The search for more convenient net access

gnat on 2002-08-23T20:36:45

I tried the local Starbucks. Apparently it has chromosome damage, for it must be the only Starbucks in the country without net access. I'll try the next closest one (one mile north).

I asked the trendy gent behind the counter. He said "no", then said "I had a guy call last week. He asked if I was wired. I said `Yeah baby, I just had a triple!' Turned out he was asking about net access."

So I've downloaded macstumbler (thanks for the pointer, Ask!) and will wardrive my neighbourhood and the area near Barnes and Noble today.

Also discovered that one of the contracts I had sent out earlier this week failed to include a rider for the agent. Apparently agents get to have a special clause in the contract (presumably something like "we get our pint of blood") so when the contract showed up without it, the author went "um, that'd be nice but ...". Why does nobody tell me these things?!

I'm doing between 2-4 minutes/page on my edits. I'm trying hard to read every word (though my eyes were glazing by page 31 on XML-RPC toolkits, I will admit). I'm using Word, adding comments to dodgy bits saying "I'd like more ... here", and fixing the little things I find (e.g., ORA style is to use present tense, not future, so I'm turning "Chapter 3 will teach you" to "Chapter 3 covers").

And all without email. It's wonderful. I admit to be rather nervous at having email pile up in my INBOX unanswered, but not answering email is turning out to be a liberating feeling. I'll not answer more email! Eventually I'll be like a spammer, sending email but never reading it! Oh wait, and that's a good thing how ... ?

--Nat


How'd it go?

pudge on 2002-08-27T03:16:45

Did you wardrive yet? If not, try to do it with the iBook instead of the TiBook, you'll get better results.

Re:How'd it go?

gnat on 2002-08-27T15:48:30

I did the wardrive and found a bunch of family and office networks, most WEPed, none convenient (I don't want to hunker down under someone's bedroom window to upload email!). I may just give in and broker a deal between my ISP and B&N to get a DSL connection and a Linksys basestation in the Ft Collins branch.

MacStumble rocks.

--Nat