The build is successful!

I finally finished* my TagTuner music jukebox and hooked it up to some speakers. It uses the ESPHome-based Home Assistant Voice PE as its brains and audio player, and when it scans NFC tags, it fetches corresponding media from my Music Assistant server.

I still have a couple bugs to work out, but this is definitely close enough to feel "ready".

I'm so happy to have a tool that will let us both (a) leverage my large home media server and (b) enjoy some of the benefits of physical media.

#physicalmedia #ESP32 #homeassistant #musicassistant #diy

The build is successful!

I finally finished* my TagTuner music jukebox and hooked it up to some speakers. It uses the ESPHome-based Home Assistant Voice PE as its brains and audio player, and when it scans NFC tags, it fetches corresponding media from my Music Assistant server.

I still have a couple bugs to work out, but this is definitely close enough to feel "ready".

I'm so happy to have a tool that will let us both (a) leverage my large home media server and (b) enjoy some of the benefits of physical media.

#physicalmedia #ESP32 #homeassistant #musicassistant #diy

This article warms the cockles of my heart.

https://www.404media.co/why-i-quit-streaming-and-got-back-into-cassettes

"There are lots of advantages to the cassette lifestyle. Unlike vinyl records, tapes are compact and super-portable, and unlike streaming, you never have to worry about a giant company suddenly taking them away from you. They can be easily duplicated, shared, and made into mixtapes using equipment you find in a junk shop. When I was a kid, the first music I ever owned were tapes I recorded from MTV with a Kids’ Fisher Price tape recorder. I had no money, so I would listen to those tapes for hours, relishing every word Kim Gordon exhaled on my bootlegged copy of Sonic Youth’s “Bull in the Heather.” Just like back then, my rediscovery of cassettes has led me to start listening more intentionally and deeply, devoting more and more time to each record without the compulsion to hit “skip.” Most of the cassettes I bought in Tokyo had music I probably never would have found or spent time with otherwise."

#enshittification #physicalmedia

This article warms the cockles of my heart.

https://www.404media.co/why-i-quit-streaming-and-got-back-into-cassettes

"There are lots of advantages to the cassette lifestyle. Unlike vinyl records, tapes are compact and super-portable, and unlike streaming, you never have to worry about a giant company suddenly taking them away from you. They can be easily duplicated, shared, and made into mixtapes using equipment you find in a junk shop. When I was a kid, the first music I ever owned were tapes I recorded from MTV with a Kids’ Fisher Price tape recorder. I had no money, so I would listen to those tapes for hours, relishing every word Kim Gordon exhaled on my bootlegged copy of Sonic Youth’s “Bull in the Heather.” Just like back then, my rediscovery of cassettes has led me to start listening more intentionally and deeply, devoting more and more time to each record without the compulsion to hit “skip.” Most of the cassettes I bought in Tokyo had music I probably never would have found or spent time with otherwise."

#enshittification #physicalmedia

New post: A look at media of interest coming out in December 2025

https://www.diversetechgeek.com/december-2025-media-picks-news/

#media #physicalmedia #movies

New post: A look at media of interest coming out in December 2025

https://www.diversetechgeek.com/december-2025-media-picks-news/

#media #physicalmedia #movies

Ahem...*taps mic*

This here be my beige.party #Introduction

I'm a Gen X (1967) American who works in security for a living. I feel fortunate to have grown up through the 70s, 80s, and the 90s. I kinda look at that as the Yahtzee! of pop culture. What a time to be a nerd!

Music defines me. I don't have just a soundtrack to my life, I have a boxed set, including rare demos and unreleased live recordings. Wanna get to know me? Hang around for my music posts.
A song that's...me?

https://youtu.be/FJt4y4fH938

I am ADHD, and have Dysthymia to boot. I live an unmedicated life, and am kind of a mess as a result. I'm not anti-medication, it's just that I can't seem to stay on the wagon. If you follow me, and I don't immediately follow you back, don't take it personal. I'm trying to deal with over stimulation.

Politically...jeebus. To make it easy, I'm a Democratic Socialist. Honestly, I hate trying to define myself.
What I am (consider the following "AF"): Pro-choice, Pro trans rights, as well as a firm believer that women can do whatever the blue hell they want. I'm pro-sexwork, and pro pineapple on pizza (DO NOT COME AT ME ON THAT ONE).

I DO NOT. LIKE. NAZIS.
If you are a nazi, I do not like you. My great uncle put bushels of you in the ground in WW II. Follow Hitler's example and suck on the end of a loaded Luger.

I'm religious, and by that, I shall refer to a quote attributed to Gandhi: "I consider him religious who recognizes the suffering of others." I am a bit all over the place, and do not blindly follow any specific dogma. I have my thing. It's not everybody's thing, but that's okay. Everybody else has their thing. It may not necessarily be my thing, but that's okay. Whatever your thing is, may it bring you comfort and peace of mind. Just don't be a wanker.

I am very pro Fediverse, and pro FOSS. Technology can be very cool and wondrous, if we choose to make it that way. I'm a Linux user, and have shed all but two mainstream social media platforms. I am attempting to de-google my life. I am VERY anti-AI.

Be kind. Always.

Lord, but I did ramble a one. That's ADHD for ya, folks: LOADS of bonus content!

And now, hashtags...

#Introductions #Mastodon #adhd #MentalHealth #Dysthymia #Music #FreePalestine #FuckCapitalism #FOSS #Android #GrapheneOS #FuckAI #AnarchoCooperativism #Kropotkin #KurtVonnegut #WilliamGibson #EmmaGoldman #TTRPG #StarTrek #GraphicNovels #Comics #Languages #History #Ireland #IrishHeritage #CelticLanguages #DnD2e #GURPS #Skyrim #ElderScrolls #ElderScrollsOnline #Battletech #MechWarriorOnline #CozyGaming #WilliamGibson #Linux #LinuxMint #PopOS #Ubuntu #PCGaming #Tolkien #LOTR #Film #Runequest #Talislanta #HeroSystem #ChampionsRPG #Writing #France #French #Spirituality #Religion #Agnosticism #Books #PhysicalMedia #SciFi #Fantasy

In process of unpicking myself from various digital services/subscriptions, I'm replacing the #SmartSpeaker setup in my office with a pleasantly minimalist stereo which offers;

💿 CD Player (support #PhysicalMedia !).
📻 #InternetRadio connectivity (for #RadioParadise).
🔌 Wired & Wireless expansion.

…

and has a speaker cover made of recycled 🧶 wool! 🙂

New post: A look at August 2025 media of interest, including "The Huckleberry Hound Show" finally arriving on Blu-ray and a new "Black Panther" animated spin-off, "Eyes of Wakanda."

https://www.diversetechgeek.com/august-2025-media-picks-news/

#media #animation #physicalmedia#BlackPanther

New post: A look at August 2025 media of interest, including "The Huckleberry Hound Show" finally arriving on Blu-ray and a new "Black Panther" animated spin-off, "Eyes of Wakanda."

https://www.diversetechgeek.com/august-2025-media-picks-news/

#media #animation #physicalmedia#BlackPanther