Why I am fortunate to live and work in Cambridge

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Today was the Tour de France; third day – Cambridge to London. A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Should I “take the morning off” to watch the race – or should I continue to hack code for freedom. After all we are in a neck and neck race with those who wish to control scientific information and restrict our work in the interests of capitalist shareholders.
I’m very fortunate in that I can do both. I’m 7 mins cycle from the historic centre of Cambridge. I can carry my laptop in my sack, find a convenient wall to sit on – and later stand on – and spend the waiting time hacking code. And when I got into the Centre I found the “eduroam” network. Eduroam is an academic network which is common in parts of the anglophone world, especially the British Commonwealth. So I could sit in front of the norman Round Church – 1000 years old – and pick up eduroam, perhaps from St Johns College.
The peleton rode ceremonially through Cambridge (it speeded up 2 kilometers down the road) but even so it only took 20 seconds to pass.
So I can do my work anywhere in Cambridge – on a punt, in a pub, in the Market Square, at home
and sometimes even in the Chemistry Department…
So thank you everyone who makes the networks work in Cambridge.
And here, if you can see it half way up the lefthand side (to the left of the red shirt) , is the bearsuit who came to watch the race.
tdf1

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One Response to Why I am fortunate to live and work in Cambridge

  1. Paul says:

    The Wi-Fi was probably through the new external wi-fi network which also includes Parker’s Piece and areas on Regent Street. This also allows the public to use it (logging on through The Cloud).

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