Cappuccino U

My Saskatchewan Cappuccino U Office

I'm spending two weeks as an artist in residence at the Wallace Stegner House in Eastend, Saskatchewan. I'm working on a book and photographing in this great town on the edge of the Cypress Hills.

The Eastend Arts Council installed high speed internet in the house. I borrowed an Airport Express Base Station (thanks, Lu), plugged it in to a power bar, plugged the ethernet cable into it and now have wi-fi throughout the house and in the yard. It's a wonderful system.

This morning I uploaded a blog entry with photos of the yard from the yard.

Here is my latest Cappuccino U office.

Working With Others

In Cappuccino U I discussed working in 'the third place' and how having other people nearby helps us to work and to learn. This seems a bit strange to some people who feel that one has to work alone without distraction in order to create fine work or original thought.
I'm in Burlington, Vermont, where my wife and I are visiting our son, daughter-in-law, and grandchildren, and house-sitting for friends of theirs who live on the same street. This morning I worked alone in 'our house,' with wireless, and completed the review of a publication for a colleague.
This afternoon my son and I are working at Barnes & Noble in their coffee shop, each with a laptop. We stop working periodically to discuss our work or to buy a scone and another coffee, but mostly we work effectively, writing, reviewing, reading.
In each situation, private and public, I have accomplished a lot. Privacy and quiet may not have been effective for the whole day. Changing to another working situation may have been an advantage in itself, but I think that the people who worked, drank coffee, read books, and chatted near me provided positive energy which helped me to be productive and innovative in my work today.
This suggestion may not receive much support from some of my academic colleagues: but I'm sure that they too have stood beside people in social situations and have been either energized or drained by them. We like to be around positive people, people with ideas and optimism.
I'll continue to work in third places which I feel have a lot of positive energy about them, even though I can't point to a scientific paper that proves that what I'm saying makes sense. I'm not the only one to feel that or to work in such environments.
I'll be back to work at Barnes & Noble later this week: and I'll probably take a few breaks and buy a few books.
Do stop and say hi. I'll be the one with the Starbucks coffee and the laptop.

Pervasive Technology

I spend a lot of time on my local University campus working and networking with colleagues (the University is one of my major clients). While there are several buildings which have wireless access for students and faculty most buildings and outdoor areas do not.
I'm fortunate that the Faculty Club at this campus has wi-fi with open access. Unfortunately, there are only two electrical outlets on the main floor of the club which are accessible to those of us who want to work for several hours at a time. My laptop battery lasts for about three hours and after that I have to plug in to continue working.
We need pervasive technology in our homes, our offices and our institutions. Cities such as Boston, San Francisco and Toronto are in the process of making themselves entirely wireless. Many campuses in the USA and some in Canada and other countries have been wireless for several years. It's inexpensive and essential in learning environments.
I've used wi-fi in airports and hotels around the world. My most recent experience was in Nairobi, Kenya, where I found a wonderful five star hotel with wireless access in the lobby. I was staying outside the city where I had no internet access. I stopped at the hotel whenever I was in the city, paid the concierge for 30 or 60 minutes of wireless access, and relaxed in the lobby while I corresponded with my friends and family in Canada and the USA.
Creative cities, companies and institutions need pervasive technology so that we can work and learn wherever and whenever we want. If it's not available creative people will go elsewhere to live and work. It's as simple as that.