Well since there is no one to cover for me, I decided to get a free lunch.  This option always is there for me but I hate using it.  Why?  I mean, free lunch IS free lunch after-all.  The reason is you give up everything for it.  1. You need to eat at your desk.  2. If the phone rings, you need to answer it, take the call, and watch your lunch get cold as you help someone.  3. I like breaks.  It gives me some time to think about problems and resolve them in my head before I get back to the office. 

Well so anyways, I needed to look up the number.  I went to trusty google and searched for uncle moe’s NYC and the first link was dead on!  Perfect I thought and ordered the food.  At that point, I was curious of what google found on good ol’ Uncle Moe.  I was then lead to the following information:

Location   341 7 AVENUE, BROOKLYN
Inspection date  April 2, 2008
Restaurant name  UNCLE MOE’S
Phone  718-965-0006
Violation points  44
Violations  Non-food contact surface improperly constructed
Toilets not maintained
Not vermin-proof
Food not protected from contamination
Improper hand washing facility
Mice
No Food Protection Certificate
Followup inspection required  Yes

 At this point I was like, NO WAY, my favorate burrito place cannot have this many problem!  It can’t be, it must not be, and then I realized, that this was for the Brooklyn location.  THANK GOD!  I figured I better be safe and check the manhattan location and this is what I found:

Location   14 WEST 19 STREET, MANHATTAN
Inspection date  February 22, 2008
Restaurant name  UNCLE MOE’S BURRITOS
Phone  212-727-9400
Violation points  N/A
Violations  None
Followup inspection required  No

Well thank god!  I was worried that my food was going to be tainted with roaches and mice.  This put my mind at ease and allows me to eat in bliss.  This is good because Uncle Moe’s is the best burrito place around!  They are always nice and the fillings are always fresh and tasty.  I love getting an Uncle Moe burrito with churismo.  It is perfect.

My food is now here (under 5 minutes, how is that for quick delivery!) and I am now going to enjoy my food knowing that the resturant passed inspection!

When comparing Sprint and Verizon’s EVDO service, Verizon usually came up short, given their 5GB monthly cap, and terms of service that restricts everything but browsing and e-mail. However, with Sprint suffering through a rocky financial stretch, it looks like their CEO has decided that customers were getting too much, for too little. drew  directs my attention to a leaked memo posted on the dslreports.com forum, which says monthly caps are coming:

Quote

Sprint reserves the right to limit throughput speeds or amount of data transferred and to deny, terminate, modify, or suspend service if usage exceeds 5GB per month in total or 300MB/month while off-network roaming. Check your subscriber agreement rights on Sprint.com.

There’s no word yet just how tough enforcement will be. You may have to cross the bandwidth gestapo at Sprint several times during the year in order to have your wrist slapped. Sprint’s CEO, in a meeting with employees, apparently told them he believes the caps will only really impact about 1% of their EVDO user base.

Source: http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Sprint-To-Impose-5GB-Monthly-EVDO-Cap-94576

Now with that said, if this is true, it will not bode well for me.  I believe that I am one of the 1% of users.  I use the card about 3-4 hours a day 3 days a week.  During this time, I am actively browsing the web and have email open.  The email is the key component here, as outlook is a bandwidth PIG!  I need to look up my statements and see how much bandwidth I am really using.  If this change is truely going to happen, I am going to cancel my service with sprint and move to verizon.  I have asked other laptop users I’ve sat with and inquired about the dead spots and they said that their service works like a champ.  I always get about 1 to 2 dead spots during my train ride.  Of course, I think I use it more (irc demands continual connection) that your average user wouldn’t notice.  If I fly under the 5 gig cap, verizon it is!  Time will tell…

OK, well for those of your that do not know, a Sierra Wireless 597E is a card that allows me to get broadband access to sprint’s networks.  I’ve had the Novatel Merlin EX720 card for a long time and very happy with it.  Every once and awhile, I check around and make sure that I have the best bang for my buck.  I mean, the Merlin card works great, but what if another card blows its socks off?  Well, after doing some research, it seems that there is NO benefit to upgrading from what I can tell.  Here are the specs between the two cards:

Sierra Wireless 597E, Express Card

• Express Card - works in Windows and Linux laptops and Macbooks
• Rev A Ready
• Broadband-like download speeds where available
• Flip-up antenna and an external port (to attach signal booster antenna)
• Sprint PCS Connection Manager^TM Software
• New chipset that supports increased upload and download speeds
• Backward compatible with all versions of the Sprint Vision and Power Vision networks
• OS Support: Windows Vista, XP, 2000, Mac OS X, Linux
• Express to PC Card Adapter Included
• One Touch Activation! Software is Stored on the Device. No CD Needed.
• Updated User Guides
• Price - $329 (before any discounts)

Novatel Merlin EX720, Express Card

• Express Card - works in Windows laptops and Macbooks
• Rev A Ready
• Broadband-like download speeds where available
• Flip-up antenna and an external port (to attach signal booster antenna)
• Sprint PCS Connection Manager^TM Software
• New chipset that supports increased upload and download speeds
• Backward compatible with all versions of the sprint Vision and Power Vision networks
• OS Support: Windows Vista, XP, 2000, Mac OS X
• Price - $329 (before discounts)

Now, it seems that the only benefit the newer card has (Sierra Wireless 597E for those of you that forgot) is better mac support and a bigger antenna.  While the bigger antenna would probably yield better service (logic speaking) I do not get a lot of dropped zones on my 1.5 hour train ride.  Both cards operate on the same network speeds and both cards are compatible to my laptop.  For those of you that do not have express slots, I would advise you to look into the USB alternatives.  Laptops do not come with PCMIA slots anymore, so investing in that technology would be foolish.  With that said, I do not see any reason to upgrade at the time.