Wow, didn't get online in Vegas anywhere close to when I expected. Free access is harder to find here than you'd expect (it's $12 per day at the Flamingo where I'm currently staying). There is of course free access at Defcon, but it's not exactly what most people (anyone) would call safe. I brought a linux livecd precisely for this reason (didn't want my laptop's had drive with XP to get messed up), and I thought it worked with one, if not both, of my laptop's wifi cards, but it turns out it doesn't by default. Without an internet connection I was basically screwed for trying to get it to work. As it turns out, I've been pretty busy at defcon and wouldn't have a lot of time to use the web there (as it is I've had to skip talks just to have time to eat and such). I do intend to do a full writeup on this blog of my defcon experience, including the talks that I attended, but it might be a little while before I have a chance to do that.
As far as pictures go, I haven't taken a single one since arriving in Vegas. I actively decided against taking pictures at defcon, mainly because it's basically full of paranoid people. I know most people are cool with their picture being taken if permission is asked, but I decided not to bother. If you want pictures of defcon, there are plenty online. As for the rest of Vegas, once my mom and sister get here on Monday we'll be doing a lot more of the touristy stuff, so I'll take pictures then. So far my days have pretty much been get up, eat, go to defcon, get picked up at night, have dinner, gamble a bit, go to bed. It's been fun (defcon is awesome, can't wait to go back with some friends).
I think that's about it for now. I'm not sure what internet access will be like at the next hotel I stay at (I actually don't know where/when I'm changing hotels, or how many times), so I really don't know when I'll be online again. I expect to be sometime tomorrow night, after that who knows.
Candace, I miss you and I love you! Can't wait to see you.
Sunday, August 5, 2007
Thursday, August 2, 2007
Santa Barbara Nightlife
Tonight we had dinner with my family, my Aunt Steph, cousins Alexa and Nicole, Nicole's boyfriend Jesse, Felix (my Aunt Steph's friend/assistant), and Alexa's friend Hunter. It was a catered barbecue, which was new to me, but the steak was good. There were various side dishes that included vegetables, which were apparently good but I didn't touch. There was some pretty good pasta and potatoes which I didn't mind, though.
After dinner Nicole, Jesse, Tara, and myself decided to go downtown (unfortunately I forgot my camera, so there won't be any pictures). Apparently UCSB (University of California, Santa Barbara, which is where Nicole just graduated from) is one of the largest party schools in the US. Being the summer and a Wednesday night calmed things down a bit, but Nicole and Jesse thought I should see what downtown is like on my only night in SB.
Appparently there's a huge celebration going on this weekend called simply "Fiesta". Things get started early in the week, which I guess accounted for the fair amount of people downtown on a Wednesday night. There were also confetti-filled egg shells being sold on every corner (apparently a Fiesta staple), which resulted in people (and the streets) covered in confetti.
We first went to a restaurant/bar called Ruby's, which was pretty traditionally Mexican (complete with Mariachi band). We had a pitcher of Margaritas, then around 11 PM it went from casual hangout-type place to music-blaring dance bar. We then moved on to The James Joyce, which is a traditional Irish pub, which had live music. This was, of course, right up my alley, even though the band didn't play any traditional Irish songs.
After the pub Nicole, Jesse, and Tara decided I had to try In-N-Out Burger before I left. It was pretty damned good. I don't know if it lived up to it's massive cult of personality, but as fast food goes it was definitely the best burger I've had. It looks like I'll be scouting out their Vegas location(s) in the next few days.
It's now 1:54 AM local time, so I'll be off to bed soon. My plane leaves SB for Vegas at 1:55 PM, we're supposed to be picked up by taxi at around 12:30 PM. My mom, sister, cousins, and aunt are going to LA in the morning to drop off Alexa at LAX, so I'll probably have to get up atound 10-10:30 to say goodbye. Between then and when we head off to the airport I'm not sure what I'll be doing, probably killing time online. I hope I can get a decent internet connection in Vegas, chances are I'll have to pay though.
Anyway, it was a good night.
After dinner Nicole, Jesse, Tara, and myself decided to go downtown (unfortunately I forgot my camera, so there won't be any pictures). Apparently UCSB (University of California, Santa Barbara, which is where Nicole just graduated from) is one of the largest party schools in the US. Being the summer and a Wednesday night calmed things down a bit, but Nicole and Jesse thought I should see what downtown is like on my only night in SB.
Appparently there's a huge celebration going on this weekend called simply "Fiesta". Things get started early in the week, which I guess accounted for the fair amount of people downtown on a Wednesday night. There were also confetti-filled egg shells being sold on every corner (apparently a Fiesta staple), which resulted in people (and the streets) covered in confetti.
We first went to a restaurant/bar called Ruby's, which was pretty traditionally Mexican (complete with Mariachi band). We had a pitcher of Margaritas, then around 11 PM it went from casual hangout-type place to music-blaring dance bar. We then moved on to The James Joyce, which is a traditional Irish pub, which had live music. This was, of course, right up my alley, even though the band didn't play any traditional Irish songs.
After the pub Nicole, Jesse, and Tara decided I had to try In-N-Out Burger before I left. It was pretty damned good. I don't know if it lived up to it's massive cult of personality, but as fast food goes it was definitely the best burger I've had. It looks like I'll be scouting out their Vegas location(s) in the next few days.
It's now 1:54 AM local time, so I'll be off to bed soon. My plane leaves SB for Vegas at 1:55 PM, we're supposed to be picked up by taxi at around 12:30 PM. My mom, sister, cousins, and aunt are going to LA in the morning to drop off Alexa at LAX, so I'll probably have to get up atound 10-10:30 to say goodbye. Between then and when we head off to the airport I'm not sure what I'll be doing, probably killing time online. I hope I can get a decent internet connection in Vegas, chances are I'll have to pay though.
Anyway, it was a good night.
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
More SB pics
A few more pics, this time from a walk my sister and I took down Las Alturas road (near the house we're staying at). Wasn't a whole lot to see, mostly just people's gates, but there were a couple spots with incredible views.
Santa Barbara Neighborhood
Santa Barbara Neighborhood
Santa Barbara pics
I went around today and took 93 pics of the house we're staying at. They can be found here:
Santa Barbara Web Album
Santa Barbara Web Album
I have arrived
Our flight from Detroit to Las Vegas was delayed almost an hour, first by them somehow having one too many passengers on board the plane. Then we finally started taxiing and were about to take off when we suddenly turned and went back to the gate. Apparently one of the passengers was drunk and they had to take her off the plane. So we finally got in the air and the flight wasn't too bad, except when we were landing I had a lot of pressure in my ear and it hurt a lot. I watched the in-flight movie, which was "Are We Done Yet?" (don't bother), then watched most of "The Bourne Identity" on your portable DVD player.
We finally got there only a few minutes late (we made up some of the time in the air), but we originally only had 30 minutes to make our connection to LAX. Now that we were later we had like 10 minutes. We literally ran to the gate for our connection, and made it just as they were boarding our zone. The flight from LV to LAX was like 45 minutes, really short. The descent was horrible, I think he pilot descended too fast because I heard a lot of people complaining about pressure. Honestly it was one of the worst experiences of my life, it hurt so much. After we landed my ears weren't clear for at least another 20 minutes.
We went down to baggage claim and everything went fine, except for it taking a long time for the baggage carousel to start turning. Once it did, though, we got all our bags fine. My aunt had arranged for a limo to pick us up and drive us from LA to Santa Barbara. The driver was right on time (the first thing that went right that night), and found us just fine. At this point it's about 2 AM PST, or 5 AM EST. It's like a 1.5 hour drive from LA to SB, which was the first time I slept. We got to the house without incident and went to bed pretty quick. I took a few minutes to see if there was a wireless internet connection (there is, with multiple APs), and send you a quick message to let you know we got in okay.
I woke up this morning around 10 AM PST, and stayed in bed until around 11. The view from my room is gorgeous, there are mountans all around. The house is massive and beautiful. Unfortunately the batteries in my camera are almost dead, I'll post pics as soon as I can get some. I'm going to get ready and stuff, I think today we're mostly hanging out by the pool, so I'll try and call you if I can.
I love and miss you very much!
We finally got there only a few minutes late (we made up some of the time in the air), but we originally only had 30 minutes to make our connection to LAX. Now that we were later we had like 10 minutes. We literally ran to the gate for our connection, and made it just as they were boarding our zone. The flight from LV to LAX was like 45 minutes, really short. The descent was horrible, I think he pilot descended too fast because I heard a lot of people complaining about pressure. Honestly it was one of the worst experiences of my life, it hurt so much. After we landed my ears weren't clear for at least another 20 minutes.
We went down to baggage claim and everything went fine, except for it taking a long time for the baggage carousel to start turning. Once it did, though, we got all our bags fine. My aunt had arranged for a limo to pick us up and drive us from LA to Santa Barbara. The driver was right on time (the first thing that went right that night), and found us just fine. At this point it's about 2 AM PST, or 5 AM EST. It's like a 1.5 hour drive from LA to SB, which was the first time I slept. We got to the house without incident and went to bed pretty quick. I took a few minutes to see if there was a wireless internet connection (there is, with multiple APs), and send you a quick message to let you know we got in okay.
I woke up this morning around 10 AM PST, and stayed in bed until around 11. The view from my room is gorgeous, there are mountans all around. The house is massive and beautiful. Unfortunately the batteries in my camera are almost dead, I'll post pics as soon as I can get some. I'm going to get ready and stuff, I think today we're mostly hanging out by the pool, so I'll try and call you if I can.
I love and miss you very much!
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
firstpost
Well, I'm obviously new to this whole blog thing. I've thought about blogging for a couple of years now, but never felt I had anything worth writing about. Nothing that people would want to read, anyway.
However, at the end of the month I'm going to California (Santa Barbara, specifically), and from there to Vegas for DEFCON 15. I decided that a blog would be a good way to write about what I see, and to post pictures of the trip for my girlfriend, Candace, who unfortunately is unable to come.
So, that's the plans for the blog for the immediate future. After the trip, who knows, maybe I'll get hooked on this wacky blogging craze and keep it going. Time will tell.
However, at the end of the month I'm going to California (Santa Barbara, specifically), and from there to Vegas for DEFCON 15. I decided that a blog would be a good way to write about what I see, and to post pictures of the trip for my girlfriend, Candace, who unfortunately is unable to come.
So, that's the plans for the blog for the immediate future. After the trip, who knows, maybe I'll get hooked on this wacky blogging craze and keep it going. Time will tell.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)