This is a project I've been working on for awhile. It's getting closer to completion. This video shows the operation of the tuning knobs and the control modes. The Control modes that are shown in order are: 16 channel continuous step, Stop and manual step forward and backward, One time loop with stop on specified note, reset on specified note, reverse on specified note, and Random (this isn't functioning very well yet). The output is only set up as a triangle wave at this point too. I hopefully will get some other tones very soon. I threw in a few photos of the progress.
SeaWorld - 14 May 2011
The original plan for the weekend was to go to Venice Beach and camp somewhere near LA. This prompted our good buddy Mike to drive in from Phoenix, AZ. Due to misinformation neither the Venice beach trip nor camping ended up happening. Good thing I had Seaworld tickets. Before heading to Seaworld we stopped at our favorite breakfast spot close to our house. The 19th hole has a great view and really delicious food. Yum Yum that place rules. Time to head to Seaworld. At Seaworld you have to plan your plans around the show times so you best get a map at the gate and plan you day first thing. I don’t remember the show times but, I do know we had time to kill before the Sea Lion show so we rode Journey to Atlantis first. This ride is half water ride half roller coaster. I think they call it a water coaster. The line was short and we had enough time to make it to the Sea Lion show. This is one of the funniest shows at the park. A must see. We were so pleased with the Sea Lions that we went to go feed some. We had some time to kill before the Pets Rule Show so we checked out the Polar bears and Beluuuuuuuuugaaaaa whales. Pets rule is another great show at seaworld showing nothing but household pets. Well it used to be, this time they had a Kangaroo for some reason. And who knew you could train cats? OK enough sitting around let’s go wrestle on the ropes. Wow that was violent and I’m limping. Due to line’s we missed the dolphin show. However Charlene managed to get in and take a few photos. We then walked around and checked out all the other exhibits and rode the Shipwreck rapids ride and got soaked. Last but not least was Shamu Rocks. This is the night time version of the show with Rock n’ Roll music playing and more emphasis on the Killer Whales. This show was great until that rat bastard Shamu blasted us with water causing the rest of our night to suck.
Bike Riding around San Diego - 7 May 2011
After spending the previous weekend in Hollywood we decided to stay home and relax. A nice bike ride around the city sounded great. We headed for the waterfront to get a good view of the city and ended up at Seaport Village. Seaport Village is a touristy spot where I had forgotten had street performers. As we went down the boardwalk of Seaport Village we saw a clown, a guy stacking rocks, a silver robot guy, a magic show, and a very odd petting zoo. We then decided to stop for a margarita and a burrito and enjoy the atmosphere. We got back on our bikes to ride on down the bike path on Harbor Dr. There are a lot of art pieces on the Harbor Dr. boardwalk so, Charlene had a field day with the camera. We then took a detour into Bob Hope Plaza to see the solider statues and the tall kissing statue. Moving on past the USS Midway we saw a Celebrity X cruise ship taking off. I didn’t realize how fast those ships move once they get going. We continued on down past the Star of India and saw a sweet submarine. Last but not least was the secret troll spot, one of my favorite getaways in this lovely city of San Diego. I like the new tag that said “Money is the reason we fight”. No fighting today though this was a free cruise and a lovely afternoon with the wife. Now just getting up the hill on Market St. and we are home.
Hollywood - 30 April 2011
We got a call from our friend Jacques from South Africa saying that he was going to be in Hollywood for one night and we should meet him. How can you pass that up, Hollywood and old friends? We left from work on Friday to meet up with our old pal. LA traffic is nothing to mess around with. This 2 hour drive quickly turned into a 3 hour drive and a pissed off driver (that being me). Finding the Hotel was easy at least so we scooped up Jacques. Luckily I know of a secret parking spot that is easy to find near my buddy Lit’s house. We were so excited to get out of the car that we forgot the camera. We had a few drinks and a few laughs before saying goodnight. We woke up in the morning and decided to hike up to the Hollywood sign. Due to poor planning on my part we walked 4 miles before even getting to the base of the 1 mile hike (there is a parking lot right there too, Oops!). We were already beat down before the hike started so we grabbed a few photos from half way up and decided to start the long walk back to the car. Walking further on the path would have only taken us behind the sign anyways. Back at Hollywood Blvd we watched as people were setting up something in front of Grauman’s Chinese Theater. It turned out to be a ceremony for Peter O’Toole to put his hands in the concrete. After a long day it was time for a nice quite drive home. Winning!!!
Birthday Fondue - 23 April 2011
After our visit to Oakland a few weeks back it was Rose & Burke’s turn to come visit us on our side for Rose’s Birthday. We celebrated her Birthday at the Melting Pot, in Downtown San Diego. Our 4-Course Dinner started off with a yummy Cheese Fondue. We had 4 delicious cheeses to try from. After enjoying a salad we then moved on to two different beer based broths for cooking the main course. My main course included a variety of steak, chicken and seafood which was absolutely delicious. We were then treated to their luscious chocolate fondue and last but not least a cake for the birthday girl. Happy Birthday Rose we hope your year is as good as this food tasted!!!
