Another big bunch of play-for-pay hotspots, that is-more than 700, in fact. Glenn Fleishman over at Wi-Fi Networking News reports that bookseller Barnes and Noble has joined the free world.
Look for a review as soon as Mac or I can get away to visit a local store and write one up-unless one of you beats us to it.
And here's hoping we can look for Borders to quickly follow suit, and for Books-A-Million to do away with its half-baked free-if-you-join-our-discount-club effort.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Monday, July 20, 2009
Remembrance and reflection: July 20, 1969
One of my most enduring memories from forty years ago today is the Bible verse the Kansas City Star published below the fold on its front page that morning, as it traditionally did on Sunday. That day they chose Isaiah, Chapter 65, Verse 24: "And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear."
The rest of the day is a blur. I recall the anxiety of the powered descent-which became my favorite part of the moon missions-given that nothing like it had ever even been tried with a manned vehicle up to that point. A rocket flying backwards to descend softly onto the surface of an alien world? That only happened in the movies. Well, to be fair, it had been done with unmanned spacecraft, but even then we had only gone 5 for 7 with our Surveyor program. If the Russians had even tried it again after their one announced success, they weren't saying. And the Lunar Module, unlike any of its robot predecessors, would then have to perform the feat in reverse as an encore.
The exhilaration of hearing Armstrong's proclamation that "the Eagle has landed" was indescribable. I immediately resolved to call in sick to my evening job so as not to miss the start of the main event (the moonwalk had originally been scheduled for the early hours of the next morning, and I suspect I wasn't alone in not being surprised it was moved up). Like everyone else, I puzzled over the grammatical ambiguity of Armstrong's first-step words-and I'm sorry, Neil, but I've got to say it: You flubbed the line, pal. I really feel for you. That pause after you realized it must have seemed like an eternity.
(Just for the record, I watched the day's proceedings on NBC. I was never really a big fan of Walter Cronkite, but his reaction to the touchdown, which I've often watched since, was a great moment. Cronkite set an example many of today's so-called broadcast journalists would do well to follow. My condolences to his family and friends.)
All right, I'll admit it. I was a space buff and a hopeless astronaut wannabe as a kid. But you know, I don't regret that. Even though I wasn't successful in obtaining the engineering degree I was inspired to pursue, I'm only sorry I wasn't successful, not that I went after it. We must test ourselves through striving to achieve in order to discover our limits. That is the most important lesson I have taken away from the example of the space program.
Sometimes, however, I do wish I had been a bit more prescient. I wonder whether I'd still have followed the path I did had I known that the year of the 40th anniversary of the first moon landing would also be the year of the 37th anniversary of the last one. It's too bad there weren't big headlines trumpeting another 1969 event that in some ways became more important to us today than those footprints in the lunar dust-the establishment of ARPANET. Oh, why couldn't I have gazed into a crystal ball and seen not moon bases and suborbital spaceliners flying from New York to Beijing in 45 minutes, but ubiquitous computers and a maze of global networks linking them, with the prospect of largely obviating the need to physically travel to Beijing at all?
If I had, I might even be able to afford my own moon base by now.
The rest of the day is a blur. I recall the anxiety of the powered descent-which became my favorite part of the moon missions-given that nothing like it had ever even been tried with a manned vehicle up to that point. A rocket flying backwards to descend softly onto the surface of an alien world? That only happened in the movies. Well, to be fair, it had been done with unmanned spacecraft, but even then we had only gone 5 for 7 with our Surveyor program. If the Russians had even tried it again after their one announced success, they weren't saying. And the Lunar Module, unlike any of its robot predecessors, would then have to perform the feat in reverse as an encore.
The exhilaration of hearing Armstrong's proclamation that "the Eagle has landed" was indescribable. I immediately resolved to call in sick to my evening job so as not to miss the start of the main event (the moonwalk had originally been scheduled for the early hours of the next morning, and I suspect I wasn't alone in not being surprised it was moved up). Like everyone else, I puzzled over the grammatical ambiguity of Armstrong's first-step words-and I'm sorry, Neil, but I've got to say it: You flubbed the line, pal. I really feel for you. That pause after you realized it must have seemed like an eternity.
(Just for the record, I watched the day's proceedings on NBC. I was never really a big fan of Walter Cronkite, but his reaction to the touchdown, which I've often watched since, was a great moment. Cronkite set an example many of today's so-called broadcast journalists would do well to follow. My condolences to his family and friends.)
All right, I'll admit it. I was a space buff and a hopeless astronaut wannabe as a kid. But you know, I don't regret that. Even though I wasn't successful in obtaining the engineering degree I was inspired to pursue, I'm only sorry I wasn't successful, not that I went after it. We must test ourselves through striving to achieve in order to discover our limits. That is the most important lesson I have taken away from the example of the space program.
Sometimes, however, I do wish I had been a bit more prescient. I wonder whether I'd still have followed the path I did had I known that the year of the 40th anniversary of the first moon landing would also be the year of the 37th anniversary of the last one. It's too bad there weren't big headlines trumpeting another 1969 event that in some ways became more important to us today than those footprints in the lunar dust-the establishment of ARPANET. Oh, why couldn't I have gazed into a crystal ball and seen not moon bases and suborbital spaceliners flying from New York to Beijing in 45 minutes, but ubiquitous computers and a maze of global networks linking them, with the prospect of largely obviating the need to physically travel to Beijing at all?
If I had, I might even be able to afford my own moon base by now.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Waldo wrapup
Sad to say, it was only a one-for-three night.
Memo to the proprietor(s) of The Sweet Guy at 7439 Broadway: Have you tried using your connection yourself lately, as we've preached on this blog since day one? Well, you ought to-and once you get it back up, you need to keep doing it on a regular basis.
Anyone who happens by once they get it working again is welcome to drop us a line and let us know. Don't bother with The Coffee Girls, however; they've gone to a closed network. Too bad.
Memo to the proprietor(s) of The Sweet Guy at 7439 Broadway: Have you tried using your connection yourself lately, as we've preached on this blog since day one? Well, you ought to-and once you get it back up, you need to keep doing it on a regular basis.
Anyone who happens by once they get it working again is welcome to drop us a line and let us know. Don't bother with The Coffee Girls, however; they've gone to a closed network. Too bad.
Friday, July 17, 2009
Oh, that's right-you can order iced tea in these places TOO, can't you?
One More Cup
7408 Wornall Road, Kansas City
802.11g
SSID: onemorecup
BIg unshaded east-facing windows and only one pair of power outlets (towards the front to your right as you come in; you'll have to sit at the front corner table to use it) make this one appear to be best for midday or later with a charged battery if you're using a laptop. By the way, the iced tea isn't bad.
UPDATE: Apparently there are some additional power outlets available here that I missed (sorry about that!). See comment below.
7408 Wornall Road, Kansas City
802.11g
SSID: onemorecup
BIg unshaded east-facing windows and only one pair of power outlets (towards the front to your right as you come in; you'll have to sit at the front corner table to use it) make this one appear to be best for midday or later with a charged battery if you're using a laptop. By the way, the iced tea isn't bad.
UPDATE: Apparently there are some additional power outlets available here that I missed (sorry about that!). See comment below.
Because coffee at this time of day just didn't appeal to me...
...I thought that instead of heading out to Waldo and checking out the new location of The Coffee Girls and its competing shops in the neighborhood, I'd venture over to Bonner Springs as I'd earlier promised to do once their new library opened, which it did this past Sunday. It's located at 201 North Nettleton and as was promised during my earlier visit to the temporary location it moved here from, it's lit up. Not only that, but the table I'm sitting at has a lamp clearly designed for use in an unwired building, what with a power outlet built into its base. There's even what I suspect is a functional Ethernet jack (which if it really is functional must be fed via powerline networking since I don't see any Cat 5 running anywhere from under the table).
That and the fact that any filtering present shouldn't give you any problems with overblocks are the good news. The less-than-good news is that both Usenet and, at least, secure POP and SMTP e-mail connections (over ports 995 and 465, respectively) are a no-go. Since my ISP, like many others these days, no longer allows e-mail to go over the standard unsecured ports, I can't check them-but, of course, you shouldn't be pulling e-mail through them anymore over an open wireless link anyway. One hopes that given enough complaints, this will get fixed in due time.
Oh, that's right-the access points are 802.11g broadcasting a SSID of BONLIB.
Well, I'll have to roll it up here in a little bit since they close at 5 on Fridays. Waldo awaits. Maybe I'll try and hit it tonight, maybe I won't. Time and the next post will tell.
That and the fact that any filtering present shouldn't give you any problems with overblocks are the good news. The less-than-good news is that both Usenet and, at least, secure POP and SMTP e-mail connections (over ports 995 and 465, respectively) are a no-go. Since my ISP, like many others these days, no longer allows e-mail to go over the standard unsecured ports, I can't check them-but, of course, you shouldn't be pulling e-mail through them anymore over an open wireless link anyway. One hopes that given enough complaints, this will get fixed in due time.
Oh, that's right-the access points are 802.11g broadcasting a SSID of BONLIB.
Well, I'll have to roll it up here in a little bit since they close at 5 on Fridays. Waldo awaits. Maybe I'll try and hit it tonight, maybe I won't. Time and the next post will tell.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Why is it that you can still ask such a smart question-
-and receive such a silly answer?
Saw this gem on the KCMO Public Library's website. I think the phrase "Wi-Fi" didn't register with someone. If I'm wrong there, I'd certainly like to hear just how accessing even something that is actually as dangerous as this "IT person" thinks Internet Relay Chat is on my own computer which is (or at least had better be) on a separate subnet from any client owned by the library can possibly pose a threat to those clients.
Reminds me of an old riddle from the earliest days of personal computing, offered here with apologies to those of you who, like me, are old enough to remember it.
"Q. What's the difference between a used-car salesman and a computer salesman?
A. The used-car salesman knows he's lying to you."
I suspect, however, that in the present case, someone in the library administration knows that as well. Denying a service to the public which pays for it on a pretext doesn't strike me as good public policy, but hey, what do I know? I'm just a lousy taxpayer, that's all.
Saw this gem on the KCMO Public Library's website. I think the phrase "Wi-Fi" didn't register with someone. If I'm wrong there, I'd certainly like to hear just how accessing even something that is actually as dangerous as this "IT person" thinks Internet Relay Chat is on my own computer which is (or at least had better be) on a separate subnet from any client owned by the library can possibly pose a threat to those clients.
Reminds me of an old riddle from the earliest days of personal computing, offered here with apologies to those of you who, like me, are old enough to remember it.
"Q. What's the difference between a used-car salesman and a computer salesman?
A. The used-car salesman knows he's lying to you."
I suspect, however, that in the present case, someone in the library administration knows that as well. Denying a service to the public which pays for it on a pretext doesn't strike me as good public policy, but hey, what do I know? I'm just a lousy taxpayer, that's all.
Thursday, July 02, 2009
Didn't even know they liked coffee that much out there.
Just happened to catch this little item on one of the Kansas City Star's blogs mentioning that The Coffee Girls on Southwest Boulevard, which was reviewed here a couple of years back, has closed and is in the process of moving to Waldo-where apparently it won't be alone. I guess either Mac or I will have to gear up soon and head that way to check things out. Well, maybe if it stays relatively cool for a bit. Temperatures hovering around the triple-digit mark don't exactly leave me craving a caffeine fix-iced or otherwise.
And not as if any more confirmation was needed, but I'm currently in the Blue Springs South branch of the Mid-Continent Public Library, and their Wi-Fi is just as free and open now as were the others we've found the past few months. It would still be nice, however, if MCPL would see fit to trumpet the news. Their website still makes no mention of it. Why?
And not as if any more confirmation was needed, but I'm currently in the Blue Springs South branch of the Mid-Continent Public Library, and their Wi-Fi is just as free and open now as were the others we've found the past few months. It would still be nice, however, if MCPL would see fit to trumpet the news. Their website still makes no mention of it. Why?
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