Gear Diary began when Judie, who had been writing for some time at The Gadgeteer, left to start her own personal blog. The idea for this site came while she was riding on the back of an elephant in Thailand! Her goal was to create a site that would not (and could not) be easily labeled. The idea clearly had resonance since, within weeks of being launched, it was clear that Gear Diary was destined to become much more than a personal blog. Numerous writers joined the site, and Gear Diary quickly became (and has remained) a place where a wide range of voices could be found speaking about an even wider range of gear and gadgets.