Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Trouble in Tech Town

Hey all! Thanks for tuning in for another installment of my trip blog. A quick update on fundraising. So Far I've secured a scholarship to help with the costs, but it is paid out the day I leave to Rwanda, so more of a reimbursement, but some money is better than no money! I've also raised $200 through my GoFundMe page. If you would like to donate you can click the link to the right ---->
Even if you can't donate, consider sharing my page with your family and friends on Facebook or Twitter. Every bit helps, even $5 can help me afford to go to Rwanda.

So my last post I shared my first tech purchase for the trip. My goal was to have a point of view camera for the more active parts of the trip to provide a different perspective. I decided to buy the Looxcie HD because it had similar specs as the Hero 3+ Black Edition, but was 1/2 the price and had good reviews. So in a couple of days I've gone through two of these cameras. The first one was very glitchy. It would randomly film upside down, have moments of pixilization, wouldn't update the firmware, sometimes didn't recognize the micro SD card, and ultimately stopped working. Amazon was kind enough to replace it and overnight me a new one. The new one wouldn't update and stopped recognizing the micro SD. At this point I finally got an email from Looxcie where the representative told me that they had a series of the devices shipped out with problems in the firmware. They were supposed to be pulled from the shelf and returned to Looxcie months ago. So in this case I blame both Amazon for not returning the defective devices and Looxcie for releasing items that have massive issues with the firmware that can't be fixed with an update. So both cameras are going back and Amazon is investigating the situation to try to remove all the defective devices. Amazon was very nice both times and is giving me every penny back. Time will tell if I decide to dive back into the world of point of view cameras. If I do, I might see about trying out a GoPro Hero 3+ Black Edition, though that decision depends more on how much money I raise to be able to afford it.

My newest purchase for the trip is a travel guide recommended by my classmate Sarah. I've only read the first little bit, but it is really good. Not only does it give travel recommendations, but it also gives some back story on the country. Ok, well that's all for now. It's time to get ready for tonight's genocide class.


Thursday, March 6, 2014

First Rwanda Tech Purchase

Another brief update (I fear most will be brief until I take comps and party of my life will return). I made my first purchase for the Rwanda trip today and it was a tech purchase. I know many that know me and read this are not surprised in the least by this fact. So I was looking at buying a GoPro 3+ Black Edition for the trip to Rwanda to get some cool Point of View shots and some other ones that are easier to do with such a small and versatile device. One of the students going with me on the trip messaged me and told me about a similar device that looks promising and it is on sale on Amazon. So I did some quick research and figured it was worth the risk. If I don't like it then I'll return it and be less cheap / buy the GoPro. Here is a picture of the device I bought. I'll add a little review on here once I get it next week and get to play around with it. It's 1080p, has a waterproof case, I can strap it to my head, dashboard, bike helmet, or bike handlebars if I want. Lets hope it helps me bring back some cool footage from the trip!

Also, thanks to everyone that's donated! I'm up to $200!! Big thanks to all of you. If you have a minute check out my GoFundMe and share it on your Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Pinterest. Every little bit helps!



Monday, March 3, 2014

Oh The Places You'll Go

Hey everyone. Just another quick update. My GoFundMe is going really well and I'm already up to $200! Thanks to everyone who donated. If you are interested in donating the link is on the right side of this page. If you do donate, or can't and would like to get the word out, click the GoFundMe link to the right and there are options for sharing my link and my story with your Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. friends.

On to the main reason I decided to post today. I created a map in Google Maps that will roughly show where I'll be going. It is a little easier than reading the full itinerary that I posted previously. Not everything is on here as some places couldn't be located in terms of address etc. If you click on a pin you will see the information I've submitted. Some pins are for general areas if I couldn't find the exact address. Blue pins are accommodations and red pins are sites I'll visit. Thanks!



If you use your mouse scroll wheel you can zoom in and out. Google Maps is a little glitchy!

If that doesn't work, here is a direct link to the map: https://mapsengine.google.com/map/edit?mid=zAjxgW67k0Nc.k4zwmT_v4Eqo