The bastard terrarium May 25, 2021

During my earlier terrarium builds, I had some left over bits and needed to get them into a container quickly. I grabbed a large canning jar from the basement, but it didn’t have a proper lid, so I had to improvise something with a canning lid band and some plastic ...

May 25, 2021

Next up is a container that I found at JoAnne’s Fabric on sale for $10 with a coupon. This is purpose-made for a terrarium and worked really well. This is probably the perfect container for anyone starting out. The centerpiece is an interesting orange quartz specimen from my collection of ...

HomeGoods has great, inexpensive, containers.

After making a number of closed terrariums, I wanted to try an open terrarium with no (intentional) inhabitants. HomeGoods continues to have great deals on glass containers, and I found this one for $11! It appeared to be a factory second, with a very minor flaw in the glass, but ...

Great jar, but get the plastic or glass lid – not the bamboo lid!

As my terrarium journey continued, I had a lot of left over materials, so it was time to branch out. We live quite close to an IKEA outlet, and they have a great selection of containers that are purpose-built for terrariums, or can be used as such. During the first ...

With a little success under my belt with two smaller terrariums, it was time to try something larger. I found this rather interesting Polish glass container from Home Goods, on sale for $8! Following the guidance of my terrarium gurus, I planned this one out a bit more, and waited ...

My second terrarium experiment was a rework of a terrarium that Audra made during an education retreat a number of years back. It had completely died off, even before our recent moves, and needed a major overhaul. This has done quite well, needing only minor maintenance. I will feature a ...

Some Touchdesigner samples on my YouTube channel. These really just scratch the surface of what I’ve been doing.

TouchDesigner is a node based visual programming language for real time interactive multimedia content, developed by the Toronto-based company Derivative. It’s been used by artists, programmers, creative coders, software designers, and performers to create performances, installations, and fixed media works (from Derivative web site). Why Touchdesigner? After a few years ...

During the Spring of 2021 as COVID still raged, I wasn’t getting out much. Between significant computer screen time and evening Netflix couch time, I knew that I had to force myself off of the machines and back into something more natural. Many years ago, during a trip to Chicago, ...

Providing booking, management and promotion support for songwriter Tanner Bingaman’s solo act, and his band Tanjo & Crow. Consulting with Tashman Tech. Representing several start-ups in the music tech and GenAI space. Teaching a podcasting workshop for Mt Airy Learning Tree. Expanding my video graphics knowledge via Touchdesigner and Signal ...

One fateful night in the early 90s, at an open mic in Bloomsburg, PA, I met Tom Dennehy. His mix of Dr. Demento-style originals and Weird Al Yankovic covers immediately endeared him to both me and, my future wife, Audra. Life was never the same after meeting Tom. His combination ...

Part of the session file for La Quarentena Loca (The Crazy Quarantine)
Part of the session file for La Quarentena Loca (The Crazy Quarantine)

During the Spring of 2020, Audra and I were living in an apartment in Bala Cynwyd (West Philly). To pass the time during quarantine, we’d play cards on the edge of our dining table (next to my electronics workbench).Sometimes – while I reigned supreme as the Rummy King – we’d ...

How to export? Start by doing a web or YouTube search for “How to export stems from ____” filling in the blank with your DAW of choice. Every major DAW has an instructional tutorial online about this feature. Each DAW offers slightly different export options, but the concept is the ...