virtualDavis's blog

If you haven't already, pick up the current issue of PC Photo Magazine and read the article by Rob Sheppard called "Better Travel Photos Made Easy". In addition to tips on how to improve the lighting in your travel photos; how to pack photography equipment effectively and selectively; how to ensure battery power when you need it; and how to choose memory, storage and backup hardware Sheppard also covers some helpful guidelines for composing a good travel shot. So helpful that I'd like to quote these five obvious, but often overlooked travel composition tips:

I received a savory lead from my gastronomically inclined mother yesterday. An invaluable lead, I should add, on where to find the perfect pig snoot sandwich!

Perhaps you already salivated through Eleanor Randolph's "On Being Unable to Resist Heart-Stopping Barbecue", but if you missed it and are yearning for "a retreat to the earliest and most basic human cravings", then it's time to plan your next visit to New York City. Randolph has found some real gems. "These smoky food dens seem antiurban and faintly uncivilized,... [they] have the feel of a fraternity house basement."

Launched in July, 2004, Minimus.biz has become "the" destination for travel size items. You'll find toothpastes, shampoos, and shaving creams included in their online offerings, as well as a wide variety of snacks, coffee, tea, condiments, salad dressing packets, pharmacy items, topical medications, laundry detergents, and more - all in individual servings and convenient travel sizes. For orders over $20 they offer free domestic ground shipping.

PUERTO VALLARTA, Mexico (April 20, 2005) - What key ingredients make a dream beach vacation come true? Comfortable lodging, excellent personalized service, affordable prices and of course, amazing beachfront location.

Now a savvy hotel development consortium, Playa del Sol Group (PDSG), is making waves for getting back to these basics. Their philosophy is simple: offer spacious, family-style suites at competitive prices in a variety of well-run properties on stunning beach locations around Puerto Vallarta, the ultimate tropical destination.

I couldn't resist. Recently I stumbled upon Googlism.com, a website cooked up by Paul Cherry and Chris Morton which leverages Google's "brainpower" to lighten your mood. Sound's promising, right. This is what they say:

"Googlism was created as a fun tool to see what Google "thinks" of certain topics and people... Within the Google results are thousands of your thoughts and opinions about thousands of different topics, people, names, things and places, we simply search Google and let you know what website owners think about the name or topic you suggested."