Live From SA...It's Thursday PM!
Category: Travel...
Posted Thursday, September 09, 2004 at 03:31 PM [GMT-6]

This new-fangled technology still makes me feel like a kid in a candy store, and the fact that I'm blogging from the Marriott RiverCenter hotel in downtown San Antonio makes even the most mundane posting seem special. Well, to me, anyway. I apologize in advance for what will assuredly be a series of really lame reports, but that's who I am.

The drive down I-10 from Fort Stockton (where we dropped off the dog for safekeeping) was uneventful. I'm one of the few people in the world who actually enjoys driving on the interstate. I think the US interstate highway system is one of the wonders of the world, and vastly underappreciated by most of the population. I'm grateful for the dreams and foresight of the folks who made it come to pass. I also realize that it's badly deteriorating in many parts of the country, but the 300 miles we drove across today were silky smooth.

I can't recall when the countryside between Fort Stockton and, say, Junction has been greener, thanks to the more-than-ample rains this summer. Some might file this scenery under "D" for desolate, but to us, it's delightful. I guess you just have to stick around long enough to see the beauty (and, really, the interstate isn't conducive to helping you get to that point).

Anyway, we're checked in and MLB is getting registered for her conference. I've activated the high-speed internet account and everything hooked up smoothly. I'll be experimenting in a bit to see if I can get my AirPort Express to create a wireless LAN for both laptops, but for now, I'm cabled.

And, speaking of cables, I discovered something interesting...another difference between a Mac and a PC. I plugged my own ethernet cable into the modem and immediately connected my Mac and confirmed the connection. I then shifted the same cable to MLB's ThinkPad. Nothing. My immediate guess was that the cable was the problem, as I was using a crossover cable. I substituted the cable in the little baggie hanging in the closet, and the IBM recognized the connection immediately. See, the Mac doesn't care which cable you use; it can automatically detect the flavor and make the necessary adjustments. A small thing, perhaps...unless you're stuck in the middle of nowhere with just one kind of cable.

More, later...