Articles by spetku

DefCon Projects

The Road to DefCon 21

July 28, 2013spetku2 Comments

I have been so busy this past month in preparation for Defcon that my deltas have gathered a thin layer of dust and my mannequin torso, Tiberius has started sneaking off at night in search for what I’ve been neglecting to give him. It seems like we all put too much on our plates these past couple months, but I’m glad I was given the chance to help out as I have and can’t wait to experience the fruits of our labor (in less than a week!!). So here’s what Jeff and I have been up to… Crash and Compile This year, Jeff (Krux) is in charge of the infamous drinking while coding game that I’ve been hearing stories about since last summer… that’d be Crash and Compile. Jeff has spent pretty much every night at his computer working in preparation for this event, from overseeing registration to welding together…

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General Stuff

Geeky Freaky

July 28, 2013spetku0 Comments

For the sake of branding, Mark and I decided to switch the name of our podcast from TACO Time, to Geeky Freaky before we were too far along in the game to make such a huge change. After all, how well does “TACO Time” describe two wash ups who create artistic amalgamations of tech and mind warping perversion? Not very. You can now find our podcast at our new youtube channel : SM Geeky Freaky. …And as promised, here is the third episode, “Just the Tip”

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Pony Mods

Defcon Pony

July 3, 2013spetku0 Comments

What two things could possibly fit together more uncomfortably? For a long time I had little comprehension of what Defcon was actually like. Anyone I met who had gone to the conference seemed bent on preserving this allure about it that only added to my aw and curiosity towards the hacker community. It wasn’t until I met a true seasoned Defcon veteran, Jeff (Krux), that the veil started to lift. Though I have a better idea what Defcon itself is all about, my perception of its attendees is still unclear. Now that I am reading Daemon, the quintessential hacker novel, my imagination is struggling between accepting the somewhat raw and sexy “hacker” identity the book promotes which is cloaked in secrets and at it’s very core, an homage to intelligence…. and my previous impression of the few unapproachable neck-bearded douchebags I’ve met in the past : Regardless, the idea of…

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SM Taco Time

SM Taco Time : E2

July 2, 2013spetku0 Comments

We learned a lot this time around (by making a gross amount of mistakes). Among those things : 1. -how close we need to be sitting to one another for the sound to pick up well. Even with the snowball… it was like we filmed next to a jet engine. Should have tested that first! 2. -not to film the entire segment 3 times… because that gives you more to review and no one wants to look at their own face that much… except for maybe Mark. 3. We learned that improving our topic list is ok because the conversation flows more organically. 4. -adding in support footage after the fact usually works out better anyhow… and again, you have less clips to watch and sort through when editing. 5. We also learned that baking after drinking and filming a podcast is a horrible idea… you’ll ruin Mark’s kitchen and…

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Pony Mods

Pony Modding

June 15, 2013spetku12 Comments

I would like to say that the whole blasé brony podcast didn’t have a lasting effect on either myself or Mark, however it has. It’s an illness that we are both suffering through together now that we’ve both accepted that we have it. Though the symptoms are embarrassing and there is no prognosis, I have faith that in time we’ll make a full recovery with some shred of our dignity left in tact. It all began with Buttercup (or Butterscotch), the white plastic figure that I gifted Mark during the shoot of our first podcast. I little realized what I had set in motion, but once it was done the effects were swift and hugely contagious. Mark started sending me horrible photos of his new plaything; the type of images that you’d unfriend someone on facebook for. Yeah, they were messed up in that way… but this is the langue…

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General Stuff

Pudding and 2” PVC

June 6, 2013spetku3 Comments

What is an army of robots if they are all a heap of sleeping catatons? Sure they look dazzling, especially if we’re talking about my shiny yellow deltas…. but they aren’t impressive by any means. A robot is meant to move, and to tell you the truth, I’m tired of carrying a bread board and whole stinken arduino around just to demo how my show horse works. So I sucked it up this weekend and designed the board that will control each individual in my army. It will be the first board ever that I send away to be fabricated professionally; which I am excited about! OSH Park will be getting some business from me at last. As such… I am getting better at designing boards. However seeing this in the beginning still scares the crap out of me : And Mark is laughing because this isn’t even hard mode….

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SM Taco Time

SM Taco Time : Pick a Pony

May 26, 2013spetku0 Comments

It has to start somewhere… Two weeks ago Mark and I met on a Friday, drank a case of beer, and filmed four hours of footage involving cartoon horses. It was exciting, revealing, and everything a talk about bronies shouldn’t be. After editing it down we came up with this… a rant that captures our inner child at its most immature and perverted state. On our agenda of topics we had some good points to make regarding the brony movement, that acknowledged the more sensitive and often ignored part of the male soul… as well as a debate about whether or not most bronies really like MLP, or are just leaping onto a new and irreverent fad. Most of these segments ended up getting cut (for the moment) because of how long they were. As a result we are releasing something that lacks any true intellectual content, however we plan…

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General Stuff

Maker Faire : San Mateo 2013

May 22, 2013spetku0 Comments

I found my people. We packed up the truck for the ten-hour long pilgrimage to San Mateo to embark on one of the most amazing experiences I’ve ever had. This weekend I rediscovered what child-like wonder is as I perused the main hall, attention fracturing over the decadent saturation of brainy eye candy. I want to thank Jeff for letting me in on this secret… we had an amazing time walking around as Mr. and Mrs. Cool Goggles. Playing to the big kid side of me (which is more than 3/4) the first cool thing I saw upon entering the first building we came to, were giant RC controllable Wall-E robots. They could look around, change expression, and even occasionally played sound bites from the movie such as the musical clip from Hello Dolly. My pants were immediately charmed off : The very second thing that demanded my attention upon…

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General Stuff

Delta Force

May 17, 2013spetku0 Comments

The SYN Shop podcast pilot is up for viewing just in time for Maker Faire weekend! Check it out! I want to thank Suz and Pawel again for thinking of Mark and I while coming up with ideas for their first show. They did an awesome job editing our rambling and childish robot play into something cool to watch. ….Oh yeah….. and a special thumbs up for including my bloody nose art. If you didn’t get a good look at it in the middle of the film… here it is in the flesh (teehee!) : Lets just say I know how to make Mark bleed. If you are curious about Amber, as you well should be… check out Mark’s Blog at Circuit Monkey.com

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