We at Profhacker like our gadgets. Much of the time, we talk about our digital tools or the things we use when we are online to make our lives easier. There is one analog tool, though, that I’m not sure I could live without, and I know I could not travel without it: my air machine. As I think about it, it might have been fellow ProfHacker Natalie who first told me years ago about traveling with one of these. I know for sure that I first used it while traveling to the Modern Language Association conference in 2006, and it changed my travel life forever.
That may sound a bit dramatic, but it’s very true. I am an incredibly light sleeper. Any shift in noise or light is likely to disturb me. At home, my partner and I have created a bedroom that works for both of us, but travel has always wrecked havoc on me. That year at MLA in Philadelphia, I slept amazingly well. Even though we were conducting over a dozen interviews for our open faculty position, I was alert and rested all day, everyday, which had never happened before.
All the machine does is blow air. I keep it on the highest level, but that can be adjusted on this model at least. It creates a consistent level of noise that blocks out the typical sounds of hotel or dorm nightlife. There are other machines that create sounds of waves crashing on the beach or rain falling in a forest that work in similar ways for other people. I just prefer the solid blanket of soft sounds filling the room and blocking out everything else. Some people use fans for the same purpose, but I haven’t found one that is as compact or that provides the right level of noise for me.
There are other uses for such machines, too. I have written before about the power of therapy in the years before I earned tenure, and my therapist’s office had several of these machines throughout the hallway. When I asked about them, my therapist said they helped block anyone from accidentally hearing any conversation happening behind the closed doors of other client’s sessions. That makes me realize these machines might be helpful in our campus offices during conversations about FERPA-related issues or anything remotely sensitive. Or it just might create enough of a shield from the typical noises that fill our campuses during the busiest times of the day.
I have two caveats to add, though. First, if you travel with one of these, I suggest putting it in your checked luggage. On a recent flight from Connecticut to Texas, I had it in my carry-on bag, and the TSA screeners flagged it, which meant I had to sit aside for a few minutes while they checked it out. Second, if you travel internationally, be aware that it might not work even with the right adapter. My first night in Moscow, Russia, I plugged it in, and it ran for about ten minutes and then died. I kept it, wondering if it would work at home, but it was completely fried. I ordered another one immediately. (The security screeners in Russia screen your checked luggage with you there, and they asked me to pull the machine out, too. Trying to explain it to Russians when I only knew how to say “Good morning” and “Thank you” in their language was certainly a memorable moment from the trip.)
Academics often do a lot of traveling out of both choice and obligation, and we have covered it before on ProfHacker, including Heather’s discussion of TripIt, Erin’s presentation of several tips for international travel, and Natalie’s ideas on including exercise in your conference schedule. What are other things you could not travel without? And is there anything else about traveling that you would like ProfHacker to cover? As always, let us know in the comments.
[Creative Commons licensed photo by Flickr user nhighberg]
