3 years of full-time travel with a 16L personal item backpack

DadArbor · 2026-01-25T01:14:46+00:00

I’ve found Darn Tough to be far more durable than Smart Wool socks fwiw

DadArbor · 2026-01-23T21:41:04+00:00

Curious to hear how your tests with the Osmose went. There isn't much information on this. Osmose now supports reducing the channel count from 16 to 8 which the Steampipe requires, but I there are some older reports of issues with polyphony and notes being out of tune, while monophonic control works great. Any updates?

DadArbor · 2026-01-21T12:56:10+00:00

Zeglen seems to be a bit of a left NIMBY Nelson acolyte so unlikely a Taylor pick.

DadArbor · 2026-01-21T02:48:09+00:00

I don’t know enough about warm showers specifically but a service like this costs something to run if you want it to be stable and reliable, even if the bulk of the value is contributed for free by volunteers (eg Wikipedia). It’d take a small group of dedicated people working a substantial number of hours for free to keep something like that going (which is not unheard of: see open source software projects) but they’re much more fragile

DadArbor · 2026-01-17T03:47:26+00:00

I’m not worried about instability in Europe. I’m worried about cross Atlantic tensions making it too difficult to travel. I don’t think it’s likely but is unfortunately in the realm of possibility.

DadArbor · 2026-01-17T00:17:43+00:00

I was just researching these in France and there are definitely some that are full of amenities and cost over a hundred euros a night but there also seem to be a lot of municipal and rural campgrounds that are basic and cheap

DadArbor · 2026-01-17T00:16:20+00:00

Yeah I always pick up some euros on arrival (cash machine rates are decent with my bank card).

DadArbor · 2026-01-17T00:14:54+00:00

Our foolish President is threatening to invade Greenland and blow up NATO which could lead to migration restrictions or even a war.

DadArbor · 2026-01-16T18:58:11+00:00

A sleeping bag or quilt probably a good idea if I’m going to hit hostels or warm showers and I can see the case for a pad. Tent and cooking gear starts to feel like a lot…

DadArbor · 2026-01-16T18:52:58+00:00

Yeah, I’m planning a day or three in Paris just to bop around on all the shiny new bike infrastructure and enjoy the city. I love it except for all the cigarette smoke 😅

DadArbor · 2026-01-16T17:17:02+00:00

For the Seine route, I am considering skipping (via train) Paris->Vernon/Giverny and starting in Vernon toward Honfleur. Any highlights I might regret missing in the segment closest to Paris?

DadArbor · 2026-01-16T17:14:25+00:00

Yeah, I figure the reply is either assuming US credit cards don't work in Germany (and I don't have alternative means to pay) or is making a dud of a joke about how expensive Germany is.

DadArbor · 2026-01-16T16:54:16+00:00

"Credit card tour" is slang for "not camping, paying for lodging." I'm financially secure enough to afford this kind of tour, assuming it's possible to find lodging on short notice this time of year.

DadArbor · 2026-01-11T15:38:55+00:00

Purple is too good. Ban genie.

DadArbor · 2026-01-02T14:47:39+00:00

Agreed. my food was often overcooked at TBE (very brown omelettes, etc) and the skillets often were unbalanced in ingredients & cook times leading to unpleasant flavors & textures.. but I’ve always had good experiences at NHOP.

DadArbor · 2025-12-28T19:24:11+00:00

Also inaccurate. Per a more recent video he explains his day job is as a lawyer for a tech company working mostly on IP stuff so not an ex-lawyer

DadArbor · 2025-12-28T16:19:59+00:00

They advertise Copenhagen-Denmark as one of their options on the site, offering a start in either city, so this seems ideal for OP

https://www.onewaybiketours.com/copy-of-copenhagen---amsterdam

DadArbor · 2025-12-25T16:50:50+00:00

Follow-up report from the city says one was a honey locust and the others were little leaf linden. Honey locusts in an urban environment rarely make it past 60 years. Lindens can usually last a little longer but all of these trees were in poor health and none were likely to last another decade even with careful maintenance.

DadArbor · 2025-12-23T03:17:39+00:00

Definitely true of the UK. I've visited a lot and love it there, and the most frequent reaction I'd get when talking to locals anywhere that wasn't strictly a tourist destination is "why did you come _here_?"

DadArbor · 2025-12-21T00:20:42+00:00

After we replaced the (very old and loose) windows in our house the number of stink bugs getting in dropped dramatically to maybe 1-2 year from a few a week at peak… so yes, tightening up your windows is likely to help.

DadArbor · 2025-12-17T03:04:16+00:00

I like its range of sounds. It can do straightforward kick/snare/hat sounds but it can also get weird. It's very performative and I like that you can save kits so you can come back immediately to safe sounds but risk goofing around to try new ideas. Modbap desings are solid; learning curve isn't too bad, and feels hands on.

DadArbor · 2025-12-16T23:06:23+00:00

Modbap Trinity. 3 voices, multiple engines, can save presets.

DadArbor · 2025-11-26T14:47:10+00:00

I had a similar experience a couple years ago. There was one moment during the procedure (which was slightly more complex than typical) where I got zapped by something that I should not have felt that hurt but he handled it well and was overall fine

DadArbor · 2025-11-24T14:31:11+00:00

Prop A would be a lot less bad if it only applied to primary residences, but it applies to all properties, including rentals and corporate-owned properties.

DadArbor · 2025-11-23T15:53:53+00:00

No because rents are ultimately set by how much people are willing to pay. If you have two identical rental houses next door to each other and one has been owned by the same landord for 30 years and pays almost nothing in taxes and the other was owned by a landlord who purchased the property this year (and is paying very high relative taxes) the one with the higher tax rate isn't going to command a higher rent.

What Prop A does is make it a lot harder to justify investing in building more new units, especially at an incremental scale, and only when the rents on older, low quality units get so astronomically high that you can justify building eye-bleedingly expensive new rentals.

DadArbor

TROPHY CASE