tywhite ♥s it

oh hi! i'm ty white. i love technology and music, and lots of other things, including you! this is the place for random cool findings. i also blog seriously about music & technology and less seriously about music. Say hi!
May 14
Our heroes return triumphant! Finn grew quite a bit over the course of the journey, soaking in everything he could along the way. Giraffee had a blast exploring, climbing everything he could find, stretching himself to new heights. And me? Well, I’m tuckered out. I put 4,000 miles on the car in under three weeks by myself, and had very few truly restful nights. It was an amazing adventure, but was both restorative and draining. I can’t wait for my next adventure, but hope it comes on the other side of several naps. (at BLRITM)

Our heroes return triumphant!

Finn grew quite a bit over the course of the journey, soaking in everything he could along the way.

Giraffee had a blast exploring, climbing everything he could find, stretching himself to new heights.

And me? Well, I’m tuckered out. I put 4,000 miles on the car in under three weeks by myself, and had very few truly restful nights. It was an amazing adventure, but was both restorative and draining. I can’t wait for my next adventure, but hope it comes on the other side of several naps. (at BLRITM)

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Copernicus said it was time to come home.

Copernicus said it was time to come home.

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And this guy in LA the next morning

And this guy in LA the next morning

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You wake up next to this dude in Encinitas one morning…

You wake up next to this dude in Encinitas one morning…

May 13
When you hang with @citysage, it is a requirement that you Instagram your hipster toast. (at Sqirl Kitchen)

When you hang with @citysage, it is a requirement that you Instagram your hipster toast. (at Sqirl Kitchen)

May 12
I found something unexpected in the middle of Palm Springs: family! A hundred odd years ago, three of my great great aunts (from a rather epic generation of eleven siblings) had traveled the world and decided the American West was the right place to call home. Cornelia (far right) seems to have the most fame, but with the least amount known about her background. She bought the only hotel in Palm Springs for $10k, then moved this house (which is made from railroad ties, and was attached to the hotel) across the street for herself. It has since been moved to the center of town, where it housed the first art museum and now serves as the center for the historical society. She also donated the land for the library. Her sister Isabel (second from right) married author J Smeaton Chase, and they continued to live nearby — while I couldn’t find out the backstory, Chase is the only white man to have his headstone in the nearby Indian burial grounds. Dr. Florila White (with the dogs) was a bit of a rarity — there weren’t a lot of female doctors at that time, and they certainly weren’t allowed to have their own practice. Her solution? Just don’t put a big sign up. People came to her anyway. That cartoon on the left is part of a much larger cartoon of the first two dozen or so settlers in Palm Springs. Before Hollywood showed up ;)

I found something unexpected in the middle of Palm Springs: family!

A hundred odd years ago, three of my great great aunts (from a rather epic generation of eleven siblings) had traveled the world and decided the American West was the right place to call home.

Cornelia (far right) seems to have the most fame, but with the least amount known about her background. She bought the only hotel in Palm Springs for $10k, then moved this house (which is made from railroad ties, and was attached to the hotel) across the street for herself. It has since been moved to the center of town, where it housed the first art museum and now serves as the center for the historical society. She also donated the land for the library.

Her sister Isabel (second from right) married author J Smeaton Chase, and they continued to live nearby — while I couldn’t find out the backstory, Chase is the only white man to have his headstone in the nearby Indian burial grounds.

Dr. Florila White (with the dogs) was a bit of a rarity — there weren’t a lot of female doctors at that time, and they certainly weren’t allowed to have their own practice. Her solution? Just don’t put a big sign up. People came to her anyway.

That cartoon on the left is part of a much larger cartoon of the first two dozen or so settlers in Palm Springs. Before Hollywood showed up ;)

May 11
One of the stranger things about this trip has been the lack of music. I planned poorly for lack of cell coverage (honestly, didn’t even cross my mind), and I’m so dependent on Rdio these days that I had little recourse besides radio. Couple that with my brand spankin new fm transmitter breaking on day 2, and you’ve got yourself a recipe for a quieter journey. I did listen to a good bit of NPR (the one thing you could consistently get almost anywhere), and I listened to my synced songs as well. Occasionally I even turned to traditional terrestrial radio, where I had my first real encounter with Rush Limbaugh (he was somehow trying to tie Lauryn Hill not paying taxes to Hilary’s foreign policies). And Rush. Lots of Rush. Silence really was best while in the national parks, but I am a bit sad that I haven’t had the opportunity to try as much new stuff on for size. What have I been missing? What are you listening to?

One of the stranger things about this trip has been the lack of music. I planned poorly for lack of cell coverage (honestly, didn’t even cross my mind), and I’m so dependent on Rdio these days that I had little recourse besides radio. Couple that with my brand spankin new fm transmitter breaking on day 2, and you’ve got yourself a recipe for a quieter journey.

I did listen to a good bit of NPR (the one thing you could consistently get almost anywhere), and I listened to my synced songs as well. Occasionally I even turned to traditional terrestrial radio, where I had my first real encounter with Rush Limbaugh (he was somehow trying to tie Lauryn Hill not paying taxes to Hilary’s foreign policies). And Rush. Lots of Rush.

Silence really was best while in the national parks, but I am a bit sad that I haven’t had the opportunity to try as much new stuff on for size.

What have I been missing? What are you listening to?

May 10
Marilyn got herself a protective boyfriend.

Marilyn got herself a protective boyfriend.

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It may surprise none of you to know that this is not the first trek I’ve made with a fuzzy friend. Five years ago, I drove from Dallas to LA to take an entry level job at Topspin. It paid less and was in a much more expensive city, but it was a chance to learn from my idol (@iancr) and break into the real tech scene (I had been working for a joke of a startup in Dallas). I packed my whole life into my Volvo and headed west, having only been to California to accept the job and put down a deposit on the first apartment I saw. Reggie, my beloved Cone Snake, who had been with me since senior year of college, rode shotgun the whole way. As we neared LA, I saw signs for Joshua Tree National Park — I had never heard of it, but decided it was a worthwhile stop before diving into big city life head first. Reggie and I climbed the biggest mountain (ok, pile of rocks) we could find — a more difficult endeavor than with Giraffee, as Reggie is a few feet tall. I went in thinking I would leave him there, in a more natural habitat, but decided you don’t leave a homie behind like that, especially after such a journey. Reggie wound up loving LA so much he stayed. I think he may have fallen for a white tiger, but he wasn’t very open about his love life with me. Today, Giraffee and I returned to Joshua Tree, and again climbed up a random hill. We found remnants of an old mine, and enjoyed some beautiful views. Tomorrow we head back to city life. First to the northern side of San Diego, then a quick-ish stop in LA before returning to SF. I doubt we’ll get to see Reggie, but I have no doubts the two would be friends.

It may surprise none of you to know that this is not the first trek I’ve made with a fuzzy friend.

Five years ago, I drove from Dallas to LA to take an entry level job at Topspin. It paid less and was in a much more expensive city, but it was a chance to learn from my idol (@iancr) and break into the real tech scene (I had been working for a joke of a startup in Dallas). I packed my whole life into my Volvo and headed west, having only been to California to accept the job and put down a deposit on the first apartment I saw.

Reggie, my beloved Cone Snake, who had been with me since senior year of college, rode shotgun the whole way.

As we neared LA, I saw signs for Joshua Tree National Park — I had never heard of it, but decided it was a worthwhile stop before diving into big city life head first. Reggie and I climbed the biggest mountain (ok, pile of rocks) we could find — a more difficult endeavor than with Giraffee, as Reggie is a few feet tall. I went in thinking I would leave him there, in a more natural habitat, but decided you don’t leave a homie behind like that, especially after such a journey.

Reggie wound up loving LA so much he stayed. I think he may have fallen for a white tiger, but he wasn’t very open about his love life with me.

Today, Giraffee and I returned to Joshua Tree, and again climbed up a random hill. We found remnants of an old mine, and enjoyed some beautiful views.

Tomorrow we head back to city life. First to the northern side of San Diego, then a quick-ish stop in LA before returning to SF. I doubt we’ll get to see Reggie, but I have no doubts the two would be friends.

May 9
I always feel a little out of place. It’s funny to feel especially out of place in a beautiful part of my home state, close to where tens (hundreds?) of thousands of my peers celebrate the music I love so dearly. But outside of those weeks of Coachella, a “hipster” (quotes for emphasis, duh) seems a novelty here — I get strange looks from tourists and locals alike (all at least twenty years my elder). And strangely, it’s comforting. San Francisco is the first place I’ve lived and truly felt amongst peers. Everywhere else, I felt like an aberrant of some sort. Feeling that again (rather than just another tourist, as much of the rest of this journey has felt) brings me back to a sort of liberating place. I’ll gladly live amongst peers for whom I have great love and admiration for the rest of my life, but there’s something comforting in knowing that, at least to someone, you truly are weird.

I always feel a little out of place. It’s funny to feel especially out of place in a beautiful part of my home state, close to where tens (hundreds?) of thousands of my peers celebrate the music I love so dearly. But outside of those weeks of Coachella, a “hipster” (quotes for emphasis, duh) seems a novelty here — I get strange looks from tourists and locals alike (all at least twenty years my elder).

And strangely, it’s comforting. San Francisco is the first place I’ve lived and truly felt amongst peers. Everywhere else, I felt like an aberrant of some sort. Feeling that again (rather than just another tourist, as much of the rest of this journey has felt) brings me back to a sort of liberating place.

I’ll gladly live amongst peers for whom I have great love and admiration for the rest of my life, but there’s something comforting in knowing that, at least to someone, you truly are weird.