More than anything, this space is a conduit for Jorge to share and reflect on things pertaining to the web, life, current events, photography and anything of interest. Feel free to or learn more about him.
Just the other day I posted options for some to enjoy using the Kindle in Europe and now well placed sources have related to Stuff.tv that Amazon is working to launch the popular device in Europe at the end of the IFA conference next week which runs between Sept 4th to 9th.
This obviously seems to be a response to win over the market before the launch of Sony’s Daily Edition. The only threat I see the Kindle having for this holiday season would be an Apple Tablet.
This might come as a late reaction but as I sat back one evening enjoying a warm cup of coffee and looking over some of my photographs to have printed and decorate the house, I realized that I love to travel. What sweetens this craze is having a wife that equally enjoys these enlightening experiences, the meeting of inspirational people and the sure feeling that we’ll learn and grow as a person with each trip.
Much like a photographer, you simply become more curious and active in your environment with these escapes. Traveling in a sense furthers our understanding at the expense of fear and being able to step outside that comfortability that always relaxes us like a soothing massage should bring with it focus, solace and substance to our lives.
Traveling doesn’t end when you come off the plane and while your friends and family may see you the same, I always envision the moment you set foot on that tarmac as a metamorphosis that started when you booked the trip.
When we visited Venice, I unquestionable had so many anecdotes to share back home and photographs to reinforce the excitement that seeped through my tone. But in reality, any story or carefully crafted photograph you took of something at least 8 times will never measure up to how breath-taking anything was because the negatives to those photographs are in our memories which are never going to signify as much to anyone else as they do to us.
I love flipping through my passport and seeing the selection of stamps from different countries branded haphazardly as if for every airport personnel, being systematic with the process is a crime. Traveling indeed means different things to different people and it’s not to say that everyone’s approach to it needs to be uniform but for me the best travels have been both exciting and educative.
Our life is pretty much both structured and limited to our cultural surroundings and for some, that’s all they care to be familiar with even if that means being in the beautiful town of Dubrovnik surrounded by the city walls and opting to eat McDonald’s for lunch rather than a local cuisine such as spit-roasted lamb. To each it’s own but I just don’t get that. Of all the places we’ve visited, I cannot once recall a time ever considering something to eat that I could get back home unless it was infused and served with local flavoring.
Next time you take a trip, consider yourself a cultural lint brush. The more you saturate yourself with the turf and people of the places you vacation, the more it will make your visits enriching and memories long-lasting and only then will you be able to say that you’ve traveled in the full sense of the word.
I enjoy self-indulgence and contentment as much as the next person but if it gets in the way of all the features that makes a place unique, then you instantly destroy the premise and effort you made in traveling someplace new in the first place.
At the moment, my wife and I will be taking our last vacation for the year in October and perhaps for some time as we plan the next stage in our lives for 2010 which is to take a little of her and a little of me to God willing make a special someone together.
By no means do we live opulent lives but through hard work and strategic planning have we been able to appreciate the diversity and beauty that exist in other places of the world which in return has made me a better person and hopefully a good father.
Amazon seems to be missing the opportunity in gaining more book lovers and business by not extending the Kindle to Europe and I think the delays has more to do with Amazon finding a UK operator prepared to host the Kindle’s Whispernet connections which is what makes the device so unique.
Having traveled through Europe before using my iPhone, I’m well aware of Europe’s many national boundaries, and the data roaming charges that go along with them which presents yet another issue for Amazon.
But if you’re willing to go the extra mile in wanting to download books abroad, I found two gutsy alternatives that can get the job done.
The fact that people have invested time in finding a backdoor access to taking pleasure of using a Kindle outside the US is a testament to the demand the device is having outside the states.
Iconpaper is an amazing site that shares the love of customization for both the Mac and the iPhone by featuring carefully picked and well-crafted elements to enhance every aspect you can think of changing.
Navigating through the catalogue, you can get a sense of the quality of each piece and that’s what sets it apart from any other repository where you’re forced to sift through the rough to find a gem. Even the Mac-like interface of the site adds excitement to the browsing experience. Pure UI galore!
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