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Month: June 2017

Really great flight and travel tools

Really great flight and travel tools

Amazing travel links:

  • TheFlightDeal – Best site for getting the current super deals from your home city.
  • Kiwi.com – not sure where you want to go? Check out a live map of cheap fares from anywhere to anywhere.
  • Hitlistapp.com – If you’re destination- and/or date-agnostic and just want a great deal, use this. Works especially well on short notice.
  • Skyscanner.net – If you’re not set on your destination, use the “everywhere” destination search to search … everywhere.
  • Seatguru.com – Indispensable for previewing the indignities of your chosen seat on any specific flight.

Airport tools:

  • Loungebuddy – Review, preview and purchase access to lounges at airports here and abroad — both members-only and those offering walk-up entry.
  • Airgrub – Pay by app, then pick up your meal on the way to the gate — it’ll even apply discounts for alliance members where applicable.
  • Mobile Passport – Skip the largely unliked MyTSA app and install this instead — it’ll get you through immigration a lot faster, as long as the airport you arrive at (there are 21) has a separate line handling Mobile Passport folks.
  • GateGuru – From delay notifications to gate-proximate directions to the closest Starbucks, this aims to streamline your journey from airport entry to jetway.
  • AirportParkingReservations – A fast and holistic way to book discounted parking near your airport of choice.

Finding something to do:

  • Airbnb: Experiences – The room-booking behemoth’s next big play: Use it to plan outings and activities.
  • Spotted by Locals – Travel guide apps are a dime a dozen, but a commitment to locals’ perspective guarantees a unique mix of picks.
  • Party With a Local – Like meetup.com except only for parties. It might be the fastest way to connect with locals looking to mingle.

Maps/tools:

  • Google Translate – Little known fact: Everybody’s favorite desktop translator offers downloadable packs in 52 languages, from Afrikaans to Welsh
  • Citymapper – The indispensable tool for navigating a city and public transport — use it once and you’ll forget Google Maps ever existed.
  • Google Trips – An easy, intuitive way to get recs for nearby restaurants and attractions — plus it’ll organize all your travel details in one place.
  • Hotspot Shield – Free VPN – can help you watch shows overseas as in your own geo.
  • WhatsApp – There are dozens of ways to connect with friends and locals, but this might be the most popular and most convenient — call home over a wifi connection and you might be surprised at the (high) quality of the reception.

Twitter account to follow for blooper fares and flash sales

D. Instagram Accounts From Sexy Pilots
18. Pilot Maria
19. Fly Malin
20. EchoSierra85

Source

Play Japanese claw games online!

Play Japanese claw games online!

Apparently, you can now play those infamous Japanese claw games online. If you look around on Twitch, you can sometimes even see people playing them.

You get a webcam view of the front/side, control the arm, and if you win, it is dropped in a box and mailed to you. How crazy is that!

Based on watching them play, however, it would likely be much cheaper if they just bought the do-dad they were going for online for much cheaper. Still, there is that thrill of victory.

IRL Japanese Claw games now playable online!

Here’s a few others I saw people playing

Akiba Catcher: https://netch-jpn.com/

Toreba: http://en.play.toreba.net/

 

Reporting illegal camping and AirBnB’s around Portland

Reporting illegal camping and AirBnB’s around Portland

Tis the summertime again – and the homeless situation appears to be even more out of control than usual.

If you need to report illegal campsites, campers, and public nuisance, turns out there is a handy website for the city. This will help the city track what’s going on in the neighborhoods. If they are on public land, then you report them as a campsite. If they have squeezed themselves onto a business front/private property – then report a ‘Neighborhood Nuisance Complaint’ or ‘Neighborhood Housing Complaint’. If in doubt, file them as multiple and they will sort it out.

https://www.portlandoregon.gov/27447

Here’s where you can report illegal AirBnB’s:

https://www.portlandoregon.gov/bds/34180

 

Rakka, Oats Studios, and making movies with your fanbase

Rakka, Oats Studios, and making movies with your fanbase

Neill Blomkamp (director of Chappie, District 9 and Elysium) sat down with Geoff Keighely during E3 Coliseum to talk about Oats Studios, his experimental film studio. When Blomkamp made the announcement, he said he wanted to focus on short films that could be supported, both financially and through potential collaborations, by the people who watch the films. It’s an interesting idea that’s been explored by other Hollywood heavyweights; Joseph Gordon-Levitt launched HitRecord, an online collaborative production company, with his brother in 2005. Since then, the brothers have released multiple short films, books, albums and more.

The difference between Levitt and Blomkamp, however, is the platform they use. While Levitt just uses his own website to produce and release projects, Blomkamp uses Steam.

Blomkamp said. “You think of iTunes but what you don’t get as readily as you can on Steam is like the first film we’re going to put out, or any of the films we put out, we’ll release the raw footage. We’ll release all of the 3D aspects we used to make the visual effects.”

“We’ll put up the ability for audience members who feel like they have an idea of where another film in that series can go and we can curate that inside Oats. I actually want to work with this user to see where that stream can go.”

 

Here’s their first volume – Rakka – with Siguorney Weaver of all actors. Is this the future of movie making?

VR SHORT FILM NOMINATED FOR AN ACADEMY AWARD

VR SHORT FILM NOMINATED FOR AN ACADEMY AWARD

KillScreen does a great little write-up on the VR Short Pearl

Directed by Patrick Osborne, the same of the Oscar-winning short Feast, which screened before the Disney film Big Hero 6 in theaters, Pearl is a somber tale, chronicling the relationship between a father and daughter and their car. The short constrains the player to the hatchback, where the viewer can gaze all around the car, and even stick their head out the sun roof (if they’re watching from a HTC Vive, at least).

Be sure to scroll around with your mouse while watching.