By LAURIE BLAKE, Minneapolis Star Tribune

Mike Hanson, the blind hiker who spent seven months last year walking the Appalachian Trail guided by a global positioning system, is now back home in Minnesota facing his next challenge.

Mike Hanson plans to hike the 2,174-mile Appalachian Trail end to end, without ever seeing the ground under his feet.

On Monday in Georgia, the St. Louis Park, Minn., man -- who lost his sight at birth -- is slated to start his seven-month trek to Maine, navigating by GPS. He has mastered its use by cell phone and trusts global positioning technology to steer his every step.

Measuring water quality in lakes and streams traditionally starts with a time-consuming trip with a bucket to get a water sample for the laboratory.
Now University of Minnesota water researchers have found a way to skip that step.

Like prospectors sifting for gold, book dealers using electronic scanners comb through local library book sales for volumes to resell for profit on the Internet.