kenseals.me

#studiosaturday (Taken with instagram)

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 12:30:59 -0500

#studiosaturday (Taken with instagram)

Gear Feature: The Just Mobile Gum Power Pack

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 15:30:17 -0500

Electronics are a given in any backpacker’s kit these days. Cameras, phones, headlamps, water purifiers, and GPS units are all common items found in any pack. Chances are, some (or most) of these are powered by USB. Traditionally, backpackers have simply carried extra batteries or resupplied in town. With USB devices, that’s not an option. So, how do you charge these USB devices in the field?

While there are many solutions for each situation, I’ll share the solution I’ve found that works best for me.

On almost every trip I’ve got three electronics; iPhone, steripen, and headlamp. The steripen and headlamp are both powered by disposable batteries. The iPhone, however, is charged via USB.

For many the answer may be to simply keep their smartphone turned off, and only turn it on if it’s needed. This is not an option for me. My iPhone serves many uses. By order of use, it is a camera (both still and video), map, guidebook, reference, notepad, blogging device (blog, twitter, instagram, etc.), entertainment, and finally, a phone¹.

With that in mind, it’s easy to see that it will need to be charged a few times between each resupply on a long trip. To do this, I rely on a mobile battery pack. More specifically, the best one I’ve found is the Just Mobile Gum Pro.

In my experience, if the Gum Pro has a full charge it is able to power my iPhone a solid three full charges. Even under heavy use, this enables me to go a good four days between towns. At that sort of capacity, you’d expect the Gum Pro to be heavy. It’s not. On my scale it comes in at 4.3oz. To make this thing even better, it’s incredibly affordable, costing $49.99.

You should also be aware, there is a new power pack from Just Mobile available that has the same specs but is wrapped in an Apple-inspired design. This is the Just Mobile Gum Plus Power Pack and it comes in about $10 more at $58.

1. More about how I use my iPhone on the trail in a future post.

Great light on my way home. #moto #sportster (Taken with...

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 19:47:09 -0500

Great light on my way home. #moto #sportster (Taken with instagram)

Exile Lifestyle

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 17:31:00 -0500

Exile Lifestyle:

Exile Lifestyle is a blog by Colin Wright detailing his travel and life lessons. He’s down to 50 possessions and moves to a new country every four months. I’ve actually recently started the process of trimming my possessions and it’s been super liberating so far.

mansgottado: When Were You Young? by Trevor Ware captures some...

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 10:04:50 -0500

mansgottado:

When Were You Young? by Trevor Ware captures some of the feeling of freedom and joy one experiences while riding a motorcycle around the country. All in all, Trevor took three years to ride around the US on his 1974 Honda CB550. Rather than settling into a job and mortgage, wife and kids, Trevor decided to really live and follow his dream while he was young. Having made my own 12,000 mile journey a few years ago (amongst other big Western US road trips over the years), this is a feeling that is near and dear to my heart. There is just nothing like traveling long distances on a motorcycle. You can also check out a ride report from a portion of his trip on his blog.

Via Pipeburn on facebook.

A narrated play-by-play animation of Curiosity’s entry,...

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 09:55:35 -0500

A narrated play-by-play animation of Curiosity’s entry, descent, and landing on Mars.

Recorded on the Pacific Crest Trail during the 2011 thu hiking...

Mon, 09 Jan 2012 14:19:52 -0500

Recorded on the Pacific Crest Trail during the 2011 thu hiking season. 159 days, 1,700 miles hiked, and ninety pounds lost. Make sure you watch it all the way to the end.

Kickstart into Responsiveness

Fri, 02 Dec 2011 09:51:00 -0500

Kickstart into Responsiveness:

This week I gave a talk about responsive design to the team at Cyberwoven. I thought I’d share the notes in case anyone else might find them useful. Feel free to email me if you have questions or thoughts.

Brad Colbow's Tumblr: My SEO Secret Sauce

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 11:29:12 -0500

Brad Colbow's Tumblr: My SEO Secret Sauce:

bcolbow:

I was emailed recently by someone asking how my site does so well in Google. They probably noticed that I don’t use meta-tags, I sometimes forget to put alt text on images and I’m not jamming every page with keywords. If you study up on SEO tactics you’ll see that I ignore most of them. Here is…

This video works right up until the point where they show Google...

Fri, 18 Nov 2011 16:58:00 -0500

This video works right up until the point where they show Google Music. The old players all look gorgeous, intuitive, and enjoyable to use. Google Music looks like a lot of clicking, scrolling, right-clicking, etc. It looks complicated and bland. Google should focus less on copying the style of Apple’s commercials and more on making their products fun and easy to use.

Admittedly, I haven’t checked out anything about Google Music beyond this video. Perhaps it actually is fun and intuitive.

Gimme Bar updates!

Wed, 16 Nov 2011 15:30:00 -0500

Gimme Bar updates!:

New data types :D

Scott Williamson Sets New PCT Speed Record

Wed, 16 Nov 2011 14:14:21 -0500

Scott Williamson Sets New PCT Speed Record:

It is difficult to fathom how insanely hard this is. Solo. No support. No hitching into town for resupply. Badass.

Vote for the National Geographic People's Choice Adventurer of the Year

Mon, 14 Nov 2011 10:27:06 -0500

Vote for the National Geographic People's Choice Adventurer of the Year:

Jennifer Pharr Davis is rocking it.

Habitually check my mirrors when stopped at lights. #moto...

Sat, 22 Oct 2011 00:22:19 -0400

Habitually check my mirrors when stopped at lights. #moto #motorcycling #mirror (Taken with instagram)

I’m actually really looking forward to this now.

Thu, 20 Oct 2011 14:19:28 -0400

I’m actually really looking forward to this now.

I died watching this. Picks up around 4:20.

Thu, 20 Oct 2011 09:25:38 -0400

I died watching this. Picks up around 4:20.

Great little impromptu video showcasing the iPhone 4S video...

Thu, 20 Oct 2011 09:20:00 -0400

Great little impromptu video showcasing the iPhone 4S video quality. Impressive.

jenplaysoutside: See in the foothills outside Boulder … Some...

Thu, 20 Oct 2011 09:14:43 -0400

jenplaysoutside:

See in the foothills outside Boulder …

Some amazing shots in this article.

Also, house kitty is standing its ground!

Best cat photo ever.

wearemotorcyclists: Sunday I made a quick run down to Savannah...

Mon, 17 Oct 2011 15:17:53 -0400

wearemotorcyclists:

Sunday I made a quick run down to Savannah to watch the Packers game with a buddy. I think the Daytona fall rally had just ended so there was a good amount of moto traffic heading north on 95. Packs were rolling fast and splitting traffic so it made for unusually exciting interstate riding. I snapped these shots on the way back when I stopped to gear up as the sun was going down.

Reblog to my personal site.

What Siri Said

Fri, 14 Oct 2011 11:44:42 -0400

What Siri Said:

I started a little blog thing. If you have a 4s, feel free to contribute!