Composer, Multi-instrumentalist, Software Engineer Opinions are my own Pyrenees best breed www.austingelber.com www.austingelbermusic.comhttps://bsky.app/profile/austingelber.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/austingelber.bsky.social/post/3mtzsdlacek2bMusic theory question for yall, in western common era theory is the idea that composers were _restricted_ to the main modes except for passing tones or little chromatic decorations? I'm seeing completely opposite takes but can't find any primary sources on how the composers were thinking about it27 Aug 2026 02:27 +0000at://did:plc:v5qrmqee6zzwkvncjm23rt4e/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtzsdlacek2bhttps://bsky.app/profile/austingelber.bsky.social/post/3mtwtsprsgc2yWhen I was setting my blog up I skipped over all the asset pipeline setup stuff, today I realized I was shipping 300mb of gifs. oops. Whole site bundle is down to a couple mb, praise be to ffmpeg, and page load times back down to a few hundred ms. It's worth doing even it's not _that_ big a deal25 Aug 2026 22:15 +0000at://did:plc:v5qrmqee6zzwkvncjm23rt4e/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtwtsprsgc2yhttps://bsky.app/profile/austingelber.bsky.social/post/3mtvzmv6oo22uI've avoided spoilers for Library of Ruina, still early on in the game but it is SO GOOD. What a great story, even the hyper edgy stuff just fits without falling into "nothing personnel kid" territory25 Aug 2026 14:27 +0000at://did:plc:v5qrmqee6zzwkvncjm23rt4e/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtvzmv6oo22uhttps://bsky.app/profile/austingelber.bsky.social/post/3mtm3njidr227I also finally finished lobotomy corporation. Can't wait to start Library of Ruina and see how the story unfolds, I sure hope my favorite characters are having a good time21 Aug 2026 15:36 +0000at://did:plc:v5qrmqee6zzwkvncjm23rt4e/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtm3njidr227https://bsky.app/profile/austingelber.bsky.social/post/3mtm3krj4ts27In my little daw project I wanted to build a level meter, so I researched volume meters and standards. I was absolutely not prepared for the rabbit hole of audio standards. I found Bohn's paper and started digging through the standards, and oh no it's so much worse than even that. Oh no21 Aug 2026 15:35 +0000at://did:plc:v5qrmqee6zzwkvncjm23rt4e/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtm3krj4ts27https://bsky.app/profile/austingelber.bsky.social/post/3mtbvanhhes2uI did a little digging into GTK's history as part of this DAW project I'm working on, and it's absolutely amazing that GNU got started because of propriety and terrible UX and product design for printers17 Aug 2026 14:15 +0000at://did:plc:v5qrmqee6zzwkvncjm23rt4e/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtbvanhhes2uhttps://bsky.app/profile/austingelber.bsky.social/post/3mt2kf7qotc2kIf we ever get an XCOM 3, how sick would it be if Roget did the music for it? Imagine that Helldivers and Star Wars space opera, epic vibe while missing 98% point blank shots. You just know he'd have some perfect brass hooks to go with it. The memes would be incredible14 Aug 2026 16:12 +0000at://did:plc:v5qrmqee6zzwkvncjm23rt4e/app.bsky.feed.post/3mt2kf7qotc2khttps://bsky.app/profile/austingelber.bsky.social/post/3mt2cvbsot22rNew blog post about using PipeWire, GTK, and C23 to make a daw and seeing how far I get before I need to change to c++ and JUCE https://www.austingelber.com/posts/daw-part-1/14 Aug 2026 13:58 +0000at://did:plc:v5qrmqee6zzwkvncjm23rt4e/app.bsky.feed.post/3mt2cvbsot22rhttps://bsky.app/profile/austingelber.bsky.social/post/3msxogm6jo22wIt seems like the trick with audio programming is just getting over the first principle stuff a couple times. After that it's just the same handful of techniques over and over in slightly different ways. But getting there once is a pretty substantial amount of effort13 Aug 2026 12:46 +0000at://did:plc:v5qrmqee6zzwkvncjm23rt4e/app.bsky.feed.post/3msxogm6jo22whttps://bsky.app/profile/austingelber.bsky.social/post/3msmnj2m46k2qAfter watching the SSW sqlite talk, I went to go check out DO-178C to see and it's over $500, for a set of standards and recommendations for building safety-critical software. I get it, and people should be compensated for their work, just feels a little gross to pay for the ability to learn09 Aug 2026 03:31 +0000at://did:plc:v5qrmqee6zzwkvncjm23rt4e/app.bsky.feed.post/3msmnj2m46k2qhttps://bsky.app/profile/austingelber.bsky.social/post/3mrq3wbf7xc2lThe secret to XCOM is realizing that rifles are actually melee weapons28 Jul 2026 19:01 +0000at://did:plc:v5qrmqee6zzwkvncjm23rt4e/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrq3wbf7xc2lhttps://bsky.app/profile/austingelber.bsky.social/post/3mraz35rzbc27Building GTK UIs really drives home the lesson that a UI is an investment, not a must-have for every app22 Jul 2026 19:00 +0000at://did:plc:v5qrmqee6zzwkvncjm23rt4e/app.bsky.feed.post/3mraz35rzbc27https://bsky.app/profile/austingelber.bsky.social/post/3mr3h5kscek2mIt sometimes feels silly, maybe even a little childish and selfish, to worry about and spend time trying to make art these days. On the other hand, the connections and humanity that come from that are absolutely vital. It's still worth doing, even if it's not obviously moving the needle.20 Jul 2026 13:56 +0000at://did:plc:v5qrmqee6zzwkvncjm23rt4e/app.bsky.feed.post/3mr3h5kscek2mhttps://bsky.app/profile/austingelber.bsky.social/post/3mquda4umac2rOn this weeks step of "journey to kernel contributor", tons and tons more C deep diving. This daw project is getting to a point where it needs lock-free buffers of pages of events, double-buffering for instrument state stuff, and all kinds of fun trees and heaps. C is just the goat for this work17 Jul 2026 17:58 +0000at://did:plc:v5qrmqee6zzwkvncjm23rt4e/app.bsky.feed.post/3mquda4umac2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/austingelber.bsky.social/post/3mqmbuvg6uc2rOmega Strikers is still one of the best mobas. The skill floor these days is insanely high since the player base is not so big, but still playable even at mid ranks. What a great game14 Jul 2026 13:12 +0000at://did:plc:v5qrmqee6zzwkvncjm23rt4e/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqmbuvg6uc2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/austingelber.bsky.social/post/3mqapzmdbyk2dSo many percussion method books boil down to compendiums of exercise permutations. Surely there's a better way to communicate this info? Stick Control is great but it's maybe the worst offender09 Jul 2026 22:53 +0000at://did:plc:v5qrmqee6zzwkvncjm23rt4e/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqapzmdbyk2dhttps://bsky.app/profile/austingelber.bsky.social/post/3mq7y4hzge22dI wanted to see what it takes to make basic sequencer and mini-daw, and this silly looking prototype is indeed functional! GTK UI programming isn't that rough, this is all c23 and pretty straightforward. The RT audio thread piece isn't so bad, it's integrating everything around it that's hard so far09 Jul 2026 15:45 +0000at://did:plc:v5qrmqee6zzwkvncjm23rt4e/app.bsky.feed.post/3mq7y4hzge22dhttps://bsky.app/profile/austingelber.bsky.social/post/3mq3exlrncs2qThe road to system programing is paved with "what do you mean seg fault, ah crap I forgot _atomic". Like, so much of that. A shocking amount of memory boundary problems07 Jul 2026 19:52 +0000at://did:plc:v5qrmqee6zzwkvncjm23rt4e/app.bsky.feed.post/3mq3exlrncs2qhttps://bsky.app/profile/austingelber.bsky.social/post/3mpyp77yv3224Why do I need marketing emails from a blood-testing company? Why do they even have marketing? Why would an individual be even a potential lead for "blood-testing and screening services"? This data brokerage and correlation marketing stuff is just so out of hand06 Jul 2026 18:17 +0000at://did:plc:v5qrmqee6zzwkvncjm23rt4e/app.bsky.feed.post/3mpyp77yv3224https://bsky.app/profile/austingelber.bsky.social/post/3mpy7v3fwmc2jMaybe the answer for ICs in tech is to go even lower in the stack. Embrace C and systems programming, learn how the fundamental and low level pieces work. AI tools are going to contribute code to these things and they will break eventually, people still need to know how to use iostat, top, etc06 Jul 2026 13:43 +0000at://did:plc:v5qrmqee6zzwkvncjm23rt4e/app.bsky.feed.post/3mpy7v3fwmc2jhttps://bsky.app/profile/austingelber.bsky.social/post/3mpo4nd3mjs2kThe more I dig in to systems programming, the more I appreciate eBPF02 Jul 2026 13:18 +0000at://did:plc:v5qrmqee6zzwkvncjm23rt4e/app.bsky.feed.post/3mpo4nd3mjs2khttps://bsky.app/profile/austingelber.bsky.social/post/3mjjzu2gtoc2hWorking on getting this Scheherazade harp arrangement buttoned up and ready to go! Harp technique is one of those things where the more you learn, the more deeply you appreciate how much you don't know. tldr - writing for harp? talk to harpists, it's mandatory15 Apr 2026 13:47 +0000at://did:plc:v5qrmqee6zzwkvncjm23rt4e/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjjzu2gtoc2hhttps://bsky.app/profile/austingelber.bsky.social/post/3mhbi3tr6n22qHow is it that Pyrenees is just the perfect dog breed for everything. Best at being a potato, best at being a guardian dog, best at covering everything with hair. Best breed17 Mar 2026 17:17 +0000at://did:plc:v5qrmqee6zzwkvncjm23rt4e/app.bsky.feed.post/3mhbi3tr6n22qhttps://bsky.app/profile/austingelber.bsky.social/post/3mh6r7gbi5c2eHow would a person go about finding a harpist to talk shop and look at music with? Harp is such a nuanced instrument and honestly the orchestration books just can't cover it all. Is there like a harpist group that helps composers write better harp music somewhere?16 Mar 2026 15:22 +0000at://did:plc:v5qrmqee6zzwkvncjm23rt4e/app.bsky.feed.post/3mh6r7gbi5c2ehttps://bsky.app/profile/austingelber.bsky.social/post/3mcl6mx57r22sNow that I'm caught up with my backlog of books and concert season kicks off for my regularly scheduled instruments, I really want to learn a new instrument, for fun. On the fence between violin, flute, and piano. Anything where I don't have to load a truck for gigs and rehearsals16 Jan 2026 22:49 +0000at://did:plc:v5qrmqee6zzwkvncjm23rt4e/app.bsky.feed.post/3mcl6mx57r22shttps://bsky.app/profile/austingelber.bsky.social/post/3mchsh5kpjk2cHalfway through book 5 of WoT, and I think this where I'm going to bounce off of it. I like the world and magic, but it really does start dragging. I don't mind going in depth to the side characters but it really feels like plot for plot's sake at a certain point15 Jan 2026 14:33 +0000at://did:plc:v5qrmqee6zzwkvncjm23rt4e/app.bsky.feed.post/3mchsh5kpjk2chttps://bsky.app/profile/austingelber.bsky.social/post/3ma4ui63cck2nFrostpunk 2 DLC which means more music by Musial and more depressing city builder time, can't wait to crack into this soon. It's a kind of winter themed so that means it's a Christmas game right https://media.tenor.com/kLYzLAKiUEwAAAAC/frostpunk-cold-weather.gif?hh=208&ww=49816 Dec 2025 19:19 +0000at://did:plc:v5qrmqee6zzwkvncjm23rt4e/app.bsky.feed.post/3ma4ui63cck2nhttps://bsky.app/profile/austingelber.bsky.social/post/3m7i7zhd4gs2nI love going to orchestra concerts but it just seems a weird use of the phenomenal talent on stage to have them play the same 50 pieces every year until the heat death of the universe. If we're gonna keep doing orchestras that way, at least drop the sightreading from auditions08 Dec 2025 14:20 +0000at://did:plc:v5qrmqee6zzwkvncjm23rt4e/app.bsky.feed.post/3m7i7zhd4gs2nhttps://bsky.app/profile/austingelber.bsky.social/post/3m6zs3yjdos2nThere should be more clarinet choir music02 Dec 2025 20:33 +0000at://did:plc:v5qrmqee6zzwkvncjm23rt4e/app.bsky.feed.post/3m6zs3yjdos2nhttps://bsky.app/profile/austingelber.bsky.social/post/3m6z4i6gehk2yXCOM 2 may be one of the video games of all time but it's still one of my favorites even if i miss critical 95% chance shots 100% of the time https://media.tenor.com/GVlxSNvKCUUAAAAC/nmh-travis-xcom.gif?hh=278&ww=49802 Dec 2025 14:07 +0000at://did:plc:v5qrmqee6zzwkvncjm23rt4e/app.bsky.feed.post/3m6z4i6gehk2y