17/02/2004 Interview with Kathleen- PDA247 editor, has good taste in music and has a palindromic date of birth?
What PDA do you currently use and why?
I use a Palm Tungsten E because it looked like the best PDA I could afford. The 32Mb memory is plenty for me and it's got a lovely clear bright hi-res screen. I also think its a very nice design. It doesn't have Bluetooth - but I can live without that . . . for the moment anyway.
How many PDAs have you used (list them) and which is the best of the bunch?
I have owned an SJ33 and my current Palm T|E. I think the PDA I have now is the better of the two - but I do miss the Sony jog dial. Somehow the 5-way navigator just isn't the same.
What one feature would you miss the most if I came to your house and stole your PDA?:)
Mundane as this might sound, I'd miss the alarms I set as reminders. No one would get a birthday card, I'd forget to meet people or phone them, I would forget errands and I wouldn't know what I was doing at work. Other people think I'm an organised individual with a good memory, but its only because of my Palm. Oh dear, my PDA being stolen would be terrible!!!!! Don't take this personally Shaun, but I'm not telling you where I live ok.
What are the best 5 books you have read?
1.) Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach 2.) Creating True Peace and Call Me by my True Names both by Thich Nhat Hanh (who was nominated by Martin Luther King for the Nobel Peace Prize). A truly remarkable man and an inspiration to people of any religion or indeed of no faith. The poem Call me by my True Names can be read here: www.quietspaces.com/poemHanh.html 3.) Anything by Terry Pratchett. His books always make me laugh. 4.) Anything by Bill Bryson 5.) The Duncton Tales by William Horwood. Imaginative and thoughtful storytelling.
What are the best 5 songs you have heard?
1.) Wondrous Stories by Yes. I like a lot of songs by Yes, much to the dismay of my husband :( Shaun: Who?:) 2.) Wuthering Heights by Kate Bush Shaun: HUGE talent! 3.) Many Rivers to Cross by Jimmy Cliff Shaun: before my time:) 4.) Do You Realize? by The Flaming Lips. In fact, the whole Yoshimi album is great and you can listen to it here: www.flaminglips.com/main.php Shaun: WONDERFUL BAND!!!! Listen to Kathleen on this- truly WONDERFUL!!!!!!! 5.) Sunshine on Leith by The Proclaimers. A wonderful song, and reminds me of my student days in Edinburgh.
Name one unique fact about yourself...
My date of birth is palindromic (reads the same backwards as it does forwards) and so was the day I got married. I sometimes wonder if it that is significant in some way. . .
What are your favourite 5 web sites (ignore PDA247:))
1.) BBCi www.bbc.co.uk the first place to look for information on just about anything. 2.) Chessworld.net www.chessworld.net is the best online chess club. They even let me play for Scotland (B team) in the Chess Olympiad last year, so beginners are definitely welcome ;) 3.) Sacred Space www.jesuit.ie/pda - keeps me in contact with the sacred everyday. 4.) Palm addict. I enjoy reading the User Thoughts and its the only other site I've donated to - its important to support sites like pda247 and Palm addict 5.) TV Cream. www.tv.cream.org From Jamie and the Magic Torch to the rather scary Public information films (warning us about the dangers of chip pans, hypothermia and electric pylons) here you can reminisce about being a kid in the 70s. Aaahh those were the days
What worries you most about the world today?
There seems to be so much war in the world, both in global politics, but also between individuals. It saddens me that as a society we are more likely to see the differences in others rather than seeing what we have in common.
What do you love most about the world today?
The way that technology can make a real difference to people's lives. I think this is especially true in communicating with others. It could mean chatting online to a long lost relative on the other side of the world. Or it could mean being able to communicate with the world for the first time ever through a voice box or speech board. I feel really positive about that.
What one feature would you like to see added to PDA247?
A review section broken up into different categories (so the information is easier to find) with lots of people contributing to it. I'd also like to see a list of short ebook recommendations where people just write in with a few lines saying a bit about a book they've been reading. There are so many ebooks out there that it can be difficult to know where to start.
Thanks to Kathleen for taking the time to answer my questions- she has made a big impact on teh site already in only a couple of week and long may that continue:)