Oh man. So a year ago or more I discovered a weird glitch with three UAD plugins by Softube whereby any non-realtime rendering in StudioOne resulted in latency being introduced. This glitch had not always been there, but I couldn't pinpoint when it started happening. After being turned away by UAD and PreSonus, I spent… Continue reading Hours of work out the window
New music: Offset One EP by Exan
I'm really excited to announce that my latest work under my "Exan" moniker is available on Bandcamp now! Buy Now I was so delighted when the Errorgrid label boss said this to me: "It's one part liquid, one part solid, one part insane - a sonic cocktail from a music barista with a bent mind"… Continue reading New music: Offset One EP by Exan
Round and round we go
It's 2024. A completely arbitrary number signifying the number of times our planet has orbited the star in our solar system since a particular someone was possibly conceived or born, as decided by another person about 525 orbits later. Wahey! Whilst these sorts of delineations can absolutely be useful in allowing one to take stock… Continue reading Round and round we go
Ending 2023
So this year I decided to reboot my long-since languished blogging and photoblogging efforts. Previously I had both sites in one at my alex.leonard.ie domain, but I decided to separate them out and migrate from a WordPress self-install to WordPress.com. The photoblog has been a great success - you can find it at eidetic.photos -… Continue reading Ending 2023
Famed German Punctuality
So we recently returned from a most wonderful trip to Sicily where we spent a week staying with friends of ours who split their time between there and Berlin. I can look back at it and laugh a bit now, but at the time it was somewhat frustrating - out of the 6 total legs… Continue reading Famed German Punctuality
Firefox adds inline webpage translation
Perhaps given that the majority of people use Chrome or some Chromium derivative, this news might not be hugely exciting, but for the health of the internet it's so important to have viable alternatives, especially when they're run by a non-profit organisation. I will admit that I left Firefox for a while about 10 years… Continue reading Firefox adds inline webpage translation
TÆT – Pulsar-23 Mastery
Huge congrats to Errorgrid label-mate Taet who has just published a dizzying array of no less than fourteen varied, unique, and compelling tracks created entirely with the Soma Pulsar-23. I've been watching these videos with absolute fascination and have to say, hats off, it's hugely inspiring to see. There are 14 videos in total, and… Continue reading TÆT – Pulsar-23 Mastery
Errorgrid – Guest Release Openings
I've been a member of Errorgrid Records since 2019 when I released Centic Primer, the first album under my Exan moniker. It's a great label, which attracts a variety of artists all who release with intention, backed by great aesthetics. In the space of a short few years, Errorgrid has already amassed a wide array… Continue reading Errorgrid – Guest Release Openings
The case for a micropayments protocol
Here's a situation that happens to me on a surprisingly regular basis. I'm online and someone posts a link to an article which sounds very interesting, right up my street. I click on the link and some website loads up and I see the title of the article and some leading image. I start reading… Continue reading The case for a micropayments protocol
Always write it down
The night before last, just before I went to bed, I was reading an article about a new investigative journalism site and it gave me an idea for a new blog post. I finished reading and as I brushed my teeth and went to bed I thought about my little blog post and how I… Continue reading Always write it down
Peacock Island Berlin
With the recent visit of my mother in law, we tried to find some new activities to do in Berlin. One friend recommended a visit to Pfaueninsel (Peacock Island) which I discovered is a UNESCO World Heritage site. It's a bit outside the Berlin area that we're familiar with, but overall I'd say it's well… Continue reading Peacock Island Berlin
Sky gods are angry
At 1.30am this morning I was dreaming. I can't remember the exact content of the dream, but I think it was a pleasant one. And yet something dark intruded on the dream. Something which introduced angst, discomfort, fear. It happened again, and again, until I was rudely awoken. It was the sky gods, and boy… Continue reading Sky gods are angry
Embracing and celebrating our natural looks
We recently finished watching the second season of The Bear, which I thoroughly enjoyed, even more so than the first season. In many ways the season had it's peak, at least from an intensity point of view, in episode six, where we have a flashback to a family gathering at Christmas time. I won't go… Continue reading Embracing and celebrating our natural looks
Oh the delicious irony
So every morning my routine is that I wake up, brush my teeth, and pour out a big bowl of muesli. Then I sit down at the kitchen table and catch up on my RSS feeds in Feedly whilst I'm eating my breakfast. I've been doing this most days since I first discovered RSS feeds… Continue reading Oh the delicious irony
COVID Shipping Costs
A few days ago I needed to arrange shipping for a package from Ireland to here and in the process of checking a quote on the DPD website I happened to notice their prohibited items list, and one item stood out such that I could not resist posting it here...! Just in case you thought… Continue reading COVID Shipping Costs
Photography in Berlin Zine
Last week we brought my mother in law for one of our favourite activities with visitors, a walk down Auguststraße. This street is packed full of commercial art galleries, and there's always some interesting art on display. And of course there's the bonus that it's free! Just before we went for the unbelievably delicious honey… Continue reading Photography in Berlin Zine
On a Variety of Topics 