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mashby

The personal blog of Michael Ashby

Tag / coffee

Something Caught My Eye This Morning

On my way into work today, I stopped by Starbucks for my usual Saturday treat. The Nippers Corner location features outdoor seating and just adjacent to the door was a woman that caught my eye as I stepped past her to the front door and into the coffee shop. What drew my attention wasn’t her […]

Things That Caught My Eye Today

There are many distractions that entertain me throughout the day. Some from Twitter, others from RSS feeds. The following are the best of the best for a Friday: Perking Up: The Coffee Economy Awakes iPhone Web Development Honoring Apple from 1976 to the Italian introduction of the iPad StreetMuseum Tina Fey’s greatest comedy moments I […]

My Little Oasis

An OasisAfter all my difficulty on Thursday to find a decent connection, I stumbled onto a little oasis called Perk Central on Friday. I was done for the day and heading back to the house. I had an NPUG Meeting to prepare for the next day and I really wanted somewhere other than home so that I could prepare without distractions. I went by my favorite cigar store, because awhile back I had convinced them to get an Internet connection in their store. They never went Wi-Fi, but at least I would have a reliable connection. I bought a cigar and was just getting setup when I asked, “Where’d the Internet connection go?” That’s when they informed me that they dropped their connection.

It seems that their ISP really jacked up their price and they didn’t find the Internet crucial to their business. Of course they never really marketed it, but that’s another story and beside the point. I was SOL on another connection. With no Internet access, I decided to pack it up and head home. That’s when I remembered “Hey, wasn’t there a coffee shop on my list that had a location in Antioch?” There was only one way to find out, so I passed my regular turn off and headed about 5 miles further east to Murfreesboro road and then turned south until I found it.

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Beating My Head Against An Invisible Wall

Had Enough - Head On KeyboardI have a love hate relationship with technology. I love it when it works, but oh how I hate it when it doesn’t. Today was one of those days where I couldn’t catch a break and my disdain for all things tech reached a new low.

What started this whole escapade was the fact that I decided to get out of my office and work remotely today. Since my office is based out of my home there are a lot of distractions and I thought working someplace else might help me stay more focused today. So I did my homework and created a list of wireless “hot spots” that I compiled off of the Internet and after lunch went in search for remote Internet access.

The first place I tried, Fido Coffee House, didn’t seem to exist. I drove around and around, but couldn’t seem to find it. The next place on my list was Bongo Java and although I found it, parking seemed non-existent. It was located near Belmont University and most of their traffic must be walk up, so I went in search of other locations. JJ’s Market was a small deli, so parking was limited and the place was small. I was planning on staying awhile and JJ’s seemed to be a little too small to hang out for an extended period. The other places on my list had their share of issues, so I gave up on my list and decided to head to a Starbucks near Vanderbilt. I’ve had good success there in the past, so I headed there like it was my oasis in the desert.

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