It's summer in the northern hemisphere. Palmtop users are out-of-doors, taking in the sights, traveling and recreating. They also want to let the rest of the Palmtop community know that they haven't left their personal computers at home.
Here then is the latest batch of Most Unusual Places from which to send a message with a Palmtop.
Under water...
This message is written while scuba diving near Isla de Roatan, Honduras C.A. There's no phone line in the water. Will send this later.
Happy bubbles,
Larry Nielsen, 104475,2520
In the air...
We are preparing to deploy our HIANG (Hawaii Air National Guard) KC-135 tankers to France. As aircrew and PAX (passengers) go through final briefing, AG inspection, baggage loading and PAX boarding, there is an increase feeling of excitement and an anticipation as we all realize we are finally "good to go." IANG aircraft and crew will be supporting Bosnia No-Flying NATO operations and refueling NATO fighters, should be interesting, if the air strikes start.
We flew 8 hours to a Midwest ANG air base and stopped for fuel and aircrew rest. It was easy to work on my HP 200LX on a smooth riding KC-135 tanker cruising at 35K at Mach.85 (about 500 knots TAS). I have a small Zelco clip on, flexible neck flashlight with a red lens so I can see the HP 200LX screen en route. The main difficulty is using the keys with nomex glove and the small print on the screen, so I have to enlarge the screen. I will be using asCIS4 to get email and get forum messages while I am TDY (temporary duty) in France. I am also trying to use WWW/LX to get on the web. Can I use my HPF1011A AC/DC adapter (100-240V ~0.3A)? Are the phone line connections the same? Forum members have been quite helpful in getting me set up to use my HP 200LX while on TDY. Aloha, Ando "Sensei"
Richard Ando,Jr., 110562,2741
March 19, 1999 Hickam AFB, HI
In Brazil...
This was almost an "almost" MUP because on my way to the skylift, it started to pour down rain, so I ducked under the eves of a storage shed to start this. Then I only had to keep wiping the splashes of water from my screen.
The skylift was built over the Rio Tabagi by Klabin Industries in 1959 to help their workers get to work from the town of Telemaco Borba, Parana, Brazil. I pay one Real to cross both ways. I am staying at the Ikape Hotel which is part of a small very peaceful community named Harmonia. Originally only supervisory employees of the mill, and their visitors, could enter here. The community is pretty much self-contained, although the only supermarket moved into town a few months ago seeking new customers.
From the skylift I have a good view of the valley. Most of the poorest homes cluster about the banks of the river, their only water supply, while better ones sit atop the ridge. However, some of the more affluent citizens apparently decided they wanted to share the river too, as I see some nice homes and some under construction on the higher banks. Telemaco Borba is a city of perhaps 50,000 people (my guess) set across three small mountain ridges with the river between two of them. It takes about 4 hours to drive here by car from Curitiba. There is an airport here used by only the brave or foolish. (Since I fit both categories I may try it sometime. It can't _really_ be more dangerous than the highways!
When the rain stopped I continued my 1-km now slightly muddy walk to the terminal, and boarded the car. I am glad I started this before, because too much typing spoils the view! Anyway, the ride each way is only 3.4 minutes.
Now I am back in my room with the air conditioner on to dry my clothes. I cannot connect my HP 360LX directly to CompuServe (without making unacceptable changes to my CIS configuration), so I had to upload this file to my laptop for that. Now I will see if I can get this sent out. Lately I have been able to get CompuServe to work only one out of three or four logins. I think it is bad telephone lines here, although it does seem to work better when I use the 800 number. (It is not practical to log into the Sao Paulo number because it is long distance anyway, is very slow, and almost always busy.) So I dial back through AT&T to the USA. Usually it's cheaper that way, but not with all the problems I've been having the past few days.
Marvin L. Zinn, 70714,1310
On the road...
Greetings to everyone from Bob Newins, my mother and me! We are having a late dinner at TGI Fridays in Richmond, Virginia. My mother and I are passing through Richmond on our way to Rock Hill, South Carolina where my mother will be moving into her new home. Bob was kind enough to help me with recommendations of a place to stay and eat. I planned out the route with Delorme Street Atlas, and then fed the routing info into my GPS so that I won't get lost. I also used GPSCGA to have a moving map display on the palmtop for the time I was driving the back streets of Maryland to stop at my uncle's house for lunch. Bob came to the restaurant with a huge brief case full of fun stuff like an OmniBook 600CT, Pentax printer, cell phone, paper maps, pocket modem, etc. I think he had a kitchen sink in there also, but he would not let me look inside.
Well, it is time to finish eating and get going. I will plug in my new Smart Modular ApexData 33.6 PCMCIA modem and connect to my cell phone to send this message.
Stan Dobrowski [TeamHP], 71031,2162
In a plane...
I am flying from Pittsburgh to Albany at about 11:00pm on Friday, April 17. We are at about 35,000 feet and there is a spectacular display of the Northern Lights off the left side of the plane. Don't know if any of you saw it from the ground.
Victor Roberts, 70413,1423
On the stump...
Right now, I am sitting on a tree stump on the grounds of a beautiful retreat house in north central New Jersey. The tree stump I am sitting on has some special significance. It used to be a giant pine tree. Several years ago, the folks from Rockefeller Center bought the tree for use as their Christmas tree in New York City. The Sisters here told us all about how the Rockefeller Center people picked out the tree and took care of it for a while so it would not get damaged after it was chosen. Then, when the time came, they cut it down and hauled it away. The tree is long gone now, but the famous stump will live on in MUP history.
As is my policy with MUPs, I will attempt to transmit right from the MUP sight. So, I will whip out my cell phone and new PCMCIA modem to go online right now.
Stan Dobrowski [TeamHP], 71031,2162
On the grass...
Greetings from Panoply, Huntsville's annual Spring festival of the arts. We are sitting here on the grass of Big Spring Park listening to Inkari, an Andean music group.
Earlier on we watched some dance (Ballet and tap). The children got to meet Arthur (PBS character) and the Puzzle Place characters put on a song and dance routine. Faces were painted, Helium balloons were tied to wrists, fish were drawn and colored, tambourines were made, sand pits were dug through for buried treasure and now we are resting before heading off to find something to eat.
Gary Spiers, 74603,3001