Merlin's demise

I've had a rather frustrating few days for Merlin my treasured media player looks like he has committed the electronic equivalent of a infant death. I had only held him in my hands for a few short days before the screen went blank and then there was nothing. Im afraid it's everyready heart stopped beating. I may be able to salvage the 120G hard drive and use it as an external (as far as I can see it is just a small laptop hard drive). Overall though I'm quite disappointed as it was a gift from my folks and also as it seemed like a great unit if it had continued to function. Unfortunately I didn't get to know it long enough to give it a proper Eulogy.

My second dealing with material possessions also happened this morning. I do get attached to my toys, instruments, equipment etc. I'm not one that looks after my gear really well I'm afraid. Luckily I have a certificate in electronics and communication and have a go at fixing things, but this mornings proceedings felt like the end of an era.

We were having a Junk collection in a few hours, so I had to make a rash decision, I was ready to sell my old Atari ST computer (2 of them) and assorted peripherals including genuine Atari color monitor, though upon setting the gear up and testing it, the monitor was stuffed, and each of the computers had particular faults ( been in storage for around 10 years ). These were my first real music computers, initially I had a trs80 but sound capabilities were a squeaky old buzzer, a stranger to the meaning of hi-fi.

The Atari's had MIDI ports (the Amiga 500 probably it's nearest rival didn't) and they made some great sounds, so I bought one, as I was working in the service department of a retailer who sold them, I was later able to purchase a second unit for a very low price. These computers were my training wheels into computer music, I struggled for years with Stienberg12 sequencing software.

The PC of course has improved on the Atari's performance by leaps and bounds, but they were dear to my heart. I solemnly carried them out to the front yard and placed them tenderly upon the pile of old timber furniture, a sink and numerous boxes of junk. A few McDonalds happy meal toys had spilled over and were playing merrily on the grass.

I myself was a little saddened I was, as I started to walk away but eventually turned around and took one last look at my musical beginnings and said a soft goodbye.

I am still working on my new song, it still need vocals, and I'm struggling with it, so be patient it will arrive soon.

Cheers Ecca