Boston Seaport District / Fort Point Channel Sunset from Patrick Chaupham on Vimeo.

Vend 4 Yourself from Patrick Chaupham on Vimeo.

25 items (out of the 40). A little north of 5600 calories. 9-bottles of water. $350 end result. A 6-hour headache. And completely no desire to ever eat any of those items ever again.

The beginning of the day started with a lot of carbs – stacked back to back to back to back. Everything was dry. My tongue felt like it was made of sandpaper. My mouth and throat could not handle swallowing. And my stomach just expanded and became … confused.

What did I learn? All of those products in the vending machine are disgusting. I knew they we chocked full of artificial ingredients, 6-syllable chemicals, sugar, sodium and partially hydrogenated oils. What I didn’t realize was how quickly all of those things consumed in such a short period of time and in large volume became detrimental to my body. I started getting a headache around noon, and as I write this around 7:24PM, it still lingers. My body temperature rose trying to process all these calories.  I drank 9-bottles of water (and 1-can of ginger ale) … but didn’t use the rest room often enough. Everything was packed so full of sodium, I seemed to magically dehydrate myself just sitting at my desk working – and eating.

There will be awesome video and commentary from this. I shall post it later this week.

Thanks for staying tuned and following today!

Here’s the machine that kicked my ass … (notice the shirt is tight now)

My last word on this is, I am sure all of these items in the vending machine are fine, in small doses or moderation individually. I do not recommend anyone else attempting this challenge and consuming the amalgamation of all of these items in a single day, it’s not healthy.

This might be one of the worst decisions I’ve ever made, but as most know me, I don’t typically back down from a challenge. The challenge today? The Vending Machine challenge.

The task is simple: eat one one of each of the items in a vending machine over a 9-hour work day period. This particular vending machine happens to contain 40-items, ranging from savory to sweet, candy to chips, and even a few packs of gum to mix things up.

The curve-ball to this challenge is, I don’t actually get to pick the order that I eat the items. My co-workers do. They pick the item, they pick the time. Random draw – or should I say, no-so-random as they’ve strategically picked items and stacked it against my odds of completing the task at hand. I complete the challenge? The contributions go to our charitable organization. I lose the challenge? I match the contributions and then donate also.

My current mental and hunger state? Mentally, I’m neither-here nor there. I’m ready to take this head on with utmost hesitations. Physically, I’m hungry.

On the plan thus far are: chicken flavor ramen noodles (9:00am), reese peanut butter cups (9:15am), special-k double chocolate protein bar (9:30am), TGIFridays bacon flavor potato skins (9:45am), lifesavers wintergreen mints (10:00am), twix candy bars (10:05am) … and so many other items …

Last point before I begin this epic-ness? Calorie count guess for the day? 8000 calories. No I don’t plan on eating much else in terms of a meal today. Follow me on Twitter (@patrickchaupham) today, as well as my Posterous for the play-by-play. There will be a re-cap video.

Here’s my happy mug at 8:00am in the morning, before I consume a single item:

The latter models I just mentioned have available Nikkor mount adapters, that means I can literally take any of my Nikkor lenses and attach them to a 4/3 format small-body camera. At first I thought this was brilliant – and then I realized, it’s not practical at all.

• If I’m shooting real photos, I’m going to use my full-body D700 or D300

• I’m already shooting full-frame on the D700, I really don’t gain anything from the mirrorless

• It’s impractical form factor, imagine my f/2.8 24-70 or 70-200 mounted to a small body? I’d be holding the lens, not the actual camera body

• If I want some on-the-go quick and dirty photos … I’m going to use my iPhone

That being said, what’s the role? Consumers who don’t want the complete control of a DSLR with the ability to change lenses – will they use them properly and effectively anyhow? The menu systems won’t be as powerful or easy to access as a DSLR. Consumers who want to spend more money for show (and no more go) and don’t want to buy a solid point & shoot?

I’ve had the Nikon P7000 for about 6-months now. I’ve taken about 300 photos on it, the majority of my photos are on my iPhone. With the proliferation of apps like Instagram and instant content-sharing available right on a cell phone (iPhone or Android) – why wouldn’t consumers just naturally make the switch and slowly phase out the stand-alone camera … the next-gen iPhone-5 is rumored to have an 8MP camera built in … so quality is only getting better. I’m not entirely sold on higher-end expensive point & shoots as well as these mirror-less cameras, but maybe that’s me.

In all the time on airplanes and airports, I’ve gotten a chance to reflect on where I’ve been, where I am, and where I’m going. Everything up to this point has been unscripted and at times, absurdly unscripted. That’s just how my life has been … a bit insane, a bit ridiculous but I think that’s just the norm, versus just having a crazy year.  I’ve always run thin – covered as much ground as possible, and gotten my fingers into everything and anything. I think I finally understand (and accept?) that … that I for the most part – I fly by the seat of my pants and I’m good at it.

Late last year, I got myself a tattoo for Christmas, it was my first and I knew it wasn’t going to be my last. It was on my left wrist and I knew in time I would want something on my right wrist to balance it out. I went and got that second tattoo last weekend. I was actually set for a while on what I was going to get, but at the last minute (not as in at the parlor) I realized what I really wanted. A word that was symbolic of my life … unrehearsed. Nerd … unrehearsed.

There’s so much to consume, panels, networking events, screenings, announcements & launches, cocktail hours & parties – a perfect melting pot of content generation potential not only in the written form but also digital assets like video and still-imagery.

So I struggle this year, owning a number of Nikon DSLR bodies, along with pro-lenses, I am well-equipped to capture and syndicate high quality images in support of content for SxSW. Problem? I have absolutely no urge to lug around my D700 + battery grip + reporter flash bracket + SB800 flash, matted to a 24-70 or 70-200 f/2.8 lens, not for 4-days straight. I conceded and brought the 24-70 rig to CES this year, and while it captured great images, form factor was tiring and with an army of others trying to do the same – maneuverability was just not there.

So I decided to pick up this, Nikon P7000:

Nikon P7000, image courtesy of Ken Rockwell

It’s a large form-factor point & shoot camera, with all the versatility and control without the worry and bulk of one of my full-sized DSLR’s.  Controls are intuitive, similar to my other Nikon’s, there’s a hot-shoe for my SB600 (lighter than my SB800), shoots HD video, and produces some great pictures. It also records onto SDHC, easy access to images via the SD card slot on my Macbook Pro, no need for an additional CF card reader.

I opted to go this route, than a micro-4/3 Samsung NX100 or Sony NEX-5; why?  Because I realized, if I went with the micro-4/3 I would get a lens adapter and put one of my Nikon lenses on there.  At that point, I might as use my large form-factor camera, so it didn’t make any sense.

Hoping this will enable me to still capture great content, without the bulk and weight of a full-sized camera – we’ll see how it goes this week!

Came home from a trip, and there in the mail, was the long awaited LunaTik from Scott Wilson/MNML.  Here’s a few snap shots of the package and assembly, and yes, it’s absolutely awesome for the Nano6G.

Out of the box, great packaging – really it’s nicely secured and documentation is very straight-forward

Compared to the iWatchz wrist strap I’ve been wearing while awaiting the LunaTik:

Attaching the tiny screws, a little fumbling to insert them and hold two allen wrenches …

And the final product attached with Nano6G and on wrist:

Very comfortable on the wrist, I like the look if it much better than the iWatchz because of the added protection to the Nano6G.  Thumbs up Scott Wilson and MNML!!!

I’m actually currently sitting at Chicago O’Hare, on a cold tile floor hoarding a power outlet, watching as my original 6:15AM flight get postpone to 8:00AM, then to 10:30AM, and then finally canceled due to a snowstorm on the eastern seaboard.

So here’s a whacky concept, taken directly from the pages of Roddenbury’s Star Trek, force-fields – aka the deflectors/shields that protect the Starship Enterprise.

NASA, NSA, FBI, CIA, AA, DELTA, UNITED, JETBLUE, Twitter, Facebook, Mcdonald’s even – should invest in force-fields.

Pros:

• No travel disruptions due to weather, planes can fly through turbulent airspace without any issue, ever
• No mid-air travel crashes/collisions – and if there were, it would be like two balls bouncing off one another – and keep on going
• Clean aircraft – or at least you have to wash them less
• Companies can develop enhancements to force-fields, I am sure some airline will want be-dazzled ones
• Opportunity to develop personal ones … imagine no more car accidents, clumsy-folk accident rates in emergency rooms will dramatically decrease
• Bubble-boy augments his high-profile-ness

Cons:

• Have to build stronger, more potent weapons to get through the force-fields
• People who we dont want to have them will end up … having them
• More Twitter traffic, bashing force-fields
• Bubble-boy loses his high-profile-ness

I hope someone from NSA & NASA are reading, especially the ones who are frequent fliers.  Get on it!

Most who know me, asked if I was able to catch Up In The Air w/George Clooney.  I actually didn’t catch this movie until very late in 2010, and I understood why. It’s not glamorous, far from it. It was tiring. Airline employees begin to recognize you. You see the same people week in and week out at the airport. You go into auto-pilot week after week.

Stats? A lot of them, I like looking at the stats involved with my travel …

• Over 248,000 frequent flyer miles awarded on Delta Airlines
• Over 125,00 actual flight miles on Delta Airlines
• Over 65,000 miles flown on American Airlines
• Over 100 flight segments
• A 4-inch thick stack of hotel room cards sitting in my desk drawer
• A love for Hilton and Starwood hotels only
• Zero, yes, zero missed flights, even with the fly-by-the-seat timing

I went to Evansville, IN a few times, I slept at Detroit International Airport, I saw a woman eat corn on the cob at the gate area, I went to Coca Cola world in Atlanta, and the nice hotel manager at the DoubleTree Metropolitan Hotel in NY gave me a large tin of cookies for me to enjoy at my second home.

I was exhausted. I’ve learned to fall asleep as soon as I hit my seat on the airplane and stay asleep until the 10,000 foot bell; yes there’s a 10,000 foot bell that signifies A-OK electronics use on every flight.

It’s important – it’s imperative – that my colleagues and cronies learn how to work the frequent-flyer programs. Pick one, maybe two airlines only. Same for hotels, and use them religiously. I know everyone knows this, but it’s astonishing how many of my colleagues don’t follow this rule. Complain. Once you’ve got status on anything, airline, hotel, car rental agency – complain when things aren’t right.  These loyalty programs thrive on business travelers and they will do anything to make sure you’re happy, so make sure you’re happy! You’re paying large sums of money, they should be up to making sure the service is perfect.

Lastly, I only went to Southern Utah for vacation. Going to need to change that ratio in 2011. But take a guess, 2011 started with a flight on January 4th.

So if anyone is looking for me, find me on 4sq, or just call the Delta hotline.