There's no rest for the weary tech journalist: Hard on the heels of the whirlwind that was DigitalLife, I'm in Camden, Maine to cover the Pop!Tech show, and I've packed my favorite tools for working from the road. Pop!Tech explores the intersection of popular culture and technology; this year's theme is "Dangerous Ideas." The lineup of speakers is truly awesome (Will Wright, Brian Eno, Bob Metcalf).

But my travel toolkit could be used to cover any show. And it doesn't contain that much stuff. I was commended by a cabbie in New York, the sales clerk at Enterprise, and even the clerk in my motel on my economical packing. One carry-on, one laptop bag. The important thing is the tech: I need to be able to stay on e-mail, post to Gearlog, and upload images as needed. Here's what I brought. Of course, suggestions for improvements are welcome.

ThinkPad T41 with extra, extended life battery

This isn"t really my pick; this is what Ziff gives me to do my job. I can't complain, because it has built in Wi-Fi, and aside from the three blue screens of death that popped up at Digital Life, it has served me well. Although, come to think of it, I never did check the serial number on the extra battery....

Treo 650 with Goodlink

This is just my day-to-day cell phone, but when you add GoodLink it becomes much more. GoodLink puts me on the corporate network, complete with my e-mail and calendar. The only problem is that Camden is in the boondocks. I can't get on Sprint's digital network here, and that means no data service. No data service, no Goodlink, no corporate e-mail. Thank God the conference has WiFi.

Kodak EasyShare V570 with dock

I thought about borrowing a D-SLR from PC Magazine Labs to cover this show, but I didn't want the extra weight. But the V570 has a great lens, lots of capacity, and slips easily into the pocket. If this were a more visual show, I might have gone with a higher-end camera; I think the v570 will do a good job for me. Unfortunately, it ships with a proprietary dock that's required to keep the camera charged and get images off the device. That adds bulk, but for a multi-day show, it's a must.

TomTom ONE

I know Maine pretty well, but there is no harm in bringing insurance. This time it comes in the form of the Tom Tom One. PC Mag has given great praise to the Garmin nuvi, but the tom Tome One is a great device as well. That is why it made my travel kit for this trip.

iPod 30GB Video

It goes everywhere I do. Nuff said.

No EVDO?

I can barely get digital cellular service up here. EVDO is a few years away.

Did I forget anything?

Unfortunately, yes. the TomTom One I brought has a separate antenna that must be attached for the device to work; I forgot the antenna. (The Garmin nuvi spoiled me.) Any other holes in my plan? Post a comment and let me know. And stay tuned for my posts from the show.

Dan Costa is the Consumer Electronics Editor at PC Magazine and a cohost of Gearlog Radio; check back every Thursday for his take on the world of gadgets, gear and other tech stuff.