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The headlines:
1) Home internet is out, maybe until tomorrow afternoon.
2) Sturbridge Coffee House has wifi. It's also far, far more civilized and comfortable than McDonalds while also being less than half the distance to Panera. Win.
The 4-part harmony:
I'm hanging out at the utterly delightful Sturbridge Coffee House. The internet went out at home shortly before 3:30 am, just as I was about to send the pdf for an overdue client project that Ate My Weekend.
I gave it awhile, getting up from my desk for more than 10 minutes for the first time in 26 hours. It looked like the internet was coming back, albeit slowly, after power cycling the modem. No luck. I gave it some more time, and a few more power cycles, then took a bubble bath by candlelight. I came back downstairs to solid green modem lights and no internet, so called Charter.
The autofixer tried several things. It never got past a flashing green connectivity light, so booted me to a human tech. She didn't get anywhere, either, just commented that one of the outside signals appears low. The connection was rock solid through all of yesterday's high winds and rains, and has actually been solid for weeks both before and since my recent travels.
Charter gave me the first tech appointment they could. It's 1-3pm tomorrow. Urk. This isn't a good couple of days for that.
I slept for about 90 minutes, setting 6 different alarms and fearing I'd sleep through all of them. I really wanted that pdf in Minneapolis before the start of the business day.
The light was solid green again, but still no connectivity. I opted to try Sturbridge rather than setting out on the much longer drive down to Manchester, CT, home of the ever-reliable Panera. I noticed a WiFi sign at the old location of the Sturbridge Coffee House, so pulled into the the all but empty parking lot at the new location a bit further down Main Street.
It was my first visit to either location. It won't be my last. Good coffee. Convenient electrical outlets, sturdy tables and Windsor chairs. Real croissants lightly dusted with cinnamon sugar. I was here shortly after 7 am; the parking lot steadily filled over the next hour; it's starting to empty out a bit now. The seating areas are such that it never felt crowded, much as I enjoyed over-hearing friends who ran into each other by happenstance talking about cookie baking and other activities of the season. They also have an utterly brilliant coffee club. Instead of having to carry and keep track of your coffee card, there's a box with alphabetical dividers sitting out on a small table. Your card stays here. Brilliant.
Sturbridge Coffee House is open until 6pm. If I didn't need more sleep, I'd spend the day here and have Italian wedding soup for lunch.
1) Home internet is out, maybe until tomorrow afternoon.
2) Sturbridge Coffee House has wifi. It's also far, far more civilized and comfortable than McDonalds while also being less than half the distance to Panera. Win.
The 4-part harmony:
I'm hanging out at the utterly delightful Sturbridge Coffee House. The internet went out at home shortly before 3:30 am, just as I was about to send the pdf for an overdue client project that Ate My Weekend.
I gave it awhile, getting up from my desk for more than 10 minutes for the first time in 26 hours. It looked like the internet was coming back, albeit slowly, after power cycling the modem. No luck. I gave it some more time, and a few more power cycles, then took a bubble bath by candlelight. I came back downstairs to solid green modem lights and no internet, so called Charter.
The autofixer tried several things. It never got past a flashing green connectivity light, so booted me to a human tech. She didn't get anywhere, either, just commented that one of the outside signals appears low. The connection was rock solid through all of yesterday's high winds and rains, and has actually been solid for weeks both before and since my recent travels.
Charter gave me the first tech appointment they could. It's 1-3pm tomorrow. Urk. This isn't a good couple of days for that.
I slept for about 90 minutes, setting 6 different alarms and fearing I'd sleep through all of them. I really wanted that pdf in Minneapolis before the start of the business day.
The light was solid green again, but still no connectivity. I opted to try Sturbridge rather than setting out on the much longer drive down to Manchester, CT, home of the ever-reliable Panera. I noticed a WiFi sign at the old location of the Sturbridge Coffee House, so pulled into the the all but empty parking lot at the new location a bit further down Main Street.
It was my first visit to either location. It won't be my last. Good coffee. Convenient electrical outlets, sturdy tables and Windsor chairs. Real croissants lightly dusted with cinnamon sugar. I was here shortly after 7 am; the parking lot steadily filled over the next hour; it's starting to empty out a bit now. The seating areas are such that it never felt crowded, much as I enjoyed over-hearing friends who ran into each other by happenstance talking about cookie baking and other activities of the season. They also have an utterly brilliant coffee club. Instead of having to carry and keep track of your coffee card, there's a box with alphabetical dividers sitting out on a small table. Your card stays here. Brilliant.
Sturbridge Coffee House is open until 6pm. If I didn't need more sleep, I'd spend the day here and have Italian wedding soup for lunch.
