Aleks Ozolins

Table of Contents

About Me

headshot.jpg

You've reached the website of Aleks Ozolins. I'm a NJ/NYC based software engineer and professional musician. Please check back often for content updates.

Note: This site is best viewed on a computer, not a mobile phone!

Personal

Contact

  • Email: aleks@ozolins.xyz
  • Download my public GPG key here or curl -sL https://ozolins.xyz/aleks_ozolins_public_gpg_key.txt | gpg --import to download and import.

Site Info

Copyright © 2021-2024 Aleks Ozolins

This site is self-hosted on an old PC running Arch Linux BTW. The source code for ozolins.xyz can be found on GitHub. This site was built using Org Mode. The theme used here is darksun by alphapapa.

Music

I play the French horn professionally and am a member of The American Federation of Musicians - Local 802

I also occasionally do audio recording and engineering work and also play the piano/keyboard.

Email me for my performance résumé.

Discography

Below are commercial recordings I've had a hand in, either as a performer, or as part of the production process.

Year Album Role
2021 Spellling - The Turning Wheel engineer/editor/producer for brass tracks
2021 Calliope Brass - (Stay At) Home For The Holidays producer/recording engineer
2019 Louis Karchin: Jane Eyre - Libretto by Diane Osen - Orchestra of the League of Composers horns: Sarah Cyrus, Aleks Ozolins
2017 Song of Solomon: Original Concept Recording horns: Aleks Ozolins, Eric Davis
2015 Dr. Zhivago: Original Broadway Cast Recording horn
2012 Tempesta di Mare - Fasch: Orchestral Works, Vol. 3 horns: Todd Williams, Aleks Ozolins
2010 Philharmonic Orchestra of The Americas - Mi Alma Mexicana horn
2010 Travieso Carmesi horn
2009 Stephanie White - This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things keyboards, horn

Media

Images

Audio

Video

Professional Services

UPDATE 2022-07-10: For the moment, as I shift my focus back towards software engineering and performing music, I'm not taking on any new recording projects. This may change in the future so please don't hesitate to ask. I'm always willing to entertain special projects or help colleagues find solutions.

Audio Editing / Production

I've produced and edited a number of recordings and work in Avid Pro Tools, although since that software is now on a subscription model, I'm looking for a good free alternate. Feel free to check out my discography for more info.

Analog to Digital Transfers

I am equipped to transfer a variety of audio/video media to digital format including:

  • Cassette Tapes
  • 7.5 and 13 Inch Reels (Reel to Reel)
  • Vinyl (any size)
  • VHS including 8mm Super8, Hi8, and Digital8
  • Photographs
  • 35mm Slides

Media can be transferred to a variety of lossless and lossy digital formats and is provided to the customer via removeable media, web transfer, or shared via cloud services. All media is backed up both on and off site and can be redistributed to the customer in perpetuity.

Only high quality transports and converters are used for transfers to ensure the preservation of the media. Physicaly damaged media can often be repaired and media that has lost audio quality over the years can be restored with a variety of methods including:

  • Noise Removal
  • Pitch Correction
  • Dynamic Compression and Correction

Pricing is in-line with industry standards and is settled on a per-project basis. email me to discuss your needs.

Gear

Horns

Here is a list of horns I own and work with. In the future, I look forward to providing some more detailed info on each here.

  • Engelbert Schmid Triple Horn in F/B/Eb (Mindelzell)
  • Alexander 103 (2018)
  • Alexander single F horn (date unknown – likely pre WW2)
  • H Series Conn 8D (1968 – mint condition and unmodified)
  • 1950s Nickel Kruspe (as new - unmodified except main tuning slide lengthened)

Mouthpieces

I have a fairly large collection of French Horn mouthpieces and colleagues often ask to borrow some for trial. Don't hesitate to reach out if you'd like to try a few.

Coming soon: A table of mouthpieces!

Recording/Studio

Mics/interfaces/software/etc.

Library

Learning (Software Engineering)

I maintain these notes online to act as personal wikis, but you may find the information here useful as well. Notes here are taken in org-mode format and published via ox-publish using the read-the-org theme.

Course Comment
NOTES – The Complete JavaScript Course 2024  
NOTES – JavaScript: From First Steps To Professional  
NOTES – Real Python  
https://boot.dev I'm currently focusing my learning on this platform

Reading

Ever wonder what I'm reading? Well, as of December 2023, I've started keeping track. When I start a new book, I'll list it below. For transparency, I don't always finish every book I start, nor do I like all of the books I read. I also don't endorse any of the content within them. Don't hesitate to send me an email if you'd like to discuss any books here.

Work Status
Attia, P. (2023). Outlive: The science & art of longevity. Harmony Books. Completed 2023-12
Easter, M. (2021). The comfort crisis: Embrace discomfort to reclaim your wild, happy, healthy self. Rodale Books. Completed 2023-12
Willink, J. (2017). Discipline equals freedom: Field manual. Macmillan. Completed 2024-01
Storr, W. (2021). The status game: On social position and how we use it. William Collins. DNF
Haidt, J. (2024). The anxious generation: How the great rewiring of childhood is causing an epidemic of mental illness. Penguin Press. DNF (will re-start)
Eyal, N. (2019). Indistractible: How to control your attention and choose your life. BenBella Books. Reading
Hari, J. (2022). Stolen focus: Why you can't pay attention – and how to think deeply again. Random House. Completed 2024-08
Hughes, C. (2024). The end of race politics: Arguments for a colorblind America. Penguin Random House. Completed 2024-09
Oster, E. (2021). The family firm: A data-driven guide to better decision making in the early school years. Penguin Press. NEXT
Shrier, A. (2024). Bad therapy: Why the kids aren't growing up. Penguin Random House. NEXT
Cain, S. (2012). Quiet: The power of introverts in a world that can't stop talking. Crown Publishing Group. NEXT

Writing

Music

Tech

Engineering Portfolio

I'm a developing back-end engineer. Below, you can find links to the software projects I've built and maintain.

mouthpiecer-cli

Title mouthpiecer-cli
Description TUI interface for French Horn Mouthpiece Management
Languages Python
GitHub Link

Detail: Written in Python, mouthpiecer-cli (which technically should be called mouthpiecer-tui) is a terminal user interface for keeping track of your French horn mouthpiece collection. It leverages the power of Knack, a platform for building custom online apps, as a database back end. Interacting with Knack via its REST API, mouthpiecer-cli uses pandas to display database information in the terminal, providing a simple interface for users to manage their mouthpiece collection.

mouthpiecer-cli screenshot

reprov

Title reprov
Description Aleks' Reprovisioning Script for Desktop
Languages Bash
GitHub Link

Note: I'll be rewriting this in Python soon and expanding its functionality!

Detail: Written in Bash, Aleks' Reprovisioning Script for Desktop is designed for personal use only, and is aimed at automatically reprovisioning a new install of Arch Linux into a fully usable system with minimal intervention.

The script serves several functions:

  • Error Logging: Logs errors for easy troubleshooting and debugging.
  • Dotfiles Management: Automatically clones and stows (using GNU Stow) both public and personal dotfiles.
  • Package Installation: Installs necessary packages from both the official Arch repositories and the AUR (using paru).
  • Password Store Setup: Sets up the password store using pass and configures my GPG key.
  • Machine-Specific Configurations: Applies machine-specific configurations to tailor the system to the specific hardware and personal preferences.
  • Printing Setup: Sets up printing capabilities using CUPS.
  • Window Manager Configuration: Sets up a minimal yet fully functional tiling window manager environment using my custom build of DWM.
  • Email Synchronization: Synchronizes email accounts using mbsync and mu.
mouthpiecer-cli screenshot

aodotcom

Title aodotcom
Description Aleks Ozolins' personal website at ozolins.xyz
Languages Org,Elisp,Shell,HTML/CSS
GitHub Link

Detail: The source for this website. The content itself is written in org-mode. An Elisp script leverages ox-publish to publish the content to HTML using a CSS template. This is wrapped in a simple build/deployment/backup script written in plain shell.

dotfiles

Title dotfiles
Description My personal configuration files
Languages Various
GitHub Link
Other Emacs Config (org, published using org-babel

Detail: My personal configurations for a range of software with a focus on FOSS (Free and Open Source Sofware) for GNU/Linux.

Other

Links

Family/Friends

Software

Updates

Here are the list of upcoming updates to this site:

TODO Add revert script to undo most recent deployment

TODO Upload some media

TODO Switch to a more mobile-friendly theme

DONE Include some links to my software projects

CLOSED: [2024-08-25 Sun 14:54]

DONE Change build script to eliminate htdocs dir

CLOSED: [2024-01-09 Tue 21:06]

DONE Add publish script to copy to server automatically

CLOSED: [2024-01-09 Tue 21:06]

Emacs 29.4 (Org mode 9.7.6)