Back in the day, I worked for a daily newspaper. I thought my journalism degree was going to be my ticket off the farm and on to see the world. But lo and behold, the first thing my first newspaper boss did was put me on the Farm & Ranch beat.

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It wouldn’t be prudent to discuss all the details of my Dirty Gig in New Zealand … suffice to say we were in Christchurch to do clean up after the recent earthquake — a 7.1 on the Richter scale, at 4:30 a.m., Sept. 4 . The company and the client will remain nameless. What I will tell you is C-O-L-D.

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So how ’bout this hotel, The Marque? Well, it wasn’t until my third or fourth night in my room that I noticed the earthquake damage in the room, up along the wall in the corner and above the artwork near the desk.

Had that been there before? I don’t know … perhaps not. Because, almost every night we were in New Zealand there were aftershocks … some in the four-point range. But I was only interested in rating Wi-Fi hotspots — not keeping score on tremors. “We don’t need no stinking Richter scale … ” I slept right through every one of them … never felt a jostle, even though my buddies said they had their clothes all ready to escape to the streets if needed. I will take their word for it.

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After surviving the torturous flight and the airport interrogation, we threw our bags into a Kiwi version of a Toyota — yes with the steering wheel on the right side of the car — and headed into Christchurch. Cool little city — “The Garden City” as it is known. We saw some signs of earthquake damage immediately … but not the large scale damage I have seen in TV reports from other earthquakes … like the really horrible one in Mexico City a few years back … or Haiti. There was a fenced off building here and there … a few crumbled store fronts … that sort of thing at first glance.

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It seemed like a natural that my second blog, PingWi-Fi.com, would take on a corporate sponsor. My first blog garnered $2 million in publicity for the sponsor (in three months). But … this time, the corporate sponsorship didn’t happen. So, to keep this PingThing going, I had to find a way to “moonlight.”

What job could keep me on the road to blog about Wi-Fi and keep me on schedule for my next feeding? Ha! Racking my brain, I even talked to Starbucks about a job as a traveling barista. I had heard that my coffee-crafting friends often do shifts at other Bux shops when they travel. Starbucks failed to see the endless possibilities.

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In my formative years, my best friend’s dad owned a community newspaper — The Enterprise. Another friend owns that very publication today. Leon, the editor then, not only wrote the most biting pieces in the paper, he also snapped photos of the football team and the track girls, in between selling advertisements and subscription renewals — when he wasn’t coaching Little League baseball. Community papers are the “six man football” of journalism. Gritty … resilient … outmanned … but blessed with utility players, IF they are fit to survive.

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Typically when I review a Wi-Fi hotspot, it is a solo act … I mean, it would have been quite difficult to take the PingWi-Fi gypsy caravan entourage on the PWF tour, which now includes 47 states, 65 cities, 30,000 miles, hundreds of Wi-Fi hotspots and several cups of coffee.

So … my one goal on Saturday for The Omni Fort Worth visit was to review the Wi-Fi hotspot and to send out a few tweets from the 8th-floor balcony perch. Mission accomplished.

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Today the PingWi-Fi gypsy caravan is hosting a PingThing … tweeting, blogging, streaming, updating from The Omni Fort Worth … high atop a balcony suite in one of the best addresses in Downtown Fort Worth.  Rock on!

Your thoughts?  Hit “Ping Us” on this Web site, or follow us on Twitter: @pingwifi … Roger that? Of course, we’re on Facebook too.  It’s a social thing.  If you can’t come by, message us and you might be rewarded for it (t-shirts, Boingo luggage tags, etc.).

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Courtney, Frank

What are the odds that a kid growing up near Route 66 — “The Mother Road” — would fall in love with the automobile? I’d put money on that. But what about the chances of a guy from Albuquerque becoming a television network newsman? … Still within the realm of possibility. Now, how about the chances of the same guy scoring a major hit with a reality TV show?

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“Are you an Indian?”

Let me start by saying I have the greatest respect for Native American peoples — both for their enduring the invasion of their homeland, and for their ability to take dusty reservation land and turn it into ski resorts, billion-dollar casinos, oil/gas well bonanzas, art and more … I get all that, and I salute them. And I treasure the ways of old …

But … I have often found that a bizarre question is a great icebreaker, as I attempt to meet other travelers during my PingWi-Fi travels.

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