Best Of Tucson®

Best Place to Act Like a Homeless Hacker

Joel D. Valdez Main Library

Have you noticed this latest mini-trend? We know desperate types who have taken to sitting outside the downtown branch of the Tucson-Pima Public Library with their laptops and tapping into the wireless ether. In fact, they gleefully brag about this bizarre behavior, as if they're getting away with something really cherry. Huh? The Wi-Fi's free downtown! Plus, it doesn't seem like it would save that much money (especially for people who can afford a laptop), but hey, whatever melts your butter, right? Maybe it's the sheer joy of embracing the tradition of criminal American ingenuity that dates back to the days of Prohibition and stock market sleaze. Who knows? Just be polite when the G-man comes to interrogate you as a suspected terrorist hacker planning to blow up the library.