Gunnison, CO. January 28, 2013.
I think I’ll stay with the “T” theme tonight and talk about my new tech toys since my fishing on the Taylor doesn’t start until tomorrow. At dinner tonight with my friends, Carol and Pat Oglesby (see the “In Other Words” section of my website to learn about one of the many things Carol and Pat are involved in) I started to make a mental list of all the new toys I have purchased for my journey.
Most important is my new 14-inch MacBook Air that is like a file folder with a magazine inside! This is a replacement to my 5-year old MB Air and is just as reliable and enjoyable as the first one. Although I don’t usually purchase service contracts, I think it was really worthwhile in this case because of the training that went along with it. I have already had numerous one on one sessions that went over great programs like iPhoto and iMovie. You have access to this training for a full year after your purchase.
My next new toy was a huge one – a Nikon D7000 camera with 4 lenses including a standard, macro, telephoto and wide angle. I last purchased a SLR camera 20 years ago (in 1992) and it was a Nikon N70 film camera. I was so bummed when 2 years later Apple came out with the first consumer-level digital camera that worked with a home computer via a serial cable. Although I had a lot of fun with that camera, it was hard to stay interested in film once digital came on the scene. Hopefully the same thing won’t happen with this new toy – it’s too cool.
My new iPhone is not meant to take third place here because it is great to now have all my technology in the great hands of Apple. One of the coolest things I bought to go along with my iPhone is a water-proof case made by LifeProof that will allow me to use the great iPhone camera to take photos under water. So you know all those cool photos of fish underwater – some of those will be mine.
As I am sitting in my hotel room (too cold and snowy to take my camper this week) I was so glad to have my new Verizon jetpack otherwise I would not be publishing my writing tonight. This will be my lifesaver as I travel this year in my camper and need Internet access. It will be interesting to see how great or limited my connections will be – but it will be the best that our country has to offer right now. The device was free and the service was $20/month added on to my ever increasing technology bills.
Another cool toy is my Olympus Digital Voice Recorder. I use this when I’m driving and have ideas of what I want to write about or when I’m interviewing someone to record their stories. I used to try and drive and jot down my notes in my mini notebooks, but most of the time I couldn’t decifer my handwriting when reviewing. It was time to give up my also 20-year old Sony voice recorder.
Because my camper space is so limited I wanted to have a compact printer. I purchased a Canon PIXMA IP 100 Photo Inkjet B/W Color Mobile Printer. I’ve linked to a video that shows you all the cool stuff about this printer.
Now I just have to keep track of it all. Oh yeah, the Kindle and the iPod too.
