DISASTER PREP: Reader Mary Forman writes in praise of the Kindle: “We have been unable to reach our daughter in Morioka, Iwate Prefecture, since the earthquake struck almost 20 hours ago. We just received an email from her (she’s fine) which she sent from a friend’s 3G Kindle! Put that on your disaster list!” Noted. As a test, I blogged from my Kindle once. It worked, but it wasn’t easy with that tiny keyboard. . . .

UPDATE: Reader Matt Potter emails: “Just a follow up to the Kindle email comms. My friend’s daughter was a missionary in Haiti at the time of the earthquake. They primarily used text messages to arrange evacuation. The layering of communications in the modern world now offer these kind of capabilities.” Yes, text-messaging often works when regular calls won’t get through.