“OK… more like ‘glamping’: it is pretty luxurious in there. The miniature golf course is a bit too easy though.” “Do you have a permit to ‘glamp’ in this parking lot?” “Possibly… that is above my pay grade.” “I suspect you do not have a permit. The workers from Stibnite and Sports Seller think you shouldn’t be here” “I often think that myself… but yet… here I am. The universe is a strange and beautiful thing.” “ ‘Asshole’ or ‘Idiot’ ” is probably running through her head about now, and she wanders back to her team and vehicle. The Freightliner doors open, and I head back towards them. “Don’t go anywhere” Lt. Cressman yells at me. I give a quick wave in the air and consider how fortunate I am that I can hear with my back turned and my gesture wasn’t perceived as profane or anything.
COMMUNICATION Cellular technology is based on a number of essential elements, which enable cell phones (with a unique SIM card) to talk to the cell stations (towers) for a particular carrier. When the cell phone initially connects to the network, it finds and hand-shakes with a nearby tower. As the phone moves around, it gets transferred to a new tower so the connection is never dropped. Given distance and speed can vary for each phone, this transfer protocol is both somewhat complicated and mathematically beautiful. But the important part is simply each phone has a unique ID that a carrier’s network recognizes, connects with, and bills the account for. We have a couple hundred different SIM cards in our team’s cellular phones and cell-based internet routers. Each of these SIM cards have - 87 -
