Over the past couple of months there have been talks as to what country I will be going to for my trip with Kaleo. About two months ago it was decided that I would go to Columbia, more specifically the Bogota area. I will be heading out there in mid-March with a team of 9 to help teach camp leaders from around the area how to do things differently in their camping experiences. 

The main purposes for my trip is document what goes on, on these trips. How will I do this? With my camera of course! I will be heading down with all of my equipment, including my G9. For this type of assignment I am really excited to finally get in some real travel time with the equipment and the ability to capture a different culture. 

The pre-trip planning has already started and that basically includes learning Spanish, understanding Columbian culture and history and prepping for all the teaching workshops. We will be down in Columbia for roughly a week, if not just over a week, so we will have a chance to do a bit of the touristy thing. Maybe I’ll find something really nifty down there!  

It’s already 1/2 over. My Christmas vacation is now down to one more week. It has been a really good rest so far, basically doing nothing for the past week except picking up some new computer equipment. Ever since my WD Passport HD died I haven’t had a bootable backup of my MacBook Pro system for about 3 months, so I picked up an IOMEGA eGo HD. I have to admit, this is an amazingly well built portable hard-drive. Built in some solid metal construction with extra cushioning on the inside for drop resistance.

Another piece of my arsenal is the Logitech MX Revolution, possibly the best mouse on the market. This sucker (that is a technical term) is so comfortable to handle it’s like there isn’t even a mouse in your hand. If you are looking for a great mouse, head to Costco right now and pick up the Logitech MX Revolution, it’s cheap at $79.99 compared to other stores at $129.99.

In other news, I did get my 30D back. Purolator had for some reason completely messed up my order. Getting the address correct but shipping it to the complete wrong location, without requiring a signature or ID. In contrast, when I picked it up from the depot they asked for photo ID. Which shocked me since they didn’t even ask when they delivered it in the past trips…After all this, I am not happy with Purolator.

Now to get on with my holidays.

Merry Christmas!

Well today was the day that I spent some time to try and track down this shipment of mine from Canon. To my surprise it has been shipped all over Alberta in an attempt to get it to me. Here is the screenshot of the packages adventure…

Tomorrow I go to pick it up at a random location in Red Deer, I just hope the packaging is in decent condition, or I’ll be asking for them to pay for it all.

The story of the lost 30D continues…

Over the past couple of months I have seen my Macbook Pro’s battery deteriorate to the point of only have 20 minutes of battery life. As well I have seen my power adapter start to fall apart. This has been on my To-Do list for a long time, for things to get fixed.

Well I finally called up Apple today to see if I can warranty these under my extended Applecare. After waiting for over 40 minutes on the phone just to talk to someone, I was pleasantly surprised when I found out that I could get my battery and my power adapter replaced, no questions asked.

A big kudos to the great staff at the Applecare hotline and for the quick and efficient help they were to me. I will soon have a new battery and power adapter.

Now to see where Canon lost my 30D…Stay tuned for that story.

Well with the recent holiday season approaching it means that my holiday break is coming up, oh wait, it’s here now! That’s right, I am on my Christmas Break and am on vacation now. So you probably won’t see very much happening here, or maybe you will, since I have lots of time to spare to blog about things.

To tide some of you over, here are some pics from the Airplane taken with my trusty G9…

Ever experience an environment for so long that the slightest change will create a completely different atmosphere? That is exactly what happened here yesterday at Qwanoes. There was a large snow storm that went through the area and dumped 6″+ of snow.

The students and staff loved it so much. The snow was perfect for snowball fights and ski/snowboard jumps. We were pretty much having a snowball fight all evening (my arm is very sore today).

The snow added a great atmosphere for pictures in the late evening when the snow calmed down and the stars started to come out. With the lights reflecting off the snow, it made it almost dream like. Here’s a quick shot of what I got, you can find more here.