It's one thing to travel and another thing to have tech but there's a precarious balance one must strike while traveling with tech. Since I traveled 218 days last year and it's shaping up to be even more than that this year, here I offer up a look at the tech I travel with and why I chose each piece. There's no room for carrying things you don't need when you're hiking up the Qatari oil sands or rummaging around taking photos in a ghost town in the middle of the Mojave Desert.

If there's one thing I've learned from a fellow Charlottean traveling compatriot, Tamela Rich, who travels the U.S. on a hog telling stories of cancer survivors, it's that mindful minimalism is where it's at. I start by carrying a small bag:



It's a Patagonia Mini Mass messenger bag. I like it because it's made entirely of recycled materials, looks rad and holds just enough, but not too much. Too much is cumbersome and not enough is annoying. This bag goes the distance for me with room to spare.

Next, in clockwise order, my Macbook Pro charger with my ID sticker on it and my BookBook iPhone 4S phone wallet combo case. This thing has paid for itself many times over in both compliments and functionality. Plus, it looks like a 12-step Bible, and no one wants to steal a Bible.

Sometimes it's more difficult to keep the fire stoked than to light the travel + tech flame. Assuming that we all spend time at our computers at some point in the day, either before or after work, here are five great travel + tech desktop images.

Because, even though you can't get away, it doesn't mean you can't dream a little:

Dream of Summer
By Henrik Wissing

Treasure Map
By Geraldine Carpizo

The Nightlife
By the weaver house

Roam if you want to
By ciera design

vector desktop nature sun tree rainbow
Source: OnlyHDWallpapers.com

For more commentary, follow me on Twitter @dbirdy, for more photos peep my Flickr and to see all videos, subscribe to my YouTube channel here!

Humans have long been fascinated by bones. We've been decorating and making cathedrals, guns and museums out of them for years.

But, there's nothing more personal than decorating your yard with the remnants of mammals past. Over the last three months I've seen a number of really creepy, yet very interesting homes. Here are my top 3 ranked by which is most elaborate, beginning with No. 1, this yard near Curt Gowdy State park in Wyoming:

Digital boundaries. Some of us are over-sharers. Others opt out of sites like Facebook in order. We all have digital boundaries in some way, shape or form because we're seeking the same thing: how to remain present.



Personally, I do something I call Screen-free Sundays. No phone screens, TV screens, computer screens, movie screens - NO screens of any sort. I also have a personal mantra that I live by: Be present. Why? Because I feel the face-to-face connections between humans - which are critical to a healthy society - are degrading. We're putting up walls by joining together non-stop online either subliminally or on purpose, and it's not right.

Screen-free Sundays are about reconnecting with what's in front of me and the people around me. Sometimes I fail on random Sundays, but it's been a really eye-opening experience for the most part. Screen-free Sundays are also when I discovered the value of slow travel. When you're not moving at the speed of the Internet, even for one day a week, life opens up in unimaginable ways.

This excellent spoken word poem bywriter of words and filmer of things, Alex Sparks, speaks to this idea that our connection to other humans face-to-face, a trait that makes our lives truly authentic, is eroding because of tech's pervasiveness in our minds and culture as Americans:



So, if you find yourself experiencing phantom vibration syndrome, which is basically the sensation that your phone put on silent is ringing when it's not, take a listen to Alex's poem and unplug for a day. Your rested, centered mind will appreciate the digital boundary - and so might the people around you.

For more commentary, follow me on Twitter @dbirdy, for more photos peep my Flickr and to see all videos, subscribe to my YouTube channel here!

Silicon Valley, Calif., is a strange and enthralling place. The average passer-by might be confidently sporting Google Glass like it's no big deal. People ride their bikes all over the place because it's such a healthy, beautiful environment, and one can't help feeling smarter and better looking just for being there amongst this madness.

Cupertino, Calif., the 11th richest city in the nation and one of the 24 cities that compromise Silicon Valley, is home to Apple, Inc. and has been since 1993. I know a guy and got to go inside Apple headquarters. I've always wanted to eat in the employee cafeteria, so that's what I did. But, of course, not before I took a long gaze at this sexy thing on display in the employee lounge (which, I'll add, had real trees growing in it):

It's the new MacPro with the thermalcore technology and it is damn drool-worthy.

It's sleek and looks like it came from the Borg. Ooh! And there was this:

It's a sea of iPads that are streaming, in color groupings, all of the most popular apps as they are being downloaded. #nerdgasm #achieved

Google's Lat Long blog had a travel + tech announcement last week that is sure to excite tech nomads everywhere:

We're working to build the very best map of the world, and we'd love your help to do it. Today, we're kicking off a pilot program that enables third party organizations to borrow the Street View Trekker and contribute imagery to Google Maps. For the first time ever, this program will enable organizations to use our camera equipment to collect 360-degree photos of the places they know best -- helping us make Google Maps more comprehensive and useful for all. This program is part of our ongoing effort to make it possible for anyone to contribute to Google Maps.

(Source: Google Lat Long: Apply now to be the next Google Maps Trekker)

Can you imagine getting one of these? It's all the excuse in the world you'd need to get far flung and weird for a year! If you want one of these as bad as I do, The folks at Google say they want you to apply:

Now it's your turn! If you're a tourism board, non-profit, government agency, university, research organization or other entity interested in borrowing a Street View Trekker to capture and share imagery from a place you know and care about, please apply today. In the coming months, we'll open up this pilot program to a limited number of other organizations around the world.

Or, if you don't care about any of this and just came for the cloudporn, here's a shot I took in Rocky Mountain National Park at sunset three weeks ago:

For more commentary, follow me on Twitter @dbirdy, for more photos peep my Flickr and to see all videos, subscribe to my YouTube channel here!

Google Glass is all the rage on the interwebs lately. The nerds are a-flutter at the Internet-integrated glasses that make it incredibly awkward to have a human exchange with someone wearing them, so much so that a new term has come about for the glasses wearers: glasshole.


Unfortunately the pervy-est of nerds won't be able to extend the most intimate relationship they've had with their computers for years onto their newest tech; Google banned porn from the futuristic eyewear.

The app that likely prompted the change is called Tits and Glass, which allowed users to watch sexually explicit photos and videos. The company behind the app, MiKandi, was very happy with the initial response, claiming that nearly 10,000 unique visitors visited TitsAndGlass.com in a day. MiKandi also said it was interested in going a step further; using Google Glass to facilitate "two-way adult interaction." Source: Mashable

That's not all. Google, who has long been an anti-censoring proponent, has banned other functions of the admittedly cool gadget. Facial recognition has been nixed, as Forbes says, in a move that has pissed off developers.

"[T]his announcement is not sitting well with app developers who voiced their frustration at missing out on a business opportunity by blaming the public for being concerned about privacy protection - considering such concerns anachronistic, anti-progress and even hypocritical."Source: Forbes

I asked Kevin Davis, of Charlotte citizen photo and video licensing start-up Rawporter, if he sees any benefit for citizen journalists on the horizon with Glass.

This is a tricky one because there are so many ways Glass can be used. I'm sure people are thinking this will be great for whistleblowers and to expose atrocities but will it? Glass isn't exactly subtle nor is it affordable (or available yet) for the masses. From a practical perspective it's great that you can shoot photos and record videos including audio for interviews using wearable tech. It frees up your hands so you can what, exactly?

I suppose if you're in crisis mode, or part of a catastrophe, then you can finally help others while covering a story but should you? Journalists are meant to cover events objectively but now expectations might change. I'd be curious to see what the usual journalism panelists have to say on this topic.

I think we have to be honest with expectations. It's unlikely that the audio is as good as you'd capture with a mic. The camera might be awesome but it can't possibly compare to HD video and images with zoom functionality - yet. We shouldn't ignore the obvious either ... We've seen the funny videos online where someone has to get within inches of the subject to really capture what's being said or seen. Is putting your actual face that close to story you're covering really that smart?

Google Glass is expected to go on sale to the general public late this year, at the earliest.

For more commentary, follow me on Twitter @dbirdy, for more photos peep my Flickr and to see all videos, subscribe to my YouTube channel here!
Teaser image on the homepage is a screenshot; credit: Mashable

Ah, South Dakota. What an astonishingly beautiful yet dramatic place.



Everything here is a little over the top. The sunsets ...


... the land before time ...


... and the history unfolding here. Most dramatic of all, though, is the greed displayed by one man.

Image: Native Sun News

I want to introduce you to the 2013 American Douchebag of the Year, James Czywczynski. But first, let's back up a little bit for context.

The gems in Charlotte's crown are many, and tile artistan Thomas Thoune is one of them.

Walking around Plaza Midwood with photo journalist Grant Baldwin and video journalist Kevin Beaty the other day, we stumbled upon his workshop: the front yard of his studio.

Photo: Grant Baldwin Photography

Mr. Thoune has been working for months on the art that will unveil today at the new Harris Teeter on The Plaza.

Photo: Grant Baldwin Photography