Away from the world

Cipher

We were handcuffed and thrown into the jail cell of a madman. Our wits were all we had to help us.   We knew that we only had an hour to escape the room or we would die, a fact heightened by the fact that there was a digital clock counting down the seconds until our impending deaths.  

Luckily, our capture wasn’t the smartest, because we were able to free ourselves from the handcuffs fairly quickly, and we would have been much better off at picking the locks if one of us hadn’t dropped the mirror on the other side of the bars just beyond reach. 

As we tried to rescue our fallen comrade and tool, the old telephone rang with a shrill ring. The voice on the other end seemed to be taking joy in our misery instead of coming to our aid. 

Sadly, although we were able to escape the small cell in which we started, we were not able to escape the mad man’s room. Luckily however, we didn’t really die. It was all just for fun. 

For my birthday this year, Nova surprised me by taking me to an escape room called Cipher, and then surprised me even more by inviting a group of friends to try to help us escape.  We all failed. 

we died

Upon arriving at Cipher, the place was very unassuming. In fact, I had been blindfolded on our way there and when it was revealed, I still wasn’t really sure where I was. There was a sign out front that read: Cipher, but there wasn’t much else. We headed down a really cute little alley way, that was lit with lights strung across it and adorned with outdoor patio furniture, and entered through a door on the side of the building.

Inside the building there was a waiting room with some comforable chairs, a couple of chalkboards with team names and times written on them (these were leaderboads), and a counter. The workers were very friendly and excited, and offerd us bottles of water. We started trying to think of team name, but they warned us not to come up with a name because they said its bad luck, which turned out to be true. 

Everyone had to sign a waiver which I’m pretty sure had more to do with us getting hurt than anything, but as they tell you before you start the game, nothing should hurt you, you shouldn’t have to pick up anything heavy or move anything. We waited for everyone in the group to arrive, then they brought us back to lock up our phones because they don’t want anyone using their phones to solve puzzles nor take pictures to let out spoilers. 

Our room guide also told us the back story to our room. The room we did was called Captive.  We were told that we were kidnapped by a serial killer and he had locked us up and would be back in an hour. He even starts a count down clock to mentally torture us. Our room leader was very animated and liked to joke around, but also tried to keep the mood tense. He did a good job I feel like. As he finished setting the scene and telling us the rules, he had one last little surprise in store for us: handcuffs. 

These were real, honest to God, metal and heavy handcuffs. Once we were all locked in he sent us into the room. The room was just as creepy as it could be. I can’t go into detail, again because of spoilers but it kept the mood intacted the entire time. The stress started before we even got to the puzzles. 

I don’t want to say too much about the puzzles because if you go, I don’t want you to be spoiled, but the puzzles were very tough. There wasn’t a whole lot of direction here, which I think was a good way to start. You should really have a blank canvas, however as you moved through the puzzles, it would have been nice to have some type of direction. Some of the puzzles connected, but if you didn’t see the one before it, or if you didn’t solve it, it would make things tougher. I also think that we had too many people.  I would like to try it with less people because I think it would be easier to form groups for tasks. We also could have been more organized as a group, which would have helped.  I think we had some people try a puzzle that would have helped us out if we had figured it out, but they got stuck with it and refused to give up. 

The puzzles really made you think and search though, and I really liked that aspect of it. It was defintely a mental challenge  and as we found out later there was a variety of puzzles, but mostly it was find the combination to a lock.  They could have found a way to change that up a bit.  Maybe if they had like fake panels in the walls, or clues that would only appear under black light, etc.

If we did ever get stumped for a while, or if we weren’t making progress, the room leader would call on an old corded telephone, whose ring was loud and shrill. It scared us a couple of times. Sometimes the calls would waste  time as caller chit chatted with whomever answered the call, but ultimately he would try to lead you in the right direction. 

Once the time was up and we failed, our room leader came in and showed us where we went wrong and how we should have proceeded further. At the time I rather liked it because it was eye opening, but now I can’t go back and try again unless they change things up. And I would like to go back and try another room. It was fun, but with less people and more of an idea of what to do, I think I could do much better. 

After the puzzles were uncovered and we were allowed to wallow in our pity, we were taken back to our phones, and they had us  take a group picture. There were signs we could hold, some for escaping and some for not escaping, and they posted the picture to Facebook. 

All in all, I had a great time doing an escape room. I would definitely like to try another one, maybe even at Cipher since they have 2 other rooms to try.  But Houston is a big place, and escape rooms are blowing up these days it seems. It’s a fun time in a group, and a great way to challenge your mind. 

Have you tried an escape room? Was it a good one? Would you like more freedom to solve at your own pace or would you like direction? Leave a comment below, and let me know. 

GoPro session

I like making films.

Making movies has always been one of my dreams, and something I still strive to do (if you couldn’t tell by looking at the site).

I got the bug when I bought a GoPro for one of my ex girlfriends. I was more interested in the camera than she was I think. We took it on a trip and I started using it more than she did. Ultimately though, I ended up losing access to it and the dream stalled for a while.

For my birthday last year, Nova got me a new GoPro Hero 3 White for our trip to the Dominican Republic and the fire to make more movies got stoked again.  While we didn’t have too much footage from that trip, I was able to use it down the road when I went on a body boarding trip to Cabo.

I really liked the little rugged camera, I took it on all the trips I went on.  I attached to #KuteKimber my step-dog when we went to the dog park.

 

But the craving didn’t stop.  I wanted more cameras.  I wanted higher resolution cameras, and I wanted a deal.

Then GoPro came out with the GoPro HERO Session.

 

This little camera was so cool and forward thinking it seemed like to me.  I really wanted to get it, but it cost waaaaaaaay too much.  Eventually, the camera dropped in price, I had some coupons from shopkick (get gift cards and free stuff for just going into stores and scanning bar codes), ibotta (easy online coupons), and Best Buy reward zone points and I got the price down to about $150 before tax.  With a trip coming up, I figured this would be as good a time as any to add to my camera collection.

I’m very glad I did.  This little camera is definitely the future of action cameras.  The little cube can attach to all the old GoPro mounts and harnesses that I had for the old camera, but is much smaller and lighter.  When ziplining and repelling, I would have forgotten that it was there if I hadn’t been so worried about trying to get some good shots.

The video quality is pretty great as well.  The camera has a feature called ProTune that I wasn’t really all that knowledgable about at the time.  ProTune actually kind of mutes the colors so that Pros can go in and apply filters better.  The idea here is that Pros can get the kind of shot they want and alter it without worrying too much about destroying the colors and other things.

For me, turning Pro Tune off for now made things much more vibrant.  The image looks really good, the Session can record up 1080p at 60 frames a second, which is what I default the camera on my iPhone too.  The video from my iPhone 6S plus is better and can even be bumped up to 4k video, but I don’t want to take my phone on a zip line.    It would be much easier to part with the $200 GoPro if I were to break it or lose it than my phone.

The Camera seems to be very rugged.  I know the front lens is replaceable if something were to scratch, but I haven’t had any issues to-date.  I have dropped it, taken it repelling, ziplining, cave diving, body surfing, and bike riding so far and no damage.

One of the things I really like about this camera over other GoPros is that it has sound!  Most of the other GoPros are confined to a hard plastic case which also covers the microphones.  This causes the audio in those recordings to be muffled and have to really crank the volume up in post production to understand anything.  The Session though, doesn’t need a case.  The entire thing is rugged and waterproof as is.  The microphones don’t get covered up and you can actually hear things.  Sometimes, that can cause itself, like the buzzing of the cable when ziplining, or the water flowing in and out of the speak when diving.  I’m not sure these are problems that can be solved, but the people at these companies are much smarter than me.

My only real complaint about the Session is another thing I’m not sure they can solve.  A few videos we took at the beach or in the pool were sometimes ruined by drops of water on the lens when transitioning from underwater to above water.  Again, this is not something I think can be really solved, but there definitely people smarter than me that probably know for sure.

As far as taking this little guy on vacation, I think it’s perfect.  It’s very small and rugged (as I’ve mentioned a lot) so it will travel well.  It has mounts so you can attach anywhere for any activity.  I attached mine to a floaty handle for most of its use.  It lets you hold it up and it will float if you lose it in water.

One drawback people might have with the GoPro cameras in general is that it doesn’t have a viewfinder.  I actually like that aspect somewhat.  While I have lost a cool shot or too, I’d rather have the compact size than the screen.  If you are not in a rush or in a situation where damage be a possibility, you can connect your smart phone to the camera through wifi and bluetooth to see what the camera is seeing, or even start the recording from a distance.

The iPhone app is pretty useful if not slow, because it allows you to see through the camera lens, watch recorded video, or even trim the videos up.  Trimming a video down can take a while though, so be prepared to wait.  The best way to edit the video you’ve taken would probably be to upload the footage to a computer through the SD card and edit it on there.

Overall

I think the GoPro Hero 4 session is a great travel camera.  Its small and can fit in some tighter spots.  The quality is pretty good for such a small camera.  For the price it is currently sitting at, I think it’s cheap enough where you wont have to worry about it breaking, even though it is rugged enough to take a beating.

If you already have a GoPro hero 4 silver or black, I think you are set unless you want something smaller that can record better sound.

I really enjoy mine, and I hope to keep using it to make more videos on our travels.

Here is a link to my latest video: Jarrva in the jungle

 

 

 

 

 

Where to go next?

Research papers are killing me.  I’ve graded about 20 a day this week, and I have about 20 left.  Alas, all this grading has kept me from writing like I thought I’d have time.  I feel like I haven’t had anything but excuses for a while now, but I’m trying.  I hope you guys don’t leave me.

On a recent road trip to my home town, Nova and I started talking about where we should go next.  I have a couple of weeks this summer set aside for travel, and I thought I’d write about a couple of my options, and put some thoughts down on paper.  We were supposed to write 5 each.  Here are my 5, but slightly modified from what I originally said.

San Diego:  My first pick is somewhere I’ve already been and close to home.  It’s not exactly the kind of trip you might think about when thinking of a big trip, but I’d really like to go re-explore it.  I want to get out more on my next trip.  I’ve stayed on the resort too much the last couple of trips, and I’d like to get out and explore this great country of ours.

I’d really like to get on a surf board too.  Ireally enjoyed my little bit of time there the last time I went, which was way back in 2001 I think, however I it has really stuck with me.  I’d never say no to a beach, and I think it’d be fun to explore again.

Hawaii:  If surfing and exploring the country are what I want to do, Hawaii is the place to go.  I’m pretty sure I’m the only one in my family that hasn’t been here, and that includes Nova, who went just before she met me.

The scenery is beautiful, the surf is amazing, and it’s far enough away to feel like a real vacation.

I’m not sure what else needs to be said about this one.  It’s freaking Hawaii.

Spain/Europe:  Next sends us travelling.  I’m not really sure why out of all the countries and places to visit I picked Spain.  I want to go to Europe, since I’ve never been before, and I hear the beaches are beautiful.  I’d really like to go to Mallorca, the small little island. It’s currently the home base for Rafa Nadal, but really I want to go because of the views.  It also looks like there’s tons of stuff to do there.  Hiking, surfing, biking, etc.  Plus, it wouldn’t be too difficult to get to other spots in Europe either.

We might be there at just the right time to go to Wimbledon and that’d be crazy amazing.  I don’t really want to go to Britian unless I get to see Wimbledon, so maybe that’d be a great time to go.  I wonder if you can get tickets still?  Plus we could go to any other European country.  I’d really want to go to Greece or Italy, but I want to save that for a special trip, like a honeymoon or something.

Jamica:  This is one of the only caribbean locations I feel like I haven’t been to yet.  The white sand beaches and the blue water.  I want to go here one day, and I think that’s why its on my list.  For this trip, I’d really like to get away from the Caribbean.  I’m ready for something new, but at the same time, I want to get here one day.

Peru/Brazil: I know Nova wants to go to Peru for a good event so that I can meet the family down there, and I’m really scared because mi español esta muy malo, but I want to go to South America as well.  With that being said, it’d be hard to be in South America and so close to Peru without actually going there.  Plus Brazil would be crazy because of the Olympics this year, but how cool would that be?  Same things apply here and most of the other places though.  I’d really want a beach, and some stuff to explore.

Regardless of where we end up going for our vacation, I’m sure as long as there’s a beach and some adventure I’m going to be happy!

Where are some cool places to go and see?  Anything you want to do?  Leave a comment below!