I have a dumb question for smart people. You know the ones, like Doug Arellanes or Geoff Goodfellow. What kind of internet connection should I get for Tulip Cafe? I don't need to do anything that can't be accomplished with a dial-up, but the problem is, I can't realistically use a dial-up without getting a second telephone line if I don't want to create all sorts of problems for customers that might want to make a reservation or pay with a credit card. I don't need streaming media and fast downloads. I just need access to email and the option of surfing blogs from my new (ahem) "office." (It's literally a closet.)

Goodfellow wrote a post in August that made me want to avoid Czech Telecom's ADSL offer like a rotten turnip, but I still wonder if that's not the best route to go -- or more likely, the only available option -- in my situation.

At home I have a UPC cable connection, and while it's generally accepted that their customer service sucks ass, I can't complain too much. The connection dies about once a week, but with patience, it always comes back. And it's only 1000 Kc. Price is very much a factor. Thing is, UPC is not available on Opatovicka.

Of course there are fancier options, like turning Tulip into a Wi-Fi hotspot. But that's something about which I know next to nothing.

Congratulations to Mr. Goodfellow, by the way, on selling his stake in Alcohol Bar. Wish I could be so lucky!

If I sound curmudgeonly it's because I'm deathly ill again. Wheezing, hacking up phlegm, fever, sore throat, can't sleep, moaning and groaning -- you know the drill. I'm not sure if I'm going to make it this time...