Four days and a thousand miles after getting the Passat back from having its timing belt replaced, heads machined and all new valves the check engine "Emissions Workshop!" light comes on.... Of course it's Sunday on a holiday weekend and we're a thousand miles from home. Several sites on the net suggest things such as a problem with a vacuum line, not having the gas cap tight or a misfire. Maybe it needs plugs... the annoying thing is it's impossible to tell. From now until Tuesday morning when the shops open up we're clueless.

So somebody should come up with a tool that will plug in to the car and give mere mortals the readout. Bonus points to somebody who makes one that is a small LED or LCD display that can be mounted near the dash instrument cluster.

Dave Winer has been writing recently about wanting hotels to show when they have wireless. I agree completely. It's amazing that "data port" is listed but free internet doesn't even make the long text description of hotels.

For the record the Quality Inn in Fort Collins, Colo. has a great free high-speed wireless connection.

Another good place to look for internet connections, either wired or wireless, is public libraries and university libraries. Colorado State University and University of Nevada, Las Vegas both have free public internet in their libraries.

Dave Winer says we need to focus more attention on the Republican (Bush Administration) flip-flops. Absolutely. He mentions the campaign promise not to go nation building. More than $80 billion later we know that was the talk with no action. Others on the list include "Mission Accomplished" and then joking about the lies we told the world about the need to go into Iraq. The commitment to hunt the terrorists who perpetrated 9-11 and then putting it on the back burner to pursue a personal vendetta.