This weekend a branch of my family had a reunion for the first time in 40 years. The Vasboe clan met in Federal Way, Washington about 40 miles south of the Space Needle. The activities of the day wrapped up by 9:30pm, so by 10:30 I was on the road, armed with my iBook, MacStumbler and a vague sense of direction.

I hit one of the major highways (HWY 99) and headed towards the bigger city. At about the ten mile mark and two suburbs later, I came across an intersection with an open access point. Most of the points you see are 'tmobile' which is the fee-based service offered by Starbucks.

The two access points I came across were both open pipes to the internet. After a bit of homing in I settled into a signal that was strong enough to maintain the connection.

Quick, and free, I was surfing along checking a few sites while my mail downloaded in the background. My sister-in-law checked in on an e-bay auction she had been interested in and I even checked in with my small Jabber roster to see if anyone was online.

It's interesting that this scenario could occur: HIGH-SPEED, WIRELESS, FREE Internet connections, just sitting around, hanging out waiting for someone to use them...

(Of course, this is nothing compared to the amount of coverage that is available in Portland. Thanks PersonalTelco!)

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