IntrepidXJ's Adventure Blog

Almost exactly a year ago, I received my first SPOT Messenger. Today during my lunch break, I headed to REI and purchased the new SPOT II Satellite GPS Messenger. Spot is offering a rebate to existing customers to upgrade to the new device and extend their service for another year, so I figured since I would be renewing my service anyway, I may as well get the new device for a discounted price 😉

The new SPOT offers a better GPS chipset than the previous model and has some extra buttons which makes it easier to use. I also like the fact that the SOS and Help buttons are covered so that you can’t accidentally press them. The smaller size is also nice, too. With spring finally arriving here in Western Colorado, I’m sure I’ll be heading out in the Jeep and using the new SPOT pretty regularly.

If you want to know more about the new SPOT, check out their website here.

My photos are very important to me. I would be devastated if I lost them to a hard drive failure. Up until now I have been lucky that I have not lost any, as I have not done a great job of backing them up.

I finally decided it was time to get a backup solution that is easy to use and will help me keep my photos organized. I decided that an external RAID 1 (mirrored) hard drive solution would be my best bet. After looking at building my own solution, I found that Western Digital had a better option that was cheaper and easier.

I ended up picking up the MyBook Mirror Edition in 2TB (only 1TB of storage since the other drive is just a mirror). Now to get started transferring over my photos and other important files 🙂

Well, because of the price drop last week, I finally decided to pickup a Playstation 3. I was looking into getting the new ‘Slim’ but really preferred the style of the old system, so that’s what I ended up getting.

While there are a few games I am interested in, my biggest reasons for picking up the PS3 are so that I can use it as a media hub for my living room….plus I needed a blue-ray player anyways 😉

I finally gave into temptation and went after work to get myself an iPhone 3GS. This will be my first iPhone and so far I like it 🙂 I ended up getting the black 16GB model.

I picked up a JetBoil PCS today, just in time for our Moab trip this weekend. We were looking for a quick and easy way to make some meals when we were out camping (especially for a trip I am planning in August….more on that in the future). Plus, it’s an easy way for us to make some hot chocolate out in the field (neither of us drinks coffee).

I really liked the small size and the fact that everything fits nicely inside the cup. It also is supposed to boil water very fast. I guess we ill find out this weekend when we are able to test it in the field 😉

Setup

Packed up