Apparently without updating my blog about my return some people think I’m still having fun at Thailand’s sunny beaches…
So, I’m Back! In full strength and with plenty of new topics to write about.

Stay tuned…

I’ve had an amazing time at TechEd Eilat. Probably the best time from all the TechEds I’ve been to so far…
Now its finally time for some vacation (haven’t really had one in more than year) and I’m packing my bag and taking off to Thailand in a couple of hours.

So, I’m going to leave the blog quiet for a little while (unfortunately, no time for TechEd summary etc. posts) and will continue in full strength when I get back at the end of the month…  Don’t unsubscribe from your readers!

If you do want to check out some TechEd stuff do check out the Flixwagon broadcasts…

Last weekend (following this post) I drove to the great falls area to get some of that Twin Peaks atmosphere.
It just so happens that I went on a misty and sometimes rainy day which some would call bad luck but I kind of found the views more interesting on this weather (kind of the same gloomy weather they had when shooting the series).

I used the travel guide from the Twin Peaks Gazette which I found as kind of hard to follow at times and outdated (it was written at 1999…).

In any case, I started the trip by driving from Seattle to North Bend (~45 minutes drive) and stopping at the double-R, now known as Twede’s for the obvious Coffee and Cherry Pie (and some french toasts) breakfast.

From there I have to admit I kind of lost track of the guide and just drove around for a while to catch the scenery.
I really wanted to find the place where the Twin Peaks sign was shot at. The guide states as follows:

You might want to find a safe place to pull over because this intersection of Reining, Mill Pond and Meadowbrook is Sparkwood and 21.

…

Continue down and I can’t promise that you will find the actual spot where the sign was placed because it’s hard to find. It’s about halfway from that intersection to the end of Reining. If you reach another intersection, you’ve gone too far.

Once you actually find the Reining, Mill Pond and Meadowbrrok intersection, it gets easier to locate yourself and get to the places the guide talks about.

To find the real location where the Twin Peaks sign was located, you have to picture down on Reining from the intersection and shortly after you’ll see a crossroad where you need to take right to SE Reining Road. The location is a short ride from that right turn. Here is one of my shots compared to the real one:

What do you think? Same spot huh? Looks like both shots were taken on the same season too…
I also took a shott of the pole number to help future travelers locate the exact spot:

If you continue with Reining instead of taking the right to SE Reining Road you’ll see on your left what seems to me like the mill, though I can’t be sure:

From there I continued to the falls to take a pictures of the falls and “The Great Northern”  which is actually Salish Lodge Dining Room:

There’s a very nice trail that leads to the bottom of the falls. You should take it if you’re there…

From there I went Falls City to see some more stuff (The Bookhouse etc.). I could not find Big Ed’s Gas Farm (I guess its not there anymore) and as it started getting dark and rainy I called it a day and went back to Seattle for dinner.

You can check out the rest of the photos on my Real Twin Peaks Flickr Set.

Tags: Travel, Twin Peaks

“… There are many stories in Twin Peaks–some of them are sad, some funny. Some of them are stories of madness, of violence. Some are ordinary. Yet they all have about them a sense of mystery–the mystery of life. Sometimes, the mystery of death. The mystery of the woods. The woods surrounding Twin Peaks.”

- The Log Lady

If you don’t know Twin Peaks then you’re missing out on one of the best shows ever to air on TV.
I watched the Twin Peaks pilot episode on TV several years ago (the aired just the pilot episode  but not the whole series) and I quickly became a Twin Peaks (and more generally, a David Lynch) fan. I’ve been gathering whatever Twin Peaks episodes I could find via file sharing ever since…

Last week while browsing Amazon I saw an announcement for a new Twin Peaks DVD pack on the main page:
Twin Peaks - The Definitive Gold Box Edition (The Complete Series)

I immediately threw the box to my cart (along with some other stuff) and got it today.

Filled with nostalgia, I  put the first DVD in the player and started watching the pilot episode.
And then it suddenly struck me!

Located “just 5 miles from the Canadian border and 12 miles west of the state line” lies the town of Twin Peaks, population 51, 201. A town where we find out exactly what goes on behind the white picket fences of small-town, middle-class America.

Twin Peek was filmed in the pacific-northwest. I’m currently in the pacific-northwest. Hmmmm….

A quick look in Google and Wikipedia turned out that the show was short at the towns of Snoqualmie, North Bend and at the great falls area. Less than an hour drive from Seattle…

So tomorrow, I’m going to Twin Peaks!

(Note to self, get some coffee and cherry pie on the way…)

It has been a scary afternoon at the Microsoft Redmond offices when hordes of spiders and the undead took over the floors…

I’ve been working here at Redmond for a little over a week now. I’m already fully merchandised with Microsoft office products (notebooks, pens etc.) and I’ve even got my employee access card so I can now move freely around the campus without requiring escort.

If you’ll ever visit Redmond here are the top 5 things to do on campus:

• Check out the Microsoft Visitors Center (Building 127).
  • Especially the XBOX360 room where you can spend some time playing Halo3
• Shop at Microsoft company store
  • Where you can buy all sorts of Microsoft T-Shirts\Bags\Pens\etc.
  • If you’re an employee (or got one willing to donate some credit with you) you can also buy Microsoft software and hardware products at ridiculous prices…
• Take a hike (Its really nice out there when its not raining\snowing\foggy\freezing cold)
• Check out the intranet web pages and read specs (lots of specs)

 >

I’m moving to Seattle for a couple of months to work with the team at Redmond on Duet related topics.
I’ve already taken care of most of the arrangements (still need to pack) and I’m anxiously anticipating my flight on Sunday morning.

Looking forward to a very interesting visit…

Anyone has some good tips on things to do in the Seattle area?

I’m finally back from my last (work) trip to Bangalore, India.
I’ve had a great time on my 3 weeks trip and hopefully I’ll be visiting again soon…

We visited Kuchin on one of our weekends and you can check photos on my Flickr page at http://flickr.com/photos/ekampf/sets/72157601250228362/

It seems like its that time of the year again. We’re finalizing the next Duet release (1.5) and I’m traveling to Banglore to support the teams there. Last time I was supposed to stay therefor 10 days and ended up being there for almost a month and with another extra day in Bombay due to an airport strike in Israel.

The good thing this year is that the strike is already over so there’s little chance of getting stuck again…

Since we’ve already been to the Taj Mahal last year, and due to bad weather conditions that prevent us from going to Goa etc. we plan on going to Sri Lanka for the weekend. I wodner how this will trun out…

Its been quite around here for a while but now I’m back!
India was great, California and New York were awesome and now I’m back at Israel with lots of new ideas and stuff to write about so expect some interesting posts on 2007

If anyone is interested in photos from my trip around the wold you can check out my Flickr page at http://www.flickr.com/photos/ekampf/

79 Hours to go…
Originally uploaded by Eran Kampf.

Tommorow is new years eve and I’ll be joining thousands at Times Squere atching the ball go down…
Happy new years everyone!

After a hectic, being stuck at Mumbai for a day, I came back to Israel a day later than I planned on Saturday.
Flying El-Al proved, again, to be a “fun” experience.

Anyway, I’m flying to Palo Alto in a few hours (On Lufthanza this time) for the SAP Developers Challenge and a short Duet workshop after which I plan to have a short vocation at New York (being at Times Squere on new years eve should be fun).

What is the SAP Developers Challenge?
Basically, SAP takes a bunch of developers from different groups all over the world and team them up with a mission to create something cool
which they later have to present to Shai Agassi and a panel of judges.
Its the second time ever SAP holds such an event and my first time as a participant so I dont really know what to expect but it sure does sounds exciting…

So, on to another month away from home…

Technorati : Duet, SAP, Travel

After a long week working at Bangalore we decided see the Taj Mahal on our weekend.
We took a 2 days trip through Delhi and Agra and got to see the Taj Mahal during sunrise which is pretty amazing…

(flickr pictures set is here)

We're planning to spend this weekend at Goa…

I’m currently at the Bombay domestic airport after a (very) long flight from Tel-Aviv.
I’ll be working with the Duet team at Bangalore for the next 10 days and it should be an interesting
expiriencebecause I’ve been workin with these guys for almost 2 years without meeting them in person.
It’s also my first time in India which also makes this a special expirience.

After Bangalore I have about a week in Israel before I go for a month to the US but thats a topic for another post…

I decided to move my entire photos archive to Flickr so I got a pro account account and started uploading.
After almost 3 days of continuous uploading I’ve got most of my stuff, including all the photos from my trip to New Zeland up there so check it out…