I just discovered that you can send virtual postcards via an iPhone application. Like any other video-related program, you can edit the pictures in hundreds of ways. Whatever happened to the good, old-fashioned (and sometimes cheesy) postcards found at highway rest stops?

A few months ago, I mentioned to a friend that I was missing a souvenir magnet from Toronto. I try to get a skyline magnet from every city I visit, and somehow I missed Toronto. My friend said I should just find a picture online, print it out on photo paper and affix it to store-bought blank magnets.

Now, why didn’t I think of this? Actually, why go anywhere at all? Why not just Photoshop yourself into pictures at various locations and save tons of cash? Who needs to actually go anywhere and see anything when we can “virtually” do the trips?

I guess I am old school. I like buying postcards at four-for-a-dollar and actually writing silly notes on them to send to certain people. I like buying a travel magnet to remind me of my trip. I occasionally even buy a souvenir t-shirt (especially if it is purple).

I am all for modern technology — fixing bad photos taken on the trip (although with digital cameras, why would there be bad photos?). I like having my photos on disks, too. However, I also like printing the hard-copy photos and actually putting them in an album.

I do sometimes wonder if people with digital cameras spend more time making sure they digitally capture everything than actually experiencing things. My brother-in-law, Dave, must have about 5,000 digital pictures from this year alone. At least with old cameras, you had to be more selective (or spend fortunes in photo development).

I guess we are all entitled to do whatever we want. For me, I will continue to buy real postcards and ready-made magnets. I will snap some pictures (probably with a disposable camera). Then, I will concentrate on having a great time wherever I am so that I will always have real memories of my trips.

– John Wroblewski, distribution specialist

I have never tried to hide the fact that while I don’t shun technology, I am also not one to quickly embrace the latest gizmo that comes on the market. I’ve blogged in the past about “getting gadgetized” and how it’s not so much a fear of technology that holds me back but my impatience and a lack of time to devote to learning/installing what I need to put something new to use. Okay, if I’m going to be completely honest, I’m lazy, too. If I don’t think the benefits to me will outweigh the hassle (and expense) of adjusting to some new toy, I figure I don’t need it.

Lucky for me, I am prevented from remaining permanently in the Stone Age (or at least the VHS and cassette player age) by my loved ones. My husband, possessing what I have come to believe is an innate male trait, keeps our entertainment systems up to date . . . and thankfully knows how it all works. And my younger daughter has always been my go-to girl when I have any kind of computer question: “Jenny, how do I download the pictures from my camera to the computer? How do I delete these songs from my list? Show me again that thing you did in Excel.” She’s the one who handed me down her old iPod and introduced me to the iTunes store, too. She has long been well-acquainted with the various social networking sites, but I have no interest at present in joining one; a stance she seems to equally have no interest in changing (not surprising!). Just this past week, though, she nudged her dad and I into our latest techno adventure — Skypeing.

Both Jenny and big sister Sarah have webcams built into their computers, and after spending Easter weekend together and setting up their communications, they decided to get us in on the fun. Harry’s laptop also has a built-in camera, so after walking us through the free sign-up, Jenny had us hanging up our phone and chatting with her online, face-to-face, so to speak. For those of you who are uninitiated (and I doubt anyone reading this is), Skype allows you to make unlimited free calls over the Internet on computer, iPhone or PDAs. You can do so with or without the camera (we found we can teleconference with audio but not video–yet), but of course the whole point is to be able to see each other. With both girls in Chicago and us here in Oregon, it’s great to be able to see them in between our infrequent visits with each other. It means Jenny can show me the cute new top she bought instead of just describing it, and we will be able to show her live shots of our new home once we move in. I’m sure we will find lots of situations where we will be thankful for the ability to not just talk to each other but see each other, too — if for no other reason than the comfort of seeing that loving and familiar face.

Ain’t technology great?!

Patty Vanikiotis, proofreader

Just before Christmas, my husband and I received one of the best presents we’ve ever gotten: we sold our house in Washington. It had been on the market for almost nine months, and all through the fall as the economic picture and predictions grew steadily worse, we really worried about how much longer it would take to sell and whether we’d get a decent price for it. It was a beautiful home in a great community, though, so thankfully a family that really appreciated what it had to offer came along, and everyone is happy!

For the last few weeks, Harry and I have been been visiting a lot of homes within a radius of about 20 miles of his new workplace. We’re ready to move out of our temporary home of a small two-bedroom apartment, get our stuff out of storage and (for me at least) own some dirt that I can plant a garden in. One of the great things about house hunting these days (aside from the interest rates and buyers’ market) is the fact that one can do so much screening in advance online. Even just 15 years ago, far fewer homes were available for viewing this way, and the information and pictures were often limited and haphazardly organized. (And if your Internet connection was slow, well, the whole process was just too frustrating.) These days, though, virtually every listing out there can be found in moments with just a few mouse clicks.

That means that we’ve actually been looking at houses for more like the last two months. Hop on to any of the major realtors’ Web sites, select your parameters (house and lot square footage, age of the home, number of bedrooms and baths, price range, location), click “Search,” and Bingo!, up comes a list of candidates, with handy maps, links to neighborhood and school information, and even “virtual tours” of your options. Even our daughters have gotten in on the act from Chicago, searching when job hunting or studying grew tiresome and sending us links to places they like (”Hey, this one has a pool!” “Do you think that big-screen TV comes with the house?”).

Now, of course we dutifully read through the descriptions, note the amenities, days on the market, annual taxes and the like. But we most avidly check out the photos, and we have become quite adept at guessing at floor plans, room sizes and quality of a place based on just a few of these. Pictures ARE worth a thousand words, and someone could probably make a lot of money developing a class for agents on how to take good pictures and put together an appealing assortment for these online listings. I’m pretty sure, based on firsthand research, that if someone HAS created such a course, not enough agents are taking it.  

I’m immediately suspicious if there are more photos of those “amazing views” or “stunning landscaping” than there are of the house itself. I’m even more suspicious if there are only a few pictures; and when the quality is poor or the shots unflattering, I think that reflects on the quality of the listing agent as well. I saw one shot of what was probably a pretty decent master bathroom, but I couldn’t get past all of the bottles of bath products lined up on the counter and the curling iron plugged in to the wall. It looked like the agent had come in while the owner was getting ready for work, said “Don’t mind me, I’ll be done in a flash,” and snapped a few photos. I know owners are encouraged to reduce clutter and excess furniture and mess before listing a house, but it seems some of the pictures have been taken before such editing occurred–if it ever did. In other cases, one might guess that they are trying to sell the furniture instead of the home it sits in, because that nifty sofa or desk fills the whole frame while giving you no sense of the size of the room around it or the placement of windows and doors.  And someone really needs to point out that pictures taken on a bright, sunny day are often overexposed and feature strong bars of light cutting through a room, which make it impossible to see what lies in the shadows around them. Such flawed presentations of such expensive products usually leave me unimpressed and clicking on the next home without putting the poorly offered ones on my list of “to see.” On the other hand, nicely composed shots of neat, evenly lit spaces that allow me to see how the rooms relate to each other will get me itching to actually visit the house and see how I’d fit in it.

We’re gradually narrowing our search, but I think that even after we find our next home, I’ll periodically return to a little online house hunting, just to see what’s out there (especially well above my “real” price range). And every time I see some hastily thrown together photo display, I’ll think, “Now, someone should create a class for  these guys . . .”

Patty Vanikiotis, proofreader

I decided to join in the frenzy and attempt a Black Friday sale for the first time this morning. The lines, crowds and craziness always seemed so unappealing to me, but my boyfriend and I decided to set a price limit on Christmas presents this year, so when I saw a great deal on a digital camera, well within the price range, in a Staples circular yesterday, I decided to venture out.

The Kodak camera was on sale for $79.99, a savings of over $50, plus it came with a free 1 GB memory card and a free Canon photo printer! There were lots of cameras on sale all over, at all different stores, but with the added value of the memory card and the printer, this was a deal I couldn’t resist. So, I woke myself up at 5 a.m., threw on some sweats and headed over to the local Staples. I arrived just as the doors were opening and grabbed my spot in line.

I wasn’t too far back in line, maybe 20th, but it seemed like most of the people in front of me were grabbing up the HP laptops for $399 and the TomTom navigation systems for $99. I saw a few cameras and printers being carted out of the store, but as the line moved, and I was only three people away from the prize, I breathed a sigh of relief as I saw a big stack of cameras still left. Two people stood between me and the register - both of them were there for the camera deal as well. My heart sank as the man two spots in front of me grabbed a camera and printer and the salesperson announced he only had one more printer left. Of course, the lady in front of me snatched it up. They didn’t grant rain checks and without the printer, the deal just was not as appealing. After all that, I left empty-handed and with a bad taste in my mouth for Black Friday and a great feeling of annoyance at Staples!

Here is where I interject a few complaints. First, how can you stock 50 cameras and 20 printers? It seems to me that if you are offering a package deal, you should probably stock equal numbers of the products. In addition, Staples was offering free photo printers with any digital camera purchases for the entire weekend, so it seems to me they will have a lot of disgruntled customers this weekend. And, even if they get more, it wasn’t going to happen before 11 a.m., when the Kodak camera offer expired. Secondly, the lady in front of me was alone at the store and I let her get out of line to grab something and get back in line. So much for karma - I was nice and the lady got the last item. My new philosophy - you move out of line, you lose your spot! Of course, my holiday spirit will always win out and I’ll let people back in line. I know I’ll find a camera deal somewhere else.

So, after my first trip out on a Black Friday, I am just thankful I didn’t go to Best Buy or WalMart. I just don’t think I could handle all that. In the end, I don’t think the Black Friday savings are worth my sanity or the aggravation. Next time, I’m staying in bed!

-Kimberly Krol, eFlyer editor, circulation and public relations executive