This is an experiment in travel, technology, and telecommunications. I have embarked with my wife on a holiday in Africa. I intend to maintain a journal in the form of an evolving Web page while I am on the trip. As the saying goes, "Hope springs eternal . . ." and optimally, I hope to create a new journal entry with digitized video stills every day. I anticipate numerous obstacles that may frustrate this goal, including, but not limited to: a temperamental Toshiba laptop; my inexperience with HTML (I will be learning real-time); inadequate laptop and video batteries; unknown telecommunication and power capabilities in most of the places we will be visiting; unknown Internet accessibility when telecommunications are available; and unknown tolerance levels of my wife who is under the impression that we are on a vacation, a state she considers incompatible with computers.
Well, the road to hell .. etc. etc. I am still traveling but the trip is almost over. As I write this I am flying from Capetown to London where we will spend a few days, then home. During the two weeks in Botswana, I often had less than 90 minutes of power for the laptop over a two or three day period. I used that time to keep enough notes to complete the journal as time and batteries permit. I never sucessfully connected while in Botswana, as much a result of my lack of planning as the dearth of telecommunications in the areas we were traveling. I expect that I will arrive home with entries through October 5th posted. While in Capetown, I got my first look at what this Web page actually looked like, and will be making some organizational changes. New Intentions - Over the next two weeks, finish the journals, write the future attraction essays, create links to other sites, rewrite some of the early entries, scan and post some of Sigrids photos.
Journals complete. Established links with related and sympathetic sites. Started the NetSnake essay. Photographs in development.
Reorganized site. Began process of applying consistent background and format to journals. Finished first two NetSnake chapters.
Posted Sigrid's gallery of photographs. I think I'm done. I'll continue to add photos and NetSnake chapters as the spirit moves me.
10/1/96
Added "Sigrid's Gallery Too", three new chapters to "NetSnake", secured the "www.netsnake.com" domain name, and moved entire project to new home at Best Internet, a a local ISP.
1/1/97
Cleaned up links, improved navigation, tried to make everything work the same for explorer as well as navigator.