---
title: "2023-03-24"
date: 2023-03-24
---

### some things i've been thinking about lately

#### my art and this blog
i've only been ""doing"" ""art"" for the last two-ish years, and i decided early in to focus on my own satisfaction and learning over chasing social media numbers. i have shared my work semi-privately in small artist communities (discord servers mostly) and i do recommend doing that if you're starting out to get feedback and motivation! 

i've avoided an instagram or a twitter for showcasing my stuff, just because i don't want to be one of those artists that is forced to vertical videos of sketch timelapses with that "did you know how much it means to us artists if you share our work" audio over the top (i do 100% understand why people do this and don't really judge them though; if you want to make a career out of art it really seems that shit like this is the only viable option. i also super love watching peoples progress in timelapse for my own learning)

all this said, i think this blog might make for an excellent place to share my stuff, given that it doesn't have the social media stench attached to it. the real stinker is finding a good portfolio layout, but i'd be happy to throw some of my stuff up here. maybe when i get good enough i'll even make a dedicated instagram!

<img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/68ae1dd8704d3b590a82e5a9167c6018/c293fc3200a7ffe7-1b/s1280x1920/48c6c94b8e3559570a70f79d659527fb00d10aed.pnj" style="height: 500px;"><br/>
<sup>i made a sona the other day! i like them a lot! i don't know where to put them! here you go!</sup>


i'll probably also make a masterpage or a regular post with artists that i'm jiving with. my current little taste test is peter6409, who has that very artstation object concept artist vibe that i really like:
<a href="https://peter6409.artstation.com/">peter6409.artstation.com/</a> // <a href="https://twitter.com/peter6409">twitter.com/peter6409</a>

[![](https://cdnb.artstation.com/p/assets/images/images/032/001/595/large/e-wo-kaku-peter-a7baa55d-13bc-4cx-8bbe-1b9ba5125a5b.jpg?1605193221)](https://peter6409.artstation.com/projects/OogR8v)<br/>
<sup>[art by peter6409 on artstation](https://peter6409.artstation.com/projects/OogR8v)</sup>

finally, i'd like talk about how i manage inspirations and references across the internet (spoiler: it's messy). i'm currently having to reorganise about a hundred tabs that i left open on my laptop from twitter and tumblr posts that i want to use, which is hopefully something that i can work on

#### love hultén synths
[lovehulten.com](https://www.lovehulten.com/)

a friend sent me a link for love hultén, a person who makes some crazy looking 80's inspired (i think) electronics that are actually functional! see: this machine that transmits electrical signals from cacti and runs them through a synth to create music

[![](https://www.lovehulten.com/uploads/3/0/4/8/30489724/kak1tesst_orig.jpg)](https://www.lovehulten.com/desertsongs.html)<br/>
<sup>[desert songs by love hultén](https://www.lovehulten.com/desertsongs.html)</sup>

there are all kinds of things on this site, including some videogame consoles and furniture in their particular flavour, but mostly just a boatload of synths

#### smsl c200
i'm heavily of the opinion that audiophiles are deranged and could spend their money elsewhere, but i do recognise the benefit of some of the more entry level audio gear: more power to run higher beafier headphones or unpowered speakers, support for balanced (if that's your thing), lower noise floor, a nice big dial on the front for when a game decides to run at 0 db and blow your eardrums out.

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<sup>neither of these images are mine, and theyre both being hosted elsewhere. hopefully they don't get taken down</sup> -->

i've had a couple of desktop dacs and amps since i started taking pc stuff seriously: the infamous [schiit](https://www.schiit.com/products/magni-plus) [stack](https://www.schiit.com/products/modi-plus), and some nice jds labs gear [(dac)](https://jdslabs.com/product/ol-dac/), [(amp)](https://jdslabs.com/product/atom-amp/). i've had complaints about both of these setups: 

1. they all use wall warts, which are large, making them difficult to slot onto power strips. the weight also causes them to randomly fall out. theyre also chinese imports and the shells are very weak; i've broken all but one of them and only actually remember physically holding one when it broke
2. the import prices to australia for these things is absurd. both kits are budget friendly options in the states, costing around 200 usd. buying them in australia will cost you closer to 500 aud, which is still close to twice the price, even after currency conversion
3. my modi mysteriously died one day. in a way this is a benefit of a stack rather than an all in one, as i could just replace it with the aforementioned jds labs ol dac, but my magni wall wart fell out of its power strip a couple of weeks later and managed to land pins down, jamming them all the way into the body of the power brick

this all led me to the hot new thing in audio, which is to embrace the weird, less well documented world of chinese first party equipment! the smsl c200 is yet to disappoint: power management is inside the unit, removing the risk of falling power bricks or weird power strip incompoatibilities. the build quality is better than any of the previously mentioned items (the jds labs atom is particularly mild on this point, being very flimsy feeling injection moulded plastic). the case is aluminium with really solid inputs and a super pretty stepped knob. finally, the whole thing is 300 aud, shipped. it took about a month to come from aliexpress, but american import would be slower and addicted to audio in aus isn't super quick either. 

[![](https://www.smsl-audio.com/upload/portal/undefined/XQ2C20032.jpg)](https://www.smsl-audio.com/portal/product/detail/id/799.html)<br/>
<sup>[look at the cute little bluetooth antenna on this creature](https://www.smsl-audio.com/portal/product/detail/id/799.html)</sup>

long story short, i really recommend this piece of gear. an all around better unit for a much lower cost.

#### these delightful little modular cardboard containers
[jerswoodshop.com/cardboard-hardware-boxes/](http://jerswoodshop.com/cardboard-hardware-boxes/)

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/fUyQEPzpkLk" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe>

i randomly got recommended a video of these little boxes by jer schmidt. they're made out of normal corrugated cardboard, which makes them a thrifty option, and the very particular design decisions make them super sturdy. i don't really have enough tidbits to make use of a drawer of them, but the design is so well thought out that i couldnt help fall in love with them, at least conceptually

#### what i'm up to at the moment
- just finished the witness
- making a considered effort to properly learn anatomy, largely via bridgman's constructive anatomy book
- catching up on the ifsc (climbing) comps that i missed from last year
- playing wolfenstein 2
- completed a website for my podcast! [twofiveoh.com](https://twofiveoh.com)
- in covid iso (my partner is sick)