• My radio show isn’t dead, just been busy. That, and I’m waiting on Mixxx to fix the bug with my microphone so I can use voice over. But that’s really an excuse. I’ve been planning on doing another show, for weeks. So I have lots of fodder for it. Also been thinking about doing a noise show.
• This year, my friend Jon 7 aka President Blair who runs the Timetheory netlabel and subsequently released my first noise album as Brownian Motion, started a project called The ERNIE 4 and played a couple local shows. In the spirit of Future Sound Of London’s “ISDN,” we did a little “tour” via Icecast. As the year is drawing to a close, we should be releasing the archives of this year’s tour soon. Keep an eye out.
• Also keep an eye out for the second Brownian Motion, More Culture Than A Pint Of Probiotics, soon to come from Bleak netlabel.
• The biggest show The ERNIE 4 had the delight in playing was with noisers from across the country at the 2011 Eugene Noise Fest. It was a lot of fun and we had an opportunity to test out some new equipment which worked out really well. We released the rather short set for free which you can find here.

On that latter point, I had finally decided to put Linux on my G4 Mac. It worked, but I wasn’t totally satisfied. After mucking around with it quite a bit, I realized how I could make an old Thinkpad R60 do the trick. Merely days before. I got Lubuntu, JACK, Pure Data, JACK-Rack, Patchage, and a bunch of LADSPA plugins set up. I brought a contact mic along for fun. The flexibility it offered, especially via Jack, was awesome. Best of all, Patchage made virtual cabling super easy. I was able to run multiple inputs any which way I want. Through this process, I got Jon interested in pd and he used it, too.

The more I contemplated this the more excited I got: I had a completely free system. By this I mean not that I got the computer without cost (this is not about money), but that my entire set up, down to the operating system, was entirely open source. Free for anyone to investigate, distribute and modify. Why is this important?

There’s a reason why I’m so adamant about Creative Commons licensing with my work (including my radio show). It’s the same reason why I’m so adamant about using freeware. I don’t believe information should be “owned.” It’s like Monsanto trying to patent DNA. There is only one goal from this– greed. Music should be about your passion to make it. Not greed. If you want to be greedy, go be an investment banker. I do believe that artists deserve recognition for their works and I do believe that artists have the right to profit from their works, even make lots of money from them. When you make it only about profit, however, then you are, in my opinion, not art, you are simply another commercial juggernaut. Go make jingles for McDonald’s.

There is that phrase: if you love something, set it free.

Meanwhile, I became a member of Hal McGee‘s Contact Group of Homemade Experimental Electronic Music and Noise on Facebook. I missed an option to add a track to his recent compilation series of 60 second tracks. In the process of discussing this and lamenting that there were some missed opportunities, it was brought up that the group was about the free change of ideas, not about the compilation. The gauntlet was thrown down.

So I picked it up and offered an idea of my own: a free electronics compilation. Made with free software, distributed in a free format, with a free license, offered through a free host, and released for free. By all of those except the latter, I meant free as in speech, not beer (i.e. not about money). This led to some lively discussion and ultimately some decisions were made:

• Contributions are open. Anyone, Contact Group member or not, can contribute.
• There are no limits on genre or genres. Doesn’t just have to be noise.
• There are no limits on time. Doesn’t have to be 60 seconds. It can be. Doesn’t have to.
• Deadline is January 1. February 1.
• Release will be offered through Bandcamp (technically not free, but their API is freely available). Reason is that we can offer it for “name your own price”which means it’s free as in beer if you want it to be, but if you want to contribute, great. The money will be equally split between all the software projects used.
• More specifically, it will be released on my own Bandcamp page under the “Brownian eMotions” label. Cuz it’s funny.
• Must use free software.
• Must use a free format. MP3 is not free and, besides, we need lossless to make Bandcamp work. I highly recommend FLAC because it is free and lossless and compressed, which makes distribution easier. Other alternatives are WAV and AIFF, but they were originally proprietary formats developed by IBM/Microsoft and Apple, respectively. In general, these should not have licenses or patents, but there are some patents on some extensions, so it may be difficult to be certain that you’re using a free version. FLAC is definitively free.
• Contributions can be made available any which way you want: file sharing services, email, etc. Leave a comment here with how you’d like to do it and I’ll email you back with the necessary information.
• Remember, this is free as in speech. Open source. We’re not talking about price. If you stole Fruityloops off of some Torrent site, that’s not the free we’re talking about.
• It is highly preferable, but not necessary, to use a free operating system. Windows and OS X are not free.
• Also preferable, but not necessary, is the use of open source hardware. If you want to use your guitar, go for it. But if you want to make an electronics project out of this, knock yourself out.
• For many people, this will be a dramatic change. It’s meant to challenge you. Try something new. I WILL be happy to answer technical questions.
• All tracks will be licensed with a by-nc-sa license which allows users to remix and share the track given that re-use or re-distribution is non-commercial, that the original is attributed, and that the new work or distribution is similarly licensed.

That being said, we already have some takers. As I hear from more people I will add them to this list. Here goes:

1. Travis Johnson
2. Nuno Maltez
3. Ronny Wærnes (trac received)
4. Post-Avantist (track received)
5. Halluciphile
6. Antiquematter
7. President Blair (track received)
8. The Cheshire Dragon (track received)
9. Centrescape
10. Ganglion Cyst (track received)
11. Hobo Liked Gnomix (track received)
12. hiyohiyoipseniyo (track received)
13. Astrometria (track received)
14. Hollywood Video Game Kill-Bot (track received)
15. d0x10 (track received)
16. RJ Myato
17. (maybe) I Died
18. John Dunlap
19. Nick Bailey
20. Elizabeth Veldon (track received)
21. Pulsewidth (track received)
22. Carl Kruger (track received)
23. Somnaphon
24. The Implicit Order (track received)
25. Shaun Sandor
26. Marax (track received)
27. The Last Thing I Said To You Was (track received)
28. Loopool (track received)
29. noish
30. Jukka-Pekka Kervinen (track received)

So get out there, make some noise, and spread the word. Bonus points if your piece is on the subject of freedom

P.S. This post has been done by email so if it sucks, blame WordPress.

Update 29 December 2011: make sure to read the comments for some further clarifications.

Here’s your problem (or maybe you have something similar): you’re a committed Linux/UNIX/Mac user that doesn’t do Windows. You decide to get a computer science degree online, only to discover that not only is their curriculum Windows-centric, but so are their learning resources. Maybe you can figure out some resources so that you can get around this, but when it comes to being away from home and you want to use your non-Intel laptop to do some studying, no luck, right?

Wrong.

I originally believed that there was no hope for my PPC-based PowerBook. Especially for running Windows 7 (the core of Western Governors University‘s so-called Operating Systems class) in its 64-bit version.

I tried to do some hardware virtualization (Intel x86) via Bochs which worked to install a Debian Linux with Fluxbox (a very lightweight window manager) but it was slow as all get out. Check out top (running on the PowerBook, not the virtual Debian machine) in the picture and you’ll see a good lot of the resources are being sucked up by the virtualization process. Running XP would have been ridiculous. Running Windows 7 would have been pretty much beyond all reason.

To make matters worse, LabSim, the major learning resource for the class, required Microsoft’s SilverLight– and the most recent version of it, which is not available for any non-Intel processor.

In the meanwhile, we got an Intel iMac which made running LabSim easy. It also made running any version of Windows cake via VirtualBox (without the need for resource-intensive hardware virtualization). It was also nice to have it sandboxed. If something went wrong with the machine, it wasn’t something wrong with my actual machine. I could delete the virtual machine file and make a new one. Or I could take snapshots of the virtual machine state and restore to an earlier one. Back to the subject at hand, I was able to connect to the machine remotely (tunneling Virtual Network Computing through Secure SHell) and do what I needed that way. It was still darn slow, though.

The other day I was reading the VirtualBox manual and discovered VBoxHeadless which can be used to start a virtual machine and then essentially forward it through a Remote Desktop Protocol connection. And if we use some smarts we can do it securely with SSH. Here’s how:

1. Load up your favorite command line interface and run ssh <username>@<IP address> -C -L3389:127.0.0.1:3389 which will tunnel your RDP connection through SSH with compression on. Username will need to be the user that created the virtual machines. IP address can be local (in which case the rest isn’t even necessary since you won’t be going through your router) or external. In the case of the latter option, you can find it out via checkip.dyndns.org. I would recommend their free dynamic DNS service to set up an easy to remember address if you’re going to do this often and you have a dynamic IP address (if you don’t know, you probably do) as you can configure your machine and even your router to keep track of it and update it accordingly.
2. Start your virtual machine with VBoxHeadless –startvm “<virtual machine name>” (if you don’t know your virtual machine name, run VBoxManage list vms)
3. Run rdesktop or your favorite wrapper for it (I like CoRD on OS X), pointing it at 127.0.0.1. This will try to connect to port 3389 on your machine which will tunnel it through SSH to port 3389 on your remote connection. Note that if you’re using a local address and you didn’t use the “-C -L3389:127.0.0.1:3389” stuff, you should just specify the local address and not 127.0.0.1.
4. Enjoy!

There are many more options and settings by the way. Read the manual here.

The only drawback to this is that you don’t have access to all the usual features of the virtual machine (like loading new “CDs,” taking snapshots, etc.). That being said, it would probably be in your best interest to shut down the machine when you’re done rather than saving the state, which you can’t do. Killing the rdesktop process won’t do anything to the state of the machine.

However, when you go back to your SSH connection, VBoxHeadless will still be running. If you kill the process (Control-C) then it’s effectively the same as pulling the plug on your virtual machine. Windows won’t be liking that.

As an aside, we went to a show of Kenneth O’Connell‘s work at DIVA recently. Christina was really excited about this because they both work with Copic markers. When we were there, we bumped into ex-customer service guy Hugh Larkin & his wife Sandy (who has some great art herself). Turns out they took one of Ken’s classes on a trip to Italy. Small world! Ken’s stuff is INCREDIBLE, by the way. He takes sketching and elevates it to a whole new level.

• BF riser handlebars
• Tektro brake levers
• Avid Single Digit 5 v-brakes
• Chris King GripNut headset
• Kalloy seatpost
• BF padded saddle
• Vuelta 170mm crank
• Crank shorteners (145, 125, 105, 85mm effective lengths)
• BF alloy touring pedals
• Shimano Ultegra 39 tooth chainring
• KMC chain
• 17 tooth freewheel
• Shimano Deore front hub
• White Industries Eno eccentric single speed rear hub
• Continental Contact 1-3/8″ tires
• Kickstand

Includes fittings for a rear rack, fenders, and a rear derailleur. Minimum inseam is about 16″. The shortest distance from the center of the pedal (at the 85mm effective length) to top of saddle is 15″, same as the lowest point on the frame (standover). The effective top tube is 48cm. By tilting the bar and adjusting stem lengths as necessary, one can achieve different effective reaches.

Price includes any resizing necessary, tune up as needed, professional packing (into the suitcase, if you like). It does not include shipping, but that’s ≤$70 in the contiguous U.S. Make sure to get in touch and send me your sizing so I can double check and correct as needed. Let me know any accessories you may need and get me your address. I’ll be in touch with a quote and my PayPal info and we should be set. Of course, you can come get it to save shipping and I will accept cash, check, or money order.

I know this bike made my daughter very happy and I’m sure it will have the same effect on its new owner. If it gets sold quick, Sierra should have a shiny new bike before she even notices the other one is gone. Although, I might have trouble with that rainbow color she asked for…

UPDATE 20 January 2011: Having had no hits on this I thought maybe the single speed nature is turning people off, so I thought I would suggest another possibility: for the same price, I’ll fit on a Shimano Deore rear wheel, 11-32 9sp cassette, and Shimano LX RapidFire shifters

Shimano 105 FC-5501 Octalink v1 170mm double crank with Ultegra 53/39 chainrings. Cranks powder coated black. Rings are new. Sorry, I don’t have a bottom bracket. $60.

Shimano Biopace 52 tooth chainring. New. Come on, you know you want to see what all the hype is regarding oval rings. $10.

Shimano Biopace 42 tooth chainring. New. Yeah, they didn’t do 53/39s back then. $10.

Nitto B125AA 38cm NJS track bar with Strong G grips. All made lovingly in Japan. Pimp your fixie! 150mm drop, 88mm reach, 25.4mm clamp. $60.


Flipped and chopped bullhorn bar from some unknown drop bar. Like for your fixie. 42cm wide, 25.4mm clamp. With good tape. $10.

Flipped and chopped bullhorn bar from 41cm Profile Designs bar. 25.4mm clamp. With good tape. $10.

Terry Cite X womens’ gel saddle. CroMo rails. Barely used. $15.

Dimension Double Bend moustache bar. 140mm reach, 47mm drop/rise, 52cm wide, 25.4mm bar clamp. $10.

Dimension Cruiser bar, 49° bend, 630mm width, 92mm rise. New. $10.

Ritchey Comp flat bar. 6° bend, 580mm wide, 25.4mm bar clamp. $10.

Terry Butterfly womens’ saddle. CroMo rails. Barely used. $40. SOLD!

Selle San Marco Concor Light saddle. $20.

Selle San Marco Era saddle. $30.

Terry Donna’s Butterfly pink women’s saddle. Limited edition for breast cancer awareness, thus the pink ribbon. Manganese rails. $60.

Tektro R538 dual pivot brake. Front only for you, you guessed it, your fixie. New. $20.

IRC Mibro 26×1.95″ MTB tire. Folding bead. New in the original packaging.  Got two. $30 each.

Tandem Talk intercom system. New in original packaging. $70.

Shimano 105 RD-5500 double rear derailleur. Rock not included. $20.

Cateye Micro Wireless computer with low mount. $20. SOLD!

Cateye Cordless 7 computer. $10.

Kalloy Uno seatpost 28.6x350mm. $5. SOLD!

Profile Designs Airwing bar. 42cm wide, 25.4mm clamp, 35mm drop, 180mm reach.

Wheels Manufacturing axle. Solid CroMo. 10x1x187mm. New in original packaging. $15.

Shimano Ultegra FD-6500 double front derailleur, $10.

Shimano Ultegra RD-6500 double rear derailleur, $25.

Shimano PD-M515 dual sided SPD mountain clipless pedal, $15. SOLD!

Crank Brothers Egg Beaters stainless clipless pedals. Three pairs, $35 a pop.

Shimano LX ST-M570 RapidFire 3×9 speed STI controls, $40.

Detours Guppy under the seat bag, $10.

MKS MM Cube Ezy clipless quick release pedals with cleats. Used once. $70. SOLD!

Shimano 20 tooth 1/8″ freewheel. New. $15.

Headlands CMT medium under the seat bag. Light mount missing. $10.

130mm stem with 25.8mm bar clamp, 28.6mm stem clamp and sleeve for Bike Friday 22.2mm bar (can be removed). $5.

No kidding, folks. I am offering a barely used seven speed Bike Friday Pocket Metro in size small for a mere $450.Includes:

• Kalloy flat handlebar & seatpost
• SRAM Spectro twist shifter & derailleur
• Tektro brake system
• Sun Race hubs & 11-32 cassette
• Sun AT-18 rims
• Kenda Kontact tires
• Vuelta 170mm  cold forged crank
• Shimano 53 tooth chainring
• alloy chainring protector
• KMC chain
• Diatech headset
• Velo saddle
• Wellgo pedals
• Greenfield kickstand

Unlike current models, it has the quicker and more convenient folding seat mast. It also has braze ons to allow for upgrades to an internal rear hub and/or a front derailleur for a multi-chainring setup. There’s a mount for a second water bottle, a trailer hitch braze-on, and fittings for full racks and fenders.

The cost does not include shipping (less than $70 for Ground in the contiguous U.S.) but does include a professional tune up and packing. Should you require any accessories, they can be installed and/or included. This, of course, includes the TravelCase, which it can be packed into for shipping. Of course shipping is free if you get it in person.

The Metro is no longer produced but is roughly equivalent to the $898 Pocket 8 which lacks many of the aforementioned features. Seeing even used bikes for so little is rare. Needless to say, I’d advise snatching this up as quickly as possible because it won’t last.

I have a million ways to conact me if you’re interested. You can find those here.

Thus, this begins a series of posts of stuff for sale in order to clean out the garage. Here’s the rules: Everything is as is. Assume used unless otherwise noted. I can ship to wherever, but the cost is not included. Payment by PayPal, check, money order, or cash. Contact me here. Happy shopping!

Avid 185mm disc rotor, new. $30.

Profile Designs QS2 reverse lever. Just one, like for your fixie with bullhorns. $10.

Syntace Space Control reverse lever. You guessed: just one. $20.

Shimano STX/Alivio SL-MC40 7 speed shift pods, $15.

Weird clamp on aerobarish kind of things. Sorry that’s all I got. New for $5. SOLD!

Long L-shaped bar ends with grips. Great to add on a set of flat bars on a tandem so act as kid-friendly grips. $5.

Ritchey WCS 115mm stem. 25.8mm handlebar clamp. Shim allows clamp diameter of 25.4 or 28.6mm. $20. SOLD!

Cane Creek Ergo Control II bar ends. $15. SOLD!

Suntour 12 tooth track cog. New. $23.

Answer 13 tooth cog for Alumilite hub. Won’t work for any other application. Well, maybe a cool necklace. New. $15.

So the one you’ll see in and around the Gates booth (thanks, Jeff Linder, for delivering it!) at Interbike (now you’re going, right?) has a normal old 8 speed Alfine. I would still buy it, though. There aren’t going to be any road races on it, but it was a usable flatland gear on the high end. So plenty of low

Another stumbling block for us on the belt drive is how stiff to make the frame so that flex doesn’t result in belt slippage. So we increased the chainstays from 1/2″ to 5/8″ and brought the chainstay bridge closer to the rear wheel for better triangulation. If anything, it’s overbuilt.

Other interesting frame features include some ideas that Rob English has been kicking around. One is the lack of a clip brace (between the rear end and the back of the main frame). Another is the integration of the stand into the seatmast latch. Both of these are for simplicity’s sake, but the former one makes for better function and easier repair of the rear end latch: a clamp on pin. There is also something going on with the latch pins to simplify things, too, which will provide more clearance.

Then there is the cool split seatstay Rob came up with to deal with split seat stays. Because, as I told Juan Díaz Díaz, a regular on the Bike Friday IRC channel, elevated chainstays are so late 80s

Did I mention these bars? I think I found the first flat bars I like. I am stoked about that! They are Civia Colfax 25° bend multiposition bars. All the clearance and compatibility of a flat bar but so much more wrist friendly.

And am I stoked about the bike! I, for one, plan on pushing hard to release it with the 8 speed. All of us were surprised that the gearing really wasn’t that bad after all. But if you want to be on the list for the official release, get in touch.

Oh and we’re looking for good names. I like Traffic tikit. In typical Bike Friday fashion, it’s a play on words. The Season tikit is a great commuter but this is the übercommuter and in that sense, it really conquers the traffic. What do you think?

UPDATE 15 February 2011: As I’m sure you all know, it’s out now. We opted to give it a relatively lame name, in my opinion, but at least it tells you what it is: Carbon Drive tikit. At the time of writing (yes, I realize this differs from the link above), the 11 speed is $3175 and the 8 speed is $2595. Please note that the use of Phil Wood belt drive cogs allows us to get reasonable gearing with the 8 speed. You also might note the special offer on a Phil Wood hub upgrade..