Barreling Down I 95 with my Laptop
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My brother has called my husband Mr. Gadget. I can see why. During this trip to the 25th Annual Winter Star Party in the Florida Keys, I am, for the first time, writing on my laptop and, at the same time, connected to the internet.
I’m using a broadband cellular modem. It is mine so I guess I’m a bit of a Mrs. Gadget.
However, here’s the part about Mr. Gadget. It wasn’t enough for John to use the laptop on battery. He needed to charge its battery as we went along with this gadget he bought at a Roger Wilco truck stop service center. It’s called (and I quote) “It’s a 200 watt power inverter that takes 12 volts DC from the car’s electrical system through the cigarette lighter and provides 120 volts 60 HZ AC. So, it’s like being plugged in! And, it runs cool as a cucumber. It’s got a fan in it. The inverter sits in the drink holder so it remains in a fixed position when you have lateral G forces induced by cornering and longitudinal G forces from braking or acceleration.”
John wanted me to use the laptop while we drove along as an experiment to see if we would have any interruption in internet service as we cruised past cell phone towers. I am happy to report that we seem to be having NO trouble seamlessly receiving signals from one cell phone tower after another as we go barreling down Florida’s I95 toward the Florida Keys.
As I said yesterday, we’re taking our yearly 1000 plus mile trek to the Keys to attend the 25th annual Winter Star Party hosted by the Southern Cross Astronomical Society. I hope to interview people specifically on the Milky Way’s galactic center and its association, if any, with the last day of the Mayan Long Count Calendar on December 21, 2012.