July 20th: Sunday Sundry Photo

Brothers helping brothers

PRODUCT: Home or Travel Accessory

We tend to travel with a lot of electronics: two Kindle e-readers, two cell phones, two iPads and often one if not two laptops. This means carrying a mass of cables and adapters/chargers, being careful of wattage requirements for the newer iPads (or other tablets, when we had Kindle Fires).

Over the years we have tried and tossed many different adapter/charger combinations, usually settling for a duplicate of what comes with our device pre-stashed in our toiletry bag. We even bought laptop bags that came with a battery and a host of charging plugs, handy but heavy.

While Stu was in the US, I ordered two of these SHARKK® 25W 5-Port USB Wall Plug Family-Sized Charger/Adapter from Amazon. As soon as he unpacked it, he put it to use. HUGE hit! He easily plugged in and charged his iPad Air, Kindle e-reader, iPod and Android phone. No muss, no fuss!

We can now travel with the one stashed in our luggage and the other works in our house. OR we can each put one with our travel stuff. Hmmm, thinking I may get two more when we are in the US this fall.

Oh, but you STILL have to remember to bring your cables! ;)

*for Apple iPad Air / iPad Mini / iPad mini Retina / iPhone 5 / 5S / 5C / All Apple Phones and Tablets / Android Smartphones & Tablets / Samsung Galaxy / Samsung Tab / Samsung Note / And other USB-Powered Devices

July 13: Sunday Sundry Photo

Pigeon Swoop

Getting settled, slowly but surely

We are moved, semi-settled, got DirecTV and phone line installed and hopefully Internet will come next Monday. Phew! We love our apartment and the views area amazing and ever changing. Till next week...

From our kitchen window, early morning clouds.

Cyberspace Death: What Happens After You Die?

We don't like to think about it. We don't want to talk about it. But it's a fact of life. We arent' getting out of it alive.

So what happens to the digital trails we leave behind? Bank accounts, Credit card accounts, Email? Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and all other social media outlets? Blogs, websites, tumblr? Shutterfly, SmugMug, Flickr and Picasa photos? Game sites, dating sites, video sites, support groups - we all leave a HUGE digital fingerprint behind us.

Here are some links to help figure out what you might need to do in preparation for that fateful day - today, tomorrow or years from now, we never know when.

1. How to Create an In-Case-of-Emergency Everything Document to Keep Your Loved Ones Informed if Worst Comes to Worst
2. Cyberspace When You're Dead
3. Your Digital Afterlife
4. 3 Important Reasons to Plan & Organize Your Digital Afterlife

It's a good idea to save this infographic below from WebpageFX:

Created by WebpageFX

We all need to take time to think this through, analyze our cyberspace life and plan for the future!

July 6: Sunday Sundry Photo

Mi madre says this store will be mine one day!

NOTE: Many Ecuadorian women take their children with them to work. This little one was at Mall del Rio in front of a clothing store. Her mother was working with the window display and gave me permission to take her photo. Of course the smile disappeared when it came time to snap the shot.

Are all passports equal?

A passport from the United States allows its citizens free access to 172 other countries.

But not all travelers have such an overwhelming spread of choices: Residents of Iraq, for example, can access only 31 countries with their passport. Venturing away from Afghanistan? Your options dwindle to 28 countries.

Ecuador gives you 74 countries, Iceland 175.

See the full infographic and more information here: Not All Passports Are Created Equal.

A side note, after three years in Ecuador on a valid immigrant Visa we would qualify for Ecuadorian citizenship. That would give us dual citizenship with the US and grant us permanent status here. At this point we don't see any reason to do so, the only benefit being no restrictions on being out of country.  Currently, after two years we can be out of country for up to 18 months at a time on our current Visa. In addition, the requirements are becoming more stringent for becoming a citizen. We don't disagree with it but spending $3-5k EACH and needing to be fluent in both reading and writing Spanish pretty much rule us out.