MISC. COMMENTS: Dissing Dialup

OK, so I'm a dinosaur holdout, still clinging to dialup internet service. But not for lack of desire to upgrade to something faster.

Believe it or not, our phone lines three miles out of town can't get DSL - even though the neighbors at the corner entrance to our subdivision can. Oh, but not the folks across the street from them. No, that would be too simple. Something about the fiber-optics cable only stretching so far...

Cable TV services promises even faster speed - but at higher prices. What's a miserly cheapskate to do? Bite the bullet and empty my wallet, or suck it up and continue waiting TWO HOURS for a 19-meg download? My nifty sort-of-new laptop has wireless capability, but I either have to hang out at a snooty coffee shop in town to get internet access with it, or try to piggyback via my yuppy neighbors across the street who can't mow their lawn, but do have wireless cable internet service! (How would I know they have wireless? Well ... my nifty laptop took it upon itself to hop on their network one night, and I enjoyed the speediest access to the world-wide web this side of town - until they shut their computer down for the night.)

Curses! Now that I know what I'm missing, dialup is intolerable!

ARGH!!!

(Pirate lingo doesn't help the situation, but does make me feel a bit like a rogue! That's the best I can hope for until service prices and availability meet my expectations.)

MOVIE REVIEW: Wild Hogs

This is the perfect feel-good movie for aging Baby-Boomers and anyone else looking for a big mess of belly laughs. Four guys trying to reclaim the glory of their younger days, take off on their Harleys for a week-long cross-country ride, but take a wrong turn and end up on the classic road trip to hell and back. “Deliverance” meets “Easy Rider” for a day in the park.

I laughed out loud. This movie IS funny. And the cast was hilarious. John Travolta’s comedic streak has always been there - he plays villains over the top. Teamed with veteran funnymen Tim Allen and Martin Lawrence, with bumbling but endearing William H. Macy, he rounds out a foursome that keeps trying to avoid trouble, only to run into it head-on.

Instead of giving away anything, I’ll just say, GO SEE IT. You’ll have fun. And don’t leave before the credits roll. You won’t want to miss the last bit!