I took my dog, Sunny, for a walk this morning. We went up the street, face into the wind and the sun. The air was cool and clean, and the warmth of the sun felt good on my face.

I closed my eyes and lifted my head to the sky and walked blindly, letting my collie guide us. She will be 12 years old soon–old for a medium-large dog like a collie. She tugged at the leash and dragged me forward, just like she always does.

I couldn’t help but think of my travels in Australia. I spent a month there in July (winter in the southern hemisphere) back in 1994. I traveled from port to port all over south and east Australia, starting in Esperance and ending in Sydney. The weather in the coastal cities of Australia is much like the weather here on the California coast–very mild. Australia felt like home, only cleaner. The people were much nicer as well.

But I’m not in Australia today, I’m in Hayward: The Armpit of the Bay Area.

Bah.

Boy, was I ever late to the Firefly/Serenity party.

I didn’t hear about it until last year, when people started raving about how good the series was. Well, recently I managed to get a copy of both the movie and every episode in the short-lived TV series.

I sat down and watched everything in two days.

I won’t bother with in-depth reviews or comparisons to other shows (OK fine… Cowboy Bebop). Let’s just say that I was completely blown away. The story, the characters, even the music–all touched me in a way that no other TV show or movie ever has. Firefly is that good.

Maybe it’s the central theme to the series–living a deliberate life in order to be free–that spoke to me. Man, I just don’t know what else to say.

Great storytelling, great sci-fi. Joss Whedon rules.

Fuck you, Fox.

As I sit here in yet another coffee house, comfortably sipping my coffee and browsing the web, I’m amazed at just how wired (or wireless-ed) my world has become.

These days when I leave the house I always bring my laptop. I never know when I’d like to search for a new coffee house, directions, or just about anything. And I’d say a good 90% of the places I go I’m able to find an open wireless connection for my laptop.

Last week in San Francisco at 3 o’clock in the morning I found myself in one spot with 30 access points to choose from. Sure, this is an extreme example: most places offer 3-5 AP’s.

The point is that I’m able to access the Internet just about everywhere these days, and do so wirelessly.

I think it’s fucking cool.