I AM: Kimberly

Entries tagged as ‘internet’

I can haz internet?

June 13, 2008 · Leave a Comment

I can haz internet?

The last few weeks have been spotty for internet service in central WI. The night before Memorial Day a storm created little messes all over town including a huge mess in my boyfriend’s yard. Sunday I ended up doing an ambulance transfer in a thunderstorm, Monday while I was gone it rained, and now it’s dark and looks like the sky is going to cave in. In the meantime, I’m never quite sure when I will or won’t have internet. I’ve been lucky that my electricity hasn’t gone out, but on the other side of town (less than a mile away, Medford is huge), they’ve had two outages lasting about two hours each and several thousand homes and businesses in different parts of metro areas east of us were without power for the weekend. But I could live without power (until my laptop battery died). I need internet.

Just about everything I do is based on using the internet. Squidoo, for work and fun, CafePress, Zazzle, Squidoo, articles, World of Warcraft, school work, Squidoo, fire reports, Flickr…ok and mostly Squidoo. When the internet goes down, I’m not a happy girl. This morning dial-up was even down, which doesn’t bode well for my boyfriend because all his classwork is online this summer.

With all the technology, you’d think they could build a better connection. How about just have wireless hubs around the city? Then as long as you had an account you could get wireless anywhere. How many laptop owners wouldn’t pay for that? True, you can do that in Manhattan where there’s a T-Mobile hotspot at every Starbucks on every block. But Medford is a little backwards that way. I can go to one of eight restaurants and get wireless internet (for free, too!) but they don’t have wireless at the library (the library, people!) or the hospital. The hospital actually tried to claim it had to do with security, because evidently if they had wireless internet someone could magically hack into their system easier than someone who lived in Georgia or Zimbabwe. *I* have wireless internet. Cost me $99 for a router. One time fee. And that was an expensive router. There’s a 10-digit code to log on, that I get to choose. Not that hard.

Which I supposed is all moot since the internet is (was) down. *sigh*

At least my house didn’t break in half.

How devastating!

Categories: Kimberly
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What’s the point of un-free wifi?

April 14, 2008 · Leave a Comment

Every Monday that I’m able, I go to Wausau with my boyfriend. Wausau is a small metro area an hour from my home that has the most comprehensive shopping and services available within 150 miles. My boyfriend a nursing student and has class here from 7am-1pm, so I have six hours of free time to work, shop, drink coffee, and read at Barnes and Noble. I’ve discovered some interesting things over the past month, mainly relating to the availability of free internet access.

Barnes and Noble charges $3.99 for two hours of internet access through AT&T. McDonald’s near the campus charges $2.99 for two hours through Waypoint. Starbucks charges $9.99 for 24 hours through T-Mobile. If I go to the McDonald’s near the truckstop, I can use the adjoining hotel’s internet access for free.

If I stay home, however, I can get free internet at:

  • my house
  • The Cookie Jar sandwich shop
  • Uncommon Ground coffee shop
  • McDonalds
  • half a dozen other places I don’t frequent

Let’s put this in perspective.

Medford, where I live, has an official population of 4300. All of Taylor County is about 19,000. A double soy vanilla latte in Medford costs $2.30 less than at Starbucks. Yet the business owners in Medford have the wherewithall to offer free internet access, and when I go to NYC it costs me $40 to have reliable wifi for four days.

Hmm.

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I just updated my I Love NYC Shirts and Gifts lens. I’m going back in May for three days of SquidTeam work! Here are some other great lenses I made about NYC:

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