Deleted; re-posted with spelling errors corrected, time zones fixed, and parentheses opened or closed as needed; updated. And, I hope, with a transit map. 1/29 9:25 PM LAX After various disruptions, I was very happy to see N before I left—I wasn't expecting to. She did need to drop me at the airport three hours before my flight, where both my checked and carry-on bags were inspected, swabbed, and rummaged through. I then discovered that (perhaps due to software incompatibility, perhaps to the finicky nature of iPods) my iPod was empty, where previously I had loaded 56 hours of audio books. Two hours were spent unfruitfully (but at least I was interested) in trying to figure out why the computer knew all the files on the iPod but couldn't play them, whereas the iPod merely insisted ... read more

While my camera battery recharges, I'm making sure my other electronics will meet my needs. I'm typing this on my ASUS eee 8, one of the early series with a very small screen and keyboard. I'm using a tiny little Targus mouse. My camera SD card is in a plug-in reader, so let's see if I can upload a photo. Indeed, I can. I'll need to play around with the site to see how to display them throughout the text.... read more

Some handy tools for travelers and their friends: Currency converter: http://www.xe.com/ucc/full/ Time zone converter: http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/converter.html U.S. Department of State travel page: http://www.state.gov/travelandbusiness/ Travelers can register their itinerary with the embassies/consulates via this page so that they know to alert or look for you if there's a problem.... read more

FedEx tracking shows that my packet arrived in San Francisco this morning, which is nice to know. Today I continued reading about Thailand. I also went to the sheriff's office and got fingerprinted again, and sent for my state criminal history check. I got two sets so I could send for the FBI check, though it won't get back to me until after this trip. I'm hoping that a state clearance will make it possible for me to volunteer with children. I have very mixed feelings about blanket background checks, and no bad feelings at all about checks for people working with youth and other vulnerable groups, especially for areas like Cambodia where human trafficking is such a problem.... read more

Today I'm doing a lot of small but important tasks. So far today, I've *confirmed which electronics are dual voltage and which plug adapters I'll need *weighed an approximation of my clothes and gear (~20 pounds, or ~9 kilos) to see if I can carry on *listed the U.S. embassies in the countries I'll be visiting *Investigated the location of campuses of the the university in Laos (I don't think I'll get there, but it doesn't hurt to prepare) *Communicated with my Vietnamese host (Viet Nam requires an invitation in order to get a visa, and the holidays have slowed this process this time) *Checked the status of my packages (new shoes, a little new clothing) *Begun a list of gear to locate (travel towel, inflatable lumbar pillow, silk liner) *Looked at Lonely Planet's website to ... read more