computer usage: the narrow pipeline

My CouchSurfing correspondent Becky (how're things out east?) had told me that Walla Walla University probably wouldn't be able to cater to my computer usage needs because they operate on something like a members-only system: no guest logins.

I therefore called the other big college in the area: Whitman College, and found out that the library would probably not be able to help me out because the school year has started, which means the computers will all be occupied (it astounds me that so many students are still without computers, given how cheap the midrange ones are). Not only that, but Whitman College also allows students to log on for only fifteen minutes(!).

The librarian I spoke with suggested I try the Walla Walla Public Library, so I called them and was told they would indeed allow guest users, but only for 90 minutes per day. The library also has a bizarre policy: the guest-user courtesy is extended only to those who can prove they live more than fifty miles away. I didn't ask the staffer why they had such a policy, but I imagine the library sees itself as helping out-of-towners on the assumption that local yokels would have their own easy-to-access computers at home or at the office. Come to think of it, that's not such an outlandish rationale, especially if you're a library IT person trying to minimize the amount of virus cleanup you have to do every day.

There's a community college in town as well; I might limp over to them, too, but right now the object of the game is to find a new place to stay. The Comfort Inn at which I'm staying is over $100 a night; I'm used to prices in the $40-$65 range.

I sent an email to a contact that Becky had given me; haven't heard from him yet, but hope to hear from him soon. He's attached to WWU, as is Becky, and I'm hoping that a meeting with him will also lead to meetings with local students. We'll see how things go.


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