I quit my job at Google today. The place considered to be the playground, mecca, paradise for engineers; I quit. Was it as good as they said it was? Sure, for the most part it was. But after 4 years in Silicon Valley–3.5 years at Yahoo! and another half a year at Google–I got tired of being a corporate software engineer. One day, I looked out the window, and realized there was a whole world out there. I decided I wanted to go out and experience it.
I am embarking on a journey, with a laptop and a rifle. The laptop, because it’s been my ticket to freedom, will keep me in touch with the world, and be my ticket back to civilization when I am ready. The rifle, partially because I’m passionate about guns and shooting, but also because it symbolizes the rugged individualism and deep desire for independence that burns in my heart.
So, with a laptop and a rifle, I will go. This blog is a chronicle of my journeys.
Laptop and a Rifle 
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Interesting Blog Ryo, you have struck a blow againt “The Man” and shown the true pioneering spirit, in a Japanese-American-German sorta way! Nice Rifle too, I gotta read your gun section
too! Just found this from the “Tiny House” Blog I follow. My site evolves too, I will leave it to you to read, (http://jonathansmountaincabin.wetpaint.com/) to show we may have shared some of the challenges of finding a place of our own! Way to go guy! I’m impressed with individualism!
Thanks! I’ll check out your site 🙂
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Ryo,
May I ask what type of video equipment you use for the blog? I am thinking of eventually attempting to film some of my activities and have just started researching potential equipment.
I have enjoyed watching your videos!
Thank you,
George
I have a Flip HD camera. It was pretty cheap (under $100, I think) and takes decent video, but it doesn’t have image stabilization, which is a pretty major shortcoming. The new Flip Ultra HD camera has image stabilization, but costs closer to $200. For that price, it might be better to get a point-and-shoot digital camera, since most of them will also take HD video.
DIY Steadicam for cheap
Was pretty well taken aback by the quality of the tracking shots they show in the demo reel found at:
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/digitalcameras/how-to-get-high-end-steadicam-shots-from-your-low-end-camcorder-on-the-cheap/1245
Note especially http://14dollarstabilizer.org/
Just eyeballing that, maybe put a tripod head on the thing especially if you go for low angle shots with an inverting bracket, etc. With such a lightweight camera, might be able to tiny down some of this, put a spike in the bottom of the device to stick into the ground for still shots, etc.
Really enjoying your explorations.