How Soccer Explains the World: An Unlikely Theory of Globalization
Author: Franklin Foer
Who knew you could learn so much about globalization, economics and politics from soccer? Great read.
Artist's Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity
Author: Julia Cameron
One possible path to re-discovering the creativity you never knew you had.
Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies, New Edition
Author: Jared Diamond
An admirable crack at explaining why the world is the way it is by way of an anthropological macro-history. This book probably comes up the most in conversation as we travel.
The Cathedral Within: Transforming Your Life by Giving Something Back
Author: Bill Shore
Inspiring profiles of social entrepreneurs and projects we all can learn from and hopefully replicate to give back to community.
Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game That Made a Nation
Author: John Carlin
Although the storyline is built around the South African rugby team and the 1995 World Cup, this book is more about Nelson Mandela and how he was able to unite a divided country. Inspiring.
Dark Star Safari: Overland from Cairo to Capetown
Author: Paul Theroux
The author re-visits Africa and re-assesses the place he once knew... and judges it once and for all. Well written, poignant observations of the thumbprints left by career politicians, aid workers, and everyday people.
Outliers: The Story of Success
Author: Malcolm Gladwell
A look at the internal and external factors of how extraordinary people got to be, well, extraordinary. One of those books that challenges assumptions and makes you think differently.
Shantaram: A Novel
Author: Gregory David Roberts
Administering first aid in a Bombay slum, selling fake passports and running guns to the Mujahideen in Afghanistan. Technically a novel, but closely linked to the Author's own experiences. Fantastic read.
This is a how-to review of CrashPlan, an online backup service that we’ve used extensively for the past year. The following article is not only about online backup for PC and Mac users with moderate amounts of data, but also about jump-starting higher volume data backup for travelers, digital nomads and data-creation junkies.
Filed Under: Technology by: Daniel Noll and Audrey Scott
16 Comments | 27 February 2012
Always be sure you can reach the important people in your life.
Our digital nomad lifestyle means that we work while we travel. Because of this, we are always looking for reliable, easy and inexpensive ways to keep in touch with clients and family.
If you use your iPhone or Android extensively (or you know someone working or traveling internationally who does), the Vonage Mobile app is worth downloading. Use it for free calls to any phone number in the U.S. and Canada in the short-term, and consider integrating the service into your communication toolset in the long-term as more users sign up for it.
Skip ahead to:
Filed Under: Technology by: Daniel Noll and Audrey Scott
25 Comments | 13 February 2012
Readers often question whether geotagging photos is worth the time and effort. Of course, this is a personal decision based on, among other considerations, the volume of photos you take, the number of locations you visit over a period of time, and the importance of knowing the precise location where a photo was taken. Oh, and whether you have a bit of geek in you, like we do.
The sunset view we enjoyed while drafting this article — in context.
Filed Under: Photography, Technology by: Audrey Scott
5 Comments | 22 January 2011
Do yourself the most mundane – yet valuable – of favors in the new year: back up your data.
If a hard drive has ever failed you, you’ll know the feeling. It’s like that scene in the horror movie when the victim, in the stroke of a nanosecond, realizes the peril. At that point, the knife is through the curtain and the damage is done. It’s all over.
And you’re asking yourself, “Why didn’t she just run when she had the chance?”
So why didn’t you back up your data when you had the chance? Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Technology, Travel Gear by: Daniel Noll
43 Comments | 7 January 2011
Since our around-the-world journey began in December 2006, we have geotagged virtually all our photos so we can display a map with each one in our travel photo gallery. We do this for our readers; we also do it for ourselves as a step-by-step diary and reminder of where we’ve been.
Filed Under: Photography, Technology by: Daniel Noll and Audrey Scott
9 Comments | 16 August 2010
We are well overdue for a smartphone that can work for us, instead of one that we struggle with for basic functionality. In other words, it’s time to enter the mainstream. And with that, we’d like your help, your opinion.
Mobile phone cookies in Kyrgyzstan. If only choosing a phone were as easy as eating one.
Filed Under: Technology by: Audrey Scott
33 Comments | 7 May 2010
We physically feel the weight of our equipment day in and day out. After settling down for a few days in northern Nicaragua recently, we unpacked and were visually reminded of it all, too.
Although the contents of our gadget bags haven’t changed drastically since we first shared the nuts and bolts of our digital nomadism, a few items have.
Here’s what’s new in our packs these days and why. Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Technology, Travel Gear by: Daniel Noll and Audrey Scott
19 Comments | 13 July 2009
Before setting off on our journey, I had never touched HTML, I had no idea what SEO (Search Engine Optimization) meant and my writing consisted mainly of reports to management on how to operate legally and efficiently in countries like Azerbaijan or Kazakhstan.
How things have changed in the last couple of years. I can now code basic HTML, I’m painfully aware of the relevance of SEO and I now write pieces that have nothing to do with operating legally in Farflungistan.
My world has also changed because of social media, virtual connections, and this thing called Twitter. Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Blogging, Technology by: Audrey Scott
8 Comments | 6 March 2009
Yesterday, our website was out for roughly 24 hours. Tragic? Certainly not. But maddening and disappointing it was.
If you attempted to visit yesterday, only to be rewarded with dead space and cryptic system messages, we apologize.
We thank Dreamhost, our website hosting provider, who in its infinite wisdom decided to schedule a move of our website in the middle of the day without informing us before throwing the kill switch. In a perfect storm of technical misfortune, our website move also coincided with a handful of other system-wide outages at Dreamhost. Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Blogging, Technology by: Daniel Noll and Audrey Scott
7 Comments | 18 February 2009
“How do you spend 24 hours a day together for two years and remain happily married…let alone sane?”
The answer to that oft-asked question is the stuff of a future blog series. In the meantime, I remind people, “It wasn’t always so.” There was a time when Dan and I were separated for 27 months. He was in San Francisco and I was in Estonia. And that was before Skype. Continue Reading »
Filed Under: Personal Growth, Technology by: Audrey Scott
16 Comments | 14 February 2009
