Event: Dorkbot Socal #34 - March 8, 2009

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Oh man, I am so going to make it to this Dorkbot SoCal meeting, The 3 speakers all look amazing. This is going to be a great meeting. Join me!

Dorkbot SoCal #34

Sunday, March 8, 2009
1:00pm [warning: first day daylight savings time!]
Machine Project
1200 D North Alvarado Street
Los Angeles, CA 90026

Dorkbot SoCal speakers include Dan Goods, Visual Strategist at JPL, where he develops creative ways of communicating science. He recently has done artwork with aerogel and is on a team to develop a 108-foot long data driven sculpture at the San Jose airport.

Mindshare Labs' Eric Gradman and Brent Bushnell will present ArtFall: a dynamic physical simulation by drawing on a whiteboard.

Brian O'Connor will show how to connect an Arduino to the Chumby and develop a simple application that monitors the environment.

More info: http://www.dorkbot.org/dorkbotsocal

Event:Tomatomania comes (again) to LA - Mar 27-29

The annual Tomatomania will arrive in Los Angeles on March 27-29. You can find more information, including all the locations for Tomatomania around the country on the web site at Tomatomania.com.

Here is a video I shot at last year's event.



iPod Ready Video

Events: Machine Project This Weekend

Machine Project (1200 D North Alvarado, Los Angeles, CA 90026, 213-483-8761) has some excellent events scheduled for this weekend. Something for everyone. The Music Learning event on Sunday night intrigues me the most. I am all about participatory music. Music should be an active process, not passively listening to other's music.

From Machine Project Newsletter ...

We have a busy weekend. Friday is a book release party for conceptual housepainter Bernard Brunon, Saturday we have twelve hours straight of music movies, and Sunday we are hosting a Learning Music event that culminates in a performance by all attendees (including you!). Read on for more information, or just stop by and see what happens.

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THAT’S PAINTING Book release party
Friday Feb 27th from 8pm to 10pm.
FREE

Please join us at Machine Project to celebrate the release of THAT’S PAINTING a new book on the work of conceptual house painter Bernard Brunon. This event will be accompanied by Music To Watch Paint Dry By, arranged by our current artist in residence Emily Lacy, and a slide show of walls previously painted by Mr Brunon.

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Great Music Films
Saturday Feb 28th from Noon until Midnight
FREE

Stop on by for a full day of music films at Machine, curated by Emily Lacy. We’ll have some uncomfortable plastic chairs and a few comfortable bean bag chairs for you to sit in. Feel free to bring snacks, drinks, pajamas, sleeping bags, cushions, hammocks, sofas, futons, etc. Free. Featuring Pete Seeger, Will Oldham, Bob Dylan, Patti Smith and more

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Learning Music’s Music Learning Workshop
Sunday March 1st 8pm
FREE

John Wood will lead the audience in an interactive lecture, teaching a few pieces of music that will culminate in a massive live performance. Participants are asked to bring a small instrument (especially if you have a small, battery-powered keyboard) for the occasion; members of Learning Music will be on hand to teach and play. We will try to have extra instruments around for anyone who can’t bring one. Anyone attending the event should be prepared to participate in group singing, clapping, or easy instrument-playing. No prior experience is required.

LA Street Traffic in Google Maps

Update: It looks like this was only a test on Google's part. I hope they move to launch it as soon as possible, though, as it will be amazingly helpful in navigating around the city

How did I miss this? Has this feature been available for a while?

If you look at this screen grab, you will notice that Google Maps traffic now shows surface street traffic, not just the freeways. I used to have to go to the LA City Traffic Info page to get this amount of detail.

Unfortunately, the iPhone Maps application doesn't show this data yet. This would be so cool and so useful to have in the palm of your hand when driving about the city, like I do.

Cherry Trees at Lake Balboa 2009

It's that time of year again...the Japanese Cherry Trees at Lake Balboa are starting their annual bloom. I would say they are at about 10% today, but I would expect the bloom to come on fast over the next 1-2 weeks.

It is quite an amazing show when at its height, so don't dawdle or you might miss it. Week days are best, as the park can be very busy on the weekend.

Here are some photos from last year's bloom.

Dark Blue Tower

Dark Blue Tower
Originally uploaded by dewelch

I grabbed this photo on my iPhone will gassing up in Pasadena after a client call. The dramatic bright spot above the tower seemed to call out for a photo.

Photos from the State of the Industry Panel Discussion for the Cosmo Coalition

Cosmo Coalition.org

Event: 2009 San Fernando Valley GEMboree Gem Mineral and Jewelry Show in Northridge!

*** Now with audio! Listen

2009 San Fernando Valley GEMboree Gem Mineral and Jewelry Show in Northridge!

Friday February 27, 2009 - Saturday February 28, 2009

UNITED METHODIST CHURCH bldg

9650 RESEDA BLVD
Northridge, California Get Directions

FOR TWO DAYS ONLY, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 27TH AND SATURDAY FEBRUARY 28TH, 2009

THERE’S FREE ADMISSION AND FREE PARKING!

FIND UNIQUE GIFTS - CRYSTALS – FOSSILS – GEMS – BEADS - YOUTH GAMES – PRECIOUS STONES - DISPLAYS – SPHERES -MINERAL SPECIMENS – AND HANDMADE JEWELRY

SO SHOP LATE! – FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 27TH
WE’RE OPEN FROM 3PM TO 9:30 PM

SHOP EARLY! - SATURDAY FEBRUARY 28TH
FROM 10AM TO 5:00 PM

THE GEMBOREE IS AT 9650 RESEDA BLVD AT THE CORNER OF SUPERIOR IN NORTHRIDGE BEHIND THE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH!

SPONSORED BY THE DEL AIR ROCKHOUNDS CLUB A 501 C3 REGISTERED CALIFORNIA NON PROFIT EDUCATIONAL CORPORATION

Website: http://delairrockhounds.org

Category: Festivals

Doug's Neat Friends: Christie at U Move Me Pilates

Sometimes in the hustle and bustle of life I forget to tell you about some of my other neat friends. Here is one for all you health-minded folks out there.

Christie and her husband, H.E. are fellow parents at my son's school and great folks overall. They are warm and open and we really appreciate them being part of our circle of friends. Christie has a pilates studio in Sherman Oaks.

If you have thought about getting back into some sort of physical activity regimen, think about a session with Christie. I have been walking nearly daily lately, but I have been looking for something to add to the mix myself and this is what got me thinking about Christie and her business. Not sure if I am up for Pilates, but it is worth a thought. (SMILE)

Check out U Move Me Pilates and let me know what you think.

U Move Me Pilates, Christie Greer
http://www.umovemepilates.com/
14622 Ventura Blvd Ste 203 Sherman Oaks, Ca 91403
Studio Phone: 818-461-9050
Email: umoveme@sbcglobal.net

OC Podcasters meeting

OC Podcasters Meeting

Elsewhere Online: Soup Swap: have you tried it?

A soup swap? What a great idea! We are constantly looking for ways to get our friends together to visit, talk and eat and this could be a new addition to our repertoire. We recently started doing monthly Pasta Feeds, where we cook up a bunch of pasta, but a Soup Swap would be perfect for these cold (?) Winter days here in LA.

Since I am tech geek, people often ask me how I deal with the computer and other technology all day? Well,I find ways of combining the High-Tech with High-Touch events like this and our annual parties. Despite much denigration of late, I truly believe in striving for a balance in your life. Just like cooking, a little bit of this and a little bit of that can go a long way towards building a wonderful and happy life.

Soup Swap: Have You Tried It?

from The Kitchn by Joanna

Have you tried the nationwide sensation that is the Soup Swap? In short, you get a bunch of friends together, everyone brings soup, drinks some wine, and goes home with more soup. We're sold!

We missed out on National Soup Swap Day on January 24, but the experts at SoupSwap.com say that's of little importance. They urge you to "swap when you can!" And as we're in the midst of Soup Month here at The Kitchn, what better time than now? Or, preferably, two weeks from now as to give your fellow swappers ample time to plan and cook, they advise. Knox Gardner is the mastermind behind Soup Swap and started the events back in the '90s in Seattle, eventually planning more swaps in Boston. Today, Soup Swap has taken on a life of its own, with swaps popping up across the country. We think it sounds like a great way to share your cooking, try new soups and – best of all – spend time with friends without a huge effort or expense. We also love the little extras some swappers have thrown in – like buttons or customized wooden spoons. Homemade crackers or bread would be great too.

Read the entire article

LA DWP reports power outage in Van Nuys and Sherman Oaks

Update: 1206pm: Power was restored while we were out on our daily walk. Sometime between 1100am and Noon.

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Our power here on the border of Van Nuys and Sherman Oaks has been out
since around 1030am.

A call to the LA DWP customer service line (818) 342-5397 reports that
power lines are down and crews are working on the issue.

Blogging and Twittering from my iPhone for now.

LA Wordpress User Group Meeting at Philippes

Toni Koch at Pitch-a-Song

Pitch-a-Song Panel

LA Friday Coffee and LA2600

LA Friday Coffee and LA2600 share the space

LA Friday Coffee at Philippes

Event: LA2600 Meeting Tonight - Segwii

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More information on LA2600

"2600 meetings are open to anyone with an interest in technology: our attendees come from a wide variety of backgrounds, and all are welcome."

6 February 2009: Arko gives a talk on the Segwii.

The Segwii is a self-balancing robot that is remotely controlled by a Wiimote. The goal of this project is to educate robot enthusiasts, share ideas, and to improve on designs. There are many things to learn and help out in, including open source software and hardware, complementary filtering, PID (Proportional Inegral Derivatives), and embedded systems programming.

Arko will be bringing the prototype Segwii for all to play with.

For more information on the Segwii project, visit http://www.segwii.com/

Will the Segwii become self-aware and enslave all humanity? Come to February's LA2600 and find out.

Chilly Willy - More Pancakes? More Butter More Syrup?

When having dinner with other folks, I sometimes make reference to "More pancakes? More butter? More syrup?" Of course, no one ever knows what I am referring to. It comes from a Chilly Willy cartoon I remember from my childhood. The trouble with obscure references like this (along with the "Possobowl. Possobowl" from Deputy Dawg) is that no one gets the joke.

Now, thanks to our great friend, Mia, you can all see the source material for this reference, which she found on YouTube.

Douglas' Upcoming Events

Event: Del-Air Education Team To Give Talk At Woodland Hills Library

Del-Air Education Team To Give Talk At Local Library

February 7th 2009 - 1:00 pm at the Woodland Hills Library
22200 Ventura Blvd. between Topanga Cyn Blvd. & Shoup

FREE!!!

Club members Keri Dearborn and Maxine Dearborn will be giving a talk on "Ice Age Animals". This should last for about an hour and is for adults and children. They will have a large collection of ice age bones, artifacts and pictures along with the Del-Air Education Team's specimens to enlighten, entertain and educate you on all the ice age animals. Take the time to stop by and see our exceptional education team in action.

Video: LA Friday Coffee at Griffith Observatory

A short montage of LA Friday Coffee held at the Griffith Observatory in Griffith Park, Los Angeles, California.

iPod Ready Video

Through downtown LA

Cathedral and Palm trees from the 10¹southbound