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2013/09/29 Beyond Wonderland at Shoreline
π 2013-09-29 01:01 in Clubbing, Festivals
I went there the day before after work to see what it was going to look like before the festival started:


They used an octocopter to take pictures or video, cool:

That would not be a bad job to be paid for :)
That would not be a bad job to be paid for :)


I went on sunday which seemed to have more Trance artists. In hindsight, I should likely have gone Saturday too, but oh well...


I soon went to see Cosmic Gate:





I went to walk around a bit after that:



Next was Gareth Emery:




Here's a quick video of Concrete Angel, a favourite from their track:

Went to checkout the night tent which looked like weird 3D with their difracting glasses:






Next was Zed's Dead, which I followed for a while. I'm not a DnB fan, but actually this was quite interesting and hard not to beat your head to the beat eventually :)

And to finish the night, I had to pick between Tiësto and W&W, rising Trance stars. I went to see Tiësto for just a few minutes, but since he's stopped doing Trance many years ago, so I spent the rest of the night seeing W&W:









A few of their better tunes, including the finale:

It was a very good, and 10mns from home no less, can't beat that. Looking forward to next year.

See more images for Beyond Wonderland at Shoreline
2013/09/21 New Orleans Audubon Aquarium of the Americas
π 2013-09-21 01:01 in Aquariums
New Orleans had a small aquarium, so we went to check it out:











The aquarium also had a bunch of parakeets. Totally unrelated, but quite fun :)






2013/09/18 Linuxcon 2013 in New Orleans
π 2013-09-18 01:01 in Linux
Another year, another Linuxcon US. This year it was in New Orleans and I gave a talk about Live upgrading many thousand servers from an ancient Red Hat distribution to a 10 year newer Debian based one. It was my 2nd time giving the talk, and it was very well received. There was definitely interest from some of the members on rethinking on how to do things.

After the conference, Jennifer and I used the opportunity to visit a bit. Details are on Visiting New Orleans.

Some pictures from the keynotes:









The 2nd evening, we had a nice dinner at a the Elms Mansion with other attendees:





The following evening, they actually did a Mardi Gras parade for us, with floats and cops to block the road. That kind of felt wrong that you could just buy a parade through the city on a random day, but it was too much fun for me to really worry about it :)
We finished at the house of blues for a great evening:








And a few misc pictures:





See more images for Linuxcon 2013 in New Orleans
2013/09/15 Visiting New Orleans
π 2013-09-15 01:01 in Ntrips, Trips


Since we were in New Orleans for linuxcon 2013, Jennifer and I went to visit the town after the conference.

On our first day out after, we went to the Audubon Zoo:





nice nails
nice nails





















We then spent the rest of the afternoon looking at houses in the Garden District, where we went via street car:








And we finished with one of several restaurant dinners with foie gras :)




The next day, we went through the French Quarter:














We checked out the museums on the main plaza, worth some time: Katrina, History of New Orleans and Slavery, Jazz History, Mardi Gras,







Jennifer's ankle was getting a bit tired, so we got a bike taxi to go through the French Quarter streets:






The last and next day, it was pouring rain, but we used the time to go to the Insectarium and the Aquarium, both were actually pretty good and worth the time:





This one really looks like a leaf
This one really looks like a leaf




WaowWiFi











Then, we went to the Aquarium:







The aquarium also had a bunch of parakeets. Totally unrelated, but quite fun :)






And we just had enough time to go to the airport and fly home after that.

See more images for Visiting New Orleans
2013/09/14 Arduino Training and Hacking at Google
π 2013-09-14 01:01 in Arduino, Google
I was able to join an arduino 101 class at Google today. Ok, I wasn't an arduino neophyte, but there are a few useful things I learned during the class, and more importantly got to hack on new IO devices (I2C LCD and I2C LED matrix) which I had never interacted with before, as well as with an IR distance sensor which has pluses I was not aware of compared to the ultrasonic sensors.

I had good time hacking with this, and in the end was able to make a game where you keep a ball inside the square with an accelerometer while another person can adjust the game speed with the IR sensor. When you lose, you get appropriate sound and screen animation (doesn't look like much, but this is usually what takes the most coding time).

coworkers at work :)
coworkers at work :)

my first try
my first try

someone made an almost working pong game
someone made an almost working pong game

another keep the ball in the square game
another keep the ball in the square game

My finished device in smal form factor fitting on top of the arduino
My finished device in smal form factor fitting on top of the arduino

Here's my demo to my coworkers, using my external clean power supply:

And the same thing in a small form factor, using the noisy arduino voltage ref (this is why it's moving so much in the init phase, despite no input). I'll have to do some analog electronics to clean that up:

This was definitely time well spent and a good learning experience.

2013/09/11 For those days when you're down, there's still Trance: Lost Tribe, Gamemaster Mixes
π 2013-09-11 01:01 in Clubbing
I think Lost Tribe - Gamemaster wins as the best timeless trance track, with the most remixes. Thank you Matt Darey, aka Lost Tribe, for this Gem. Honored to have been able to meet you.


And yes, today is when you find out that Lost Tribe is Matt Darey if you didn't know that, or that the lyrics come from "Barbara Marciniak - Earth Pleiadian Keys to the Living Library, here". I forgot to ask Matt why :)




"Embracing the goddess energy within yourselves will bring all of you to a new understanding and valuing of life, A vision that inspires you to live and love on planet earth.

Like a priceless jewel, buried in dark layers of soil and stone, Earth radiates her brilliant beauty into the caverns of space and time. Perhaps you are aware of those who watch over your home, And experience it as a place to visit and play with reality.

You are becoming aware of yourself as a gamemaster.

Imagine earth restored to her regal beauty. Stately trees seem to brush the deep blue sky, Clouds billow to form majestic peaks. The songs of birds fill the air, creating symphony upon symphony. The goddess is calling for an honoring of what she allows to be created through the core-mystery of the blood. Those who own her planet are learning about love. "

Those lyrics come from the original book, Barbara Marciniak - Earth Pleiadian Keys to the Living Library, here

Gamemaster is such a great tune, with so many great remixes, 2 of my favorites below:

  • Gamemaster (Chill Mix) - Lost tribe (Matt Darey) : Sony HDR-FX1:


  • A very elaborate remix of the more original:


  • But here's the full list I found (that's 31 plus 2 above, or a total of 33 and I'm sure there are more):

  • Lost Tribe - Gamemaster pre 1996 mix. (pre-release, never heard that one):


  • Lost Tribe - Gamemaster (Original Mix) (1997)


  • Lost Tribe - Gamemaster 2003 (Matt Darey Remix):


  • Lost Tribe - Gamemaster (Matt Darey 2003 DUB Remix):


  • Lost Tribe - Gamemaster (Dreamy Rework)


  • Lost Tribe - Gamemaster (Steve Finney Rework)


  • Lost Tribe - Gamemaster (The Sixth Sense Remix)


  • Lost Tribe - Gamemaster (Lightform Reborn Mix)


  • Lost Tribe - Gamemaster (Ignosis Remix) 2004


  • Lost Tribe - Gamemaster (Lee Ault Remix)


  • Lost Tribe - Gamemaster (Lee Haslam's Tidy Two Remix)


  • Lost Tribe - Gamemaster (Affective Calm Remix) [2006]


  • Lost Tribe - Gamemaster (Darin Epsilon, Kastis Torrau & Arnas D Remix)


  • Lost Tribe - Gamemaster (Ignosis Remix)


  • Lost Tribe - Gamemaster (Near Edge Bootleg)


  • Lost Tribe - Gamemaster (Alter Nature & Kenuna Remix)


  • Lost tribe - Gamemaster ( lost tribe's mix ( matt darey & r. jerry ) 1999:


  • Lost Tribe - Gamemaster with Visuals & Lyrics (Paul Oakenfold Tranceport):


  • Lost Tribe - Gamemaster (Signum Remix), which I called inverse mix:


  • Lost Tribe - Gamemaster (Protoculture Reconstruction):


  • Lost Tribe - Gamemaster ( Mandrake Chilled Rmx ):


  • Lost Tribe - Gamemaster (Mark Sherry's 2006 Outburst intro mix) (Darey Products):


  • Lost Tribe - Gamemaster (Affective Calm Remix):


  • Lost Tribe - Gamemaster (The Digital Blonde Remix):


  • Lost Tribe - Gamemaster (Michael Woods Remix):


  • Lost Tribe - Gamemaster Schiller, South West...- Gamemaster, Das Glockenspiel:


  • Lost Tribe - Gamemaster (KDR Rework):


  • Lost Tribe - Gamemaster (Digital Science Remix):


  • Lost Tribe - Gamemaster (Brainsick Remix)


  • Lost Tribe - Gamemaster (Brainsick Dubstep Remix):


  • Lost Tribe - Gamemaster (Space Motion ASOT Remix):


  • 2013/09/07 Another Wine and Art Festival in Mountain View
    π 2013-09-07 01:01 in Outings
    Another year, another wine and art festival in Mountain View. Jennifer and I used the opportunity to bike there. I'll just post a few pictures:










    new game for the kids
    new game for the kids

    These French posters were neat :)



    2013/09/02 Private Car Collection at Estrella Warbird Museum/Paso Robles Airport
    π 2013-09-02 01:01 in Cars, Ncars
    While flying through to Paso Robles to go to Hearst Castle, I went to the Estrella Warbird Museum and it happens to have a nice little car collection too, so here are a few pictures:



    Nice camping car :)
    Nice camping car :)








    2013/09/02 Estrella Warbird Museum at Paso Robles Airport
    π 2013-09-02 01:01 in Flying, Nflying
    While flying through to Paso Robles to go to Hearst Castle, I noticed from the air that they had a small museum, so I went to check it out. Quite frankly, it's a small local airplane museum, but I still enjoy seeing them anyway:


























    2013/09/01 Flight to Oceano Beach and Paso Robles, Visit of Hearst Castle
    π 2013-09-01 01:01 in Flying, Nflying, Ntrips, Trips
    Over labor day weekend, we went out for 2 days. We flew to Oceano down the coast for ATV riding and camping close to the beach, and the next day we flew to Paso Robles for museum/wine tasting and visiting Hearst Castle before flying back that evening. It was a great trip

    nice shot of Santa Cruz
    nice shot of Santa Cruz



    the great coastal drive on hwy 1
    the great coastal drive on hwy 1


    Hearst Castle's Private Runway we weren't allowed to use
    Hearst Castle's Private Runway we weren't allowed to use




    All the beach campers for labor day weekend
    All the beach campers for labor day weekend

    Oceano Airport. The runway is shorter than it seems
    Oceano Airport. The runway is shorter than it seems


    Eventually we got to Oceano, and setup our tent before going to a rental shop to get a couple of ATVs and go play on the dunes (Oceano has the biggest dune area in California):



    basic camping site, but good enough for us
    basic camping site, but good enough for us





    oh noes, I got stuck at the top of the hill
    oh noes, I got stuck at the top of the hill


    at least it's a good place to use your truck
    at least it's a good place to use your truck


    trying to go up the hill again, not going to make it
    trying to go up the hill again, not going to make it


    plenty of california I'll keep my guns rednecks having fun :)
    plenty of california I'll keep my guns rednecks having fun :)



    WTF happened here?
    WTF happened here?

    The next morning, we got up not too late, packed up, and flew off to Paso Robles. On the way there, I got a few more shots of the beach and the dunes:



    Paso Robles Airport
    Paso Robles Airport

    Oh they have a small museum, sweet
    Oh they have a small museum, sweet

    Since I saw that there was a small museum at Paso Robles, I went to check it out while Jennifer went to a winery.

    I have a separate page on Estrella Warbird Museum, as well as the Private Car Collection at Estrella Warbird Museum.



    After the museum/winery, we drove to Hearst Castle (unfortunately a 1h drive, which sucks considering they have an airport, but it's private and they do not allow visitors to use it). Despite the time spent driving, Hearst Castle was great. We got their 3 guided tours and got to see virtually everything. It's a fantastic place well worth the tours:

    visitor center
    visitor center

    you take their busses to the top
    you take their busses to the top






    Our first tour start with the cave and kitchen. Both well furnished:



    chateau cheval blanc
    chateau cheval blanc

    chatteau laffitte
    chatteau laffitte

    curacao triple sec
    curacao triple sec

    Vermouth Noilly Prat de Marseille
    Vermouth Noilly Prat de Marseille

    Rest of the tours:




    Hearst got a lot of fancy ceilings for his many rooms
    Hearst got a lot of fancy ceilings for his many rooms











    Tapisserie de Bayeux on the lamps, nice
    Tapisserie de Bayeux on the lamps, nice







    The swimming pools are fantastic:









    After all the fun at Hearst Castle, we drove back to Paso Robles to fly back to Palo Alto:


    177kt, sweet!
    177kt, sweet!




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