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FAQ

Equipment

Press

Notable Projects, People and Links

itinerary

projects

Recommend Something



Editing cheatsheet

777 FAQ

the seven most commonly ask questions

Question 1. when do you leave?
Answer - 7 july 2007 or 07/07/07 - believe it or not it is the most commonly asked question.

Question 2. Where did you get such a fabulous idea?
Answer - the luck of seven, was created in january 2005 by noel hidalgo ( aka noneck ) while talking to scott trudeau at 250 Broadway, Suite 1930, New York, NY. then in december of 2006, noel met bre pettis at a random bar and was given the proper jolt to reinvigorate the project.

Question 3. How do you plan on getting around and who are you going to stay in so many places?
Answer - That's really the beauty of this trip. This is a global participation project - so it's a bit of vanity, good faith, exploration and COUCHSURFING!

Question 4. How long do you plan on traveling? (Yes, this is a commonly asked question.)
Answer - Ahem, seven months... OR 215 days... OR 5160 hours... OR 309,600 minutes... OR 18,576,000 seconds....

Question 5. What happens if you don't reach $7777.00?
Answer - To be honest, that's not a fair question. I've dedicated my self to this project, and short of death or great illness, I will travel the world reporting to you.

Question 6. Are you really going to Antarctica?
Answer - YES! Failure is not an option.

Question 7. You're an idiot, the seven wonder of the world are gone.
Answer - The seven ancient wonder of the world are gone, but society just keeps on creating new ones. The notion of them as physical locations are gone, but in spiritual terms they will always exist. I will try on visiting their former locations.

others, but i had to keep up with the sevens don't you see

Question - There are many more seas than just seven. Which seas will you visit?
Answer - actually, there are seven oceans. i'll be visiting those.

Question - Where can I find more about seven and it's mysterious ways!
Answer - [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/7_(number) Wikipedia]

Question - What are some of noel's favorite things?

777 Links

Projects

Programs & Publications

People

Books

Resources

Communities

Travel Information

Technology

777 Recommended Places

darn! a spambot has discovered this page and is now killing me with emails. if you want to add places, visit contact or add a comment below.

equipment

this page is not complete

heading around the world is no small feat. the following is a list of equipment which i will take with me. some has been acquired, some needs a sponsor and other needs to be purchased. if you or an organization you know is interested in sponsoring a subset of my gear, please contact me.

the following equipment needs a sponsor

technology

personal equipment



acquired

the following is already in my arsenal of goodies.

technology

clothing to carry

personal equipment



website

itinerary

starting in new york city on 7 july 2007, noneck will depart for europe. first stopping in spain to run with the bulls during the festival of san fermín, and will then head to prague. after a month in europe, he will work his way along the mediterranean and into africa. some how, some way, he will traverse the deserts of the middle east and hop into india and travel along the coast of the indian ocean. in a miraculous feat cunning skill, noneck will snuggle into the arms of oceania for a few weeks before hoping into a plane back to north america for a road trip to see his brother's college graduation and celebrate thanksgiving with his family. shortly thereafter, he will collect his gear and trek through south america in a final attempt to make antarctica before the summer season ends. for the last leg, noneck will work his way along the eastern cost of south america, up the caribbean back to new york city.

North America

EEK! time constrains and good old mental health have made me change my plans. here is my updated itinerary.
http://luckofseven.com/my_north_american_interview_list_travel_plans

My fifth continent is North America. From November to December, I will bounce around looking to cover as much as possible. If you have something to add, please feel free!

Week 18

Week 19

  • Los Angles, CA
  • photohunt with julia

Week 20

  • Dayton, Ohio
  • Little brother''s college graduation & Thanksgiving with my parents
  • try to meet up with Lauren Strasser
  • try to meet up with meet up Keith Instone, IBM web UI guy

Week 21

Week 22

  • Central America

week 30/31

  • Travel back to NYC

Wonder to Visit

  • Empire State Building
  • Golden Gate Bridge

Seas to Sail

  • North Pacific
  • North Atlantic

Events to Attend

Europe

I plan on starting my trip in Europe. From 7/8 July to 7/8 Aug, I will bounce around looking to cover as much as possible. If you have something to add, please feel free!



Week 1



Week 2



Week 3



Week 4 & 5


Africa & Middle-East

My second continent is Africa, but i'll be passing through the middle east first. From Aug to September, I will bounce around looking to cover as much as possible. If you have something to add, please feel free!



Week 6



Week 7, 8, 9



Seas to Sail

  • South Atlantic Ocean
  • Indian Ocean


Asia

My third continent is Asia. From September to October, I will bounce around looking to cover as much as possible. If you have something to add, please feel free!

the hop from egypt to some place in asia is going to be intense. i would love to take a boat from egypt to india. then i will work my way along the indian ocean, and the second.



week 10



week 11



week 12

  • 23 - 28 Sept
  • Thailand



week 13



Seas to Sail

Events to Attend

  • 4 October, Sputnik party (50th anniversary of the space race)


Oceania

My fourth continent Oceania, spans two countries Australia and New Zealand. From 7/8 October to 7/8 November, I will bounce around looking to cover as much as possible. If you have something to add, please feel free!



i kinda have forgotten what week it is...

  • Australia, Northern
  • get stuck in darwin a few days while sorting out travel plans for the rest the trip.
  • Australia, Southern
  • Adelaide - visit Janet Hawtin & meet up with prague buddy Jo in Adelaide
  • Melbourne - Ben, Simon
  • Sydney

South America

My sixth continent is South America. From December to January, I will bounce around looking to cover as much as possible. If you have something to add, please feel free!



week 23

  • Buenos Aries, Argentina



week 24/25/26

  • Southern Tip of South America
  • Somehow hop on a boat to Antarctica



week 27/28/29

  • Sao Paulo, Brazil



Travel back to NYC

Antarctica

My seventh continent is Antarctica. From 7/8 November to 7/8 December, I will bounce around looking to cover as much as possible. If you have something to add, please feel free!

Locations to Visit

Press

Press

btw, this is a wiki page. if you have blogged, written an article, or done something to help in the promotion of this project, add yourself by clicking me!

2007

about

table of contents

about the luck of seven

on 07 july 2007, noneck noel (aka noel a. hidalgo) will depart new york city for a journey around the world to learn from you. affably named "on the luck of seven" or "luck of seven." this is an open-source journey documenting free culture, social innovators and global change.

for seven months, i will stand on the seven contents, dive into the seven oceans, and contemplate seven topics of freedom. while on the way, i will document the journey through stories, photos and videos. this is not my story, this is our story. though your hospitably, donations, projects, connections and friends, our stories will merge into one.

as i wander the earth, my broad shoulders will bear seven topics of freedom: free culture; free and open-source software communities; couchsurfers, bloggers, fellow travelers and vloggers; agents of progressive social change; barcamp, coworking and meetups; happenstance, and climate change. all work will be produced under a creative commons license. all-in-all, this 21st century anthropological view of the personalities in physical / digital world we cohabit will always be freely available.

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the topics

This is a 21st century journey to the intersection of digital and organic communities. Communicating through a digital medium that has no borders, I want to share with you how this new world interacts.

  • Free culture. After a half-century of broadcast communications dictating the common perspective, people are now reconnecting—one-on-one, peer-to-peer, node-to-node—and proving that traditional copyright and patent restrictions need to be reformed to promote creativity.
  • Free and open-source software. Software should be a tool, like a shovel. With zero distribution cost, global, boundless open-source communities are competing in a world of co-opetition.
  • Couchsurfers and bloggers. People—from those who blog their souls to those who reserve their couch for strangers—are using technology to augment real-world relationships and bring modernism back to our post-modern world.
  • Barcamps, unconferences, meetups, and coworking. The online digi-world uses physical ad-hoc meetings to socialize, share, and advance ideas.
  • Agents of progressive social change. Inventors and concept peddlers—though not always leaders—change the way we think about the world through technology.
  • The environment. When we outsource jobs, we outsource pollution, waste, and other negative impacts of consumerism; we need to continue to use technology to educate the public on the true footprint of the products we use and lifestyles we choose.
  • Happenstance. Receiving a random e-mail, discovering a flickr profile, stumble-surfing across a facebook page, connecting in a café—the world grows smaller with every person we meet, and there is an art to discovering their stories.”

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project partners

  • Transitions Online - http://www.tol.cz - founded in 1999, this Czech non-profit was founded to replace it's print predecessor, transitions magazine. TOL works within the vast post-communist region of eastern europe to help young, up-and-coming journalist to take advantage of electronic communications for journalism.
  • Mobile Active - http://mobileactive.org - MobileActive is a global network of people, tools, projects, and resources focused on the use of mobile phones for activism, campaigns, and civic engagement. Mobile Active focuses in on four principles.
    1. expand access to knowledge, ideas and experience about the use of mobile technology
    2. reduce learning costs for civil society organizations
    3. accelerate the use of effective tactics in campaigns
    4. provide a comprehensive platform for building partnerships, and for facilitating access to technology and funding
  • Michael David Vineyards - http://www.lodivineyards.com/ - home to the award winning seven deadly zins and seven heavenly chards. Michael~David Vineyards produces seven brands of distinctive wines for each of your varied whimsical desires. Michael and David Phillips represent the fifth generation of growers in Lodi, and things are changing. With 350 acres of premium wine grapes, there is plenty of room for experimentation and innovation. The vineyards are irrigated by the Mokelumne River, which carries crystal-clear water from the Sierra Nevada Mountains, depositing minerals into the rich soils upon which the grapes thrive. Though not certified organic, Michael~David Vineyards strives to use all natural methods including integrated pest management, beneficial insects for pest control, trellising, leaf pulling and natural mined sulfur for mildew control.

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benefactors
as for fundraising, once i reach my travel budget of USD $7,777, i will donate 75% of profits to non-profit communities that exemplify the luck of seven. (25% each)

  • Not an Alternative - http://www.notanalternative.net - a little over a year ago, i was exposed to a wonderful community of artists, political organizers, freelance workers and free thinkers. not an alternative & the change you want to see gallery calls a modest williamsburg store front home. daily you can come joining us for coworking brooklyn or for monthly salons and performances. as not an alternative looks to expand their offering, i am donating 25% of this projects profits.

    located in williamsburg, brooklyn and home to brooklyn's coworking, Not an Alternative functions as a collaborative office, props production, public relation, and cultural production company. in 2007, Not an Alternative will launch a television channel dedicated to highlighting the modern political strife through a comical and entertaining lens.
  • Drupal Association - http://association.drupal.org - since 2004, i have found myself immersed within a socially astute and technology savvy community who understand the importance of peer to peer communication and dialogue. world renown as one of the best content management systems, late last year, the drupal community established a non-profit to help guide and oversee the drupal project. as one of the new york city organizers and evangelists, i am donating 25% of profits.

    as a hobbyist, dries buytaert, tinkered with building an open-source content management system. in 2003, his CMS was selected to be the back bone of the Howard Dean presidential campaign and afterward became the default CMS for politically minded and socially active organizations. the drupal association manages the infrastructure, funding and promotion of the community driving project. (donate)
  • Couchsurfing - http://couchsurfing.com - imagine a world where you can travel the globe and have a buddy in every town. imagine, a traveler coming into your home and together you learn from each other. now imagine, these connections stemming from a social networking site. in spite of what most read or watch on television, there is a vast network of free spirits who have no problem opening their doors and allowing fellow travelers to share their home. as an avid host and supporter of couchsurfing, i am donating 25% of profits.

    CouchSurfing is not about the furniture, not just about finding free accommodations around the world; it's about making connections worldwide. We make the world a better place by opening our homes, our hearts, and our lives. We open our minds and welcome the knowledge that cultural exchange makes available. We create deep and meaningful connections that cross oceans, continents and cultures. CouchSurfing wants to change not only the way we travel, but how we relate to the world! (donate)

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about me

my life started the 24th of May in 1978 to two US Air Force officers. my father describes the day as if it was yesterday. in the scheme of things, no time has passed. Over the years and through countless moves, i matured into a politically active, scooter riding, gentrifying hipster living in the Kingdom of Slackers most call North Brooklyn. unlike most or maybe more like the rest, i have tried to do new and interesting things to change the world. on my path, i have loved, laughed and lost.

through the jobs, half-technical / half-political, i have found my self in a whole new world. grounded in our inherent biology, we are quickly staring at a future where there are no borders. like it or not our organic lives are dependent on our digital participation. i feel blessed to have an opportunity to explore these new intersections, highways and footpaths.

while our future is unknown, change is a constant. in the spirt of the original scouting oath i took on the road to becoming an eagle scout, i will always honor the promise to do my best, to fulfill my duties to earth and all residents, and to help others at all times.

noneck noel is a freelance business and lifestyle consultant, blogger and citizen journalist. his reporting outlets include http://luckofseven.com/, a 21 century anthropology travel project documenting free culture, social innovators and global change; noneck.org, which focuses on the future of media, cities and culture; and Coworking, which takes a look at the future of freelance office collectives. infrequently, you can find his posts at onnyturf.com, on new york city political and art events; personaldemocracy.com which addresses the impact of technology on politics, and his photos have been printed in the new york post, scoot quarterly, and scootering international.

as an advocate of peer-to-peer communication, noneck has been influential in setting up collaborative office environments for nyc freelancers (coworking). from presenting to organizing, you can find him organizing and consulting on numerous grassroots empowered conversations - salzburg seminar on new networks, the lift conference in geneva, barcamp, drupalcamps, rootscamps, the pdf unconference and countless meetups.

his former political clients include john kerry for president, new york state senate minority leaders office, cam kerry for massachusetts secretary of state, the new york state democratic senatorial campaign committee, state senator josé m. serrano, new york state senator andrea stewart-cousins, the assemble for rights nyc campaign, and norman siegel for nyc public advocate. he was a technology coordinator for the 2004 democratic national convention.

on the Luck of Seven - the press release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

contact
noel a hidalgo (aka noneck)
global explorer
Phone: +1.917.657.6999 (till 7 july)
http://luckofseven.com
press@noneck.org

on 07 july 2007, noneck noel (aka noel a hidalgo) will depart new york city for a journey around the world to learn from you. affably named "on the luck of seven" or "luck of seven." this is an open-source journey documenting free culture, social innovators and global change.

for seven months, i will stand on the seven continents, dive into the seven oceans, and contemplate seven topics of freedom. while on the way, i will document the journey. this is not my story, this is our story. though your hospitably, donations, projects, connections and friends, our stories will merge into one.

as i wander the earth, my broad shoulders will bear seven topics of freedom: free culture; free and open-source software communities; couchsurfers, bloggers, fellow travelers and vloggers; agents of progressive social change; barcamp, coworking and meetups; climate change and happenstance. all work will be produced under a creative commons license. all-in-all, this 21st century anthropological view of the personalities in physical / digital world we cohabit will always be freely available.

before departure, i am seeking 700 people to donate USD $11.11 for a total of USD $7,777. in exchange for providing my travel budget, each donor will receive a copy of a self-published book.

as the clock ticks, i am constantly seeking out partnerships in promotion, equipment, research but most importantly teaching. for example,

  • at home in new york city, michael david vineyards, a family owned vineyard and market located in lodi, california, is sending a few bottles of their award winning seven deadly zins and seven heavenly chards for me to taste. the wine will also be featured at the last few events i have in new york city.
  • while in prague, transitions online, a czech non-profit who works with young, up and coming eastern European journalists, has asked me to help teach a week long session on new media journalism.
  • while on the road, mobileactive and i will work together to report on the use of mobile phones for activism, campaigns, and civic engagement.

this trip will germinate many projects. first, through the blog < http://luckofseven.com > i will document the journey though text, audio, photos and high-definition video. second, i will self-publish one book detailing seven lessons from the journey. a second book will also be penned as an gonzo journalism piece and feature intimate thoughts while on my path. third, i will shoot a first person documentary movie. filmed in high definition, my goal is to have the movie ready for distribution before the end of 2008.

as for fundraising, once i reach my travel budget of USD $7,777, i will donate 75% of profits to non-profit communities that exemplify the luck of seven.

not an alternative - brooklyn coworking & community organizing - a little over a year ago, i was exposed to a wonderful community of artists, political organizers, freelance workers and free thinkers. not an alternative & the change you want to see gallery calls a modest williamsburg store front home. daily you can come joining us for coworking brooklyn or for monthly salons and performances. as not an alternative looks to expand their offering, i am donating 25% of this projects profits.

couchsurfing.com - open source communication & karma economy - imagine a world where you can travel the globe and have a buddy in every town. imagine, a traveler coming into your home and together you learn from each other. now imagine, these connections stemming from a social networking site. in spite of what most read or watch on television, there is a vast network of free spirits who have no problem opening their doors and allowing fellow travelers to share their home. as an avid host and supporter of couchsurfing, i am donating 25% of profits.

drupal association - open source technology & tools for change - since 2004, i have found myself immersed within a socially astute and technology savvy community who understand the importance of peer to peer communication and dialogue. world renown as one of the best content management systems, late last year, the drupal community established a non-profit to help guide and oversee the drupal project. as one of the new york city organizers and evangelists, i am donating 25% of profits.

the remaining 25% will be used to promote the website, book and film. at heart, these funds will establish a not for profit organization that promotes the ideals incorporated within this project.

for information: http://luckofseven.com or
contact: press@noneck.org
phone: +1.917.657.6999 (until 7 july 2007)