10 Things Every Road Warrior Needs

I travel a lot, yesterday's post got me to thinking, I've found some things that I keep in my travel bag that have proven invaluable. This is over and above the basics, like batteries, power supplies, and cables you need to hook up and go.

1) Three-outlet grounded plug - You've probably got several things to charge at night, including a laptop, cell phone, PDA, iPod, each of which has their own power supply. Many hotels you're lucky to get one outlet in a convenient place.



2) Three prong to two prong converter - You'll need this if you're staying at an old hotel that only has two-prong outlets.



3) Extension for power supplies - This is great for plugging all of those AC converters together.



4) Extension for phone cables One of these combined splitters and extensions will work in almost every situation.






Or, you can use this combo:



5) Screwdrivers - These are now okay for carry-on bags.











6) Travel mouse - There's no reason not to have a full-sized mouse on the road, and this one is great. It's wireless, and the little USB receiver fits inside the mouse and powers it off when you store it.







7) USB Flash memory device - Forget floppy drives, zip disks, and IR file transfer. This is the standard now, and you've got to have one.



8) Ear plugs - head phones don't always cut it, even the Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones don't do a great job on screaming kids, and you can't wear them (comfortably) to bed. If you've ever had a hotel room next to the ice machine or elevator, or near the railroad tracks or airport runway, then you'll appreciate a good pair of earplugs. Just throw them in your toiletries kit and they'll always be there when you need them.



9) A movie on DVD - great for downtime with a laptop, you'll need to have headphones too, unless you're in the hotel room. All new laptops can play DVD's, so find one that you'll want to see, and throw it in your computer bag. I carried Brazil for a few months, then after I watched it, I replaced it with The Tick. Many of today's laptops have a video out, so with a video cable you could plug it in to the television.



10) Something to read - Not too heavy or bulky, something you can start and stop without too much trouble, maybe a light novel, maybe a magazine or a collection of stories.