Running Around Town, Part 5

Trite thought for the day: there's beauty wherever you look for it. Case in point: Cornelius, NC. Less than a mile from Doug's place is the really-quite-lovely Lake Norman, which is surrounded by parks, trees and walking paths -- perfect for a short jog.

 
Squinty, a little sweaty, but otherwise happy.

 
Beautiful Lake Norman, created in the 60's be the construction of Cowans Ford Dam. Fancy a swim? Watch out for Normie, the Lake Norman Monster. Think I'll file that one in the "Shameless Tourism Ploy" category.

 
This is Doug leaving me in the dust. Hey, wait up!

More Bang For Your Starbucks

The only coffee shop within walking distance of my current home base is a Starbucks. They're not usually my first choice when looking for a hot cuppa (or second, or third, or...). Starbucks normally charges for their wifi, but I've learned how to beat their little system.

AT&T Free Wi-Fi

Starbucks wifi is provided by AT&T. Recently, AT&T agreed to provide free wifi access to US users of certain smartphones on the AT&T mobile network, including iPhones and some BlackBerrys. You can read all the details here. I walked into Starbucks and my BlackBerry Bold connected to the wifi automatically, no configuration or login necessary. OK Starbucks, not bad.

Bluetooth Tethering

Only my AT&T mobile device has free wifi access at Starbucks. My laptop, however, does not. In another post, I described how to tether a BlackBerry, using it as a Bluetooth modem for a laptop.[1] So my laptop connects to my phone through Bluetooth, and my phone connects to the Internet via wifi. Problem solved, right?

USB Tethering

The problem with Bluetooth tethering is that you are limited to Bluetooth speeds. Also, I find it drains my BlackBerry's battery pretty fast. Instead, I found I could connect my BlackBerry to my laptop using a USB cable. That boosts the speed and keeps the phone charged. Configuring a BlackBerry as a USB modem was pretty simple, and is described on BlackBerry's support forums.

So that's it: unlimited, free broadband at any Starbucks in the US. Now, if only I can convince them to stop playing the new Barbara Streisand album. Ack.

[1] Sorry US iPhone users, you can't tether your phones.

Absentee Voting

 

It's time for King County Elections, and you know what that means: another moronic initiative from Tim Eyman. Now that I'm a nomad, does that mean I can't vote? No!

Before I left Seattle, I legally changed my address to one given to me by Earth Class Mail and signed up to vote via absentee ballot. A few days ago, my voting packet turned up in Seattle. Earth Class Mail forwarded it to me in North Carolina. And today I put the smack down on ol' Tim. Damn, that felt good.

Amazing Maize Maze

One nice thing about staying in the US Southeast: many of my old college buddies are in the area. Friday night, my friend Rob drove down from Charlottesville, VA to meet up with me and Doug for a mini college reunion.

 
Today, Rob, Doug, Doug's girl Hannah and I survived the Amazing Maize Maze at Rural Hill. We warmed up after with hot spiced cider and hot chocolate. Yum!

 

If this shoe looks like it has been chewed on by a dog, that's because it has. After getting back from the maze, I thoughtlessly left my muddy Doc Martin's out back, much to the delight of Doug's dog Coco. There's a lesson in here for couchsurfers and friendsurfers everywhere: keep a keen eye on anything that might look like a chew toy to your host's pet. Guess it's time for some new shoes!

Mobile Blogging (and Davidson College)

I'm trying out this mobile blogging thing. If you're reading this, I've learned a new trick: uploading pictures and text from my mobile phone to my blog.

I'm taking a post-lunch stroll through Davidson College in North Carolina. There's a distinctly Old South feel to this place, not unlike my alma mater, the University of Virginia. The red clay, red brick walkways, classical architecture -- red bricks and white columns -- are giving me a sense that I've been here before, even though I haven't.

Pretty soon, I'll head back to the local coffee shop (Summit Coffee) and get back to the project that has so absorbed me for the past two weeks. But for now, I'll wander and enjoy one of the last sunny, warm days North Carolina has to offer.

Intrepid Explorer

My career as a (peripatetic) programmer began with my childhood fascination with planes. So it's appropriate that my present wanderings should take me to the USS Intrepid, a WWII-era aircraft carrier-cum-floating aviation museum that now sits in New York harbor. I went with my father. We spent the whole afternoon there.

 
My, what a big boat you have.

The Intrepid is hours of geeky entertainment, with planes from the 40's to the present day on display, not to mention the Intrepid itself which is an engineering marvel.

 
A WWII-era Grumman E-1B Tracer. They have newer and fancier planes on display, but I like the oldies and goodies.

 
I was particularly drawn toward the command and control centers, the 40's-era cryptology tech, and the pneumatic tubes used throughout for communication. Above is a teletype machine that would bang out decrypts. A pneumatic tube would carry them to the captain's bridge with a whoosh and a thunk.

 
On the bridge, the captain would sit in his chair and read his decrypted messages (and do other captain-y things, I suppose). This captain's chair looks worse for wear, though.

As for how my love of planes became a love of computers and programming, I'll leave that for another day.