JDPFu.com 2025

Today was a travel and hiking day.
It began with a simple walk around the block with Mom and Copper. Then I was on the road to DC, a 5 hour drive normally.

Along the way, I decided a few hours of hiking would be nice, so I stopped just outside Richmond, VA at Pocahontas State Park. There’s a small lake … eh, pond there with a trail around it of about 2.2 miles. Hiked. Oh, the state map provided by the VA DOT showed a state road that didn’t exist – it is currently a dead end at a McDonald’s. Don’t blame me – it was 12:15p or so and I did need to eat. Lots of pond wildlife photos were taken, including some close up skink photos because I blocked the escape with my other hand. My initial thoughts on this park when planning this were correct, but at the VA State line, the Welcomer talked me into going.

Hop back in to the car and I was off driving again arriving at Great Falls Park around 5pm, the Virginia side. The waterfalls really were great. A few people were kayaking up the Potomac river, but only two actually went over the falls. In movies, they show kayakers shoting the falls all at once. That wasn’t what I saw. Each drop was carefully considered with 5-10 minutes of thought between each. The River Trail is about 2.3 miles, hiked, and has views of Great Falls, the Potomac river and a number of rappelers. Photos and video of the falls, kayakers, rappelers, and wildlife were taken.

Back into the car around 6:45p and drive to the home of some friends from ICI. Meet and greet husband, wife and 4 yrs old son, Richard, then we’re off to a Thai restaurant for some fantastic food. Photos taken for Mom and Jim. Seafood soup and a tofu and shrimp appetizer followed by four main dishes of seafood and chicken. I ate too much, but it was all sooooo good.

After dinner, back to the townhouse to see the tour, chat and plan the next day. Oh, and Richard likes trains, not planes, not cars, not boats, just trains. To bed, much too late.

Today started a little slowly. I began the day snapping a photo of my brother and Mom – no makeup. Next was the preparation of some breakfast tea, followed by a stroll around the block with Mom and Copper (Chow/Lab mix).

Following the walk, a quick breakfast of a fried egg and OJ. Then I was tasked with patching the brick steps to the house using some quik-dry cement. I think it turned out nice.

Then my sister stopped by the house and we chatted for a bit before she had to leave, then her husband was arrived and we discussed life, vacations and businesses for a few hours. Excellent advise from someone with lots of experience starting and running small businesses. He got me thinking very seriously.

I showered then had a tiny lunch and more family discussions. Tonight will be Chinese take out. Somehow the after quickly passed and we head over to my sister’s place for dinner. Chopsticks for everyone! The special request for cashew chicken is to add snow peas, and make it spicy, please!

After dinner, my brother and I headed to Duke Basketball camp to catch my nephew in a nightly scrimmage – about a hour long. A multitude of photos and 5 movies later, we leave Chris to rough it in a dorm room for another night. I heard the game was much better today than yesterday – their skills are really improving. After I’d already headed outside, I learned that Coach-K was inside signing basketballs AND there was a long line for them. Not my thing.

Tomorrow will be a travel day, so I took the opportunity to do some laundry. Basically, I’d like to have allmy clothes clean until I get to Philly and don’t need to launder anything for the rest of the trip.

Today was primarily a travel day from Atlanta to Raleigh, but I decided to take a side trip to see a waterfall. After much searching online, the best bang for my time dollars seemed to be Chimney Rock Park south east of Ashville, NC.

Due to my late start – around 1pm – I needed to make some good time to get to the park before the front gate closed at 4:30p. The park didn’t close until 7p, so getting inside was the only close deadline. With 5 minutes to spare and $14 lighter, I made it!

Seems many families come to the river (outside the park) and spend a week in this area. I could see many people laying out on rocks on the river (all free) when I arrived to town. The road was lined with little cottages and travel trailers and lots of sun burnt people walking around in swim-gear and cover ups. This was NOT Miami Beach.

Plan for my few hours in the park:

1. See the waterfall – 404 ft drop
2. Do whatever is left and can fit within the remaining time.
3. Hike as much as possible
4. exit the park by 7pm

Mission Accomplished. – Yeah, we’ve heard THAT before.

Hiked hickory Nut Falls Trail to the base of the waterfall. The trail to the top of the fall was closed for safety reasons. The park was private until about a year ago when the state of NC bought it. It seems the state has different safety requirements then the old owners and they deemed almost half the trails as unsafe – CLOSED.

Take the elevator to the signature rock and devil’s rock a little higher up.

Not much hiking – around 2.2 miles total today. Talk with a few workers leaving for the day to learn about the safety and the local area just a little.

I’m back on the road – I take back roads towards Ashville to get on I-40 so I can head east 200+ miles to Raleigh. 10:45p and I finally arrive.

Sorry, no interesting food today, just a subway sandwich on the I-26 turnoff. However, I did learn about a trip mapping website – mapmyride.com and when I get some time, I’ll play with it. I think it would be interesting to graphically show footsteps/car paths of travel, right?

Today, we make a list of important items to take with us should we need to leave home quickly for 3 days.

What’s Your Backup Plan?

Over the next few days and weeks, we’ll try to discuss what you need to plan in advance and what to take with you when a disaster occurs in your part of the world.

• Part 1-the scenario
• Part 2-Preparation is Key
• Part 3-System Backups

Don’t think disaster will happen? These people had now way to know their data center was going down.

About the author:
I’ve worked for a large telecom company designing computer and network systems that keep working after a disaster occurs. Those plans are tested twice a year – most of the time the first test doesn’t completely work, but you learn and make corrections. Over the years, you get better and better at it and learn that having the exact software stack isn’t all you need – sometimes the hardware is 1-of-a-kind too. Or the software assumed EXACT IP addresses and won’t work anywhere else or if an interfacing system isn’t at a particular IP address.
Don’t forget that all the normal people that run the computers and network are gone. They’ve been evacuated elsewhere and you need to plan for their extended absence. Not1 or 2 people, but hundreds of your critical support people. They don’t have cell phones.

Ok, so your life isn’t this complex. Neither is it as simple as jumping you and the family into the minivan and driving away. Be Prepared.

Stolen from Wikipedia

Here’s an interesting story about Victoria Falls and how close to the edge you can get.

Technology and Travel – what to take?

In General, you want these items

1. Cell phone – GSM with a replaceable SIM card, data plan
2. Portable camera – be certain the memory is compatible with other devices and have an extra battery
3. Portable computer – I use a Nokia N800
   1. encrypted personal files; encryption software with plausible deniability
   2. Skype
   3. email
   4. web browser
   5. any specialized software you need
4. Portable keyboard (if not built in)
5. MP3/Video player
6. GPS or other Mapping device + a simple compass
7. Method to connect the computer, camera, keyboard, MP3 player and to the Internet
   • Bluetooth
   • Cables
   • WiFi Travel Router
8. Chargers – use USB when possible and have the widest voltage, current, wattage support. 100V-240V and 50Hz-60Hz; basically, it is just a plug compatibility issue and no transformer is needed
9. Sound isolation headphones
10. USB thumb drive with encrypted files
    1. Passport images
    2. Personal contact list(s) Family, Work, Friends (also carry a paper version)

My specifics

1. Cheapo Motorola V195 w/ Bluetooth and data
2. SONY DSC-55W camera w/ USB connector cable and USB—>miniUSB converter (my next camera will use SDHC memory that is compatible with the N800)
3. Nokia N800 Internet Tablet (N810 includes GPS and Keyboard)
4. iGo Bluetooth Keyboard
5. Zen Vision:M MP3/MP4 player (N800 can easily perform this task now)
6. Mapping software, Maemo Mapper, is built into the N800 (no GPS)
7. Compass is on my whistle/flashlight/mirror/magnifying glass device
8. SONY has a proprietary charger for their camera battery, but the camera takes 300+ photos between charges. That’s usually a few days for most people. For me, that’s 1 day at most. Bring an extra battery that is charged!
9. Cellphone and MP3 player share a USB charger
10. Nokia N800 has a proprietary charger, but has long battery life with nominal use – 2+ days.
11. D-Link Travel WiFi Router since some hotels only provide wired ethernet

Test it all BEFORE you leave AND make a written packing checklist

Go to a friends home with all the stuff your plan to take, take a photo, transfer it to the computer, upload it to your server back home. Next, write a blog entry. Did it all work?

There’s nothing worse than getting to a location and finding out that you can’t transfer videos because you don’t have a cable or connector or way to connect to the internet. The N800 only supports WiFi or Bluetooth network connections, not an RJ45 cable. Some hotels don’t have wifi yet, but do have wired Internet connections. I’d be SOL in that case.

Technology and Travel – what is the minimal ultralight, ultraportable computing solution? There are many ways to accomplish a lightweight technology pack, this is simply mine. It has been tested in travels to Hong Kong, Costa Rica (city and cloud forest), Buenos Aires and Iguazu Falls, Argentina, then for a road trip in the eastern USA. We aren’t talking overnight trips, these where 2 week trips each, so this setup is proven.

In General, you want these items

1. Cell phone – GSM with a replaceable SIM card, data plan
2. Portable camera – be certain the memory is compatible with other devices and have a charged, extra, battery
3. Portable computer – I use a Nokia N800
   1. encrypted personal files; encryption software with plausible deniability
   2. Skype
   3. email
   4. web browser
   5. any specialized software you need
4. Portable keyboard – if not built in
5. MP3/Video player
6. GPS or other Mapping device + a simple compass
7. Method to connect the computer, camera, keyboard, MP3 player and to the Internet
   • Bluetooth
   • Cables
   • WiFi Travel Router
8. Chargers – use USB when possible and have the widest voltage, current, wattage support. 100V-240V and 50Hz-60Hz; basically, it is just a plug compatibility issue and no transformer is needed
9. Power plug converters for the locale
10. Sound isolation headphones
11. USB thumb drive with encrypted files
    1. Passport images
    2. Personal contact list(s) Family, Work, Friends (also carry a paper version)

My specifics

1. Cheapo Motorola V195 w/ Bluetooth and data. If I lose this, it doesn’t really matter.
2. SONY DSC-55W camera w/ USB connector cable and USB—>miniUSB converter (my next camera will use SDHC memory)
3. Nokia N800 Internet Tablet (PDA sized Linux computer)
4. iGo Bluetooth Keyboard (N800 doesn’t include a usable keyboard)
5. Zen Vision:M MP3/MP4 player (not needed since the N800 can do this easily)
6. Mapping software is built into the N800 (Maemo Mapper)
7. Bluetooth GPS Reciever (tether to N800 or just get the N810)
8. Compass is on my whistle/flashlight/mirror/magnifying glass device
9. SONY has a proprietary charger for their camera battery, but the camera takes 300+ photos between charges. That’s usually a few days for most people. For me, that’s 1 day at most. Charged, extra battery. 2×4GB memory cards. 4GB is a 2 week trip of photos for me. Throw in the other 4GB for 30 second videos.
10. USB charger – Cellphone, MP3 player share.
11. Nokia N800 has a proprietary charger, but has long battery life with nominal use – 2+ days.
12. US$6 power plug kit (cheapo)
13. D-Link Travel WiFi Router
14. Sure e2c headphones

Test it all BEFORE you leave AND make a written packing checklist

Go to a friends home with this stuff and take a photo, transfer it to the computer, upload it to your server back home. Next, write a blog entry. Did it all work?

There’s nothing worse than getting to a location and finding out that you can’t transfer videos because you don’t have a cable or connector or way to connect to the internet. The N800 only supports WiFi or Bluetooth network connections, not an RJ45 cable. Some hotels don’t have wifi yet, but do have wired Internet connections. I’d be SOL in that case.

Honestly, if it weren’t for Maemo-Mapper, we’d all be better served by an Asus Eee overall. But when you take the mobile part of this solution into account, it is hard to beat it. Yes, the Sony camera complicates things more than necessary, but that camera has HUGE battery life that is doubtful to be matched by other portable cameras.

I’ve found this pack of technology to be the best trade off in weight, functionality, access, and convenience. Today, I might change out the N800 for an N810 that includes a built-in keyboard and a GPS device, but it also removes the external SD memory card slot that will be critical for my next camera.

What does your travel technology pack look like?

Want to know more? Here’s a better description of what is possible with the N800. You don’t need the N95 at all. Simply pair your N800 with any bluetooth phone with a data plan.

Ok, so my movies of Iguazu Falls in Argentina are good for personal memories, but these found on Youtube are much better.

Overview |
Devil’s Throat

I looked for moonlit movies of the falls – couldn’t find any. Guess you’ll simply have to go and experience them for yourself. Take a good friend with you since you’ll feel really small as you walk back to the train.

Below are the links for each of the travel pages created here for the Buenos Aires Trip from April 2008.
The last link documents my love for El Cuartito pizza.

Enjoy.

• Buenos Aires T-1 – Tuesday
• Buenos Aires T-0 – Wednesday
• Buenos Aires T+1 – Thursday
• Buenos Aires T+2 – Friday
• Buenos Aires T+3 – Saturday
• Buenos Aires T+4 – Sunday
• Buenos Aires T+5 – Monday
• Buenos Aires T+6 – Tuesday
• Buenos Aires T+7 – Wednesday
• Buenos Aires T+8 – Thursday
• Buenos Aires T+9 – Friday
• Buenos Aires T+10 – Saturday
• Buenos Aires T+11-Sunday-1
• Buenos Aires T+11-Sunday-2
• Buenos Aires T+12-Monday
• Buenos Aires T+13-Tuesday
• Buenos Aires – What I learned
• Iguazu Trails in Order
• The Best Pizza I’ve Ever Eaten