Links roundup – Forum subscription edition

A recent Forum post by Andy about a deal on the Patagonia Lightweight Travel Duffel reminded me of something I’ve meant to mention to you but hadn’t yet done…

I can’t believe I missed this! I’ve been wanting this bag so bad, but the $100 price tag has deterred me when I have perfectly capable bags (and I’m getting a custom bag from MEI soon). But I have a saved search alert on eBay in case a cheap one shows up, and I check Google Shopping regularly. I totally would have snatched this up at that price; I even almost took it for $80 somewhere else!

Ugh. That’ll teach me to not visit your forum more often!

There’s a way to avoid missing Forum posts of interest:  subscribe to the Forum or the Forum groups(s) you’re interested in.  Near the bottom of the Forum page there’s an “All RSS” button – click it and you’ll be subscribed to the entire Forum; whenever a new post appears, you’ll see it in your reader or on your Google home page.  Same thing is true for each of the Forum Groups (“Smart Travel,” “Deals & Great Buys,” and so forth).  You’ll never miss a post again!

That said, on to some interesting articles I’ve stumbled upon recently:

I can’t help myself:  yet another “best travel gadgets” rundown, this one a cheekily written piece from off track planet:  The 10 Most Useful Travel Gadgets of 2010.  And the year’s not even half over yet,- amazing!  P.S.:  I’ll pass on most of these.

How to take on travel trouble from IndependentTraveler.com covers some of the most common mishaps (lost passport, illness, etc.) and how to best handle them.

I know some of you have seen this in a related thread at FlyerTalk, so forgive me if this is redundant, but a recent slideshow in the NYT Business section provides fodder for debate:  10 Days in a Carry-On.  The slideshow captures a flight attendant’s approach to packing; what’s fascinating is how much she’s crammed into her bag, and the fact that she (almost) exclusively packs clothing that’s suited to rolling (her method of choice).

Be warned:  Google is aggressively moving into the travel sector.   Check out the details in this USA Today piece:  Google moves into online travel business

Concerned about online privacy?  If not, perhaps you ought to be.  Check out this Fast Company article:  Online Privacy:  Check Yourself (Before You Wreck Yourself)

On the gadget/neat tool front, I’d run across this a year or so ago and promptly forgot where I’d seen it:  a pen which uses no ink – the Metal Pen from Grand Illusions.  Let me know if you’ve tried it!

From Lifehacker:  Erica Ho’s A Savvy Traveler’s Guide to Vacationing Abroad.  Definitely worth bookmarking, and the post’s comments contain some great tips as well.

Finally, a post from Get Rich Slowly from a couple of months ago:  Reader Tip – Pay Your Bills as They Arrive.  I pay all our bills online, setting them up for payment (about a week in advance if they’re to be paid for check, and 3-4 days in advance if paid electronically, which is the norm) when they arrive.  Do you hang onto your bills until a day or two before they’re due?  Why bother, and why entertain the additional risk (of forgetting to pay one)?

Have a great rest of the week!