Think Tank Photo  announced today that in May it will release the Airport™ series, a new line of travel-specific, high-capacity camera backpacks designed with maneuvering through airports quickly in mind. The three backpacks – the Airport Accelerator, Airport Commuter, and Airport Essentials --  integrate quick access pockets for both laptops and iPad, a top pocket for boarding passes, and 

three robust handles to ensure easy placement and retrieval from overhead bins.

The Airport™ series makes life easier for the traveling photographer. All meet international carry on size requirements.  The two smaller bags, the Airport Commuter and the Airport Essentials, are designed to fit under-seat in regional commuter planes.

Their light, adjustable, contoured harness provides comfort along with lumbar support.  The air mesh paneling keeps backs cool. The height-adjustable sternum strap allows for the perfect fit.  A removable waist belt, side water bottle pocket, tripod/ monopod mounting system and seam sealed rain cover extend their versatility.

Adding even more functionality, these backpacks can be used with Think Tank’s Pro Speed Belts for additional support and capacity by adding component pouches and cases from the company’s Modular Rotation Component System.

“For photographers who travel by air, these bags deliver on the three “C’s”:  Carry-on size, Comfort, Capacity,” said Doug Murdoch, Think Tank’s co-founder and lead designer.  “Their design, build quality and functionality are second to none.”

The three sizes allow photographers to select the best fit for their needs.  Click here  to get a better look at the bags and what they'll hold

Comedy’s “Queen of Mean” Currently Starring on Celebrity Apprentice; On Tour Everywhere This Spring

Lisa Lampanelli, Comedy’s Loveable Queen of Mean, will release Equal Opportunity Offender: The Best of Lisa Lampanelli, her first greatest hits compilation, on April 17, 2012. The album which is available now for pre-order , collects all-time favorite riffs from the woman Howard Stern calls “a true original and a brilliant comedy mind.” Lampanelli, who is starring alongside Adam Carolla, Arsenio Hall and others on the current season of The Celebrity Apprentice (airing Sundays at 9/8c on NBC), will also be on tour across the country beginning this weekend and continuing through the summer.

ALBUM PRE-ORDER (with limited copy signed by Lisa Herself)

http://www.newburycomics.com/rel/v2_home.php?storenr=103&deptnr=660

Heralded as "more than a standup - a standout" by comedy legend Jim Carrey, Lampanelli is a cross between Don Rickles, Archie Bunker, and a vial of estrogen. Her raunchy, gut-busting performances are wildly popular at theaters across the U.S. and Canada, and her roasts of Donald Trump, David Hasselhoff, Flavor Flav, and Gene Simmons (among others) are the stuff of which legends are made. A regular on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and Howard Stern's Sirius satellite radio shows, Lisa entered the ranks of comic greats in 2009 with the premiere of her first ever one-hour HBO comedy special, Long Live the Queen. That same year, her autobiography, Chocolate, Please: My Adventures in Food, Fat and Freaks, hit bookstores to critical acclaim. Lisa also writes a column in Playboy magazine. This fall, Lisa will bring her talents to Broadway and the big screen, when she mounts her one-woman show, Bring Back the Fat Chick and stars alongside James Gandolfini in the upcoming feature film Not Fade Away, from “The Sopranos” creator David Chase, scheduled for release October 19th.

For more information on Lisa Lampanelli, please visit www.insultcomic.com  .

Senior Pro Golfer Reveals It’s Not About the Destination – It’s About the Journey

When Keith Gockenbach went on his quest to join the Champions Golf Tour, he knew it would teach him about golf. What he didn’t know is that it would teach him more about life.

“Ever since I was a child, I wanted to be a pro golfer,” said Gockenbach, who retired from a successful career as a chemical engineer to take his shot at joining the senior tour. “When I finally got to a point in my life when I could take my shot, I did. What I didn’t realize is that I learned a lot more about living life than I did about golf.”

Gockenbach chronicled his life lessons, with a side order of war stories from competing in tournament qualifiers, Senior Majors, and Q-Schools, in his book Inside, Outside and On The Ropes (www.insidetheropesgolf.com). In it, he ends each chapter with a lesson about life, a lesson about golf, or a combination of the two. His tips on how to play life “from the pro tees” include:

• If you don’t enter, you can’t win – I know this sounds simple, but it’s easy to be stopped by the daunting odds that face a pro every week, trying to get on the Champions Tour. For instance, after recovering from shoulder surgery in the spring, I passed on entering three qualifiers where I could have qualified with a low round, as I later did at Sarasota. But when I didn’t enter, I eliminated that opportunity. You can apply the same logic at work. Make the extra sales call at that plant you’ve driven by a dozen times. It’s the one the previous salesman said, “Don’t bother with them; they’ve never ordered a thing.” You might just show up on the day their current supplier stumbles, or the day the purchasing agent gets a memo about a new product that uses your raw material. It can’t be your day if you don’t show up.

• The greatest regrets in life are for things you didn’t do, not the things you did and did poorly – I’m sure there are exceptions to this rule, but in my experience, people regret stopping after only a few piano lessons a lot more than spending two years on the lessons and never becoming very good. I know it’s true for me. I quit piano lessons at age 13 after only three visits to the local teacher. I quit so early I can’t even remember her name. And I’ve regretted it every time I see someone who can play the piano competently. “No one ever lies on their deathbed and wishes they’d spent more time at the office” is true for a reason. It’s the dreams we didn’t chase that we regret, not the ones we chased and never caught. I know I’ve certainly had more people come up to me and say, “I admire you for chasing your dream,” than I’ve had say or even imply, “You’re crazy to try.”

• Every stroke counts – I know from playing in the qualifiers that one shot here or there can make the difference between qualifying and going home empty. A round of golf takes four-and-a-half hours on a good day. A good attitude and focus for each and every shot takes less than a minute each. Each of those (hopefully less than 70!) events is equally important. Life works the same way. When you’re driving a car, focus on your safe driving. Getting angry at the driver who cuts you off only makes it less likely that you’ll get there safely. You won’t change his behavior. You’ll just open yourself up for a ticket or an accident. Take the extra two seconds to learn the secretary’s name and sincerely thank her when she gets you that appointment with her boss. Give her your full attention, even if your total interaction is less than a minute long. An off-handed remark from her can score a birdie with her boss. Every interaction in life deserves a positive approach and relaxed focus. It’s a good habit to develop.

About Keith Gockenbach

Keith Gockenbach grew up playing golf in Robinson, IL and caddying for Bob Goalby and other pros in the PGA Tour’s Robinson Open. He was the top Chemical Engineering graduate in Clemson’s class of 1977 before joining Eastman Chemical Company. After a successful career in the chemical industry, including a Sloan Fellowship to MIT, where he obtained his MBA with a focus on leadership (Thesis: “Taking Charge as a General Manager, An Action Plan for Success), he “retired” in 2004 to chase his dream.

For a limited time you can get a free eyepiece with Think Tank Photo’s Think Tank Photo’s Hydrophobia rain covers. 

The Hydrophobia 70-200  and  Hydrophobia 70-200 Flash rain covers accommodate a DSLR with up to a 70-200 lens and, in the latter, a flash.  Its Hydrophobia 300-600 rain cover protects a DSLR with a super telephoto lens (300 f2.8 up to a 600 f4) attached, with the lens hood in position.  These heavy-duty rain covers provide protection during even the toughest downpours, wind storms, or other challenging conditions. What's more, you can actually attach your DSLR and simply carry it by the rain cover.  The sleeves are big enough to not only let you control the camera (with the help of a clear window around back), but swap out batteries or memory cards as well.  When you check out of the shopping cart you will be asked which eyepiece you would like to receive for free.