All of my colleagues at the "Pie in the Sky" (the Hammock headquarters in Nashville) have been happy and avid Mac users for years. I've heard them talk about the ease of use, the protection from viruses and the great creative uses of the Mac. But I still liked the old comfort that my Windows machine gave me. I knew where documents were filed. I knew how to backspace. And I knew exactly what to do with the control key.

And just a week in, I'm happy to report that I now know (or am at least in the midst of learning) all of those things on the Mac. I've become close friends with command+Q and finder. And I'm truly impressed with how fast Mac wakes up in the morning and is ready for work.

I'm sure about a month from now I'll feel like an old pro, and Megan and Patrick -- who probably cringe every time an IM window from me pops up and begins with "hey, can I ask you one more Mac question" -- will be so glad to have me out of their hair.

Now can someone just tell me where to buy a backspace key?

But sometimes, I receive a photo from a client that just needs to be cropped or resized before I can use it, and I don't want to bother the design folks or use up their time on such a simple task. So I'm learning to do some of that on my own.

And right now, those lessons are coming from picnik.com. This web-based software did not require anything to be downloaded to my computer. There was no box to buy and I can use it from any location where I'm connected to the web.

• Upload a picture from your computer, camera or storage device.
• Make your edits.
• Resave.

I first noticed the editing power of picnik.com through flickr.com, but you don't have to be a member of flickr to use it. There is a free version and a premium version (only about two bucks a month if you go that route).

Is there a photo-editing software -- web-based or otherwise -- that you love? Let me know. I'd love to keeping learning.

Many thanks to my lovely model, Augie, for her time. She insisted on only green treats and bottled spring water in her dressing room, but other than that, she was a joy to work with.

My mail looks pretty much the same each week: bills, sales flyers, a couple of magazines. But this weekend was a bit different. Hidden in the middle of the usual stack of catalogs and envelopes there was a postcard from Taiwan and one from Finland.

About a month ago, at the urging of a friend that I met through flickr.com, I signed up for postcrossing.com. The premise is simple: Send postcards out from your hometown, and in turn receive them from all over the world.

There are people from 180 countries participating. And it's simple to do so after registering with the site: As a sender, you simply request an address from the system and send a postcard out. As a recipient, you wait to receive a postcard, then register it online. (Each postcard that you send and receive will have a code and the system tracks how far the postcard traveled and how long the journey took.) On April 11, the one millionth postcard was registered in the system.

Running to the mailbox each day reminds me of being in the second grade and having my first pen pal. Back then I couldn't wait to see what fun stamp would come on my next letter from her. And today, I can only guess what country my next postcard is coming from, what beautiful images of their country the sender has chosen to share, and what my new friend's handwriting looks like.

And when the Texas Monthly celebrating Willie Nelson's 75th birthday showed up in our mail yesterday, I actually got a bit choked up. I'm no designer. I've never shot a photo for a magazine cover, but I know when a good cover hits me like a ton of bricks. And this one certainly did. It's just him. No barcode, no cover blurbs teasing inside stories, no airbrushing. It's just Uncle Willie. Aging and full of history and music and legend.

A striking cover. That's all.