Re: Colorado campgrounds

From: Josh Battles (josh@omg-stfu.com)
Date: Fri Apr 08 2005 - 16:59:43 EDT


<jon@dakota-truck.net> wrote in message
>
> Josh Battles <josh@omg-stfu.com> wrote:
>
> : Jason Bleazard wrote:
> :>
> :> Yeah, I agree. The rules in an organized campground might be kind of a
> :> bummer, though. We'll probably have to just put up with some level of
> :> restrictions on noise level and bonfire size. But, I think we'll be
> :> better off someplace where we can get cleaned up, especially if we
think
> :> we're going to want to be going in to town to check out museums or
shops
> :> or whatever other touristy thing we might decide to do.
>
> : Definately. The rules don't really bother me much though, as long as
> : we're "reasonable and prudent" I don't see any problems. We'll just
> : have to make sure that the leprechaun dust stays at home for that trip.
>
>
> "Normal people reasonable" or "DML reasonable"? ;-)

I'm pretty sure that it'd have to be "normal people reasonable" as I'm 110%
sure that "DML reasonable" would get us forcably removed from the
campground.

> :> Another thing to think about is Internet access. It would be kind of
cool
> :> to be able to set up a webcam or two and post real-time updates for
anyone
> :> who can't make it. I found a list of campgrounds that have wireless
> :> access:
> :> http://rvtravel.com/publish/ontheroad/wifiwest.shtml#co
> :>
> :> Although I have no idea how comprehensive or accurate that list is,
it's a
> :> good place to start.
>
> : You know, I'd thought about intarwebnet access but then dismissed it as
> : something that wasn't *really* important to me. Seriously, we're
> : camping out... In a way it's kinda sad really, that we can't unplug for
> : a week or so and just enjoy life. That's one of my favorite things
> : about the BBQ, that there really isn't a sense of time or anything, just
> : a bunch of people hanging out doing whatever. Besides, how much time do
> : we really spend on the web at Jon's anyway?
>
> : The only real use I could think of for this would be to post pics to the
> : list or something, but if we don't have it that's more of an enticement
> : for those who are iffy on attending, because there'll be no way to know
> : what's going on.
>
>
> Yep, I'm sort've torn on the 'net access issue myself. I guess where
> I'm at right now, I'm of the opinion that it would be cool if it were
> available, but I'm not going to lose much sleep over it if we can't manage
> it. As I see it, the main benefit would be to keep the list appraised
> of the goings-on. Tom did a great job during the last BBQ with his daily
> status updates, which not only keeps the list informed, but makes up for
> lapses in memory later on when trying to put together a meet report or
> just trying to remember what happened when. :-) (Granted, a "status
> report" could be written in notepad and saved for later, but without
> an imediate posting, the motiviation to do so might not be there.) :-)

True, a status report would be killer and you're right, Tom did do an
awesome job on the daily updates.

> I suppose it would be sort've nice too to be able to take all of
> the digital pics everybody had taken for the day and just dump them
> to a web page somewhere (even if it were just a directory listing
> without thumbnails), just to give people something to look at.

If need be, I'd be willing to talk to my host and get some extra disk space
and bandwidth for this.

> As far as having a webcam goes, at this point I'm not 100% sure how
> that might work out. We have one during the DML BBQ obviously, but I
> have a feeling its more of a novelty than anything else. :-) That is,
> you see so little through the eyes of the webcam, in the end I'm not sure
> how much value it truly is. You might see some people walking around,
> Daks parked in a row, etc. I guess the attraction would be "hey, that's
> the national DML meet and its live! I have no idea what they are doing
> right now, but they are doing it right NOW!" :-) Plus, we'll probably be
> away for most of the day doing offroading, drag racing, or tourist-y stuff
> (similar to how the BBQ cam is pretty boring most of the day until all the
> trucks come back). Unless of course we can figure out how to get a full
> video and sound feed wired into a DBDoMPfIWUMOT hat, and con Tom into
> wearing it around all day. :-)

Personally, I think the webcam is overrated. Granted it's *really* cool
when we're cutting suspension brackets off of a truck and there's sparks
everywhere, but 90% of the time looking at nothing isn't really all that
cool. Plus, as I understand it the wireless webcam signals interfere with
the wifi access in the barn...

> As far as net access goes in general, does anyone have any suggestions
> or input in this area? I know there are a few DMLers who work in this
> industry... Basically my thoughts as far as possibilities are as follows:
>
> - Campground with WiFi access
>
> - Everyone with a WiFi card (802.11b I assume) could just access the
> provided signal. Depending on wether the campground charges or not
> and depending on the price, that might be cost prohibitive. A
> possibility here is for us to set up a wireless router and/or an
> ethernet hub to allow all DMLers to connect via one account.

As I see it, > 90% of people who would have a laptop, have one with a wifi
card in it that's at least 802.11b. This IMHO would be the easiest way for
everyone to get on the net at the same time.

> - Dial up
>
> - If all else fails, and all we want to do is at the very least send
> daily status reports to the DML, we could use a cellular modem to
> dial in somewhere, connect, and send, or possibly do the same from
> someplace in a town that offers internet access like a library.

NOOOOOOOO!!!! Dialup = TEH DEVAL!!!!112

-- 
- Josh
Lowered 2000 Dakota CC 3.9L
I put on my robe and wizard hat....
www.omg-stfu.com



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