Sampling

To be certain that I am not crazy and imagining things, I started sampling myself two weeks ago. I bought a Sony MZ-M200 MiniDisc player and press Record when I start my day of work. I am very glad to know that I am not crazy, and most definitely am not paranoid. WIHWWIH (What I heard was what I heard). Best-spent 350.00 this year.

Interestingly, this MiniDisc player also helped me with one aspect that I didn't realize before. It sounds like (pun intended) that when people don't understand what I am talking about, they have absolute right to not understand. Because I don't know WTF I was talking about either.

It appears that although I can organize (and thus edit) my paragraphs, the '(pause) I have seven points to make. One, ...' gene from my Dad has not been transferred. If the idea that the better gene will always win out, then this suggests two things: 1. This theory is wrong; or 2. This skill is not necessarily a good skill. This is interesting. Both ought to be explored.

It appears that I have side-tracked.

Back to sampling. Sampling is great. It allows you to record a ton of amazing materials. Things that just went by. Things that you so wish you could have a record of--for example, that horse-like laughter--but never had the opportunity to got recorded in this case. Going through a day of materials seem like a lot at first, but visually looking for peaks in Sony Sound Forge is so easy. The fact that verison 8 now allows for scripting made this even easier.

I also couldn't help but notice just how noisy the a/c is in the office. Setting the noise gate at -18db still doesn't get rid of the hum. But perhaps that has to do with M-200's auto leveling. Perhaps I should bring my sound meter to work to verify instead.

I suddenly understand why people subject themselves to be videotaped on the Web. While I'm not gutsy like they are, I am certainly considering videotaping myself. Anyhow, the point is, sampling is good. Good for personal improvement, good for fueling audio production, good for sanity check. Good for life.