Hard to be grumpy

We were getting a briefing from our travel agent on our upcoming cruise today and discovered a disturbing fact: no newspapers are available on our ship.

This is on a vessel that advertises "onboard, each day unfolds with countless ways to play,'' but apparently not so many ways for its 3,000 guests to stay informed.

I mean, how am I supposed to settle in without knowing what names Gov. Paterson called legislative leaders the day before, or who has been indicted at the Capitol and how much the state deficit has grown, much less how many in a row the Celtics have won or the latest big-name player the Yankees have purchased?

I know, I know, there is always the Internet. But the on-board charge for a connection is 75 cents a minute, so the dollars would pile up pretty quickly and the reception is iffy, considering there are few relay towers in the ocean. It would probably cost a few bucks just to read Fred LeBrun in the Albany Times Union, so there is a definite cost-benefit analysis needed here.

That brings to mind a conversation I had last night with a self-described former political hack who spends his winters in Florida. He was marveling that with a few mouse clicks he could read all about the verdict in the Joe Bruno trial and not spend a penny.

"What kind of business model do newspapers have that lets them think they can give stuff like that away?'' he asked.

Good question. Maybe he'll look at an on-line ad and remember to buy something when he returns home in the spring? Not likely.

It is of course difficult to feel truly grumpy about the prospects of floating around the Caribbean Sea for a week in January when the temperature is likely to be in the 70s and 80s most of the time on a ship designed to meet your every whim. We even will have a balcony off our state room to sit on and watch the sun rise (on the first half of the trip) and set (on the homeward-bound leg.)

But I'm trying my best.