Category: Travel

  • My Social Media Event Toolbox

    social-media-toolbox

    Tonight I am packing for NYWC and I thought it’d be cool to capture a gear list. People see me running around and doing a lot of stuff, here is the equipment that makes it all happen.

    – Panasonic HD video camera (podcast footage)

    – Panasonic hand held camcorder (I take 2 of these, use them for daily recap videos)

    – Flip camera (for quick stuff I take from Big Room to Facebook, love it)

    – iPhone (all around communication device. Digital camera, calendar, Twitter machine, Facebook status updates, Mobile Flickr posts)

    – Nikon D60 (only one is pictured but I take two, plus about five 4 gig SD cards. Light and reliable, these are workhorse cameras for me)

    – Lenses (Standard lens, 300 for close-ups and Big Room stuff, wide angle to capture the bigness of some stuff)

    – Camera bag (You won’t see me without this at NYWC. It carries a lot of gear and lenses)

    – Wireless mics (for big video camera)

    – Mixer (for postgame show)

    – Portable hard drive (Hey, I capture a lot of media!)

    – Macbook Pro (Onsite I use web apps mostly, but I also use CS4, Final Cut, iMovie, iPhoto)

    – iPod headphones (Carry 2 sets, they are cheap so if I lose them its no big deal)

    – Media card reader (Carry 2 of these, you never know when someone will hand you a weird media card)

    – Mac display adapters (Got one of each variety– I’m handy like that for my friends)

    – Power cables galore (Convention handbook says you will always find me near an electrical outlet, it’s true! While I pictured one of everything I actually bring one for my bag and one for my room of almost every cable I use)

    – USB, Firewire, RCA, Minijack cables (I bring about 10 varieties, cheaper to carry them than buy them)

    – Business cards (Shoot video/pictures with someone, hand ’em a card)

    – Batteries (Mostly 9v and AA, this picture reminds me I need to stock up on AA)

    – Extra battery packs (I have a spare battery for everything, except my Macbook which lasts exceptionally long)

    There’s actually a lot not pictured here that I use a lot, as well. But this is the stuff I carry with me almost all the time. In addition to this I have lighting, tripods, more electrical stuff… and three full time volunteers!

    Seem excessive? 4 video cameras, 3 digital cameras, enough microphones to hold a press conference… Spend a couple hours with me and you’ll see that I use it all. I work my gear like my golf bag. I play ’em all.

  • Unplugged in San Fransisco

    streetcar-san-fransisco

    It’s been a long time since Kristen and I have snuck away for a little break. In fact, I’m pretty sure that this is our first night away from the kids since our trip to Washington aboard the Catalyst. I guess technically we were here in San Diego without kids for 3-4 days last year… but selling a business and quitting your job is hardly a romantic getaway.

    All that to say, Friday morning Kristen and I are flying of to San Fransisco for a quick trip. We’re taking the kids to school then heading to the airport. Some friends from work were kind enough to watch the kids… and I’m sure they will have a blast. But for the next 30 hours or so Kristen and I will be goofy tourists. We are staying at a swanky hotel, eating at fancy restaurants, riding trolley’s, finding the super curvy road, gawking at the locals… and taking enough pictures to make a bus full of Japanese tourists gasp.

    We’ll be back Saturday night. Until then, I bid yea adeiu.

  • Welcome Home!

    The folks at Improv Everywhere are amazing. This is awesome. This is a great study in group dynamics.

    Welcome Back from ImprovEverywhere on Vimeo.

  • Take me home

    There is no glamor in business travel. I would never want anyone to think that I don’t genuinely love my job or meeting so many cool people, because I totally do. And I am always fully aware that a ton of people would die to do what I do every day… God continues to grant me undeserved favor. Yet, there is nothing quite as wonderful as knowing that today is the day I am going home.

    Home.

    Romeo people will jump on that. It is true, San Diego is now where I think of as home. Forget that idea that “home is where you hang your hat.” Well, it is true if by hat you mean my wife and kids! It’s not like I hung Kristen, Megan, and Paul on a hook and they just chill at the house waiting for me to come back. They are home doing stuff while I’m away… doing really fun stuff like going to the zoo, or a museum, or taking the dog to the vet. Their life doesn’t stop… it just carries on without me.

    Another thing about going home is that I need to take care of stuff. I’m sure hard core business travelers are better at this than I am. But when I’m away I always forget to pay my bills! While I think that is funny, something tells me that there are some companies kind of wishing I would send them some money.

    So, in just a couple hours I head back to Midway and fly home. Loved Chicago. Loved Planet Wisdom. Ready to get 10 days at home before Pittsburgh.

  • My kind of town

    In the morning I am headed to one of my favorite places on the planet, Chicago. Cathy and I are headed out to the Windy City for a few days to check out the kickoff of the Planet Wisdom Tour. I’ve always wanted to go yet they never quite made it far enough to take my group from Romeo.

    While I’m not going to blog the tour, you can rest assured that I will share my thoughts about YS’s new student event.

    Of course Chicago has a soft spot in my heart. Kristen and I met there. We went to college there. We started our family there. Our time in ministry began there. Much of who Kristen and I are today began in Chicago, so I greatly look forward to any time I can get there.

  • The next few weeks

    ahhhh!
    ahhhh!

    My fall travel season has arrived. When I took my job at YS I knew that this time of year would happen. In fact, one of the reasons why there are some really soft times in my year-round schedule is to make up for this time of year. Here’s the rundown, pray for Kristen and I.

    October 9-13, NYWC Sacramento. Live blogging the convention and overseeing the smoking YMX booth at all three locations.

    October 16-19, Planet Wisdom Chicago. No official role, but I’ve never been to one and I really need to grasp what goes on.

    October 30-November 3, NYWC Pittsburgh. Same as Sacramento.

    November 20-24, NYWC Nashville. Same as Pitt & Sacramento.

    OK, so now that I wrote it out like this it doesn’t look that bad again. I think the stress comes from realizing I’ll be gone for about 2 weeks straight starting this week.

    By the way, I’m totally looking forward to being on site at these events. It’s going to be super awesome fun exhaustion encouragement time.

  • Travels with Stoney: Day Two


    This takes us from Southern Illinois to Tulsa, Oklahoma. Much more to come!