Back From the Beach, All Too Soon

I spent last weekend hanging out at the beach in South Carolina, just piddling around on the sand, sitting on the porch, reading a little. You get the picture. Got back last night, with a few observations:

-- Starbucks Via instant coffee is a more than acceptable substitute for real coffee on those occasions when you're feeling too lazy to drive several miles to get something better. Another good alternative that I just discovered is the coffee at Sonic drive-ins, which can be ordered with a shot of espresso.

-- The beach economy continues to be dominated by the Big Three retail commodities: pancakes, t-shirts, and fireworks.

-- Cell phone dead zones, or at least areas of limited data service, are surprisingly common even on the edges of metropolitan areas. When my Blackberry was becalmed in these communications doldrums, it felt like I was skipping school!

-- Wi-Fi hot spots that do not require user authentication still exist, and I had little trouble scarfing up unsecured signals with my Palm T/X from outside hotels and restaurants. It was just enough to keep in touch with the blogosphere and approve a comment or two.


I had over 100 e-mails on my first day back to work, plus SPOT reports about bomb threats and emergency evacuations, cables to read, memos to clear, taskers to reply to, and meetings to attend. I'm just counting the days until my next vacation.