Not Ready for Prime Time

Packing for a few weeks in the middle of nowhere, Ecuador... bamboo cabin in the jungle, with a panoramic view of the ocean, sounds of birds and waves, intermittent electricity, no internet (have to take a trip into town for that). A week ago, I was planning on leaving behind my laptop and pile of books that I cram into my backpack with my bathing suit and a few clean clothes, and taking the iPad and wireless keyboard... but after trying to work on a short story on the iPad (see entry titled 'On the Go... Not!'), I've decided to take a break from the iPad, take the trusty old laptop with me, and get back to my digital experimenting when I return... I thought about taking both machines, and losing the books... but can't see myself taking the iPad out to the beach for a quiet read. Also bad enough to worry about the security of one machine in a third world country where I travel on the cheap. And honestly, I'm happy to have my real, paper and ink books, that I'll leave behind in some hostal library or other as I finish each one. So... while it's been fun to dally with the exotic, sleek and new, for the past couple of weeks, I'm happy to be back with the reliable, comfortable and useful for the next couple of weeks.