#tech-talk

[santosh]

WE need proactive regulations for AI

Why do AI regulations often lag behind innovation? The critical challenge lies in developing a deep, shared understanding of emerging technologies to foster effective public policy dialogues on safety and fair usage. It’s incredibly encouraging to see industry leaders such as Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei not only acknowledge this gap but actively champion greater transparency and responsible…

WE need proactive regulations for AI

[kyberheart]

I like to headcannon that Tech is like.... the MOST superstitious of the Batch. I mean, he’s super smart and analytical about everything. But when it comes to supernatural, other-worldly things? He’s like: FUCK you, FUCK this, FUCK all that! Because if you think about it...... stuff like that isn’t exactly tangible. It’s a collection of abstract concepts that we just SAY is good/bad. If he can’t collect solid data on it, he errs on the side of caution every. single. time. He’s just like every other normal person....... he keeps himself up at night researching the phenomena to scare himself silly. The implications of the “unlucky”, “unnatural”, and “extrasensory” haunt him through the wee hours of the morning.

Like, picture this: Hunter would be like “Okay Tech, we’ve got clearance to touch down on platform 13″ and Tech would FREAK OUT and be like “UH NO. NOT HAPPENING HUNTER, CALL THEM BACK AND TELL THEM WE CAN’T LAND ON THAT PLATFORM.” “But.... But Tech this is the busiest spaceport on this side of the fucking UNIVERSE! We can’t just-” “FUCKING... JUST DO IT HUNTER! I’LL LITERALLY CIRCLE BACK AROUND FOR AS LONG AS IT TAKES! GET ME A DIFFERENT LANDING PAD!!!” 

Or picture this: Tech is eating in the caf and Wrecker accidentally knocks over the salt shaker. Tech, knowing this is a bad thing, scoops some of the salt up and throws it over his left shoulder. The salt lands in a reg’s eyes and causes a HUGE fight that sends Tech to the fucking med bay with a black eye and a bloody nose. 

OKAY OKAY JUST A FEW OTHER QUICK ONES: 

▸ When he sees a black loth-cat during a mission he tends to give it a WIDE berth just in case it wants to cross in front of him.  ▸ Crosshair opens an umbrella inside the Marauder! Tech kicks him out for an hour so he can talk himself out of a panic attack. ▸ Hunter knocks into a mirror during a mission and it shatters. Tech avoids him like the plague for WEEKS after.  ▸ Echo catches Tech saying “rabbit rabbit!” the first of every month and makes fun of him for it.  ▸ Omega watches so confused as Tech hangs a space-horseshoe above the door to the ship. ▸ Wrecker asks why he has a block of wood zip-tied to the underside of the pilot seat. Tech has to explain that you need to knock on wood three times after saying something you hope will happen; that way, your desires will not be thwarted by malevolent tree spirits. Wrecker just backs away slowly. ▸ “DON’T STEP ON THAT CRACK, YOU’LL BREAK OUR MOTHER’S BAAAAACK!!!” “TECH FOR THE LAST FUCKING TIME, WE DON’T EVEN HAVE A MOOOOOM!!!”

LMFAOOOOOOO okay I’m done. 🤣 Thanks for coming to my Tech-Talk.

[emmaheartbeat]

Tech-Talk part 6 - DIY Mobile - Surfboard - Mount & Steady - Cam

We are currently preparing the new video-clip for our single "The Machine". What, you didn't listen yet? Check it here:

Emma Heartbeat - The Machine by EMMA HEARTBEAT (EM♥A)

As cameras we are using three Xperia Z by Sony. We decided on these weapon of choice as they are water resistant, small and good to handle. We flew to an island to shoot the video, so we were in need of the above qualities. This blog-post is kind of a DIY, to deliver some background info on the steady-cam and the surfboard-cam we built and how you can do it yourself. This is the steady-cam. It was built to save the mobile-camera from shaking while walking. It works for the Xperia Z very well but it also works for other sport-cameras (GoPro etc.). Everything we needed was found at a building supplies store for less than 10 EUR (Best-Buy, Hellweg,... wherever you live). - a wheel (from a desk-chair) - a handle (balcony-supply) - a metal plate (with holes) + screws, screwdriver, hot-glue pistol

The metal-plate was brought into shape (kind of a "c" shape) with the use of raw power. The Xperia Z was mounted in a mobile-holder which we attached on the metal-plate (with hot-glue and lots of gaffa-tape). In the middle of the "c" we fixed the wheel with screws and and hot-glue and extended it with the handle. Feeling puzzled? Just have a look at the pictures. At the end we put some extra weight on the bottom to balance the mobile. This part is try and error. We were done and it worked very well! (Of course a "real" steady-cam for thousands of Euro with a ball-joint is probably going to be slightly better, so don't expect a wonder to happen).

The other thing is this surfboard mount we built. It was even less work. We simply attached the mobile-holder to the surfboard. We used gaffa-tape to fix both, the mobile to the holder and the holder to the board. For safety reasons we knotted a fishing line to the mobile and the other end with the leash of the surfboard (cover in gaffa so we wont get trapped in the line). That's it. Pretty simple, but it survived everything, from duck-diving, to cutbacks to the heaviest wipe-out.

[charliesmiffs]

Tech-talk - Give it All to You

Sick DnB Track!

[emmaheartbeat]

Tech-talk 4 - Free Software Synth

I just came across a new freebie. As christmas is coming closer, I thought it is the right time to share. I used the first version of Podolski on one track of our album.

Just downloading the new version of U-he's "Podolski" right now, you can do so as well. Just click here! (http://www.u-he.com/cms/podolski)

[emmaheartbeat]

Tech-talk 2 - Percussive Drummer Live Set Up

Since we were asked so many times, we are going to reveal the secret behind the live set-up ;) To start of, I am going to explain, the machines Feliks uses on stage. His main instrument is the Alesis PercPad. It is a drum-machine equipped with four pads, that can be hit either by hand or by stick. There is a midi-out, but we are using the 25 on-board sounds. There is a broad variety from shakers, kick- & snare-drums as well as highlight sounds like bell-tree or woodblock. Each sound can be pitched. Listen closely on "What's the Time" next time you attend a concert by Emma Heartbeat and you will catch the pattern Feliks is playing with a regular and low pitched timbales. Only pain in the ass is, that between the songs, you have to switch manually between the different sounds - it is plenty of buttons to push! Next to the PercPad on the same stand, we attached a small 10" snare. Before we were using a 14" snare by the Sonor Artist series. But it was to heavy and vulnerable to carry on flights. For the live shows only, we bought the smaller and less heavy "Fame Black Birch Snare 10"x5,5" ". It is only 40 EUR - but got a pretty decent sound and a nice attack for that price. In smaller venues we use it without a mic, in bigger venues, we attach a snare mic. The main use is to support the electronic snare on the refrain and add that extra pressure and dynamic you can't get out of electronics and to add some percussive rim-clicks. Last but not least, the stand carries a 7" splash (sometimes we use overheads, again at smaller venues there is no need to). Easy set-up, easy to mix and easy to carry - both very important to tour.

[emmaheartbeat]

Tech-Talk 1 - In-Ear Montioring

Our first rehearsal with the new in-ear-monitors was a big success! Not only the feeling of protected ears (splash cymbals & snare are very loud normally), but also the fact that every member of the band- two drummers and one vocalist- could hear themselves far better than before, was great. The drumming seemed to be much tighter. It was really short notice that we -EMMA HEARTBEAT- decided to use in-ear-monitoring. But as Nils had a sudden deaf and a tinitus just a few weeks ahead of our US-tour and Emma always had problems to hear her voice on stage, we started to search for a matching system. Luckily Hearsafe, located in Cologne, quite near to our hometown (Essen), made it possible to fabricate Concha-Earmolds for EMMA HEARTBEAT really fast (-Thanks for your support!!!) Many other musicians made the experience that in-ear-monitoring leads to the problem of not getting the vibes and atmosphere of the audience because of being too much isolated by the plugins. So we were really curious about how it would work out for us. First stop in America was Houston/TX. When we arrived at the venue, nothing was setted up yet and it shortly became clear that there would be no monitor-boxes on stage. A good opportunity- not only to check out the in-ear-system itself but also to see how we would get along to set up everything without a sound-engineer. Luckily Nils had some experience with technical stuff and it worked out, the only problem was that all three of us had to get along with the PA signal, cause we were forced to plug in at the headphones-out of the FOH-mixing-desk as it was the only available slot. Finally the sound on stage was not too bad but definitely left a lot of space for improvement. But we can assume that the new system saved our gig :)! Next day we went to Dallas and a far better organized venue with its own sound-engineer. He had not too many experience with in-ear-monitoring and we always had a loud humming noise on our plugins that we weren't able to get rid off. So we had to play with the regular monitoring (which was quite good though). The secret of the humming sound was unveiled by Springfield's sound-engineer one day later, who deleted the same humming by changing the amplified signal he sent to an unamplified - good to know!!! With every show we played we learned more and more about the in-ear-system: 1. If you get yourself a headphone-amp, make sure that it splits mono-signals on both ears. Cheap ones, as for example the Behringer HA 400-system, will only send a signal on your left ear. Most venues run the monitoring in mono only (at least in th USA)! 2. Make sure to check all levels for the PA first before setting up your in-ear-devices, otherwise it might be clipping afterwards if you have to turn the volume of the channels up. Although we had some technical problems in the beginning, we are totally amazed by in-ear-monitoring. EMMA now has a far better feeling on stage, as she can hear her voice clear and it leaves her much more freedom to work with the voice. She's the only one who has a wireless in-ear-system ( = always sound on both ears) and can freely perform on stage without being afraid of feedback from the monitor-boxes and without any change of quality of the stage-sound. All members of EMMA HEARTBEAT had no problem to catch the vibes of the audience and get used to the plugins rather fast and if one of us ever feels too isolated from what surrounds him/her or happens infront of stage, we just take out one of the plugs and play on! There are a few more US-shows left to play that we are looking forward to as much as we are looking forward to make our in-ear-monitoring-experiences in Germany.