Back to top

Denver

digital nomad tip + rant: caribou coffee's 1 hour wifi limit

I'm currently working out of the Caribou Coffee at Colfax and 225. Don't ask why I'm in this part of town. But I am. They allow 1 hour of wifi access and enforce it by making you register an account based on an email which they then offer to send special coffee related news. I can't wait to get emails full of important coffee news...

Your account is limited to 1 hour. Fine. My 1 hour comes and goes and there are several interesting people still here:

  1. the girl studying her school work who had already finished her drink before I arrived. still taking up space.
  2. the annoying business meeting that is way too loud (especially about business - it should be confidential guys, get some class or your clients will sue your ass!) continues to run from before I got here until my hour is up.
  3. the middle aged woman reading her book is still reading her book.
  4. the same 4 tables that were emtpy when I sat down have remained empty the whole time

Now I understand some coffee shop wifi glomming etiquette. I got myself a piece of delicious lemon poppy bread ($1.87) and I tipped a dollar. If the place were full I would leave. But this is ridiculous to kill my wifi when they don't kick out all the other people who are abusing the comfortable space/light/Air Conditioning/etc.

Getting infinite hours of free wifi from Caribou

Given all that, I don't feel bad sharing this tip: use a new email address. Most hosts allow a [email protected] where the "wildcard" can be any text. That mail will still go to the [email protected] email address. I know for a fact that gmail and dreamhost use this system. So...use that system all day long for your free caribou wifi (as long as there's space for you and you tipped nicely). And don't feel ashamed, either!

Digital Nomad category

Category: 
People Involved: 
Location: 

Drupal Introduction at CLUE Denver Meeting (Colorado Linux Users and Enthusiasts)

Drupal Introduction for Denver Linux Group

Tuesday night the folks at CLUE South (in the Denver Tech Center) had a "CMS Panel" that ended up collapsing into a Drupal and Mambo/Joomla! discussion. As I was writing my presentation I happened upon Gabor Hojtsy's request for new maintainers for modules including the S5 module. It seemed like a nice coincidence and since I found the S5 module to be useful in preparing my presentation I'm now the maintainer.

So, you can now see the slides that I used last night as a Drupal book or as an s5 presentation - including Drupal style theming.

Drupal as Presentation Maker - s5 Module

This is, in my opinion, a real boon for conferences and organizations that host presentations. You no longer need to worry about "which slideshow technology do we use" or "where do participants go to download the slides. Now everyone can use html or markdown syntax to make bulleted lists in Drupal book pages and then click the "export to s5" button and your presentation is all set to go.

Once I figure out a few details to make the system easier to use and the theme a little stronger I'll be committing the changes, release an improved version of that Drupal s5 theme, and branch s5 for Drupal5. If you want to try out the s5 module for Drupal5 now, the HEAD in CVS is currently compatible with Drupal5.

Future of Drupal Presentations

Category: 
People Involved: 
Location: 

The Best of Denver and the Baker Neighborhood

Best Denver Coffee

Kaladi Brothers: this is the best coffee in town…we go there for takeaway coffee and buying beans, not as much for sit-down.

Metropolis: slightly closer to the Baker neighborhood, this is a great sit-down coffee shop with fabulous coffee. The free wifi is nice as well.

Best Denver Mojito

Cuba Cuba: a great date night place for dinner and drink, or a great bar to have a few (slightly pricy but oh so worth it) drinks.

Best Denver Tapas

9th Door: The 9th Door: possibly my favorite place in downtown Denver, especially the happy hour. Honey drizzled fried goat cheese ball, anyone?

Best Take-Away Sandwich Shop

After a few months working in the Golden Triangle we finally found Parsley which is an awesome restaurant that provides gourmet sandwiches, salads, fruit smoothees, and now soups at reasonable (though not cheap) prices. It is a great value, though be prepared that a typical meal will set you back about $10 ($7-8 for a salad or sandwich, 2-3 for a drink).

Best Denver bagel

Moe's Bagels: a local favorite

Einstein Brothers Bagels: OK so it’s a chain, but they do have a delightful Santa Fe breakfast sandwich.

Best Baker Neighborhood Bakery

Category: 
Location: 

More Fun RainSkirt photos

So, I showed my mom the RainSkirt photos I took and she hated them. Not hated them, but hated the fact that they were untouched. I like things in their "natural state" and generally don't touch up my photos, but now that I see her work I might be swayed.

comparing these two photos of Nikki in her skirt on that lone rainy day this spring:

Category: 
People Involved: 
timeline: 
Location: 

Drupal Siting: jQuery gets Proper Plugin Repository

I had heard weeks ago from chatting with Mike Hostetler that he was working on a code repository for jQuery plugins which got me quite excited. Historically getting specific versions of jQuery plugins has been a little difficult. Now there's a great jQuery Plugin Repository that replaces the Wiki. The recent jQuery Blog post discusses the new system:

Category: 
People Involved: 
timeline: 
Location: 

denver postgresql training

I recently attended a training that Kevin Kempter hosted. It was a really great two night session aimed at experienced DBAs/Developers so that they could learn PostgreSQL. Kevin has a lot of experience with postgres and wanted to help share that experience with other folks. He's finding a growing need for PgSQL developers in the Denver area and wants to build up a user group and network here so that companies deciding whether to use PostgreSQL or not will see an available local talent pool here in Colorado.

People Involved: 
timeline: 
Location: 

www.angieslist.com - what's the motivation behind the site?

Well, I didn't have any idea two months ago when I first wrote about www.angieslist.com that it would have quite such a strong reaction. There have been about 50 comments on the post and it has been growing daily. Yikes.

People Involved: 
Location: 

Pages

Subscribe to RSS - Denver