nickel and dime me

just when we thought that starbucks had us by the balls, we stumbled upon "brew", an urban cafe in downtown fort lauderdale. although barely recognizable and just a stone's throw away from some railroad tracks, that didn't deter me when the barista confirmed that yes, they have wi-fi. thank god! "you don't know what we've been through," i wanted to say, but stopped myself when i realized how dramatic that sounded. still, we had just driven up and down the streets of florida looking for an establishment that was somewhere between a dump and a four-star hotel that offered coffee and internet access. you wouldn't think it would be so hard, but with the added fun of six dollar an hour (yes, SIX dollars per hour)parking garages and up to ten dollars for the internet, you have to dodge more than just pedestrians. shouldn't there be some kind of nation-wide symbol for wi-fi that businesses can post on their storefronts to save us from all this angst? in this technological and caffeinated world we live in, i feel that coffee and wi-fi should go together like peanut butter and jelly. it's time the competitive market starts weeding out these cafes that charge an arm and a leg for internet access. i'd rather pay ten cents more for my coffee knowing that i'll be able to check my e-mail freely. and don't think for a second that we managed to find free parking on top of free internet (now that would just be too good to be true, wouldn't it?)...the government will soon be pocketing our 1.25 per hour fees.

more to come from the "sunshine" state...