sleepless in HK

Three necessary survival items for 1AM in Hong
Kong: a guidebook, ibuprofen, and cheap snacks.

i crashed hard tonight way too early. when i woke around 1030PM, i decided to go for a walk around the Wan Chai district.

the Hong Kong lifestyle starts late in the day in comparison to my American routine. it is really common for a business not to open until after 10AM, but the place is alive until late, late.  after 11PM while wandering the alleys and streets it is not uncommon to discover a popup market splayed unto the roadway that would normally be unforgivingly ruled Hong Kong's red taxi cabs during the daylight hours. i see all manner of produce, fish, and other wares exotic.

during the late mornings and afternoons the street bustle is extreme and you either get in line of get out of the way, but after 10PM the attitude eases. the night is still overly warm and sticky, but a tad more pleasant now that the sun has been abolished; and with it, the human
flow slows to a stroll, there is time for you to indulge, taste, read. main streets have many little late night food stalls with all the many variations of chimeric asian cuisines. the night becomes bejeweled with neon and led lighting and a hot dirty day is erased.  one more stop for me into the local ubiquitous 'circular initial' convenience store for a cheap sticky cold treat to snack on, while i sit in the apartment shared space to handle emails and communications from my Western world.

more images from Gernsback's work

Gernsback was also fascinated by telematics both passive and active from the looks of these inventions in personal viewscreens and telerobotic (medicine pictured here). Lastly,  his proposal for a monument to electricity.

new inspiration HUGO GERNSBACK

it has been a couple of grueling days of reading and trying to wrap my head around technical methods with the Neurosky data. during that time of reading looking up references and so forth, i have discovered a new inspiration! Hugo Gernsback was an inventor, writer, and editor. in 1925 he presented the Gernsback Isolator, a device to assist you in concentrating and shutting out the annoying distractions of the world.  i found these images at: http://www.strangerdimensions.com/2014/12/09/strange-inventions-isolator-1925/

a side adventure to the thrift shop

i decided to go see what i could find at the local thrift shop. the pickings in Owego were modest but i did score two night lights to leave here at the residency site as well as three power supplies all for under 10$. i walked down to the store this place reminds me so much of Eureka CA with the Victorian and Greek Revival wood framed houses. i stopped into Mario's for lunch, the Manicotti was very good and the garlic knots were amazing. here's a few images from the walk:

really?? Owego?

Owego NY is the homeland of one of my great grandfather 4 generations ago. when i took up the residency offer, i had no idea. it wasn't until my uncle told me that it became very apparent. i actually have the facsimile of this ancestor Ephraim Lainhart. the Lainharts were Germans who immigrated/settled the Tioga County area and Upstate New York in the 1700's. Lainhart Road still exists today and is the home of a grass fed beef farm Twin Brook Farms.

early today before reporting to the residency, i rented a car and drove out to the site just to marvel at the ancestral lands. the country is a set of rolling hills and creeks, sparsely populated with wood frame multi-story farm houses, barns and a few lumber mills. i took these pictures today. that is the Lainhart family farmstead or at least the lands.

after i got to town, i went to the Visitors Bureau and they said that they think the Twin Brook Farms owner would probably be open to a visit. i am going to try to make sure i buy and cook a roast from them before i leave. how could i resist the urge

resistance is futile...

some of the new equipment from the grant...

the Neutrino Food Labs is raging today

the Neutrino Food Labs is raging today, i started an experiment to culture my own cider yeast. over the past few weeks, i have been pining away for a good glass of home brew. we are very lucky locally because about 1 year ago the Pensacola Bay (micro)Brewery opened; they make a fine Brown ale which i have used as a component for my own fine chili. i am also spurred on by the price of a decent beer at the supermarket; last week when i wanted to grab a six pack for a small gathering i was holding the average price for a sixer of my favorites in domestics and microbrews was over $10. oooch! i went with a Leinenkugle specialty brew for about $8.

oi, i was feeling mighty sad this morning when the urge to brew came on strong. i keep missing the brew shop hours, they are closed Sundays and Mondays, because i generally have meetings all the rest of the week. then i saw an instructable by member, creasemaker, where he had sucessfully cultivated his own cider yeast from organically certified apples. not too many months ago i cultivated a strain of yeast for my sourdough breads, following some lore published by Peter Reinhardt. to do this, i soaked some organic raisins in warm water and slowly fed the critters in the tea flour and purified water. similarly, creasemaker took apples and soaked them in a good quality apple juice. my fingers are crossed and i can't wait to report back.

secondly, I was inspired by all the chatter on 'cold brewed' coffee so i started a pot today. i was impatient and i have dug into it after only 6 hours and it is amazing. very similar to a really lovely espresso, i think it is very high octane. i feel like i have taken some speed. lovely, delicious, Pete's French Roast speed, that is.

another NCOTB awesome entry

NCOTB

when it rains it pours!

YAY (mini)Maker Faire is coming to Atlanta! ...while i am in Istanbul. Wow. That was one of the fastest let downs in history.

¡you! yes, you. you need to go. unless you are accompanying me to Turkey this is a special thing, i was at Maker Faire 1 and 2. do not miss this opportunity.

http://www.makerfaireatl.com/Atlanta_Mini_Maker_Faire/Home.html

Super Mario Bros. acapella

sweetness



to buy/contribute to the quake causes: http://itun.es/i6H67s

happy PI Day

PI Day kicks off quite an awesome week. this week's lineup: today is PI day, it is spring break, Rebecca's birthday on wednesday, and Ruth's birthday and St. Patricks Day on thursday.

and to celebrate the holy of holies, 3.14, we will have blueberry.

a pi day activity: you can see where your birthday comes up in the first 1.2million digits of pi here: http://www.facade.com/legacy/amiinpi/

counting the days to march 14, 2015(or 31415),
kN

power

i was wrong about the transformer last night. a branch weighted by the rain & wind touched the power lines. no wonder that i smelled oak bbq.

a reunion?

every CAA is an awesome event; i get the chance to reunite with my former colleagues and discuss our progress, opportunities, and challenges. it seems that every year there is a discussion that we should organize some kind of reunion. tonight i was on a web chat with one of the principals at Alpha One Labs, a Brooklyn Hackerspace; i have been looking to visit A1 Labs and plan to try to schedule time to visit the space during my trip to CAA in NYC this February.

as we chatted and bounced ideas, i mentioned what i do and that i would be in town with some colleagues. he then hit me with an offer: "if we want to have an event at A1, we just need to ask." bingo! wouldn't A1 be a cool place for a CADRE/SJSU reunion/party? imagine a bot building-beer bash with Brooklyn geeks and hackers. just the thought makes me smile.

new Dali museum

on Sunday we attempted to go to a Thai temple for brunch, but life got in the way and we missed our 'window of time'. instead we ate at a seafood dive in St. Pete and drove around looking a lovely houses. in the Salt Creek neighborhood there is an artist collective that i need to try to visit the next time i am down.

there was a nice surprise was as we drove around the waterfront: a peculiar and striking piece of architecture stood out. i got to drive by the new Salvador Dali Museum construction site; last week images from the site and the new building were posted on the flickr pages and current events blog of the HOK architectural firm.

spectacular!

agents, sheesh!

my lovely Bride attended the performance i mentioned a few posts back by herself since i have made a last minute run to the land o' lakes. Rebecca volunteered to help close down the gallery, but before they had finished three or four young military guys wanted to take a look around the show and they were given about 10 minutes to see.

Rebecca said that they were really excited by the space, which is cool; i don't normally think of early career military people being into the arts. i like when my expectations are blown up as much as i like to explode other peoples' preconceptions. it seems before they had left she had signed up three volunteers for gallery sitting and she had pimped me out—at least one of them got vocal when she told them about the electronics workshop i have proposed to run at the gallery—and business cards were distributed.

pimp, agent, advocate, whatever... i am going to give her half of my cards when i get back to town.

Tuttle LIVES!

ZOT!! i had an epiphany while listening to a quiz show about quirky current events. the report is that the cap that has finally worked on the Macondo Well was inspired/designed by an 'anonymous plumber'. for those of us that believe, it is an obvious sign that Archibald "Harry" Tuttle, plumbing outlaw (and dare say Ninja) lives!

viva la Tuttle. fuck the 27B-6!

i knew this whole oil well problem reminded me of a familiar dystopia...

hello New Wave

dear New Wave it is so good to hear from you again. it has been so long, but you sound wonderful! i do hope you will stay in touch, we missed you.
-kidN

this has been a few very musically oriented days! New Wave seems to be making a a big comeback if my experiences this week are any indication. i _could_not_ be more thrilled.

DEVO releases a new album—Something For Everyone. the single Fresh delivers what the title promises. the track is true to the band's pop-punk mirthful criticism. i bought Fresh and listened many times over; it inspired me to go add much of the DEVO back catalog to my iTunes collection. for the DEVO aficionado, SFE has a back story of the band infiltrating corporate music to milk the system for all it is worth, including a weekly 'reality' show chronicling the birth and release of SFE.

some Fresh for you (all of you):


now if that weren't enough to make a nerd's week, i also discovered this band this morning which nearly made me weep with joy that the synthpop post punk sound is poised to make a big comeback. ladies and germs, please take a listen to Hussle Club:

HUSSLE CLUB "Good Morning Midnight" from Project Fathom on Vimeo.

and to round these finds for me are a new video and amazing sounds of The Death Set, who I am so happy to find via a link by the exceptional bootlegger Eve Massacre.

The Death Set "Far Weathered Friends" from Project Fathom on Vimeo.

i can't resist one either.

as usual I come to party late, but what a party it is. i discovered afrotechmods last week and nearly wasted an entire day being awed, fascinated, and learning the electronics and comedy stylings of afroman.

his techniques go from hyper-ridiculous to downright epic tutorials for the electronics geek. afroman you are my new hero!

fluoxetine gets nicknamed 'fluffy' by museum staff

i happen to be in Ohio at this moment, (it is a long story... there might be a job opp here). right before i flew out i decided to see what was the date for the opening of Molecules That Matter exhibition at the College of Wooster Art Museum. Unfortunately they had been closed when I could make a call. today i was able to make that call and fluoxetine is 'standing' tall and proud. the curator's have taken a shine to the piece and it is affectionately known as 'fluffy' at the museum. the show runs through May 10 if you happen to be in the neighborhood. to the left there is a shot from the gallery.

international icon for wtf, computer!

sitting next to ethan in the lab and watching our body communication with the screen. faintly, i can hear: "I can't do that Dave."