Last year a lot of our time was devoted to the constant search for wifi. Yes, we did have a USB internet stick connected to the netbook, so when there was a cell network around we could connect. On the other hand, such connection is often slow and always costly. That put us in Starbucks, McDonalds, and Safeway plus motels for about 2/3 of our internet use. We uploaded over 3500 photos to the blog last year, so this is not trivial stuff.

This year, in Europe, we expect to find less free wifi generally, to stay in hotels less, and to patronize restaurants less. So we are looking to how to reduce wifi use.

One way is to upload fewer photos. Hate that idea! Another way is to upload the photos in a smaller format. We would like to avoid that too, because looking at a postage stamp image online, or otherwise, detracts from the impact in a big way.

One "painless" method is to prepare the blog offline and upload it quickly once it is done. That way, the clock is not ticking while I decide on just the right word to describe that awful big hill or mind boggling cathedral facade.

Writing offline is simple, using any text editor. The problem comes in adding, captioning, and positioning photos. Ben Rowlands has created one system that handles part of the offline chores.

Only problem, Ben's program seems unable to log in to Crazyguy right now. We are looking for a fix, and may yet be able to use it. In the mean time, the most desirable European sight could be that of a wifi site!