Quick Song Idea Renderer

Catchy name, right? As I’ve been “on the bench” at work, one of the things that I’ve been doing to further develop my development skills is to write an application that takes text files and turns them into music. For years, whenever I get a song idea at work, I’ll pop open a text editor and write down just what the chords are, or the melody, or whatever, and usually email it to myself, as well. Now, I can take those files, and run them through this application, and hear what I put down. In the last couple days, I also added MIDI file export, so in addition to hearing the song, I can also export it as something that can be imported into any music notation software or sequencing software, and go from there. Lots of good fun…

If you want to take a look at it, it’s out there at http://morchiba.elementfx.com. I wrote it in Silverlight, so anyone with an internet connection can use it. Here’s a screenshot:

Sometime soon, I’ll post another more characteristic post about other goings on. Until then, feel free to leave comments.

Highland Fest and Beyond

So, this last weekend was the Highland Fest... It's a bit like Valleyfest in the Spokane Valley, but it's for our neighborhood over here. There was a 1k run that the kids did on Sunday morning, and here they are lining up:

Another shot of them as they're about to start the run:

So, as I said, the Highland Fest is quite a bit like Valleyfest, only without all of the activities for kids. Still, what's more fun than posing in front of a local weinermobile?

On the way back from the festival, we took a more scenic route, along the trail that goes next to the river. If you go down some stairs by one of the scenic overlooks, you get to the actual "Hidden Falls." Here it is, in all its glory:

Now, for the last bit - tonight, we went on a Mississippi River History Walk, courtesy of Smart Trips... They're an organization that is all about promoting alternative modes of transportation, including walking, biking, mass transit, and so forth. Every couple weeks or so, they have some sort of activity. For the one tonight, we learned some about the history of the Mississippi River in the area and other fun facts. This is a picture taken from the top of the locks, over at the Ford Dam:

Sometime I might post something just about the Ford factory and the history of all of that... From the economic aspects to the community aspects, and including the sandstone mine, it's quite interesting.

The first event with Smart Trips was a Highland Park garden walk, and that was fun... Highland Park, for those not familiar with the area, is our neighborhood, not an actual park. At any rate, they've posted some pictures from the event, and they can be found on their Facebook gallery.

The Trail (and surrounding stuff)

This is mostly a gallery post... I've been talking about the trail, but haven't actually shown anything. So, without further ado, here are some pictures I took with my cell phone (sorry about the quality) on our walk yesterday. One more thing - we found a nice non-paved trail around the side of the lake, complete with rickety bridge, caves, a small canyon, and lots of scenery. It's hard to believe it's this green, without sprinklers, in July.

I have more, too, but 5 is all that they let you put up on one post, apparently. I'm sure there will be more to come...

The question of milk

So, since we've been here, we've started going to the Farmers Market. It was ranked as one of the top 5 markets in the country, if I remember right - who knew? At any rate, it's fun to get stuff there, and try to plan meals around whatever seasonal fruits and veggies we pick up, and it's healthy and helps the local farmers, of course. We haven't found a good option for milk yet, though.

When we were in Spokane, we got our milk from Spokane Family Farms - not organic, but vat-pasteurized and non-homogenized. Very good stuff, and pretty reasonably priced for what you get ($3.33 a gallon direct from the farm when bought in threes, or $5 a gallon from Rosauers, Yokes, or Huckleberries). So far, we haven't found anything like it over here - at least, not for the same price. The closest they get for the same thing here works out to about $8 a gallon, which puts it outside the range. Sure, it comes in glass bottles, like milk used to, but that's too much.

The search continues... In a place this big, there has to be something...

Parks and Whatnot

St. Paul has a lot of good parks... The last couple days, we've been walking and/or biking on some of the many paths near our apartment, mainly in Crosby Farms Park. Everything here is so lush and green, and the paths are great - it's like the Centennial Trail, only it's two blocks away instead of something we have to drive to. It's amazing how green and lush things are, too... Oh, did I mention that it's lush and green? Oh, and the river...

The kids (Tyler especially) have been going to the various swamps and drainage ditches in the apartment complex, and have been having fun looking at bugs. We have a bug catcher (formerly a toad tank) full of snails on our back patio, and Tyler is itching to go back for more. He loves the bugs... I don't think it's every kid that, when faced with going for a nice walk or bike ride, would rather go to the drainage ditch. That's Tyler for you, though.

Hello from Saint Paul

Well, hello there... If you're reading this, you found our blog. Of course, we probably gave you the address, but welcome, anyway.

So, here we are in Saint Paul, Minnesota. How is it, you ask? It's been great. We like the area, the apartment, jobs, and everything, so far. The move was good - a bit slower going than we had hoped, due to the amount of stuff, towing, and the abilities of the truck, but it was good. We even got the truck back a day early (big thanks to Ryan for making that possible).

There's more weather here and more bugs, but that's not a bad thing. There are also more opportunities, activities, and things in general.

I'll try to post things as they come up... Feel free to put any questions or comments below.