(Rule of thumb: you don’t notice how much dust and hair is on your stuff until after you upload a photo somewhere.)
The knobs are from AliExpress, and came in a pack of 45 for about 30 cents each with free shipping. I went ahead and replaced the sequencer encoder knobs too, even though it’s a little silly for them to have pointer lines. The quality isn’t up there with Rogan knobs, and to nitpick the diameter and/or skirt would ideally be a little bit bigger for this synth — I might choose a different option if I were starting over. But they look OK, feel fine, fit fine, were easy to put on, and I’m entirely satisfied.
The fader caps from Etsy came in a set of 20 with selectable colors; I picked 12 white, 6 red and 2 navy so I could have some flexibility, and decided on this. As it happens, the center line of the fader caps doesn’t match the indicator lines on the panel — but the old ones didn’t either and I never noticed. But it probably looks closer from a more typical looking-down angle rather than eye-level on the 60 degree stand I have mine on.
I’ve got 8 tracks recorded on the new album, but it’s only about half done since these are tending toward the shorter side. I also have a lot of thoughts on the process and inspiration to write up when the time comes. I’m having a great time with it, honestly.
Rico’s been doing better generally, but is not quite there yet. He went several days without any painful yowls or unfortunately placed diarrhea bombs, although this morning broke the streak. I’ve got him on Nutramax Proviable probiotics atop Catit creamy salmon lickable treats (which he absolutely adores — he gets super obnoxious the second he smells it), and Stella & Chewy Raw Coated Kibble (also salmon, but not as beloved as the treat). I think it’s just going to require some patience and another bottle of carpet cleaning stuff.
Almost certain to take my “most fun book of the year” award, Furiously Happy was just hilarious. But, since the author is a Democrat living in Texas, married to a Republican, and the book was written pre-You Know Who (and also pre-Neil Gaiman being outed as a creep, when she mentions a friendship with him), so I found myself kind of wanting more context. A quick check of her blog found (1) she was super not happy with the 2024 election but said she doesn’t plan to leave the state (which means, there was some discussion or thought about doing so…), (2) her child is now using they/them pronouns, (3) one of her books was banned from Texas schools. So there’s that. Anyway, that was more of a tangent — point is, the book is absolutely ludicrously funny and kind of inspiring. I’m thankful my anxiety never got as bad as hers because it was bad enough, and that my encounters with depression were fairly brief and not super intense. And that there are people with that much humor in the world, sharing it with us.