Well it's finally time to go out and peddle my company's products. I'm off on a four day road trip tomorrow that will take me to the Baltimore area Tuesday, driving to Raleigh that night, working in and around Raleigh Wednesday, diving to Charlotte Wednesday night, working in that area on Thursday and then hopefully driving back north at least 3-4 hours so that Friday's "Commute" is less than 7 hours. I'm looking for hotels with free 'Net access so you shouldn't have to miss me.

See you all Friday!

Are we there yet??? Are we?? I hafta go bafroom! Can we stop there???

You have to go right through Va.,if you haven't left yet pm me for a # & stop by.

I think your breakfast is repeating on you, O.D. Well, at least your posts are. Be careful what you wish for..... lol. Kidding, Wild Bill.

Drive Safe you hear and no worry about trying log on mate....

I do a lot of travel as well. I seem to recall that all Best Westerns in CONUS hae free highspeed.

Will check into it and get back to you....

Marriot is a good possibility: http://marriotthsia.netlinkrg.com/Default....AVCEC=InProcess

Verified Best Western, too: http://www.usatoday.com/travel/news/2004-0...-internet_x.htm

one thing to note- hotel folks tend to be computer-illiterate. I can't tell you the number of times I've SPECIFICALLY asked if they have HIGH-SPEED Internet.

I get there, check in, and find out that their "internet connection" is a phone jack.

- and don't even start me on the phone charges for local calls and so on, when they specifically say they don't charge for local calls... and then charge me a "telecommunications access fee".

The last place that pulled that crap, apparently didn't realize 1) that if you're going to charge such tolls, you should have a system to disable outgoing calls from empty rooms, 2) how stupid it is to share an electrical wall-outlet box between two adjacent rooms, and 3) how your average techie has no problem with a little 2-wire phone circuit.

Whattaya expect? It's indicative of the reason I landed this job.. I can't leave anything alone- always gotta hack stuff....

I feel so alone! sob!!

G

Have fun. Next time travel north. Its nice up here.

Have fun! Bye!!

Oh for the minutest possibility of 'Net access in a hotel.

Not common in Blighty I'm afraid, at least not in the hotels I frequent.

So, let me get this straight: you rewire the phone jacks so the room next door gets billed for your internet access?

Maybe you should've chosen the screen name of 'MacGuyver.'

actually, and this is a no-sh!tter- that IS one of my nicknames.

Regarding their billing someone else- I WAS nice enough to make sure noone else was in the next room-- thus, noone would get billed.

Wouldn't have done a thing like this, if I'd not asked three different employees if there were ANY charges for local calls and gotten "No" from them, then been charged telecom fees. I am in the habit of asking several folks if there are any fees associated with the telephone before I use it, just for this sort of reason-- they like to spring stuff on you.

After they stuck me for $80 of fees for something like 3 hours of local dialup calls to my provider <and again, I did make sure it was a local call>, I decided it was time to experiment. I've wired a few hotels in my day and decided to pop a jack off and see what I could see. Sure enough-- Cat5, broken out to two voice circuits with a spare pair for each, with the jacks being back to back between the two rooms.

Hopped in the rental car, quick trip to Radio Shack for some gator clips and a 6' phone cord <which I cut an end off of and stripped with my teeth>, and I was in business.

Analog voice circuits are EASY. I do highly recommend not plugging the darn cable in before you use the Mouth-Mounted Wire Stripper, though. Made that mistake while doing an alarm's phone monitoring circuit once.

ONCE.

Unfortunately, it was just as someone rang in. The homeowner was standing beside me in the rain <holding an umbrella and the flash light- super nice guy>. All he sees is me plug the RJ in to the demarc, put the other end in my mouth to strip the wires <I'd left the stripper in the house or something>, kinda convulse a little bit, take the wire out, attach my handset to it, say "It's for you, sir" and hand the phone to him. He thought I was joking until he heard his daughter's voice on the line... "Hello??"

Remember Kelsey Grammar talking about the ET on "Up Periscope"....

"That boy's absorbed a lot of voltage".

:nods:

props to Mr 4X4-- I've been considering killing off the burntkat moniker when I move <going to have to change ISPs, as Comlesscast doesn't provide service to the new place-- a whole mile down the road>, and was having lots of trouble figuring out exactly what it would be

some flavor of "macguyver", it'll be!

I gotta wonder if they have something to do with Verizon's connections as well. Mine dropped when I tried to post a reply to your previus post.

Oh well. It wasn't really THAT funny anyway.

grrr! Now I'm curious!

I saw you in here, then you disappeared.....

Staying in a Baymount Hotel in Morrisville tomorrow and A sleep Inn in Matthews on Wednesday... thinking about staying in Roanoke Thursday night on the way home. Looks like they all have dial-up. <groan>

Bad news. It's a 14.4 connection.

I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack...

No working 'Net connection in any of the three hotels, Closest I got was in Charlotte. They had a wirless network but they were out of adapters and I didn't have one. Last night I stayed in Harrisonburg, VA. It was a brand-new Sleep Inn and their LAN wasn't up yet.

Hi, Mr. Doll!

Hi there!!!

Boy, got scared there for a while... all through West Virginia I heard "Dueling Banjoes"...

Beautiful country there. Are you having fun?

I'm home already!!!! It was fun and educational!

Any exciting stories to share?

Glad to hear you got home safe and well.

Clear off and give yer girls some attention! Have fun!

Did you sell your "Stuff"?

Welcome back, brother. I missed you.

Then you should practice aiming more...

Just a sec, stay still one more.....

<drops trou>

Watch the birdie!!!! Took your picture!!!!!

<staggers backwards away from window, drops water gun, heel hits edge of stair with predictable result.> AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH<crash?> LOL.

No one expects the Spammish camera flash!

help, please, help

Good to be back...

<scratches>

Hey, watch it.

ANyone else hear "Dueling Banjoes" today?

No, just you.

Whew! Then it's just the State Troopers still looking for me...

Oh, jeez. Don't ask me for bail.

It's amazing how easy it is to coax other drivers to do 90 with you...

Shouldn't have expected the really old guy on the tricycle to keep up with you. Shame, brother, shame.

Once he grabbed the rear bumper, it was his own fault!

You mean at 90 mph the old duff bumper hitched?? That takes a set of brass ones. LOL.

He had to let go, the wheels came off the chair...

I guess if he was holding the tea kettle he had no choice and the term ass over tea kettle had a new meaning altogether. LOL.

Oh, a funny guy? That old duff held on as long as he could... even gave new meaning to the term "dragging ass".

I guess the thought of lifting your foot off the gas never crossed your mind. Sheesh. Elder abuse.

Real drivers never lift off!

Hell, I'd have charged him for the tow!

Lift off?

You're such a girl.

Besides the tip of your head, what's your point?