TV advertisements will never be the same again. I’ll miss ya, Billy.

Advancing battery technology makes me a happy guy. I’m always glad when the gadgets I depend on are able to operate for longer periods of time. However, I don’t like it when I’m forced to sacrifice accessibility to achieve this. A good example? The Apple iPhone. There is no user-replaceable battery. If your battery craps the bed, you have to take the phone to Apple and get a replacement. Now, I’m sure that with a little research and technical diagrams, I could probably replace the battery myself, but the average consumer will not get to enjoy this luxury. That’s bogus.

Now it seems that this trend is becoming more mainstream. Apple has converted it’s entire MacBook line of computers to use sealed batteries. This is also true of some Dell laptops. Their argument is that by doing this, they are able to fit larger batteries into the computer, thus extending battery performance. This is absolutely true, because sealed batteries don’t require casings, exposed electrical contacts, clips, etc. But is sacrificing user-replacability really worth the extra hour or two of charge time? To me, it isn’t.

I have never used a laptop battery to the point where it needs to be replaced, nor have I ever had a defective battery. In Apple’s mind, I fit their user profile. I am someone who has never needed to replace their battery or purchase additional batteries. But, you know what? I like having the piece of mind and control that a user-replaceable battery offers. I bet that doesn’t show up in their study.

I like knowing that if my battery dies, I can easily replace the part myself. I don’t need to hand my MacBook over to a “Genius” (a term that is, in reality, quite variable) at the Apple Store and pray that they handle it with care. I hate it when someone I don’t know handles my $1800 notebook computer. Call me a control freak, but knowing what I know about computers, I also have come to realize that there are a lot of inept people out there. Wearing an Apple logo doesn’t make someone more trustworthy.

I’m staying at a Hampton Inn just outside of Oklahoma City, OK as I type this. Unfortunately, I’ve barely had the chance to sleep, let alone post lots of trip pictures on here. The good news is that I have taken quite a bit of photos over the course of this trip, so I will have plenty to share upon my return home. In the meantime, blog updates are going to be sporadic at best.

We’re on Day #5 of the trip right now, which should signify the halfway point. You can probably expect the first photos to filter out here within the next week.

Tomorrow morning, I’m out of here. It’s vacation time and I’m spending it on some of America’s most famous highways. That’s probably something you already know and are most likely sick of hearing about by now. However, I would like to add a few pieces of extra information on here. If you feel inclined to follow along while I drive around the United States, there will be several ways to join in:

1. Twitter – Look at the right column. See the “Twitter Updates” header? As I drive, I’ll drop in an occasional update via my cell phone, along with intermittent photos. If you want to follow more closely, I suggest you grab yourself a Twitter account (here) and follow me (here).
2. This Website – Right here, on this blog. I’m going to try to do a nightly update. Maybe post a video, or some photos, along with a quick synopsis of the day’s activities. However, this will completely depend on whether or not the hotel has internet access, so updates are not guaranteed. But rest assured that if I have access to my blog, I will post something.
3. Facebook – I’ll probably dump a few photos onto my profile as I travel, along with unique status updates that will not be posted on Twitter. If you’re already a friend of mine, then there’s nothing you have to worry about. Otherwise, you can find my profile right here. Keep in mind that you’ll need a Facebook account and have me set as a friend to see anything.

I ran across this quote on the outside of a journal I found in Barnes & Noble. I’d like to say that it exemplifies part of my personality, but I’m worried it might make me sound like a pathological liar.

“I shall try to tell the truth, but the result will be fiction.”
-Katherine Anne Porter

With mere days to go until the half-cross-country trip begins, I’m starting to feel the pressure to be completely organized. Granted, I’m probably twenty times more organized than an average person would be at this point, but when has that ever been good enough for me?

I have piles of stuff building up around my apartment right now and a huge security trunk sitting by my front door. The plan is to tether the trunk into my Jeep with braided steel cable and lock valuables inside when away from the car. As you may or may not know, the soft top of a Jeep Wrangler isn’t exactly the most secure thing in the world. One knife slash later, I’m spending $80 to replace a rear window. The last thing I need to do is add my precious electronics to that list. Sure, that stuff is covered by insurance, but who wants to go through the trouble of filing claims?

Anyway, you might be wondering if I’m planning anything special while the trip is underway. The answer to that is “probably.” I’d like to post a daily image to my blog and maybe a quick blurb along with it. I don’t think I’ll have time to do much more than that though. A third of my day will be taken up with driving a car, after all.

Also, FYI, I updated my “About” page. If you already know me, there’s no new information there, but you can feel free to proofread it!

Few people know this, but I’m going on a trip in early June with my buddy Ryan. There is no destination because the trip is all about touring the United States. I’d love to say that we’re going coast-to-coast, but given the time restraints, we’re only going to get to Texas before turning around to come home. The current plan is to head out west to Niagara Falls, swing along the southern edge of the Great Lakes, shoot through Chicago, take Route 66 down to Oklahoma, then snag Route 50 all the way back east to Washington DC, before taking a northern turn up through Gettysburg and back home to New York.

That’s just over 4,000 miles of wide-open American highway and will take us anywhere from 7-10 days to complete. I can’t wait.

The funny thing is that I knew before the plans were made what the costs of this trip would be. No problem. What I didn’t plan on was the amount of piddly little things I’d need to pick up in preparation for the trip…

• MinoHD Video Camera? Check.
• Mini Camera Tripod? Check.
• First Aid Kit? Check.
• 500gb External Hard Drive? Check.
• Emergency MRE’s? Check.

There’s actually more to the list than that, but those are the main things I’ve had on my mind thus far. I can’t drive halfway across the country without getting video of the event, can I? And, sure, I can offload my videos and photos to my laptop each day, but what about backing them up? Got to have a backup hard drive. It would be horrible to lose all those memories to hard drive failure mid-trip. I’m thinking that the MRE’s might be overkill, but I’d rather have extra food on hand in case my Jeep breaks down in the middle of the Great Plains. I should probably bring some water too.

So much to think about! Thankfully, most of the planning is done at this point. It’s just a matter of letting everything fall into place while hoping for nice weather. Or a tornado. I’d be more than happy to actually chase a storm, rather than just advertise it on my license plate.

Sometimes I wonder what someone was thinking when they decided to advertise a product, person, or idea in a particular way. Take, for example, the public bus I saw at the shopping mall this morning:

“Free condoms. Get some!” it touts. Seriously? We’ve resorted to advertising sex supplies on the side of our public transportation? Don’t get me wrong; I’m not a prude, nor do I have anything against birth control. As far as I’m concerned, people can do whatever they want when it comes to that. Abstinence, the pill, condoms, a wool sock… I don’t care. It’s their life, so they can choose to live it however they want… As long as they don’t come to me for financial assistance when they suddenly realize that 12 children is too many to handle. But, that’s another rant for another time.

I’m not annoyed about the bus advertisement for free condoms. I guess I’m just a bit bewildered that it’s posted in grand fashion on the side of a bus. Given the subject matter, it surprises me that someone didn’t have a problem with driving it around town. I mean, if a conservative wanted to advertise: “It’s abstinence or nothing.” on the side of a bus, we’d have liberal-minded folk jumping down their throat. “How dare they impress that upon our children?” they might say. Yet, free condoms are okay with the conservatives these days? Apparently so.

Branching in another direction, who is actually taking advantage of the free condoms? I have to admit that I’d feel a bit odd if I walked into a building, sauntered up to a desk, slammed my fist on the table, and said, with a gleam in my eye, “Hi there. I saw the bus ad. Give me all the free condoms you got!” Then again, maybe other people are different. I recall watching a guy in CVS carry condoms up to the counter, lay them down, and then while the cashier was cashing him out, he proudly stated that “it’s going to be a busy weekend.” Great. A little too much information there, pal. If I recall, the female cashier was rather embarrassed. Can’t blame her on that one.

Shaving. As you know, I don’t like shaving. Taking off a few layers of skin in the process of removing endlessly-growing protein filaments isn’t a fun pastime. A couple of months ago, I decided that I’d had enough and grew a beard. Just about everyone I ran into said it looked great and that I should keep it up. I thought I looked homeless, so I shaved it off and went back to my standard goatee.

Now I’m back in the hunt for my “perfect” shaving system. I’ve tried rotary electrics, foil electrics, two-blade, three-blade, and four-blade cartridge razors. Not to mention just about every shaving cream, gel, and oil on the market. The result is always the same.. What could possibly be left? I think I may have stumbled upon a possible answer: The double-edged safety razor. Yes, I’m referring to the one that your father probably used.

    

I’ve been doing some reading and it seems that if this tool is used properly, it can result in a superior shave. As an added bonus, refills are a fraction of the cost of modern cartridge razors (10 razors for $4!). It also helps if the razor is used in conjunction with barber-quality shaving tools, such as a badger hair shaving brush and a decent quality cream. These brushes are a bit pricey (about $50), but the general consensus is that they can easily last a decade if they are cared for properly.

Seems like overkill, but I’m willing to try just about anything at this point. If taking an extra five minutes with a double edged razor in the morning means I won’t shear my face off, then it’s a sacrifice I think I can live with.