DarrenKitchen.net

Nerdcore Vacation

Thursday, September 24th, 2009

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Canon T1i HD Video Review

Monday, August 3rd, 2009

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Dale Chase’s “Coder Girl”

Monday, July 13th, 2009

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Archive for the ‘General’ Category

Hak5 UK & Ireland Meetups

Tuesday, February 9th, 2010

For those who aren’t on Facebook here are the details for the upcoming Hak5 UK & Ireland meetups:

London

Tuesday, February 16, 2010
8:00pm – 11:00pm
The Lyceum, 354, Strand, London, UK
Google Map
Pub Website
Facebook Events Page

Sheffield

Wednesday, February 17,2010
8:00pm – 11:00pm
The Benjamin Huntsman, 12-18 Cambridge Street, Sheffield, UK
Google Map
Pub Website
Facebook Events Page

Manchester

Thursday, February 18, 2010
8:00pm – 11:00pm
Lammars, Fourways House, 57 Hilton Street, Manchester, UK
Google Map
Pub Website
Facebook Events Page

Dublin

Friday, February 19, 2010
8:00pm – 11:00pm
Cassidy’s Bar, 27 Westmoreland Street, Dublin, Ireland
Google Map
Pub Website
Facebook Events Page

If you’re not doing the Facebook thing just RSVP with a comment here.

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Hak5 UK 2010 Tour: The Plan

Tuesday, January 26th, 2010

This is the plan so far, and it’s all thanks to the generosity of Hak5 fans. So first the foremost thank you to Joe, Robin, Tann, and Robb for their hospitality — as well as all those who have offered a sofa.

I’ll keep this post updated with all the latest details. I’ll also need locals help figuring out Hak5 meetup venues and scenic motorbike travel routes. I’d like to stay off the motorways as much as possible :)

Day1 (Tues, Feb16): London. Arrive in Heathrow 11:00, pickup a hired Honda CBF500 motorbike, meetup in the city that night. Venue The Lyceum. Host: Joe B. – Facebook Events Page

Day2 (Wed, Feb17): Sheffield. Motorbike up from London to Sheffield in the morning. Meetup that night. Venue The Benjamin Huntsman. Host: Robin W. – Facebok Events Page

Day3 (Thurs, Feb18): Manchester. A short motorbike ride over to Manchester. Meetup that night. Venue Lammars. Host: Tann S. – Facebook Events Page

Day4 & 5 (Fri & Sat, Feb19-20): Dublin. A morning motorbike ride out to Holyhead to catch a ferry to Ireland for two nights in Dublin. Venue: Cassidy’s Bar. Host: Robb D. – Facebook Events Page

Day 6 (Sun, Feb 21): London. An early morning ferry back to Holyhead followed by a long motorbike ride down through Wales, hopefully arriving in London before dusk. I have a feeling the A5 and M40 will be involved. Final venue TBD. Host: Joe B.

Day 7 (Mon, Feb 22): London. Just enough time for tea and return the motorbike to the hire before heading to Heathrow — flight departs 16:00.

So, am I headed to your city? Are you interested in meeting up? Have two wheels of your own and want to join me for a ride? Have an idea for a venue or motorbike route? Please, leave a comment :)

Here’s an open Google map wiki of my journey that you’re free to edit — add a push-pin.


View Darren’s UK Adventure February 2010 in a larger map

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Celebrating 27th Birthday in the UK

Sunday, January 24th, 2010

Hey all, my birthday is coming up in February and seeing as how I’ve yet to venture across the pond I figured 27 is the perfect age to celebrate in the UK.

I’ll be arriving at London Heathrow Intl. on the morning of Tuesday, February 16. I’ll be in town, as it were, until the following Monday afternoon, February 22.

There will of course be a Hak5 meetup (or several) as I journey across the UK and possibly Ireland or parts of Europe. So far the plan is wide open. Your input (or generosity) will greatly influence the adventure.

I’ll be arriving in London on Tuesday morning. I’ve rented a motorcycle for the week so I’ll take the tube across town and pick it up. From there I’ve got wheels and can go pretty much anywhere. You guys drive on the left, right? I mean, correct?

I’m open to the idea of crossing the channel and heading up through France, Belgium and into Germany. I’ve always wanted to see Germany, especially since I speak the language (badly), but I’m afraid the western side of Germany is as far as I could get before having to turn back. My max riding distance per day is about 650 kilometers. Decrease that greatly when throwing in foreignness.

Alternatively I could make a big clockwise circle across to Dublin (Rkiver has offered a couch, thanks for the kindness), up to Belfast, and over to Sheffield (Robin Wood aka Digininja has offered to put me up there which is a blessing) and back down to London for my return flight.

I’ll of course be recording an episode of Hak5 along the way!

Anyone else wanna lend a couch? I’m offering to do chores around the house, defrag your hard drive, steal your neighbors wireless. :)

I’d like to see the UK / Ireland / parts of Europe via motorbike and newfound friends. I’m not that interested in Westminster Abbey, London Bridge, Big Ben, etc. Just show me the local pub, the match and the menu.

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Internet Game Show (Beta 2)

Sunday, January 24th, 2010

Recently I’ve been hanging out in IRC and re-purposing some old Hak5 live equipment for what I’ve called the Internet Game Show. Yeah, I suck at names. Regardless, this little project is far from professional but fun indeed.

Here’s my second attempt. It’s the returning champion from Ireland Rkiver vs the new challenger from the USA, GCS8.

Beta 2 had better production values over Beta 1, but the power-ups resulted in epic fail on my part hosing. Next time we’ll nix the weapons and simply keep the life-lines. Ask IRC, 15 seconds to Google, and probably phone a friend.

I’ll also be putting an odd number of questions into each category as to give each contestant an alternating chance to choose a category. We may also go with a losers-choice approach.

It’s difficult to come up with something fair and engaging while not relying on a “buzzer” considering Internet lag.

Also I think I rambled too much in the start of the show. Next time there will likely be a warm up round to set the stage before we even meet the contestants to introduce the life-lines.

Looking forward to suggestions and critiques but keep in mind I’m not taking this too seriously, this is just for fun.

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Hak5 Toronto Meetup December 2009

Friday, January 1st, 2010


Hak5meetup03, originally uploaded by Paul Henman.

Had a blast! Thanks everyone for coming out :)

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