Thursday, September 14, 2023

Bats...bats....these experiences

This morning, while taking my son to school, I got a call from my friend Chad Benefeld, who also is the top notch radio personality at WBKR. He wanted to know about my experiences with bats....well, of course.

I certainly have to add that one of the first experiences of a bat in my house involved my mother. I believe we were out of town and my mother and children had quite a time! However, that story has not been documented. It resides only as folklore.

Here is the interview along with much of the evidence!










Bat hanging from the top wall 





Tuesday, July 18, 2023

Introduction to my Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/chadgesser.org

 I wanted to take a minute to say hello to new page followers (welcome and thank you!) and to give you an idea of what this is all about.

I've thought about creating this specific page for several years, and obviously moved forward with that idea. Let me first say that the new Facebook page is not about hustling or making money. I've maintained a web presence since the early 2000s and simply have evolved with my inspirations, ideas, and projects. I'm looking for this page to be an extension of my website www.chadgesser.org . You can get a lot of info about me there if you'd like to know more about me and my work (career, hobbies, interests).

Like most people I use the internet and social media for consumption, and also for displaying "things" I produce. My first foray into the production of content was generally through the use of this blog service, Blogger. I've maintained a personal blog off and on since the early 2000s. That evolved into several blogs, including some for classes I teach. I ventured into web design and later Facebook and Twitter. I was a heavy Twitter user for a few years but that use has very much waned. Early on I was optimistic about the type of networking that Facebook could afford. This is something I speak about a lot in my Sociology courses. I became well versed in the use of these networking apps and cloud computing, and have provided many trainings, conference presentations, and provided web design for several organizations and projects. Web presence and identity have been on my mind for well over the past 15 years. I'm very interested in the use of these services for information dissemination, for personal identity management, for networking, and the impacts of these behaviors and services on society.

The most important "job" I have though is as a father. My wife and I have four children, and I have been fortunate to have an occupation and workplace that supports the attention and involvement I choose to have with my children and family. I'm also very mindful of how I spend my time, and have found the use of the web and social networking and media applications to be a sort of medium of communication in an otherwise heavily scheduled personal life. As our children continue to grow, it then provides more time for me to engage in personal endeavors. I made the conscious decision many years ago to maintain my personal digital narrative. I do that through my website (and its links to YouTube, Prof G Entertainment Services, my photography work, and other web spaces), through off and on use of this blog, and through social networking and media applications.

I believe that web tools serve particular interests and projects better than others, and at different times. Frankly its evolving, and has been since web 2.0, which introduced the consumer as the producer in the web. However, the optimism of networking I found with Facebook didn't quite materialize in the manner in which I hoped. In a round about way that is what has culminated in the launch of this new Facebook page. 

One intention of my participation with the web has been to reach people with content and information. Most people that do produce content, whether it be a Facebook post or a ground breaking investigative journalism article, do so to be heard. A major reason of creating the new Facebook page is that a page affords me more opportunity to reach people. There simply are limits to that with only a personal Facebook account. 

I previously mentioned that the new page is not for hustle or for making money, but I'm not ruling out those opportunities. This comes from experience with my side business at Prof G Entertainment Services. That thought, that project, that hobby materialized into something I never planned, expected, or imagined. I'm always open to ideas and opportunities. I look forward to sharing those with you.

So, I do welcome you and I'm happy you came along for the ride. Facebook still provides opportunities to reach people, to share your ideas and work, to connect and engage, and to network. I look forward to doing more of that with you.

Sincerely,

Chad Gesser

Saturday, April 8, 2023

A step into spatial audio

 How I got here

First off, I don't get here without my decision to dive into sound and music production with computers and related technology in mid 2010. Around that time I became interested in modern, electronic music. While walking for exercise and wearing over the ear headphones, I discovered a very unique sonic experience I had not heard before. I remember being struck by my perception of the music in my mind.

I then began to consider music produced historically with these considerations, and I realized that the Beatles were one of the first bands to use stereo recording techniques. I also discovered that if I listened to Rush with headphones, that I could flip them and imagine sitting on the drummer's throne and having a better understanding of how Neil Peart played his set. 

Like most studio produced music, that music was produced from the vantage point of the engineer, not of the musicians. I was particularly interested in this because I taught myself how to play drums in my late teens but always noticed that when listening to most music produced from the 1970s-1990s, the instruments seemed to be "flip flopped" in the sound field.

A very important part of my early sound/music/DJ process and my modern sound/music production is the use of Ableton Live. Fast forward now to 2023 and I have discovered the recent capabilities with Envelope for Live, ambisonics, and the Surround Panner effects. These features allow me to better create more complex and immersive soundscapes.

Very recently too I also discovered the work of Prof. Michael Wagner, who is an expert in ambisonics. Given the equipment needs, the creation of a true ambisonics environment is currently out of my realm of possibility. Reviewing and researching similar sonic phenomena, I soon realized that I could though create a similar environment with my existing sound equipment. I conducted a brief test of a configuration, and once my son told me it "feels like the sound is passing through me," well I decided it was worth an effort to scale this beyond the headphone and vehicle experience as a potential project in the community.

I decided to go public with the possibilities of this project. I was surprised by the positive feedback I received, and I was encouraged to continue the effort. And as a result, I was approached by the Owensboro Museum of Science and History about an immersive experience, including an installation for Earth Day.