When I arrived in Eastern Standard Time a couple of weeks ago, I took note that my Blackberry didn’t adjust itself to the new time zone. Easy fix. I was glad to help out a handheld.
View From Dirty Jobsite With iPhone
Well, last night as I remembered Daylight Saving Time (for once), I prodded the Blackberry forward 60 minutes. Guess what. Some time during the night, the T-Mobile phone also moved ahead one hour automatically. So, I was up bright and early this morning at 5 a.m., wondering where everyone was — especially my Belgium friends (waffles).
Despite the two hour head start, I barely made it to the airport on time.
Upon arrival, I was pleased to find that Philadelphia International Airport not only has free Wi-Fi, it is AT&T flava. Raise yo hand if AT&T has given you anything free lately. I don’t think so.
On this day in Philly, it is my lucky day. Yes … I would have gladly paid for it, but no complaints about the handout. I jumped right on the system, which only required that I agree with their terms. After reading them word-for-word (not) I accepted the nice gesture, and surfed on, albeit only at 11 mbps. (What is it they say, “Beggars can’t be choosers”?)
Philadelphia International Airport has world-class people watching, free branded Wi-Fi — even if a bit slow — and a flight departing on time, headed to warm-weather Dallas. What more could a Wi-Fi traveler want? — 5 pings.
But … before we board, a few last thoughts on Philly.
Two words — Wawa (pronounced wahwah). They are convenience stores — and they’re everywhere in the Philadelphia area. In Texas and elsewhere, 7-11 is a near equivalent, but not quite up to the same level. Wawa makes a mean, fresh sandwich. Oh, and they do it all high-tech. You walk over by the doughnut goodness, or whatever, and step up to a waist-high kiosk to order/build the sandwich of your dreams.
Wawa Kiosk Touchscreen
What will they think of next? Oh, I don’t know — maybe wireless Internet? No sir. Nothing doing. Wawa got no “Wa-Fa.” Pity, I was all ready to break out a score card and bust a ping off in somethin. But alas, no score. No Wi-Fi, no chairs, no chillin — but lots of people securing adequate nourishment for the commute.
See fo yo own self:
Elsewhere in Exton, about an hour out of Philly, I checked out a perennial favorite, Barnes & Noble. Yes, in their case, you can judge the “book by the cover.” They had AT&T Wi-Fi, comfy chairs and my favorite — several people who has mastered the fine art of public sleeping.
Nothing wrong with the Wi-Fi at the bookstore, but nothing new, nothing improved — at least not on the Wi-Fi front. Surely the well-read friends at B&N could shake up things a little bit, occasionally — 4 pings.
So … I am so done with Philly for the time being … no more Wi-Fi exploration and no more dirty jobs for now. (Have I mentioned I do a mean highrise window?)
Hmmm … how should I close the deal here? Wouldn’t it be great if my American Airlines flight offered Wi-Fi. No dice. The Philly to DFW route was left out of the wireless expansion, so I am left out in the cold. When is Wi-Fi inflight going to be ubiquitous? Well, apparently not any time soon, so lets just focus on what the airlines already do.
As we landed in Dallas, at first I was applauding my AA captain when he announced we would arrive five minutes early. But the kudos were short-lived, because we were delayed on the runway for 20 minutes … plus an additional 30 minutes waiting on the baggage carousel to spring into action. Plus 5 became minus 45.
Sorry … it just wasn’t AA’s day — 2 pings.
Know what I sayin?
