Showing posts with label Internet. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Internet. Show all posts

Monday, June 10, 2013

Has the information super-highway bypassed your camp?

The Fish Tacos at Pangaea Cafe
Camping may not be the best career for the Internet junkie. Service at many camps, especially those in rural areas across the country, is non-existent. While camp administration may subscribe to a local on-line provider for the office and key staff, recreational use of precious bandwidth is out.

Service at my office is based on a wireless hotspot that's paired with a signal booster. It works most days. By that I mean that I can send and receive email and place orders with my vendors. Heavy research on websites the rely on intense add-ons is out.

Today was one of those days. I waisted two hours trying to access the website of one of my major suppliers. That's two hours of searching, rebooting, logging on and being kicked off.

All I wanted to do was show the vegetarian cook what the vendor offered for the vegetarian and vegan menu. I'd call her into the office, start the search, only to send her back to the kitchen because our super-highway was behaving more like a bottle of ketchup.

To resolve the problem, my wife and I drove into Quincy. Many Oakland Camp employees head to Pangaea Cafe and Pub for a bite and quality time with the laptop. If you must sacrifice your evening to Internet research, Monday nights at Pangaea are best. The Internet flows like coffee and the "Fish Tacos" provide superb entertainment.

Seasoned with a side of Bluegrass and hit of Zydeco, the ensemble band makes for wonderful eatin' -- and surfin' -- at Pangaea. You'll catch yourself joining in the chorus to "I'll Fly Away" while you tap away on the keyboard. Research is hard work, especially when toe-tappin' music carries your mind elsewhere.

Camp isn't a hotbed of Internet activity. It's a place where campfire chats, great chow and relationships rule. Program directors -- and, yes, chefs -- want staff to leave smart phones and laptops in their cabins. If you must partake of the information super-highway, head to town on your offtime. The food's good, musicians entertain and the Internet (usually) flows freely.

Friday, January 04, 2008

Please stay tuned


Please stay tuned
Originally uploaded by SeabeeCook
Please stay tuned.

I'm posting this message from work because I have no dial tone at home, and the AT&T technician won't be out until Sunday. Unless you want to pay for a cable or satellite Internet connection, there are few low-priced options for those of who live in the country.

It seems my photo-a-day plan is out of the question now! I guess two of 365 days isn’t bad. Most people never get moving with their resolutions.

I’ll post more photos (here and on my blog) this weekend when I’ll be able to take advantage of my father-in-law’s high-speed connection. See you then.

Monday, December 10, 2007

New Gatherning Place for Camp Cooks

No. 10 brings news you can use ...

I've started posting at camp-cook.com under the moniker SeabeeCook. If you're looking you looking for a place to ask how-to questions of seasoned camp cooks, I'd recommend following the link and register. Camp-cook.com offers a bulliten board that's devoted to one thing: camp cooking.

Thursday, July 27, 2006

Camping on the Information Supper Highway

Being connected to the Internet at the campground is great. All you need is a reliable electrical source.

Sunday as we approached Harris Beach State Park turnoff, I noticed a sign that said, "Wireless Internet." The ranger at campground entrance confirmed that the campground had a wireless connection.

She cautioned that the signal didn't reach all 149 campsites. "You may need to park in the campground office parking lot to find an adequate connection." Just park your car in the employee parking lot and connect, she added.

Sunday evening I opened the wireless connection dialog box on the laptop, located the signal and logged in to Road Connect -- Oregon's roadside Internet provider. Access for seven days cost $6.99.

Being connected is great. It allows me to answer email, blog on last night's dinner and checkout SeaLionCaves.com (we've planned a visit there Friday).

But campsite C5 has one drawback: It's classified as "No hook, typical site." That means no electricity.

The batteries on my connectivity devises -- laptop, Palm Pilot, cell phone and digital camera -- require frequent charging. The phone and PDA can be charged via the cigarette lighter in the truck. The other two require an electrical outlet.

But I've only found one outlet at Harris Beach to charge the laptop and camera batteries. I've resisted the urge to sit in the men's rest room and baby sit the laptop (and serf the Internet) while the batteries charge.

Fortunately, we're headed to my sister-in-law's house this evening to fill up on conversation, grilled chicken and electricity.

I'll be connected through Sunday at motels, roadside rest stops and coffee houses. Then we're heading into dark territory (remember Steven Segal in Under Siege 2?).

Any one have an extension cord and satellite Internet connection?

Friday, August 19, 2005

Search of the Week

As I said a few weeks ago, I'm always interested in what web searches bring viewers to 'Round the Chuckbox. I track on referring websites Sitemeter.com. Typical searches that land camp cooks on 'Round the Chuckbox have recently included: baby back ribs, chuckbox, mountain man breakfast and quick cinnamon buns.

Today someone up in Portland (I presume) stopped by for a few seconds while looking for Fire on the Mountain that serves jerked chicken. Here's the search in case you're interested:

fire on the mountain restaruant portland oregon jerk chicken

You might say this was the perfect search as 'Round the Chuckbox was the only link listed! Interestingly, my misspelling of restaurant probably help create the anomaly that brought the viewer to 'Round the Chuckbox.

Tuesday, August 02, 2005

I Trust All's Well at NASA.gov!

Like many bloggers, I track websites that bring readers to 'Round the Chuckbox. As you might guess, many are led to this blog through search engines.

Well, today a NASA employee found 'Round the Chuckbox after searching http://search.msn.com/ with the key words "chuck wagon outfitters." The search led him to my May 12, 2005 blog on the Dutch Wagon. Sadly, the noontime search only lasted three minutes.

Maybe the Shuttle Discovery took priority ...

Saturday, February 12, 2005

Stay Tuned ... 'Round the Campfire is Having Technical Difficulties

Either Blogger or I'm having technical difficulties right now (Saturday, February 12 in the a.m.).

It only seens to be my blog as other Blogger hosted blogs are publishing without a problem. As soon as the problem is resolved, I'll clean up Friday's post and add my thoughts from the weekend.

Currently, I can only publish via Hello software (which doesn't allow for titles, formating, HTML links, etc.).

Note: The problem seems to have been cleaned up as of 5:30 p.m. today. More to come on today's campfire and picnic in Eldorado National Forest.