Give a Canadian an inch and they’ll take 25400 microns
Give a Canadian an inch…
Aside
Category Archives: Quotes
Production Offsets – Delay is dead, latency is lame
Production Offset (noun):
The accumulated timing differences within a production process caused by variations in signal transportation time, processing speed, or media transfer over IP networks. These offsets occur when different elements of a production pipeline experience inherent latency due to the nature of their processing paths.
A production offset specifically applies when synchronization between signals is required to maintain a cohesive output.
Examples of Production Offsets:
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Audio-to-Video Delay: When video encoding and transmission take longer than audio, causing lip-sync issues.
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Program Audio vs. Video Delay: A mismatch between broadcast-quality audio and video paths, requiring realignment.
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Media Transfer Delays: Timing mismatches when files, streams, or packets arrive at different times due to network transport latency.
Control Audio vs. Program Audio – Is It a Production Offset?
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Control Audio (Intercom, IFB, Coordination): Must be as close to real-time as possible to minimize awkward pauses in live communication.
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Program Audio (Broadcast, Recorded Content): May have additional latency due to processing, mixing, and distribution.
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Since these serve different functional purposes, their latency differences are generally not considered a production offset unless they must be synchronized for a specific use case (e.g., when coordinating live feeds with talent responses).
Managing Production Offsets Involves:
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Measuring transport and processing delays across different signal paths.
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Collating and analyzing timing discrepancies.
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Applying delay compensation or synchronization techniques.
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Optimizing network and processing paths to reduce unnecessary latency.
By properly managing production offsets, teams ensure seamless synchronization where required, while also prioritizing real-time communication for control audio.
Example: The team compensated for the production offset between program audio and video while ensuring control audio remained as real-time as possible for smooth coordination.
The Redder, The Better 🚦
The Redder, The Better – A phrase used in audio engineering to describe how an audio signal is often considered optimal when the volume unit (VU) meter or LED peak meter enters the red zone. This indicates a strong signal level, improving the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) by ensuring the desired audio remains well above the noise floor. In analog systems, slight red-zone peaks can add warmth and presence, while in digital systems, red peaks indicate maximum headroom before potential distortion or clipping. 🚦
Vigital – definition
Vigital (adj.) – A blend of vintage and digital, referring to obsolete or outdated digital technology that has been revived due to nostalgia, affordability, or unique aesthetic and functional qualities. While not the latest or most advanced, vigital tech holds value for enthusiasts who appreciate its historical significance, distinctive characteristics, or cost-effectiveness compared to modern alternatives.
“That synth is vigital.”
“Vigital consoles are sweet”
“Like the Vigital spx90… what it lacks in depth, it makes up for in brittleness and nastalgia”
Before you criticize…
Before you criticize people you have to walk a mile In Their shoes, so when you criticize them you’re a mile away, and in their shoes.
Computerism (noun)
Computerism (noun): A form of discrimination or bias where individuals are judged, stereotyped, or treated differently based on their choice of computer operating system (e.g., macOS vs. Windows vs. Linux) or browser preference (e.g., Chrome vs. Safari vs. Firefox). This phenomenon often manifests as social stigma, exclusion, or assumptions about a person’s technical skills, personality, or values based on their technology preferences.
For example, a macOS user might be labeled as “trendy but impractical,” while a Linux user could be stereotyped as “overly technical” or “elitist.” Similarly, browser preferences might spark debates or judgments about privacy, efficiency, or mainstream conformity.
“Jason’s blatant computerism was evident when he refused to collaborate with Sarah, simply because she preferred macOS over Windows.
A computerist is someone who engages in or perpetuates discrimination, bias, or stereotyping based on another person’s choice of computer operating system, software, or browser. They may judge or treat others differently because of their tech preferences, often making assumptions about their personality, competence, or values.
For example, a computerist might mock someone for using Internet Explorer, assume all Mac users are creative professionals, or stereotype Linux users as overly technical and antisocial.
In a broader sense, a computerist could also describe someone deeply passionate about computer systems and their associated cultures, though this usage is less common.
“Don’t be such a computerist—just because I use Linux doesn’t mean I think I’m better than everyone else!”
The great thing about having a machine shop…
“The great thing about having a machine shop is that you can take any problem at all, and over complicate it”
– Quinn – Blondie Hacks
LEGO – conformance, tension, friction and interference
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Experts in project management often compare tasks to assembling LEGO blocks to accomplish large projects, but they overlook that LEGO pieces connect because of tension, friction and interference.
What is a Technologist?
The aesthetic of quality
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Something that appears to be of high quality or sophistication but lacks true substance or craftsmanship. It’s the idea of presenting an illusion of excellence—through design, branding, or superficial elements—without the underlying integrity or value. In other words, it’s a deceptive or inauthentic display meant to mimic true quality, often relying on surface-level attributes rather than genuine merit. This can be seen in products, services, or even experiences that seem premium at first glance but ultimately fall short when examined more closely.
“Access is the medium”
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“Access is the medium” describes the shift from physical ownership of media (books, CDs, DVDs, etc.) to a digital world where the primary way to consume content is through access, typically via subscriptions or paywalls. Instead of purchasing individual pieces of media, users now gain temporary access to vast libraries of content, often behind paywalls or through streaming services. In this paradigm, access itself becomes the medium through which content is delivered and consumed, emphasizing convenience and immediacy over ownership.
The last meter
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“The last meter” refers to the final connection between an audio device, such as a microphone, headphones, or speakers, and the larger sound system or network. Just as “the last mile” in telecommunications represents the crucial final stretch that delivers service to the end user, “the last meter” in audio engineering highlights the importance of the final cable or wire, which directly impacts the quality and reliability of the sound being transmitted. Despite its short length, this connection is critical for ensuring the integrity of the overall sound system.
not planning for failure…
Status
“Failure to plan is planning for failure, and not planning for failure lays the groundwork for disaster.”
Schrödinger’s Delivery
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Schrödinger’s Delivery:  A hypothetical situation where a delivered package exists in a paradoxical state—it is both delivered and intact, yet simultaneously at risk of being broken. The outcome remains uncertain until you open the door to retrieve it. Until that moment, the package theoretically exists in both states: safely delivered and potentially damaged.
The Audio Industry & “AI”
The “asymptote of despair”
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“if we plot progress versus time it should be pretty much linear. We are currently right about here approaching the danger zone between works and done and those two things are not the same we have to be very careful not to get sidetracked at The Works
boundary and end up over here on the Asymptote of Despair where time goes to
infinity and we never quite finish our project”
Deleuze – Trees Vs Rhizomes
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Toxic People
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Quotes
Technology
“Recording is not what one hears, but what one must make others hear” – George martin
“No one hates audio as much as someone who loves audio”
“IF THE WORK DOESN’T REQUIRE CREATIVITY, DELEGATE IT, AUTOMATE IT, OR LEAVE IT.”
“Tesla built motors in his head and ran them in his head for months to test bearing wear”
“If engineers were capable of faking empathy they’d make great politicians.”
“Boredom is an insult to your intelligence”
“If elevators were never invented the Penthouse would be the cheapest”
“One accurate measurement is worth a thousand expert opinions” – Grace Hopper
“You don’t manage people, you manage things. You lead people.” – Grace Hopper
“A book is a machine to preserve text”
“”A scientist can spend a million dollars to discover a new idea, but an engineer can take that idea and turn it into something worth millions.”
” corporate tears, music to my ears”
“A CREATIVE PERSON IS MOTIVATED BY THE DESIRE TO ACHIEVE, NOT BY THE DESIRE TO BEAT OTHERS.”
“I’m not in any rush – I know something’s going to go wrong, so i want it to go wrong nice and slow” – AVE
Knowledge:
“The whole secret of life is to be interested in one thing profoundly and in a thousand
things well.” ― Horace Walpole
“Seek evidence that disproves your most cherished beliefs and those of others. This is the essence of true science.”
“If there’s one universal truth throughout history its that the people shutting down the press are the good guys, always”
“Interested people are interesting”
“Two months in the lab will save you two hours in the library”
“We Never Really Grow Up We Just Learn How To Act in Public” ― Bryan White
“Don’t be afraid to start over. This time you’re not starting from scratch. You’re starting from experience”
“IF YOU’RE MAKING MISTAKES, IT MEANS YOU’RE OUT THERE DOING SOMETHING.”
 Larry King: ‘I Never Learned Anything While I Was Talking’
“THE ANSWER IS ALWAYS NO UNTIL YOU ASK.”
“Every public action, which is not customary, either is wrong or, if it is right, is a dangerous precedent. It follows that nothing should ever be done for the first time ” Francis Cornford
“The problem with the english language is there too much English in it”
Attitude
“THE BEST APOLOGY IS CHANGED BEHAVIOR.”
“A stupid question better than a stupid mistake”
“Friends are family chosen by you.”
“YOU WILL NEVER BE GREAT IF YOU DON’T HAVE THE PATIENCE TO BE AVERAGE FOR A WHILE”
“THE MOST SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE ARE THOSE WHO ARE GOOD AT PLAN B.”
“NO ONE CAN MAKE YOU FEEL INFERIOR WITHOUT YOUR CONSENT.”
“You don’t have to attend every argument you’re invited to.”
- “there’s those thinking more or less less is more
but if less is more how you’re keeping score?
Means for every point you make
your level drops
kinda like its starting from the top
you can’t do that…” -Eddie Vader
“THINKING IS STRESSFUL. DOING IS EASY.”
“HARSH FEEDBACK HURTS LESS THAN HARSH OUTCOMES.”
“I WAS WRONG BUILDS MORE RESPECT THAN I TOLD YOU SO.”
“Kites rise highest against the wind – not with it.” –Â Winston Churchill:
“here’s hoping a random universe works out in your favour” – Young Sheldon Chem teacher
“I have a formula (for good management) – three words: Oraganize Deputize and Supervise.  You can always find people who are smarter than you are to do a job – if you pick the right people and you give them full authority to run it – and let them run it without any interfearence.  If they make too big of a mistake, you fire them” – Wilkie Leighton
“It’s amazing what you can accomplish when you do not care who gets the credit,” –  Harry Truman
“The early bird gets the worm, But the late worm dodges Death”
“Too many people think arguments are about finding out who’s right, rather than what’s right.”
“A MAN DOES NOT BUILD HIS REPUTATION ON WHAT HE IS “GOING” TO DO. DON’T JUDGE YOURSELF BY YOUR INTENTIONS BUT BY YOUR ACTIONS.”
“DISCIPLINE IS DOING WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE EVEN IF YOU DON’T WANT TO DO IT”
“Woodworking is making boxes and calling them something else”
“BITE LESS; CHEW MORE.”
“SUCKING AT SOMETHING IS THE FIRST STEP TOWARDS BEING KINDA GOOD AT SOMETHING.”
“YOU BECOME WHO YOU SPEND YOUR TIME WITH.”
“Great moments in human history usually have an opposition that is exactly proportional to their greatness”
“research not re-search, why do you need to search for something again?”
“And remember, no matter where you go, there you are.” Confucius
“Success is getting what you want, happiness is wanting what you get”  ― W.P. Kinsella
“EXPERIENCE IS A HARD TEACHER BECAUSE SHE GIVES THE TEST FIRST, THE LESSON AFTERWARDS.”
“The longer I live on this planet, the more I understand why roosters start their day screaming.”
People
“DON’T TRY TO UNDERSTAND WOMEN. JUST TRY TO UNDERSTAND ONE WOMAN AT A TIME.”
“Make friends with change, it’s the only thing you can count on” – Cullen Bohannon
“There he goes. One of God’s own prototypes. A high-powered mutant of some kind never even considered for mass production. Too weird to live, and too rare to die.” – Hunter S. Thompson
There’s two types of parent: The “I’m in deep shit, I hope my parents don’t find out!” and the “I’m in deep shit, better call them!”
A fish tank is the opposite of a submarine.
 “A man with one watch knows the time, a man with two is never sure.”
Teach a man to fish he’ll pay you once, sell a man a fish and he’ll pay you for a lifetime
“NORMALITY IS A PAVED ROAD. IT’S COMFORTABLE TO WALK, BUT NO FLOWERS GROW”
Lemons are not a naturally occurring fruit. They were created in SE Asia by crossing a citron with a bitter orange around 4000 years ago. They were spread around the world after found to prevent scurvy. Life didn’t give us lemons.. We made them ourselves.
“why should I buy something for $100 when I can spend 6 weeks of my life making it for $500?”
“crafting is actually two hobbies – doing it, and shopping for it.”
“If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you. This is the principal difference between a dog and a man.” –Mark Twain
“With the All Spark gone, we cannot return life to our planet. And fate has yielded its reward: a new world to call… home. We live among its people now, hiding in plain sight… but watching over them in secret… waiting… protecting. I have witnessed their capacity for courage, and though we are worlds apart, like us, there’s more to them than meets the eye. I am ,Optimus Prime and I send this message to any surviving Autobots taking refuge among the stars: We are here… we are waiting.” –
Optimus Prime
“It’s better to take care of it now than have to think about it later”
“If you want facts read a book – if you want to learn, find a teacher”
Found on a shop drawing:
“Cut to length, Beat to fit, File to suit, Paint to hide”Or Hammer to shape, File to fit, Paint to match.
The 5 phases of any Government project:
1. Enthusiasm
2. Disillusionment
3. Search for the guilty
4. Punishment of the innocent
5. Praise and accolades for the non-participants
definition of a craftsman, regardless of field is: “10 years, 10 fingers”…
“so dumb he’s thinking in 7 bit words”
Autism – ASDÂ
“they say people with autism take things literally. I disagree, those are kleptomaniacs.” Ztexcius