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For six years, the Internet Nexus served as my technology blog, but I've since started blogging at the SuperSite Blog instead. If you're looking for the blog, please head there. --Paul

Monday, May 02, 2005

Trip triage

Despite the fact that I travel quite frequently for work and fun, I do a lousy job of it. I bring too many clothes and too much tech. In an attempt to improve this situation, I did something I've wanted to do for a long time, a "trip triage" for my most recent trip, an eight-day jaunt to Seattle and Phoenix. I won't bore you with my clothing issues (which was exacerbated by the fact that, since I stay with friends, I could actually do laundry in both cities), but will share some of my tech-related woes. Specifically, here are lists of what I brought and then did, or did not, use during the trip:

Carry-on
I bring a nice rolling briefcase that has two wide compartments and can thus hold two laptops with ease. However, I usually travel with just a single computer: This time, I had both the PowerBook and PC notebook. I don't usually travel with the iSight either, but this was a special case.

Items I carried-on and actually used:

HP notebook computer with extended battery
Apple PowerBook 12-inch
Sony noise-cancelling headphones w/ extension cord
iPod shuffle
Microsoft wireless notebook adapter
1 GB USB memory stick
Disk holder with 12 DVDs/CDs

Items I carried on but never used:

iPod Photo
Standard battery for HP computer
Sony PSP with 5 UMD-based games and 1 UMD-based movie

This is kind of interesting to me: For the second straight trip, I brought both the iPod shuffle and the iPod photo (40 GB), but only used the shuffle. Hmm. Part of it is convenience, as the shuffle can be hung from your neck and doesn't weigh anything.

Packed baggage
Inside of my luggage, I have a sack that I use to hold all my packed electronics, which generally boils down to various cables and chargers. On this trip, I brought the following items:

Items I packed and actually used:

HP Photosmart R717 digital camera w/ 1 GB and 256 MB SD cards and carrying case
Cell phone charger
Cell phone headset
Power cord for HP notebook
Power cord for Apple PowerBook
Apple iSight camera with case, notebook grip, and cord
HP Photosmart R-series battery charger
Mini tripod
Logitech Notebook camera

Items I packed but never used:

Extra battery for HP Photosmart R717
Microsoft IntelliMouse Explorer
Disk holder with 12 DVDs/CDs (backups, etc.)
Apple iPod charger (USB/wall)
HP Photosmart R717 wall charger
USB cable (PC-to-digital camera)
Sony PSP wall charger

As you can see, I have travel issues. I'll work on it. But the unused items take up a lot of space and add significantly to the weight.

Also, I grabbed an issue of MacWorld on the way home and found the following related article to be oddly coincidental:

Hit the road, Mac: What to take, what to leave behind, and how to travel smart

[ Posted at 10:19 AM | Permalink ]