Minimalist Travel Computing

Computing Requirements for the Minimalist Traveller

The real minimalist doesn’t have any need of a computer, however having one can be a very convenient tool for travel, research and entertainment wherever you happen to be.

I am writing this article in a Dublin Cafe while having a coffee and listening to Check Berry. I may not have any control over what music is played in the Cafe, but being able to take a seat in any cafe in the world and just write has a certain feel of freedom.

Despite what you might read in the Industry press and considering the sheer power of even the most humble of devices, a travel writer's needs are easily met.

So how much computing power does a minimalist traveller need? Actually a lot less than you might think.

Before looking the needs of the humble traveller, it is worth considering that the Smartphone today boosts more computing power than the computing technology used in the Apollo mission to put a man on the Moon.

As an example of today’s computing power, my Samsung Galaxy S4 has 2 GB of RAM memory with a processor operating at 1.6 GHz.
How much power is that? Well, an equivalent computer with 64 Kbyte of memory, running at 0.043MHz was sufficient to guide astronauts safely 356,000 km through space from the Earth to the Moon.
In contrast to this meagre resource, my pocket phone has at least 30 thousand times more memory and is running about 25 million times faster.
So unless you big into gaming -- and if you are so big into gaming, then why are you travelling rather than staying in your back room -- then the your computing needs are a lot less that the industry would have you believe.

Of course, if you are using a computer for remote work then there is a different set of parameters and the computer must match those requirements.

However, for the modest digital nomad, where you requirements may be  just booking tickets, researching your destination, updating your blog or writing that novel, then your computing requirements will be much more modest and can all be handle by a multi-purpose Smartphone.

A modern smartphone today is is very light and so small it can easily fit in your pocket.
However the portability of it’s size is also one of it’s shortcomings. The small screen and keyboard become a bit inconvenient when writing lengthy articles and doing a lot of research.

As a compromise, I’ve augmented my smartphone with a tablet and a small lightweight bluetooth keyboard.

• My current hardware configuration is:
• Lenove Tab 2 8” Tablet with case
• LOGIK external bluetooth keyboard

I find that an external keyboard unattached to the screen is a better configuration as it allows the keyboard and screen to be arranged for best viewing.

I find that being able the editor documents on either the tablet or smartphone is a very useful and convenient.
I achieve this configuration my storing my documents on the cloud and then using Google Docs as the editor, which is a useful compromise between tablet and smartphone use.
I’ve tried other android editors but found that most of them don’t fully support external keyboard navigation.

So how is this configuration working for writing. Well, at the moment I am writing this article while sitting at a Cafe in dublin over a cup of balck coffee.

After much experimentation, I have compromised on the kit of electronic technology that I normally carry with me:

• A Samsung S4 Smartphone
• Smartphone Case
• Lenovo Tab 2 8” tablet
• LOGIK external bluetooth keyboard
• Micro-USB Phone Charger
• An External Power Pack
• A Spare Smartphone Battery
• An external bluetooth keyboard

With this minimalist technology setup, I have the equivalent of:

• A Phone (obviously)
• A Camera
• A Music Player
• A Video Player
• A Book Reader
• A GPS device
• An Internet Browser
• A Diary or Journal
• A blogging interface

Winter Camp in Mullaclevaun

A cold night.

Hiking Boots vs Hiking Shoes

Saturday 6th February Washout in Camaderry

Today's hike must have been one of the wettest, dampest, windiest and most miserable of hikes that I have done in the Wicklow Mountains.

It was a wet and miserable day, but it did give me a chance to do a small experiment based on the debate over the benefit of hiking shoes versus hiking boots.

I have long been fascinated by minimalist thru hikers and one such article that I found very interesting is this one titled 5 Reasons To Ditch Your Hiking Boots greatly aroused my interest.

As an experiment I wanted to try my shoes in the Irish weather and terrain. The wet and boggy Irish terrain coupled with heavy rain which is traditionally more suited to waterproof boots.

In my experiment, I replaced my boots with a pair of hiking shoes together with mid-length, mid-weight waterproof Sealskinz socks together with Gaiters.

As it transpired the weather was much worse than expected. It turned into one of the wettest days hiking that I've ever done.

After five hours and 18 kilometers in the pouring rain, while walking and sinking in bog and muck, I was completely soaked through. My shoes were full of water and my feet felt slightly wet.
However, my feet didn't feel very cold. There were cold but not really uncomfortably so.

The other hikers that I spoke with also had wet feet, despite having waterproof boots. Some said it was their first time to get wet feet in their current boots.
It would appear that rain just soaked down peoples bodies into their boots.

I certainly didn't fair any worse than than the people wearing boots and had I being wearing my boots, I'm sure the too would have been filled with water.
But the boots would be holding more water than the shoes and the ordinary socks would allow the water the penetrate directly to my feet causing severe discomfort.

I would conclude that given the extreme day that was in it, my feet were warmer than if had I been wearing boots and certainly no wetter.

So on this occasion, as counter-intuitive as it sounds, my hiking shoes out-performed my boots.

Barcelona Hiking Trip

Spring Trip to Barcelona

I created this post as a sounding board for an upcoming trip to Barcelona.
The original idea for this trip originated with a planned meetup event from the 17th March to 20th March.
I am planning to travel out ahead of this time and get some hiking in before the rest of the meetup arrives.
My tentative itinerary is as follows:

Tuesday:
Train to Montserrat.
From Monestir de Montserat, follow this route anti-clockwise around the mountain in the direction of Refugio Bartomeu puigros and Portell del Migdia.
Six hours should be allowed for this hike and it should begin before 2:00 pm to allow completion before dark.

Wednesday:

Short hike or sightseeing in Montserrat.

In the early afternoon, take the train back to Barcelona and change for the train to Girona. Sightseeing in Girona.

Thursday

Hike this route.

Weather Averages
Sunrise/Sunset: 07:47 - 18:24
Temperature: 8 C - 16 C
6.6 hours of sunshine
Low probability of Rain