02May / 2013

Underneath NYC’s Upper East Side

Jodi Ettenberg Legal nomads

This is a Hipmunk post from Jodi Ettenberg of Legal Nomads.

The 2nd Avenue Subway project has been on the table for many many years. It was first proposed in 1929 [1] but has found itself stopped and started and shelved ever since. In 2007, the 2nd Avenue line construction began in earnest, and the MTA has just released these photographs from April 2013, taken underneath 86th street.

We thought it would be interesting for travelers and locals alike to see what lies just beneath the metropolis. Photos are all from the MTA’s Flickr feed. For the full set from the 86th Street Station, see here.

Photo: Metropolitan Transportation Authority / Patrick Cashin.

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30Apr / 2013

Electronics for digital nomads

This is a Hipmunk post from Jodi Ettenberg of Legal Nomads.

Clayton from Spartan Traveler quit his job over a year ago in San Francisco and has been traveling the world ever since. He recently posted about what technology you would need if you wanted to work on the road, breaking each piece of equipment down to pros and cons, as well as what he’s used it for. A helpful list for anyone looking to travel long or short term and still be able to get work done along the way.

An excerpt:

“The equipment that allows me to work from almost anywhere was thoughtfully accumulated over the last 18 months, and it’s a balance of price, weight, and power. There’s no need to go gear-crazy if you’re just starting out (or ever). All you really need is a decent laptop, some cheap headphones, and a place to work.

There are plenty of “top # pieces of gear for digital nomads” out there, but most of them range from borderline excessive to absolutely ridiculous. I’m assuming here that a) you have a budget or you’re just starting out and b) you don’t want to carry 80lbs of extra gear with you (that can also be damaged or stolen).

[...]

The point is: you can get started cheaply, so don’t assume you need the latest and greatest gadgets to make it happen.”

You can check out all of Clayton’s recommendations here. Among them is the iPhone 5, so for those shaking their heads at the Asus in the photo above, fear not

-Jodi

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18Apr / 2013

Surreal “postcards” from Google Earth

This is a Hipmunk post from Jodi Ettenberg of Legal Nomads.

Sometimes even Google makes our world look even crazier than it actually is, as evidenced by these surreal and quirky screenshots of Google Earth collected by Clement Valla. In his own words:

“I collect Google Earth images. I discovered strange moments where the illusion of a seamless representation of the Earth’s surface seems to break down. At first, I thought they were glitches, or errors in the algorithm, but looking closer I realized the situation was actually more interesting — these images are not glitches. [...] These uncanny images focus our attention on that process itself, and the network of algorithms, computers, storage systems, automated cameras, maps, pilots, engineers, photographers, surveyors and map-makers that generate them.”

For the full collection, see Clement’s site Postcards from Planet Earth. For more about this collection and why the images are as skewed as they are, see this great Rhizome magazine article.

-Jodi