THE TRAVELING TERABYTE PROJECT

LATEST NEWS

2008/10/20 - Christmas comes early

I'll be the first to admit that I absolutely hate the "holiday creep" that seems to get worse every year due to malls and other retailers trying to get people whipped up into a feeding frenzy of commerce. As the amazing comedian Lewis Black once said, "Remember when Halloween was Halloween, and Santa wasn't poking his fat ass backwards into it? And when Thanksgiving was a time for family... not Christmas, part one." So then given my distaste for any holly and garland that appears before the turkey and mashed potatoes are cleared away from the dinner table, what am I doing talking about the winter holidays so soon?

Well, as anyone with friends or loved ones in the service knows, sending packages to deployed personell can take quite a bit of time. Therefore, the Traveling Terabyte's latest project -- a Christmas gift special push -- will have to start its holiday planning even earlier than Wall-Mart, Sears, Macy's, and the rest of the unscroupulous retail world does.

This year, we'd like to try to bring cheer to as many people as possible. Consequently, we have selected the best holiday themed selections from our media library and are loading them on to DVD discs which we will produce en-masse and attempt to send to anyone with friends and family stationed away from home this holiday season. Also, since both terabytes are home for routine maintenace and reloading, these two can be part of someone's Christmas...

If you personally will be serving away from your family this holiday season and will ship out some time in the coming month or so, that's a particularly emotional and pongiant assignment to pull. I am willing to send a Traveling Terabyte to two people in this is your situation, if you wish to share the contents with those in your unit and if you're willing to take the burden of responsibility for its safe passage and the burden of carrying it on your transport plane when i'm sure you have other gift packages, etc. that you'd also like to manage.

So that's TWO Christmas operations from the Traveling Terabyte Project, both of which need your responses and input to go forward...

DVDs of Christmas Cheer - If you have a friend or loved one who will be serving overseas, send us an email telling us who they are and a word or two about their unit. We will happily send them the DVD package of christmas videos and music... or, alternately, we'll happily send it to you here in the States and allow you to forward it along, as this will (if my math is correct) save us a little bit on postage.

The Terabytes' Holiday Tour - If you will be shipping out over the holiday season and wish to bring a terabyte with you to your deployed location I am happy to try to get it to you before you depart. Bear in mind that we only have two terabytes to offer (I promise to reply soon to the people who have been asking me about how to contribute to the process so we can build more one day) so only two individuals will be able to obtain them this holiday season. Please feel free to be as detailed or descriptive as you wish in your emails to us about why you would like to carry a Terabyte this holiday season. Please don't think of it as a contest, but the two people whose letters touch us the most will be issued the TTBs. All others will not be left out, though... the Christmas Cheer DVD will come to you in time for you to ship out.

"So, wait," you're asking, "this is all totally FREE?!?" Yes, as long as we have the resources to keep buying discs and dropping them in the mail, we will churn them out to every single service family who requests one.

More info about this whole endeavor can be found on this page.

- Deviant

 

2008/07/12 - educating some overseas leathernecks

The tan TTB is overseas again with a detatchment of US Marines on embassy detail. This volume, the "knowledge" TTB, is loaded with all sorts of educational films and programs (much content is from the Discovery channel and History channel) along with thousands and thousands of hours worth of reading matter in both eBook and Audio Book format. Here's to folks who better themselves everyday, including taking the opportunity to learn new things in their spare time. Some new images from these Marines can be found in the photos section.

- Deviant

2008/04/20 - entertainment for the Iron Rakkasans

The green TTB has made its way to the 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne in Iraq. Hopefully we'll get some photos and feedback from those folk soon. Word has it that their distribution platoon took the time to deploy the TTB and a spare laptop in the unit's Morale, Welfare and Recreation center. It should stay there a while then move on somewhere in-country. Next destination is still up in the air.

- Deviant

2008/04/18 - enlightening the Marines in Dushanbe

Well, I am rotating back to Tajikistan and this time Deviant gave me the tan "knowledge" TTB to share with all the Marines where i'm stationed. It's not as high-brow, crack-open-the-books as it may sound, however. The "knowledge" TTB has things like MythBusters, Tiger Team, and plenty of other really entertaining options from broadcasters like the Discovery Channel, not to mention loads of really well done documentaries and historical films.

- AST Cell