Two Years

It's been two years since my move out west.

I'd be lying if I said it has been all peachy
but I can say that
I've been there, and done that...

and that's a pretty good start.

Keep an eye on your camera

Keep an eye on your camera... and your lens!

Orcas Trapped in Ice

Here's some amazing footage of the dozen killer whales trapped in the ice about 30 kilometres off the coast of Inukjuak, Quebec.

If the reports are true, then there is a happy ending to this story.
The killer whales reportedly reached more open waters in Hudson Bay thanks to overnight winds that shifted the ice.

The Future of Polar Bear Tours?

Is The Polar Bear Family & Me shedding light on the future of polar bear tours in the Arctic?

Good bye group buses, hello individual perspex cages!

The Most Dangerous Risk of All

Big Brother is Watching

Security cameras are almost everywhere nowadays.

Sometimes, they catch something a little different!

A Manifesto Worth Living

The Holstee Manifesto is one I'll be following...

It's so true.

Some opportunities only come once, seize them.  No matter what.

Stop over analyzing.

Accept that you can't control absolutely everything.

Let past mistakes go.

Live life with no more regrets.

TEDx and the Power of Sharing Ideas

If you share a passion for ideas or are simply looking for inspiration, you have to attend a TEDx event like I did last weekend.

What is TEDx?

In the spirit of Ideas Worth Spreading, TED has created a program called TEDx, a program of local, self-organized events that brings people together to share a TED-like experience.

So who's TED?

TED isn't a person. TED is a nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading. It started out as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, Design. Since then its scope has become ever broader. Along with two annual conferences -- the TED Conference in Long Beach and Palm Springs each spring, and the TEDGlobal conference in Edinburgh UK each summer -- TED includes the award-winning TEDTalks video site, the Open Translation Project and TED Conversations, the inspiring TED Fellows and TEDx programs, and the annual TED Prize.

Still confused?

Perhaps, watching a TED Talk video will flesh it all out...

still not convinced?

When you attend a TED event, not only do you get to listen to incredible ideas and inspirational stories but you also have the opportunity to discuss your own with like minded individuals.

The fact that TEDxVictoria was sold out and included so many youth, gives me faith that our future is in good hands.

TED is a great start at inspiring the masses and starting the conversation but how do we turn those ideas and inspirations into reality?

This is where I hope the Hub comes into the picture.

The Hub identifies itself as a social enterprise with the ambition to inspire and support imaginative and enterprising initiatives for a better world. The Hub is a global community of people from every profession, background and culture working at 'new frontiers' to tackle the world's most pressing social, cultural and environmental challenges. It believes that there is no absence of good ideas in the world.  Couldn't agree more!

The Hub believes the problem is a crisis of access, scale, resources and impact. So it felt vital to create places around the world for accessing space, resources, connections, knowledge, experience and investment. The Hub has been working across five continents to create places for people who change things. This is the ambition. The Hub set out to create places that borrow from the best of a member's club, an innovation agency, a serviced office and a think-tank to create a very different kind of innovation environment. Places with all the tools and trimmings needed to grow and develop new ventures. Places to access experience, knowledge, finance and markets. And above all, places for experience and encounter, full of diverse people doing amazing things. These places are called Hubs, and Hub Ottawa is set to open very soon.

Hopefully word gets out on initiatives like TED and Hubs, and we turn more great ideas and thoughts into reality.

Packing for South America

So I've started preparing for my one-month trip to South America and here's what I've currently got on the list of things to bring along:

- Money Belt

- Money Leg Stash

- Whistle (when I get separated from my friends)

- Headlamp (for hands-free accessibility in the dark)

- Keychain LED Lights (when a headlamp would be overkill)

- Sunglasses

- Second Pair of Eyeglasses (just in case)

- Lens Cleaning Cloth

- Rechargeable Batteries (AA and AAA)

- Camera

- Camera Memory Cards and Accessories

- Battery Chargers (so I can charge multiple sets at the same time)
- Joby Camera Tripod

- Power Plug Adapter (for Bolivia)

- Silica Gel Packs (to theoretically suck up moisture in the camera bag)
- Mosquito Head Net (just in case the bugs start driving me insane)

- Hooded Poncho (in case there's an unexpected deluge and I don't have my raingear handy)

- Stretch Utility Straps (so snakes don't go up my legs)
- Elastic bands

- Digital Watch

- Combination Locks (one to lock belongings left behind at the base hostel and another one for the road)

- Spanish Phrase Book

- Medic Alert Neck Chain (with English / Spanish notices of my penicillin allergy)

- Emergency Blanket (just in case it's freezing cold at night in the desert)

- Water Bottles (1.5L and 1L)

- Aquatabs Water Purification Tablets (100 1L tablets)

- Pocket Knife  
- Swiss Army Knife 

- Carabiners (to hang stuff off my pack)

- Plastic Fork

- Plastic Spork

- Plastic Knife
- Plastic Spoon

- Duct Tape

- Clothesline (a.k.a. grass trimmer line)

- Ear Plugs (for noisy hostels and buses)

- Stereo Earbuds (to listen to movies on the plane)

- Twist-ties (to tie together zippers to make pack accessibility a tiny bit more difficult to curious fingers)

- Compressible Pillow (my luxury item)

- Fast-Drying Towel

- Facecloth

- Bandanas (serve multiple uses)

- Clif Builder's Protein Bars and Granola Bars (to keep me energized during the long flight and airport stayover)

- Sealable Plastic Containers (2)

- Thick Needle and Strong Thread (in case a pack needs to be stitched back up)

- Sunscreen (Scent-free SPF 60 and SPF 50)
- Don't Bite Me Patches
- Watkins Insect Repellent Lotion (28.5% DEET; in case the patches don't work) 
- Extra Soft Moleskin Padding Roll (to keep blisters away)

- Q-tips

- Kleenex

- Toilet Paper (1 Roll for the Amazon as suggested by the tour operator)

- Sanitizing Wipes

- Hand Sanitizer

- Disposable Razor (in case my beard starts driving me crazy)

- Antiperspirant
- Bodywash

- Toothbrush

- Toothpaste

- Tooth Floss

- SPF 15 Lip Balm

- Zip Lock Bags

- Plastic Shopping Bags

- Laundry Bag

- Notebook

- Pens / Pencils

- Backpack (70L)

- Raincover / Airport Bag (to protect my pack from airport conveyor belts)

- Small Backpack (for day-trips)

Medical Kit:

- 1 Glove

- 2 Gauze Bandages (7.5cm x 5m)

- 12 Sterile Non-woven Pads (5cm x 5cm)

- Waterproof Adhesive Tape

- 6 Blister Cushions

- 10 Heavy-Duty Fabric Band-Aids

- 10 Large Water Block Plus Band-Aids

- 15 Finger-Care Tough-Strips Band-Aids

- 20 Waterproof Adhesive Bandages

- 1 Fabric Bandage Wrap

- 1 Tube of Polysporin Complete (30g)

- Polysporin Eye and Ear Drops (10mL)

- New-Skin Liquid Bandage (10mL)

- AfterBite (14mL)

- Scissors

- Cuticle Scissors

- Pointed Tip Tweezers

- Tweezers

- Benadryl Allergy Elixir (100mL)

- Imodium Quick-Dissolve Loperamide Hydrochloride Tablets (20 tablets) for rapid relief of diarrhea

- Extra Strength Acetaminophen (20 gelcaps) to rapidly relieve headaches, fever and pain

- Extra Strength Allergy Sinus Medication (24 caplets) to relieve runny nose, sneezing, itchy and watery eyes, sinus pain and pressure

- Extra Strength Cough, Cold and Flu Daytime Non-Drowsy (10 caplets)

- Extra Strength Cough, Cold and Flu Nighttime (10 caplets)
- Extra-Strength, Non-Drowsy Reactine for 24 hour allergy relief

- Prescriptions

And this is what most of it looks like before it's all packed...

Besides the obvious clothing, footwear, tickets, passport stuff, what did I forget?

So it begins...

First off, welcome to my travel blog!

While I have always dreamed of traveling the world, I always found excuses not to go anywhere too far, be it school, work, finances, not being able to find travel companions, or simply not knowing what opportunities are out there.  Heck, I didn't even know "Round The World" tickets existed until a year ago!

But recently my whole outlook on life changed and I'm now no longer willing to waste my time waiting for the opportune time to come along. Life's too short for that!

Anyways, enough about that.  My intent for this blog is to document my journeys around the world and possibly help my fellow travelers explore the possibilities our planet has to offer so I encourage you to bookmark this site or better yet, subscribe to the RSS Feed to never miss a post.

Please feel free to explore this blog at your leisure.

Thanks for dropping by and please come again!


Cheers,
Mike