Michael Earls - cerkit.com

Michael Earls

Michael is a creative at heart. He strives to inject imagination into everything he does. Most of his work is the result of combining technology with art to produce many kinds of work.

Entering the "Metaverse"

Entering the "Metaverse"

When you open this post in your web browser, you should see a WebXr scene that I generated. I used a panorama photograph that my drone took over a semi-urban neighborhood in Alabama, USA.

New acquisition - MPC One

New acquisition - MPC One

In my 40+ years of making music with electronic devices, I find the MPC to be the best workflow, so far. The MPC introduced me to a quick way to lay down my ideas and get the sound I'm looking for without being distracted by email, instant messages, and notifications on my computer.

Picture of a Raspberry Pi 400 Single-board computer in the window with the forest in the background.

Electronics Featured

Four day weekend without the Internet

It was just like I remember it back in the days before the Internet. If you wanted to make the computer do something, you just had to figure it out. You got to your destination by trying new things and repeating with small permutations over and over until you get the desired result.

The main reason I decided not to get a Prusa Mini

The main reason I decided not to get a Prusa Mini

So when I looked over at it taking up some of my table space, I considered what I could do to replace it with something smaller. I immediately thought of the Prusa Mini.

Why I got rid of most of my synth hardware

Why I got rid of most of my synth hardware

I recently made some silly purchases. I am an amateur musician. I have a rudimentary home studio consisting of a few MIDI controllers, a Native Instruments Maschine Mk2, and a Korg Wavestate. I also use computers to write my music. I kept seeing videos ("not sponsored" (but provided free/loaned

picture of the SC131 Pocket Computer

Getting Started with Retro Computers - Writing Code for the SC131

About a year ago, I built a SC131 Pocket Sized Computer [https://www.tindie.com/products/tindiescx/sc131-pocket-sized-z180-romwbw-cpm-computer-kit/] designed and developed by Stephen C Cousins on Tindie. I soldered the kit and got it up and running, but left it alone for a long time. I bought it because I'm

Creating Music and Animation in VR

Creating Music and Animation in VR

I've spent the past few weeks learning how to create animation and music using only my Virtual Reality headset. I've been using Quill [https://quill.art/] and Virtuoso [https://vrmusic.site] (paired with my DAW) extensively. My first animation was the result of me trying to keep up with Goro

Play your Favorite Daw from Within Virtual Reality

Play your Favorite Daw from Within Virtual Reality

In this post, I briefly discuss interfacing a VR headset with the Reason Studios Digital Audio Workstation (DAW).

My first taste of Virtual Reality

I recently made a childhood dream come true and bought myself a Virtual Reality headset. I have been following the technology since the very beginning.

Sculpting in Virtual Reality

Sculpting in Virtual Reality

I have spent the last few days holed up in a virtual reality drawing and animation studio called Quill. I've been learning the environment and tools and I have been very impressed. I've been able to create some fun and creative artwork already in only a few days' worth of practice.

My Obsession with Feedback Continues

Electronics Featured

My Obsession with Feedback Continues

I have been working diligently at building my own synthesizer using an FPGA. I will be using a breadboard-mounted Cmod A7: Artix-7 FPGA Module.

Managing Infinite Concepts with Finite Constraints

Musings Featured

Managing Infinite Concepts with Finite Constraints

There are infinite concepts, but when one applies finite constraints to those concepts, one can accomplish miracles. This is the foundation of life as I perceive it. The constraints of words challenge us to think about the world a specific way in order to communicate what we are thinking and

New Music Experiment - Now with Video

New Music Experiment - Now with Video

I began exploring the use of a video synthesizer. I found out about Cathodemer from an online source. I have been using it to create visuals for some of my music and posting it on YouTube. For my recordings using this tool, I used the output of the Soma laboratory's

Converting a Haiku into Music using a Context Free Grammar

Converting a Haiku into Music using a Context Free Grammar

Anatomy of a Song: Using Scripture as a Song Grammar

Paid-members only

Anatomy of a Song: Using Scripture as a Song Grammar

"Power wants to be free" - Intentional Software Development and Management

"Power wants to be free" - Intentional Software Development and Management

Integrating Microsoft Power Automate with LinkedIn

Integrating Microsoft Power Automate with LinkedIn

I am testing integration between Microsoft Power Automate [https://flow.microsoft.com/]and LinkedIn. My future posts should appear in LinkedIn after they are published.

New Twitter Integration

New Twitter Integration

I am testing a new Twitter integration with Microsoft Power Automate [https://flow.microsoft.com/] for new posts. All of my future posts should also show up on Twitter.

My First Architecture Diagram

My First Architecture Diagram

Back around 1992-1993, I worked at a company that created Form Filling software in the Real Estate space. I was phone tech support for one of their software packages. It was my first introduction to how a technical company worked. While working there, I had grand visions for how I

Not Giving Up...

Not Giving Up...

I recently sold my mac, so I am not longer maintaining my Intentional Music program in Swift. However, I am a .NET developer, so using C# to write a new Intentional Music program was a no-brainer. I started the program on my PC over the weekend and got it caught

Not at all what I Intended

Not at all what I Intended

Adding Scales to Intentional Music

Paid-members only

Adding Scales to Intentional Music

Major Improvements to Intentional Music Program

Paid-members only

Major Improvements to Intentional Music Program

New Artwork for my Music

Paid-members only

New Artwork for my Music

Some Experimental Graphics

Some Experimental Graphics