When tech makes you pull your hair out!

Instruo Pocket Scion

 As a younger lad, I was into my computer gaming, the old Sega Mega drive, PlayStation and Xbox's. When I took ill, I received some back money from the DWP so bought a rather expensive desktop computer. 

The computer stood for ages as I lost interest in its complicated operating system. Then I decided to invest more time in learning how to use it and even took a computer repair and service course at my local college.

I learnt how to use all sorts of software, things like Adobe paint Shop and copying software, to build up a backup of movies and music. I even figured out how to get free TV, by using a coding machine called an "Elvis."

For years and years whilst isolated with my leg I would play a free multiplayer game called Wolfenstein Enemy Territory and I had lots of virtual online friends. I would play throughout the day and even during the night, becoming addicted, and the game being my whole life at the time.

I could help friends and family out with gadgets, phones, computers, and TV's etc with relative ease...and then as tech evolved.

Well, I became less enchanted, my eyesight started fading, and I had to start wearing glasses. Gaming was difficult as everything moved so quickly and I had no coordination with a gamepad, not a mouse and keyboard had been my weapons of choice.

Then gradually over time I began to hate technology. Yes, I have a modern phone, a Google Pixel 9 Pro, but I hate it. I don't like the fact we all become tied to such devices, it's like an addiction. 

When you are out with people they pick up their phones and start scrolling, they ignore the very people they are with, and go off in search of a fake, virtual world, where everyone appears to have a better life or some dramatic life, or personal insight to share. You are force fed fake news, adverts for shit you neither want or need and told it will be the end of the world soon.

To date I believe it's November 25th when aliens are due to attack.

And so, to why I decided to write, the begin in my whining tone.

Whilst on Facebook, yes you see the very thing I have twisted on about... I saw this small device advertised. It was right up my street as I love nature. So, I investigated further.

Instruo Pocket Scion and packet

Basic "Green" packaging, but looks cool

 

The device was called an Instruo Pocket Scion. It is what is known as. Biofeedback instrument. (I have posted about my interest earlier) Well after not much thought I decided to invest in the little device and eagerly awaited its arrival.

It only took a few days to come and following opening the "green" environmentally friendly packaging attempted to hook the little piece of tech to my Google phone, as you will be aware an Android device. I downloaded an app called n-Track studio for Android and the screen on my phone informed me I was connected. Connection was via a USB-C at my phone end to a MicroUSB at the Scion. I tried and tried to get the software and devices to work with each other over a number of days, with no success. I even tried various other apps, but nada, nowt, nine, nyet - nothing.

Looking at the back with open batteries as part of design

Made up of two Pcb board that you can see into

View from other side, inputs for various things on each side

I emailed n-track, Signal sounds and Instruo all of which got back to me within a day or two and tried again. It wasn't until a further email Instruo  informing of my frustration that a super friendly gentleman named Ben got back to me, apologising for a slightly late reply as he had been to an Expo and just returned. Ben informed me he had downloaded n-track and had a go using the Pocket Scion and the app and got it to work. He had sent me a fairly detailed break down of how he had managed to go about connecting everything up, and I read through each step then had a go last night.

Awesome I was so happy it worked my Scion was connected to the n-track studio and it read the electrical impulse from my fingers, then played through my phone, a piano, a violin and a guitar. I am now going to purchase the full app. My intentions being to create some natural sounding tracks to put on any future biking video's I may shoot.

Okay I am going to leave it there, apologies I know some people will think  "What a geek, and what a total waste of my time in reading this stupid blog." For me though it was a small victory and I am well pleased. I will be off to plug my little Scion into plants and hear them sing Lol.

Oh the first wee plant in the picture below was given to me by my boss from work. She came to visit me and very kindly brought me this cactus. When I first popped the connections onto it, I didn't think my Scion was working. I reckon the little cactus is just the strong silent type. It did eventually start "chatting away."

Playing with plants

AI grew this Lemon plant from a pip

I could hear my lemon plant

The Pocket Scion looks awesome when it light's up and starts playing sounds, like a natural orchestra.

Here is a copy of the instructions I got from Ben just in case anyone fancies one of these and struggles like I did.

 Ben - Service team - Instruo Modular

"Sorry to hear you're having a lot of frustration.
I've just installed n-track here on my Samsung s23 phone.

With the app open, I plugged the Scion into my phone via using a micro-USB cable and a USB A to USB C converter.

A message then prompted me to select either the  USB driver or the Android USB driver. I selected the n-track driver.

Then I added a new instrument, the free Steinway piano, and after pressing on the touch plates of scion the instrument began playing from the incoming pocket scion Midi.

Hitting record on the bottom left of the app also allowed me to record the audio output of the Steinway instrument being played by pocket scions midi data- albeit with an advertisement at the beginning, a limitation of the free version. It seems MIDI file only recorded is locked in the free version of the app.

Now, I don't know if there’s any differences in version of n-tracks or the n-track app between devices, but perhaps some small detail has been overlooked?

I hope with a little more experimentation you're able to get it working. If I come across any other android apps that look promising, I can also let you know." 

When you really enjoy something that you're not even very good at...

Lost Words

I have been practising, and practising, and guess what? Yes, done even more practising, trying desperately over it has to be three years now to learn to play the guitar.

  I love picking up my various guitars and either trying to make my way through a complete song, following YouTube videos at times or getting hold of tab sheets, and trying to figure out which chords to play, or which strings to play, like in a finger picking style.

When I hear a song I like, and it could be like recently and watching "The Last of Us", then hearing Joel play "Future days", well, I try and pick up my guitar and get the hang of the song. Recently, I have been attempting Crowded House's "Better Be Home Soon."

I also attempt to write stuff, admittedly it's not always great, but I find it helps me relax, and it is interesting trying to create something. Just lately, I wrote some words and couldn't help but think of how to create a melody. When my guitar tutor, a lovely fella called Tom, came for our lesson, which is only once per week for an hour, and he tried to explain the concept, well, it just went over my head.

Tom has, from the start, attempted to teach me music theory; it may as well be rocket science or nuclear physics, as most of the time it just goes straight over my head, or it will take me months, then just out of the blue strike me with an "Ahhh!" moment.

I can tell I am going through a mental phase, sort of, reaching out to try and find things that make me happy. It always happens when I lose a sense of purpose and end up being stuck in the house. I have now been off work since the 31st of August, no bike rides in that time, and apart from my regular, around the block on a morning with wor Nev, I haven't been out too much, though did enjoy a look out to see my Aunt and Uncle, and then on the way home ern and I took Neville over the field at the back of Langley View and let him run around in the huge field. It was the first time he had been allowed to run free, mind you, he had his leader attached, just in case. Not that either Ern or I could catch him if he made off. I mean 'm a professional cripple, and Ern is almost 85.

So in my downtime, I wrote this, which describes how I can't think of the melody or tune to go with another set of lyrics.

Lost Words

I've been trying to write a melody that fits a sad song
It's been taking me days and days; I've been on for so long.

My hands are so sore, and my fingers are numb. I've been on for hours and hours just strumming this old dark guitar.

 I'm just like an old forty-five that is stuck in its groove. Just spinning to the same old sound, and I'm getting nowhere

I put my guitar down and I think for a while, then I go and pick it up again, maybe I'll give it one more try.

All of these words, written on a page, are lost with nowhere to go. I'll be haunted to the end of time.

Oh, and as boredom has set in, I have now been looking at another guitar. It's weird, as I must try and convince myself that if I just get a more expensive guitar, I will miraculously play better. Maybe I need to do a Robert Johnson and meet the Devil at the crossroads and sell my soul. Hey, if you haven't seen the movie with RalpMacchio called "Crossroads,"  from way back in 1986, also featuring Steve Vai, well, it's well worth a watch.

Gibson L-00 Vintage Sunburst

                                                                                                                                           Anyhoo, a new guitar on my radar is a Gibson L-00 Special Satin Vintage Sunburst. Here, check out a few pics. It looks gorgeous

Looks awesome

  

It's a smaller-bodied guitar, which I prefer as I am trying to play sitting on the couch with my prosthetic leg; the larger guitars tend to slip off, and I can't get comfortable. Most people, if they are right-handed, place a guitar on their right thigh. I have to sit with it over to the left, which again makes a big guitar difficult to handle.

No doubt I will post something if I decide to invest. Lol, I am of course attempting to avoid temptation...Now, where are those crossroads again?

A book idea - Fiction is a lot harder to write than non-fiction

Just a few ideas at the moment

I'm thinking I would like to write a fictional book. The thing is, to do so, I have discovered you need more of a creative side. You see, writing non-fiction, although not entirely easy, at least that shit has happened to you, so you have an idea of your memories and recollections. Then it's just a cassette of how you would like to present your book. Dark, humorous, serious, embarrassing, inspirational, suspenseful, historical, brutal, violent, and I could go on and on. I suppose everything that gets put in is based on a real-life experience, and all you have to do is kind of narrate your story.

My self-published book Lost2bFound, you can find it at Amazon

I got a lovely review of Lost2bFound, for example from someone on Librarything, which reads,

"When I started this book, I was struck right away by the wandering narration. I immediately jumped to the conclusion that it was going to be a struggle to get through. What I found instead was that it was a pleasant as sitting down for a chat with someone you haven't met before and sharing your stories. Rather than being frustrating or confusing, it was quite enjoyable. This is probably going to be one of the very rare books that I read again."    

I would agree as a first time, and I am not sure I can really call myself an "author" because I found it difficult trying to get what I wanted to say down in an organised fashion. I  mean, I am the same in every day-to-day life, all over the place, jumping from tangent to tangent, never mind trying to make sense of how to format a book.

The previous review, I guess, is a testament to that; however, the reader, instead of giving up on my book, carried on and appeared to enjoy it. I do have to say it is written very much as if I were sharing a story with someone just across the way or on one of my chance meetings whilst I am out on my bike.

And so to my latest attempt and thoughts. Well, I am not going to give too much away, just in case it is a fail, and I don't get round to finishing it, or get writer's block, as you see, I don't have the full story in my head yet. I tend to think as I write, and sometimes things will come to me, so I jot them down for use later on. Bedtime,  find my mind never, ever turns off, so things can sometimes just pop into my head, and I end up having to get up, turn my bedroom light on and start trying to recall "What was that thought again?"

So the premise of my story, I suppose, will have been done many times over in different ways. Basically, it is about a guy who takes ill (Yes, I have my main character's name), and he ends up being somewhat tricked into selling his soul to the devil. 

I'm thinking somewhere in my story, but haven't yet decided, there may be either an English Bull Terrier or a Border Terrier, a bit like Wor Nev. I have names picked for each of the dogs.

The theme of the book is a mix of dark forbidding, supernatural evil, humour, resilience, suspense and redemption.

I have had to do a lot more research, even at the beginning of writing, to try and tie things in so that they come across as realistic, thinking that if I get it wrong, some eagle-eyed reader will pounce on the fact.

An area I am struggling with is not wanting my main character to become like some superhuman or a serial killer in doing the devil's work. So I am trying to think of a way he can regain his soul, or at least go out fighting.

Oh, and within the story is an old dark guitar, a pocket watch and like I say, a dog of which breed I will decide, depending on which way I go. And that is about all I have at the moment. Well, apart from I did have another plot twist, but I ma not convinced I like it. Apologies for all the mystery. The twist I am talking about may make the story humorous, you see, and take it off in a completely different direction, even though I think if I were creative enough, it would work, and as far as I am aware, it hasn't been really done before.

Title? "Mmmmm," still thinking on that one.

A little song I wrote called Nettles and Thorns.

 

Nettles and Thorns

I've been strumming away on my guitar, and wrote this short song based on my experiences of riding my bike locally around Stanley and getting nettled and stuck with thorns... Well when I am riding.

Just awaiting to go for antibody treatment to try and help with this auto immune thing, and Ulcerative Colitis.

Anyhoo the song is called "Nettles and Thorns". I kind of composed it with like a Southern lick. I'm still not really getting anywhere on my guitar, but hey at least I haven't quit.

Hope "ya'all like it"...see what I did there put me Southern US accent on Lol

 Nettles and thorns by Glenn Johnstone

 

Nettles and Thorns, nettles and thorns

 

Feel the sting as the poisons injected in

 

Silica tipped hairs injecting their chemicals 

Nettles and thorn, nettles and thorns

Whiny bush your no friend, you have assaulted me 

Feeling my skin pierced and scratched now Im bleeding

Nettles and thorns, nettles and thorns

Now I'm itching burning bleeding all upon all upon this nightmare trail.

Kind of goes to a beat which is hard to describe

Do, doo, do , do - Do, do,do, do then a bit of Do, doo, doo, do, do 

You had to be there ha, ha LOL 

For geeks and talented music creators - I fit the geek category...

Being off work and on the sick I have had plenty of time to peruse the internet and Facebook. Well when scrolling through the usual ads that hold not one bit of interest to me, I actually came across this video, and upon watching it thought "Wow, that is pretty neat".

Instruo Specialist Synthesisers Pocket Scion

When I am fit and well, as most of you who visit my blog or know me will know, I love the great outdoors. That sense of just being out in all weathers, feeling the heat of the sun, or the fresh wind. The rain as it cleanses your skin, well, until I ride through a geet big muddy puddle, and yes, I have even been known to Fat bike in the snow.  

I love the sound of autumn leaves, as I ride through them, with their crisp, dry sound, and I particularly enjoy the crunch of the frozen ice as it forms over puddles. I love being away from the roads and off on some trail with no one else around, listening to the flow of a stream, and just standing at the side of my bike or when out for a walk listening to the sound of the trees, the birds, bees or any other inhabitants of the woods. It's lovely to just get away in your headspace and not have to think too much about anything else but the now.

Rear of the Pocket Scion

Anyhoo, I was telling you about this video, wasn't I, before I started getting all doe-eyed.

The video in question featured this bit of tech, which is called a Pocket Scion. It is by a company named Instruo Specialist Synthesisers. The Pocket Scion is what is known as a portable biofeedback device. 

Basically, in layman's terms, you can attach the provided electrodes of the small device to a plant, use the small pad on the front of the device like your skin and with your fingers, then the Scion picks up this data, and with an external speaker, you can get to hear the most beautiful sounds being created. The samples I  have heard from various videos I have watched are like amazing natural orchestras. It kind of made me think immediately of being out in a secluded area, and it was as if all the plants were singing and speaking, and I have to say...Yes am a bit of a geek; however, the sounds produced brought me great joy and instantly relaxed me.

Pocket Scion looking at right side

I am now thinking of investing in one of the Portable Scions, which are £129.00. I would love to take it out on a biking adventure, shoot a video of me cycling and then use the Scion to create a fitting musical accompaniment.    

Pocket Scion lookng fron the left side

Upon contacting Instruo Specialist Synthesisers, I believe it should be possible to use my Android phone, a Google Pixel 9 Pro, download an app like n-Track, then connect the Portable Scion via a power and data cable, then record the data to bring home and place on my computer to compose some music.

With thanks to Instruo for permission to use images from their site.