Hello, friend.
       
       Here we  are again. It's been  longer than I expected.  And yet, I
       still feel like I don't know where to begin. As they say, start at
       the beginning.
       
       I haven't  written all year, and  I don't know why.  Just couldn't
       work up the motivation to really sit down and write. It's a shame,
       really -- I probably would've  benefitted from such an outlet. But
       here  we are,  three  quarters of  the way  through  the year  and
       nothing to show for it  on gopherspace. Well, some track listings,
       but nothing phlog-wise. A ~/  of half-finished thoughts and missed
       opportunities. Is that  a bad thing though?  After all, gopherland
       is more than just phlogs.
       
       So instead of recounting the year's  events, why don't I start the
       year fresh, this wonderful September day?
       
       I'm  writing  now from  something  I  found  myself doing  on  the
       fediverse:  documenting shower  thoughts.  Not  because it  wasn't
       popular there  (narrator: it wasn't),  but because I feel  this is
       the more  appropriate medium for it.  I'll start with one  I had a
       little  bit ago,  and I'd  love to  write about  another but  it's
       slipped my mind. It's just an  impetus to actually write them down
       here instead of escaping into the aether.
       
       For  some time  now I've  really wanted  a MSSIAH  cartridge. It's
       purpose  is simple:  play the  SID  chip inside  a C64  as a  MIDI
       device. This, of course, is right  up my alley, because I love all
       (ok, most) things SID, and I've been kicking myself since I missed
       my chance to  own a SidStation. Unemployment has  that effect. But
       while I know I would absolutely love to get this cart and play all
       the .MIDs squirreled  away on it, wouldn't it be  more fun to DIY?
       (The answer is "yes")
       
       So I have  this COne that I  picked up ages ago  because it's cool
       and I  like playing with  C64s, and reconfigurable  computers were
       supposed to  be the future  and everything,  but of course  I lost
       interest and didn't grab the expansion board for the minimig core,
       and my  first idea for a  project implementing the NES  on it fell
       flat as soon as  I learned someone already did it.  So why don't I
       take this fancy computer and configure  it up to be a MIDI device?
       Sounds plausible, and far from the worst idea of the week. It will
       keep me  out of trouble  and I've been  itching to mess  with VHDL
       again. Of course, the IEC port is not the same as a MIDI port, but
       a quick adapter should solve that.
       
       Hrm, I might actually do this one if I work up the motivation...
       
       Tags: #back #showerthoughts
       
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