A couple months ago Chris suggested we hack a vending machine so that you could use non-traditional input to make it serve beverages. I had some experience converting a machine to free mode during our Rainfall project so it didn’t seem too hard. Vending machines are readily available on Craiglist but I made sure to ask amongst friends to avoid the hassle. Craig offered the old vending machine that was sitting in his datacenter, “as long as it comes back eventually and more awesome”. Easy. Continue reading
Category Archives: Las Vegas
NinjaTel, the hacker cellphone network
The social group Ninja Networks throws a massive party at Defcon almost every year. In the last few years that I’ve been involved, they’ve taken on larger scale projects and built custom badges for the exclusive Ninja Party. This year we took on our largest project yet: building an entire cellphone network. Continue reading
LA la land
I’ve been in LA all week for… uh… I don’t like Las Vegas. I think I’m avoiding it. As I type this, Ken is taking on Trogdor on Guitar Hero and Ryan is grilling kosher wieners (I guess I failed to explain to him the nuanced differences between Judaism and vegetarianism).
It’s been a pretty laid back week. I’ve realized I’m not the loaner I pretend to be and came to LA to be closer to the friends I work with remotely. I still think I’m moving here when my lease is up, but the plan isn’t nearly as clear as I once thought. It’s not till September so I’ve stil got some time. Now that I did the first major move out of Nebraska I feel like I’m much more mentally prepared for the next one (and enthusiastic). I need to start Eliot’s Crap Reduction Initiative before I move though—I was appalled at how much stuff I moved last time. So, this time I think I’m getting rid of all of the furniture I’ve been dragging around for years, the unused computers, and other electro-junk.
I’m not excited about the 70 miles of sprawl I drove through today though. I went to Fontana to watch some friends practice for their WERA race tomorrow. The picture above is Kurt’s tire after the day’s sessions. Don’t worry they’ve purchased new tires for the actual race. Chapparal is in San Bernardino so I’m thinking about stopping by and picking up a race suit on my way back to LV so I can start participating in track days.
Now Ken is attempting Carry on my wayward son; if they made Trombone Hero I would 0wn at this.
Seattle bound
I’m sitting in Las Vegas airport waiting for my flight to Seattle and thought I’d do a post on what I’ve been up to this week. I’m headed to Toorcon Seattle which should be a lot of fun with good friends.
I got back from Nebraska on Sunday and went to the 702sportbikes meet on Monday. Someone brought a Ducati Sport1000. I’ve always thought of it as the third bike you’d buy simply because of it’s extreme positioning and unique styling.
I’ve been going through The Django Book for the heck of it. Which led me to grab the TextMate bundle, set it up for blogging, watch some screencasts, and create an iusethis profile amongst many other barely related rabbit trails.
I bought a friend’s Pepper Pad to use downstairs. I wanted to buy one when he initially got it but I missed out on that deal. Now I need to put together a list of all of the embedded linux systems I’ve collected and should sell.
I changed my oil for the first time on the car. I’ve always known how to do it, but lived close enough to dad to just let him do it. It went well with minimal mess… unlike that accidental oil change on my motorcycle (I swear it was an exhaust install).
I finished my Emurse resume and added it to the sidebar. I also put together an Eliot Stalking sidebar section with links to all of the places I’m active online.
Someone hotlinked my picture of a sandwich so I gave him a fat kid.
I’d also like to say congratulations to my high school friend Jenny Linhorst who will become an M.D. tomorrow.
All of this airport furniture is made by Zoeftig.
First Friday
Last night I went to First Friday. It’s a monthly street fair and gallery show. They had a couple performance stages and it was actually fun to hear hipsters yell “PLAY SOME SURF MUSIC!”
Brothels near Las Vegas
http://maps.yourgmap.com/v/q_my_Brothels_Surrounding_Las_Vegas.html
The AEE show guide had a nice list of brothels near Las Vegas so I used YourGMap to create this handy map. Nevada brothels are only legal in counties with a population under 400,000; that’s why there aren’t any in Las Vegas.
Move to fabulous Las Vegas
Now’s a good time to move: there are three houses on my block available for rent and I’ve got a spare bedroom.
Your boy is going to be fine
Don’t worry mom; I finally made it to the grocery store. I don’t like going to the store so I bought a lot of food. The cart had dome to it by the time I got done. It made me wonder why the produce is always first. I don’t plan on using the 6 pounds of spaghetti and gallon of sauce all at once, but this much food kind of makes me wish I lived in a place where I could get snowed in. I went to a different grocery store after discovering that the 24hr super Walmart is apparently the place to be in Vegas at 10:30PM on a Sunday. Look at me, already finding the local hotspots.
My new house
http://videos.netscape.com/embed/480/JZWFIEHBMDRQLIUWPHJL
CK uploaded a video of his new apartment today. So, I decided to one-up him and upload a video of my rental house I recorded before I moved anything in (high quality). Actually I think I said to him “I’ll show you how daddy balls“. (that link is for my parents) I’ll get another video up once I’ve got everything in place.