Drunk on Electrons

Yesterday The Commander and Kadizzle went to the electron liquor store.  At Best Buy we got our biannual new cell phones.  We both feel like we have been had.  Each of us now has a new cell phones.  The Commander stayed loyal to Apple and Kadizzle jumped ship and is now an Android man. The new phones cost us nothing, but now we will pay $480 more for cell service, so nothing has become much more expensive.  It took three hours to buy the phones and the dancing would have made a used car salesman proud.

Now back at the Earth Module this is a short list of what has to be charged, two cell phones,  the Delorme GPS, two hiking radios, two laptops, and about three sets of batteries to back all this stuff up.  Half the weight of our camper is now cords, and chargers.  The insanity of staying connected has left us with a hangover.  Our cost of cable and internet services has now exceeded $300 a month.  Of course there is the cost of all the gadgets.  When you are making a connection payment as high as a car payment you know you have entered a new world.  Keeping this crap charged is like raising chickens.  You put out the solar panels, turn on and off the generator, unplug and plug in the phones, the batteries, and move the crap from the camper to the car.  Now a hike involves a normal GPS, an emergency satellite communicator, two cell phones, and a high powered battery pack plus to GMS radios.  Now, when we are screaming as we fall to our death you will be able to know exactly where we are and perhaps get to see it live.