Tone Loco

So I've been having computer problems again. No, I'm not going to whine about it. I just recommend if you order a new computer and do work with sound never go with an 'integrated sound card'. It sucks. Long story and I'll spare you the whining.

Anyway, I've been opening up my computer fiddling with old sound cards and basically obsessing over the sound in my computer. Trying everything to fix a really subtle problem. (I hear a hiss in everything I record.) And I've been playing with every setting in the book to get rid of the hissing. Frustrated, I got up from my computer to go get a beer. I stand up and immediately hear a really low pitched tone. A constant low tone. Like a dial tone but lower. I'm like, 'What the fruck is that noise?' I immediately shut off my speakers but it kept going. I poked my head under my desk to listen for it but the tone is so low it was hard to zero in on exactly where it's coming from. It was like everywhere. I'd shift to left and it would sound like its coming from the right. Shift right. Tone went left. I was kind of behind me too. Something was making the noise though. I got paranoid that my computer was frying so I shut it down. The tone was filling this little room.

I start shutting off everything. Printer. External hard drive. I checked the radio. It was off. I checked to see if my phone was off the hook. I shut off my friggin desk lamp. My printer. I finally shut off all the powerstrips and sat here in the dark. It kept going. I couldn't find the friggin tone! I started freaking out. I walked out of my little room and thought maybe it was coming from my bedroom. Nope it wasn't. I wondered if it was maybe outside so I poked my head near the window. Nope. Definitely in this room! The tone just kept going and going. It was everywhere and steady.

So I started to get scared. I wondered if the tone was actually in my ears... or worse... in my head. All electronics were off in my office down to the powerstrips. But the tone kept going! I started to question maybe my weekend obsession with sound in my computer finally pushed me over the edge into real life mental. Maybe I snapped and it came out in a low tone?

I start ripping my whole office apart praying that I find a tone. Finally, I lift up a cardboard box and under the box face down is my little Casio keyboard that I bought off eBay. It runs on batteries. I guess when I pushed my chair back to get a beer it bumped the box and turned on the keyboard which had a key pressed in since it was face down.

I clicked the thing off with a growl. And enjoyed the silence... still worried how close I really was to thinking that I had gone all mental in my ears.

ok bye!

tOdd