Taking off Travel blog

We’ve all seen it in the movies: luggage is moving round a carousel and the bad guys step in and take the bag belonging to the good guy (or vice versa) and walk straight out of the airport to examine the contents at their leisure. But as the luggage thefts at Phoenix Sky Harbor airport show, that doesn’t just happen in the movies.

On my recent trips, I’ve often thought about the security of my luggage. Years ago, my bags were so nondescript that it would have been easy for another traveler to walk off with them without being noticed. That was something I considered, particularly back in 2001/2002 when your bags had to be left for scanning without a secure area to leave them in. But a travel accident gave me the solution - and yes, it should have been obvious. Read more »

What is your computer setup?

I recently wondered whether business travelers dare to unplug in the 21st century. If your answer is a resounding ‘no’ then it’s time to look at what you need to really stay connected today. Here’s a peek at my setup. I hope you’ll share yours in the comments below.

Computer

This almost goes without saying. Over the years, I’ve fluctuated between desktops and laptops. My current set up is a Dell desktop machine for home use with as large a screen as I could afford and a small laptop (Samsung NC-110) for taking on the road.  Tip: Choose a laptop with as big a keyboard as possible; tiny keys can be hard on the hands and wrists.

Other Hardware

One essential item for me is a good headset. Not only does this prevent me from annoying others around me when I play music and videos, it also comes in handy for VOIP software. A webcam is another tool that’s almost essential. When you are talking to and meeting people online, it’s good to be able to see their faces and gauge reactions. Read more »

Last month I asked whether business travelers dared to unplug when taking a trip. If your answer was no, then you’ve probably got a list of items that are essential whenever you travel. As a location independent writer, I like to think I’ve got managing my business on the road down to a fine art. Here’s how I do it.

In The Cloud

One of my main strategies is to be able to access as much stuff as possible from the cloud. That means having a good online backup system which also has editing facilities. My choice for that is Syncplicity. Anywhere I go I can get to the latest backup from my home computer and get the files I need. As a backup, I occasionally email things to myself (I use Gmail) so that I can open things in Google Documents. With word processing, spreadsheets and presentations, Google Documents is a pretty nifty MS Office replacement. Read more »

GoPlanit offers instant trip planning. Just type in your destination and you get a selection of activities, dining, lodging and flight options that you  can choose from and add to your itinerary. It’s a great way to get a snapshot of what’s available in a particular area, though some areas are better represented than others. For example, I plugged in Hollywood, Florida as a destination and got a handful of activity suggestions, a couple of dining options and not much else.

Creating An Itinerary

Create an itinerary for a major city (San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Las Vegas, Seattle, Boston, Atlanta or San Diego) and GoPlanit really comes into its own. Start by putting in the start and end dates for your trip, hit the Plan It button and you get an instant itinerary with a range of well spaced activities for each day. You can fill in the gaps if you wish with other activities you want to do. Read more »

You can never be sure where your next business trip will take you. Some of the nicest destinations (such as Florida or the Caribbean) are also the ones prone to be affected by tropical storms and hurricanes during the June to November period. And there are also other places where storms can strike unexpectedly. So how can you do your best to stay safe if you’re going to one of those areas?

Tips for traveling into a hurricane zone

Watch Or Warning?

One of the key things is to pay attention to the news and know the terminology. A key resource is the National Hurricane Center. If a hurricane watch is issued, then there may be a hurricane within the next 24 to 36 hours. If it’s a hurricane warning, then a hurricane is expected within 24 hours. Accuweather’s advice is ‘run from water, hide from wind’. In other words, stay away from areas likely to flood if a storm surge is coming, and if the wind is rising, then the most interior room of your accommodation is the best place to be. Read more »