After doing some math this past week, we calculated that we could save about $20 per month by changing our internet and telephone services now instead of waiting a few months when we leave for wherever we head first.

I went ahead and signed up for Verizon’s BroadbandAccess service because even though I receive “only” 5GB of transfer, it’s $22 cheaper than what I’m paying for internet right now. We’re also going to cancel our cable T.V. because, frankly, the girls, Maddy especially, just watch too much “educational” programming that annoys the crap out of Hannah and me. Ever since Maddy figured out the remote, its been a battle. So, instead of prolonging this battle, we’ve decided to eliminate the battlefield altogether. Bye-bye cable T.V. Good riddance.

Hannah and I have switched to cell phones sharing 700 minutes, way more than we currently use on our current VOIP phone (which we couldn’t keep anyway since we’re getting rid of cable internet). Well, to be more accurate, we use more than 700 minutes, but most of the people we call all have Verizon cell phones, which, under our new plan would be free calls. I went through the last six months of our phone records and removed all calls to our parents and others we know who have Verizon phones and figured all other calls equal about 350-450 minutes. We concluded that the odds of us using more than 700 minutes was slim, and were able to justify getting the two phones.

In the end, we end up with about a $20 difference in our favor. Not a whole lot, but, hey, $20 is $20.

For internet, I decided not to incur an expense buying an ExpressCard wireless modem when Verizon offered some highly-rated USB models for free with the contract that I was going to have to sign up for anyway. I opted for the Novatel Wireless USB727. It was very easy to setup and within three minutes, I disable the AirPort in my MacBook Pro and surfing very quickly using the USB modem. And when I say fast, I mean FAST. I was getting consistent download speeds approaching 2.0mbps. Upload was about 600-700kbps which I was very happy with. I know that speed will not be consitent across the country, but I would be happy just to have half, or even a quarter, of those speeds. All in all I think I made the right decision.

As for phones, Hannah and I have completely different tastes. Here’s the phones we got; can you guess which one is mine?

Hmmm…

Anyway, enough with the boring technical post. When we get going I’m going to start a separate Tech Travel blog where I wax eloquent about all my gadgets.

Tomorrow morning we are heading to the Midwest RV Supershow and Rally in Goshen, Indiana. This is our first RV show and we are very excited. The local dealerships we’ve visited so far have had a handful of RVs to look at and browse, so this is the first time we’ll get to see a wide range of floor models and features.

We decided not to “rough it” by staying in a tent at a local campground, mainly because we’re only staying one night. Just too much work to stay the night somewhere. And rather than stay in a hotel for $80-90, we got a cabin at an “Amish campground” in a nearby town for $45. The girls are looking forward to it because the cabin has a bunk bed for them. Hannah and I are looking forward to it because it has central air and we won’t have to mess with setting up and tearing down a campsite.

So anywya, right now, instead of sleeping like I should be, I’m up going through my pre-trip routine: making sure all my gadgets are charged. I really, really need to get a charging station. Right now I have two iPods, a cell phone, a Bluetooth headset, two cameras and a laptop charging. I’m such a nerd.

Well, not blogging, but I do get paid to work on my computer from home. A few months ago, I started dabbling in online freelance work on a couple of the big freelance sites, Guru.com and Elance.com. I upgraded my membership on Guru.com so I could bid more aggressively and hoped to get a job or two out of it. The upgrade cost $80 for three months, so I figured the odds were in my favor I could make back the $80 within three months.

Then my “real world” job fell apart (long story) and I went the freelance route full-throttle. In less than a week I had secured three projects that combined paid more than my “real” job had. Needless to say, I made my $80 back. That’s also about the time our RV dreams began to flourish.

Yesterday, we bit the bullet and signed a cell phone contract with Verizon, for no other reason than have portable EVDO (Evolution Data Optimized) Internet access. We’re starting with just a phone, but in a couple months we’ll be adding an EVDO ExpressCard to our account which will give us speedy internet just about anywhere we can get a Verizon signal, which is most of the U.S. Speeds in digital coverage areas are faster than DSL and are rapidly approaching the speeds of cable internet. Couple with an EVDO router, we will have a portable WiFi zone wherever we go for just $60 a month.

$60 a month! To have internet wherever we can get a cellular signal. This was unheard of just a few years ago, and without these kinds of advances in technology and drastic reductions in the prices for mobile broadband, our Unending Adventure would not be possible.

Ok, new computer came yesterday and, drumroll, I love it. There are some tasks that I am convinced that is does better than my desktop could. In fact, Adobe InDesign and Photoshop are much more responsive on my new laptop.

There’s one thing that is going to take some getting used to. Storage.

This is the first time since I’ve owned a computer that my main machine is a laptop. I’m not used to having a “measily” 250GB drive to work with. In my last three desktops, I always had at least 1TB of storage and in my Mac Pro I had 2TB. Now, I have 250GB to work with and I’m using that up very quickly. That 250GB drive actually dwindles down to 233GB after formatting. I have a 32GB partition set aside for running Windows (I’m giving Vista SP1 a shot), leaving me just 200GB for my main Mac HD. It’s a tight fit. FInal Cut Pro Studio 2 takes up about 40GB, the fulle Adobe CS3 Premium takes up something like 33. Microsoft Office comes in around 15GB, and all of Apple’s iLife and iWork apps chime in with another 10-15GB. And these all have to be installed before I can really consider my computer “useful.”

Oh, and our family iPhoto library is 25GB. My iTunes collection is about 90GB, but I keep it on an external drive and hook it up when I need to sync new stuff to my iPod.

So after getting everything installed, the amount of usable internal disk space I have is… 81.3GB. Yikes. Still, though, that’s more than enough room to have several projects going at once.

Externally, I have a 1TB drive and a 320GB drive. The 320GB is my raw video drive that I dump my video camera’s hard drive to. I would like to be able to keep all raw footage I shoot, but that’s no possible because I simply don’t have the storge capacity or the money to upgrade my storage capacity. To that end, I usually delete all raw footage a few weeks a after a project is complete (just to make sure I don’t want to go back and change something).

Overall, the internal storage limitation is the only negative aspect of swithing from a desktop to a laptop, so far. There are many positives, not the least of which is that I am no longer confined to my home office when I want to work on something. I am a natural multitasker, so I am now able to sit in my recliner downstairs and work while still feeling like I am in contact with my family. My home office is nice, but its upstairs and away from all the action.

Most people are probably thinking, “Well, yeah, isn’t that the point of a home office?” It is, and that’s what I thought when I set it up. In reality though, I can’t stand it. I feel like I’m in a cave, locked away from my family. I just get antsy when I’m left alone to work. I can do it, but I’d much rather have the input of people around me, especially my family.

So I’m glad I’m downstairs working now. My kids are glad, too, and that doubly makes it the right decision.

Hannah and I have started to mentally put price tags on everything we own. Which isn’t hard. We live pretty meagerly compared to most. Not counting our SUV or my main computer, we can sell everything and maybe get $3,000. The rest is junky toys and kitchen stuff you’re lucky to get a buck or two for at yard sales. Virtually everything we own is a hand-me-down that people passed onto us because they got something better. (I was grateful to receive everything that’s been given to us, but I want to be in a position in our lives to be able to give new stuff to people who are in need.)

Still, though, all this is our stuff. Once we get rid of our couch, we won’t own a couch. Same for our fridge. No fridge. Nothing to keep our food cold.

Then, there’s my computer. My powerful, lovely, upgraded Mac Pro. Purchased in February of 2007 with our tax return, my Mac Pro was our second Mac computer after buying one of the original iMacs for Maddy to play educational games on (which by the way still runs better than most PCs I’ve used).

I love my Mac Pro. It can do anything I throw at and still have unused CPU cycles. It’s got two dual-core 64-bit Xeon processors, 5GB of RAM, 1.5TB of internal hard drive space, two DVD writers, one of which is Lightscribe. This things tears through video rendering like a warm knife through butter. I love this monster.

But I have to let go and downsize. That’s part of the adventure, going smaller, trimming down and teaching ourselves just how little we can live with. Last week I ordered a TB external hard drive to put all my video projects and stuff on. Today I finished transferring everything. The drive is almost full.

So now I’m going to inventory everything I have for this computer and sell it off on eBay or Craigslist (hopefully Craigslist to avoid shipping charges and eBay & PayPal fees). I’m downgrading to either a used MacBook Pro that I can still get an extended AppleCare warranty on or a MacBook.

I am leaning towards getting a MacBook just to come out with more cash in the end.

Anyway, that’s my computer story. I’m basically selling my third child. If anyone reading this is interested in it, don’t hesitate to contact me.