Comments on: The secret musician in your office http://www.saynotocrack.com/index.php/2007/01/13/the-secret-musician-in-your-office/ Random funny stuff, videos, pictures, games, and more Sun, 13 Mar 2011 15:47:01 -0600 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Dean http://www.saynotocrack.com/index.php/2007/01/13/the-secret-musician-in-your-office/comment-page-1/#comment-9316 Dean Sun, 25 Mar 2007 20:05:47 +0000 http://www.saynotocrack.com/index.php/2007/01/14/the-secret-musician-in-your-office/#comment-9316 So, how can I get a copy of the program? I have the right hardware! Someone, please......where can I get a copy of that? So, how can I get a copy of the program? I have the right hardware! Someone, please……where can I get a copy of that?

]]> By: charlie http://www.saynotocrack.com/index.php/2007/01/13/the-secret-musician-in-your-office/comment-page-1/#comment-6187 charlie Tue, 06 Mar 2007 22:19:10 +0000 http://www.saynotocrack.com/index.php/2007/01/14/the-secret-musician-in-your-office/#comment-6187 Yes! A program to do this would be awesome! Yes! A program to do this would be awesome!

]]> By: Toolfox http://www.saynotocrack.com/index.php/2007/01/13/the-secret-musician-in-your-office/comment-page-1/#comment-5906 Toolfox Tue, 06 Mar 2007 03:58:03 +0000 http://www.saynotocrack.com/index.php/2007/01/14/the-secret-musician-in-your-office/#comment-5906 Programming stepper-motor feedrates...boy, that takes me back! Back in the mid '80s to early '90s, I worked for a small defense-electronics contractor, running their automation/robotics manufacturing department. One day I was tinkering with the NC (numeric-control) programming of a three-axis fluid-dispensing machine, struggling to get a decent deposit of some lines of really thick epoxy. The air pressure took a few seconds to come up, so I was adjusting the initial feedrates to match the epoxy's varying volume. I started hearing musical pitches from the motors. Being a former concert pianist, I naturally created a short program that played "Happy Birthday," complete with a primitive rhythmic accompanyment from the air valve. A few days later, my boss heard about it. Within a week, practically ALL of upper management -- from the president on down -- paid my department a visit to hear and see with their own eyes and ears that the rumors were true. Three weeks later, I received an "official" request from the board of directors: Customer representitives from the contract I was working on at the time were scheduled to make a progress inspection visit. On the day of the visit, I treated the USAF officers to a rendition of the Air Force Anthem ("Off we go into the wild blue yonder"). A few years later, I was asked to create another "appropriate" tune for a review inspection on a different contract. This time, I had created a very jazzy arrangement of "Anchors Aweigh." Ah, yes...those were the days! It's always fun to do something with equipment that it was never intended to do! I'm glad to see that such a creative spirit has not died in the 21st Century! Programming stepper-motor feedrates…boy, that takes me back!

Back in the mid ’80s to early ’90s, I worked for a small defense-electronics contractor, running their automation/robotics manufacturing department.

One day I was tinkering with the NC (numeric-control) programming of a three-axis fluid-dispensing machine, struggling to get a decent deposit of some lines of really thick epoxy. The air pressure took a few seconds to come up, so I was adjusting the initial feedrates to match the epoxy’s varying volume.

I started hearing musical pitches from the motors.

Being a former concert pianist, I naturally created a short program that played “Happy Birthday,” complete with a primitive rhythmic accompanyment from the air valve.

A few days later, my boss heard about it. Within a week, practically ALL of upper management — from the president on down — paid my department a visit to hear and see with their own eyes and ears that the rumors were true.

Three weeks later, I received an “official” request from the board of directors: Customer representitives from the contract I was working on at the time were scheduled to make a progress inspection visit.

On the day of the visit, I treated the USAF officers to a rendition of the Air Force Anthem (”Off we go into the wild blue yonder”).

A few years later, I was asked to create another “appropriate” tune for a review inspection on a different contract.

This time, I had created a very jazzy arrangement of “Anchors Aweigh.”

Ah, yes…those were the days! It’s always fun to do something with equipment that it was never intended to do! I’m glad to see that such a creative spirit has not died in the 21st Century!

]]> By: Mormacil http://www.saynotocrack.com/index.php/2007/01/13/the-secret-musician-in-your-office/comment-page-1/#comment-5873 Mormacil Tue, 06 Mar 2007 01:06:55 +0000 http://www.saynotocrack.com/index.php/2007/01/14/the-secret-musician-in-your-office/#comment-5873 The program to play songs? You happen to make it? :P The program to play songs? You happen to make it? :P

]]> By: Alec http://www.saynotocrack.com/index.php/2007/01/13/the-secret-musician-in-your-office/comment-page-1/#comment-5837 Alec Mon, 05 Mar 2007 21:27:18 +0000 http://www.saynotocrack.com/index.php/2007/01/14/the-secret-musician-in-your-office/#comment-5837 You follow in a noble tradition. I'll go back even further than the TRS80, to 1970, when I was programming a beast called an Elliot 903. Built with discrete transistors, it had a mammoth 8k or 18-bit core store (yes, the original magnetic cores). The only IO on this machine were reader, punch, and 10cps teletype - and a speaker wired to some sensitive point in the CPU: the MSB of the B-register, IIRC. It was normally used to tell when your program was running: while the program ran, it warbled gently, and when your program stopped (which it could only do by doing a one-instruction loop), it put out pure tone. So, of course, someone worked out how to tune it. And it became customary amongst the more pompous programmers to play the National Anthem at the end of the day. Interrupted by staccato blips, because with no backing store the "tune" was read off tape a note at a time, giving a noticeable cling for each new note. You follow in a noble tradition. I’ll go back even further than the TRS80, to 1970, when I was programming a beast called an Elliot 903. Built with discrete transistors, it had a mammoth 8k or 18-bit core store (yes, the original magnetic cores). The only IO on this machine were reader, punch, and 10cps teletype – and a speaker wired to some sensitive point in the CPU: the MSB of the B-register, IIRC. It was normally used to tell when your program was running: while the program ran, it warbled gently, and when your program stopped (which it could only do by doing a one-instruction loop), it put out pure tone. So, of course, someone worked out how to tune it. And it became customary amongst the more pompous programmers to play the National Anthem at the end of the day. Interrupted by staccato blips, because with no backing store the “tune” was read off tape a note at a time, giving a noticeable cling for each new note.

]]> By: Anita Bath http://www.saynotocrack.com/index.php/2007/01/13/the-secret-musician-in-your-office/comment-page-1/#comment-5825 Anita Bath Mon, 05 Mar 2007 19:56:27 +0000 http://www.saynotocrack.com/index.php/2007/01/14/the-secret-musician-in-your-office/#comment-5825 Hey Mike - Ben actually had to give up. Turns out it only works with a 4-series scanner or earlier (at least 10 years old). Since neither of our workplaces had such a scanner, he didn't really have a great way to test his program ;) Hey Mike – Ben actually had to give up. Turns out it only works with a 4-series scanner or earlier (at least 10 years old). Since neither of our workplaces had such a scanner, he didn’t really have a great way to test his program ;)

]]> By: Mike http://www.saynotocrack.com/index.php/2007/01/13/the-secret-musician-in-your-office/comment-page-1/#comment-5824 Mike Mon, 05 Mar 2007 19:51:21 +0000 http://www.saynotocrack.com/index.php/2007/01/14/the-secret-musician-in-your-office/#comment-5824 If you do, in fact, write a program to play music on a printer, then I will write you down in my book of "People Who Keep the World a Place Worth Living In". If you do, in fact, write a program to play music on a printer, then I will write you down in my book of “People Who Keep the World a Place Worth Living In”.

]]> By: Chiron http://www.saynotocrack.com/index.php/2007/01/13/the-secret-musician-in-your-office/comment-page-1/#comment-5775 Chiron Mon, 05 Mar 2007 15:47:47 +0000 http://www.saynotocrack.com/index.php/2007/01/14/the-secret-musician-in-your-office/#comment-5775 Matt Kohai's comments reminded me of something similar, but not musical. In the olden days, disk drives were about the size of washing machines. When the seek head moved, it caused the whole device to vibrate. Properly timed seeks could cause the drive to actually move across the floor. So of course, they had races, trying to see who could time the seeks just right to make their disk drive walk the fastest... Who knew these computers would be so versatile... Matt Kohai’s comments reminded me of something similar, but not musical. In the olden days, disk drives were about the size of washing machines. When the seek head moved, it caused the whole device to vibrate. Properly timed seeks could cause the drive to actually move across the floor. So of course, they had races, trying to see who could time the seeks just right to make their disk drive walk the fastest…

Who knew these computers would be so versatile…

]]> By: ynothere http://www.saynotocrack.com/index.php/2007/01/13/the-secret-musician-in-your-office/comment-page-1/#comment-5656 ynothere Mon, 05 Mar 2007 04:41:48 +0000 http://www.saynotocrack.com/index.php/2007/01/14/the-secret-musician-in-your-office/#comment-5656 Nerdz are totally radzo! Nerdz are totally radzo!

]]> By: David http://www.saynotocrack.com/index.php/2007/01/13/the-secret-musician-in-your-office/comment-page-1/#comment-3876 David Sun, 18 Feb 2007 05:34:15 +0000 http://www.saynotocrack.com/index.php/2007/01/14/the-secret-musician-in-your-office/#comment-3876 Is there a way to do this with any scanner? ... I'm just nerdy enough to try this? Is there a way to do this with any scanner? … I’m just nerdy enough to try this?

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