It's that time of year again. The holiday season is upon us.

As we have witnessed while "workamping" this month at the Amazon distribution center in Kansas, consumption madness has once again taken the country by storm. Cherie and I are working 55+ hours a week, spending 11 hours per night packing a seemingly endless stream of "stuff" into boxes, most destined to be soon given as gifts.

One of the things I always dread about this time of year is being asked about ideas for gifts to give me. Asking me what I want for Christmas or my birthday can actually make me cringe.

It's not that I don't love receiving (or giving) presents... I do. But...

I just hate the idea of giving someone a shopping list of items that I want, and then expecting them to buy me things from it.

If there is something I know that I want, I get it.
Why wait? Deferring purchases hoping for a gift is silly.

And besides, for the most part I already have all the stuff I could possibly want. My life is full and rich, and there is not a lot missing. I have no interest in knick-knacks, collectibles, or a lot of the typical gifty stuff that tend to pile up first under a tree, and then later gathering dust in basements or closets.

Living in a 17' long house on wheels provides a strong disincentive towards accumulating stuff too. Anything new we add tends to mean that something old needs to be purged. This is a good thing, and it keeps me from drowning in my pack-rat tendencies.

Stuff is an anchor. And I am a big advocate of people getting rid of the stuff that is clogging up their lives. Most of it just gets in the way or holds people back.

Of course, there are some things that I do want, and have not acquired yet... I am a geek, and I do love my toys.

But if there is something I want and I haven't gotten it yet, it is probably because it is overly expensive and thus not appropriate as a gift, or more likely - I haven't had the time to do the research to narrow down the specific item that best fits my needs.

I am picky. I research my purchases to the extreme, and it is important to me that the things that I invest time and money and physical space towards are the best possible fit for me and my life.

Doing this research is time consuming, and I actually enjoy the process of it. But I hate feeling rushed.

For example... I know that I want to get a handheld ham radio in the near future. I know a few of the key features that I want in it, and I know that there are literally dozens of potential options on the market to choose from. I do not (yet) know enough to weigh the tradeoffs between these options. Deciding what to get will ultimately require a large research project on my part.

It would actually be a great gift to me if someone with some expertise were to help in the research and in weighing the options, and then share with me not just what they recommended but (in detail) why, as well as what else they considered as top contenders.

Helping me with the research is actually more of a gift than making the purchase - I could care less about who is writing the check.

But of course I know it is asking a lot to expect anyone else to put as much time and energy into researching things as I do. I know that I tend to get a bit obsessive. That is who I am.

But... Don't then ask me what is on my "to get" list, and then expect me to provide specific model numbers and perhaps even the links to where to buy.

Instead of giving me a gift, urgently asking me for more details and links ends up feeling as if what you are actually giving me is homework and a deadline!

*ugh*

But really, I do love getting gifts... But the ones that I love the most are the things that catch me by surprise, the things that are unique and wonderful, or the things that draw me close to the giver.

I've been told that I am impossible to buy gifts for, but really, I am easy. Just follow some combination of these simple guidelines...

Gifting Guidelines:

1) Surprise. Avoid giving gifts that are on someone's list. Focusing on the list actually risks disappointment if you pick a model, color, or size other than the recipient would have chosen. Instead, ignore the list and get something the recipient has never heard of before, or imagined that they needed.

2) Break out of the formulas. A gift on a holiday or a birthday is expected, a gift on a random Tuesday in April will blow someone away.

3) Give gifts that build connection. Don't get something that you think fits the recipients tastes, but instead buy them YOUR favorite book, CD, or DVD. Tell them why it is your favorite. And then offer to share the experience - watch the movie or listen to the music together. Or take them to your favorite play or restaurant. Teach them how to cook your favorite meal. And so on...

4) Make it unique. Avoid things with UPC codes on the box, instead - make the gift (and the box) yourself. Or buy something from a local craftsman or artist. Art is a wonderful gift, particularly art with a story attached. (Though art is a bit less practical with our current tight quarters...)

5) It doesn't need to be new, or expensive. A used DVD is just as good as a new one still in the shrink-wrap. And an awesome shirt bought at Goodwill is likely more interesting and unique than something brought off the rack at the mall. Why throw away money on something new? Showing awareness for recycling and reducing consumption actually makes a gift even more special.

6) Invest time, not money. Creating a picture book or a digital-photo slideshow or a framed photo that you've taken gives the recipient a piece of yourself in a way that few other gifts can.

7) Cash is an ok gift, but not particularly personal or special... And gift cards are just cash that expires, are easy to lose, and which can only be spent at one place. Does anyone ever really enjoy getting a gift card as a gift?!?

===========

So am I really that impossible to buy gifts for?? All anyone has to do to thrill me is to NOT pester me about what I want, buy me a used copy of their own personal favorite movie, tell me about why the movie means so much to them, and then watch it with me. I'll even provide the popcorn.

It boggles my mind that this is not the way that more people view gifts, but most people seem aghast at the idea of giving a gift that isn't new in the shrink wrap, or which isn't pre-approved as being on somebodies wanted list.

I don't get it.

*sigh*

BTW - If you are online shopping for gifts this holiday season, I'd love it if you started by clicking here to shop our Amazon.com affiliate store.

Just promise not to buy any large awkwardly shaped items - they are a real pain for us warehouse drones to pack... Especially umbrellas! *grin*

Also posted on www.technomadia.com - link.

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I've been a Jeep Liberty fan for as long as I've been nomadic.

When I first started living on the road in April 2006, I traded my beloved Toyota Prius with a friend (etant_moi - thank you!!!) for her 2002 Jeep Liberty. Her Jeep was the perfect match for the small Tab Trailer that I had set up to be my nomadic home, and no matter how much I wished otherwise - the Prius was just not meant to tow.



As fate would have it, the farewell post I made about my Prius in an online Toyota Prius community is what prompted Cherie to first contact me - starting an online friendship that eventually blossomed into our ongoing life partnership.

Meanwhile, I fell in love with the size, style, and practicality of the Jeep Liberty during my first year on the road. It was the perfect small go-anywhere SUV. But I never loved the awful 12MPG fuel economy I would typically get while towing. The Liberty's gasoline engine just wasn't up to the task of pulling around a trailer full time.

In May 2007 the universe conspired to push Cherie and I into upgrading to a 2006 Jeep Liberty CRD Diesel, and my love affair with the Liberty began anew. The awesome little four cylinder diesel engine in this rare Liberty (only manufactured in 2005 & 2006) was amazing, getting 27+ MPG around town, and nearly 20MPG while towing our Tab.



The new Liberty served us well for the past 2.5 years and 40,000 miles. We have had amazing off road adventures, our photos have been featured in Jeep newspaper advertisements for embodying the "true spirit of Jeep", and our Jeep was even shown off in a YouTube marketing campaign.



It wasn't all wonderful though... We have had more than our share of odd glitches and maintenance issues over the past two years, including needing the transmission overhauled twice (our extended warranty proved to be a wise investment).

And ever since upgrading from the small Tab to the larger and heavier Oliver last summer, our Jeep has occasionally struggled. We still often managed an amazing 17 - 19 MPG while towing, but the engine would sweat more on long hills, the transmission was always working harder, and over time the trailer hitch was beginning to develop a slight downward bend from holding up the Oliver's tongue weight.

The hitch problem is what proved to be the real killer. The Jeep carries its spare tire on the back door, requiring an extended ball mount to reach out from under the tire to hitch up with our Oliver trailer. This extension was putting too much leverage onto the Jeep's hitch receiver, and the bending was actually starting to damage the Jeep's frame.

After consulting with some trailer supply places and body shops about what it would take to continue towing our Oliver safely, the conclusion was that the only way the Jeep could do it was if I removed the spare tire to avoid needing the extension. Otherwise, any repairs made to the bent hitch would end up being just expensive temporary band-aids.

Our Jeep and Oliver were just not made for each other. It was time for something new...



One of our ongoing annoyances with the Jeep has been that it also doubled as our storage closet, and to carry passengers we would have to shuffle cargo from the Jeep into the Oliver to make space. It also always felt cluttered having so much "stuff" just a few feet away from us in the front seats.

To remedy this, we decided to start searching for a Crew Cab pickup truck with space up front for passengers, and a camper shell providing secure "closet space" in the back. This way we could easily carry around passengers without needing a major reshuffling, and we would also end up with even more storage space than we had before.

Because there is seemingly a conspiracy to keep small diesels off the market in the US, we knew that we would have to give up on the joys of having a fuel efficient diesel engine unless we wanted to go for the overkill and expense of an overly large F250 sized truck. Large SUV's were also quickly ruled out - we liked the idea of having a clearly separated cabin and "garage" in the back.

Cherie had two additional requests - that we find something red to match our Oliver, and that we get something with more than two easily accessible front seat cup holders. Tall demands indeed!

After a quick survey of the options, we both found ourselves drawn towards Toyota - perhaps not surprising considering our Prius-catalyzed history. We spent an afternoon checking out Toyota Tundras and Tacomas at a nearby dealership, and left impressed with both - but not at all with the traditional dealership games around price and trade-in value. We actually felt as if we were being held hostage until we insisted we were NOT open to "making a deal today"...

Next we decided to check out the San Diego CarMax location, and we were very honestly blown away. As their tag-line says, the CarMax experience is indeed "the way car buying should be".

Our sales consultant (Clinton Land - awesome guy, ask for him) had no biases towards any particular brand, and he did not try to push us towards more expensive options. He was refreshingly knowledgeable and patient, and he spent an entire afternoon with us showing off a range of vehicles. Best of all, we never felt any pressure to rush into a deal.

The CarMax appraisal for our Liberty came back thousands higher than the Toyota dealer had offered earlier, and we were impressed that CarMax's policy is that they will buy your trade-in whether or not you purchase a vehicle from them. The buying and selling parts of the company are totally separate - the way it should be. And I loved the very reasonable no-haggle prices on all the CarMax listings. It never felt like they were playing games with us, and the contrast with the more traditional dealer was striking.

One of the first trucks we checked out on the CarMax lot was a red 2006 Toyota Tundra SR5 Double Cab, in perfect condition. Unlike almost all other used trucks, it came already equipped with a matching camper shell. And to Cherie's delight, it had a total of eight cup holders!

It was almost as if once again the universe was serving up our perfect next vehicle on a silver platter. The price was exceedingly fair too.

I was most concerned about giving up our 4x4 off-road ability (this Tundra was 2wd), but seeking out a Tundra with 4WD would cost us thousands more, and we would pay a constant extra price with an overall reduced fuel economy.

I also knew I would miss the Jeep's amazingly nimble turning radius and ability to zip around dense cities. The Tundra may not be huge, but it is still a pretty BIG truck compared to the Liberty. The Toyota Tacoma was a compelling slightly smaller option, but smaller trucks are in higher demand right now, and used Tacoma's were selling for thousands more than comparable Tundras. And while the smaller engine in the Tacoma would be more fuel efficient around town, my research indicated that it would have no fuel economy advantage while towing.

In the end after a further night of research, we returned to Clinton at CarMax to complete the transaction. Having the ideal color with a camper shell already installed was just too perfect for us to ignore.

Introducing our new Toyota Tundra:


So far we have driven from San Diego to Lake Havasu City, AZ. We love how the Tundra cabin is so quiet and comfortable, and so far it has proven to be exceedingly easy to to drive. And the Tundra seems to be able to tow our Oliver without breaking a sweat at all. The engine temperature gauge didn't even budge on the long climb up I-15 heading north from San Diego.

Of course our fuel efficiency has been nowhere near what we used to get with our Jeep. Our first tank was a distressing 11.53 mpg, but our second was a much improved 13.62 mpg. I expect that as I get used to driving the Tundra conservatively, things will improve even more.



One final note of praise for CarMax... When they noticed that we would be registering the Tundra in South Dakota, they offered to transfer it to a CarMax outlet in Las Vegas so that we could avoid California's mandatory sales tax since Nevada does not tax vehicles purchased to be registered out of state. In the end though, the hassle of routing through Las Vegas and waiting a week for the transfer was just not worth it. Still - we are amazed that they offered it!

The entire CarMax purchasing experience exceeded our expectations in every way. I could not recommend them enough. Their website rocks too!

Some people are expressing disbelief that President Obama has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize less than a year into his first term. And in some ways this is understandable. After all, wouldn't it be more reasonable to consider him for this honor after his first or second term, and to judge him on what he has accomplished rather than on the "hope" that he represents?

But if you look a bit beyond the US borders, and ask yourself what peace really means, I think it is clear that now is indeed the time for this prize.

Obama is a bridge (literally even!) between races and nations, and his election to president has changed the entire feel of international relations. The world as a whole has experienced a shift from a hostile to a hopeful undertone.

That shift is extremely significant, and (IMHO) worthy of a Nobel.

A few quotes to illustrate this...

A friend of mine who just got back from traveling in the middle east had this to say:

"Just spent 6 weeks in the Middle East and it was extraordinary how optimistic Egyptians
(as well as people from all over the world) were about Obama (especially after his speech in Egypt) and how welcoming they were to people from the United States, compared to how it was in the past 8 years. I felt such a difference from my travel overseas 2 and 5 years ago.

In Palestinian territories the city police would smile, kiss their thumbs and say "America." Locals often commented about how much more safe and friendly people were toward people from the United States. Canadians said they did not feel they had to continue to wear the Canadian maple leaf patch on their backpacks to distinguish themselves from those from the United States. Turks in Istanbul were so warm and welcome."

I've heard similar from a LOT of traveler friends. The world feels a lot safer in general since Obama's election, and particularly for Americans abroad.

A few comments from past Peace Prize winners also illustrate why Obama has earned this prize...

Gorbachev:

"I congratulate you on being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. I am convinced that it is the right decision, which significantly reinforces our family of Nobel laureates. Your efforts have helped to bring about a significant change in the international climate. I feel close affinity to your vision of the global world and of relations among nations. Implementing it will require strong will, statesmanship and mastery of communication. It will also require support from Americans and from men and women of good will throughout the world.

The decision of the Nobel Committee is a recognition of the significant role the United States of America plays in world affairs and of the hopes people are placing in the United States President. Therefore your success, Mr. President, is in the interest of all those who want to see a secure and just peace in the XXI century."

Another former Nobel winner, Mohamed ElBaradei, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, said Obama has already provided outstanding leadership in the effort to prevent nuclear proliferation:

"In less than a year in office, he has transformed the way we look at ourselves and the world we live in and rekindled hope for a world at peace with itself. He has shown an unshakable commitment to diplomacy, mutual respect and dialogue as the best means of resolving conflicts. He has reached out across divides and made clear that he sees the world as one human family, regardless of religion, race or ethnicity."

An old friend said that Obama being awarded the peace prize made her think that "the world had gone insane - why we don't just cut to the chase and proclaim Barack Obama Emperor of the Universe".

To me, it doesn't sound like the world has gone insane. Rather - for the first time in a long time the world is on the path towards sanity.

Congratulations President Obama! This is a proud day for the United States.


UPDATE: I had a friend point out that giving Obama the Peace Prize now is like "giving out the Superbowl trophy mid-season to a struggling team to help get them motivated."

Working towards peace is not a competition that can be won like the Superbowl or an Olympic Medal. The Peace Prize has a very different purpose, and it has often gone to people who are in the midst of doing work for peace, with the hope being that the award will help build momentum. The Peace Prize is judged with a very different criteria than the science awards which are often given out decades after the fact.

I started off today planning to write a "WTF - too soon!" post until I did some more research into the criteria and history of the Nobel Peace Prize, and into the progress towards peace and diplomacy under the Obama administration that has already been acknowledged by many around the world.

The research changed my mind. I think the time is right for this award.

It looks like even Obama was caught off guard by this. I really appreciate his humble response:

"This morning, Michelle and I awoke to some surprising and humbling news. At 6 a.m., we received word that I'd been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 2009.

To be honest, I do not feel that I deserve to be in the company of so many of the transformative figures who've been honored by this prize -- men and women who've inspired me and inspired the entire world through their courageous pursuit of peace.

But I also know that throughout history the Nobel Peace Prize has not just been used to honor specific achievement; it's also been used as a means to give momentum to a set of causes.

That is why I've said that I will accept this award as a call to action, a call for all nations and all peoples to confront the common challenges of the 21st century. These challenges won't all be met during my presidency, or even my lifetime. But I know these challenges can be met so long as it's recognized that they will not be met by one person or one nation alone.

This award -- and the call to action that comes with it -- does not belong simply to me or my administration; it belongs to all people around the world who have fought for justice and for peace. And most of all, it belongs to you, the men and women of America, who have dared to hope and have worked so hard to make our world a little better."

Nice.

Inspiring.

The sky calls to us
If we do not destroy ourselves
We will one day venture to the stars

I believe our future depends powerfully
On how well we understand this cosmos
In which we float like a mote of dust
In the morning sky

The surface of the earth is the shore of the cosmic ocean
Recently we've waded a little way out
And the water seems inviting

serolynne and I started re-watching Carl Sagan's Cosmos on Hulu recently. It is just as true and relevant now as ever - perhaps some of the best television ever filmed.

Carl Sagan rocks.

Yesterday we stopped for lunch in Susanville, CA on our way towards Sacramento.

When we started off again, our Jeep began acting weird. Every few minutes there would be a ding, and the ESP/BAS, traction control, and ABS yellow error lights on the dash would turn on. Within an instant, they would turn off again.

Uhhh?!?

The Jeep was driving fine, but with a ding happening every few minutes, we were concerned.

We stopped in at a Jeep dealer in Susanville for some advice, and the tech didn't have time to take a closer look right away, but he observed that all three of those lights are driven by the same wheel sensors, and maybe one of them is dirty from our recent dirt-road driving. He suggested that blasting out the wheel wells at a car wash might do the trick, and he said we should be fine driving the rest of the way to Sacramento despite the dinging.

And indeed, we made it to Sacramento just fine. Despite the non-stop ding-fest, our Jeep drove fine, and the engine never faltered.

Unfortunately - I think that there is more wrong than just a dirty sensor in the wheel.

During the 180 mile drive from Susanville to Sacramento, we noticed that our odometer actually only advanced 80 miles (great for prolonging our extended warranty I guess)... Also, though the three-way ESP/BAS, traction, ABS flash was by far the most common, the airbag warning light would also occasionally flash on for a moment, and sometimes the passenger airbag disabled light would flash on too. And most bizarrely to witness, sometimes the fuel warning light would flash on, and the fuel gauge would drop to zero before a moment later recovering to display the correct amount.

I'm pretty sure that isn't caused by a dirty sensor in the wheel well.... I think our Jeep has gone mad.

Or more likely - there is a loose or corroded connector on the main computer or one of the wiring harnesses, but I don't know where to start looking to track down and fix this. Tracing down intermittent electrical ghosts is a troubleshooting nightmare.

Interestingly, the check engine light never flashed on.

Another glitch -- the steering-wheel mounted controls for adjusting volume and changing radio stations and iPod tracks have started to work intermittently. And the radio itself seems to keep switching from iPod to CD mode without prompting.

Poltergeists? Gremlins? *grrrr*

The question now is whether we should find a Jeep dealer here in Sacramento, or push on to our next planned extended stop in Hemet (near Riverside, CA) next week.

Anyone have any thoughts or advice on the issue we are seeing? Is it purely a mental issue, or is there a significant chance that this could turn into something worse that leaves us suddenly stranded on the side of the road?

How about any dealer recommendations in Sacramento, SF, or down in SoCal?

We've had a bad experience with getting our diesel Jeep serviced in California before, and I want to hopefully find a place that doesn't start by saying -- "wow, a diesel Jeep Liberty! I didn't even know we made one like that...."

Less than a week from today the gates of Black Rock City officially swing open, and despite our minor setback, Camp Nomadia will be there in style.

We have overcome our lack of "official" placement, and instead have teamed up with Pandora's Lounge & Fix-It Shop, and will be sharing in their primo placement at 6:00 & DNA - right behind center camp!

The mission of Camp Nomadia:

Camp Nomadia is a place where we take the 'Welcome Home!' greeting to a whole other level. We are building a neighborhood for folks who are just passing through Burning Man as part of their normal traveling lifestyle, and not as a break from fixed life in one location. Our vision is to camp and interact with other cool nomadic spirits - sharing stories, resources, and our passion for our chosen lifestyle.

Camp Nomadia Events:

Day	Time	Event	Description
Tuesday	4-6pm	Nomadic Happy Hour	Casual mix and mingle with nomads from across the playa. Bring food or beverage to share, and prepare to inspire and be inspired!
Thursday	3-4pm	Technomadic Lifestyle Workshop	The technomads, Chris (Seeder) and Cherie (Serolynne), will present on how to live, work and play full time on the road. From picking your ideal mobile arsenal, finding location independent professions to the logistics of handling taxes, mail and more. Stick around afterwards for Q&A and Nomadic Happy Hour...
Thursday	4-6pm	Nomadic Happy Hour	Casual mix and mingle with nomads from across the playa. Bring food or beverage to share, and prepare to inspire and be inspired!
Sunday	3-5pm	Nomadic Happy Hour	Casual mix and mingle with nomads from across the playa. Bring food or beverage to share, and prepare to inspire and be inspired! (If Pandora's has started taking their lounge down, we'll host this at our nearby Oliver trailer...)

We will be hosting all of our events in Pandora's Lounge (6:00 & DNA), and all are welcome.

Speaking of the lounge, Camp Nomadia is sharing in Pandora's fully stocked camp bar and shady lounge area, so if you are going to Burning Man this year you have plenty of good reasons to come stop by and say hello even outside of our official events. Stop in on your way to or from Center Camp, or to take advantage of the bike and costume repair services in the Fix-It Shop.

I am really excited to be camped so close to the center of it all. In typical playa fashion, things have worked out perfectly. And we have an incredible group of nomads and friends from all around the world coming together to camp with us. This year is going to be great indeed!

See you out there!

Come join us for dinner during our short pre Burning Man stop in the Bay Area this week!

Where: Thai Satay @ 1376 E 14th St, San Leandro, CA
When: Wednesday, Aug 19 @ ~7pm

This will be a casual get together, and a chance to catch up with many friends in the area. A RSVP is not necessary, but it'll be nice to know if you can make it. Apparently this place doesn't get too busy, so accommodating folks should be fairly easy on a drop-in basis. It's also just a few blocks from the San Leandro BART.

Hope to see you there! (And many thanks to klrmn for helping with planning!)

We'll be around for a few days after (perhaps through the weekend) - let us know if there are any other social opportunities we should keep in mind.

Today is "No Spectators Day" - a Burning Man inspired day for community involvement and art. BM.org even managed to get the day officially recognized by Mayoral Proclamation in San Francisco, and there are burner organized park cleanups and events going on around the country.

"On July 31st everyone is a Participant!"

Which makes it a particularly ironic day for Burning Man to send out notice to Camp Nomadia and 130 other organized theme camps to tell them that there is no room to place them on the playa this year.

The size of Black Rock City is shrinking (back to the layout from 2007), but there are more theme camps than ever wanting to contribute to the city. But rather than expand the size of the theme camp area relative to the rest of the city, BM.org has scaled it way back from last year.

According to the email that BM.org sent out, 130 out of the 685 applications this year were rejected - while last year all but 16 were approved.

I guess they need more space for spectators - participants who have spent nearly a year planning be damned.

Of course Camp Nomadia can (and will) still happen. But without a known address or an ability to get in early for setup, our planned interactivity will be significantly curtailed.

This is a harsh message to get on "no spectators day"...

*grrrr*

I first took the MBTI (Myers Briggs Personality Test) when I was in a summer program at Stanford way back when I was in high school. The final Scheme programming project we had to work on was writing an analysis tool that would process all the raw MBTI data from everyone else in the class, and determine how well we matched each other in four-dimensional space.

Surprisingly, my closest match happened to be the person I had most closely connected with over the course of the week. I was amazed at how such a simple test was able to discern so much.

My personality type back then - ENTP.

I've taken some variant of the MBTI or the similar Keirsey Temperament Sorter several times since, and my personality has consistently tested roughly the same - with only a few slight variations.

The biggest shift has been that my T/F (thinking vs feeling) axis has balanced out, and I now very slightly lean F. Probably the influence of so much time in Northern California.... *grin*

Anyway, I just found a free online "Official Myers-Briggs Personality Test", and decided to check and see where I currently test out.

Here are my scores and the four axis:

Result: ENFP

13 Extraversion and 8 Introversion -- Slight extroversion preference - very true!
1 Sensing and 25 Intuition -- Very clear intuitive preference - indeed!
12 Thinking and 12 Feeling -- Slight feeling preference - effectively tied.
3 Judging and 19 Perceiving -- Clear perceiving preference. Yep.

Here is the official ENFP description - it fits me well..
( Cut for length... )

That description indeed fits me well. So does the official ENTP description. I am very clearly right on the cusp between the two, though I do think that I am a bit more ENFP than ENTP lately.

Here is the official ENTP description - it also fits.
( Cut for length... )
Fascinating stuff!

While searching around destabee's place for Kikinator this evening to scoop her up to bring her out to the trailer for bed, we heard some yipping noises coming from Kele's basement.

Cherie and I descended the stairs and turned on the light and found our little girl chasing a cute little mouse around the large dark room.

Upon seeing us, Kiki scooped up the mouse, dropped it at our feet, and then proceeded to chase the limping mouse anew. Her parent's were wild barn cats after all, so we shouldn't be surprised that mousing is in her blood.

As our eyes followed her darting around the dark basement, we started to realize that she wasn't just playing with a single mouse. The entire floor of the basement was littered with little carcasses. It was a veritable killing field, with at least eight bodies lying about discarded.

Our sweet little kitten is a mass murderer.

The horror!

We have several excellent cameras that need good homes, and we'd much rather sell to friends.

All prices below include payment via PayPal and US Priority shipping.

Canon PowerShot G9 (with 8GB SD card) - $425
Canon Powershot SX110IS - $100 (won't turn on, has minor water damage)
Pentax Optio S12 - $130
FujiFilm FinePix F50sd - $90
Casio Exilim EXZ750 - $30

For full details of each camera, click through to our detailed post at www.technomadia.com.

Also posted at www.technomadia.com:

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For those who haven't known me for a while, you may not know that before going nomadic I used to be the Director of Competitive Analysis for Palm (the maker of the Pilot, Tungsten, and Treo) and PalmSource (the Palm OS operating system spinoff).

It used to be my job to literally dissect every worthwhile mobile gadget in existence, and I typically carried multiple smartphones in my pockets with cell phone plans from every major carriers.


Imagine the looks I used to get going through airport X-Rays... (vintage 2004 tech)

I sometimes miss getting paid to play with so many cool toys, but I don't miss the endless juggling and constant shifting from one device to the next.

Now I get to pick just one.

For the past two years, my choice has been the original iPhone.

The great leap forward in user interface that the iPhone represented left every other mobile device looking like a dinosaur, even my beloved Treo. Once the iPhone was opened up to third party developers, there was no looking back.

The iPhone 3G last year wasn't enough to lure me into upgrading, though Cherie did happily leave behind Windows Mobile (another dinosaur platform) for one. Most of the new features in the iPhone 3G were added to the original iPhone via a free software upgrade, and the 3G speeds would have only been a compelling enough reason to upgrade if Apple and AT&T had allowed tethering.

Ever since the iPhone launched, everyone else in the mobile industry has been playing catch up - typically with extremely disappointing results. RIM continues to do one thing extremely well (mobile email), but Nokia, Samsung, and Motorola have all been left struggling desperately for a hit.

The only non-Apple phone that is in the same next-generation league as the iPhone is the newly released Palm Pre - a stunning achievement by the Palm team.

The Pre has real multitasking (sorely lacking from the iPhone), "Synergy" data syncing with multiple online services such as FaceBook and Google, and a fabulous UI that in some ways raises the bar even on the iPhone. With a bit more refinement and some third party developer momentum, the Pre will soon be even more compelling.

But not (yet) compelling enough.

Though I was sorely tempted by the Pre's amazing multitasking abilities and super sweet Synergy, the brand new iPhone 3G S has won me over. We stopped at the downtown Chicago Apple store yesterday to get one:


I was surprised that there were still lines out into the street three days after the iPhone 3G S started shipping. Fortunately we only had to wait 30 minutes before I got mine.

So why did I choose the iPhone 3G S?

• Applications - There are over 50k iPhone applications out now, while the Pre is just getting started and the SDK isn't even widely available yet. I am an application junky, and I have many daily-use iPhone apps that I can't imagine being without.


• Compass + Accelerometer + GPS = Augmented Reality - Over the course of the coming year, I expect to see some amazing innovation in this area.


• Tethering - Though AT&T won't say when they will support it, it is built into OS 3.0, and at least AT&T promises that it is coming. As technomads, the ability to use our phones to get our laptops online is crucial.


• 32 Gigabytes - I used to have a 60GB iPod, and I have felt hampered the past two years trying to cram my media collection into the 8GB capacity of my original iPhone. I am thrilled to once again be able to carry around a decent quantity of music and videos in my pocket. The Pre on the other hand can only hold 8GB.


• Pocket Video Capture - The iPhone 3G S has a very usable 3 megapixel camera, and it at last supports video! I am very much looking forward to having a reasonably decent still / video capture device that I can trust to be always with me.


Canon G9 (left) vs iPhone 3G S (right). Though the Canon is a much more powerful camera, for typical web snapshots the iPhone is at last reasonably good enough to allow leaving larger cameras behind...

• 3D Graphics - Before Palm, I used to work in the 3D graphics industry, and I have a fine appreciation for accelerated 3D graphics. Early benchmarks show that the iPhone 3G S is 4x faster than the iPhone 3G when it comes to 3D rendering. Assuming the next iPod Touch (due in Sept) has the same 3D hardware, it will be a killer gaming device indeed. Sony and Nintendo better watch out!


• Future Upgradability - Apple has provided the iPhone 3.0 OS as a free upgrade to iPhone 3G and even original iPhone owners, bringing even the oldest iPhones many of the new non-hardware-dependent features. I expect Apple will continue this trend, and even two years from now the iPhone 3G S will be getting major functionality upgrades. No other phone manufacturer has ever done such a good job continuing to support old hardware. Kudos to Apple!

In all of these areas, the iPhone 3G S is way ahead of the Pre, and light years ahead of anything else out there.

So far, I am loving the 3G S. It is a beautifully refined and polished product, with all sorts of little details and delights that show the intense attention to quality and detail that Apple is known for.

I have found my new ultimate mobile phone.

What is yours?

One of the online communities of Digital Location Independent Lifestyle Designing NuNomads that we are affiliated with online is taking a brief survey of the nomadic and wanna-be nomadic:

Do you ever wonder how many people out there are really location independent? Do you have questions about what they do for a living, how much they work or where they live?

Here is your chance to get answers to those questions.

Free Pursuits and Location Independent are hosting a survey about location independence and digital nomads. We hope you will help the community by completing the survey.

You don’t have to already be location independent to participate. If you’re an aspiring digital nomad or location independent, we also have questions for you.

If you identify with nomadic living or location independent work, you can take the survey here.

We'll be posting our take on the results on technomadia.com in a few weeks.

Thanks in advance for participating!

In case you missed our post over on technomadia.com about this...

The Digital Vagabond is sponsoring a "Roads Scholarship" this summer that will offer the winner a $1,200/month stipend towards a three-month cross country roadtrip adventure, culminating at Burning Man.

If you want to apply, applications are due TOMORROW!

Apply here, and come join us out on the road! *grin*

My personal three years nomadic anniversary was a month ago, on April 1st. But today is another important milestone - the two year nomadiversary of Cherie and I setting off together.

We set out cross country in May 2007 intending the trip to be an extended trial run, certain only that we would stay together until Burning Man in August.

The trial obviously worked. I can hardly believe that two years have already blown past!

We've just put up a post on www.technomadia.com with a fuller reflection on the last two years.

Check it out:
www.technomadia.com/2009/05/two-year-nomadiversary/

One of the things that I have always loved about blogging on LiveJournal is that it lets you know via email when someone has replied to any comments or blog posts that you make. This email notification encourages blog postings to turn into actual two-way (or three-way, or more-way) conversations in a way that other blogging platforms have never equalled.

In an attempt to bring some of this sort of interactivity to Tales from Technomadia, I have just installed and configured the Subscribe to Comments WordPress plugin.

Now - you will notice a little check box whenever you leave a reply to a post there. If you opt in, you will be notified via email about any future replies to that blog post.

I hope this will help make our travel blog feel a little bit more like LiveJournal.

Let me know what you think - feel free to test it out by replying to this post!

Exactly three years ago, on April 1st 2006, my nomadic wanderings began.

I set off without a clear plan, other than that I wanted to explore making nomadism a fulfilling life, and not a "trip" with some particular destination or end-point in mind.

I did have some intentions when I set off. I expected that within the first year I would have been to both Alaska and Baja, and that I would be soon heading off for some extended international travel and wilderness backpacking.

Amusingly - none of that has happened. Yet.

As I mentioned in my year one recap two years ago:

I've found that I strongly prefer a slower and more intentional pace of exploration. I like not needing to race to get somewhere, and instead focusing on enjoying where I am at and the people I am with. Alaska isn't going anywhere - it can wait till the time is right.

The one thing I did not expect when I set off was to find a life partner along the way. But as is often the case, if you do what you love and pursue your passions, the universe often conspires to help you. And by the end of my first year on the road, it was clear that I would have a partner sharing in my second.

Cherie proved to be just as willing to shed the anchors of stuff and place as I was, and after an extended trial run to determine that our paths really are so fully aligned, we committed to each other at Burning Man 2007.

The story of 2008 was building our "dream house" together. It even comes equipped with rainbows that follow us everywhere:



Right now, on my three-year-nomadic anniversary, we are camped on a beach just a bit north of Malibu. As I write this, I'm watching the oean waves crash through our back window over my love Cherie's shoulder. Yesterday we saw dolphins. I have a purring and playful kitten crawling around in my lap. My laptop is being powered by the light of the sun, and I've been using wireless internet to get work for a client done right here from the beach. We have a fabulous tech-filled yet comfortable home on wheels that is a joy to live in. We have a social calendar full of fabulous friends (old and new) ahead of us this week, and an intentionally vague and open ended route ahead sketched out for the next few months on the road. Life is good.

A fulfilling life indeed. And still no end in sight. *grin*

Cherie and I have been spending a lot of time working on www.technomadia.com - and there is a lot of great stuff to explore over there now.

One of the thing in particular that we've been most wanting to incorporate into our blog posting has been maps.

After a lot of late night experimentation with a lot of WordPress plugins of (ahem) varying quality, I think I am at last happy with the results I am getting from the Wordpress Geo Mashup plugin.

Click over to the main Technomadia blog page and check out how the maps now incorporate directly into some of the posts.

Even better, I have created a new page on the Technomadia site that tracks all of our geocoded posts, whether they have a map displayed within the post or not. This will allow folks to browse posts to "Tales from Technomadia" by geography as well as by timeline or category.

I think it is pretty cool. What do you think? Any thoughts or suggestions?

Let me know what you think - feel free to leave comments here or there. :-)

Attention world - we've just relaunched www.technomadia.com, and the new site looks gorgeous.

We worked with our friend Geoffeg on customizing the look and feel of Technomadia so that it wouldn't look like "just another Wordpress blog". I think he did a fabulous job, and we will be adding on all sorts of cool content and features in the coming weeks.

Going forward I will probably be doing more travel-related blogging over at Technomadia rather than here, but I will be cross-posting to LiveJournal for the time being.

Speaking of the weeks ahead, serolynne just posted our tentative travel plans for the next few weeks as we depart the SF bay area and start working our way south and east. You can read about our plans here.

It has been a great few months in the SF area, but I am looking forward to the view out the window starting the change a bit more frequently again. *grin*

This past week has been a blur.

Back in September and October while we were in the midst of working on the Obama campaign, serolynne and I were encouraged to apply to speak on Technomadism at the O'Reilly ETech Emerging Technology Conference.

The awesome folks at O'Reilly accepted our proposal, and were excited about us being on the agenda. They even featured us in an interview for the O'Reilly Radar as part of the build up towards ETech.

We would be sharing the stage at ETech with big name CTO's and CEO's and a whole host of well know visionaries and leaders. Would people really want to see our travel photos and hear about our experiments in lifestyle hacking?

Apparently, yes.

Our "Tales from Technomadia" session on Thursday morning went over extremely well. We had a great crowd, and several people told us that we were one of their highlights for the whole week.

Wow.

We are just two geeks and a kitten living in a moderately teched-out trailer. Are we really that interesting? It is humbling to have people telling us how much we inspire them.

But we do encourage people to think about different ways of living, and that indeed strikes a chord. ETech has been all about finding new ways to look at the world, new approaches to problems, new visions.

In addition to giving our talk, some of the other highlights from my week at ETech include:

• Refactor your Wetware - An in depth look at how the brain works, and how to use your own better.


• Learn to Make Cool Things With Microcontrollers - I feel inspired to go build some cool stuff now!


• Ignite ETech - Featuring an exploration of the pneumatic tube "internet" of the late 1800's. Wow!!!


• Design for Urban Green Space - Eye opening talk about the potential for urban gardening.


• Priorities for a Greener World - Where to focus future efforts for the best possible return.


• Robots: The Next Ten Years - Prediction made: robot teams will be competitive playing soccer against human teams at the World Cup level by 2050, and perhaps by 2025. Wow.


• Jackhammers, Polymers, and Diamonds: New Applications in Explosives - She didn't blow anything up, but Christa Hockensmith was amazing. She will be hosting an Explosives Camp this summer for high school students - perfect for any kids hooked on MythBusters-style explosive science.


• Using a 17th Century Instrument to Create the Music of the 21st Century - Zoe Keating's performance was AMAZING, particularly when combined with the incredible LaserVision visualizations. I love it when art and technology collide in such a beautiful way.


• Robot Cars Solve Everything. Well, Almost. - Not only do robot driven cars have the potential to save millions of lives, they also have the potential to save vast amounts of energy too. Amazing stuff happening here, and coming sooner than you might think...


• Viral Forecasting - Amazing big-thinking science is aiming to head off the next pandemic before it even starts. Wow.

And there was more... Late night Werewolf games, fascinating hallway conversations, and all sorts of incredibly interesting and inspiring people about.

My summary of ETech 2009: It was a great experience of both inspiring others and being inspired. I loved it!