Tech Crunch Disrupt in London 2014
Big Ben
Somewhere in the grey area between genius and insanity, Zed was always a last-minute kinda guy as long as I knew him. He had been working on a revolutionary music idea to create a framework for musicians to incorporate multiple tempos at the same time into a single musical work. Beyond compound time signatures, the concept was akin to playing multiple songs at once. The result is a unique sound where the individual parts snap in and out of synch with each other, like a turn signal that appears to play with the beat of a song momentarily before disconnecting and later reconnecting. The tension and release creates sound fractals unlike anything yet explored by conventional music, and I immediately saw the ramifications for sound healing after listening to a sample work and nearly tripping balls.
Westminster Bridge
One night, Zed called me with a cryptic message about wanting to come by my house to explain a great opportunity. He never showed up that night, having lost his phone and my address in one motion, but weeks later, he reconnected. He wanted to present his ideas at Tech Crunch Disrupt in London. Only, by this point, the conference was just a week away. Though I knew Zed was good at manifesting, I usually don’t consider travel plans to be a sure thing until the plane tickets are purchased, and Zed’s bank account was running low. Nonetheless, I felt it had a good chance of happening. After all, I had a history with Zed and last-minute tech conferences.
Miraculously, our tickets came through the night before departure. We would be presenting the Xchox project with some assistance from Austin Silent Disco at the 2-day event. It would be the first time I was in London since I studied abroad there for a semester back in 1998. Back then, my guidance counselor gave me a choice to graduate a semester early or take it abroad. The choice was obvious.
Miraculously, our tickets came through the night before departure. We would be presenting the Xchox project with some assistance from Austin Silent Disco at the 2-day event. It would be the first time I was in London since I studied abroad there for a semester back in 1998. Back then, my guidance counselor gave me a choice to graduate a semester early or take it abroad. The choice was obvious.
London Calling
Piccadilly Circus
By the time Izzy dropped me at the Austin airport, I was beaming. It had been eight months since I’d been abroad after my trip around the world. Holy shit, time flies! The good vibes poured from me, and I cleared TSA with an ease I’d never experienced. After ‘randomly’ swabbing my hands with a bomb-swabber, they not only didn’t force me to pass through the naked-body radiation scanner or opt into a morning grazing of my testicles, but I also didn’t even need to remove my laptop from the bag or take off my shoes. No athlete’s foot for me today!
I went to grab a $3.75 bottle of filtered Dallas tapwater, which is allegedly no longer fluoridated with toxic waste. As I did so, I gave the lady loading the bottles into the cooler a hearty and heartfelt ‘good morning!’ It seemed to make her day as she smiled back and returned the cordiality. I love people. Good vibes are infectious.
Of course, Zed missed his flight, but after setting the intention, I ended up sitting next to someone that allowed me go deep on a number of meditative and metaphysical subjects surrounding the law of attraction and how the universe provides. This also happened on my flight home. In the end, Zed and I ended up in London around the same time on a chilly Sunday morning. It felt like home, and we I caught the Piccadilly line to Piccadilly Circus for some lunch in Chinatown. 'No WiFi in Chinee Restaurant!' said one hostess, so we ended up at a nearby Italian restaurant for their half-price pizza lunch special while I tried to secure a room with my laptop.
I went to grab a $3.75 bottle of filtered Dallas tapwater, which is allegedly no longer fluoridated with toxic waste. As I did so, I gave the lady loading the bottles into the cooler a hearty and heartfelt ‘good morning!’ It seemed to make her day as she smiled back and returned the cordiality. I love people. Good vibes are infectious.
Of course, Zed missed his flight, but after setting the intention, I ended up sitting next to someone that allowed me go deep on a number of meditative and metaphysical subjects surrounding the law of attraction and how the universe provides. This also happened on my flight home. In the end, Zed and I ended up in London around the same time on a chilly Sunday morning. It felt like home, and we I caught the Piccadilly line to Piccadilly Circus for some lunch in Chinatown. 'No WiFi in Chinee Restaurant!' said one hostess, so we ended up at a nearby Italian restaurant for their half-price pizza lunch special while I tried to secure a room with my laptop.
CouchProfiteering
(website hidden)
After a year of CouchSurfing, I decided to give AirBnB a shot. I must admit, I was sorely disappointed on multiple fronts. First off, their website wanted me to provide like 10 different ways of verifying my identity, including sending me an SMS. The thing is, I was traveling abroad, so of course my phone wouldn’t receive any texts! As such, I was unable to request any accommodations, so I had to resort to sending private messages, and trust people when they told me I could stay with them, even though the site wouldn’t let me formally submit a request.
Then, in the private messages, if I even mentioned a word remotely related to a website or email address it would insert (website hidden). So, if I said, “I’ve done CouchSurfing before, let’s become Facebook friends!” it would sent the message “I’ve done (website hidden) before, let’s become (website hidden) friends.” Clearly, AirBnB has some inferiority issues, and they try hard to make sure you don’t bypass their profit margins and find another way to stay with people.
The profitability factor was another turn off for me. People were charging over $100 a night to sleep on air mattresses in spare bedrooms and living room floors, which is free with CouchSurfing. This automatically changed the dynamic between guest and host. With CouchSurfing, the vibe is much more of a ‘friends’ thing. When someone lets you sleep at her place for free, it’s pretty hard not to feel a debt of gratitude. The type of person that opens their home to strangers with little to no expectation inevitably spreads the gratitude with their unconditional love. I can’t help but want to hang out with them, cook them dinner, or at least become Facebook friends and stay in touch. It is such a friendly gesture to unconditionally share your space, and unconditional kindness is contagious.
With AirBnB, it felt a bit weird, and my host made it weirder. We only stayed for 3 nights, and after dropping $400, I didn’t feel the same type of connection with her. Nevertheless, in the end, she still expected the same type of gratitude that I would give a couch host. She gave me a bad review when I accidentally left behind my toothbrush, saying that we ‘trashed’ the room! Then, she even commented that I didn’t leave a goodbye thank you note! Shit, $400 isn’t thank you enough to sleep on your air mattress for 3 nights? When I drop $125 on a hotel room, damn straight I’m going to trash it, but leaving a toothbrush behind is hardly trashing the room. I think she just wanted a reason to keep my cleaning deposit, so she got it.
It was nice to cook dinner for Zed and me in her kitchen, and I was quite sure I did a diligent job of cleaning the kitchen after ourselves, though I couldn’t find a trash can. They apparently affixed a grocery bag to their pantry and used it for garbage, so I followed the pattern. I guess she expected me to take the trash bag to the dumpster when we left, because she was sure to complain about that too in my review. I guess we shoulda just stayed at the Double Tree instead. I might try Air BnB again in the future, but after this experience, I’d feel more comfortable with expectations by either using CouchSurfing or just staying in a hotel instead of receiving the worst of both worlds, as in this case. In the end, it didn’t really matter much. We didn’t spend much time in our accommodations. We were there for the conference.
Then, in the private messages, if I even mentioned a word remotely related to a website or email address it would insert (website hidden). So, if I said, “I’ve done CouchSurfing before, let’s become Facebook friends!” it would sent the message “I’ve done (website hidden) before, let’s become (website hidden) friends.” Clearly, AirBnB has some inferiority issues, and they try hard to make sure you don’t bypass their profit margins and find another way to stay with people.
The profitability factor was another turn off for me. People were charging over $100 a night to sleep on air mattresses in spare bedrooms and living room floors, which is free with CouchSurfing. This automatically changed the dynamic between guest and host. With CouchSurfing, the vibe is much more of a ‘friends’ thing. When someone lets you sleep at her place for free, it’s pretty hard not to feel a debt of gratitude. The type of person that opens their home to strangers with little to no expectation inevitably spreads the gratitude with their unconditional love. I can’t help but want to hang out with them, cook them dinner, or at least become Facebook friends and stay in touch. It is such a friendly gesture to unconditionally share your space, and unconditional kindness is contagious.
With AirBnB, it felt a bit weird, and my host made it weirder. We only stayed for 3 nights, and after dropping $400, I didn’t feel the same type of connection with her. Nevertheless, in the end, she still expected the same type of gratitude that I would give a couch host. She gave me a bad review when I accidentally left behind my toothbrush, saying that we ‘trashed’ the room! Then, she even commented that I didn’t leave a goodbye thank you note! Shit, $400 isn’t thank you enough to sleep on your air mattress for 3 nights? When I drop $125 on a hotel room, damn straight I’m going to trash it, but leaving a toothbrush behind is hardly trashing the room. I think she just wanted a reason to keep my cleaning deposit, so she got it.
It was nice to cook dinner for Zed and me in her kitchen, and I was quite sure I did a diligent job of cleaning the kitchen after ourselves, though I couldn’t find a trash can. They apparently affixed a grocery bag to their pantry and used it for garbage, so I followed the pattern. I guess she expected me to take the trash bag to the dumpster when we left, because she was sure to complain about that too in my review. I guess we shoulda just stayed at the Double Tree instead. I might try Air BnB again in the future, but after this experience, I’d feel more comfortable with expectations by either using CouchSurfing or just staying in a hotel instead of receiving the worst of both worlds, as in this case. In the end, it didn’t really matter much. We didn’t spend much time in our accommodations. We were there for the conference.
NERDS!!
Though we heard a rumor that the conference organizer was trash-talking his own event by saying it was useless to attend, we got what we hoped to get out of it. If you are going to TechCrunch expecting some viral marketing campaign to take off, don’t count on it. It’s all about meeting connections and getting feedback on your ideas. We had enough ‘ah ha’ moments at our booth to see that Zed was on the right track with his project. I loved to see the light bulbs atop people’s faces when they realized that modern music only has one tempo at any given moment, and how much uncharted artistic space is open when you let go of that limitation.
Xchox and Austin Silent Disco team up
Not only were we telling people about the musical revolution Zed’s ideas would evoke, but Zed also had another element that went hand-in-hand with it – a new compression algorithm. Zed's genius mind had been plotting this algorithm simultaneously with the musical element, and it seemed far more marketable to a bunch of tech investors than creating a new musical genre. It made our trip to Tech Crunch seem like the HBO Miniseries, Silicon Valley, where the guy had an inspiration for a compression algorithm from dudes being dudes. I was happy to be Zed’s right-hand man and handle the logistics of getting us around, printing up leaflets, documenting the story, and keeping his genius mind from being distracted by day-to-day operations while he got deep discussing ground-breaking concepts to make the world a better place with math.
Britain has made coding mandatory starting in primary school!
The conference was fun and entertaining, but of course, the best part was after it was all over and we got to hang out with people in a relaxed social setting. A British girl named Clara tagged along with Zed and me after she heard us mention we were from Austin. She accompanied us to dinner at an Italian place across town. The conversation turned to out-of-body experiences and the law of attraction, so I was engaged. Clara also told me that the British have made it mandatory to teach computer coding in elementary school! Give them a few years; there’s going to be some major tech developments coming from that country! Afterward, we headed to the official afterparty when things got interesting.
Real Magic
As we left the conference before dinner, Clara had us wait a bit for a couple of Polish blokes from a startup called Audiotrip, which revolved around recording audio snippets for geographic locations. We never found them, so we went to dinner. After dinner, the three of us accidentally took the wrong bus to get to the afterparty, so we ended up hopping off as soon as we realized and walking to the nearest tube station. Low and behold, when we got to the train platform, the two blokes were right there! Amazing how life’s synchronicities help us manifest our intentions!
The five of us went to the afterparty, but by the time we got there, the bar was dry, so we ended up on the street figuring out what to do next. In the mean time, Zed attracted another mathematician and started explaining calculus formulas for the compression algorithm right there on the street. I could see that his mind was activated. Explaining complicated ideas to someone that has the capacity to understand them leads to a type of unconscious mental telepathy that can result in breakthroughs. Zed was super-inspired and later remarked, “That was one of the best moments of my life!” I was really happy for him.
The five of us went to the afterparty, but by the time we got there, the bar was dry, so we ended up on the street figuring out what to do next. In the mean time, Zed attracted another mathematician and started explaining calculus formulas for the compression algorithm right there on the street. I could see that his mind was activated. Explaining complicated ideas to someone that has the capacity to understand them leads to a type of unconscious mental telepathy that can result in breakthroughs. Zed was super-inspired and later remarked, “That was one of the best moments of my life!” I was really happy for him.
As I stood there on the street, I caught a wiff of something very familiar. Two dudes were sharing a fat spliff right in front of me. Though I had quit smoking pot a while ago, I still had a knack for the herb effortlessly coming into my life. I remember the days where I would spend hours trying to manifest it, but after letting go, it becomes effortless.
“Do you want a hit?” one of the guys asked.
“No, thanks!” I replied.
“Do you need a ride? How about some coke? Girls? I can get you anything you want!” he said, confidently.
“I appreciate that, but I stopped doing drugs,” I replied.
“Do you want a hit?” one of the guys asked.
“No, thanks!” I replied.
“Do you need a ride? How about some coke? Girls? I can get you anything you want!” he said, confidently.
“I appreciate that, but I stopped doing drugs,” I replied.
Two more rounds!
With that, the Mad Russian insisted that we all go back to his hotel at the Doubletree, where he would buy us the next rounds of drinks. We took two taxis back, and by this point we had added two more ladies who were in town for a cosmetology conference. They were a bit unsure getting picked up by the Russky, but when they saw that we were with him, it made them feel at ease. We went to the rooftop skylounge and ordered our drinks. By the end of the night, one of the girls ended up having a spiritual breakthrough after hearing Zed recite some of his poetry. She thought he was an angel.
“I’ll have a triple scotch!” said the Mad Russian.
“The biggest drink we serve is a double,” said the waitress.
“OK, I’ll take two doubles,” he replied, as he treated us to a round. My drink was a virgin soda water. In time, the waitress came back and told us that they were about to close, and we should order before they shut down.
“Bring us two more rounds of what everyone ordered,” said the Mad Russian.
When the waitress returned with four doubles for his round, he was a bit confused, but his wish was their command. Surprisingly, after I helped him pour all of the scotch into a single glass, he eventually finished off his octuple scotch! Those Russians can drink!
We ran into some older gentlemen in the lobby who were irate that the bar closed at 2am. Not wanting the night to end, they suggested we carry on at a local gentleman’s club, but by 3am, even they were closing. The end of the night was upon us. Clara gave Zed and me a ride to our bus stop, where we could catch a bus home. After only three vodka sours, lightweight Zed was noticeably inebriated, and the bus driver looked at us with a bit of disdain. Nevertheless, we made it home with enough time to pack up, take a 20 minute nap, and head back to Heathrow to jet home after a very short overseas stay.
“I’ll have a triple scotch!” said the Mad Russian.
“The biggest drink we serve is a double,” said the waitress.
“OK, I’ll take two doubles,” he replied, as he treated us to a round. My drink was a virgin soda water. In time, the waitress came back and told us that they were about to close, and we should order before they shut down.
“Bring us two more rounds of what everyone ordered,” said the Mad Russian.
When the waitress returned with four doubles for his round, he was a bit confused, but his wish was their command. Surprisingly, after I helped him pour all of the scotch into a single glass, he eventually finished off his octuple scotch! Those Russians can drink!
We ran into some older gentlemen in the lobby who were irate that the bar closed at 2am. Not wanting the night to end, they suggested we carry on at a local gentleman’s club, but by 3am, even they were closing. The end of the night was upon us. Clara gave Zed and me a ride to our bus stop, where we could catch a bus home. After only three vodka sours, lightweight Zed was noticeably inebriated, and the bus driver looked at us with a bit of disdain. Nevertheless, we made it home with enough time to pack up, take a 20 minute nap, and head back to Heathrow to jet home after a very short overseas stay.
It don't matter if you're black or white
At the booth
We moved on to the next venue, a local pub. Zed hadn’t had an alcoholic drink in months, but after meeting a Russian venture capitalist who drank like a fish, Zed decided he wanted to avoid busting out the laptop at the bar, and also get some sleep on the plane. Alas, in that moment, the bar turned Zed down! They used the excuse that they were closing, but I couldn’t help but feel the vibe that there was a discriminatory racial tone to it. It was confirmed when they wouldn't even serve him a glass of water, and it totally killed the vibe for a moment.
Traveling with a 6-foot-4 dreadlocked black man was an interesting experience that gave me a new respect and empathy for black people. Even in 2014, there is still obvious racial profiling. Zed was deeply searched at every airport checkpoint with a fine-tooth comb. On the way home, I had to wait several minutes after I passed through the checkpoints to wait for them to search him. When the bar wouldn’t serve him, I felt really bad, with some level of anger and resentment that I usually don’t feel much nowadays.
Traveling with a 6-foot-4 dreadlocked black man was an interesting experience that gave me a new respect and empathy for black people. Even in 2014, there is still obvious racial profiling. Zed was deeply searched at every airport checkpoint with a fine-tooth comb. On the way home, I had to wait several minutes after I passed through the checkpoints to wait for them to search him. When the bar wouldn’t serve him, I felt really bad, with some level of anger and resentment that I usually don’t feel much nowadays.
Late Night In London
Z is pronounced 'Zed'
Google A-Zed
We only spent three nights in town, but after some 16 years since I was last in London, I felt that it hadn't changed as much as I thought it would have. Like any other place after 16 years, it was more modern, but it still felt the same to me. Also, I was so happy that 16 years of technology evolution had made it so much easier to get around. Even though Google maps knows everywhere I've ever been or thought about going, it sure as hell beats the shit out of the old London A to Zed, let alone the days before GPS – and navigating the late night bus schedule after the tube finishes running at midnight.
In the end, racial profiling paid off for us though. Having had a very mediocre lunch during my layover on the way to London at the Newark Airport (even by airport standards), I was not looking forward to eating there again, but the synchronicity of waiting for Zed to be anal-probed led me to notice that the United Airlines lounge was being rented out by a local group of Italians who were celebrating Italian heritage with $5 home-cooked meals! The universe provides!
In the end, racial profiling paid off for us though. Having had a very mediocre lunch during my layover on the way to London at the Newark Airport (even by airport standards), I was not looking forward to eating there again, but the synchronicity of waiting for Zed to be anal-probed led me to notice that the United Airlines lounge was being rented out by a local group of Italians who were celebrating Italian heritage with $5 home-cooked meals! The universe provides!
