Never buy bottled water again. (There is a version of this article on the Guardian) I'm pleased to say I haven't had to buy bottled water for a while. There are so many reasons why I think we shouldn't buy water in plastic bottles. For starters, it's not good for us or the planet we live on and seem to be trying to ruin so effectively. We consume 50 billion bottles of water every year. 30 Continue Reading
Solar Powered WiFi Solution Using the Solarmonkey Adventurer
I have been using the Solarmonkey Adventurer for around six months now. It normally sits in my office window charging and is often grabbed to take out with me to top up the battery on my iPhone 5 and iPad Mini. I have also been known to hang it in the window on a long haul flight when no seat power is supplied. This is a handy and portable free power solution but I mainly use the panel to solve a Continue Reading
Lifesaver Bottle 6000UF (Do not use as now recalled.)
IMPORTANT UPDATE: Do not buy this product. It has been recalled) Since the early 90's I have always carried some form of water purification when travelling. This stems from nearly dying of Amoebic Dysentery in India. Not long after that adventure I found myself responsible for 18 travellers and myself as I would tour around Lake Victoria in Africa. The route would take us from Kenya, through Continue Reading
Off-Grid is for adventure, not work.
So much for heading off-grid to get some writing done. Who am I kidding? I'm not a writer. I'm a bad typer at best. It's all very well heading out to darkest Norfolk thinking that with fewer online distractions I can work better. But I work in multimedia. I need access to the internet to research. I need access to my online backups and clouds resources. I need to upload.. download.. browse.. Continue Reading
Wee Haz Power – The urine powered battery
My survival kit now contains more than just the basics and it's inevitable that for some emergency gear like flashlights, GPS etc, you need power. As well as a small Powerfilm solar panel, I also need batteries. I first saw the Nopopo (NO POlution POwer) batteries a couple of years ago but had not seen them anywhere to buy till recently. I ordered a packet of 4 AA batteries for ??12 Continue Reading
Sock Tech
Disclaimer: Those hairy legs are the result of an optical illusion. Looking down the legs has given the impression I'm wearing a gorilla suit. If I had one I would. It's freezing out there. I think sock technology is overlooked by the average tech lover. I won't think twice (when I can afford it) of spending ??20 on a pair of socks. (Why not?.. I've spent more on a t-shirt in order to Continue Reading
Solar Powered Journalist
I just discovered this old (slightly crappy) video from 2008. I still have the Maplin solar flight case but it needs a new Lithium Polymer motorbike battery to slot inside. This morning a friend of mine who is a Journalist in Syria emailed asking me how he can charge his camera batteries and laptop during power cuts. He is planning ahead and looking for a contingency plan should the Continue Reading