Five Easy Ways to Keep Travel Fun, or "The Tao of the Nintendo Generation"

Traveling by plane is ... not always the most fun. There are lines, rules and babies everywhere, 75 percent of people either eat or breathe too loudly, and everything else is either a chair you don't fit in or a Sbarro Pizza that you're pretty sure has been a victim of arson. So, usually not the best time. But, that doesn't mean you have to let it bring you down. There is a philosophy popular among my generation, a "tao" if you will, that I think is helpful in dealing with the filthy, grinding hell that is air travel:

"True Harmony is constant video-electric stimulation."

It's a little hippy-dippy, sure, but you know us Gen-Y ers: poorly co-opting Zen aphorisms in 140 characters or less is sort of our thing. But, shameful understanding of Confucianism aside, the statement is at least accurate in that computers can make even the most delayed, baby-filled trip a joy. Here are five easy ways to make your trips more bearable through the glory of electronics.

1. Get a Game for Your Tablet or Smart Phone
Nothing kills 80-hour airport imprisonments like a good video game, and now that you don't have to sink $200-plus on a Game Boy to get decent portable device, it's never been a more accessible travel option. After all, you've already bought a tablet or smart phone for working-while-traveling, so why not drop a $5 game on it? I'm a fan of strategy games myself (high replay value per dollar spent), so I'd personally recommend Civilization: Revolution (a little more expensive, but well worth it), Fieldrunners 2 (iPhone only I think), or the classic Plants vs. Zombies. All these games also work well without sound and are easy to play in 5-minute bursts, making them even better for travel.