@m2m@sonomu.club
@m2m@sonomu.club avatar

m2m

@m2m@sonomu.club

A gen X with a straight to the point attitude, I use a mix of instinct and academic learning to juggle between art and technology in equal measure. Based in the UK, I work in web design and sound production under the moniker Minutes to Midnight.

In a previous life I was a game audio designer.

#BeYourOwnPlatform #MusicProduction #SoundDesign, #GameAudio #Bass #REAPER #WebDesign #WebDevelopment #Sustainability #Degrowth

He/him

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m2m, to random
@m2m@sonomu.club avatar

Does anyone know—and trust—any cloud backup system similar to Backblaze, but hosted in the EU?

#AskFedi #Backup

mxtthxw, to random
@mxtthxw@mxtthxw.art avatar

Still going through boxes of tapes, I'd forgotten just how many tracks I'd made with a QY300

They sound quite crappy as it only had a General MIDI sound palette but I always think I've been lazy over the years but it's more that my focus and confidence was out of whack.

Shame really, I could've been the next Barry Chuckle.

m2m,
@m2m@sonomu.club avatar

@mxtthxw this is fantastic, I wrote a ton of demos and actual songs on my old QY20, including when I was travelling by train between Milan and my hometown. It was a great help while studying music theory and bass at school. I'm really sad it doesn't power up anymore, even tried to fix it to no avail.

Fun fact: my song 'The Logic', which appears in my 2019 album, was written on the QY20, and the same MIDI tracks travelled through time, unchanged, from 1995.

m2m, to random
@m2m@sonomu.club avatar

OK, I've had this thing in my throat for a while. Been mulling over a blog post, where I could explain it, but it always comes across like a rant.

JS developers keep pouring tons of hours and effort to reinvent Flash (the software by Macromedia, later acquired by Adobe).

Why, for fuck's sake? I bloody HATE how they keep hijacking the scroll, the back button, everything. Sites are getting slower, less usable, jumpy, and fuck off then.

JS was supposed to ADD dynamic, not take over.

/rant

m2m,
@m2m@sonomu.club avatar

Of course, it's not JS developers on their own. I bet half a testicle that plenty of these ridiculous designs come directly from ill-conceived marketing teams decisions.

But then, between the eternal "I was just following orders" and the pointless proliferation of fragile frameworks, built on top of a million dependencies that are by nature going to rot in the near future, who's to blame?

m2m, to wordpress
@m2m@sonomu.club avatar

Current plan:

  • Build a replica of my website using #WordPress.

  • Add an e-commerce section on top of it using WooCommerce.

  • Build an e-commerce section for my music on my current Jekyll website, using #Shopify.

Then I'll decide which one's best, and potentially move on from Bandcamp. I'm not going to leave the platform, however I want to act on the principle of #BeYourOwnPlatform

#IndieMusic #IndieWeb

m2m, to sustainability
@m2m@sonomu.club avatar

🪴 New blog post: "Endless growth"

Stumbling on a post by an American author that I highly respect reignited my doubts about a dominant growth at all costs culture from the US.

https://minutestomidnight.co.uk/blog/endless-growth/

m2m, to random
@m2m@sonomu.club avatar

I'll never tire of saying this: growth at all costs is a metastatic disease.

What's wrong with being content with what you have? Plateau isn't a bad thing, it's wonderful, it's sustainable, it's sane, it's healthy.

Stop fuelling companies or individuals who are involved with metastatic products.

#degrowth

m2m, to random
@m2m@sonomu.club avatar

🪴 New blog post: "People and Blogs"

I was interviewed by Manuel Moreale for the 34<sup>th</sup> edition of his weekly newsletter <em>People and Blogs</em>.

https://minutestomidnight.co.uk/blog/people-and-blogs/

#indieweb

m2m, to random
@m2m@sonomu.club avatar

Rare self-promotion. Manuel Moreale published today my interview for "People and Blogs".

https://manuelmoreale.com/pb-simone-silvestroni

m2m, to random
@m2m@sonomu.club avatar

Hi everyone, after a long stint as a freelance I am looking for a new permanent role as a #WebDesigner and/or #WebDeveloper, preferably in Cambridge, London if hybrid, or United Kingdom if remote.

From UX design to accessibility, HTML, SASS, PHP, Shopify Liquid, vanilla JS, WordPress, Jekyll.

I would appreciate any support! Thank you in advance for any boost, connections, advice, or opportunities. I would consider contracts as well, if advantageous.

#GetFediHired #FediHire

mosgaard, to Musicproduction
@mosgaard@uddannelse.social avatar

An old student of mine has started on a course focused on songwriting. Her teachers told her to get Pro Tools, but most of her Peers use Logic. She asked me for advice, and I told her not to go the Pro Tools route this early in her career.

Logic is a really powerful DAW, I do not use it myself, but I work with people who does and it’s great. Tutorials are easily available, she can more easily collaborate with her peers and it’s also a one time purchase for a tolerable amount.

m2m,
@m2m@sonomu.club avatar

@mxtthxw can't agree more! Mind boggling advice by those tutors, Pro Tools has also a steeper learning curve for a novice, compared to Logic.

@mosgaard

m2m,
@m2m@sonomu.club avatar

@nigelharpur @mxtthxw @mosgaard

to be honest, during the time when I used Pro Tools, I enjoyed it. However, I'm pretty sure that if it wasn't a so-called 'industry standard', very few producers would actually use it. Two things: first, it's unbearably unstable, even on perfectly tuned machines; second, it's massively overpriced, with an awful business model, and a ridiculous support. Logic is perfectly fine, and Reaper (my end choice) is vastly superior.

m2m, to random
@m2m@sonomu.club avatar

@mxtthxw about Proton again. Today I logged into my account, and was welcomed by 2 or 3 pop-ups (lost count). One of them promoted their new "Desktop app". Out of curiosity, I downloaded and installed on macOS. Opened it — a pop-up asked me to push the ONLY purple button present, which said SUBSCRIBE TO A FREE TRIAL to use the desktop app. No other way to use it. It would be fine, if only they had advertised that before eagerly asking me to download and install... Dark patterns everywhere.

m2m,
@m2m@sonomu.club avatar

@jrp mailbox.org is indeed what I switched to, from Proton, a few years ago.

m2m, to random
@m2m@sonomu.club avatar

Too much noise here to make me fully appreciate the tool as a 'different' social media (it's not that different). My current solution is to reduce the number of people I follow. This is the criteria:

  • if you have a personal blog, I've subscribed to your RSS. I much prefer the breadth of a blog post rather than multiple disconnected short bursts.

  • if we never interact, I struggle to see why we keep following each other.

  • if you post too much here, especially shitposts, or the news.

mxtthxw, to random
@mxtthxw@mxtthxw.art avatar

deleted_by_author

    •
    m2m,
    @m2m@sonomu.club avatar

    @mxtthxw what did you get?

    aral, to ai
    @aral@mastodon.ar.al avatar

    What fresh hell is this?

    (Needless to say that, no, I did not embark on a solo sailing journey from Ireland to Portugal in 2018 and get shipwrecked in the Atlantic.)

    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=bax_qHpe3hQ

    m2m,
    @m2m@sonomu.club avatar

    @danslerush @aral I too have a garbage account, and just reported the video.

    m2m, to random
    @m2m@sonomu.club avatar

    Today might not be #BandcampFriday, but it's #FairTradeMusicFriday — and here's some suggestions:

    https://isitfairtrademusicfri.day

    m2m, to random
    @m2m@sonomu.club avatar

    Moving my websites from to a traditional (and local to me) small legit non-VC business brought a lot of positive vibes, and a realisation.

    Once again, Silicon Valley had convinced me that convenience should be the path to do more tasks in less time. As in growth at all costs.

    But designing for the web is not like using a machine to wash the laundry. It’s more like cooking: takes knowledge, experience, a bit of artistry. Also, it takes the right amount of time.

    https://minutestomidnight.co.uk/blog/leaving-netlify/

    m2m, to Spotify
    @m2m@sonomu.club avatar

    Why did I just leave Spotify?

    Nobody has ever reached out by saying they were interested in knowing more, after finding my music on there. Since this is by design, I removed all the music and deleted both my personal and artist accounts.

    Same as when I deleted my SoundCloud a few weeks ago, it feels pointless to scatter songs over centralised online silos.

    The sanest direction of travel from now on is to follow the principles of

    m2m, to random
    @m2m@sonomu.club avatar

    Yoast (renowned WordPress plug-in maker) offer a link to 'download your data and delete your account'. When you do, the resulting feedback is:

    "account deactivated, if you wish to reactivate your account contact our support"

    which is not what I asked for. This is telling me that my data is still present in their systems. No means no.

    machias, to random
    @machias@hachyderm.io avatar

    My husband and I went to an exposition of travel companies hosted by a local travel agency. I really want to go to Antarctica. Iceland would be enjoyable as well.

    m2m,
    @m2m@sonomu.club avatar

    @machias couple weeks ago I seriously considered a job advert for 5 months in a British base in Antarctica. Seriously attractive. Very low salary though.

    cory, to tech
    @cory@social.lol avatar

    📝: I'm going to keep opting out #Tech #Privacy https://coryd.dev/posts/2024/im-going-to-keep-opting-out/

    m2m,
    @m2m@sonomu.club avatar

    @cory I feel that, and fully agree. My decision went a little beyond, I believe. I'm in the process of weeding out every single account that I'm not actually using. My Bitwarden has to go from 420 login items down to at least less than 200.

    m2m, to random
    @m2m@sonomu.club avatar

    Many have passed where I haven't offered anything of mine. I'm still on a hiatus, so here's something old-ish.

    I have a 15% discount on both the digital download AND the limited edition CD for the concept album 'After 1989'. It's a family story between propaganda, war, and hope.

    • discount code for the digital download: (hashtag included)

    • discount code for the limited edition CD: (hashtag included)

    https://minutestomidnight.bandcamp.com/album/after-1989-a-trip-to-freedom

    m2m, to wordpress
    @m2m@sonomu.club avatar

    #WordPress and #Adobe accounts > deleted.

    Next in line: #Spotify, and seriously considering wiping out #Google as well. For the latter I need to find another Ungoogled custom ROM for my Android first.

    2024 seems to be my year of digital cleansing.

    Feels good. I might set up a side project with a tiny landing page called 'Accounts Graveyard' or something like that.

    m2m,
    @m2m@sonomu.club avatar

    @ramsey you're welcome!

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