[pct-l] GPS

[Steel-Eye]

Good morning, Brian,

I'm waiting for the latest technology all in one magic box, which will
include: GPS receiver, cell phone, walkie-talkie, audio and video media
player, electronic compass, avalanche finder, strobe beacon, electronic
altimeter, PDA, calculator, flashlight, blood pressure tester, night light,
portable burglar alarm, viewer with binocular/microscope/night-vision
capabilities, digital alarm clock, electronic fire-starting match,
inclinometer, satellite AM/FM broadcast receiver, electronic thermometer,
SPOT receiver/transmitter, bug repeller/zapper, retina scanner, bear-scent
detector, ultrasonic pot cleaner/decontaminator, laser rangefinder, medical
history chip, UV water purifier, voice recorder, cardiac defibrillator,
digital still/video camera, Taser, electronic debit/credit card, radar
detector, heartbeat & respiration monitor, trail sign bar-code reader; and
upwards of a dozen additional functions and features -- those that I have
not yet learned are absolutely essential to my safety, health, happiness,
and ultimate success as a hiker.

All this will be in one 5-ounce package powered by new
unobtainium/dihydrogen monoxide fuel cell technology which is backed by a
solar array and a hand crank.

 For those among you who don't believe such is possible, I refer you to
Clarke's Three Laws of Prediction:
1.      When a distinguished but elderly scientist* states that something is
possible, he is almost certainly right. When he states that something is
impossible, he is very probably wrong.
2.      The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture
a little way past them into the impossible.
3.      Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from
magic.
          - Arthur C. Clarke

*That might me me!

You will know it's all real when you see Billy Mays advertise it on TV.

Steel-Eye
http://www.trailjournals.com/steel-eye



----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Brian Lewis" <brianle8 at gmail.com>
To: <pct-l at backcountry.net>
Sent: Sunday, November 23, 2008 9:50 PM
Subject: Re: [pct-l] GPS


> An alternative is a smartphone which includes a true GPS as part of its
> overall suite of tools.  That's what I carried on my thru-hike this year,
> and while I'm with the majority on the idea of not being absolutely
> reliant
> on a GPS for navigation, I found it helpful in a few cases, plus a nice
> "treat" in some other cases, i.e., a sort of psychological reward I could
> give myself infrequently of "finding out exactly where I am" when that
> felt
> appropriate.
>
> And if you're at all inclined to, you can add road-type GPS software to a
> smartphone as well as topographic software; I had both along.  The
> road-type
> (Tom Tom in my case) software wasn't too useful in general, but in limited
> situations it could turn out to be nice as well, and I use it at home now
> occasionally in "normal life".
>
> My expanded thoughts on this (smartphone in general, to include the GPS
> functionality) are here:
> http://postholer.com/smartPhone.html
>
>
> Brian Lewis
> http://postholer.com/brianle
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