Electronic retail therapy! In theory, all I need is an internet connection. But in reality, being able to write, film, record, edit and share various social media venues and the website is a bit more complicated. And if it has much of a digital learning curve, I am a bit cautious because time is tight right now. Escrow closes in one week; the house is in the process of going into a series of storage PODS; and I’ve thrown out my back making packing very difficult.
So I’ve reached a compromise where my electronic travel entourage is made of somethings old and somethings new. Things can evolve on the road.
Somethings Old
My MacBook Air is perfect as it is. I added an automatic cloud based back up system, and freed up a ton of space on the hard drive. So no new computer purchase required. I moved from Windows to Mac some years ago and I’m glad I did. I still use Excel and Powerpoint (a cloud based version for Mac), but I love my Mac! This current computer is several years old and going strong. I expect to get several more years out of it.
A few years ago, I left my mouse in a hotel in Palo Alto and they refused to ship it back to me. So I went to the Apple store and reluctantly bought this “upscale” mouse. I grumbled. Over priced, I thought. Now I couldn’t function without it. It allows me to perform multiple functions quickly and easily. If you’re still using a low tech mouse, you may want to check this out.
This may be my single best “electronic” purchase EVER. If your back or neck get tired from computer work, GET THIS. It has revolutionized my computer life! It weights almost nothing and collapses into a tiny sack that’s easy to take along. Having my computer screen ergonomically adjusted is something I should have done long ago. Don’t wait; don’t be in pain. This item is a bit pricey, but worth every penny.
I have an old 12 GB iPhone6 Plus that would be perfectly fine, except that I’m out of space on it. Video, pictures and apps require storage! It’s time to upgrade. The camera in the new iPhone is also very promising.
I’m one of those people that is happy keeping a phone forever. One cell carrier once threatened me with a surcharge for obsolete technology! But those days have changed. I need to stay up to date on technology. So a new phone is a must do, with an automatic upgrade to the newest and latest every two years.
These clip on lenses give your iPhone a zoom and a wide angle lens.
The camera in the iPhone 7 Plus is excellent. This is going to be my point and click camera. The lenses simply slip over the camera eye on the phone and voila! A new lens for your iPhone camera. Set up/installation is simple. It can be used for video, time-lapse, panoramas and 360° VR photos.
However, if you have a case for your iPhone, this can be a bit of a hassle in that you need to remove the phone from the case to mount the lens. Olloclip makes a iPhone 7 Plus Case that gets around this inconvenience and still protects your phone. If you’re thinking about getting this to expand your photographic options, buy the Olloclip case, rather than the Apple case.
Cinematic video at your fingertips! The Osmo mobile holds the iPhone and allows you to make smooth video. I am happy with this purchase,and I’m still learning to use it, but it’s not perfect. The built in video stabilization in the iPhone 7 and in the Osmo sometimes collide, causing a very slight jerking motion as the two battle for stability control. It’s subtle. It could also also be attributed to my newbie status or the slow motion filming. It is a common issue based on Google search results. I’ll provide an update on my experiences in the video stabilization battles as I figure it out.
Another option would be to buy Digital Zoom Handheld 4K Camera Osmo with a built in camera, but this seemed to redundant to me when I already have an iPhone . And expensive. One could also use a tripod with the iPhone for better stability, but this takes away the spontaneity associated with point and click.
DJI Mavic Pro Yes, a drone. For fantastic video footage. (Remember, I am a pilot!)
I’ll do a separate post on my drone research, but I’m considering a DJI Mavic Pro. The reviews are excellent; it’s lightweight and collapsable; and has excellent features for videography.
My “serious” camera is a Nikon 5500. Combined with some good photo editing software, I can take both high quality film and video with this. Photography is an ongoing learning curve for me. Nikon even offers an online school.
The 5600 is the newer version, but the differences between the cameras are miniscule. For the added cost, I just didn’t see a reason to upgrade to the newest, latest, hottest model.
The 5500 comes with wifi which means I can download pictures directly to my phone. Given that I still do most of my editing on my computer, I tend to just use the port on the side of the camera to connect directly to my Mac. But for social media sharing, this is a great feature.
The only downside to this is that the camera does need some protection which translates into a somewhat bulky case for travel. This is where every ounce and every inch starts to count. I have a standard Nikon carrying case, but I’m on the lookout for sleeker, less bulky options.
Finally to keep everything organized, I store the various power cords on individual cord clips (left) in a plastic bag, in their own packing cube. This way, at the end of the day, everything is in one place. I also carry an adapter for different power sources.
What else goes into a decision to hit the road?
Aside from tuning up my old all wheel drive BMW 325xi wagon (a 2002 with only 114,000 miles on it–my last BMW went over 300,000 miles) and putting a Yakima Cargo Box on the car, I’m almost ready to roll. Escrow closes in one week.
I have to wear my financial hat to deal with the house closing and subsequent activities; my organizational hat for packing and for planning; my social hat for dealing with all the people in life; my physical hat, which is currently unwearable since I’ve badly wrenched my back, packing for the move; my writers and interviewing hat for #AllThingsCancer; my wanderlust hat to look ahead and plan the trip from here to Vashon…the list goes on.
I wake up early, 5:00 a.m. or so usually. I love the quiet of the morning, the freshness of the air, the gradual lightening of the sky. From my bedroom, I can watch the light of the sun as it touches the summit of the Sierras, and spreads down to its base. I revel in these moments. There is still snow in the mountains, while the pale purple wisteria blooms in my backyard. Birds chip. It is a glorious way to start the day.
I take a deep breath. Twice. Three times. This has become a new way of approaching the day. I carefully get out of bed, sensing to see if my back, stiff from hours of rest and sleep, is getting better. But as soon as I am up, regardless of how I feel, the tasks begin.
Juggling various tasks requires focus, for in reality I can only do one thing at a time. I cannot write and simultaneously trouble shoot technology issues. I cannot talk to utility reps to cancel my accounts while mentally preparing questions for an interview tomorrow (with James Gordon, MD on #AllThingsCancer on his book Manifesto for a New Medicine-an amazing book and a must read for all of us. I’ll have a review on Anti-Cancer Club in a bit.). I cannot yet see my way through to the end of this task of packing and moving, without one plodding step following another.
Bureaucracy impedes my path to freedom. Trying to cancel utility service takes over half a day, and Waste Management won’t even cancel my account. The new owners must assume it! The alarm company doesn’t answer and then never calls back. AT&T dreams up every imaginable and nonsensical reason for me to keep a phone number that is used only for the alarm and fax. And I haven’t had the fortitude to deal with Charter yet. They are always a consumer nightmare.
“Life is really simple, but we insist in making it complicated.” —Confucius
But I find solace in the fact that with each utility I check off the list, I am that much closer to a cleaner, simpler path where the experiential trumps the routine and adventure takes precedence over maintenance. I personally subscribe to the Hunter S. Thompson philosophy:
“Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming “Wow!”
Five days to the resumption of Wow. Five days to no mortgage, no utilities, no property taxes. No water, garbage or sewer fees. Life is getting infinitely simpler. And mobile.
Vanessa, my concert violinist-friend, has offered me a room as a base of operations. I can stash some boots and winter clothes and have a safe place to land. And stay connected to someone I want to stay connected to.
Vanessa and I are 20 some years apart in age, but we click. She is drop dead gorgeous; talented, bright and adventuresome. She once sold everything and took off on a continental concert tour. (Check out her website www.GreenDotJourney.com) She understands my decoupling from the so-called normal order of things. She too has gone rogue and is looking ahead to her next set of travels.
On the minimalist front, I still have too much. I’ve given away or sold everything from powder skis to kayaks; juicers to ice cream makers; and all sorts of furniture that I’ve hung onto for far too long, mostly out of a sense of obligation to care for it. I think the comment from The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up–if touching an item doesn’t bring joy, don’t keep it, is a good measure of a keepsake.
Many of my keepsakes bring visual joy. Art and old maps that adorned my wall; pottery/china from France and Italy decorated my tables; rugs for the floor. One of my favorite rugs is a quirky creation resulting from the Russian occupation of Afghanistan. It has images of tanks and missiles subtly woven into the design. You need to look closely to pick up on the war references, but finding them is an aha! moment in the lessons of the intersections of art and human history.
Storage for now, for all of it. I’ve done the best I can, for the moment. Another round of de-ownership will no doubt follow when I resettle again. But I have no idea when or where that may be. Right now I am simply considering my trek from here to Vashon.
When I do decide to resettle, this area will most likely be in the running. Reno/Tahoe (aka the Truckee Meadows) has some of the most perfect weather imaginable. Big blue skies, full of sun, low humidity and four seasons. It has easy access to the Bay area, to Yosemite, the desert for events like Burning Man and it’s exactly 2 hours and 20 minutes (a personal record) to the Route 12 turnoff off of Route 80 to wine country. (I’ve been known to go down to Napa for lunch and back the same day!)
When I originally moved here, I was flying, skiing, hiking, exploring–you name it. But cancer has taken it’s toll. I can’t do all the things I used to do, and with that loss, the area loses some of its allure for me.
The town itself has its pluses and minuses, like anywhere else. The upside is that Reno continues to evolve, and in a good way. There is a minor league baseball team and a new stadium; downtown is in a semi-renaissance (except for the homeless bussed in from California who take up residence along the river) and mid-town is thriving. In the summer there are endless festivals and activities, and Tahoe is half an hour up the hill. The suburbs are great, and there are many wonderful places to live.
On the food front (always important to me!), there is a lot going on for a town this size. A fair number of small restaurants that may not live up to the standards of near-by wine country, but offer good food at rational prices. Healthy fare has found its way into many establishments, and more and more area farms are connecting with local restaurants. CSAs are also readily available.
A series of farmers markets start up just after Memorial Day. My favorite is the older California Street market, where I’ve come to know the various vendors, and have found my favorites. One stand has the best peaches, except when the O’Henrys come out. Then you want to go to the stand across the way. The best, sweetest small tomatoes are at the popular stand at the end. It always has long lines. And you want to get to the strawberry stand first thing in the morning to get the golden raspberries when they are in season.
I looked Reno up on Trip Advisor the other day and all they highlighted were the casinos and their restaurants. This is not a true perspective of the town. Many people who live here never go to the casinos unless it’s for an event, a show or a concert. The real raison d’être here is the outdoors. And the local scene, however that is defined for you.
Socially, there seem to be two main groups of people: the locals and everyone else. The locals only hang with the other locals and they tend to set the tone in government and in business. Historically the area has made a living off of gambling, mining and ranching. The local university is UNR, where many of the kids go to college, just a few miles from home. This tends to perpetuate a “who were you in high school” mentality and favors who you know over “what you can do” as a criteria for measurement and advancement.
The school system is sadly abysmal. Dead last in the country. As Einstein once said (to paraphrase), “You can’t solve a problem with the same energy that caused it.” And so it goes, and no one catches on.
The very low educational standards that permeate the population and the closed intellectual and social cliques are serious drawbacks to living here. Unless, of course, you simply treat this as a home base.
Starting around 2000 when I arrived, the area started to grow. Easy living, good quality of life, low traffic, great outdoors, good proximity to many things and an easy to use airport started to attract a more cosmopolitan crowd.
The dot com boom lured newly minted millionaires of the Bay Area to the lake and to Incline Village on the north shore of Lake Tahoe (Nevada has significant tax advantages over neighboring California). The Wall Street Journal wrote that the billionaires were forcing out the millionaires. And that trend continues.
But in this eastward migration from the Bay area, California transplants rapidly discovered that it really can snow seventy feet in a season, and a secondary migration from Tahoe to southwest Reno started. And now, with the current cost of living in the Bay Area, more people and companies are starting to check out the Truckee Meadows area as an alternative lifestyle. But most of the jobs to date are construction oriented, warehousing and some engineering. A vast industrial park east of town in Patrick hosts Amazon distribution and now Tesla battery manufacturing facilities.
The people in Reno are generally nice, although I think the gambling mentality permeates the ethics of the business community where I’ve continuously encountered shady people and dealings. Ranging from finance and real estate, to the so called start up community, to the tech creeps–who were California transplants–the ethical climate, compounded by a poor educational base, leaves a lot to be desired.
In looking to relocate 20 years ago, I considered the cultural influences on the area. In my naiveté , I presumed that the Bay Area would be more of an influence. And the lure of the incredible outdoors and world class flying conditions were irresistible. I’m grateful for the opportunity to live here for these reasons, but it’s time to move on.
I don’t know how long I have until cancer care once again dominates my life. One month? One year? Two or three years if I’m lucky perhaps? (statistically unlikely that I’ll have that long, but I choose not believe in medical statistics). Whatever time I have, in relative health, I want to use it well.
In the meantime, I’m counting down to the final tasks of packing up. I am exhausted. I am considering going directly to Vashon and just chilling. A few days of walking the beach, getting fresh fish and veggies at the market, checking out the Thai restaurant my friends rave about and generally relaxing are sounding better to me than a jaunt through wine country, which I can do afterwards, if I’m so inclined. After all, been there, done that!
Looking forward to some new adventures!
What is #CancerRoadTrip and how did it come to be? Read this post to get the backstory!
Leather luggage looks sexy, but it’s highly impractical when it comes to the hazards of modern travel. #CancerRoadTrip needs travel practicality, both from a usability and a financial perspective. I have an old roller bag that can be checked for airline travel. It’s a bit beat up, but it will work just fine. But I want a second light weight carry-on that can carry must-not-lose items like medicine and fragile electronics, that can double as a carry-on for shorter excursions. I chose this Patagonia bag (in black) for the following reasons:
Excellent Organization via various compartments
Padded computer compartment
Can be carried over your shoulder, as a valise and as a backpack (!).
Has a sleeve that slides over my roller bag handle for easy movement through airports and what not.
This set of packing cubes keeps everything super organized and findable. It comes in a wide array of colors; and in different size configurations. If you haven’t tried packing cubes, they will revolutionize your packing! They are essential travel gear! I don’t know how I coped without these.
I am incredibly pleased with this travel purse. It comes in several colors. I opted for the pewter. This handbag is for day to day use. It has RFID protection, and steel mesh reinforced construction to guard against slash and dash thieves. It would appear to be semi-indestructible. Plenty of room for my cell and daily basics. And it’s right sized, lightweight, and collapsable for packing and travel. It also can carry a water bottle in the side compartment.
I’m within two weeks of taking off, and I’m tuning my packing lists, even as I pack up the house. I’ll put together a final downloadable packing list of what has made the cut, for road travel here in the States and for international travel as well. May my efforts spare you some time and effort packing for your #CancerRoadTrip!
What is a travel minimalist? You can only carry so much! And now that I’m in the final stages of packing, the ability to let go is flowing with more ease.
The most remarkable aspect of this is the freedom I am feeling. Here are some of the unintended consequences that are defining the start of this journey.
#1 Hasta La Vista
“Hasta la vista, baby.”
After a wet winter, cheat grass is everywhere. Dandelions are popping up in lieu of lawn. The kale in my garden is already bolting. The good neighbor fence isn’t looking so good.
I want to leave the house looking good for the new owners, but frankly, this is partly why I’m moving on. I simply don’t want to weed, cut or clip anymore. I don’t want to paint, caulk or fuss. I want to walk the beach, swim with the Galapagos turtles and enjoy the Australian Open. Hasta la vista!
#2 Say Goodby to Insurance, Utility and Property Taxes
“…but in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.”
-Benjamin Franklin
Every year my taxes increase with no added benefit; utilities never seem to go down; and insurance never comes through when you need it. Remind me why I signed up for this life? Travel minimalist means less overhead gives me more time and more financial freedom.
#3 Tempus Fugit
“Seize the day, then let it go.” -Marty Rubin
Living one moment at a time brings richness to life. As I get older, time seems to move ever faster. And as I rush into the unknown, as time counts down, the precious quality of the moment becomes everything.
#4 Freedom
“Freedom is not the absence of commitments, but the ability to choose and commit yourself to what is best for you.”
– Paulo Coelho
Freedom comes in many forms.
There can be freedom from routine. Freedom from possessions. Freedom from dogma.
Freedom from competition was an eye opener for me. I found it fascinating that a part of me rejoiced from not being able to play competitive tennis anymore. I was actually tired of the need to compete and be measured, socially and athletically.
Both David Servan-Screiber, MD PhD and Paul Klanithi, MD commented on the painful freedom that resulted from dropping through the so called real world into cancer land. Both had to leave the social amour and status of their physician-white-coats in the waiting room, and face their diagnosis as a person and a patient, not a doctor. (See #CancerBookClub for more on this.) This unsought freedom offered both men new perspectives on their lives and on medicine.
“…through my illness, I regained a certain freedom. The obligations that had weighed me down…were swept away.” -Paul Klanithi, MD
With cancer, your standards are forced to change. The fluff falls away. What remains is so little, but so meaningful. And in this there is such great freedom.
#5 Lightness of Being
“When the heart speaks, the mind finds it indecent to object.”
-Milan Kundera
As the emotional and physical clutter falls away there is an amazing lightness of being. Soulfulness comes from the heart, and a life less cluttered lets your heart shine more.
#6 Curiosity
“Curiosity is the one thing invincible in Nature.”
– Freya Stark
Unencumbered by to do lists and tasks, my curiosity comes to the forefront, to see the world with the eyes of a beginner. With fresh eyes and an open heart, new paths lead to wonder and discovery.
#7 Presence
Simply being present is a wonderful gift:
Yesterday is history,
tomorrow is a mystery,
today is a gift ,
which is why we call it the present.
#8 Meaningful Experiences
Collect moments, not things.
Moments of emotion and memory trump material goods. I am a collector of maps and various other things. Each material object is tied to an event or an experience. Yet the experience resides in me, not in the object. With my maps and whatnot in storage, it is only the moments that stay with me that truly matter. Do the moments outnumber the things?
We live in a world where the constant barrage of media and ads scream for attention, across multiple devices, 24/7. It’s terrifyingly easy to get caught up in the staccatos of society, to let the madness of crowds sway your path. Stop and listen to your heart, to your soul. What most matters to you? What energy do you choose to collect and carry?
#9 Strength Comes In Many Forms
“Some people believe holding on and hanging in there are signs of great strength. However, there are times when it takes much more strength to know when to let go and then do it.”
-Ann Landers
Leaning out my life, I no longer need to carry what does not suit me, practically and psychologically. It’s an iterative process, discovering this, letting go of that. This next phase of my life, I will be traveling lighter, and, I can only hope, perhaps wiser as I cast the past to the wind.
#10 Simplicity
“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” -Clare Boothe Luce
#11 Friends
“A journey is best measured in friends, rather than miles.” – Tim Cahill
Friends come and friends go. A few stay the course. And a few new ones walk along side, for as long as they do. One of the most interesting facets of cancer, blogging and social media is that I have formed a global network of people who “get it”. I am deeply grateful for these souls in my life. May we stay the course together.
#12 Life
“The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation, and go to the grave with the song still in them.”-Henry David Thoreau
We’ve all been there. The dullness of routine, of duty, of necessity kills our soul, a day at a time. Habit and expectation guide our lives.
Is this life?
We need to see our worlds differently to choose differently. Our time is limited. What do we choose?
#13 Joy
Dance Lightly With Life:
Today is your day to
dance lightly with life,
sing wild songs of adventure,
soar your spirit,
unfurl your joy.
-Jonathan Lockwood Huie
#14 Stuff
“Change the way you look at things and the things you look at change.”
-Michael Michalko
Do I need one more pair of shorts? More than one pair of black slacks? An extra pair of yoga pants when leggings will do? Packing forces one to pare down and reconsider what is really necessary. What brings you joy? The simplicity that results from these choices is incredibly liberating.
#15 Organization
“The way to find a needle in a haystack is to sit down.”
-Beryl Markham, West with the Night
I’ve been forced to stop and get very organized. Everything from how my power cords get stored to electronic integration between phones, watches, computers and cameras. There is no room for useless duplication. Everything must have a purpose.
#16 Possessions and Permanency
“If everything I possessed, vanished, suddenly, I’d be sorry. But I value things unpossessed. The wind, and trees, and sky and kind thoughts, much more.” -Dorothy Hartley
When I finished packing my books, I faced an empty bookcase and stacks of cardboard boxes. Are a stack of nondescript cardboard boxes the sum of my reading life? Can a dish pack of carefully collected plates share the stories of the dinners they hosted? And all the handbags and shoes in stacks of boxes. Will they even walk with me again?
It’s interesting that we have greater longevity and reach through our electronic existence than through the physical things we acquire. At some point, the possessions that have defined so much of my life will be scattered like dust in the wind. But the experiences shared in this blog might just live on.
#17 Soulful Resonance
Find a place inside where there’s joy, and the joy will burn out the pain.
– Joseph Campbell
Everywhere I go, I share the story of #CancerRoadTrip. And it resonates with people. Every one of us has thought of just chucking it all and walking off. Everyone of us has encountered events that set our lives on a different course. Every one of us wonders about the choices we make and the life that results. And every one of us has been touched by cancer.
Being forced to look at my own mortality; to think about what I want to do with the time I have left; being forced from my home only to find a different path–these are all choices and events that resonate with my soul. I am immensely grateful for this aspect of #CancerRoadTrip.
#Gratitude
#Soulfulness
#Kindness
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What is #CancerRoadTrip and how did it come to be? Read this post to get the backstory!
This relationship with my GoPro Hero 5 is not off to a good start.
It started with the website experience. The videos on the site are highly sexy. Everyone is young and beautiful and fit, but the site’s checkout was clunky. The purchase process for a major company like GoPro should be very clean. It wasn’t.
The camera arrived as promised in the specified period (2 days). I was psyched. I wanted to give it a go this weekend. Unfortunately, unboxing the camera was, for me (I am not very mechanical!) a nightmare. It is attached to a fixed base attached to a box with no instructions. So I turned to YouTube for a tutorial. Where I found that thousands (tens of thousands) of people had similar issues with the packaging.
The GoPro Hero 5 fresh out of the box. Now what?
With some instruction, disassembling the package finally makes sense and I slide the camera off the base. Now what? There are no instructions so it’s back to YouTube.
Next, apparently, I need to remove the camera from the frame.
The dozens of web tutorials explaining how to unpack your GoPro vary in quality. All show men with big hands covering the camera and voila! the frame is off. I have small hands, manicured nails and I can’t see what they are doing; they don’t explain it; and the camera has no directions. There are no company videos on the GoPro website dealing with either of these issues. I wonder if I should try to pry the latch open but don’t want to break it, so I call customer service.
After waiting 22+ minutes listening to blaring, unpleasant music, a young man answers the queue. I explain the problem. I ask if I need to pry it off with a screw driver. He doesn’t seem to care but he does point out that that will scratch the camera case. I tell him I understand that, which is why I’m calling for help. I apologize, indicating that he must hear this many times a day!
He says no. No one else has issues with this.
I ask about the number of YouTube videos that deal with my issue. He reaffirms that no one else has problems, but he’ll send me a link to a YouTube video.
Great. (/sarc)
I give him my email three times. (Spelling “Pat” seems to be an issue). No email arrives.
He tells me to go to YouTube (I’m already there!) and type in my questions. Dozens of tutorials (with a total of hundreds of thousands of views) pop up.
Which one, I ask?
He suggests a video that he watched this morning.
Why is he watching these videos if I am the sole customer with problems????
I thank him and hang up.
After finally getting the camera out of the packaging, you need to put in the SanDisc (which does not come with the camera), the battery, and charge it. Open the hatch, install the battery and disc, close the hatch. Now I need to charge the battery.
More problems.
The door to the USB port won’t open. I use plastic pens for leverage to depress the button; I push and shove. Nothing. Do I have a faulty camera?
After nearly an hour of this, I finally get the door to open so that I can insert the USB charger. Now I wait.
I am admittedly not very mechanical. I generally don’t buy anything unless it comes with an 800 number or can be fixed with duct tape. But this shouldn’t be this difficult and my newbie enthusiasm in waning in the early hours of this tech partnership with my new GoPro.
***
Go Pro Set Up: Day 2
The battery has charged to 96% overnight. I remove the cable and close the hard-to-open hatch to the USB port, hoping that with a few uses it will function more easily. According to the YouTube tutorial by some “Dude” (the only guidance I have!), it is time to update the software. This is another user experience nightmare.
First I have to open the USB compartment that doesn’t open. Pressure plus screwdriver and a lot of persistence eventually gets this open again. It still does not function smoothly. I think I will need to get this camera replaced.
I have an option to update the camera from my phone or computer. Let’s try the phone app.
Here are the instructions:
Open the utility drawer, select CONNECT.
Select CONNECT NEW DEVICE
Select CAPTURE APP to see your camera ID and Password..
Ok. Where is this utility drawer???? I have no idea. There is NO instruction. I go to the next page.
CONNECTING YOUR CAMERA
Go to Settings>WiFi on your iPhone (Ok I can do that!)
Enter the password displayed on your camera.
Once connected return to the Capture App
I presume when I go to the wifi settings I should see my camera listed? It’s not, and there is no password on my camera.
I’ll try the desktop app.
Back to the GoPro site. There is no place to download the app. Is it cloud based? There is a page that asks me to agree to the terms but the box to click “agree” is inactive. I search the questions. I leave a scathing review. Even the review submit button doesn’t work.
Digging around the website, I finally find a product guide. Surely this will help. It gives me a URL for the desktop app. I enter the URL:
I couldn’t have said it better myself.
Speaking of Epic Fail:
(Fast forward to watch this entire glacial bridge totally collapse!)
Customer support isn’t available until 7 a.m. on a Saturday morning. I make a matcha latte and wait.
Perhaps GoPro is some sort of cult following and I haven’t drunk the KoolAid. Do I need to be 30 years old to use this product? Male, with big strong hands? I’m hardly technologically inept. I actually fall on the “ept” side of this spectrum. I can even be extremely “engineery” (when needed). I didn’t make it through Wharton Business School by being inept. I didn’t learn to fly an ASW20-a (very well) by being inept or technologically illiterate.
Tick tock! Time’s a wasting!
6:54 a.m.
Tick, tock, tick tock.
7:00a.m.
This time I get to tech support quickly, but there is a bit of a language barrier. Everything needs to be repeated two or three times. I am beginning to feel as if I’m in an alternate-universe, endless-loop comedy skit. Doesn’t anyone servicing the U.S. market speak english anymore?
After 46 minutes of working with the tech rep and repeatedly trying to get the camera to pair with my phone (an iPhone7 that is up to date), we have another epic fail. Even the rep gave up.
I am still willing to try the product, but it’s become apparent that a replacement is needed. The door to the USB port does not function properly and it would appear that there may be software issues as well.
Now this gets even better.
It takes 15 days to process a return. If they (reluctantly) process the return, send me a replacement camera and it doesn’t work, the 30 day window for returning the camera + the Karma grip that I ordered will have expired. My house closes in 23 days. So I need to return both the camera and grip because my confidence in GoPro isn’t very high at the moment.
The tech rep indicated he needed to send me 3 emails. I insisted on waiting until they arrived in my inbox (since the emails from the tech yesterday never arrived!) He sent the incorrect email saying I wanted a camera repair. He resent the information (correctly this time) and I will return this via Fed Ex today.
And later today the GoPro accessories I ordered from Amazon will arrive. They will need to be returned and I will be charged shipping. And then there is the SanDisk that I bought at BestBuy ($40) that has been opened and is undoubtedly un-returnable.
Plus a bit of inconvenience, compounded by my the approaching close of my house. I wanted to start using the GoPro so that I could develop some degree of competence (I know, an outdated concept!) En route to Vachon, I’d planned on filming parts of Napa, Healdsburg and the California-Oregon coast. I can go and just buy another camera, but it irks me to have $1500 (GoPro: $399 + Karma Grip: $299 + Tax times 2) tied up in GoPros while I wait two weeks for a refund.
I once met one of the key execs from GoPro at a charity event. He brushed me off and was very arrogant. At the time, I wrote it off as a Silicon Valley thing. Maybe it’s a corporate culture issue as well. It certainly is a stock issue:
GoPro Stock Chart
Which makes me wonder if the company will be around in a few years. My experience isn’t unique. And yet the camera gets very good reviews in its niche.
If there is a takeaway from this it would be that the company needs to see the product experience from the perspective of the consumer, not the engineer. And remember that half of your potential customers may be female!
I may make another run at a purchase because I do need a video camera, and the camera does get consistently good reviews. It may be interesting to see if Round #2 is a repeat or if this was just a fluke.
I package up the camera and drop it off at a local post office service store. The young man behind the desk and I get talking and he tells me about how many GoPros he sees being returned for one reason or another.
Guess I’m not the only one.
***
Go Pro Set Up: Round 2 ?
I am seriously reassessing the GoPro purchase, at least at this time. Yesterday, after dropping the GoPro package off for a return, I attended a class at the Apple store for my new watch (see upcoming separate post on that experience!).
The experience was 180 degrees from my GoPro experience. If I had to set up my watch myself, I suspect I would have had some frustration. But I didn’t have to. The Apple rep oversaw half a dozen different customer setups across various products, as we all sat and chatted at a community table. I signed up for a class the next day.
In class, I had a sense of being part of a learning, helping community. No one suggested that I was stupid because the product was perfect, so any issues naturally had to be user oriented issues. On the contrary, I was congratulated for asking great questions! And the Apple rep spoke excellent English. I could follow, understand and interact with my instructor and my watch.
I am not going to be jumping off cliffs or riding outrageous biking trails anytime soon and, for now, my time may be better spent working on producing quality film footage with the equipment I already have, i.e. my iPhone7. Adding some video stabilization may be all the tech help I need. After that, it’s up to me to visualize, capture, and produce good footage for my blog and followers.
So, for now, GoPro NO.
If you’re interested in learning more about photography (or cooking or film or any number of topics) check out Masterclass for on-line excellence:
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What is #CancerRoadTrip and how did it come to be? Read this post to get the backstory!
This weekend I visited the NASA facility in Huntsville, Alabama (aka Rocket City for a very good reason!) with #TBEX. #TBEX is a conferencing and networking event for travel bloggers, travel brands and industry professionals.
The Saturn V Rocket, laid on its side, takes up the entire building.
As we pulled up to the building, a series of rockets stood outside in a park like setting. A Saturn I dominates the grounds, and sports an audio playback of a launch sequence as visitors approach the main building.
Inside is an amazing site. A Saturn V rocket is suspended from the ceiling, laterally, running nearly the entire length of the building. Fun fact: The rocket cost 90 times the cost of the center itself!
The history behind this is interesting. Werner Von Braun wanted to enthuse the American public about space science. But he understood his competition: football! How can science possibly compete? He enlisted rival college football coaches Bear Bryan (Alabama) and Shug Jordan (Auburn) to support a $1.9 million statewide bond referendum to finance the museum’s construction of a 22,000 square foot facility. The initiative passed, land was donated by the Ary’s Redstone Arsenal and the project was up an running. It opened to the public in 1970.
In addition to the very impressive Saturn V rocket hovering overhead, the museum includes a variety of exhibits that chronicle the American space program. From early Mercury command models (or as Werner von Braun called them “capsules”, a term which the astronauts soundly rejected!) to a replica of the lunar module and space station, this is heaven for an aviation junkie like me.
Sun stream in, illuminating the top of the Saturn V Rocket
We arrived around seven pm. It had been raining most of the day, but the clouds parted and the sun streamed through the glass building, illuminating the top of the rocket at the far end of the hall. Below, a swing band played music and a series of food buffets were set up. Bars on either side of the building offered wine and beer. And the dance floor rocked with a pair of amazing swing dancers.
We were surrounded by the rich history of our childhoods. (Or mine at least!) Memories of the first moon landing, of Apollo 13 and of all the launches in between and afterward flooded into memory. The precursor of the American Space program was also present in a drawing of the V-2 rocket from Freidrich Duerr, an engineer and member of von Braun’s team. Von Braun’s work on rocketry during World War II would play a very prominent role in the U.S. program.
Huntsville, Alabama: The City
My visit to Huntsville, Alabama with #TBEX was impressive in many ways. Huntsville is a beautiful city. I think that the best quality of life in this country is to be found in the smaller regional cities like Huntsville. In this particular town, a mix of art and science has created a dynamic community. Yes, half the population are actually rocket scientists!
This produces a quirky and engaging population. Destin Sandlin, an engineer and creator of the YouTube series Smarter Every Day, is a Huntsville resident and speaker at the TBEX conference. His science oriented series is educational, hysterical and engaging:
Location of Huntsville Ala
Huntsville, Alabama is really worth a visit. It’s about an easy drive from Nashville (about 2 hours) or Atlanta (about 3 hours). From an educational (and fun!) perspective, the U.S. Space and Rocket Center keeps the excitement of space
alive. Space Camp offers children the opportunity to gain insight into the life of an astronaut. And Huntsville offers hospitality, great food and first class entertainment.
Our first night we were entertained at a party held at A.M. Booth’s Lumberyard with great food and music. I particularly enjoyed the shrimp and grits! Our last evening was at Campus No. 805, a former school turned into a food and brewery entertainment center. If your #RoadTrip takes you any where in this vicinity, make it a point to enjoy some genuinely welcoming southern hospitality at both these venues.
The best part of the #TBEX conference was the people. I met a wide range of people, from all over the world. While we each have a unique story, we all share the common experience of being fellow travelers. The camaraderie was simply terrific. All my thanks to the various people who made this possible.
Coming home, I realized I am ready to move on. Just as the Bell X-1 “Glamorous Glennis” broke the sound barrier and set the stage for the development of the space program; and the space program set the stage for the shuttle; all the events of recent times have set the stage for #CancerRoadTrip.
Let me end this post with some inspiration from one of my favorite movies, The Right Stuff. If haven’t watched this, or haven’t watched it in a while, do!
What’s your favorite line from this iconic film?
“Sounds dangerous. Count me in!”
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“Our Germans are better than their Germans.”
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Let’s light this candle!”
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Alan Shepard: Dear Lord, please don’t let me f#*k up.
Gordon Cooper: I didn’t quite copy that. Say again, please.
Alan Shepard: I said everything’s A-OK.
***
Drop me a note with your thoughts and favorite quotes
Inspiration, joy & discovery through travel. Oh, did I mention with supposedly incurable cancer?
What's on your bucket list?
Thank you for stopping by!
CancerRoadTrip is about making lemonade out of lemons.
As you read my story, you may want to start at the beginning to "grok" how CancerRoadTrip came to be. You can click here to start at the end (which is actually the beginning) and read forward! The posts are chronological, with the most recent posts appearing on the front page.
Olloclip Active Lens Set 
Aside from tuning up my old all wheel drive BMW 325xi wagon (a 2002 with only 114,000 miles on it–my last BMW went over 300,000 miles) and putting a Yakima Cargo Box
to cancel my accounts while mentally preparing questions for an interview tomorrow (with James Gordon, MD on 
–if touching an item doesn’t bring joy, don’t keep it, is a good measure of a keepsake.
When I do decide to resettle, this area will most likely be in the running. Reno/Tahoe (aka the Truckee Meadows) has some of the most perfect weather imaginable. Big blue skies, full of sun, low humidity and four seasons. It has easy access to the Bay area, to Yosemite, the desert for events like Burning Man and it’s exactly 2 hours and 20 minutes (a personal record) to the Route 12 turnoff off of Route 80 to wine country. (I’ve been known to go down to Napa for lunch and back the same day!)
I have an old roller bag that can be checked for airline travel. It’s a bit beat up, but it will work just fine. But I want a second light weight carry-on that can carry must-not-lose items like medicine and fragile electronics, that can double as a carry-on for shorter excursions. I chose this Patagonia bag (in black) for the following reasons:
colors; and in different size configurations. If you haven’t tried packing cubes, they will revolutionize your packing! They are essential travel gear! I don’t know how I coped without these.
. If haven’t watched this, or haven’t watched it in a while, do!
