Tools for working on vacation

I guess from now on I am going to have to expect to do some work while I am away. I have a pretty simple rule for such things. I even have it in the handbook every employee receives.

"Unless an employee has died or a company vehicle has been wrecked, I have complete faith you can handle a situation without calling me. I can fix most anything when I get back."

That's basically word for word (you thought I brought the book with me didn't you?). Unfortunately, that statement doesn't cover every situation, and I end up having to do a few things that just can't wait. I bring a few things along with me to make the work go faster. I thought I would list them for you.

PDAPhone: Currently I am using a Treo 700wx. I can check email on the go. When I am at work I get real time email. On vacation it only checks email every hour. This year I have gotten a lot of text messages from employees. It bypasses the phone call rule and then I can deal with things when I want or not at all. At least I have it saved on my phone for when I get back.

Laptop: Just your generic Compaq Presario. I do have a prog loaded called PDANet. It gives me internet access by tethering my pdaphone to my laptop. There is only dialup here at Mom and Dad's house

scanr.com: If you have a camera phone with email, you must check out this site. I can take a picture of a document and email to scanr and have it sent back as a .pdf file. I can also take a pic of a document and send it to a fax. FREE FREE FREE. I don't use it often but it saves my bacon everytime. The Treo's camera isnt the best so if I have make sure I have the camera at max settings and use plenty of light, but it gets the job done.

efax: It's a service that gives you a fax number. When someone sends a fax to that number it goes to your mobile device as a .pdf or .tif file. You could also forward your company fax number to it in order to receive all of your faxes while your away. I am using the 30 day free trial right now. It does have a monthly fee.

Well thats how I keep the machine running while I am away until I figure out how to clone myself.