sarah and i met at ooh la latte this evening so a) we could check it out! b) i could give her my web cams for use during her big trip to the houston art car parade that's coming up soon and c) so she could do a live test of uploading cam pics over her new cellphone.

a) yay! it's great! ok, my iced latte wasn't the best i've ever had, but it was pleasant-- not like that wicked undrinkable mess from francescas. the guys who work there are very sweet, one of them even came over and talked to us about our laptops. it's comfy and the lighting is bright enough but not too bright, and the wireless internet is free and plentiful. we didn't have a power outlet near us (the yellow sofa next to the entrance to the untidy museum) but a woman at a sofa opposite us said she had one.

the structure in the front is definitely a stage-- there's monitors on it now. there's a free (?) rock show there tomorrow night. i'm a little worried about the sound-- there's a glass wall behind the band and the floor is plain concrete-- but the space is at least well populated with soft furniture and other objects. it's just so unbelievably great that this place exists.

b) the web cams worked right away and were looking great! there's a mechanical problem with them though-- the tiny pins that hold them onto their stands are tending to shear off. ollie fixed one during the caravan with epoxy and a small metal pin, but it doesn't always hold well. now both of the pins have sheared off of another cam. georg's very handy brother rob will be visiting before they leave for the parade; sarah may ask him to try and fix it. or i can attempt to reproduce ollie's fix once i get the cams back.

c) looks like her cell connection is working well! i really need to test mine with my new laptop. as i recall it was exceedingly simple on my ibook.