Yesyterday as I sat in the audience at a session at the IA Summit, I was unable to connect to the wifi system in order to send an email to a friend about meeting him for dinner. I tried every way I could to connect, but to no avail. I started thrashing through the options for getting him a message. IM? No connectivity. Skype? Nope. Phone call? My cell phone doesn’t work in Canada. Text message? Did I mention my cell phone doesn’t work? So, I slipped out of the session, thinking maybe I’d ask one of the staff if I could borrow a cell phone for a quick local call.

And then, on the way to the staff desk, it hit me. The perfect solution. Simple. Cheap. Fiendishly clever.

Did you know that in many public places there are coin-operated devices that enable you to enter an arbitrarily assigned GUID, creating a VPN optimized for voice signals? One Canadian quarter later, I reached my friend.

D’oh.[Tags: i_am_an_idiot payphones]

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