What are you going to pack?

There are always some things I now take with me when I attend ALT-C which I find useful.

6 way gang – instead of fighting people for the power sockets, you can immediately make five friends! Also useful when you are back in your hotel room (halls) and need to charge the laptop, the phone, the iPod, use the hairdryer, etc… Make sure it has been PAT tested!

Coffee – I can’t stand instant coffee, so I take some of those Coffee Bags you can buy or Rombout Coffee filters. Of course if you drink that tea stuff then you can bring your own bags of what you like and are use to. I always pop out and buy fresh milk too!

sothecoffeeisbetter

Chargers – don’t forget your chargers, easy to forget and a nightmare when your phone or laptop runs out of juice. Or you can’t use it for the week.

Velcro fixings – For your poster and bring enough because someone you know will have forgotten to bring theirs.

Camera – to take the odd photo or two, I use mine to take photographs of really good posters so I can review them later at my leisure. Amazing how much detail a 7.2MP image can capture of a poster. I also use it to capture slides in presentations (ie URLS and e-mail addresses), I even use it to photograph flyers so I can carry less.

MiFi or 3G Stick – I am sure that the WiFi at the conference venue will be fine, however whatabout at the hotel, the dinner, the train… I will be bringing my new MiFi which allows me to connect to the internet over 3G, wirelessly through a wifi connection. The MiFi acts as a wireless access point for up to five clients – will probably make four new friends as a result of bringing it to the conference.

Business Cards – always useful to swap, play cards with, pass ones you have received to others who you don’t want to contact you…

Ethernet Cable – I find in Halls that though they may not have wireless they do have ethernet, having an ethernet cable in your bag is useful in this instance.

USB Cables – you never know when you are going to need one.

Spare batteries – for your MP3 recorder, etc…

Spare SD card – in case you lose yours.

Spare USB Stick – for moving files around.

What are you going to pack?

8 thoughts on “What are you going to pack?”

  1. Phew, thanks for the reminder on coffee bags! I had forgotten. I also can’t stand the instant stuff provided in hotel rooms. πŸ™‚

  2. Thank you, James very useful. Great idea to carry your own six-way gang. I was wondering about taking the MP3 recorder. Always used to carry one, mainly for making a note of any support requests, but was wondering whether I should start using my phone for that.

    I once heard that some hotel cleaners use the same cloth to clean the bathroom and the coffee cups. Since then I’ve always thought “Must take my own coffee mug”, but invariably forget. Normal procedure is for me to spend about 10 minutes washing the cups provided very thoroughly with shampoo and boiling water!

    (http://www.itv.com/News/tonight/episodes/Hotelsundercover/default.html)

  3. Also taking a small battery=> USB adaptor for those ’emergency power’ moments, umbrella (despite the forcast for little or no rain, it is Manchester – city with the highest rainfall in the UK I beleive πŸ™‚ ), USB adaptor cable, headphones

    On a non-tech front:
    A small 1st aid collection (pain killers, few plaster etc only)
    Some small snacks (eg boxes of raisins)
    Lots of herbal tea bags. πŸ™‚

  4. Voice recorder for impromptu pod-takes?
    Gaviscon
    spare towel (one thin towel is never enough and we are in halls)
    Small speakers to plug into shuffle
    Spare batteries for laptop(s) – but you probably mentioned those
    Scissors
    Swiss army knife (always have one – except of hairy planes)
    .
    .

    1. RE Spare batteries for laptop(s) – but you probably mentioned those

      I am taking my new 13″ MacBook Pro with a built in battery… that will be interesting to see how that works out. Usually I have a spare battery or two!

  5. Will be interested in seeingypur MiFi gadget.

    I reckon kagoule better that brollie my memories of Manchunian rain includes wind!

    The odd spare t-shirt’s handy too , if only to ensure your new 6 gang friends don’t battle for the seats furthest away!

  6. Do you also have a small team of Sherpas to help you get it all to Manchester? πŸ™‚
    Coming to your session on Thursday and will say hello.

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