Mobile internet usability (1) Aug 29, 2006
Mobile internet is virtually unusable.  That's really all I need to say, but I'll go on. 

The internet is my best friend, so I'm a huge fan of things like free PC access while traveling and publicly available wifi.  But I can't bring my laptop everywhere I go because it's not that small and I sometimes like to travel light.  Plus, free WiFi isn't available everywhere.  Even though it often costs more to hire some technical people and set up a pay-for-use system than it does to offer it for free, many places charge money for it.  This brings up the option of mobile broadband (with some sort of service through Verizon Wireless, Sprint, etc.).  I haven't had much experience with it, but from what I've seen, it's kind of slow and unreliable.  Hmm, sounds a lot like cell phone service. 

The only other alternative I know of is Blackberry-like internet access.  I used it this past Saturday to look up a few things while walking around NYC.  My opinion is that it stinks. 
1.  It's not very fast, though it claims to operate on some sort of "high-speed network". 
2.  Tons of websites are completely unusable because they use stupid things like Flash. 
3.  Most websites aren't designed for mobile use, so it's difficult and annoying to navigate through them. 
4.  Devices that access mobile internet have tiny, almost unreadable screens and terrible methods of navigating through information (that stupid Blackberry click wheel took about 20 minutes to scroll through all the links at the top of imdb.com -- and then I realized I could scroll faster with ALT+scroll). 
So in the end, I'm not impressed with mobile internet.  Until they come out with an actual high-speed network that's available everywhere and/or a device that's lightweight yet powerful and easy to use (I'm thinking maybe some sort of folding screen), I won't be happy with mobile internet. #technology
Coke (7) Aug 29, 2006
I'm a Coke addict (Coca-Cola, that is).  Sometimes I crave it like a drug and can't wait to feel it rushing down my throat.  I'm not sure, but it might be a summertime thing.  There's just nothing quite like an ice-cold Coke on a hot day when you're feeling thirsty.  Pepsi isn't the same.  And Sprite is out of the question.  And of course, Coke in a can is infinitely better than Coke in a bottle (this is true for any soda).  By the time you're near the bottom of a 20-oz bottle of soda, it's all warm and flat.  Coke in restaurants is pretty good.  They keep it nice and cold, and the fact that it costs astronomically more than it should means you need to enjoy it all the more.  My Coke problem was nonexistent a few years ago.  Up until recently, I chose Pepsi over Coke because it tasted better.  Pepsi is a difficult drink to love because it's so hard to find.  Coke has such a huge monopoly in the restaurant business, it's almost impossible to get anything other than Coke.  Many years before that, I was big on Sprite.  I would order it at every restaurant and buy it at every store.  Now I can't touch the stuff.  I don't know what changed.  But now Coke is my thing.  I'm sure it's doing irreparable harm to my vital organs, but at least I'm not thirsty. #food