No, not talking about passports and visas (you should have already done such). Instead, talking about wills, power of attorney, and other paperwork you need to have in place before traveling, especially if you do any ‘adventure’ traveling. This isn’t adventure per se, thought it will be a good adventure Lord willing, but if anything goes wrong I want people to have what they need to help me and to know what I want done.
So, I’m having a new will done. I did the last one online; but, for reasons I’m not going to discuss in public, I am having a lawyer do the documents this time. That way they should be air-tight, and such that governments or anyone else can stick an oar into.
In addition, I’m also updating my Power of Attorney for Healthcare and taking care of a few other documents so that if anything happens to me, especially while I am overseas, the people here will have access to anything and everything needed to take care of me, or to bury me. My only caveat is that I be given an Orthodox Christian funeral. If I were to die on the pilgrimage, I have left instructions to bury me there. I don’t see the need to bring me back here, even if the travel insurance covers it. By the way, this is the second formal written public notice of my intentions in that regard.
Depending on your circumstances, you need to have things worked out in all regards — health, estate, guardianships, etc. — before you head out. Especially if you are married and have children, you need the I’s crossed and the T’s dotted.
I will admit, the costs of such services has gone up a LOT since I last used a lawyer, but it is worth it to have things air tight. That said, feel free to hit the tip jar as that was a major and unbudgeted expense.
Getting hit by lightning is not fun! If you would like to help me in my recovery efforts, and to start a truly new life, feel free to hit the fundraiser at A New Life on GiveSendGo, use the options in the Tip Jar in the upper right, or drop me a line to discuss other methods. There is also the Amazon Wish List in the Bard’s Jar. It is thanks to your gifts and prayers that I am still going. Thank you.
This post by Ian over at the Bugscuffle Gazette is a good read for anyone planning to travel, particularly by air. When I was doing a lot of travel years back, I did my best to keep things separate, especially after I pinged for nitrates one time (still not sure why).
But let me suggest you take it a step further, and be sure your personal electronics are as clear as you can make them. When you travel abroad, keep in mind that various countries and unions claim the right to inspect those electronics — and that the U.S. can and does do warrantless searches ‘at their discretion’ when you return. On top of that, people don’t just try to scan your credit cards and passports (or anything else with a chip) for nefarious reasons, they can and will go after your computer and phone as well. In fact, in one country years back it was so bad I refused to take a laptop there.
I’m already in the process of preparing my electronics. My suggestions are as follows:
First, back up every device. In fact, if you are sharp you should follow the rule of three. One backup at your house or place of business, one secured across town at a trusted secure site, and one across the country at a trusted secure site. If there is a fire or flood at your place, get the one from across town and reload and rebuild. If something more catastrophic happens, that’s why you have one in a separate geographical region.
Second, offload as much as you can onto backup discs. For me, I’m going to dump taxes, financial, and other items that I’m not going to need on the trip both to free up space and to ensure that those files are not there to be stolen. It is like physical items: if you don’t need it, don’t take it. This is not just for computers, but also for mobiles as many these days use them as a computer. Clean those platforms, and not only are you safer you may find them working a bit better.
Third, do install and run security/antivirus software; and, then, do a secure erase of unused space. Both government officials and ill-intentioned types can and do try to find out what you’ve erased recently and might have had on there. For the ill-intentioned, they are looking for financial and other data (sometimes blackmail too). The governmental types can also be looking for political and other memes, as few places have a first amendment and protection for same. I strongly recommend dumping memes and other political things before going overseas.
You want to treat your electronics as you do your luggage: only carry what you need. If it’s not on there, it can’t be stolen. If it’s not there, it can’t be rooted through like your dirty laundry. Personally, I’ve not had any problems with this over the years, but there is always a first time. Travel lite, travel secure, and be safe — and remember that preparedness always pays.
Getting hit by lightning is not fun! If you would like to help me in my recovery efforts, and to start a truly new life, feel free to hit the fundraiser at A New Life on GiveSendGo, use the options in the Tip Jar in the upper right, or drop me a line to discuss other methods. There is also the Amazon Wish List in the Bard’s Jar. It is thanks to your gifts and prayers that I am still going. Thank you.
I’m trying to pack as lite as I can, and I now have some new permanent press pants that will be my mainstay. The only thing I plan to take more than about four or five of is socks, as I am a big believer in having clean socks each day and spares if they get wet during the day. Not an issue at the apartment with a washer, but my time on Mount Athos and at various monasteries could be a different matter. That said, thanks to your help, I have from my Amazon Wish List a Scott-E-Vest and a Scott-E-windbreaker/raincoat. The vest was highly recommended to me by Father David at the Romanian Orthodox Church after he wore one on his recent sabbatical to Romania. According to him it can even be worn with a cassock, which is not a consideration for me on this trip.
The vest and coat are both set up as “personal area networks” with ways to physically and otherwise link your personal electronics. This is all well and good, and I may explore that more while on the trip, but for me the real reason to get them is as follows.
First, they have multiple pockets that are zippered and otherwise secured. In fact, a rather critical pocket for wallets and such has a zipper and then an interior, RF-shielded pocket that is also secured. Both are designed to thwart pick-pockets and similar people of ill-intent. It also can make getting through security a bit easier as rather than carrying a lot of stuff myself, I can have it in the vest or jacket and send them and the contents easily through the X-ray machine.
As I mentioned, the vest comes with an shielded pocket to thwart the growing problem of people trying to scan your credit cards, passport, etc. and steal the information. The cards are a big problem in that they can then clone and spend most of what you have in the bank before you are even out of the airport. Having the shielded pocket cuts down on the risk. Now, me being me, I have an RF-shielded wallet, my cards and passport are in special sleeves for shielding, and I have a jammer that is exposed as soon as I open my wallet to further complicate the life of anyone trying to scan me. Thank you all who have bought stuff off the list!
I’ve been using the vest a bit and like it. The only issue I’ve had so far is with the zipper getting undone. It really isn’t the fault of the zipper or the vest as much as it is the way I am built. In my prime, I had a 34″-36″ waist, with a 50 inch chest, and shoulders that took about a size 50-52 suit. The waist is a little bit larger these days (working on it), but it is not a build that most off-the-rack is designed to handle. Really glad I went a size larger (I usually get XL) as it would be a bit too snug if I hadn’t. If I do have to zip up, being careful in my movements seems to do the trick, and I haven’t really had problems just zipping up far enough to block someone being able to get at a zippered interior pocket.
Other than that, the largest problem has been remembering what I put in which pocket. Still working out optimum placements, but figure a lot of that will shake out during the trip.
No issues with the jacket so far, and it is water repellent so I plan to use it as my rain coat. Given that my fedora is waterproof, and I can get an umbrella there at need, think I’m set on rain gear. Oh, the jacket has a retractable hood as well, so good up top. Not too worried about the pants, some of the pants are water and stain resistant.
More on the vest and coat later, as this trip will be a good test of them. So far, really like them. Again, thank you all for your time and help!
Getting hit by lightning is not fun! If you would like to help me in my recovery efforts, and to start a truly new life, feel free to hit the fundraiser at A New Life on GiveSendGo, use the options in the Tip Jar in the upper right, or drop me a line to discuss other methods. There is also the Amazon Wish List in the Bard’s Jar. It is thanks to your gifts and prayers that I am still going. Thank you.
One of the many ducks nibbling me to death right now is adding some apps to my new phone to help with things while I’m on the pilgrimage. This will be a work in progress in that I may be adding another app or two, and I will report as I go on how well things work. Right now, I’ve added Revolut, CashApp, Venmo, Moovit, and iTranslate.
Revolut was recommended, highly, by the priest at the Romanian Orthodox Church, who just got back from a sabbatical in Romania. It is one of the most used, if not the most used financial app in Romania and Bulgaria by all accounts. I’ve played with it a little, but not a lot so far. More as things move along.
CashApp (ping me at awolf 57 boilerplate here you know how protonmail and here is the dot and then comes the com if you want to send a gift that way) is one everyone knows. Doing it more as a precaution as there appear to be a few places that use it overseas so being prepared.
Venmo (again, ping me at the above if you want to send a gift that way) is primarily so I can pay my rent while I am on pilgrimage. My landlord has it, it is the one he uses most, so on it went. It has also been the most “fun” in getting set up in some respects. The “Add Funds” button wasn’t showing so Raju in customer service had me delete and reload the app, only for the second agent I chatted with to tell me it won’t show up until I’ve used it an unspecified number of times. So, will use it as I can, and so long as I can pay rent life is good.
Moovit is a public transit app with extensive coverage in Europe. It covers Sofia very nicely and was highly recommended by people on the ground. Given that Sofia has subway, trams, trolleys, and busses, I need the help with navigating and it is reported to have excellent step-by-step guidance up to telling you to “get off here” and more. I’m really looking forward to trying it out.
iTranslate is a very highly rated app, again recommended by people on the ground. It can handle text, voice, images, and more. For all that Bulgarian is similar to Russian, it is NOT Russian and there are some interesting differences. I’ve already detected some Italian/Latin influences. I’m working on learning some basic phrases, as I’ve found it is always very helpful to be able to say please, thank you, and such in the native language. The fact that you try goes a long way to getting help (and tasty things). Again, more as I use it.
More soon, and if anyone has any suggestions for good apps, do let me know. Three of the above were highly rated by local sources, and I will let you know how all do. Meantime, hope most or all of the initial set-up and such is done so I can now focus on other things.
Also, items off the Amazon Gift List have arrived, and are very much appreciated. Have dropped a line of thanks to someone who added a message with an e-mail addy so I knew who to thank. I couldn’t do this pilgrimage without your help! Thank you!
Getting hit by lightning is not fun! If you would like to help me in my recovery efforts, and to start a truly new life, feel free to hit the fundraiser at A New Life on GiveSendGo, use the options in the Tip Jar in the upper right, or drop me a line to discuss other methods. There is also the Amazon Wish List in the Bard’s Jar. It is thanks to your gifts and prayers that I am still going. Thank you.
I want to thank everyone who has donated! I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your gifts, and more importantly, you. Your gifts and prayers have helped keep me going the last few years, and this WInter 26 Bleg is allowing me to go on my upcoming pilgrimage, take a seminary course or two, and cover some other needful things.
The original post is here, and while we got off to a very good start, things have stalled about a third of the way to the goal. I am pushing ahead with the pilgrimage and the courses, but for now am putting off the new glasses and a few other things. The pilgrimage is fast approaching, and I will be sharing as much as I can from it here and over on X. Meantime, you can hit the tip jar in the upper right, read through the original post, and I may have some new options here soon as I have to add CashApp and Venmo for the trip.
Thank you all again so very, very much. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your help!
This should have gone up yesterday, and it is a repost of an earlier post. But it’s one I try to get up each year. Click on the links and read more about the Great Escape, which was a bit different from the movie.
Today, I take the time to remember the 50. On this night, in 1944, prisoners of war staged a daring large-scale escape from Stalag Luft III. The movie is good, but isn’t accurate since it was a Royal Air Force show. All but three of the prisoners who escaped were recaptured, and of those, Adolph Hitler personally ordered the deaths of 50 of them. Today, I raise a glass to them, and to all who dared and risked all to do so.
Modern power conversion for travel, plugs are larger than the transformer these days…
To say things have changed in terms of travel power since I went on my first flight in the mid 1960s is an understatement. Things have changed period, since I remember having to dress up in my Sunday best to get on the airplane. Even when I traveled for NASA and such not too many years ago, I tended to wear a sport coat and nice (but rugged) slacks.
Dress has changed and so has the need for power. Back then, people took electric razors, hair dryers, blow dryers (later), and much more that required some serious power. You had to have bulky and heavy transformers along with appropriate adapter plugs for your trip. I remember well having to pack those items back in the early 1970s, and while the size dropped a bit over the years, you still needed the big, bulky and slightly heavy transformers. May still have one in storage I suspect as I carried two or more per trip for decades.
Today, it is less about the big items. Hotels have blow dryers and the like provided (my apartment has one provided), and electric razors are not quite the thing they were. I’ve only owned one in my life, and I think it was a gift. I prefer a razor for several reasons, no electricity being required being one of them. The thing now is your personal electronics.
Today, most computers, cell phones, and the like have transformers that can handle most power sources in the world, particularly Europe. If you didn’t know, that’s what that square you plug into the wall outlet and your USB cord into is: a transformer. It used to be that some were made just for use in the U.S. and they couldn’t handle power elsewhere. Today, it’s a lot cheaper (because of scale) to build them to handle multiple power-types and just change the plug you put on them since personal electronics is a global market.
Which is wonderful for myself and most other travelers. The adapter plugs are still a little bulky, but as you can see above, the transformers have shrunk. In fact, if this one didn’t have all the different USB ports it would be quite small. It should handle all my needs, but one area where I will have redundancy is power. The transformer above, with the adapters that fit it, cost $14. So, I will have two for redundancy and in case I decide to charge one item in one room and one in another. I will also have two wall plugs for the phone and two for the laptop so I have redundant redundancy. I’ve been paranoid ever since the power supply for my laptop died on the first day of my first embed to Iraq…
Funny thing is, even with two of them together, and all the adapters, it still takes up less space than the small transformer I used to carry two (or three) of on trips overseas. The only thing I might buy when I get to Sofia is an extension cord, just if I need it for convenience. Everything else I might need is provided and already rated for the local power. I could probably even pick up local chargers for my phone and laptop at need.
Oh, I will be splitting things evenly between checked luggage and carry on. Something happens to one, I still have the other. Both come through okay, I’m golden. Why, yes, I have had luggage delayed before and there is little more fun than trying to get clothing in gajin sizes in Tokyo. It used to be a lot harder in terms of electronic power sources, but now not-so-much. Still and all, better to be prepared on this front than not, as I do hope to share photos and more daily (or as close thereto) as possible.
Just remember to check what type plug you need for any given country. It’s why the little transformer above came with three plug adapters that should get you by in most of the world. Everywhere I am likely to go and need power have either Type F or Type G plugs, which honestly are pretty much interchangeable in terms of the plugs. I have both, so should be good to go.
So, look at what you are taking that may need power, check the plug type for all the places you are headed, and plan accordingly. A little redundancy never hurts, and with the small sizes available today, it takes up less room that the not-really-that-old brick transformers. Just a few thoughts, and I will share how these products work as the pilgrimage progresses.
If you’ve not been here before, take a moment to scroll up or down, and check out some of my other content. It ranges from my upcoming religious pilgrimage to practical preparedness. Hope you will check it out.
Getting hit by lightning is not fun! If you would like to help me in my recovery efforts, and to start a truly new life, feel free to hit the fundraiser at A New Life on GiveSendGo, use the options in the Tip Jar in the upper right, or drop me a line to discuss other methods. There is also the Amazon Wish List in the Bard’s Jar. It is thanks to your gifts and prayers that I am still going. Thank you.
First, before you do anything else, go read this very good post by Leslie over at Legal Insurrection. She covers a lot and makes a number of very good points. That said, I want to chime in with a few thoughts.
First up, there appears to be some leadership issues. Pete has been fairly clear on the need to develop anti-drone strategies and to be creative in so doing. In fact, some interesting concepts are being tried and actually potentially fielded. Yet, at the same time, the response to a clear and present danger is to monitor, try to jam, and apparently to wring hands and cry how nothing works. Personal opinion, that’s the time to let troops with trap and skeet experience go to work in downing as many as possible.
It would be nice to also to be able to track back the control signals for the drones to determine point of origin. Jamming is well and good, but there’s another phase that seems to be lacking in the response. Fact is, we need robust, capable mobile detection systems that will facilitate a rapid identification of the origin of the signals and allow said site to be neutralized. Ideally, getting those behind the control alive and with equipment intact for analysis, but given that this is a major nuclear base we need to be able to identify and then go in hard and FAST.
Also, question for the audience: Do you think China is the only country or entity that has been buying land near major military installations? If so, why do you think that?
We really do need to rethink the triad and our full posture. We also need to get serious about drones and drone defense, as dithering and hand-wringing is only going to see our aircraft fleet mangled wreckage. Drones require being pro-active, and that is the antithesis of what has been drilled into most military leadership for a while now.
Just some thoughts to share.
If you’ve not been here before, take a moment to scroll up or down, and check out some of my other content. It ranges from my upcoming religious pilgrimage to practical preparedness. Hope you will check it out.
Getting hit by lightning is not fun! If you would like to help me in my recovery efforts, and to start a truly new life, feel free to hit the fundraiser at A New Life on GiveSendGo, use the options in the Tip Jar in the upper right, or drop me a line to discuss other methods. There is also the Amazon Wish List in the Bard’s Jar. It is thanks to your gifts and prayers that I am still going. Thank you.
What happened with the CRJ and the fire truck at LaGuardia was indeed a tragedy, and a preventable one. Not necessarily for the reasons many of the people trying to score political points off the blood of the tragedy are expounding though.
First, let set some basic terms and information that are needed to understand the situation. The FAA and the Transportation Administration control aviation in the U.S. You have flight control, which is the part of the operation that controls and monitors flights in progress. You have departure control which is concerned with takeoff and departure operations. You have landing control, which is responsible for the last part of the flight and landing. You then have ground control, which is responsible for general movement on the ground.
Depending on circumstances, these can all be different people (and some companies even have their own ops people at airports, such as caterers, cargo companies, etc) or they can all be one person. Depends on a number of factors, with the largest being the size of the airport and the amount of traffic. What a lot of people don’t like to talk about is that it also depends on staffing, which started to be an issue in the mid-2000s. There are actually several reasons (no matter what the yard signs say, there are few simplistic problems and no simplistic solutions) and they include training issues, technology issues, and workload.
A lot of this has been discussed in regards the DC crash (covered here, feel free to hit the search button). The technology of the Air Traffic Control (ATC) system is beyond antiquated, as are a number of the collision avoidance systems. In the wake of DC, there was a lot of talk about fixing that right now, and people like Elon and others who know tech volunteered to help. Haven’t heard a word about that since.
Would love an update on what’s being done, or not, and why. There are in fact straightforward solutions using Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) technology that would vastly improve both flight control and approach/departure control. In the past, one of the biggest stumbling blocks was Congress, and some members of the bureaucracy, as such projects did not grease the right hands or flow to the right districts. It would be nice to get a DOGE (or a Data Republican) audit of all that has been pledged and spent on this from 2000 onwards since a lot of it just seems to me to have disappeared.
Congress has also been a huge problem with the staffing issue, particularly the Oklahoma delegation of Congresscritters. Right now, the FAA school for controllers is in Oklahoma; it can’t handle the load it has much less train the numbers of people needed; and, that delegation has blocked every effort to open other FAA schools elsewhere. Just a suggestion, but take your BP meds before you dig into this and other ways Congress has blocked pretty much all efforts to fix the staffing problem.
And it is a huge problem. Controllers, particularly approach/departure/ground, can find themselves working six days a week with mandatory overtime. Before passing judgement, or wallowing in the blood of the tragedy to make points for your side (what ever that may be) check out how long the controller in this case had been working. Check out the last time he had any realistic time off. Now, add in antiquated tech that hinders detection of problems rather than warning of them, and add in effectively what looks to be about three emergency/potential emergencies he’s juggling at once.
This is a life that just ended in most respects. The life he had is gone, and two people are dead and more injured because he was overworked and without help or support from his leadership including Congress. Pray for him, as he is going to need those prayers, even as you pray for the souls of the dead and for the injured. And before you jump on him or to make points, listen to the exchange afterwards, where he says he made a mistake (one he tried desperately to stop BTW) and is comforted by a pilot who told him he did the best he could. And he did, in a system that failed him, and us.
As with the DC crash there is plenty of blame to go around. My ire is focused a good bit on Congress, but more than one administration has not taken transportation, and reform/improvement of the FAA and ATC system seriously. I hope the current administration will take it seriously and that Sec. Duffy will step up and be the leader needed to meet this challenge. He talked good game after DC, and I would like to see some walk to go with the talk. If Congress or others are trying to play their usual games, let’s take the gloves off and do what’s needed before more are killed and more lives destroyed. Again, please do pray for that controller, he needs them.
If you’ve not been here before, take a moment to scroll up or down, and check out some of my other content. It ranges from my upcoming religious pilgrimage to practical preparedness. Hope you will check it out.
Getting hit by lightning is not fun! If you would like to help me in my recovery efforts, and to start a truly new life, feel free to hit the fundraiser at A New Life on GiveSendGo, use the options in the Tip Jar in the upper right, or drop me a line to discuss other methods. There is also the Amazon Wish List in the Bard’s Jar. It is thanks to your gifts and prayers that I am still going. Thank you.
I’ve been asked by quite a few if I am going to post photos or videos from my pilgrimage, and I’ve committed to trying to do a post a day with photos and/or some video. However, the “real” SLR camera I took to Iraq is dead, along with the broadcast quality video camera I used. The dust of Iraq won those battles, and it didn’t help that they were large and heavy. I really need small, light, and easy to use — and like most people I’ve taken to using my mobile/cell phone.
Now, what I had for about the last six years was a senior citizens special that I got with my special senior citizen rate plan. It was an i-Phone, but didn’t have a number and instead had a three letter designation. The camera was okay when I first got it, but not that good these days. I looked around a bit at available phones, and ended up considering it a choice of evils in some respects (Google versus Apple versus Other Corporation) with me almost wanting to root for all to lose. Really would love to see some real competition from someone dedicated to privacy and security along with the latest gee whiz. Meantime, I decided to go with Apple as the lesser evil of the crowd and because I know I can easily integrate it with laptop and such.
So, as I noted in a post the other day, I went to my provider last week (a real store and not one of the affiliated) to check on some things and see what phone options were available. The great news was that my senior citizens plan comes with basic international roaming. It also turns out that unlimited text and data means unlimited text and data anywhere in the world. Short version is that I can text with no problems and anything I can do via data (and wifi) is golden. Going to keep actual calls to a minimum and make full use of wifi, and keep the great rate of my now grandfathered senior citizen rate plan. And, yes, I made sure my phone is set to make use of wifi calling. I will turn on data roaming when I leave just to be safe.
I ended up having a very nice young gentleman help me, and he really dug into the the plan and making it work so that I could keep my current rate. He also came up with some other suggestions on things to do and try, and then we started talking phones. Sadly, no real promotion options would apply to any phone, nor would my then current phone have any significant trade-in value. I had an idea of what I was after, but we explored options anyway. Turns out, he had in stock an i-Phone 17 Pro Max that had the best camera, best battery life, and could easily handle the translation and special navigation apps I wanted to install. It also has emergency satellite capability already engaged, which was a big plus for me.
Even better, he was able to get the price down $100 from what I had budgeted. Not a lot, but it beat a sharp stick in the eye, and I was getting the Max, which I had not considered given the expense. I had considered it as it is larger (easier to see and use) and has a larger (and better) battery which gives it extremely good battery life. More on that in a minute. So, I did grab the opportunity to grab more camera for less money than I had budgeted.
Getting everything over from the old phone to the new took some time, but we got most things done in the store. I had to update a number of apps when I got home, but that wasn’t too bad and gave me a chance to review what I had on the phone and eliminate a couple that I haven’t used in years. I’ll cover the apps I’m adding and testing in some future posts.
The photo above was shot on the phone yesterday, as the sun came up. The old phone could not have gotten the shot. The resolution of the sensors is amazing, and it captures far more of the gradients of light and color than the old phone. The zoom actually works and zooms with no significant degradation of quality. There are other features available that I have not yet explored. I’m going to have to take a quick tutorial on the photo and video capabilities, and on in-phone editing capabilities.
Now, I also got a case for the phone, as the last thing I want to do is to risk damage. For years, I used and loved the OtterBox cases. They have saved my bacon and several phones over the years. However, I wasn’t impressed with the quality of the last one I got, and I found out a few years back that the warranty apparently no longer covered flaps that tore off because of use. Also, the costs of buying a new replacement had gone up. Significantly even.
As it turns out, my provider had stopped selling their products because of issues, with price being prominently mentioned. Instead, they had gone with Pelican, which I did not realize had gone into the cell-phone case business. I’ve used Pelican cases for shipping for ages, and had even converted a small case of theirs into my travel humidor when I smoked cigars. The case for my phone also meets MIL-STD 810G drop standards, which means it should protect the phone from a 24-foot drop. Hoping I never do anything more than 3-feet, so should be more than good. Between the case and screen protector, things should be good to remain useful during the pilgrimage and after.
I’ve got to look up some things in regards the phone, as it has some buttons the old one didn’t, and is missing a couple the old one had. I really wish they had a tutorial for use of the phone as it is so different from the old. I was shown a few things, but am having to figure the rest out on my own.
Earlier, I mentioned battery life. On the old phone, I could use up twenty percent or more of my charge just reading the news before I got out of bed. That phone had already been warranty replaced once a year or so ago because of battery life issues. I just ran the new phone for two days without charging and still didn’t get below twenty percent charge even with running trip navigation for several trips. So, going a day without charging, even with doing photo and video and such, should be quite doable. I will take a couple of portable power banks with me just in case, but I’m less worried on that score now.
Now, I can’t answer questions on if it is worth it to upgrade to the 17 from a 15 or 16; but, I can say that it truly was a quantum leap from my old senior citizen special. Would I have preferred to spend less money: YES. Was it truly an option given the upgrades to camera, battery performance, and the ability to handle some needed apps: YES. Will it fill my needs for many years to come: Yes. Will it last that long: I sure hope so, going to do my part to make it happen.
For all that I like to upgrade electronics every five years, I had reached a point on mobiles that I was planning to keep using the senior citizen special until either it or I died. I don’t think much of the companies behind the current giants, and think Apple is way overpriced on top of other issues. That said, I’m tied into Apple products though I am considering options if the opportunity arises. In this case, though I think the official list price is too high, I got enough of a deal and a huge upgrade in performance and usability that made it worth the investment. I would prefer not to have done it, but that just wasn’t an option.
So, I’m set for basic coms, electronic translation capabilities, and imaging for the trip. I’ll share more on phone performance as things move along, and hopefully a lot more photos and even video will be here and/or in my X feed.
Thank you all for your help in making this happen. I could not be doing this without you, my readers. Know you, your gifts, and your kindness are very much appreciated!
Getting hit by lightning is not fun! If you would like to help me in my recovery efforts, and to start a truly new life, feel free to hit the fundraiser at A New Life on GiveSendGo, use the options in the Tip Jar in the upper right, or drop me a line to discuss other methods. There is also the Amazon Wish List in the Bard’s Jar. It is thanks to your gifts and prayers that I am still going. Thank you.
