[=x-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-]  
[<<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>]  
[=x-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-]  
                                                                 
Stardate: 20200403.1636
Location: Garage                                                   
Input Device: Tree of Song                                 
Software: nano                                              
Audio: Pump It Up (PSP video game music)                   
Visual: The Tree of Song + MinervaX Med Cart + PSP                              
Emotional State: Bleh...need a nap or coffee.                                   
                                                          
[=x-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-] 

I took today off as a vacation day since I just finished being on 
call and I usually need some downtime afterwards.  I want to do
stuff, like work on projects or something, but I think my body wants
me to rest.  Maybe later.

Since I have been in my garage working, I have had time to organize
things.  The cable management was pretty unmangeable so I was able
to run appropriate length of cables and tidy things up.  I even put
my work equipment in brief cases so when Monday comes around, it
will be easier to set up and tear down.  Prior to this, I kept having
to go in and out of the house for random cables or whatever every
day.

Sometimes when I go to the thrift stores, I end up getting used 
brief cases.  I find them to be very useful for storing some of my
tools and for keeping projects in one place and protected until 
they're finished.  Sometimes, they're good enough to be a project
case in itself.  I used one for a portable battery recharging
station.  I think I might have at least 10 brief cases now.

With my time in the garage, I have made some upgrades to the Tree of
Song.  It now has my cheap Chinese LED keyboard being suspended by 
a repurposed second-hand tablet stand.  I also included a USB LED
display that I put in a glass mason jar mug (diffuser) and attached 
to the Tree's Raspberry Pi, which I currently have displaying the 
time.[1]  Still on the fence about having it show UTC for anonradio.

To go along with the Tree of Song, I have retooled my Stinger
Levitator Med Cart that I got from a local ham swap meet a few 
years ago.  The laptop I used to have in there had a 4:3
screen and it finally died...it was an Acer Travelmate 290 that ran
Debian.  In its place, I have mounted a repurposed monitor arm (trash 
from work) and a 15" MAG LCD monitor(4:3) with built in speakers.  
I was hoping that I would be able to stuff it in the old monitor 
housing on the cart, but it did not fit and I did not feel like 
getting too creative with it so I just used the monitor arm.  [2]

For the PC, I used a repurposed Dell Inspiron 3050 micro PC which now
has a 4GB RAM upgrade and runs Ubuntu MATE.  It was a cheap refurb
that had Windows/2GB RAM that my kids used, but they have moved on to
other devices.  I now call this the MinervaX Med Cart.  Nice thing
about this setup with the Tree of Song is that they both have wheels
so I can push them to the side when I park my car or whatever in
the garage.

Right now, I have been extracting the audio from a music video game
on my PSP over to Audacity and converting it to mp3s.  The game is 
called Pump It Up:Exceed and there is an arcade version.  I don't 
play the game as much as I used to and when I do, sometimes I can't 
even finish the whole song.  Good thing they have a music video 
section of the game where I can play the whole song without playing 
the game.  Since I don't usually take the PSP out, I figure that I 
can still enjoy the music as mp3s.  

Some of those tracks really bring back memories.  I think a lot of 
video game music is under appreciated.  I have other music rhythm 
games that I want to extract the music from that I'll probably 
get to later on.  I could probably try to find the music online, 
but eh, this is good enough.
[=x-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-=x=-]