All Those Wonderful Toys

So, I traveled a bit late last week, and traveling is always an interesting ritual for me, especially if I'm flying.

The problem is that a very nerdy, troll-ish part of my brain refuses to be inconvenienced by travel. My travel bag seems to get heavier each trip. It has begun to bloat like all those stupid-ass 'cross-over' vehicles that are so popular now.

To give you an idea of what I'm talking, here's what was packed in my carry-on this last trip:
 - work laptop (HP Elitebook 8440P)
 - iPad
 - iPod Classic
 - iPhone 4S (work)
 - Windows Phone (personal)
 - hi-def video camera
 - PlayStation Vita
 - Nintendo DS + case for system & games
 - Nook Color
 - mobile WiFi hotspot
 - e-cigarette + extra cartomizers
 - 4-to-1 USB-to-AC hub
 - USB connectors for all of the above
 - power cables for each of the above
 - two gaming magazines

Also, I sometimes travel with my 19-inch gaming laptop, but took a very big step and didn't bring it this time because I didn't think I'd have time for proper gaming. I sometimes also pack a personal netbook, depending on the type of trip.

This last trip, I think I finally had it. I need to pare this down and collapse some functionality into fewer devices. Part of this was brought on by, yet again, freaking out the TSA with my carry-on, but also, I'm just tired of carrying all this shit around all the time.

Part of the issue, I think, is that I pack like the revolution could come at any moment, and I need to be able leap into action, for a sustained period, by playing another character in Mass Effect (of course, you really can't get the best ending in the third installment unless EA's multiplayer servers are accessible, so if the country's infrastructure shits the bed, oh well ... you just fucked Earth.)

I've been considering thinking like a sane person when approaching how I pack for travel, and have even given thought to not only taking vacations from work, but also from my normal lifestyle. I've been told, repeatedly, about the advantages of maintaining a persistent avatar in the meatspace, and may endeavor to engage myself thus.

So, yeah, I may collapse the Nook functionality into the iPad when traveling, and may be condensing my phones and mobile WiFi into a single device, but we'll see.

Any other techies out there have interesting travel setups? Any suggestions for how to condense my travel setup further?

-Blaine
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