Palms/Hiking/Computers/Books

Palm
Just added a new link to in the blogroll on the right side - Palm Addicts. If you own a Palm, this is a cool site. You will definitely be in the KNOW!

Hiking the PCT
Just got a note from "Nocona" re: her new attempt to complete the PCT (as well as news of her recent wedding! - Note the picture to the left - this was on top of their cake - the summit of Katahdin on the Appalachian Trail and the completion of a Thru-Hike for both her and her husband "Bald Eagle" - hikers take their hiking seriously, as you can tell! :) . She started the Pacific Crest Trail once with her new husband (boyfriend back then) , but developed high altitude pulmonary edema and had to get off. Janet and I know Bald Eagle from our hike of the AT in '95 - we hiked with him off and on and I remember my Dad (who in his 80's came out to hike with us for a few days in the Shenandoahs), being quite impressed that Bald Eagle was a Texas Aggie (as was my Dad - Civil Engineer - class of '34). I am, of course, digressing as I usually do, but had to point out the pertinant facts! :) Anyway, check out Nocona's journal. She's a great journal writer and you can follow along with her as she hikes the PCT. I feel like I somewhat know the PCT from having transcribed "Simply Seekings" journal for her when she hiked the PCT, so it will be interesting to compare their experiences. (for those of you unfamiliar with the hiking world, a transcriber is someone who types up a hiker's notes from the trail. The hiker periodically mails them to the transcriber, who types them and then posts them on the Net).

Computer Tip
Want to compress your images (jpeg) before transmitting them over the Net so that they won't take up so much bandwidth? There used to be free programs for this, but now many places charge. I recently found an online one that you can bookmark. Simply upload your picture and in a few seconds, you'll have a much compressed picture file (actually they will give it you in a number of different compressions) and then you can save the one you like back to your hard drive and use it to send in your email or post to a web page if you have one. Quite slick and does a good job. Nice to see that you can still find a free one out there.

Booklovers
Remember the Bookcrossing web site I talked about the other day? Well here's another good reason to join - a completely free book! Even the shipping! Take a look at this free book offer . You can thank me, once you get the book. :)

Related Links:

The karma of virtual libraries

Read and Release

Find This Book

A Global Book Club's Traveling Titles

A Novel Approach to a Circulating Library

Die ganze Welt als Leihbücherei For my German Readership!

Quote of the Day
"I think high self-esteem is overrated. A little low self-esteem is actually quite good…Maybe you're not the best, so you should work a little harder."
Jay Leno