My posting of a cure for the common cold from our family book last week wasn’t accidental – a week ago I came down with an absolutely horrific head and chest cold. As I write this on Sunday evening it’s the first time in a week that I’ve felt even remotely human; my writing as a result has fallen way off and I’ve not posted much in the last week.
Hang in there – I think I’ve gained an upper hand versus the nasties that’ve invaded my body – we’ll be back on track shortly. Another consequence of my illness is I canceled my trip to Florida; having prepared to post about traveling light with the Patagonia MLC, I may write the post anyway, focusing on ways to save weight when packing…
In the meantime, I thought I’d pass along a few neat things I’ve stumbled upon recently…
Laptop users, check out Anchor Free’s “Hotspot Shield.” The product enables you to hide your IP address while surfing the net at hotspots. In addition, it lets you protect yourself from snoopers at hotspots, hotels and the like.
If you’re a designer or have a website, check out Color Scheme Designer. CSD is a free utility that makes it very easy to design color schemes for use in web sites. Not only can you easily design schemes, but a pair of buttons let you see an example of what a web page would look like with the scheme – in “light” and “dark” modes. HTML + CSS codes are exportable. Very, very slick.
Datsusara MMA makes bags aimed at Mixed Martial Artists from hemp. Their MMA BP1 (Backpack 1) looks like it might be a useful backpack for short trips. Check out their products at Datsusara MMA.
Finally, from Time magazine: 25 Gotta-Have Travel Gadgets.
Have a great week!
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February 16th, 2009 at 8:11 pm
It’s my last day in Thailand – last full day anyway – and the Gator from Red Oxx has been working wonderfully as both an inflight bag and as a city knock-around bag. Unlike a backpack, it doesn’t LOOK like a backpack (ha ha) which is better for navigating the urban districts and hotels. At the same time it has all the functionality of a backpack – it isn’t likely to slip off my shoulder thanks to the claw strap, and while moving from songthaew (rural pickup truck bus) to boat (to the resort island, Koh Samet) I just put it cross body like a messenger bag so it won’t slide off no matter what.
I can see now why you sing the virtues of Red Oxx as a fairly “indestructible” luggage line – the zippers never jam, the snaps won’t wear out like Velcro (and don’t snag my clothing), even the handle-wrap is devoid of foam that will at some point disintegrate in the future. Plus it looks good without being flashy.
That’s the good news, on the “personal bag” front.
The bad news, on the “one bag” or main luggage front, is that I haven’t learned the “less is more” trick well enough yet.
On the flight, my Appenzell, the large-ish daypack that I am using instead of a full-sized convertible luggage piece (for example, the Patagonia MLC you are reviewing), was uncomfortably heavy. I take most of the blame for this piece being “overweight” (and by overweight, I mean being at the 15 pound limit instead of a more reasonable 10 pounds), but I think the bag needs to share some blame too.
I don’t mean to imply the Appenzell is too heavy by itself, it is a well-designed piece, but it IS very generously sized, and that invites me to stuff it to the gills, which leads to the “bag obesity” issue.
So I have come full circle to believing that the “less generously” sized Patagonia MLC might actually be better, for the will-power challenged, than the “full sized” Red Oxx Air Boss. Ok, not better if you absolutely have to pack more, but better for casual (as opposed to business) travel.
The thing that really stands out about this trip is just how challenging travel can be when the seats next to you are occupied; when the “intra Asian” connecting flight has a microscopically sized overhead bin; when you are on a micro-van with every seat full and need to carry the “one bag” on your lap to ensure it doesn’t get pilfered etc; when you are jammed into the back of a pickup with a bunch of office workers and school kids on their morning commute; getting on a boat that doesn’t have a walk-way (perched dangerously on the old tires tied to the side of the pier and the side of the boat); when you are trying to walk crowded Asian streets and climb stairs to the skytrain; and even when you are merely standing curbside and your shoulders hurt from the bag’s weight.
Yes, I’ve learned my lesson – simplify, make light, don’t duplicate, sink-wash and/or use the hotel laundry, take less.
No colds or flus to complain of, but I got Bangkok belly last night. Could be food poisoning, but I think it’s more likely 5 days of very spicy food coming back to haunt me.
The jiu jitsu has been a blast, but if I ever thought it got too hot on the mats (from the strenuous exertion) in Cali, that’s nothing compared to a wrenching workout in steamy Bangkok. I have never felt that hot, ready to explode from the inside, even in a sauna.
I logged on today to find out what you think of the Asus EEE notebook. They are cheap out here, and they have the latest models. I want the LED screen, but I am hoping there will be better graphics accelerators coming out soon. At the same time I am worried that they are going to be getting bigger and heavier and soon lose the “big cellphone” appeal they have for me now. I have a regular laptop, thank you, I need something 2.3-3 pounds so I don’t have to worry about the security at these darn internet cafe/hotel computer terminals with their keystroke loggers etc.
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February 18th, 2009 at 7:46 pm
Michael -
All in all, despite a little over packing, still sounds like a great trip. Can’t wait to hear more!
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