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14 February 2011

Kattywompus: Linda's Viking Liferaft Testimonial

Linda has written a brief account of their _Kattywompus/reef_ experience, which Viking has posted on their web site.  Viking was very grateful for her contribution to their PR program.  Marine resellers who handle Viking gear are also running the article, which is the point.

• Linda's testimonial @ Viking
• Nautical chart of Doubtless Bay, NZ (the left pane)  The particular reef at issue seems not to be named on the chart.

--Mark_
14 February 2011

18 October 2010

Sharing Picasa Photos: Better now

My experiments with Picasa Web Albums have led me to conclude that trying to share pictures with friends while keeping them away from strangers does not work very well.  Worse, my advice to "use your <back> button" was less than perfectly helpful.

So, they are again out in the main (public) directory of my Picasa Web Album, where they can be conveniently viewed by my friends _and by everyone else on Earth_.

Mark's Picasa Web Albums

Mark_
18 October 2010

04 September 2010

Sharing Pictures = Frustrations

I have been experimenting with Google's combination of desktop picture-management software and online picture-sharing service, Picasa.  It's quite nice in several ways.

The thing I like most about it is that it doesn't move anything around on the disk (unless told to do so intentionally and explicitly); it builds and maintains a database of all of the pictures on the drives it detects (JPEG and other common formats), supports some practical (and some slightly esoteric) editing features, can be used to move files into different locations on disk, can directly import picture files from cameras and cards, and so forth.  It can upload selected pictures to a Google host online, where some management tasks can be carried out in a browser window.

That's where the difficulty lies.

Picasa online supports three levels of privacy:  _all public_, _unlisted_, and _invitation-only_.  Because I am interested in sharing only with my friends (but not in the additional layer of administration needed to maintain explicit invitations for each event/collection), I put my pictures into the _unlisted_ area and noted the URL (link address) that Google/Picasa indicated.

I checked that it worked, shared it to friends by e-mail, and felt pretty clever.

Immediately, some people replied that there was nothing there.

I don't know for certain why this problem occurs, but I am working on it.

Please accept my apology. My feeling clever is just about over.

--Mark_
04 September 2010

19 August 2010

17 June 2010

_Kattywompus_' Final Resting Place

For a look at the reef that ate Linda & Brad's Kattywompus, have a look at this lat/long by pasting it into the search field of Google Earth:


34° 53' 0.79" S   173° 24' 54.84" E

Brad pointed it out to me this morning as we were looking around at stuff during breakfast.

Oh.  That rock.

--Mark_ 
17 June 2010

09 June 2010

We are relieved!

We have seen Linda & Brad, and they really are okay.  They are able to laugh about some of the little things among their recent _travails_, their insurance company (an _excellent_ insurance company!) has come through, and they have closed the deal on another boat: a Malo 38 that looks very nice.  (The original advertisement link has gone dead; this generic informational link should help.)
<http://cruisingresources.com/Malo_38>

Friends will mind the boat in New Zealand while Linda & Brad remain here rather longer than they had originally intended, picking up work to refill their cruising treasury.

They are fine--eager for more, in fact--and we are relieved.

--Mark_
09 June 2010
(19 August 2010)

22 May 2010

Linda & Brad are home.

A few days ago I received an e-mail message from Linda: They are staying with her mother, have replaced Brad's PC laptop, and will drive up here Wednesday of next week.

They'll stay with us Wednesday night, and will be back in the area for Mike & Kit's get-together.

They'll tell their story, and perhaps we'll get details about a new boat. And we'll be happy to see them.