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May 30, 2005

Aon's world threat maps

Need to know where the world's terrorist hot spots are? Check out Aon's 2005 Terrorist Risk Map (brief registration required).

From the press release:

This year 31 countries have received higher terrorism risk ratings than last year, almost half (48%) of which are in Western Europe. Among these, the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium and Denmark have all been marked as higher risk because of increased Islamic extremist activity. The most recent manifestation of this was the murder of filmmaker Theo Van Gogh in November 2004 by a Dutch Moroccan Islamic extremist.

You can also check out the 2005 Risks in Global Filmmaking map (no registration required).

Posted by Beau Gunderson at 3:01 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Chris Scott's Adventure Motorcycling Handbook

The Adventure Motorcycling Handbook is a ridiculously great book. The advice in this book will save you enough time to write your own. If you are looking to travel extensively by motorcycle then you need this book somewhere in your panniers. The books three parts (practicalities, continental route outlines, and tales from the saddle) are all well-researched and written with a focus on real life and situations that most riders will encounter many times throughout their trip.

There is a companion website, adventure-motorcycling.com, but it appears to be down at the moment. I will update this blog when it comes back online. In the meantime you can check out an archived version courtesy of the Wayback Machine, a great resource for finding information Google tells you exists but just isn't there anymore.

Posted by Beau Gunderson at 2:10 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

May 27, 2005

Let the electrons roll

For the serious road tripper or adventurer power is a commodity that's usually constantly available (in your car, for instance) but seldom in a format that you can use easily. I-Hacked comes through with another howto, this time showing you how to add two 110 volt AC-style wall plugins into your car. Now you can heat up Pop-Tarts in your car via a dash-mounted toaster. Road tripping has never been more comfortable.

Check out the whole guide for more pictures.

Posted by Beau Gunderson at 10:26 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Odometer not spinning fast enough?

Just purchased a Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R and need a little more power to tear across Uzbekistan or outrun gunfire in Iraq? I-Hacked gets it done quick and easy:

The 05 has an exhaust valve to control the flow of exhaust to get the most power possible. However, on US/CDN models they have a thing in there to adjust the valve at high RPMs to decrease the noise, due to US noise regulations. By adjusting this valve we will hopefully give the bike 10-13hp gains on the top end.

Posted by Beau Gunderson at 9:56 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

May 26, 2005

Transom Tools: Resources for audio fieldwork

Transom.org bills itself as a "showcase and workshop for new public radio". Their Transom Tools section contains a wealth of information for those travelers who would like to create content from their travels to use in movies, for radio, or for their own personal enjoyment. For example, Tom Lopez' Remote Recording Survival Guide is full of tips for recording in locations that pose unique problems.

Take, say, Brazilian tarantulas for example:

So there I am in total blackness, scared almost senseless, and suddenly something drops out of the jungle canopy above me and Whomp! lands right on my back. Now I've seen those tarantulas they have in Brazil, they're as big as your face, and that's what I'm certain just fell on my back, something big and soft and filled with blood and looking for more ... and I think it's crawling up my back. I go, "Woo!" and hop and whack at my back, and luckily my hand doesn't hit anything. But that's it for me! I can't see the mikes or stands, but I find them by yanking on the cords ... I scoop up everything in my arms, my feet feeling their way along the path, as I stumble out of there. I'm laughing hysterically all the way.

So, kids, remember, even if it's bright daylight, always carry a trusty light. Be prepared. You may not live to regret it.

Posted by Beau Gunderson at 11:38 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Travel Tron

Ever wanted to play Tron in the real world against other human opponents? Ever wanted to do it without using a joystick? How about globally, using cars, planes and your own feet?

If so, GPS::Tron is for you.

In GPS::Tron, using your cell phone and a GPS, you can play anywhere in the world in an simulation of the classic "light cycle" race. The object of the game is the same as in the movie: As you move around in the real world, an electric wall is left in your wake. The goal is to wall your opponent in so that he has nowhere left to go. He crashes, you win.

Here's the word from the site:

If a player runs 200 meters straight forward in the real world, the mobile phone's display shows about a 1cm long line. If he moves right, also the track on the phone is drawn in the right direction. Because the players of GPS::Tron have to be mobile to be able to play it, the game itself has to work on a device that is small and habile enough to be carried around. For this reason, GPS::Tron has been written for mobile phones--it currently works on all Nokia 7650/3650/6600 and Siemens SX1 phones. For the calculation of the actual position, the player also needs a GPS receiver, which sends the current position via bluetooth to the the mobile phone.

[I can't wait to see a game of this played by people on opposite sides of the globe, or a game where distance traveled has to be incredibly long, spanning entire countries before the game is finished. Will GPS games never cease to amuse? -ed.]

[Via wmmna]

Posted by Beau Gunderson at 3:39 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

May 25, 2005

Heading to California? Check earthquake predictions at the USGS

The USGS recently unveiled a program that makes predictions about earthquake shaking in California. The program is designed to increase earthquake awareness and preparedness. The site has maps of California, updated daily, which predict the probability of shaking within the next 24 hours. While not claiming the ability to predict the future, they do state the following:

Neither the USGS nor Caltech nor any other scientists have ever predicted a major earthquake. They do not know how, and they do not expect to know how any time in the foreseeable future. However based on scientific data, probabilities can be calculated for potential future earthquakes. For example, scientists estimate that over the next 30 years the probability of a major [earthquake] occurring in the San Francisco Bay area is 67% and 60% in Southern California.

[You can also see current Pacific tsunami advisories. -ed.]

Posted by Beau Gunderson at 9:17 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

May 24, 2005

Kevin Kelly's Asia Grace

Kevin Kelly is an amazing man and will be featured in an upcoming traveler profile entry in this blog. His book, Asia Grace, is published by Taschen and is 320 pages of full-color photographs without any accompanying text. The pictures are beautiful and stand up on their own merits, but when you learn that the author was backpacking and carrying 500 rolls of film with him at a time you begin to see how amazing the story behind the book is.

Kevin details how the book was produced in the production notes; here is an excerpt:

My method of shooting was simple: smile, shoot first, ask questions later. It seemed to work. I spent enormous amounts of time hanging around places waiting for something to happen. Sometimes it did, often it didn't. Further years were spent in the back of local buses waiting to leave. I learned a lot, but the truth is, a lot of what I photographed I have only a vague notion of what was really going on. Asia is complex, infinitely deep, and I was just a kid with a camera. I slept in local inns; I ate whatever was being served, and yes, I drank the water anywhere the natives did. I got sick only once, in Katmandu - hepatitis A.

In addition to the book there is a website where you can view all the pictures from the book with Kevin's description of each. The site is also setup to allow visitors to share information about pictures that Kevin may not know much about, an idea that is quite obvious but rarely executed as well as it is here.

Posted by Beau Gunderson at 6:01 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

May 23, 2005

Welcome!

Treknologies is a blog about technologies and techniques that make travelling easier. The idea is comparable to that of Gizmodo, which features new technology indiscriminately, and Kevin Kelly's Cool Tools, which features tools that Mr. Kelly thinks are useful.

Our focus is on technologies like GPS, portable computers, cameras and techniques for using them in a photojournalistic capacity, travel writing, and the like. Stay tuned for product reviews, lists of essential resources, travel news, and highlights from the world of travel.

Posted by Beau Gunderson at 12:03 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack