For the last 10 months I've been tied to the hip with my 24" iMac. In retrospect, I think this is one of the best purchases I've ever made. Crystal clear screen quality, fast and just plain beautiful. But I'm soon to be on the road and I need to go light.

I'm now fully online with the 13.1" Macbook. It's the mid 2009 model so it still has the firewire port and has a 2.13 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor. It only had 2Gb Ram, but I've I made an upgrade to 6Gb with a purchase from OWC. Its small size fits great in the Asolo Daypack I mentioned in a previous post.

I had two main concerns with this macbook. First, is the screen too small to work on photos and videos? I'll mostly be working with photos so it should be fine. I don't think I'll be doing many videos at this point so it shouldn't be an issue.

Second, can I do my day job from an Apple computer? I normally use a PC during the day and Apple by night. I assume batman has the same setup. I uploaded all of my work software and have been sailing smooth for the last week. Given, there are productivity issues. But in time I should be more fluent with the new keyboard shortcuts.

If you're in the market to buy a new Mac I strongly recommend reading the Mac Performance Guide. There are great tips on how to buy a standard Mac and make your own upgrades. It not as difficult as you may think and much more affordable than buying brand new.

Is the 13.1" Macbook big enough? Absolutely. If you're still using a PC. Switch now. Do it.

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How do you keep your things dry and organized? Welcome to the world of the LOKSAK. Basically they are the same as your everyday Glade Ziplock bags that you find in your kitchen. But these little gems are airtight and waterproof up to 60 meters. I'm pretty sure my bags won't be under the sea at 200 feet, but its nice to know that in the monsoon rains of Asia, the gear in my bag is safely stowed away.

As you can see in the photo, I'm going to be using it for both clothing and small electronics. My external hard drive, cables and other small gadgets will have their own safe place. On top of being waterproof, I now have an organized backpack. I can easily find things and don't have to turn my sack inside out to look for things.

The best part is that a pack including a large, medium, small and extra small only costs about $10 CAD at your local Mountain Equipment Coop (MEC). Head down and check them out for yourself. They usually have samples out that you can try.

Check out the wrinkle test by Rollan. Click Here

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Close to a week ago I received my new Home in the mail. No more comfy 1 bedroom apartment for me. Those days are soon to be over. At the end of this month I will be moving into 1 room of a 3 bedroom apartment with a close friend. I've decided to move into the new accommodations for a couple months in order to save a few bucks before I leave on my nomadic adventure.

Soon everything I own will be stuffed into the Asolo Wayfarer 50 backpack. I can't believe how much research went into buying a backpack but considering I'm going to be living out of it for the next 6 months (hopefully more) it needs to be ideal for my needs. Otherwise I'll be annoyed in a matter of weeks.

I ended up getting the Asolo backpack as recommended by my travel partner Rollan. The main compartment is quite large, but small enough to be carried onto the plane. There is a detachable daypack which will come in very handy as we are both photographers. The larger pack can stay at the hotel and the smaller pack can come with us during our day adventures. The smaller pack is also just big enough to fit my new macbook.

Another important feature of the main pack is the entry method. Unlike a lot of bags, the large pack lays flat and is unzipped. This is much easier to work with than a bag that opens at the top only. I personally hate having to look for stuff in a 'top open' style bag because you end up having to take everything out to find something. This way you lay the pack down, unzip, take out what you need and re-zip.

There was only one problem with the pack. The zippers are made out of cord. Very poor design flaw when it comes to security. Sure you can put a lock on it but it would be so easy to just cut the cord. I did a little backpack surgery and took the zipper tabs from my rolling luggage which i won't be using and made a switch. Now my bag can be locked with peace of mind.

I did a quick pack test to see how much room I have to play with. Turns out I have too much stuff to bring. I need to rethink what I'm bringing. Once I figure it out I'll write a post and show you what I'm take on with me.

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