Solution to corrupt WAV

This past Friday my Zoom H4 battery died in the middle of recording TWiV #8. I had the recorder plugged into AC power, but the outlet strip was turned off. I turned on the power and we resumed recording. However, later that day, when I downloaded the .wav file from the H4, it would not open in Audacity or QuickTime. It was corrupted because it hadn't been saved properly when the H4 lost power.

The solution came from a google search: open the file from within Audacity as a 'raw' file. It opened properly and was completely editable. Saved. I didn't want to lose the nice conversation Dick and I had.

So in case this happens to anyone else, or if you have a corrupted audio file of any kind, try opening it in your DAW as a raw file.

It Ends Now

Got this from Daring Fireball. It could have been written about the current President. At the end, Gruber wrote: "It ends here, today". 

Hunter S. Thompson, September 1972:

The polls also indicate that Nixon will get a comfortable majority of the Youth Vote. And that he might carry all fifty states.

Well… maybe so. This may be the year when we finally come face to face with ourselves: finally just lay back and say it — that we are really just a nation of 220 million used car salesmen with all the money we need to buy guns, and no qualms at all about killing anybody else in the world who tries to make us uncomfortable.

The tragedy of all this is that George McGovern, for all his mistakes and all his imprecise talk about “new politics” and “honesty in government”, is one of the few men who’ve run for President of the United States in this century who really understands what a fantastic monument to all the best instincts of the human race this country might have been, if we could have kept it out of the hands of greedy little hustlers like Richard Nixon.

McGovern made some stupid mistakes, but in context they seem almost frivolous compared to the things Richard Nixon does every day of his life, on purpose, as a matter of policy and a perfect expression of everything he stands for.

Jesus! Where will it end?

I have a dream

I brought my daughter Nadia to work with me this past Tuesday. It was a school holiday. In the car, she asked me what day in the history of the world would I re-live. I could not come up with anything, so I asked her what hers would be.

She said she wanted to be at Martin Luther King's"I Have a Dream" speech in Washington, DC. 

I asked her why. She said it was so amazing every time he said "I have a dream" and his voice got higher and higher.

Turns out she has an mp3 of the speech on her computer, and loves to listen to it.

I know she learned about Mr. King in elementary school one year. I think it's very moving that she remembers and understands. It brought tears to my eyes.

London Birds

London Birds, originally uploaded by profvrr.

I think this is a great photo of Devin. I took it in London, across from the Houses of Parliament, in June this year. He was eating something out of a cup. As I snapped it three women walked by. He's so detached, he's cool.

Krakatau

What is the loudest noise on human record?

None other than the explosion of the volcano Krakatau (or Krakatoa, as I knew it in my youth) in 1883. The explosions were heard on Rodriguez Island, 4,653 km west, and in Australia, 3,450 km east.

As a child I was fascinated by Krakatoa. I recall reading over and over "The Twenty-One Balloons", by William Pene Du Bois, about a Professor who lands on the island and experiences the eruption.

What I learned today is that 50 years after the explosion, a new island emerged from the sea, called "Anak Krakatau", or child of Krakatau. Apparently it is growing 20 feet per year. Here is an article on the interesting development of this island. Wired also has an interesting summary of Krakatau, since today is the 225th anniversary of the 1883 eruption.

Eisenhower and the Complex

I'm reading Dave Winer's blog today at Scripting News, "Obama does mean change, here's why". He writes "There are truths to the way our country works that are never talked about on the national stage. Change is possible at that level, but those industries will still have a seat at the table when Obama is President. Eisenhower warned of it in his farewell speech. It's serious stuff. Bush gave into these people because he is one of them. His VP is a defense contractor."

So I had a look at Ike's farewell speech. Here is the relevant text:

"Until the latest of our world conflicts, the United States had no armaments industry. American makers of plowshares could, with time and as required, make swords as well. But now we can no longer risk emergency improvisation of national defense; we have been compelled to create a permanent armaments industry of vast proportions. Added to this, three and a half million men and women are directly engaged in the defense establishment. We annually spend on military security more than the net income of all United States corporations."

And a bit later on:

"In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist."

It's scary to think how prescient he was. It's also scary that our current President is completely under the control of this complex (as have been previous Presidents, no doubt).

Winer writes "We know at least that Obama is not one of them. Change? Big change."

I hope he is right. But the influence of the complex will always be there, as long as people continue to have wars. As they will.

Oil Rigs

Banner pulled by an airplane flying over the ocean yesterday, just off Lavallette:

"McCain wants oil rigs here...do you?"

Brilliant.

iPhone Dream

I have decided not to buy the new 3G iPhone. I think it's a great phone, but too expensive - the monthly plan, that is. Even the cheapest plan, after taxes, will be nearly $90 a month. Since the features are not essential, I will stick with my current RAZR until it fails.

Last night I had a dream about buying an iPhone. I was walking past an Apple store, when on a whim I walked in and got on line to buy an iPhone. Fortunately I woke up before I was able to buy it.

I suppose this dream means I really want one. Or all the iPhone coverage is embedding the device in my mind.

Happy Birthday

From Thursday until today I spent my time at a boy scout camp, where my son was for the week. Boy Scouts do a lot of singing and skits, as well as outdoor activities. Sometimes it can get corny, but for the most part, the boys are into it, and I think it probably builds social and public skills.

On Friday morning, July 4th, breakfast was particularly nice. First one troop sang 'America the Beautiful'. Then, after grace, we sang happy birthday, recited the pledge of allegiance, and then sang the Star-Spangled Banner. All in recognition of the birthday of America. It was really nice, and I must admit, I became teary eyed. I'm not sure, but maybe being with a few hundred boy scouts all singing their hearts out for our country had something to do with it.

I'm the first to criticize all the bad things our country does, but I also feel we have a unique history worth celebrating. Plus, if you are going to live here, by all means criticize away, but also have faith in your country.

Winer on Obama

Dave Winer, the person who created RSS, on Obama:

"Obama was the perfect candidate to compete with a woman for President, for the same reasons he's a perfect black candidate. His anger is suppressed, the same way it was for Jackie Robinson. Obama is the Jackie Robinson of politics. In the same way the first black major league player had to soak up everyone's rage and express none of his own, no one votes for an angry black man,, at least not yet (we will eventually) and anger expressed by a man for a woman is not tolerated either."

I think this makes perfect sense. See more at hs blog, Scripting News.

Sitges

Sitges, originally uploaded by profvrr.

Was in Sitges, Spain for Europic 2008 last week. Great meeting, and lovely seaside town. Excellent red wine, too. Here's a photo of me and Bert Semler by the sea.

Flickr

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

Grovel

On Twit 135, Jerry Pournelle said, if you want to have a perfect marriage, "you have to learn how to grovel."

Cereal bowl in the shower

Why is there a cereal bowl in the shower?