Broadband (?) on the road

In advance of my vacation in Myrtle Beach, I had resigned myself to the prospect of infrequent opportunities to connect to the internet. But my brother-in-law was going to have to check his email regularly for his graphic design business, so he brought along his laptop and made some initial contacts to the resort to find out what he would need. There were assurances that connecting would be simple. If only it had been so.

The ResortLynx system required accepting a charge through the television of almost $10 for unlimited use of the wi-fi connection for a twelve hour period. The help screen on the television provided a username and password, and reminded the customer to enable pop-ups on the computer. The system was intended to give a "challenge page" to the computer when one attempted to access the internet, and one would then log in using the username and password.

No challenge page appeared. Why? What was involved was no mere pop-up, but some kind of script. My brother-in-law was using a Macintosh with Safari as his browser. Safari had pop-ups enabled, but would not process the specific script.

Our work-around was to use a dial-up connection to another ISP and download a different browser -- one that could have been downloaded at home in advance of the trip had any information been provided that the broadband system did not work with Safari.

Netscape worked fine for logging in. Once there was a broadband connection we downloaded FireFox, which was also able to handle the log-in to the wi-fi system.

Over the course of the week, the broadband connection was spotty. At times it seemed to download data at a good clip, but it would also frequently slow down to a crawl or even a dead stop. By the end of the week, we were back to using the dial-up connection in order to have reliable, slow but steady access to the internet.

Lessons learned:

1. When travelling, have a few browsers available.
2. Those slow dial-up connections you used to use can come in pretty handy.
3. If you are providing internet service to others, be sure to tell prospective customers what they will actually need to connect to your system.

File under : internet, vacation, web

Some old and new vacation traditions

While I was on vacation last week, our family observed some vacation traditions that had been going on for some time, and one that we hope is not repeated. As I have mentioned earlier, I'm kind of new to the family traditions for the week in Myrtle Beach, so I am learning the things that "we've always done."

Monday was Hospital Day, a new event that we hope does not become an annual tradition. On the drive down, my father had not been feeling well, and had a cough that just would not quit. By Monday morning he decided that he needed to get it checked out, so he presented himself at the Emergency Department of the nearby hospital. Having overseen an emergency department himself, Dad had some understanding of what was happening, and made the simple observation that this emergency department was "very busy." During the middle of this day my sisters and I sat in the waiting area while my father waited in one of the examination rooms. We discovered that a hospital waiting room was as good a place as any other to catch up with each other. By mid-afternoon an X-ray had confirmed that our father did not have pneumonia, and he left the hospital with a prescription for the rest of the week.

Tuesday was Tolerate Stewart's Cooking Day. I fixed supper for twelve that evening, and we had leftovers to consume over the remainder of the week. This was a new tradition I introduced last year. No local lizards were harmed in the preparation of this meal. Although most of the meal was "normal" food, I did fix a small dish of chicken gizzards. I suspect that one of the reasons some were wary of trying the gizzards is that they rhymed with lizards. Or they might have had other reasons ....

Wednesday was Waffle House Day. Nine of the twelve of us descended on the Murrells Inlet Waffle House for breakfast, and we took up two booths. For some reason this friendly restaurant serves each item on its own plate, so we had a contest to see which table could end up with the most plates. The table with only four guests won. By the way, Waffle House makes a very good cinnamon oat bran waffle.

Friday was Donut Day. Donabeth and Gil went out before breakfast and brought back two dozen assorted Krispy Kreme donuts, two dozen Dunkin Donuts Munchkins, and a muffin. I was told that one of the explicit, long-standing rules of Donut Day was that you didn't have to eat a donut if you did not want to. Somehow I don't think any of these donuts were sugar-free, but I hoped I was mistaken.

Friday we also brought in a take-out Italian dinner from Carrabba's. The food was delicious and the quantities were enormous, so we made a note that next year we will do the dinner from Carrabba's earlier in the week.

Saturday was Start Saying Goodbye Day. Over the course of that day two contingents from our group headed out in different homeward directions. We made a note that next year it would be better to get our group photo earlier in the week so that it would be easier to get everyone into one spot when not preoccupied with the trip ahead.

File under : vacation

Sometimes what people see depends on what they have seen.

Sometimes what people see depends on what they have seen.

One of the vignettes in the movie "What the Bleep Do We Know!?" makes the claim that when Columbus arrived in the New World the natives were literally unable to see his ships because they were so totally outside of the experience of the observors. According to the film one of the native shamans had to learn to see the ships by observing the ripples on the water and once he could see the ships he taught the other natives how to see them. I think that part of the movie was more than a bit fantastic, and even racist to demean the intelligence of the people who were here before the Europeans arrived. If there is any actual documentation to support the film's claim, I'd like to see it.

But there are many circumstances where what we see is conditioned by our past experiences. Last Saturday, near the end of my vacation, I was hijacked by my mother into a side-trip from Murrells Inlet to go see the place in the northern part of Myrtle Beach where the Teakwood used to be.

We drove past a construction site, where my parents commented to each other about what a sad sight it was. My own inner reaction was different. I saw a new foundation that had gone down, a new building going up, and bare dirt that was waiting for the landscaping that would happen when the construction was done. In short, I saw something that I would love to see in a half-dozen places in Tarentum.

My reaction was different to that of my parents because of the differences in our experiences. I am somewhat of an outsider to the tradition of our family's vacation in Myrtle Beach. The rest of them started going there when I was in college, and my perception of my academic and work responsibilities prevented me from being part of what became an annual tradition. Last year was the second time I had been to Myrtle Beach. I cannot remember how long ago was the first time I went, which was the only time I stayed at the Teakwood. Most of my nieces and nephews have been to Myrtle Beach more times than I have.

For me the Teakwood was primarily a telephone number I would call to stay in touch with family during their vacation. When I called in the evening I never had to deal with an operator telling me that they were ringing the room but no one was answering. What was usually happening was that my parents, other guests, and the owners were playing bridge in the lobby outside the office; the telephone would be brought to their card table.

To this day my siblings can still name families they would meet at or around the Teakwood. It was a place where they had established friendships and forged memories of good times. When they went out to do something fun in Myrtle Beach, the Teakwood was the home to which they returned at the end of the day.

On Saturday I had to teach myself to see what my parents saw on that construction site. I could see some of the ripples in their lives, and I could draw on my own experiences. And when I see the "For Rent" sign in the Corbet Street storefront where Central Perk used to be, I have a host of memories of people I met there, important conversations, friendships that started there. Inns and coffee shops are each more than the sum total of all the financial transactions that take place within. And a piece of land is more than just the best use to which the real estate may be put.

File under : Myrtle Beach, Tarentum, vacation

Town meeting about the redevelopment of Tarentum scheduled for May 5, 2006

The banners are up all over Tarentum.

There is going to be a town meeting on Friday, May 5, 2006 at 7:00 PM, at the Grandview Elementary School Auditorium.

This Town Meeting was announced at the last Tarentum Borough Council meeting (reported here and in the VND here). The Borough Council's Property and Redevelopment Committee is organizing the meeting, and intends to gather ideas and information for redevelopment in the borough.

The Valley News Dispatch also had a brief notice of the town meeting in today's paper.

Update 05-04-06.

There is a good article about the planned town meeting in Thursday's Valley News Dispatch.

File under : Tarentum

Ecclesiastical transparency

One of the news stories about the major budget-cutting process by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)'s General Assembly Council lifts up the tensions around a decision to close the meeting to a number of corresponding members and at-large members. Local readers who have been following the discussions about transparency in Tarentum's local government might find this an interesting article to read in order to see how issues of open government play out in an ecclesiastical context.

The PCUSA is not subject to any state's sunshine law, but has adopted its own open meetings policies. In each of the two policies, the Office of the Stated Clerk was given the responsibility for interpreting the rules. Interestingly, the stated clerk himself was excluded from the closed session of the GAC.

What was bad about the decision to close the meeting of the GAC: Representatives of groups from whom the church had decided it wanted to hear were excluded from deliberations on far-reaching matters. This goes to whether the ultimate decisions were made with the best wisdom and information available.

What was good about the process: The church at large and the public knew what the GAC was going to be doing in the closed session, and do not appear to have been surprised when the GAC came back into open session and announced its decisions on cutting the budget.

File under : PCUSA, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), transparency

I guess no one wears neckties any more

While I was in the New Kensington Kmart yesterday I checked out the prices of memory cards in the photography department. As I walked back into the rest of the store another customer planted herself in front of me.

She: Are you going to help her? [pointing at the Kmart associate working behind the photo developing counter]
Me: [after pausing to see that the associate did not seem to be having an emergency] I'm sorry, I don't work here.
She: But are you going to get someone to help her?
Me: Let me try again. I am not. A Kmart. Employee.
She: [long pause] Oh. I'm sorry.

If the reserved pastor thing doesn't work out for me, I know there are other possibilities. Jarod has nothing on me.

Maybe it's all because I once stayed at a Holiday Inn Express...

File under: New Kensington, wierd

Portrait of the reserved pastor as a medieval warrior

During the past week I have been on vacation with my parents, my sisters and their families. Part of the vacation included going out to a dinner entertainment called Medieval Times.

When I arrived they gave me a crown to wear, addressed me as "M'Lord" and asked me to pose for a photo. So I went along with the program, wondering what possible use they might make of a photo of me in a hokey cardboard crown. Little did I know what they were going to do through the magic of editing a digital image.

The entertainment during dinner was a drama in an arena, acting out a medieval tournament to resolve a conflict in an 11th century kingdom. Without giving away too many spoilers for the story, it was one about chivalry, valor, betrayal, and the victory of good over evil. Our party and others in our section were supposed to cheer for the Black and White Knight, a serious, unsmiling fellow, competent as a knight, said to have been a priest. One of the six knights who had a cheering section was the secret love of the princess. The Green Knight was scripted to be unliked as a foreign mercenary and barbarian, but he performed throughout the tournament with charming energy and style.

I found it hard to follow the dialogue, but the story was simple enough. The horseriding was impressive and the swordplay was dramatic. The dinner was good basic food - chicken and ribs and half a potato - all served without silverware that had not been invented in the 11th century.

At the risk of inviting comments about my "dark side", and without further ado, here is the portrait promised in the title of this blog entry:

File under : picture, vacation