Tuesday, August 11, 2015

Kronos Quartet

Saw the Kronos Quartet on Sunday, at the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium: David Harrington (violin), John Sherba (violin), Hank Dutt (viola), and Sunny Yang (cello).

They performed a set of pieces labeled, "In the Blue Room":
"...an intimate concert of works that includes a tribute to composer Terry Riley in celebration of his 80th birthday year! They’ll perform Good Medicine from Riley’s epic Salome Dances for Peace, and a new work written by Polish composer Aleksander Kościów, a piece is based on a traditional Polish folk dance, the oberek. A musical gift to Riley, it represents, in the words of the composer, “the human need for pure joy.” The evening also includes a work written for Kronos by Cabrillo composer-in-residence Nathaniel Stookey, and works by Mark Applebaum, Laurie Anderson, and Mary Kouyoumdjian."
NOTES

  • All wore earpieces
  • Lighting projected the performers' shadows on the upper walls of the auditorium
  • We had great seats: Section K Row B, 1 and 2
  • During an early piece, a dragon fly, attracted to the lights, swirled around and around, above the performers, disappearing into the ceiling, then re-appearing, swirling down closer and closer, until it finally reached the performers and disappeared from view--John smiled and completed the work
  • Composer Nathaniel Stookey walked out to greet the performers, after they completed his work
  • A few people walked out of Mary Kouyoumdjian's "Silent Cranes"
  • I found Kouyoumdjian's work the most powerful and dark piece heard in recent memory...Kronos Quartet members get major props for playing it, in my estimate
  • Setlist:
    • Terry Riley / Good Medicine from Salome Dances for Peace *
    • Mark Applebaum / Darmstadt Kindergarten *
    • Aleksander Kościów / Oberek for Terry Riley *
    • Nathaniel Stookey / String Quartet No. 3, “The Mezzanine” *
    • Intermission
    • Laurie Anderson (arr. Jacob Garchik) / Flow +
    • Mary Kouyoumdjian / Silent Cranes *
    • Two encore songs:

Étouffée

Dawn and I noticed a food truck with Étouffée:
"Étouffée or etouffee (pronounced: [e.tu.fe] ay-too-fay) is a dish found in both Cajun and Creole cuisine typically served with shellfish over rice. The dish employs a technique known as smothering, a popular method of cooking in the Cajun areas of southwest Louisiana. Étouffée is most popular in New Orleans and in the Acadiana area of the southernmost half of Louisiana as well as a popular dish in the coastal counties of Mississippi."
It was parked at the Cabrillo Festival’s Church Street Fair, in Santa Cruz. Crab, maybe, or shrimp (?)

Pk / Mk Black - Plotter Printer

Noticed color cartridges in a HP plotter printer, at work, had multiple shades of grey and black:

  • matte black (mK)
  • photo black (pK)
  • gray (G)

Clarinet player - Brennen Milton

Dawn and I saw Sacramento clarinet musician Brennen Milton, in 2014, playing outside Karma Brew, near Fremont Park. Never got his name, at the time, but we purchased a CD of a recital and listened to it for a time, to help support his musical trip to Italy.

I ran into him just last week, playing outside his workplace, on J Street. Thought I recognized him, but was not sure, and by chance overheard his name from a co-worker, so Google'd him when I got home, and ta-da! His GoFundMe page.

Codes

Peet's Coffee, Santa Cruz - Bathroom code: 9966; 6901* (as of 8/17)* 8845* (as of 9/20)...from this, it seems staff change it frequently

Verve Coffee, Santa Cruz - Wifi code: streetlevel


Ōoku: The Inner Chambers

Dawn and I noticed this manga, at the Santa Cruz library. Matriarchal.

Sunday, August 09, 2015

Fujitsu ScanSnap S1300i on Debian Jessie (Stable) GNU/Linux

I purchased a Fujitsu ScanSnap S1300i and wanted to use it, on Debian GNU/Linux Jessie (stable).

This documents my own experience with getting it to work, on a Lenovo ThinkPad X201 laptop.

TL;DR
Debian Jessie (Stable) ships with an older version of SANE. To support the Fujitsu ScanSnap S1300i, download, compile, and install SANE from source.

OVERVIEW
Scanner Access Now Easy (SANE) represents a commonly used GNU/Linux package API, which provides "standardized access to any raster image scanner hardware." (via)

Debian Jessie packages SANE into frontend and backend components:
  1. sane - frontend packages, for the user-interface (for example, xscanimage, scanadf, xcam)
  2. libsane - backend packages, for individual scanner support (for example, the Fujitsu ScanSnap S1300i)
Debian Jessie (stable) seems to ship with the following SANE packages installed:

$ dpkg -l | grep sane
ii  libsane:amd64         1.0.24-8    amd64 API library for scanners
ii  libsane-common        1.0.24-8    all   API library for scanners -- documentation and support files
ii  libsane-dev           1.0.24-8    amd64 API development library for scanners [development files]
ii  libsane-extras:amd64  1.0.22.3    amd64 API library for scanners -- extra backends
ii  libsane-extras-common 1.0.22.3    amd64 API library for scanners -- documentation and support files
ii  libsane-extras-dev    1.0.22.3    amd64 API development library for scanners [development files]
ii  libsane-hpaio         3.14.6-1+b2 amd64 HP SANE backend for multi-function peripherals
ii  libsane-perl          0.05-2+b2   amd64 Perl bindings for the SANE (Scanner Access Now Easy) Project
ii  sane                  1.0.14-9    amd64 scanner graphical frontends
ii  sane-utils            1.0.24-8    amd64 API library for scanners -- utilities

Unfortunately, the shipped version of libsane 1.0.24-8 does not seem to properly handle the Fujitsu ScanSnap S1300i.

FIRST ATTEMPTS
Following the advice of Gavin Carr, from September 2014 (note: Gavin used Centos 6), I first attempted the following steps.
$ sudo sane-find-scanner
found USB scanner (vendor=0x04c5 [FUJITSU], product=0x128d [ScanSnap S1300i]) at libusb:001:009 
$ sudo scanimage -L
device `v4l:/dev/video0' is a Noname Integrated Camera virtual device
Note: The results of running scanimage mean Debian did not find the device.

INITIAL WORKAROUNDS
The shipped version of libsane does not seem to currently include support for the Fujitsu ScanSnap S1300i. That is, Debian does not include the required firmware and configuration lines for it.

Happily, these two steps seem pretty straightforward.

Install firmware file
Copy firmware file 1300i_0D12.nal (hat tip, to Gavin Carr, for providing it along with his instruction steps) to folder /usr/share/sane/epjitsu :
$ sudo mkdir -p /usr/share/sane/epjitsu/
$ sudo cp 1300i_0D12.nal /usr/share/sane/epjitsu/1300i_0D12.nal
Update configuration file
Update configuration file /etc/sane.d/epjitsu.conf , adding these three lines:
# Fujitsu S1300i
firmware /usr/share/sane/epjitsu/1300i_0D12.nal
usb 0x04c5 0x128d
Retest with scanimage
After doing these two steps, scanimage finds the scanner!
$ sudo scanimage -L
device `v4l:/dev/video0' is a Noname Integrated Camera virtual device
device `epjitsu:libusb:001:009' is a FUJITSU ScanSnap S1300i scanner
SECOND ATTEMPTS
gscan2pdf
Install and run frontend scanner GUI gscan2pdf :
$ sudo apt-get install gscan2pdf
$ sudo gscan2pdf
However, after selecting the scanner, attempts to scan meet with error "Error during device I/O". x_x

scanimage
Additionally, I experienced similar errors, when running scanimage:
$ sudo scanimage -L
device `v4l:/dev/video0' is a Noname Integrated Camera virtual device
device `epjitsu:libusb:001:008' is a FUJITSU ScanSnap S1300i scanner
$ sudo scanimage --test -d 'epjitsu:libusb:001:008'
scanimage: sane_start: Error during device I/O
Note: At this point, I had set environment variables:
$ env | grep SANE
SANE_DEBUG_SANEI_USB=128 (note: "a value of 128 requests all debug output to be printed.")
SANE_DEBUG_FUJITSU=35 (note: "enables debugging output to stderr...useless noise")
FURTHER WORKAROUND ATTEMPTS
It seems, the shipped version of libsane, 1.0.24-8, has a few bugs. Per SANE developer discussions, it appears developers subsequently have resolved the bugs.

I first tried, unsuccessfully, to add developer Rolf's repository. However, when I attempted to pull in updates, "apt-get update" provided an error, which makes sense, given he provides Ubuntu support, not Debian:
$ sudo apt-get install software-properties-common (note: this provides "add-apt-repository")
$ sudo add-apt-repository ppa:rolfbensch/sane-git
You are about to add the following PPA to your system:
 Ubuntu SANE packages from SANE daily git snapshots (http://www.sane-project.org/snapshots/) or cloned from git (http://anonscm.debian.org/gitweb/?p=sane/sane-backends.git;a=summary) if SANE daily git snapshot isn't available on the website.
Unchanged SANE daily git snapshots are ignored!
Please send scanner related questions to the SANE mailing list <email address hidden>.
 More info: https://launchpad.net/~rolfbensch/+archive/ubuntu/sane-git
Press [ENTER] to continue or ctrl-c to cancel adding it
gpg: keyring `/tmp/tmp069_7hv9/secring.gpg' created
gpg: keyring `/tmp/tmp069_7hv9/pubring.gpg' created
gpg: requesting key B7CC8701 from hkp server keyserver.ubuntu.com
gpg: /tmp/tmp069_7hv9/trustdb.gpg: trustdb created
gpg: key B7CC8701: public key "Launchpad PPA for Rolf Bensch" imported
gpg: Total number processed: 1
gpg:               imported: 1  (RSA: 1)
OK
$ sudo apt-get update
... *snip* ...
Err http://ppa.launchpad.net jessie/main amd64 Packages  404  Not FoundIgn http://ppa.launchpad.net jessie/main Translation-en_US
Ign http://ppa.launchpad.net jessie/main Translation-en
Fetched 127 kB in 3s (38.4 kB/s)
W: Failed to fetch http://ppa.launchpad.net/rolfbensch/sane-git/ubuntu/dists/jessie/main/binary-amd64/Packages  404  Not FoundE: Some index files failed to download. They have been ignored, or old ones used instead.
Some reading seems to imply this represents an error with attempting to pull Ubuntu updates to a Debian system, which the list post, above, did not immediately make clear. Note: "add-apt-repository" seems to represent an Ubuntu utility.

So, this fails because attempting to lookup Debian system packages on an Ubuntu repository represents a semi-sketchy thing to do. It has risks.

As a test, I did the following:
$ sudo vim /etc/apt/sources.list.d/rolfbensch-sane-git-jessie.list 
from: 
# deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/rolfbensch/sane-git/ubuntu jessie main 
to the following, replacing "jessie" with "trusty":
deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/rolfbensch/sane-git/ubuntu trusty main
 Running apt-get update now works:
... *snip* ...
Get:14 http://ppa.launchpad.net trusty/main Translation-en [1,220 B]                                      
... *snip* ...
However, apt-get upgrade fails:
$ sudo apt-get upgrade
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree    
Reading state information... Done
Calculating upgrade... Done
The following packages have been kept back:  libsane libsane-common libsane-dev
The following packages will be upgraded:
  libsvn1 sane-utils subversion
3 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 0 to remove and 3 not upgraded.
Need to get 2,187 kB of archives.
After this operation, 131 kB disk space will be freed.
Do you want to continue? [Y/n] n
Abort.
I next attempted to install just libsane, however, I received an error, and aborted:
$ sudo apt-get install libsane
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree    
Reading state information... Done
Some packages could not be installed. This may mean that you have
requested an impossible situation or if you are using the unstable
distribution that some required packages have not yet been created
or been moved out of Incoming.
The following information may help to resolve the situation:
The following packages have unmet dependencies: libsane : Depends: libjpeg8 (>= 8c) but it is not installable
E: Unable to correct problems, you have held broken packages.
No thanks! Note: I received the same errors with "precise" and "vivid". Some reading suggested running "dist-upgrade" but I am, at the very least, smart enough to not go nuclear to resolve this, yet.

So, backed out the change and removed the repository. Will have to fine something a bit less sketchy.
$ rm /etc/apt/sources.list.d/rolfbensch-sane-git-jessie.list*
$ sudo apt-key list
$ sudo apt-key del B7CC8701
Backports? It seems Debian Jessie currently does not have any backports, for libsane:
$ sudo vim /etc/apt/sources.list
Add "deb http://http.debian.net/debian jessie-backports main"
$ sudo apt-get -t jessie-backports install libsane
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information... Done
libsane is already the newest version.
0 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 0 to remove and 38 not upgraded.
So. dmesg reports the following:
$ dmesg
[18601.324625] usb 1-1.2: new high-speed USB device number 9 using ehci-pci
[18601.419949] usb 1-1.2: New USB device found, idVendor=04c5, idProduct=128d
[18601.419955] usb 1-1.2: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=0
[18601.419959] usb 1-1.2: Product: ScanSnap S1300i
[18601.419961] usb 1-1.2: Manufacturer: FUJITSU
Note: some developers have suggested EHCI versus xHCI (that is, USB 3.0) might represent the source of the problem. This shows I am using EHCI.

COMPILING SANE FROM SOURCE
Uninstall SANE:
http://installion.co.uk/ubuntu/vivid/universe/s/sane/uninstall/index.html

Compile SANE from source:
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/CompileSaneFromSource

The Debian build logs showed this configure command:
./configure --host=x86_64-linux-gnu --build=x86_64-linux-gnu \
--prefix=/usr \
--libdir=\${prefix}/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu \
--sysconfdir=/etc \
--localstatedir=/var \
--datadir=\${prefix}/share \
--mandir=\${prefix}/share/man \
--with-docdir=\${prefix}/share/doc/libsane \
--with-snmp=no \
--disable-locking \
--enable-static \
--enable-pthread \
--with-gphoto2 \
--enable-translations \
--enable-avahi \
--enable-libusb_1_0 \
--enable-pnm-backend \
--without-v4l
make
sudo make install

SUCCESS!
gscan2pdf now successfully scans the document.


Saturday, August 08, 2015

Coffee shops opening early, Santa Cruz

Looking for early morning (~6:00 a.m.) weekend coffee shop destinations, in Santa Cruz, with reasonably good wifi:
  1. Starbucks, Mission: 5:30 a.m., daily
  2. Peet's Coffee, downtown: 6:00 a.m., Sat/Sun; 5:00 a.m., M-F
  3. Coffeetopia, Mission: 6:00 a.m., daily
  4. Santa Cruz Coffee Roasting Co.: 6:00 a.m., daily
  5. Westside Coffee, Mission: 6:30 a.m., Sat/Sun; 5:45 a.m., M-F
  6. Emily's Good Things To Eat: 6:30 a.m., Sat/Sun; 5:30 a.m., M-F
  7. Verve Coffee, downtown: 6:30 a.m., daily
  8. Lulu Carpenters, downtown: 7:00 a.m., Sat/Sun; 6:00 a.m., M-F
  9. Firefly Coffee, downtown: 7:00 a.m., daily
  10. Kelly's French Bakery: 7:00 a.m., daily
  11. Caffe Pergolesi: 7:00 a.m., daily
  12. Companion Bakery, Mission: 8:00 a.m., Sat/Sun; 7:00 a.m., T-F; Closed: M
  13. Cafe Iveta, Deleware: 8:00 a.m., Sat/Sun; 7:00 a.m., M-F
  14. Cafe Brasil: 8:00 a.m., daily

Wednesday, August 05, 2015

Elgin Broom Bear Street Sweeper


The city of Sacramento seems to have one or more Elgin "Broom Bear" Street Sweepers, which I noticed cleaning the streets. I like the alliteration and imagery of the name "Broom Bear".

Early morning coffee shop

Really enjoying the early morning coffee shop window experience, this morning. I have a light rail train above me, which represents a comforting sight and sound. Community of people coming and going, so not lonely. The smell and taste of fresh, hot, bitter coffee, to wake me up. Fast internet, too!

One Wheel Electric Scooter

Occasionally, I see someone going to work on a one wheel electric scooter. 

Maybe an AirWheel?

Tuesday, August 04, 2015

Karl Gerhardt - Sculpture of Ulysses S. Grant

http://www.twainquotes.com/Gerhardt/grantbustdetails.html

Listening to Mark Twain's autobiography. They discuss this work. Gerhardt's sculpture represents the last artwork made of U.S. Grant, during his lifetime, and, per the autobiography, represents the best likeness, in the opinion of family and close acquaintances.


Monday, August 03, 2015

Snoopy Vs. The Red Baron

Peter Pan Pop Band & Singers ‎– Snoopy Vs. The Red Baron

My family owned this on vinyl and we listened to it. Apparently it came in two configurations...I believe we had the one with Puff the Magic Dragon.

A1 Snoopy Vs. The Red Baron
A2 Do Re Mi
A3 Tie Me Kangaroo Down Sport
A4 Does Your Chewing Gum Lose Its Flavor
A5 That's What We Learn In School
B1 Mrs. Brown You've Got A Lovely Daughter
B2 On Top Of Spaghetti
B3 The Return Of The Red Baron
B4   Puff the Magic DragonB5 How Much Is That Doggie In The Window

I always wished more songs existed about the battles between Snoopy and The Red Baron.

The song "Tie Me Kangaroo Down Sport" seems a lot darker than I remember...lines like this went over my head, I think: "Tan me hide when I'm dead, Fred / Tan me hide when I'm dead / So we tanned his hide when he died, Clyde / And that's it hangin' on the shed!! / Altogether now!"

Good stuff. ; o )

Electric range burner covers

Looking for something to cover the coils on the top of our electric range, to stop debris from getting into the drip pans.

Reviews online seemed consistently disappointed with thin metal covers, as they dent easily and discolor.

Needs:

  • Sturdy
  • Will not discolor easily...for example, when setting a hot pizza pan on top
  • White, if preferable, to match our range
Then, I realized we probably had two problems. I wanted something on which to set a pizza pan, for cutting. Our pizza pan has holes, which means the slicing process makes a mess. So we really needed something to set that on, which did not make a mess over the oven.

I actually like these insights, even if it means more problems to solve...each problem gets a simpler solution. A trivet or silicone baking mat would work, for the pizza pan slicing. A burner cover would work, for general protection from getting dirty. Perfect.

Sunday, August 02, 2015

Steam Folder Migration: USB 3.0 external storage drive, to internal SSD

We recently complete updating storage on Dawn's laptop, adding additional capacity and modifying partition sizes.

Today, we moved the Steam folder, from a Samsung T1 Portable 250GB USB 3.0 External SSD, to her newly expanded laptop internal SSD, loosely following the instructions on the Steam web site:
  • Exit the Steam client application
  • Browse to the Steam installation folder for the Steam installation you would like to move (D:\Steam, for us)
  • Copy the folder to the new location; for example: C:\Program Files\Steam
  • Delete all of the files and folders, in C:\Program Files\Steam, except the SteamApps folder and Steam.exe
  • Rename D:\Steam to D:\SteamBackup
  • For the first time only, launch Steam via "Run as Administrator", then log into your account
    • Running as non-Administrator, Steam produced an error which said (paraphrasing): "Could not connect; please connect to a network and try again
    • Running as Administrator did not produce the error
  • Verify integrity of game cache(s):
    • From the Library section, right-click on the game and select Properties from the menu
    • Select the Local files tab and click the Verify integrity of game cache... button
    • Steam will verify the game's files - this process may take several minutes
    • Once the process is completed, the Check Window will automatically exit
  • Manually update the Start Menu shortcut, for Steam: right-click on the icon, select Properties, then change the location the shortcut points to, so it points to the new folder (for us, we changed it from D:\Steam\Steam.exe, to C:\Program Files\Steam\Steam.exe)
Done. 

NOTES
  • After you have some confidence that Steam works as expected, you can either keep D:\Steam as a backup, or delete it
  • OK to start Steam as non-administrator, for all future uses...that first time, above, Steam needs administrator rights to repair itself
Previously, previously, previously.

Saturday, August 01, 2015

Car tires

Was:
Goodyear Assurance P185/65R15 86T
Came with car

Now:
Bridgestone - Ecopia EP422 PLUS 185/65R15 88H, Manufacture #006138
$257.96 for four, with $70 multi-tire discount, plus install and fees, so ~$325 out the door.

Bob Zimway, Photographer

Subject's photographs appear at Westside Coffee Company's Almar Ave, Santa Cruz location.

Eggy bagel! : o )

Sunday, July 26, 2015

Wool socks

On wool socks:
"That said, the suit-wearing man should usually be donning wool socks year-round. Wool socks do a better job of keeping feet warm in cold weather, and cool in hot weather. This is because wool socks are much superior at wicking water, keeping feet dry and regulating their temperature. All else being equal when it is warm cotton-encased feet will get hotter and sweatier, and when it is cold, they will get colder."
Via

Interested in the Dore Dore 100% Wool Over-The-Calf sock, but ... so expensive! Even on sale at $28/pair.



Smog Checks for California Hybrid Vehicles

The smogpocalypse! ; o )

http://www.bar.ca.gov/Industry/Industry_Resources/Q&As_Hybrid_Vehicles_in_the_Smog_Check_Program.html

Diploma frames

http://www.amazon.com/Lawrence-Frames-Certificate-Document-Mahogany/dp/B00G7KGU60/

http://www.target.com/p/room-essentials-back-bevel-document-frame-black-8-5x11/-/A-10353622

Friday, July 24, 2015

UCSC McHenry Library Digital Newspaper Displays


Collecting info on the newspaper displays in the lobby of the McHenry Library, which rotate frontpages from around the world.

Lee Jaffe's installation photos:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/ldjaffe/albums/72157626824825533
  • Modeled after installation at UC Berkeley International House
  • "These photos document work on a 6-screen installation that will feature front pages from newspapers worldwide. The architects left us with pretty much nothing we could use and in fact added some extra surprises. I'm working with Doug Russo, a carpenter, to design and build this installation that we hope will compensate for the deficiencies of the space in an attractive and secure manner."
  • "...the electrical raceway [was] added for a different project just before we started our installation. Nobody thinks this was done well -- there is conduit all throughout the wall and it could have been routed differently -- but there is no money to fix it at this point. We were able to reposition our installation a bit to cover some of the raceway but we cannot hide it completely." (photo)
  • Installation occurred during summer 2011
Gifts funding the creation: "UC Santa Cruz receives $350,000 to create global café and reading garden at University Library"
http://news.ucsc.edu/2007/01/1028.html
  • "Stephen Silberstein--cofounder and former president of Innovative Interfaces, a library software company in Emeryville, California-has donated $250,000 to create a global cyber café in the campus's newly expanded and renovated McHenry Library."
  • "Plans for the UC Santa Cruz café include a rotating digital newspaper display that spotlights up-to-date front pages of approximately 140 newspapers from around the world. Representing the varied geographic areas of Asia, Europe, South America, Africa, the Middle East, and the United States, the newspaper exhibit is designed to contrast different global perspectives of current events."
UPDATE, 8/3/2015: A UCSC staff member writes:
"The person who was most directly involved with the implementation of this system has retired. I will try to answer your questions as best I can. 
The current newspaper display was installed in 2011 based on an earlier pilot installation in 2009. It uses Mac Mini computers and 30" Dell monitors. The image swapping is managed by the MacOS screen saver application. The newspaper images are .jpegs managed by newseum.org and those images are updated on that site daily. The library contracted with a programmer to do some customized scripting to automate the daily download of new newspaper images. Unfortunately, I do not have any contact information for that developer."
So, it sounds like a script downloads the fixed image URLs, from Newseum, which updates the image URLs, daily. For example, the Centre, Alabama, USA newspaper, "The Post". The script may copy the images to a folder on the computer driving each display (or perhaps a server folder). The computer then displays the images, in the configured folder, via native screensaver utility.

Seems pretty straightforward! I had wondered if Newseum represented the source; nice to see it confirmed. The script just iterates over a configured list of newspaper images, probably calling something like wget.

Note: Lee Jaffe may represent the retired staff member referred to, above. The 2009 installation seems to represents the install seen in several photos from Lee's Flickr account, prior to the McHenry Library remodel.

UPDATE: 04/08/2023 - 
Newseum as an organization dissolved in 2019. 

We stopped by the iHouse at UC Berkeley today and it looks like they removed their newspaper displays.

Here's how the UC Berkeley iHouse cafe displays looked as of September 17, 2019:

Photo courtesy IHouse UC Berkeley

 

Tuesday, July 14, 2015

"Computer Programming: What is the difference between developer, engineer, programmer, coder, architect, and consultant?"


  • A programmer knows how to program computers.
  • A developer is a programmer who sits in a cubicle and gets paid for it.
  • A coder is a programmer who sits on a beanbag listening to techno in a black T-shirt and gets paid for it.
  • An architect is a programmer who thinks up something really big for the other programmers to program, and gets paid for it
  • A consultant was a programmer, but now wears a suit and tells developers, coders, and architects how they ought to develop, code and architect, and gets paid a lot for it.
Jon Peterson, via

Monday, July 13, 2015

Traceroute

oh?
"The default starting port in UNIX traceroute is 33434. This comes from 32768 (2 This comes from 32768 (2 15 ^ or the max value of a , or the max value of a signed 16-bit integer) + 666 (the mark of Satan)."
Via 

Wednesday, July 08, 2015

Monday, June 29, 2015

Rocket Farms Bamboo

Purchased a Rocket Farms "Lucky" Bamboo plant (Dracaena braunii), at a local Trader Joe's.

The label details say it will "improve" luck...which represents a relief...sometimes they do not specify good or bad luck! ; o )

Care instructions

NOTES
  • How I Keep My Houseplants Alive
  • Water
    • Filtered or distilled OK
    • Tap water OK, but let sit overnight, so additives evaporate
  • Low humidity can cause leaf tips to turn brown as well (via)
  • In soil: should be kept moderately moist. Lucky bamboo doe not like to be soggy or dry. (via)
  • Other (?)

Sunday, June 28, 2015

Makers Market Santa Cruz

Visited the Makers Market Santa Cruz today, at Abbott Square.

We met local glass maker Zachary Rudolph, saw Nickelodeon popcorn for sale, and listened to live harp music, by local artist Jesse Autumn. Zachary had purple drinking ware for sale (note: other colors, as well). He practiced his sales-fu on us, but we resisted! : o ) Good stuff; hoping he keeps doing it.

Saturday, June 27, 2015

Favorite Sounds

An ongoing list:
  • Clacking of slow-moving, elevated light rail trains, from a distance
  • Cicadas, in the summertime (audio)
  • Frogs, at night
  • Male woodland cicadas (Tibicen platypedia?), in redwoods: "...from male woodland cicadas, sending out their mating calls with "a cacophony of mechanical-sounding clicks." These little insects climb high into the trees, so that they're often heard but rarely seen." (via)
  • Red-winged blackbird 💜 (example)
  • Other (?)

Only as sick as your secrets

Having never attended AA, I had not heard this quote, until randomly hearing/reading about it the other day.

Hiyashi Tan Tan Men

Had this cold noodle dish at Ramen House Ryujin, in Sacramento.

Andrew Westerman

Westside Coffee, in Santa Cruz, features his photography.

Radio Songs

Heard on KOSF 103.7 FM, out of San Francisco, California:
Heard on KBLX 102.9 FM, out of Berkeley, California:
  • Detroit-native Kem's "I Can't Stop Loving You", from his 2005 album "Album II", on the Motown Records label. Audio.
Heard on KUSP 88.9 FM, out of Santa Cruz, California:
  • Heard a classical tarantella . A fun exchange where the host did not know how to pronounce "roulette".

Cloning, Increasing SSD Partitions of Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon, 2nd Generation (Rel 2)

Used a Transcend 512 GB SATA III SSD, in the following enclosure, to clone the existing 128GiB SSD: "ZTC Thunder Enclosure NGFF M.2 SSD to USB 3.0 Adapter. Support UASP SuperSpeed 6Gb/s 520MB/s Black Model ZTC-EN004-BK"
  • Really tough to insert the Transcend SSD drive into the ZTC M.2 SSD to USB 3.0 Adapter board (the adapter board and SSD then gets inserted into the enclosure)
  • The adapter's USB 3.0 Micro-B receptacle seemed poorly soldered, most likely a factory defect
    • After inserting the USB 3.0 Micro-B plug, Microsoft Windows recognized the adapter, then, after a few seconds, lost connection to it
    • The adapter's blue LEDs turned on/off in the same way
    • Physically bumping the adapter seemed to produce the same effect
    • After some experimentation, I discovered flexing the USB 3.0 Micro-B receptacle, at a downward angle, allowed for a reliable connection
  • After finding the workaround mentioned above, I sat for nearly 18 minutes, holding the adapter board perfectly still, at this angle, to complete the clone of the existing disk
  • We did not use the aluminum enclosure, just the M.2 SSD to USB 3.0 Adapter...due to the faulty soldering...having the adapter in the enclosure did not allow for the workaround
  • We used software Macrium Reflect Free, version 6.0.685 (17 June 2015); it worked perfectly--love it!
After cloning the internal disk, we replaced the 128GiB X1 Carbon internal SSD with the new 512GiB SSD:
  • This went smoothly
  • We needed to apply a non-trivial amount of force to unscrew the screw holding down the SSD
  • Insertion of the Transcend 512 GB SATA III drive was no problem
Rebooting showed everything as expected!

Due to dual-OS configuration, on one disk, enlarging partitions had a few wrinkles:
  • The original 128GB SSD had a hidden, 7GiB Intel Rapid Start Technology (IRST) partition, as the last partition
  • We found no partition editors which would allow us to move this partition 
  • After disabling BIOS IRST support and doing some research, we deleted this partition, with no ill effect
  • The vendor seems to have labeled this partition "OEM", which caused a bit of confusion, initially...many posts advised, rightfully so, to not delete the OEM partition
  • After deleting the IRST partition, we successfully moved the Ubuntu swap partition, allowing room to expand the main Ubuntu partition size
  • After a reboot, we increased the partition size of the Microsoft Windows 8 C:\ partition (after taking a risk and deleting a 1.0 MiB partition which seemed unused)
  • We also created a new IRST partition:
    • Type = Unformatted
    • Drive Letter = None
    • Use diskpart to set the ID to D3BFE2DE-3DAF-11DF-BA40-E3A556D89593
  • After creating the IRST partition, we re-enabled IRST in BIOS
  • Hibernation works, as expected, with the system going into Microsoft Windows S4 sleep mode
So far, all seems well. Ubuntu and Microsoft Windows work, as expected. 

Cleanup tasks:
  • Migrate files from external USB 3.0 SSD to internal USB 3.0 SSD
  • Update Ubuntu
  • (?)
Previously

Tuesday, June 23, 2015

Wanship

An "n"...or maybe an "r" (?)

Passed by this thought-provoking logo, on a trailer:


Note: Wanship seems to refer to the Utah city...however, the web site seems a bit vague.

Wisdom, from their History page: "Bruce said, the most important thing is to know what your costs are, and don’t run for less than your costs ! sounds simple, but as our industry has proven time and time again, overcoming that obstacle is something that is easier said than done."

"Dokdo Belongs to Korea"

Saw this sign, as I passed the dispensary, "Santa Cruz Mountain Herb," on Highway 17. It refers to Dokdo:
"The Liancourt Rocks,[a] also known as Dokdo or Tokto (Korean pronunciation: [tokt͈o]; Hangul: 독도; hanja: 獨島, literally solitary island) inKorean, and Takeshima (竹島/たけしま?, literally bamboo island) in Japanese,[2] are a group of small islets in the Sea of Japan. WhileSouth Korea controls the islets, its sovereignty over them is contested by Japan. South Korea classifies the islets as Dokdo-ri, Ulleung-eup, Ulleung County, North Gyeongsang Province.[3] Japan classifies them as part of Okinoshima, Oki District, Shimane Prefecture."

Tom Paine Slough

A thing I passed.

"Yesterday This Day's Madness did prepare...."

“Yesterday This Day's Madness did prepare;
To-morrow's Silence, Triumph, or Despair:
Drink! for you know not whence you came, nor why:
Drink! for you know not why you go, nor where.”

The Rubaiyat
By Omar Khayyam

Saw this today, at an Alhambra Theatre Fountain, now a Safeway, in Sacramento.

Sunday, June 21, 2015

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon, 2nd Generation (Rel 2) - SSD Replacement / Upgrade

Our refurbished laptop came with a 128GB SSD, which quickly filled-up, due to dual-booting, student software, and so forth.

So, time to upgrade!

Lenovo recommends the following storage options:
  • 128GB SSD M.2
  • Intel 180GB Opal SSD
  • 256GB SSD M.2 eDrive Capable
  • Intel 240GB Opal SSD
  • 512GB SSD M.2
NOTES
  • Lingo
    • Second generation names:
      • ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 2
      • ThinkPad X1 Carbon 2nd gen
      • New ThinkPad X1 Carbon
      • ThinkPad X1C2
    • m.2
      • "The M.2 connector can have different keying notches that denote various uses of M.2 modules."
      • Overview of what M and B+M means
    • eDrive: 
      • Per Wikipedia, "Microsoft eDrive is a specification for storage devices to allow compliant storage devices to use its built-in encryption."
      • It seems "eDrive adds the additional capability of BitLocker in HW mode (IEEE1667)
    • Opal: 
      • Per Wikipedia, "The Opal Storage Specification is a set of specifications for features of data storage devices (such as disk drives) that enhance their security. For example, it defines a way of encrypting the stored data so that an unauthorized person who gains possession of the device cannot see the data."
      • It appears Opal does not represent an acronym
    • PCIe (PCI Express, or Peripheral Component Interconnect Express)
    • Overview of what 2280 means (note: please ignore PCIe, at the link)
      • 2280 means, "22mm wide, 80mm length"
      • 22mm width seems to represent the standard, with lengths set at 30, 42, 60, 80, and 110
  • Reference
    • Hardware Maintenance Manual, for machine types: 20A7 and 20A8
    • Lenovo Product Specifications Reference (PSREF)
    • Comparing mSATA (generation one) with m.2 (generation two)
  • X1 generation 2, announced in January, 2014, comes in two machine types:
  • Storage details:
    • One commenter, on which drives will work: "...any SATA (not the newest PCIe) 2280 m.2 SSD with M or B+M keys."
    • Seems to imply it needs the notch in the m.2 module in the "M" position
    • 80mm length (or less, I guess?)...so, no 110mm form factors
    • "Only one M.2 slot in the X1C2 will recognize SSDs" (via)
    • Note: "The SSD in the X1C2 only supported SATA M.2 2280 NGFF SSDs. Which means that the port was only connected to SATA. With the X1C3, the socket is connected to both PCIe and SATAIII." That is, you can use PCIe SSDs.
    • SSDs advertised as 480GB instead of 512GB...potentially the controller over-provisioning (?)
  • Upgrade notes
    • Video of removing chassis screws and replacing SSD, in a first generation X1 Carbon
    • Clone the existing SSD to the new SSD
  • Vendor options:
We determined to go with the Transcend and ZTC Thunder.


Cat maintenance

Spending some time today reviewing our cat maintenance setup.

CURRENT
Two domestic shorthair cats
Omega Paw Roll' N Clean Litterbox (3x)
PetSmart ExquisiCat Naturals Pine Cat Litter

PROBLEMS
The Roll' N Clean litter box does not work with pine pellets litter. It does work well with pine cobble litter, but the cobble tracks all over our carpets. The pine pellets track much less. The Roll' N Clean litter box takes some effort to turn over and sift, which means, in practice, it does not get done, as frequently as needed.

With a busy student lifestyle, minimizing maintenance represents a goal.

IDEAS

  • Pine sawdust falls into sub-tray
  • Unused pellets remain in upper-tray (note: we dispose of many unused pellets, currently, as too much hassle to sift)
  • Manually remove solids, daily
  • "The sawdust that falls to the bottom absolutely REEKS when you go to scoop it out...I guess because it’s so concentrated and no air gets to it down there."
  • A response: "I find that spreading a little bit of litter on the bottom pan to help absorb the urine soaked litter as it falls makes a big difference. When I do this, I don’t get the urine smell."
  • Pellets get wedged in the holes (note: yes; have noticed this also on our tracking mats)
  • Lower sides (?)
PeeWee Cat Litter Box (note: not in the United States (?) )

  • Non-absorbent safflower seeds
  • Liquid drains to sub-tray, then collected, via slope, into sub-sub-reservoir
  • Manually remove solids, daily
  • Zeolite pellets; exchange after one month
  • Pads trap liquids, in sub-tray; exchange after one week
  • Anecdotal evidence seems to indicate can use pine pellets
  • Manually remove solids, daily
  • "Runny/watery solids which will go all over the pellets and is tougher and takes longer to clean."
Iris Cat Litter Scoop

We determined to go with the Feline Pine Self Cleaning Litter Box.

Additionally:

We recently purchased a BISSELL SpotClean Professional Portable Carpet Cleaner, 3624.

On Saturday, we wondered where to find BISSELL 2X Pet Stain & Odor Portable Machine Formula, 32 ounces, 74R7. Unfortunately, the ones we saw, at PetSmart, said, on the label, "for FULL SIZED cleaner only." So, we did not buy those. On the Bissell web site, they have some squishy answers (in my opinion) about this.

Bissell also recommend "pre-treating the area before cleaning for best results." So, we should probably do that.

Monday, June 15, 2015

Random Marshall Rosenberg Notes

Paolo Freire - regarding his efforts to teach literacy to Brazilian populace

Alfie Kohn - "Punished by Rewards: The Trouble with Gold Stars, Incentive Plans, A's, Praise, and Other Bribes" (Houghton Mifflin, 1993/1999)

O.J. Harvey - Research on the relationship between language and violence

Stimulus notebook, for later review

Dan Greenburg - "How to Make Yourself Miserable: Another Vital Training Manual" (1966)

Herb Gardner's play, "A Thousand Clowns" (1962)

Manfred Max Neef - "...urged a change towards "Human Scale Development" of local economies based on the satisfaction of nine fundamental human needs: subsistence, protection, affection, understanding, participation, leisure, creation, identity and freedom. He measured the success of a development plan by how well it satisfied these nine needs for the community in question." (via)

Safety comes from how we respond to people, not how they respond.

Carl Rogers

Martin Buber

Choppy energy of people in the most need of empathy express it most violently. (Disk 4, Track 2)

Example of husband who denies own needs. (Disk 5, Track 3)

Dr. M.R. recommends making a list of things afraid to say and then think about why afraid to say it. If honest, others are ok (Disk 4, Track 10)

Sunday, June 14, 2015

Santa Cruz Sunday

Walked from our apartment to the Seymour Marine Discovery Center / Long Marine Laboratory.

Smells of dill as we passed the Homeless Garden Project, the non-profit which currently operates the Natural Bridges Farm location, at 30 W Cliff Dr, Santa Cruz.

Watched two surfers floating and waiting for sizable waves, a few of which they caught and rode, for a short distance.

From there, we took the coastal path a short distance to the Seymour Marine Discovery Center. An interpretive sign mentioned how the facilities use a coastal water intake to service their operations with sea water, which they return to the sea. A passing docent talked a bit about the gray whale skeleton (for example, she mentioned they favor one side when diving into the mud, at the bottom; also, they have not protected the bones with a cast, yet). We saw Ms. Blue, then headed to the Ocean Discovery Shop. At the gift shop, we saw the following:

On the way back, we noticed a car with a sticker reading "Can't Afford It", which seems to represent Santa Cruz resident Zachary Frandeen's enterprise, started in 2011-12.

Saturday, June 13, 2015

Grandmaster Chess Blitz

Out of the blue, I saw an article on Grandmaster Maxim Dlugy, who lost to a complicated maneuver.

Interestingly, this represented the first chess Banter Blitz I have seen! So, I have watched a few, since then.

When Marnie Was There

Dawn and I viewed the 2014 Studio Ghibli film, "When Marnie Was There", at The Nick.

A wonderful film, one of the best animated films I have seen, ever.

Costco Jewelry

572458 - heart-shaped pendant, diamond, ruby
970951 - heart-shaped pendant, blue topaz
886221 - amethyst pendant
444915 - multicolor freshwater pearl necklace

Om Gallery - Egg Chair, Space Chair

Stopped at Om Gallery store in Santa Cruz and Dawn really liked this wicker hanging egg chair:

Note: photo via Om Gallery Instagram (price: 50% off, I think, as of 9/25/2015, so down from ~$900 to ~$450 (?))

Also liked the hanging turtles. And also a space chair two-seater (!):

Chair, on the right (tag read something like "hyacinth chair": ~$1500 (?))


Metrojuice Porsche, Tesla

At Jamba Juice for breakfast, on Thursday, and noticed a woman and a man talking. They exited, and she departed in a Tesla, while he left in a Porsche. They both carried what seemed like lunch bags with the logo "Metrojuice" on them.

Apparently, this refers to Metro Juice Kitchen and Drinkery, which plans to open a new location on R Street.

Notable only due to the vehicles!

Radio Songs

Heard on KFOG 104.5 FM out of San Francisco, California:
  • Honolulu, Hawaii-native Israel Kamakawiwo'ole's "Somewhere over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World" from his 1990 album "Ka 'Ano'i" on the Discos Tropical, Mountain Apple, and Big Boy labels. Video.
Heard on FRSC (namely, "Free Radio Santa Cruz") 101.3 FM out of Santa Cruz, California:
  • As mentioned previously, heard what sounded like ambient music, ala Hearts of Space, around 10:30 p.m.

Wednesday, June 10, 2015

Homey Cozy Lovey Dovey

So good!

Puuung
http://www.grafolio.com/illustration/detail.grfl?projectNo=31639

From the artist:
“Love” is something everybody can relate to.
And “Love” comes in ways we can easily overlook in our daily lives.
So, I try to find the meaning of love in our daily lives and make it into artworks. 

Red Knoll, LLC

In Sacramento, on S Street, between 15th and 16th Streets, the City of Sacramento has shuttered at least three homes:


The notices on the structures cites, in one case, a dangerous structure (the stairs), and, in the other case, junk left in the yard, poor upkeep, and so forth. City staff seem to have served the papers in the March-April time frame.

City staff have also shuttered the building on the corner of 15th Street and S Street. The building in-between all of these buildings also seems abandoned/empty.

However, the final two buildings, on that side of the block, an auto repair business and a private homeowner, seem OK. 

My first thought: someone plans to do development. My second thought: who is Red Knoll, LLC, out of Roseville, California, that owns and apparently has abandoned at least two of the properties?

Hrm. A mystery!

UPDATE: 10/2015: It seems this may represent a project in the works, to convert these properties into "76 residential units above 13,000 square feet of commercial space. Steve Whitesides of Roseville is the applicant." Via: http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/news/2014/07/29/five-story-mixed-used-building-proposed-for.html

Guitarist - Beat It, by Michael Jackson

Question: The guitarist for the song "Beat It", by Michael Jackson.

Answer: Who was Eddie Van Halen?

Nice! : o )

Santa Cruz Wave Photography

Photography on display at Westside Coffee, Santa Cruz:

MATT DOLL (worldwaveimagery)

I think they have this one blown up to 5'x4' (approx) (?)

Photo: Matt Doll; used for illustrative purposes only

Saturday, June 06, 2015

Radio Songs

Heard on KSJS 90.5 FM out of San Jose, California:
Heard on KPIG 107.5 FM out of Freedom, California:

James Mickens - Zombie Preparation

http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/people/mickens/thenightwatch.pdf

Via

Monday, June 01, 2015

Santa Cruz Japanese Cultural Fair

http://jcfsantacruz.org/

Santa Cruz poster

Java Junction, in Santa Cruz, near Petsmart, has this poster:


http://www.lanternpress.com/catalog/item/33335?from=

Houseboat living

http://www.sunset.com/home/architecture-design/houseboat

Radio songs

Heard on KISQ 98.1 FM out of San Francisco, California:

  • ??? at 5/29 at 11:15 p.m.

Heard on KABX 97.5 FM out of Modesto, California:

  • ??? Something with lyrics "I've got some news for you" from 6/1 at 11:55 a.m.

Heard on KRXQ 98.5 FM out of Sacramento, California:

Dawn had this on her mind: 
"Camille Saint-Saëns Clarinet Sonata in E flat major, Op.167 - Allegretto" (audio)

Sunday, May 31, 2015

Configuring HP LaserJet CP1525nw

Found myself configuring out network printer again, so recording for future reference:

  • Connect printer to router via network cable
  • Power on the printer
  • Use menu "Reports" to discover the IP address of the printer
  • Connect to that IP address via web browser
  • Configure wireless settings
  • Disconnect the network cable from the printer
  • Reconfigure any printer settings on client devices

Sunday, May 24, 2015

Copland clarinet concerto vs. Addams Family theme

In a continuation of classical themes re-use, a passage of Aaron Copland's Clarinet Conerto (1948) seems quite similar to the theme song from the television show The Addams Family (1964-66):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Addams_Family_Theme
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clarinet_Concerto_(Copland)

Previously, previously

"Parity is for farmers"

Seymour Cray, 1963.

Note: later, he stated, "I learned that a lot of farmers buy computers."

Note: this use of the term seems to stem from a part of the New Deal, which aimed to pay subsidies to farmers, in exchange for not bringing their products to market. The idea: limit supply of certain farm products, drive up prices, and allow farmers to earn "parity" pay for their efforts, in comparison to other professions.

"...[S]cience has taken a turn towards darkness"

Darkness!

Dr. Richard Horton and Dr. Marcia Angell, editors of Lancet and New England Medical Journal, respectively call bull-shittake on a lot of medical research published:
“The case against science is straightforward: much of the scientific literature, perhaps half, may simply be untrue. Afflicted by studies with small sample sizes, tiny effects, invalid exploratory analyses, and flagrant conflicts of interest, together with an obsession for pursuing fashionable trends of dubious importance, science has taken a turn towards darkness.”  
http://www.collective-evolution.com/2015/05/16/editor-in-chief-of-worlds-best-known-medical-journal-half-of-all-the-literature-is-false/
Reasons given?
  • data is sculpted to fit a preferred theory
  • important confirmations are often rejected
  • little is done to correct bad practices
  • omission of data: vaccine manufacturers, pharmaceutical companies, and health authorities have known about multiple dangers associated with vaccines but chose to withhold them from the public
Via

Saturday, May 23, 2015

Place names: -chester, -caster, -cester, -shire, counties, parishes, and boroughs

 History!
When the Romans came to Great Britain, they built a bunch of forts called castra, which was Anglicized to chester. So, English cities whose names end in -chester, -caster and -cester were once Roman settlements, places like Manchester, Cirencester and Worcester. 
When the Anglo-Saxons arrived in England, they divided the land into shires, which is why so many English place names end in -shire. 
Finally, the Normans invaded England in 1066, and they subdivided the land into counties, from which we get the title of “Count”.
Of course, English settlers to North America brought the county system with them. And thus, every state in America is subdivided into counties, except for Louisiana (which is divided into parishes based on an old Spanish system) and Alaska (which is divided into boroughs).
Via

Japanese Film Festival - Sacramento, 2015

Films announced!

  1. Like Father Like Son
  2. I Was Born But...
  3. The Tale of the Princess Kaguya
  4. Hafu, the Mixed Race Dxperience In Japan
  5. Unforgiven
  6. Pecoross’ Mother and Her Days
  7. Under the Blood Red Sun

Erika Perloff

A painting of the Pacific coast, by Erika Perloff:



The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 2013 film

Saw a copy of the 2013 film, "The Watsons Go to Birmingham" on display and would like to view it, at some point.

The trees sang fire

I'm a poet and did not know it! ; o )

Thought of this line last night on the drive through Campbell/Los Gatos, at sunset, with the reddish/orange rays illuminating the sides of the redwoods.

Seemed like a good intro line for a book involving dragons! ; o ) As of today, Google returns no hits for that specific phrase.

Radio Songs



    Heard on KEZR 106.5 FM, out of San Jose, California:


    Heard on KBAY 94.5 FM, out of San Jose, California:
    Heard on KZSU 90.1 FM, out of Stanford, California:

    Thursday, May 21, 2015

    Las Vegas Notes

    Dawn and I recently weekended in Las Vegas:
    • High Roller (Ferris wheel)--interesting; entry/exit while moving
    • Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay
    • Homies Cinnamon Roll Cafe at the MGM (note: we tried the Homie's Awesome Apple Cinnamon Roll...it is!)
    • HEXX chocolate & confexxions (note: we had chocolate chip cookie ice-cream sandwich, with Ecuadorian single-origin chocolate ice cream)
    • Hershey’s Chocolate World--interesting, but did not purchase anything
    • Various vended items:
    • Heart-shaped lamp designs at the Brighton Collectibles-Caesar's
    • LUSH Cosmetics Mandalay Bay -- saleswoman named Sally cheered us up! 
    • Chris Reccardi art--saw his work inside the High Roller ticketing area (note: he did The Ren and Stimpy Show)
    • Fergus Greer portrait photography
      • William H. Macy
      • Elliot Gould
      • Rod Steiger
      • Dick Dale
      • LL Cool J
    • Rode the tram back, from Mandalay Bay to Excalibur
    • Reached the ticketing counter for the monorail but decided we prefer to walk the couple of blocks, rather than pay
    • The 2015 Rock In Rio concert coincided with our stay, but we did not have time to attend
    • Planet Hollywood hotel room #3756 
      • Room decor: the 1984 Robert Redford film "The Natural" (framed of Redford's "Knights" baseball jacket, framed promotional photos from the film, a side table with a faux-program and baseball card props, from the film)
      • Opened in 2007, our room seemed a bit tired looking
    • Ground transportation:
      • Stretch limo transportation from the airport to the hotel! Just us...we found a water bottle in the cooler, which was perfect...LED rainbow lights around the cabin...we buckled out seatbelts
      • Shuttle transportation from hotel to airport--with about 6-8 others
    • Other (?)

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