Cafe Bucky

And I am NOT talking about Sonic.net. Sonic is great.

My daughter and I were heading for our respective root beer and mocha fixes, when we noticed a local ISP. “$12.95 a month!”, their sidewalk sandwich sign exclaimed.

The ISP is directly across the street from a nice park. With tables. With shade. It’s really relevant too. Hold the visual.

Being the forward-thinking hoopy frood that I am, I walked in and intro’d myself to the proprietor of the ISP. I wondered if they would get into providing wireless access for their customers within a couple hundred feet…

You know, something really basic, like being able to get to your account from the park across the street. Something very common in Portland, Oregon, and all over New York City, and countless other places where the local techies have a clue.

Like the two AP’s in my house, which together cost under $300…

He says “oh, the equipment is $100,000 to do that”. I looked at him funny. WTF!? “I mean, a basic WAP with an antenna, with no broadcast ID, and WEP turned on”, I opined… “should be a couple hundred or so”.

He flat out didn’t get it. Thought it would be a huge expense in hardware, and it wouldn’t bring him any customers.

Amazing, huh? I would think that some would sign up @ $12.95 a month if they could sit in a nice park and get wireless access (and have the backup of a dialup ISP at home - no, this does not conflict with my earlier blog entry about WiFi for free…)

Maybe I should move in to the office next to him, start my own ISP, and show him how it’s done :-)

The September 2003 Wired mag has a little blurb about
free Wifi in certain establishments, such as Schlotzsky’s Deli.

And I say: Go Schlotzsky’s! (even though I don’t live near one)

In my area, there’s a local coffee house across the street from a Starbucks. I
can sign up for “Sip N Surf” for access in the local place, or I can go to Starbucks and use T-mobile.

I’m not going to sign up for either! The whole notion of having to pay for access that is only usable in certain stores is ridiculous.
What about a plan that lets you roam from one WISP to another?
Know what most WISP support calls involve? Billing. Yep.

Hey WISPs: interoperate! It’s one of those “duh” things.
Can you imagine ATMs being run this way?

In the meantime, I’m going to make a point of patronizing places
that provide free Wifi access with my coffee, or books, or whatever it is
that I am buying. I’ll also make a point of thanking them.

To put a couple of bottles of water in my backpack, a fresh CF card in my Nikon D1x, a few more in reserve, and start walking…

…from Battery Park, all the way up to the Natural History Museum.

I’d take a couple of photos every block, and then crossfade them together in a video documenting the urban trek.

Sure it’s been done. Still seems like a fun photo project though.

I was about to write a joke entry about how I am running for Governor of California (which would be easy to believe, because of the political circus here…)

But, I send good thoughts and wishes in the direction of New York City and beyond. It can’t be much fun to deal with such a massive power outage.

It is absolutely amazing to me that so many cities would depend on the same power grid. It’s too early to start armchair planning, but I bet the layout and planning of this is due for a serious rethink. Time to think about the innovations that are needed to make widespread solar electricity (and other forms of alternative energy) Economically Viable.

But for the moment, I just want to say that I wish other Coast well. It’s bad that it’s in the summer, but it would be worse in a blizzard.

Get home safe, everyone. I Love New York.

But not with boredom now, ye Clash fans…

I see London has topped 100 degrees for the first time ever

Hey, I’ll go! Wanna swap for a week? I’d rather spend a month in the sweltering Capital, than a week here in the shade. I know what it’s like when the Tube feels like a sauna. I loooove London. My passport has room for stamps. I’ll even eat mushy peas every single day, and won’t complain about the coffee - much.

The first time we went to London, in the Summer of ‘98, we were up on the 4th floor of a small stuffy room overlooking Old Brompton Road (before we came to our senses and discovered Number 16, Sumner Place) The Swelter Arms was the site of the Drakkar Noir Plumbing Incident, but we won’t tell that tale today. It was nearly 100 then, and we purposely found extra things to do to avoid the long walk up the stairs to the Inferno.

But you know what? We have loved every single day we’ve ever spent in London, hot summer and freezing November alike.

I can find lots to do in London when it’s burning up like this. Some of the key words are “V & A Museum”, “Ale”, “Plays”, “Beautiful Italian Tourists Frolicking in the Trafalgar Square Fountain” and possibly “Royal Albert Hall”. There are some great underground passages that go on for blocks - shade is possible.

And yes, I’ve been stuck on a Tube underground on a hot train that didn’t move for quite a long time. It’s a checklist item. Annoying, but part of the deal.

Just Two London institutions they should pay special attention to: don’t let any Beefeaters pass out, and keep the Ravens cool. lest they escape!

Stiff upper lip now. You Londoners live in one of the greatest cities in the effing world, so don’t start whinging about a little heat. I’d trade places with you faster than you can say “brilliant”!

Tomorrow is a trip to the Ren Faire. Which one, you say? Aye, this be the Stafford Lake rendition, not to be confused with the upcoming Gilroy area version. Others have a handle on the tangled web of history leading to the current state of af-faires… For Bay Area locals, nothing will ever replace Black Pointe.

But my interest in things Ren is sheer fun and delight in getting away from present day! I went to the original Faires in Agoura for many years, stretching back to wee lad days in ~1965 or so. Beer! Sausages! Plays! Insanely beautiful women with passable accents! Belly Dancers, Magicians, and Jousting (not all by the same people, thankfully) Yes, a bubbling cauldron of history and hedonism.

Can’t wait.

Back blogging. Had writing withdrawal symptoms.

When I said goodbye, it was out of a sense of “why bother? Nobody reads this anyway” But I found myself wanting to write just the same, and this blog is convenient for that. I’ve gotten past the “fretting ’cause no readers” stage.

If someone gets joy out of JavaJoint.com, that’s great. I would love to have readers, but I won’t do any reindeer games to get them. Maybe 50 years from now when I’m pushing up daisies, net.archeologists will say “oh that Daniel! What an undiscovered gem of his time! He kept at it year after fucking year!”

Or they’ll simply say “Next!”

So Hello again, I won’t be going. The old content is still here. I just went back to default templates for the time being. The coffee colors will come back.