My visit to the Vintage Computer Festival SoCal

Vintage Computer Festival SoCal Logo

There were so many incredible computers from the 70s, 80s, and 90s!  Beautiful computers that might have just been taken out of the box.  I got to play with an Amiga 4000 with a Video Toaster! (My dream box from the 90s)  I used a Commodore Pet that is older than i am. Some of my favorite stuff is modern boards that work with the vintage computers like micro SD floppy drives and Wi-Fi modems.

Vintage Computer Festival SoCal - Amiga 4000 ToasterVintage Computer Festival SoCal - Amiga 500 DemoVintage Computer Festival SoCal - Commodore PetVintage Computer Festival SoCal - iBook Rainbow
Vintage Computer Festival SoCal - Analog TV Demo

A Nightvale live show in LA!

Nightvale - The Attic

I am excited to attend my first live Nightvale event.  i have enjoyed many of their podcasts over the years.  i was originally introduced to Welcome to Nightvale while driving through the southwest. It was fun to see the actual humans behind the voices.  I was amazed at how small a cast put on this show.  It was also amazing to see Disparition in action live, a badass!

Nighvale - The Attic

An Evening with Sir Patrick Stewart

evening with sir patrick stewart
An incredible dialog with Sir Patrick Stewart about his childhood, family, Shakespeare, and Star Trek.  The appearance was to promote his recently published memoir, “Making it so.”  500 copies were given away at the event, including one to myself.  Amazingly, they only forbid video and flash photography.  I was able to grab some pics and a pretty solid audio recording.  enjoy.

evening with sir patrick stewart

I had to fish my drone out of the LA River!

Filming the mural that is called, “The Great wall of Los Angeles.” i crashed my drone by being a terrible pilot (i need more practice in tight spaces}). I had to fish my DJI Mini 2 out of the LA River. good thing it crashed onto a dry patch and suffered minimal damage.

The Great Wall of Los Angeles is a mural on one wall of a one mile stretch of the LA River. If you don’t know that, it is the flood drainage system of Los Angeles.  There was a river at one point, but now it is a concrete riverbank accented with chain link.

At first i thought i just needed to flip it over and i could liftoff.  alas, i had to construct an elaborate fishing pole of entangling loops attached to a telescoping dusting pole i had.  Just out of reach, it took nearly 30 minutes and countless attempts to ensnare my little mini.

Drone Crash View Drone Crash Damage

The look on my face when i finally recovered my drone
The look on my face when i finally recovered my drone

I Visited Niland, The Salton Sea, and Slab City.

Niland CA - Beach Sunset

I traveled to The Salton Sea to meet some of the alternative communities and see the incredible artwork coming from the area.  Also it’s a great place to get in some drone flights.

Niland CA - flooded streets Niland CA - Art Niland CA - Beach Niland CA - Beach Art Niland CA - Beach Art Niland CA - Beach Art Niland CA - Beach Art - Phone Booth of Love Niland CA - Beach Art - Bus Stop Niland CA - ArtworkNiland CA - Artwork and be3n credit: https://instagram.com/Christi.lugtu
Outside of the town of Niland sits the remains of a Camp Dunlap (commissioned in 1942).  All that remain are the concrete slabs that give Slab City its name.  Since the 1980s people have been camping there for free.  Now a few permanent encampments and even a few event venues exist.  There is no water or electricity or any other government services.  There is an eBike rental place, an internet cafe, a Hostel, a Library, and the East Jesus art exhibition.

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