Hey everybody — it’s been a minute.
I’ve been slammed with work and deep in prep for the upcoming U2 special next week, but I realized I haven’t actually talked to anyone on the Rolling with Scissors blog in a while. So, here we are.
There’s been a lot going on. For those who don’t know, life’s been in reset mode. My last relationship ended recently, and for the time being, I’ve relocated to my parents’ place. Yep — currently camping out on their couch at 47. Not exactly glamorous, but sometimes you just have to do what needs to be done. Julie (the dog) and I are doing alright.
But here’s the weird part: I’ve turned my TV on maybe twice since moving. That doesn’t mean I’m watching it — I haven’t. At all. And that’s strange, because when I was in the relationship, I watched tons of TV with my partner. It was a nightly ritual.
So you might be wondering… what have I been doing instead?
Well, yes — working on the usual web projects, putting together new episodes, and still writing Signal Drift (a new chapter should be out tomorrow morning). But there’s something else.
Let’s just say this: iTunes sucks. Most commercial media players suck. And don’t even get me started on Spotify — it’s killed the soul of music by making people forget full albums exist.
I use a tool called Swinson to run my radio show. It works — but it’s definitely not built for radio. So the other night, while eating dinner, an idea popped into my head: How would I build my own music player — one made for radio — if I knew anything about software development?
Which I don’t. Or didn’t.
But here’s the thing: I’ve had this idea floating around for nearly ten years. And now, with the help of a very capable digital assistant (because typing is tough for me), I decided to give it a shot. I literally put my sandwich down, rolled into the other room, and started building.
That was Friday.
By Saturday morning, I had a working prototype.
That’s right — the Prince of Darkness wrote a piece of software. And it actually works.
I’ve been tweaking and improving it ever since. Just yesterday, I uploaded the whole thing to GitHub. It’s not fancy yet. It’s not pretty. But it’s functional, it’s focused, and it was designed with radio and set-building in mind. And the cool part? It’s totally free and usable by normal people too.
There are still things to fix — and I’m working on them as fast as I learn how. The version that’s up now will continue to improve — that will always be the free version. But I’ve also got some bigger ideas floating around in my head — ideas that could eventually turn this into a more serious, full-blown piece of software. Something that could be a real product, built specifically for broadcast, DJ workflows, or creative sets. We’re not there yet — but the spark is lit.
And last night, for the first time, I consciously realized: I haven’t been watching TV. I was supposed to finish The Handmaid’s Tale. I never finished The Pit. There are a dozen other series I was into.
For some reason? I just don’t give a shit anymore.