wi fi

this is so totally awesome (teen talk for) "I made a smart move.

A while back I bought an old thinkpad with a wi-fi card from my neighbor to use as a backup when (not if) my cable modem link went down, which it did recently. it went down on Mon. and while I was calling Time Warner and hanging on the line and eventually told to plug and unplug the modem which is about all they do at support these days. Long story short, it went out again today so I'm typing this on the old laptop with the wireless card. I'm getting the signal from one of my neighbors, and frankly there are signals (networks) flying around all over the place here, and most of them have a pretty okay signal (2 or 3 bars) and if I go out into the hallway and stand outside my neighbors door I can even get 4 bars.

I don't even know what wi-fi stands for? Wireless fidelity? Shows my age. But anyway, I can get my mail, and post to blogger etc.

Do they make antennas or boosters for this thing so that you can amplify the signal from my neighbors apt.?

But yes - this was a good idea because I am, believe it or not, running a business here and I can't really stop replying to emails or see orders when they come in for 4 days which is how long it takes Time Warner to get around to paying me a visit.

And of course I can always go out into the nearest starbucks etc. Do they charge you to tap into their wireless network? I've never done that before. The local Starbucks looks like a nice place to hang out with my ancient Thinkpad running Win 98.

Rest Hour

A recently passed law in New York has made it legal to rest on stair railings in the subway. The city council has called this law the Real Rail Rest Regulation (RRRR), and as you can see New Yorkers are enjoying the benefits. Opponents of the RRRR argued that resting on railings would be dangerous. In their railing tests, at least five people were injured when they fell asleep, slipped off and were trampled on.

The MTA regulation states:

"In the event that you need to use a railing as you walk up or down stairs and a restee is on said railing - you should ask the restee to leave the railing. If they refuse to leave said railing you are entitled to strike them with hands, canes, or other objects until they move. It is also permissable to apply a small amount of lubricant to the railing. (See section 4.56.7 regarding how much lubricant is acceptable.)"

Also, to safeguard the restee, the MTA offers a physical test where an incline machine tests applicants at various inclination degrees and awards badges with the degree of allowed inclination.

If you are so inclined to take advantage of this new service - contact the Inclination Department of the MTA.