Technology issues to overcome

We're running 1-2 days behind in reporting to you, complicated in part by my AWOL Mac laptop that didn't make the trip, and a malfunctioning digital camera from our office in Abilene. I'm now borrowing the Tysons' camera, but didn't have a way to download images from it to Ryan's laptop until yesterday. Internet access is spotty in the hotel, and slow, and non-existent while we are traveling during the day. The hotel has us buy 5-hour WiFi connection credit cards, and the 5 hours fly by when waiting for Internet connections that are as slow as Christmas in the evenings, when most of our work has to be done. To allow Ryan to do his video editing, I handwrite my posts on a legal pad, and type them into a Word file when Ryan has a break in his work. We reserve our precious WiFi time for actual posts, and are on our fourth 5-hour credit card. Our room looks like a Radio Shack store, with wires and converters and cables everywhere in an attempt to tame the Madagascar technology. Some members of our group actually have a laptop with them and can see what we're recording on the blog, but most won't have the ability to read about what they're doing until they return home. We have electricity blackouts throughout the day, although they are brief, and thankfully, not experienced in one of the elevators, although I came close to that yesterday.