Archives: Baby

Canon in D, MIDI and MOD Trackers

My son has this toy that he doesn’t get to play with very often. It is actually one of those things that gets strapped to his crib and plays music and lights up. By the time he was old enough to enjoy it, we did 2 things. We no longer stayed in the house where it was kept often. And we took it out of his crib and strapped it to the full sized bed in the room with his crib. He sometimes got to play on the bed and really enjoyed playing with this thing.

One thing I noticed about this toy was that it played this song in a loop. It had a very nice melody and I really liked it. Then one day I wanted to figure out what song it was by trying to find someone who could name it as I was trying to describe the toy to Google. That sort of didn’t work because I either had the bring of the toy wrong or it was too old or unpopular. Still, the song came up in the results for similar toys. I wanted to put this song in the minivan to play for my son.

Apparantly, the song I was looking for is very famous and well known. It is a very popular song played at weddings. The song is Canon in D or Pachelbel’s Canon.

So I set about find a copy of the song similar to the rendition on the toy. Down a rabbit hole I go. I first look for mp3s from Amazon. I found something I bought with credits and it is fine but it isn’t what I was looking for.

Then I look for MIDI files. I find some and even found some I rather like. But they sound so bad. Then I remembered I used to listen to these files played back with samples of real instruments. I recalled it sounded pretty good. I did a bunch of reseach and wound up with this software stack.

The Windows stack plays stuff OK but it doesn’t seem up the the task of conversion. I use Fluidsynth with the soundfonts to convert the MIDI files to wav files. I then use my custom compiled versions of ffmpeg to convert the wav files to mp3s. None of this is convenient but it works. I’ve managed to find quite a few MIDI files.

fluidsynth -F output.wav -O s32 /home/file0500/music/midi/Musyng.sf2 midifile.mid

ffmpeg -i wavefile.wav -codec:a libmp3lame -qscale:a 0 output.mp3

There is this one arrangement I really like. One reason is that the volume changes in a dramatic way in places. It has lots of nice strings (which is how I like this song played) and lots of layered instruments. But it also has these weird volume ups and downs that don’t obviously add value to the song. It just makes it sound bad. I looked for MIDI software to try to fix it but discovered MIDI is pretty damn hard and while it works, it is awkward. I’d have to know a lot of MIDI and music to adjust my file.

I then remembered there is another type of music file that also played songs with sampled sounds. One that might or might not be older than MIDI but one that was easier to get good sounding results from back in the day in the 90s before things like soundfonts removed the need to buy very pricey hardware to get MIDI files to play OK. These were called MODs. And I recall one of the first I heard was of the Beverly Hills Cop tune Axel Foley. It sounded much better than pretty much any MIDI file back then on the computers we had. MODs were pretty amazing in that they sounded good with just 4 channels. Other trackers that used similar technology like s3m and 669  often had more channels but MODs were just fine. Blast from the past.

So I looked for some Canon in D MODs and found a whole bunch. I incidentally stumbled upon a Canon in D fan page with a huge collection of MIDIs.

For MODs I am using OpenMPT. It is modern and fantastic. It is currently being developed using the open source method. It supports all sorts of plugins and plays MIDIs and I saw mention of soundfonts. I will have to try it. If it sounds good, I can ditch that crappy MIDI software stack I am using now. It even outputs to lossless and lossy formats.

I expect that once I evaluate all of these songs or arrangements I might have 10 different Canon in D versions I like in the car.

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Baby Bottles

I expected to like certain bottles more than others. This expectation was set before the baby arrived. My wife had the following kinds lined up.

  1. Born Free Glass
  2. Born Free Plastic
  3. Dr. Brown Glass
  4. Mam Plastic
  5. Munchkin Latch Plastic
  6. Gerber disposable Plastic

I expected to prefer the glass bottles and I thought I’d like the Born Free ones best.

After using them, I prefer the Mam bottles by a lot. The anti-colic mechanism seems reasonable with a bottom of bottle intake for airflow. It is not difficult to wash and assemble.

mam_076_1_1

The Born Free ones put air from the baby’s mouth into the milk so it is not so dissimilar to a simple bottle.

The Munchkin has a fantastic nipple. It is large and flexible and I loved using it for feeding. But the bottom valve never worked as I expected and I had to move it with my finger every 30 seconds or so to vent air in.

The Gerber disposables were actually great. I think it was the greater milk flow. My boy likes it to flow quickly.

The Dr. Brown ones are hard to clean. Both the mechanism and the small opening. It requires a special tiny brush to clean. I do not enjoy using or washing them.

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IP camera baby monitor

Instead of a dedicated baby monitor, I am trying a home security camera. I need wireless and night vision. I don’t want it reaching out to the internet for video feeds or video archiving. Panning and tilting and zooming are not required but useful. A tablet application is not required but useful.

As I was researching, I found a suitable product on sale at Home Depot. It seems to fit my needs. It is a Foscam FI9821PB Wireless 720p IP Surveillance Camera. ~65. It could have been 5 less if I knew there was a coupon code. Damn it.

Update: I have the camera. It took a lot longer due to UPS screwing up. I configured it. The firmware took about 40 minutes to update. But I have it working with the tablet as a viewer. And I expect that viewing will not be an issue. Night vision tested well. Latency was low. I’m impressed. Would be more so if I didn’t forget the $5 coupon. I am worried about where to mount it, though. Need to work that out and power to it in the nursery.

Update 2: I installed the camera. It is connected by WiFi to the LAN with no external connectivity to the Internet. The firmware update took a LONG time and I was worried it wasn’t going. I didn’t mess with it and kill it, though. It is working well though. The video looks good and the night vision works well. It works well from a web browser and Android application. I’m very happy with this thing.

Update 3 2015.7.30: I am thinking about a wide angle lens mod to get a better view into the crib. This should use a M12x0.5mm thread on the camera lens. It should be a screw in replacement. The current lens is a 2.8mm f/2.4. 70 degree AOV. Sensor size is 1/4″.

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3rd row crossover utility vehicle

Update 2016.04.23: I wound up with a 2016 Santa Fe AWD SE with Premium package. I am happy with the price. I am happy with the vehicle. Doesn’t drive badly at all. Has nearly all the features I want (save driver seat position memory and fancy headlights). I almost had to get a 2017 as they came in freaking February and it wasn’t even a mid-cycle refresh year. A few months from now there will be an updated CX-9 that would otherwise be the perfect car (I assume) but I can’t wait and it will be a lot more money.

I’ve managed to be in a position to accelerate my life from bachelorhood to double parenthood in the space of a few months. With two kids and a wife adverse to driving 2 vehicles, I am suddenly in the market for a crossover utility vehicle with a 3rd row as the wife is allergic to minivans. Like with the last car I bought, I don’t think I will get nearly everything I want. I only hope it turns out that I am as happy with this CUV as I am with my econobox.

2016 Honda Pilot EX-L

2016_honda_pilot

MSRP $39,335 – ~41,000 purchased
Expected 5 year depreciation 2015 = $20,795
18/26/21
194.5 x 78.6

+Leather
+Heated Seats
+One touch second row
+Roof rails (as options)
+Remote starter (as option)
+Seats fold flatter
+Power lift gate
+Fog lights
+Room
+Seating
+Rear seat sunshades
-Radio has no buttons
-Safety Features
-Price

2015 Hyundai Santa Fe GLS Premium Package

2015_hyundai_santa_fe

MSRP $36,600
Expected 5 year depreciation 2015 = $20,835
18/24/20
193.1 x 74.2

+Value
+Leather
+Rear window shades
+Heated seats
+Roof rails
+Power liftgate
+Fog lights
+Remote starter (option)
+Electronic safety features
+Warranty
-light steering wheel
-light steering effort
-Medium space behind 3rd row
-Middle row doesn’t fold flat
-Middle row difficult to work

2015 Mazda5 Grand Touring

2015_mazda5

MSRP $25,990
21/28
180.5 x 68.9

+Price
-Size
-Too low
-Terrible 3rd row
-No room behind 3rd row

2015 Toyota Highlander XLE

MSRP $39,680
Expected 5 year depreciation 2015 = $19,056
18/24
191.1 x 75.8

+Lower depreciation
+Leather
+Power liftgate
+Navi
+Power outlet
+2nd row sunshade
-It is a Toyota
-Safety features not present

Not considered for price: Ford Explorer, Dodge Durango. Not considered for wife’s dislike of Nissan: Rogue and Pathfinder. Age of platform and small size: Mazda CX-9. 3rd row as an afterthought: Kia Sorento.

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Stroller and baby seat systems

These baby seat systems that lock into a bunch of other things like strollers and travel systems seem pretty involved. There are lots of versions and revisions within a single system and the systems themselves are not cross compatible. Infant car seats are really what I am talking about.

I looked at the store and found that I really like the Graco Click Connect system. Compared to every other system, the locking mechanism is the clearest and most obvious. It is just under the release lever. It is very obvious and direct. A lot of the other systems have the attachment mechanism on the bottom side where you can’t see anything.

I wound up with a Chicco Keyfit 30 infant baby seat. By many measures, it is a better seat. I was reading reviews from a website I found very entertaining and this one is pricier, fancier and better than any Graco. Graco is apparently an economy brand. While I appreciated the review, especially the writing and how system orientated it was, it didn’t ever mention the locking mechanism. Buy maybe that is because it doesn’t really matter.

The site was http://www.lucieslist.com/. I found it VERY helpful for not just the seat but for the whole process of having a baby. It was very comprehensive and the writing is fantastic.

Update 2016.04.23: It turns out after using 2 systems for a while that I totally had my concerns wrong.

  1. The system rarely is used. I mean I only use the car seat and seat base. And once every two months I put the car seat into a light stroller frame. I think we used the big stroller frame once. My concerns about how well the seat latches to random things was misguided.
  2. Weight matters. I like how light and better built the Chicco is.
  3. The sunshade matters. The Graco sunshade is kinda loose and feels crappy but it provides MUCH better coverage. The Chicco is sewn in and feels quality but doesn’t cover the baby’s head enough.
  4. Size matters. The Graco is big and heavy. But with the amazing BundleMe, it is the only one that I expect our chubby baby to fit reasonably. The BundleMe is so important that I cannot imagine how painful taking the baby around would be without it. So the car seat needs to fit baby and BundleMe.

Which would I buy with the experience I have? I think the Graco. I think the Graco even if the price was the same. And I would continue to lust after the build quality of the Chicco while struggling with the weight. But the Graco.

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