Posted: December 10th, 2010 | Author: Shawn | Filed under: blah blah blah | 3 Comments »
I get up this morning and roll straight into my good old routine. Pretty normal stuff really. Kettle, cereal, and then I settle in to eat while reading my news and email. I’m going to make a fantastic senior citizen. After the news, my thoughts turn to routines and how easily they become part of my day. As a dork that is generally traveling, or thinking about traveling, I find it interesting how I set up routines in the disposable days of a traveler.
Spooning cereal into my mouth like a sugar starved automaton, I consider why I construct routines in most aspects of my life. More specifically, why I have routines at all, and why I always seem to have them. Even when I’m only in a place or situation for a couple days, I quickly fall into little repeated patterns and habits. Fortunately, research has shown that most of us are quite habitual, so I don’t feel too bonkers.
For example, earlier this year I was spending a week in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: December 6th, 2010 | Author: Shawn | Filed under: travel | 2 Comments »
Were I looking to replace heavy old guide books, what would I use? For anyone traveling beyond a single region, guide books can be a very real problem. They’re expensive and heavy, plus if you’re any fun at all your plans may change. Who wants to spontaneously end up in Cuba with a kilo of Japan guide books? Not this gaijin. Which leads us to the question — what is the best option for replacing heavy old guide books with nimble digital info? If you have specialized needs, then this question may not be relevant, but for the average sucker out on the road with a backpack that is already too heavy, can you save some weight and drama by instead using a tablet? Read the rest of this entry »
Posted: December 6th, 2010 | Author: Shawn | Filed under: travel | No Comments »
It’s time for part 2 of my look at whether a Kindle can replace travel guide books or not. Part 1 from December ’09 is here. I’ve received some excellent questions, plus there are some really interesting feature improvements in the past year. We also need to consider new readers, technology and options on the market now. My choice for a guide book replacement today is much different than what I would have chose a year ago, and may not be at all what you expect. Let’s take a look at how the Kindle worked, and what I would choose to replace good old guide books today. With the Google eBookstore on the market our choices look much different now. Read the rest of this entry »
