Sunday, August 20, 2006
Off the road
Oy.
It's 7:00 am.
We're here.
Where to begin.
When we last left off, I had just uploaded a picture of the local fauna found in Daytona, Florida. Around Jacksonville, the connection was fast enough to download the Gimp and necessary files to install it on Smirk's laptop (as we were travelling 80mph—the bits where slamming into us), get the pictures off the camera (which involved some extreme contortions on my part to get the cable out of my laptop bag in the back) and upload said pictures to my home computer. By the time that finished, the connection had slacked off (the bits were now having to catch up with us) but I was still able to get the picture of the local fauna uploaded.
About halfway through Georgia we lost the connection at about the same time we almost lost the SUV—it suddenly dropped speed and all sorts of engine lights flared up and klaxtons went off.
It wasn't a pretty sight.
Thinking we overtaxed the battery (laptop, iPod) we shut the electrical equipment and pulled off at the next exit, stopped the car, let it rest for a few moments. When started, only one warning light remained lit, so we drove it, hoping to make it to Charlotte (about 3½ hours away). The laptop remained off (partly explaining the lack of posts).
Once into South Carolina, I took over driving (further explaining the lack of posts) and at the next refueling stop (first exit in South Carolina) all the warning lights remained off. Smirk then took this opportunity to use the laptop, but a solid connection remained elusive.
The plan: Arrive at the data center. Unload the servers into our cabinet (just dump them there), hit the hotel. Sleep. Drive around the area and in the early evening, set the servers up. Hit the hotel. Sleep. Hit the data center one last time to get my access to the data center set up. Drive home.
At 4:30 am we arrived at the data center. Mayhem ensues as we try to gain entry. Smirk realized the PIN contains an extra zero. Gain entry. Forgets which finger to give the next set of doors. Finally gain entry. Forget combination to the cabinet. I stand there trying each combination while Smirk calls to get the combination. Help finally arrives and we find out we were doing it wrong. Servers dropped off.
At 5:30 we arrive at the hotel. Get our keys. Go to car. Nearly get accosted by a drunk trying to scam some money from us. Dump stuff in room. Both of us are hungry and tired. Hunger wins. We walk next door to the IHOP. No signal for the laptop there (more reason for the lack of posts).
At 6:30 head back to our room. The A/C barely works, and the wireless access barely exists. Now it's the start of musical rooms. This one too wireless. This one too hot. This one just right.
At 7:15 I crash.
![[The future's so bright, I gotta wear shades]](https://www.conman.org/people/spc/about/2023/1023.t.jpg "The future's so bright, I gotta wear shades")