My final visit to the Encino Avenue bridge.

Encino Avenue bridge demolition

After reading of its impending destruction, i was hoping to pay the Encino Avenue pedestrian overpass a final visit.  Unfortunately visits were discouraged. The messaging was a bit mixed, as the fence was literally tied up with string.  i took pictures without trespassing.  The 101 will shutdown between White Oak and Burbank over the weekend for the bridge’s demolition.

Encino Avenue bridge demolition - Do Not EnterEncino Avenue bridge demolition - Tied up with string

Cleaning out my office I found an ancient Asterisk Box!

Found Ancient Asterisk System - Digium TDM

Originally my router/PBX this Dell P4 was installed with some of the earliest Digium PCI analogue cards.  This card supported both FXS and FXO modules, and i used them both in various configurations. One of the FXS modules is what allowed my housemate’s old rotary phone to connect to the house phone system.  I loved testing the system by ringing his phone.  The ringing of its actual bell, was a delight. That dell survived the infamous flood (by already being decommissioned).  I think I paid over $200 for this card alone. Now i run Asterisk off my Raspberry Pi with a total hardware cost considerably less than that.

Found Ancient Asterisk System - Digium TDM (back)Found Ancient Asterisk System - Digium FXS Module

Introducing DEFCam or how i made a hat for DEFCON!

DEFCam hat

This is a silly project that i have spent probably too much time on.  First I thought, why not time-lapse my upcoming defcon trip.  Then i thought, why not live stream it.  So… I started with a Pi Zero and a Pi Camera v1.  Wired some pins to the GPIO for power.  Made a custom wire and hot glued it into the hat.  Done!

https://be3n.com/defcon

DEFCam - pi zero cam case

DEFCam - prototypeDEFCam - original wiringDEFCam - can see itself
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