For Christmas, we had the annual trip to Clinton and the family homesteads. It was great to see everyone again and the food was excellent. It's a real shame though that turkey doesn't get served more often. Why does it take a special event for turkey? It became obvious when Bub and I spent 45 minutes doing the dishes. Man, the turkey can sure make you go through every cupboard.
And, if you read between the lines, we did wash and dry by hand. None of those new fangled dish washing machines.
Same thing for internet access. There's nary a computer at either place and at one should I open my laptop, it draws all kinds of piercing stares.
From an educational perspective, the Avon Maitland District School Board (which has an elementary and secondary school in Clinton) prides itself on being one of the more progressive boards in terms of getting its students connected. In fact, they have their GSC Projects which is a terrific resource. Sort of like my resources! <grin>
So, here I am in my father-in-law's rec room with my laptop open, searching for internet access. I figure that if I could see an access point, I'd find the owner and ask for permission to connect. I'd even offer a drumstick for the right. A couple of really weak neighbour ones. At dad's place, I figure to have better luck since my old bedroom is on the second floor. Nothing in sight.
If there ever was a community that needs to have an internet project with access points on the telephone poles, this one is it!
The net result was that I ended up being disconnected. Three days of no Scrabulous, over 200 email messages unread, virus checker left un-updated, and goodness knows how many Microsoft Windows updates that I missed. (it appeared to only be one though...)
It would have really helped the cause too. For the first time that anyone could remember, we missed the Queen's Christmas broadcast. However, it was on demand on YouTube! But, that wasn't an option either.
It's amazing how much you miss when you are disconnected. I thought of Scotty's "quaint" comment from Star Trek as I read a physical newspaper.
Hyperlinking on paper just doesn't cut it. The London Free Press had quizzes on each section with the answers all linked to Page 21 in Section D. These links involved finding the actual section, flipping through to Page 21 (who knew that it was the back of Section D?) and getting ink on my hands. Then, following the link back to the original article to get the next question, link back to Section D to find the answer, and then back for another question.
I think I'm just too deeply engrained in digital media. I'm sure that the same quiz was online at their website and much easier to navigate with a mouse!
The story does have a happy ending. We got to see everyone again and when I got home, the internet access was indeed live.
It was a happy holiday!
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