Travel lean

Are GPS apps rendering part of your brain inactive?

How to vastly improve your experience with maps and keep your head from getting lost in the map on your smartphone.

By Brad Beckstrom

Cartography – The study and practice of making maps.

Remember paper maps? I’m talking about the big unfolding kind they used to give you at tourism offices, AAA or full-service gas stations. How about the slick plastic coated ones that you could access with one hand on the steering wheel trying to navigate in a city like Rome or Washington, DC? Or the jumbo 50 page city or county map books they used to sell at office supply and convenience stores for about 18 bucks, still popular with some realtors and salespeople who work in remote areas or haven’t jumped on the smartphone bandwagon yet. Or the mother of them all, The Rand McNally Road Atlas hundreds of pages just waiting to be explored. I always had a thing for maps. I was always up for exploring out-of-the-way places, and maps helped me get there.

When my boys were younger, we used to play a game called “spin the globe”, wherever you land, you have to go there. I remember once my oldest son spun the globe and landed on Yakutsk, Russia generally considered to be the coldest inhabited city on earth with average temperatures of -58°F. He immediately added the city to the weather app on his phone and kept an eye on the place, occasionally sharing the sometimes ridiculous low temperatures. I don’t think I’ll ever see Yakutsk but I have a feeling he might.

Once GPS came along I knew I was hooked. (Finally an answer for my lack of direction in life.) I played around with some of the earliest handheld GPS units, the kind where you had to load a CD onto your computer then somehow transfer maps to the GPS unit. These early units were popular with boaters because it’s very important to know where you’re going on the water. You also need to know about a third dimension, the depth of the water so you don’t end up on a sand barge, as I occasionally did. At least I can blame the fricking GPS unit versus my lack of preparation with paper navigation charts. [Read more…] about Are GPS apps rendering part of your brain inactive?

If you’re traveling on a budget, plan a trip to a 4 star resort on a Greek Island.

07/16 by The Frug Leave a Comment

By Brad Beckstrom

Wait, The Frug hanging out at a four-star resort in the Greek Islands? That doesn’t sound very frugal. The fact is, it’s never been more frugal. This has a lot to do with the strength of the US dollar versus the Euro which is regularly hitting 10 year lows, but it has more to do with Greek hospitality and choosing the right time and the right island to visit.

Location, Location, Location

While I was researching Greece, I was a bit disappointed to see pictures of summer crowds in places like Santorini and Mykonos. One website even included photos titled “perception” and “reality” showing a photo of beautiful whitewashed houses and windmills on Santorini next to a photo of the same spot, covered in tourists, with every alleyway bursting at the seams with dreaded shoppers and selfie stick wavers.

From the start, I wanted to avoid the crowds. That was going to be tough as our kids weren’t getting out of school til late June and, like many other families. we’d all be hitting the highways and airports about the same time. The strategy we came up with was to visit a few Greek islands that most Americans have never heard of, Paros and Antiparos. We talked to some Greek insiders including a celebrity chef my 14-year-old son had been chatting up on Twitter and got the scoop on these two islands. They’re in the same Cyclades chain of islands with Santorini and Mykonos, but because Paros is a ferry hub, it’s often the first stop coming and going on the ferry from Athens. This would be our destination.

Timing

The other key element in our plan was timing. [Read more…] about If you’re traveling on a budget, plan a trip to a 4 star resort on a Greek Island.

How to enter the airline matrix and pounce on invisible fares and discount codes.

11/15 by The Frug Leave a Comment

By Brad Beckstrom

I recently wrote about creating a frequent flyer points machine, using everyday expenses, including healthcare and utilities, to rack up 2X, 3X, 4X frequent-flier points. As a follow-up, I wanted to provide an update on the latest tools I’ve found for spending those points.

Once you’ve figured out how to earn points twice as fast, the real benefit kicks in by spending fewer points, making them go twice as far. Anyone can do this by finding the cheapest days to travel combined with fare deals from your local airport. If you can find the lowest fare, then you can spend your points more efficiently and get the specific flight you want by using your points through your credit card providers travel service. (I use Chase Sapphire Ultimate Rewards for an added 20% points bonus on booking.)

I found the key to doing this is having the exact flight you want to book at hand when you call to apply points to the total price. You don’t want to depend on the agent to find you the best fare, and you certainly don’t want deal with airlines directly which often charge you for the privilege to book. Airlines also like to drastically limit the frequent-flier seats available, unless of course you’re willing to cough up more money or double points.

So how to do it? [Read more…] about How to enter the airline matrix and pounce on invisible fares and discount codes.

Creating a high tech, paperless office that can fit in a backpack.

09/15 by The Frug Leave a Comment

11 Creative and free ways to declutter your office, and work from anywhere.

By Brad Beckstrom

I’ve always admired digital nomads. Those folks who can work from anywhere. They can get stuff done in a noisy seaside café in or a mountain cabin with no Internet access. They are extremely mobile, in fact, many of them can stay mobile all the time. The ability to travel light and run a small business or creative endeavor from a laptop takes less wizardry than you may think. You don’t have to be a vagabond or a digital nomad to benefit from the technology that is making this more possible than ever before.

So, for those of you who have not gotten the secret memo, you can work from anywhere, skip the commute and simplify your work environment to the point where you can grab it and go. All of the technology I am recommending here, I’ve used for years and believe it’s more secure than most office environments.

All of the applications are cloud-based, backed up, and protected by two step verification (defined below). They will all work on a Mac, PC, tablet, or smartphone and automatically sync n save. The setup also allows you to work with clients and other folks who still work with ancient versions of Microsoft Word, request that things be faxed or snail mailed (like certain Fortune 500 healthcare, banking and insurance providers), or try to move large video files and presentations around by email.

So, here’s the setup I recommend for anyone who’d like to work remotely. It will work well even if you never travel. It will allow you to go paperless, reduce your office footprint, and simplify your work environment. Most of the software listed below is free or free with very reasonable rates on cloud storage.

A Mac. I’ve used the same laptop for five years. I’ve upgraded the RAM on my 2010 MacBook Pro to keep up with modern software and newer operating systems that seem to be released every six months. I generally stay one cycle behind the current operating system. So, for instance, if Apple is releasing OSX 10.10, I’ll stay on 10.9 until the next release 10.11 etc. is announced, then upgrade. This allows everything to run smoothly as other providers upgrade for the latest OS while fixing bugs for the next one.

Getting rid of GAS. Gear Acquisition Syndrome.

09/15 by The Frug Leave a Comment

Buying stuff you don’t need in hopes it will make you better at something.

By Brad Beckstrom

I have it. I think I’ve had it for a long time. At least, I still have many symptoms. Psychology Today defines Gear Acquisition Syndrome (GAS) as “lustily buying more tools than you need.” Wikipedia’s describes (GAS) as “the urge to acquire and accumulate lots of gear.” They single out musicians in their definition, saying the term sometimes refers to Guitar Acquisition Syndrome. Guitarists tend to acquire lots of guitars, guitar amplifiers, custom pedals and effects processors.

But this goes way beyond musicians. In fact, I could list any number of hobbies, interests, careers, passions etc. that suffer from gear acquisition syndrome. Just pick up any magazine on cooking, photography, technology, fitness, beauty, cycling, hunting, fishing, boating, camping, gaming, music, cars and you’ll see gear featured front and center on nearly every page. Web sites are worse, the candy colored gear pops up and can lead you on click tangents.

I recently canceled a free subscription to a photography magazine because they weren’t really talking about photography, they were talking about gear, tricks and tools to make you a better photographer. Most of the photos in the magazine were of …..gear. What I know now is that gear will not make me a better photographer. The best camera, latest versions of software, and the fastest Mac out there will not make me a better photographer. Going out and doing the work, taking the photographs will make me a better photographer.

GAS can definitely be a problem for someone like me who is interested in everything. Technology, music, boating, even healthy stuff like hiking, cycling………lots o’gear.

Even self-help junkies (people constantly trying to improve themselves ) are not immune to this syndrome. Our gear just looks different, books, online courses, the latest to do list app software and razor thin laptops, tablets and phones to run it all. Holy shit, I am in that group as well. If I’m not careful GAS could kill me!

Getting rid of bad GAS

The first step in getting rid of GAS is admitting that you have it. So how do I get rid of it? There is no remedy that you can go out and buy in chewable tablet form for this. Even if there was, I would probably tell you not to buy it.

Once you know you have it, understand that it will pop up in the strangest places. This is not your fault. If you’re reading this, you are lucky to live in a place that has a paradox of choice. Meaning that there are so many choices and options screaming for your attention that some of that cream really has risen to the top and grabbed your attention. You feel the urge to buy and the pressure to make the “right choice.” Smart phones, motorcycles, vacuum cleaners, laptops, guitars, high-tech shoes and clothing, all available all the time, next day delivery. This stuff all looks great doesn’t it ? Which one will be best for me?

How to deal with this? Do what you do best, procrastinate. Put off the decision, stop spending time researching, tell yourself “I’m going to think about this for a few weeks.” This is one of the single best things I’ve found for getting rid of GAS and avoiding purchases I will regret later.

Once you’re able to put that decision off, think of the time you just saved yourself. You’re done with the research. You can use that time to go fishing, go skiing, cook, or do whatever it was you were trying to improve with new gear. I recently heard a writer speaking about how she used to be a self-help junkie, taking every course, buying every book, attending seminars. What she finally realized was that she could improve her writing, by actually doing it instead of reading about it. She had found the secret! She literally found the secret, instead of buying a book called The Secret for $14.95.

Output versus Input [Read more…] about Getting rid of GAS. Gear Acquisition Syndrome.

The completely new face of travel. High-speed travel hacking and toilet paper races.

08/15 by The Frug Leave a Comment

How to hack a quick trip.

By Brad Beckstrom

Last month I visited Portland, OR. I was in town for 5 days attending a conference. The conference included lots of evening events spread throughout the city, as well as daily events downtown. I also had a dinner and a breakfast meet-up with friends on opposite sides of the city and a day long photo shoot, many locations. I did not rent a car, call a cab or set foot in a hotel. I purchased cross country nonstop flights separately on Southwest at a total cost of $391. The return nonstop flight was particularly impressive arriving 20 minutes early and crossing the country in 4 hours and 40 minutes! Price for that leg was $186. What jet lag?

I was elected captain of the toilet paper race team on one of the flights. These things just happen to me, I hear they don’t happen as often for other people.

While in town, I stayed at a very nice private home. The home was a short ride from the event and less than two blocks from hundreds of restaurants and bars on 21st and 23rd street in Portland. The owner left out an assortment of fruits, nuts coffee for me. My total tab for four nights in these deluxe accommodations $323 about $80 a night.

I got around the city just fine using a combination of my feet, UBER and Portland’s cool light rail system called Max. If I were just to go back 30 years to 1985, many of my travel habits today would be completely unrecognizable. I’m not talking about flying cars or high-speed magnetic rail trains. Some might have predicted those back then if you asked them to describe the future of travel. [Read more…] about The completely new face of travel. High-speed travel hacking and toilet paper races.