fun for young ones.

My ocarina should ship tomorrow. There are so many frightened people in my mindspace. Maybe we can relax and write an article on Medium?