Small Town America: Minnesota

Intermittent Internet Interruptions: Irritating!

2012-01-15T14:49:00.000-06:00

You may or may not be able to see my webcam's feed today. It depends on when you take a look.

We've got off-again, on-again Internet service today. Which is not great surprise, since the week's snowfall is melting: and our ISP's equipment gets erratic when damp.

Oh, well: it could be worse.

Webcam, Software, and All That

2011-12-30T21:27:00.000-06:00

I discovered that a new bit of software does not play well with my webcam. Actually, it's rather old software: but newly-installed on my computer.

This has happened before, so I know what is the easiest solution: Not run the two at the same time. That has the regrettable effect of taking the webcam offline for an hour or so on some days.

I'll try to have most of my planned outages in the evening, when there's not much to see.

Thanks in advance for your patience. Like everything else in this world, the present situation will change.

A Few Power Outages, a Brownout: Otherwise Okay

2011-12-22T09:08:00.001-06:00

I hope that power is back to stay in my part of Sauk Centre's south side. We've had several power failures, and at least one brownout so far this morning.

My computer seems to be okay, and the webcam's working - so, unless or until something else happens: there should be a live feed from near the corner of Ash Street South and 9th.

That's the second time this month that we've had power problems. Oh, well.

Related post:

"Webcam's Back!"
(December 7, 2011)

Webcam's Back!

2011-12-07T22:15:00.000-06:00

When I got home this evening, I discovered that there'd been a power outage in our part of Sauk Centre: a brief one.

That sort of thing happens now and then, and normally I'd check the webcam soon after the power came back on.

This time I couldn't, since I was out of town. Sorry about the interruption.

Good news: your look out the window at my corner of small town America is back online.

Bad news: it wasn't available for at least several hours today.

More good news: As far as I know, I won't be going anywhere for quite a while. Which is just as well. The last 10 days have been hectic, and that's another topic: for another blog.

Not-completely-unrelated posts:

"Lemming Tracks: Candles, Reports, Meetings, and a Busy Lemming"
Apathetic Lemming of the North (December 7, 2011)
- My 'miscellaneous' blog, where I'm 'the Lemming:'
  "A micro-review or two, or the occasional rant, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday!
  (life, the universe, and the nature of the Lemming permitting"
"Candles: Analysis, News, and Very Odd Questions"
Starting a Small Business Without Losing My Mind (December 3, 2011)
- One of my slightly-more-serious blogs
"Back Online - Finally"
(August 9, 2011)
"Let's See How This Works"
(July 30, 2011)
"Not-Exactly-Technical Difficulties"
(April 23, 2011)

Offline, Again: "Service Unavailable" - Frustrating!

2011-10-11T09:05:00.000-05:00

Sorry about this: "Service Unavailable" is all I get from Ustream.tv, the folks who provide the online presence for my webcam.

The good news is that there's a new message now, reading: "The service is temporarily unavailable. Please try again later." The word "temporarily" looks hopeful, so - I'll "try again later."

Again: Sorry about this.

Offline, Back Online, Again

2011-10-09T10:16:00.001-05:00

I'm not sure why, but the webcam's service provider stopped picking up my feed during the night.

I've re-established a connection, and hope this will last a while.

Thanks for your patience.

Back Online - Finally

2011-08-09T21:44:00.000-05:00

A storm, more than a week ago now, interrupted power to part of Sauk Centre. My computer's fine, so is the webcam. But I was in Pennsylvania at the time, and didn't think to have someone here at home get the system going again.

Everything seems to be working okay now, for which I'm duly grateful. It's been a big ten days or so - and I'm looking forward to a good night's sleep.

What I was doing in Pennsylvania is another topic:

"Catholic Marketing Network Trade Show "
Starting a Small Business Without Losing My Mind

Offline For Now

2011-08-08T09:17:00.001-05:00

This webcam's offline, and there isn't much I can do about it at the moment. The good news is that I expect to get it up and running again later this week. The bad news - as far as the webcam is concerned - is that I'm in Steubenville, Ohio, with #2 daughter and my son-in-law.

I spoke with my wife the other day: we're okay, but a tornado passed north of Sauk Centre. The weather there's been lively.

What's a Minnesotan Doing in Ohio?

I've been traveling with the young couple, mostly to help at a trade show where they showed off the new Spiral Light Candle Corp.'s self-filling candle. Also my son-in-law's video production company.

More about the trade show and me:

"Catholic Marketing Network Trade Show"
Starting a Small Business Without Losing My Mind

Let's See How This Works

2011-07-30T09:20:00.000-05:00

In a few hours, I'll be leaving for Philadelphia - 'near Philadelphia,' anyway. I'll be the gopher at a trade show there.

That means that this webcam will be on its own for - almost two weeks.

Not entirely, of course. But I don't expect the rest of the family to check in on it as often as I do. And even then, it's been offline and unnoticed at this end for hours. And that's another topic.

I've still got some preparation for the trip to do, so - here's hoping for the best.

Related post:

"Lemming Tracks: The Lemming's Taking a Sabbatical, Sort Of"
(July 26, 2011)
"Trade Show in Pennsylvania, Ecclesiastes, Software, and Schedules"
A Catholic Citizen in America (July 26, 2011)
"Trade Show Time: Catholic Marketing Network"
Starting a Small Business Without Losing My Mind (July 27, 2011)

Same Streaming Video, New Service

2011-07-27T18:19:00.000-05:00

As of a few minutes ago, I started using Livestream's video streaming service. (http://www.livestream.com/)

We'll see how well this works.

So far, the video quality seems to be higher than with my old service.

You May - or May Not - See Streaming Video Here

2011-06-22T23:01:00.002-05:00

Something's decidedly odd about the feed I've been getting from Ustream, the service I use for this webcam.

Some time this afternoon, the image apparently froze - and stayed that way until a few minutes ago.

I logged out of Ustream, logged back in, and finally rebooted my computer, in an effort to restore somewhat-normal service.

If it's noon in Minnesota, and you're seeing a freeze-frame of dark streets, or if nothing seems to be moving, or you see something weird - sorry about that, but I don't know what the problem is.

You could try clicking the arrow/triangle that (I hope) appears in the center of the image. When I did so, I was taken to the Ustream page that features this 'show.' After a commercial (probably 30 seconds long) that you may or may not find offensive. The ones I got were selling some sort of snack food.

Or, you could check out some other blog, or get a cup of coffee, or something else.

Your choice.

1st Hummingbird

2011-06-15T16:28:00.000-05:00

An hour or so ago, I saw my first hummingbird of the season at the feeder. And there's one there now.

Whoops. It's gone. Those things are fast.

First Batch for the Hummingbirds

2011-06-12T14:08:00.000-05:00

About an hour ago, I mixed this year's first batch of 1-to-4 sugar water, and set out the hummingbird feeder.

It's late - I've heard that the hummers start coming in May. On the other hand, we had a cool spring, so maybe I haven't missed all that many.

Now, it's a question of how soon one or more finds the feeder.

Not-Exactly-Technical Difficulties

2011-04-23T14:47:00.001-05:00

Oops.

This webcam hasn't been online for - hours, at least.

Possibly because I didn't restart it properly, the last time I rebooted the system here. Or maybe something else happened.

It's back now, though.

Thanks for your patience.

No Internet, No Phone: Call Tech Support?

2011-03-29T10:57:00.000-05:00

My household's Internet connection - and telephone service - went out, rather abruptly, at about 10 minutes after midnight this morning. This webcam's video feed went with it, of course.

I'm back online now, and hope to stay that way.

If you don't see live video here, there are the usual possible reasons:

I'm using software that doesn't play well with the webcam feed
- I try to do so during 'off peak' times
  - But nobody's perfect
    - Especially me

An increasingly infrequent event
- Happily

My computer's not working
- It's fairly new
  - So that shouldn't be an issue
    - For a while
      - Famous last words?
Something else is going on
- Or, the famous "miscellaneous" category

- - - Which Reminds Me of an Amusing Story

Conventional wisdom in those 'how to be an after-dinner speaker' books is that one should establish rapport with the audience. By opening with a joke or amusing anecdote.

Some folks are good at this. Others have been known to open with statements like "as I cast my gaze over this assembly, I am reminded of an amusing story...." Then the poor fellow tells a joke that has nothing at all to do with the folks he (or she) is talking to.

This is a little more connected.

A few years ago, here in central Minnesota, interruptions in Internet, phone, and cable service were more common. All three didn't necessarily go out at the same time.

Once, when the Internet was gone and a deadline was looming, the phones worked. I'd finally finagled my way through our ISP's customer 'service' menus, and was talking to a human being.

I explained that I didn't have any connection to the Internet. At all. None. He, in a reasonable and helpful tone, suggested that I look on the ISP's website, under "customer service."

Taking tech support and customer service calls isn't the easiest job in the world: I've had both.

Even so, my voice probably had a sarcastic edge when I asked him how I was supposed to use their website, if my Internet connection was gone.

The fellow was smart: he caught on right away, and we finally found out that everybody in this area was offline. That was almost good news: There wasn't anything I could do, except (try to) relax and let someone else deal with the issue.

Somewhat-related post:

"No Picture? Here's Why"
(February 25, 2011)

No Picture? Here's Why

2011-02-25T13:25:00.000-06:00

This webcam was off for a few hours today. That happens from time to time, since some of my software doesn't play well with the webcam video feed. Today I also was updating my computer: including Windows 7 Service Pack 1.

The point of all this is to explain what was going on, if you stopped by and didn't see a picture. Thank you for your patience.

Technical Issues: The Sequel

2011-02-10T17:35:00.002-06:00

I don't know why - but I lost the webcam's connection again this afternoon. If this keeps up, I'll be bringing in some technical help.

Technical Issues: Again

2011-02-10T11:00:00.000-06:00

The webcam went offline last night, or maybe early this morning. My son got things running here, and I expect to be 'on' - until I decide to use software that I know doesn't play well with the webcam service.

Sorry about that: I try to keep this webcam in service for dawn and dusk, and much of the day. Unhappily, there isn't someone on duty at my end 24/7: so outages happen from time to time.

Thanks for watching: and being patient!

No Picture? Please be Patient

2010-12-27T12:43:00.000-06:00

Like I said in "One Computer: Many Tasks" (December 24, 2010): "If you check in on this webcam regularly: Thanks you!"

Also, this webcam is offline from time to time. I make an effort to announce 'down times' on my Ustream account, where my screen name is Aluwir:

"Small Town America: The Heart of Darkest Minnesota"
Aluwir, on USTREAM

There are times when that isn't possible - like now, around noon Central time, December 27, 2010: when a software glitch happened.

If you don't see the picture, please be patient: I'll try to have things up and running: "soon." "Soon," of course, being a slightly subjective term.

One Computer: Many Tasks

2010-12-24T22:37:00.000-06:00

If you check in on this webcam regularly: Thanks you!

I enjoy the view out my north window, and am glad to share it.

You may have noticed that the webcam isn't always online.

There are several reasons for that, including:

Communications trouble
Sauk Centre, Minnesota, has pretty good communications infrastructure
- We also have central Minnesota's climate
- Even in perfect weather, technical troubles happen
  - Sometimes
In-house technical issues
- Nothing's perfect in this world
- Including my
  - Computer
  - Webcam
  - Software
My webcam's software, and the service I use, don't play well with other software I use
Sometimes I need to update my system
- Occasionally that means restarting the computer
I try to keep predictable interruptions
- To a minimum
- At night
  - When there's less to see outside

One of those predictable outages is coming up in a few minutes. Please be patient: I plan and hope to be back in a few hours.

Maybe less.

Maybe more: but I expect to be back online by morning.

One more thing: MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Sauk Centre's Eye-on-the-Street webcam's Back: Again

2010-12-24T10:53:00.000-06:00

A few minutes ago, I came to the computer. The screen was dark: no surprise, since the screen saver does that.

Problem is, I couldn't get the display back.

Eventually, I rebooted.

The webcam's back online now: but may have been off for hours.

I'm checking now, to see if I can figure out what happened, and keep it from happening again.

As before, in situations like this: thank you for your patience.

Sauk Centre's Eye-on-the-Street webcam's Back!

2010-12-19T16:31:00.000-06:00

The video feed's back - thanks to my son noticing a slight discrepancy in my computer's system.

I'd downloaded a driver for the webcam - from the right company, but for the wrong webcam.

Oops.

Please be Patient: Still More Technical Issues

2010-12-19T16:21:00.000-06:00

So, I've got my soon-to-be-certified computer tech son working on the webcam issue.

And - we still don't know what's going on.

Actually, we do. The computer works, the peripherals work - all the way up to the webcam. Which was working four and half hours ago.

So far, though, the webcam and the new computer are not on speaking terms.

There is a solution: but we haven't found it yet.

Please be Patient: Technical Issues

2010-12-19T16:13:00.000-06:00

First, the good news: I've got a new computer, which should provide more reliable service.

Now,the bad news: I'm having some issues with the new computer and the old webcam.

No surprises there: but it's frustrating.

I'll have the video back - as soon as possible.

Thanks for your patience.

On 24/7/365: Except When I'm Not

2010-12-16T19:30:00.000-06:00

I'm taking the webcam offline for an hour or so soon. It's something I do most evenings. If your view of my neighborhood streets gets cut off abruptly: Sorry about that!

Not all of my software plays well with what supports the webcam - and I've only got this one computer.

When it's gone, the picture's usually back in an hour or so. Except those rare occasions where I've got some - interesting - technical issues.

Thanks for watching, and please be patient.

Webcam's Back: For Now

2010-11-29T13:56:00.001-06:00

My power supply had been acting up, which explains this webcam's absence for the last day or so.

It's behaving itself now - but I'm not letting this computer out of my sight. Or, rather, it gets shut down when I'm not around.

That's not an ideal solution: but it's working for now.

Just a Little Power Supply Issue

2010-11-28T12:03:00.003-06:00

The webcam is offline - and probably will be for a day or so.

My computer's power supply fan has taken to making ugly noises at odd intervals: and I'm not at all convinced that it will remain running when I'm not within earshot.

Sorry about that: A replacement part has been located, and will be installed in a timely fashion. At least, that's the plan.

Technical Difficulties: DNS Servers, Apparently

2010-11-22T23:03:00.004-06:00

This webcam dropped offline earlier this evening.

I gather that the DNS servers for my ISP went down for - maybe an hour this evening. That's not official, but my son reports that he could ping IP addresses - and access one website on his browser using its IP address.

Not much help to me, but at least we knew that we didn't have a local problem: and could relax while technicians somewhere else worked to restore service.

I'm hoping that there won't be any more surprises for quite a while now.

2010-10-27T12:37:00.000-05:00

I took some photos yesterday afternoon, from 'webcam' window. The folks across the street from us lost a branch that's maybe three or four inches in diameter.

Mid-afternoon on South 9th. October 26, 2010.

A closer look at that downed branch. October 26, 2010.

About 4:20 in the afternoon: brisk weather for a walk. October 26, 2010.

Well, That's Odd: Webcam is Back Online

2010-10-17T16:25:00.002-05:00

This webcam was offline for - several hours, most likely - today.

It's back, though: showing the end of a gray October day here in central Minnesota.

Getting Ready for Winter

2010-10-13T13:25:00.002-05:00

I took the hummingbird feeder in yesterday afternoon. It's long past the time when they're supposed to be headed for points south.

Last winter there wasn't much interest in the food block I set out: so that may or may not happen again this winter.

Meanwhile, there are vehicles, people, yards and sky to see.

Technical Difficulties: Again; Still

2010-10-01T14:24:00.002-05:00

Ustream dropped the live feed somewhere in the last few hours. My monitor page looks okay, and indicates that all's well - but the video's not getting out.

Sorry about that - I haven't been in a position to do frequent checks today. The webcam should be back online in 20 minutes or so, based on previous experience.

Technical Difficulties: Well, That was Odd

2010-09-27T01:35:00.002-05:00

I'm back on - after trying one more time: and logging in twice, once from one page on the Ustream site, once from another.

I hope this is a temporary glitch.

Related post:

"Technical Difficulties: Again; Still"
(September 27, 2010)

Technical Difficulties: Again; Still

2010-09-27T01:22:00.002-05:00

I can't log into Ustream, the service I use to provide live streaming video from my webcam. Or, I can log in - and as soon as I get to the screen where I start 'broadcasting,' I'm sent to a login screen again.

I rather hope that Ustream is able to get control of its system again.

I'll try again, after daylight.

Related posts:

"Technical Difficulties - Good News, For Now"
(September 22, 2010)
"Technical Difficulties: Ustream's 'Off the Air' "
(September 22, 2010)
"Technical Difficulties"
(August 22, 2010)

Technical Difficulties: Again; Still

2010-09-25T18:04:00.001-05:00

Ustream.com was offline for a while.

Now they're back.

Let's hope it stays that way.

A Few Changes: Make that "Improvements"

2010-09-23T18:17:00.002-05:00

I've edited this blog's introduction, but mostly I've added a page of video clips from this webcam.

The whole point of a webcam is to provide live streaming video: but that's not always possible. Besides, at night there really isn't all that much to see.

Technical Difficulties - Good News, For Now

2010-09-22T11:46:00.003-05:00

Good news: Ustream.com is back online.

Technical Difficulties: Ustream's 'Off the Air'

2010-09-22T07:31:00.000-05:00

Sorry: Ustream.com, the service I've used to get this webcam online, is 'off the air.'

There's an 'under construction' page where their domain used to be.

Oh, well: it was good while it lasted.

I'll be looking for a replacement: in the meantime, please be patient.

Back to Business as Usual: Almost

2010-09-13T11:42:00.003-05:00

My neighbors are still getting their home fixed, from that fire. S. B. Restoration Services is back today: along with Klein Electric.

I turned the webcam back toward the edge of Ash Street and South Ninth, since the restoration work has moved inside.

On an unrelated topic: School started on Tuesday of this week, so there's a torrent of teens and elementary students going past each weekday afternoon, around 3:00.

Fire Next Door: Fixing the Damage Day 3, Done for Now?

2010-09-10T18:07:00.002-05:00

I haven't noticed any work going on across the street since yesterday afternoon. If that means the job's done for them, fixing up after the fire: good news.

So, I've swung the webcam back, to look at the hummingbird feeder, bird bath, and part of the corner of South Ash Street and 9th.

Fire Next Door: Fixing the Damage Day 2

2010-09-09T12:43:00.002-05:00

Most of the work is getting done inside today. They've set up a woodworking bench in the driveway, at the picture's right side.

Fire Next Door: Fixing the Damage

2010-09-08T11:27:00.003-05:00

My neighbors, across the street north, have been doing a lot of work on their house: new siding, and probably more maintenance on the inside.

Then, Friday afternoon, part of it caught fire. Starting this week, I've been seeing another set of panel trucks and SUVs parked across the street - they're obviously having damage from the fire repaired.

A few minutes ago, my wife pointed out that I could turn my webcam a little, and show what was going on. While experiencing that 'why didn't I think of that?!' feeling, I did so - and will be showing the worksite until they've wrapped things up.

Technical Difficulties

2010-08-22T16:55:00.002-05:00

That's frustrating: The Ustream monitor said the webcam was online - but when I checked here, - it wasn't.

Which may explain why nobody's checked out the view since morning.

Anyway, it's back now.

Technical Difficulties: Power Failure

2010-08-10T12:01:00.003-05:00

Power was out at my house, and quite a bit of Sauk Centre, Minnesota, this morning.

It's back now, and will, I hope stay that way.

Technical Difficulties

2010-08-02T19:19:00.003-05:00

At about 3:00 p.m. today, my household's cable got cut. Not the tree-removal crew's fault: the guys who laid the cable went over a tree root, instead of cutting through, or digging under. The cable was, essentially, lying on the grass.

Frustrating.

We got re-connected, thanks to another contractor, about five minutes ago (7:15-7:20, give or take).

Our service provider's tech will be out around Wednesday. I hope.

Hummingbirds, Stearns County Fair, and Technical Difficulties

2010-07-29T16:26:00.003-05:00

Yesterday, I cleaned and refilled the hummingbird feeder. High time, to, since it had gotten rather empty.

Then my household lost our Internet connection, phone & cable.

Not right away: the trouble started around midnight, and lasted until at least 1:30 a.m.

Frustrating, rather.

Today, you'll see more vehicles parked on the street: this is about as close as folks visiting the Stearns County Fair can park, legally, for free.

Hummingbird Feeder Filled Again

2010-07-21T22:32:00.003-05:00

I cleaned and refilled the hummingbird feeder again this afternoon. It's gratifying to see that the birds are using the 'nectar.' Also, fun to watch them flit in, dip their beaks, and flit away.

Hummingbird Feeder & a Tornado Warning

2010-07-17T14:01:00.001-05:00

I washed and refilled the hummingbird feeder about 40 minutes ago. The hummers had nearly drained it.

And, I see there's a tornado warning for areas just to our north. That would explain the clouds.

Tornado Warning

2010-07-14T15:23:00.003-05:00

About 3:00 p.m. CDT the sirens went off and the family and I went to the basement.

That may be when we lost the webcam: which is back online now.

Apart from a whole lot of rain and wind, nothing much happened in our part of Sauk Centre's south side. For which I'm thankful. I hope everybody else is okay.

Hummingbirds

2010-07-13T13:50:00.002-05:00

I cleaned and filled the hummingbird feeder again yesterday: a routine event.

The hummers are either hungrier - or there are more of them. After six days, they'd gone through most of the cup of 1-to-4 homemade nectar I'd set out. The level was well below the red plastic: I've been refilling a bit before that point's reached.

Granted, I'd waited six days this time, not the five-day interval before.

My guess is that there are more hummingbirds coming now: I've noticed at least two approach and exit routes in use, and am spotting them more frequently.

Hummingbirds

2010-07-07T20:51:00.002-05:00

I cleaned and re-filled the hummingbird feeder yesterday. The hummers are going through the nectar faster now, I think. I may have more 'clients.'

At least, I saw two at the feeder at the same time: neither seemed comfortable with the other's presence.

Fourth of July Weekend 2010

2010-07-03T14:14:00.003-05:00

It's day one of Independence Day weekend: so there'll be more folks coming and going on motorcycles, hauling boats, or parked in front of friends' or relatives' houses.

I grilled lunch - but that's on the other side of the house.

In the spirit of Public Service Announcements: have a fun and safe holiday weekend.

Hummingbirds

2010-07-02T11:01:00.002-05:00

I cleaned and re-filled the hummingbird feeder yesterday afternoon: but haven't seen any of the hummers since then.

Which isn't surprising, since I haven't been watching all that much. I'm hoping to kick back and relax a bit this afternoon, and spot one.

No Phone, No Web, No Internet: Not a Single Webcam Live

2010-06-29T12:53:00.005-05:00

I intended that title to go with the title song of Gilligan's Island.

Around midnight last night, this webcam went offline. The webcam and my computer were working fine. The problem was that my household had lost our connection to the Internet - and telephone service.

I kept checking, and at 1:30 a.m. decided that sleep was important. And slept until almost noon. I'm not a 40-year-old kid any more. (Through One Dad's Eye (June 29, 2010))

I sincerely hope that we don't have another service interruption like that again, any time soon.

Webcam's Off Air? Yes, But There's More to It Than That

2010-06-25T11:00:00.003-05:00

Sorry about that, if you visited this page and didn't see a live webcam's image.

A few minutes ago, I discovered that the feed out here shows that the webcam's offline. You can get at recorded video, but not the live feed.

That was an unpleasant surprise to me, since at my end, using monitoring features provided by Ustream, the service that's handling the feed, everything's just fine. Nice, (fairly) clear image and all.

Here, where it counts? Not so much. No live feed at all, in fact. Not good.

I've decided to re-start the feed periodically. Maybe that'll clear up this problem. We'll have more off-air periods of several minutes - but may reduce the number of times the webcam's unavailable for (probably) hours at a time.

Shockwave Flash: New and Improved? Not So Much

2010-06-20T00:40:00.002-05:00

I trust that most Shockwave Flash users are quite satisfied with their recent upgrade. I made the mistake of installing mine - and have had issues with it and/or the service that usually delivers this webcam's feed to you.

If you've checked in and found no picture: that's one of the times I didn't catch the crash soon enough.

A couple happened today - and I'll admit that I'm a bit frustrated.

But, that's my problem.

I'm hoping to (eventually) find a solution. An all-new computer and camera system would be nice. But so would a million dollars, tax-free. ;) I'm looking for another alternative.

Thanks for your patience!

Technical Difficulties: It's Always Technical Difficulties

2010-06-13T15:44:00.002-05:00

Well, it feels like all I post about here are the glitches (or maybe one recurring glitch).

This is something new, though. Around 2:00 this morning, judging from a log entry, some piece of software tried to get an update: and experienced a psychotic break. Or something. By the time I got to the computer, about 3/4 of an hour ago, all I saw on the screen was blue.

Now, a bit of rebooting and fiddling later, I'm up and running again. Smoothly, I hope.

Thanks for your patience!

Technical Difficulties

2010-06-09T09:15:00.002-05:00

Another day, another glitch.

Actually, no: but it feels that way.

Small Town America: Minnesota's webcam is once again on speaking terms with the service I use. The issue may involve new-and-improved Shockwave flash. Or, something else.

Bottom line: the webcam's back. Sorry about the interrupted service.

Technical Difficulties: Another New One

2010-06-03T10:31:00.004-05:00

This webcam was offline for - some period of time - this morning.

It's back, and I expect it to stay that way. Make that "I hope" it'll stay that way.

This time around, something went wrong with the Flash extension in the browser I use to keep the webcam and the online service talking to each other.

Oops! Cable Troubles

2010-06-02T16:53:00.002-05:00

Around mid-afternoon today, we discovered that whoever put in the coaxial cable that feeds our house covered it with sod - but not much more than that. It was just a few inches below the grass.

So, when the guys who were digging out space for brick paving got to where the cable was, they cut it.

Putting this webcam offline for a few hours.

Good news: they called somebody out to do a temporary splice.

Better news: the cable company is coming out - tomorrow, I think - to do a more permanent repair.

Hummingbirds! Or Maybe One Hummingbird

2010-05-23T20:33:00.001-05:00

This afternoon, and evening, I've seen a hummingbird come to the feeder. Or maybe several, all of the same species. Either way: The hummingbird feeder's being used.

Hummingbird Feeder's Out

2010-05-21T12:38:00.002-05:00

A few minutes ago I re-filled the birdbath - 2/3 of it, with #1 daughter taking care of the last third - and set out the hummingbird feeder.

I'm getting that feeder out a little late this year - but I trust that the hummers will find it. The question is, how long will that take?

Technical Difficulties: Or Maybe Operator Error

2010-05-13T04:54:00.003-05:00

If you tried viewing this webcam in the last seven hours or so, and it was offline: Sorry about that!

It's back. The software at my end was, as far as I can tell, which isn't very (I'll explain after this paragraph), was working okay - but I'd lost the internet connection.

I caught some sort of bug, slept through most of Tuesday: and am still not feeling even close to 'up to par.'

It's been raining for days - and previous experience tells me that there can be issues with internet service in this area when that happens. The situation is getting better each year - which tells me that the maintenance folks are on the job. (Thanks!)

I hope the webcam stays online for the rest of today. But, we'll see. And, more to the point, I'll be keeping a (somewhat bleary) eye on it.

Technical Difficulties: A New One, It Seems

2010-04-24T02:37:00.003-05:00

Well, at least this wasn't the same old glitch.

The webcam was offline for an as-yet undetermined length of time this evening. Sorry about that! Apparently the webcam was bumped off the service I use.

Odd: but as long as it doesn't happen again, I won't worry.

Small Town America Neighborhood Streets, Yards: and now a Birdbath

2010-04-17T11:43:00.002-05:00

My son and I set up a birdbath near the webcam, a few minutes ago. I trust that birds will find it.

Good Grief, Not Again?!

2010-04-15T21:31:00.003-05:00

This time I think it's human error that kept the webcam offline for the last few hours.

Sorry about that!

For what it's worth, I've got what I assume is a cold. Or maybe allergies. Whatever the case, I'm definitely not running at 100% efficiency. Not even close.

I hope this will be the last service outage for a long, long time.

On the up side, between warm air, rain and sunshine: the grass is turning green.

Not Again!

2010-04-15T12:32:00.003-05:00

Update (April 15, 2010)

I've got indirect evidence that the webcam was offline for about four or five hours, starting around 8:00 a.m. today (Central Time). Give or take an hour or so.

Which doesn't help a bit, if you stopped in this morning and saw - nothing on the feed.

Again, sorry about that.

So I oversleep (I've got a cold - I hope), check in at the computer: and get a 'Windows is Shutting Down' message. The iron idiot is apparently stuck in that mode.

No problem, I think: A simple reboot fixed it.

But this webcam has been offline for - it could be almost nine hours. Sorry About that!!

But it's back now: showing a beautiful, clear, blue-skied spring day in my part of Minnesota.

Good Grief, Now What?!

2010-04-10T22:15:00.002-05:00

This webcam went offline for some reason, earlier today.

I didn't notice it until about a minute ago. Sorry about that!

It's back - to stay for quite a while, I hope.

Technical Difficulties: This is Getting Monotonous

2010-03-21T13:55:00.002-05:00

The webcam's been offline off and on this morning. I think it's a combination of software updates at inopportune times and my pushing the limits of my system resources. (There's something to be said for opting for manual updates only - but I'm not expert enough to know which are relevant and which aren't.)

I hope, sincerely, that there won't be more unexpected breaks in the feed.

Thank you for your patience.

About Those Interruptions of Service

2010-03-18T18:14:00.005-05:00

First, the good news: I've got a new router, which should take care of some of the craziness I've experienced with the household Internet connection lately.

Now, the bad news: a member of the family hooked up about an hour ago - without letting me know first. Job well done, but when I know something like that's going to happen, I leave a 'heads up' message at Ustream.

If you were watching when the webcam went dead: sorry about that!

I'm hoping that this is the end of technical difficulties: for a few days, anyway.

Technical Difficulties: This is Getting Monotonous

2010-02-25T16:52:00.002-06:00

The webcam was offline today. Again.

For hours, probably, before I noticed was was going on. Or, rather, what wasn't.

At this point, I'm assuming operator error at my end.

Sorry about that!

And, more to the point: I intend to watch what I do online more closely. And, check the webcam's status more often.

Technical Difficulties

2010-02-23T18:37:00.002-06:00

The webcam and my Internet connection were fine: but the computer I use picked up a rather nasty bit of adware this morning.

Sorry about that!

Before logging back into the service I use to bring you the streaming video, I needed to go through a rather long process of de-worming my system.

That's the bad news.

The good news is that the webcam's back, and should stay online.

Thank you for your patience!

Technical Difficulties

2010-02-17T22:37:00.002-06:00

If you tried viewing this webcam earlier today, you may not have seen much. There seems to have been a service interruption - probably during the last few hours (evening, here in the Central time zone).

Sorry about that. I'm still not certain what happened, but I've re-set the software I use, and will be monitoring the situation.

Thanks for your patience!

Comments, Spam, and Having to Wait

2010-02-16T13:01:00.002-06:00

Comments on this blog will be moderated from here on.

Partly to keep me from missing comments like the one left by someone who lived "just around the corner" from this webcam.

Sorry about that. I like to see the comments I make show up right away, and figure that you probably do, too.

On the other hand, I've been getting too much obscene spam: which I don't like to see, and figure you may not, either. Particularly if you understand the language it's written in.

I rambled on about this more, in another blog:

"Lemming Tracks: Comments and Spam"
Apathetic Lemming of the North (February 16, 2010)

Back Online

2010-02-05T10:23:00.000-06:00

The webcam's back. Good news.

Technical Difficulties

2010-02-05T01:11:00.002-06:00

I can't seem to get a user's connection to Ustream, the service I use to get my webcam's streaming video online.

And now, the Ustream site seems to be offline.

Frustrating.

Since I (desperately) need sleep, I'm signing off for now: and will try again in the morning. Later in the morning.

Webcam's Back! Yet Again

2010-01-28T00:55:00.002-06:00

I'd say that "technical difficulties" had this webcam offline for part of the evening, at least. Truth is, I may have pushed the wrong button. I'm checking out other possibilities, too.

Anyway, the streaming video's back: and should be for hours to come.

Thanks for your patience.

Blizzard Coming: Maybe

2010-01-25T15:57:00.002-06:00

There may be something to watch tonight. The National Weather Service issued a blizzard warning for the part of the country.

More:

"Well, That's Interesting: Blizzard Warning"
Sauk Centre Journal Blog (January 25, 2010)

Power Outage

2010-01-22T22:21:00.003-06:00

Well, that was interesting.

Power came back, about 10 minutes ago. It took me that long to re-boot the computer, and get my software to talking with me again. So to speak.

I trust there won't be more interruptions tonight.

Something a Little Different: If You Can't Tell the Difference - - -

2010-01-20T08:29:00.001-06:00

Yesterday I installed Google Chrome on my computer, and started using Chrome as the browser that helps send this streaming video to you.

If you can't tell the difference - that's the way I want it.

The reason for this change is that I've been having to take the webcam offline for a few minutes (sometimes more) each day, to deal with my browser and free up system resources.

The new arrangement should cut down on the offline time. Significantly.

Glitch?

2009-12-25T13:02:00.002-06:00

This webcam has been offline for some reason.

Now, it's back on.

For a few minutes, anyway.

I'll probably take it offline for a little cybernetic maintenance, soon.

Christmas 2009 Midwest Storm, Christmas Day

2009-12-25T10:48:00.002-06:00

The plows have come by, again, since last night: and I'm pretty sure they'll be by again before this weather passes.

What You're Looking At

This webcam looks out a window on the north side of a house in Sauk Centre, Minnesota. This town is almost exactly in the center of Minnesota, so when you hear "central Minnesota" - it doesn't get much more "central" than this.

For those who know Sauk Centre, or live here: The house is on the corner of South Ash Street and 9th, about a block west of the high school parking lot.

The camera is looking northwest, more or less.

This is one of the busier corners in residential Sauk Centre. Obviously, it's no Los Angeles freeway: and I don't mind that a bit. South Ash street is one of two north-south arterial streets in this town, and South 9th - when it isn't used by a horde of highschoolers driving away from school - connects to State Street, which connects to County Road 186: so anyone driving into town from the southeast and headed for downtown is likely to drive by here.

Where's the Howling Wind? The Driving Snow?

For starters, this webcam doesn't have sound. Not yet, anyway. I could set things up so you hear what's happening inside the window: but I don't think either of us really wants that. I do most of my work here, so there's a lot of keys clicking and the occasional rustle of paper. That, and my occasional muttering to myself.

At this moment, there's light snowfall. You'll see the occasional flake caught near the window, in silhouette. And not all that much wind. Driving around it town is pretty easy, thanks to the plow crew. One of the plows went by as I wrote this post.

In open country, between towns, I'd just as soon not try to drive. Unless I was on a snowmobile, or some other cross-country vehicle that's designed for these conditions.

As the National Weather Service puts it:

"A winter storm warning for heavy snow means severe winter weather conditions are expected or occurring. Significant amounts of snow are forecast that will make travel dangerous. Only travel in an emergency. If you must travel...Keep an extra flashlight...Food...And water in your vehicle in case of an emergency."
(Winter Storm Warning / Stearns (Minnesota), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Weather Service (Last update: 12.25.09 - Fri - 01:26:13 PM (EST)))

I'm inclined to take reasonable precautions in weather like this. As I wrote in another blog:

"...Storms like this are potentially lethal. I won't soon forget the time a father and daughter thought they'd drive on the road running across the south side of Fargo's airport. I saw the meat wagon go out for their bodies, when that storm had passed...."
("Christmas Blizzard/Winter Storm Coming" Sauk Centre Journal Blog(December 22, 2009))

As it turned out, this is more of a winter storm than a blizzard here - not enough wind.

That's Funny: It Doesn't Look Like a Storm

Like I said, here in town it's fairly nice weather - for central Minnesota in late December.

This webcam's at least a sixth of a mile to the edge of Sauk Centre's urban forest. Those trees make a big difference.

Out in the country, it'd look a bit different. I grew up in the Red River Valley of the North before it got built up, so the farmland around here looks crowded to me. But it's not all that hard to find a stretch of road that's a quarter-mile or more from the nearest tree, and when snow is falling and wind is moving around a few inches of snow that's fallen: sometimes you won't be able to see where the road is. And it won't matter, because your car is stuck in the snow.

The Lovely Snowy Landscape of Wintertime Minnesota

With a little common sense and forethought, though, you can enjoy the Currier-and-Ives winter scene. And watch other people getting their sidewalks cleared.

Christmas Eve 2009 With Snow: and Freezing Drizzle on the Way?!

2009-12-24T08:15:00.003-06:00

Looks like last night's forecast was accurate. There's several inches of snow on my oldest daughter's car, parked out back. That'll be a job to shovel out, when this storm passes.

Right now, the forecast on Wunderground.com for this area is:

"Snow and patchy light freezing drizzle in the morning... then snow in the afternoon. Snow accumulation of 1 to 3 inches. No ice accumulation...."

Well, "no ice accumulation" is nice. I could do without the light freezing drizzle. The plows spread sand on the streets, near intersections: but icy sand is still icy.

Christmas Eve Storm 2009

2009-12-23T23:17:00.002-06:00

We're just about guaranteed a "white Christmas" this year. There's a winter storm on its way - the leading edge is here, it looks like.

The forecast says there'll be two to five more inches on the ground by morning.

Winter Storm Coming: Christmas, 2009, With Map

2009-12-23T14:18:00.004-06:00

The forecasts are changing a bit, but the gist is still the same: quite a lot of snow and a fair amount of wind is coming, starting sometime tonight or early tomorrow morning.

I'm sincerely glad I don't have to travel.

I took a look at national weather: and this is not a small storm. And, I'm glad to live in central Minnesota. Central and Southern Illinois are in for flooding, it seems.

U.S. Severe Weather Map

(from Wunderground.com, used w/o permission)
Image from 2:10 p.m. Central (December 23, 2009)

Looks like we may have two to five more inches on the ground by tomorrow morning.

Or, not. Minnesota weather isn't particularly monotonous or predictable.

Winter Storm Coming: Christmas, 2009

2009-12-22T23:56:00.000-06:00

This should be interesting:

"Christmas Blizzard/Winter Storm Coming"
Sauk Centre Journal Blog (December 22, 2009)

I'm hoping the storm - due to hit here very late Wednesday or Thursday morning - doesn't interfere with power or the local Internet connection.

Webcam's Back! - After Another Overnight Delay

2009-12-22T11:49:00.003-06:00

I've had some technical difficulty with the webcam lately. A new router's helped with the local network - but didn't seem to affect the the webcam, one way or another.

Somewhere in the last 12 hours, the webcam went offline. It's back, now.

Happily, the outages aren't coming more than a few times a month. Still: that's annoying.

Good Grief, Not Again?!

2009-12-11T18:19:00.002-06:00

This webcam will be back online. Shortly, I hope.

I ran into still-unknown technical issues about an hour and twenty minutes ago, and am running a test or two.

Yes, I expect the webcam to be back online by morning.

First Serious Snowfall of the Season

2009-12-09T12:23:00.002-06:00

I've been tracking this thing, and most of the snow went well to the south and east of us. Can't say I'm disappointed. We've finally got snow covering most of the yards, without the inconvenience of drifts.

The plows have been by already, and most folks have their sidewalks shoveled. Which reminds me: I need to see what ours are like.

Offline for a Few Hours

2009-11-30T16:38:00.002-06:00

I can't blame this one on technical problems, quite.

This webcam went offline a couple hours ago, so that I could re-boot my computer. I'd done something excessively creative with software I use to make press-ready sheets for a local group's monthly bulletin: and spent more time than I'd have saved, making sure my system was stable.

Then, there was getting the sheet to the printer: and here I am, with the webcam once more online, and me giving an explanation.

I don't know where this comes from, but I ran into the phrase in a British television drama:

"More haste, less speed."

There's a lot of truth in that.

Technical Difficuties

2009-11-27T12:14:00.002-06:00

The webcam was working fine over the last 12 hours or so: but something happened to the Internet connection. What, I don't know.

It's working again, though: and I'll be monitoring it off and on during the day.

Off Again, On Again

2009-11-22T16:01:00.002-06:00

Once again, the webcam was offline. And it took me too long to notice.

I'm not sure what the problem is - an aging router at this end is high on the list of suspects.

About That Interruption Today

2009-11-19T14:54:00.003-06:00

Sometime in the last two hours, this webcam went offline - rather abruptly. A technician came to work on a connection issue, and I out: getting a mailing off for the local Knights of Columbus council.

Sorry about that: but the good news is that this webcam should stay connected to the Internet - for a while, at least.

Then Again, Maybe Not

2009-11-17T21:04:00.002-06:00

We've removed the new router, adjusted the system, put the old router in place, and seem to be connected.

For now.

Next, I'm going to try getting the webcam online again.

Webcam May be Coming Back

2009-11-17T19:48:00.002-06:00

Good news: I've got a new router installed on the home network. And got my computer online.

For a short time.

We've been -

[updated 8:34 p.m., then 8:41 p.m.]

More trouble.

We're losing Internet connectivity about every five minutes.

I'll try getting this update posted.

Off Again, On Again

2009-11-11T10:47:00.002-06:00

My system went down this morning: at 8:23am by Ustream's clock. I've been away from the computer most of the morning, so didn't notice until a few minutes ago.

I still have no idea what happened, much less why: but everything seems to have re-booted successfully, and the webcam is back online.

Webcam's Back!

2009-11-09T09:37:00.002-06:00

That's a relief: The service I use, my computer, and the webcam are all 'talking' to each other again.

And, most importantly, the picture's back!

No Picture? Sorry About That!

2009-11-09T00:58:00.002-06:00

Sorry about this: the webcam is working, but I can't get the service I use to connect to it.

I'm trying one more time, and then I must get some sleep. I trust that the system will work in the morning.

Halloween, and Another Glitch

2009-10-31T19:53:00.003-05:00

Another day, another glitch.

Shortly after sunset this webcam went offline. I think it was a simple matter of a loose connection - which has been fixed.

It's a good thing I'm not superstitious.

Webcam's Back! - After an Overnight Delay

2009-10-30T11:50:00.002-05:00

Sorry about that! The last reliable log data I've got for this webcam is from about 13 hours ago. (About 10:30 last night, Central time.)

Somewhere along the line, the software I use to keep the video going became unstable - in the 'opinion' of the operating system - and got shut down. I've re-started my computer, and seem to have everything running again, but still don't know what went wrong, or when it happened.

But, most importantly - the video feed is back.

So you can watch yet another day of rain in small town America.

Small Town America: Minnesota

Intermittent Internet Interruptions: Irritating!

Webcam, Software, and All That

A Few Power Outages, a Brownout: Otherwise Okay

Webcam's Back!

Offline, Again: "Service Unavailable" - **Frustrating!**

Offline, Back Online, Again

Back Online - Finally

Offline For Now

What's a Minnesotan Doing in Ohio?

Let's See How This Works

Same Streaming Video, New Service

You May - or May Not - See Streaming Video Here

1st Hummingbird

First Batch for the Hummingbirds

Not-Exactly-Technical Difficulties

No Internet, No Phone: Call Tech Support?

- - - Which Reminds Me of an Amusing Story

No Picture? Here's Why

Technical Issues: The Sequel

Technical Issues: Again

No Picture? Please be Patient

One Computer: Many Tasks

Sauk Centre's Eye-on-the-Street webcam's Back: Again

Sauk Centre's Eye-on-the-Street webcam's Back!

Please be Patient: Still More Technical Issues

Please be Patient: Technical Issues

On 24/7/365: Except When I'm Not

Webcam's Back: For Now

Just a Little Power Supply Issue

Technical Difficulties: DNS Servers, Apparently

Well, That's Odd: Webcam is Back Online

Getting Ready for Winter

Technical Difficulties: Again; Still

Technical Difficulties: Well, That was Odd

Technical Difficulties: Again; Still

Technical Difficulties: Again; Still

A Few Changes: Make that "Improvements"

Technical Difficulties - Good News, For Now

Technical Difficulties: Ustream's 'Off the Air'

Back to Business as Usual: Almost

Fire Next Door: Fixing the Damage Day 3, Done for Now?

Fire Next Door: Fixing the Damage Day 2

Fire Next Door: Fixing the Damage

Technical Difficulties

Technical Difficulties: Power Failure

Technical Difficulties

Hummingbirds, Stearns County Fair, and Technical Difficulties

Hummingbird Feeder Filled Again

Hummingbird Feeder & a Tornado Warning

Tornado Warning

Hummingbirds

Hummingbirds

Fourth of July Weekend 2010

Hummingbirds

No Phone, No Web, No Internet: Not a Single Webcam Live

Webcam's Off Air? Yes, But There's More to It Than That

Shockwave Flash: New and Improved? Not So Much

Technical Difficulties: It's Always Technical Difficulties

Technical Difficulties

Technical Difficulties: Another New One

Oops! Cable Troubles

Hummingbirds! Or Maybe One Hummingbird

Hummingbird Feeder's Out

Technical Difficulties: Or Maybe Operator Error

Technical Difficulties: A New One, It Seems

Small Town America Neighborhood Streets, Yards: and now a Birdbath

Good Grief, Not Again?!

Not Again!

Good Grief, Now What?!

Technical Difficulties: This is Getting Monotonous

About Those Interruptions of Service

Technical Difficulties: This is Getting Monotonous

Technical Difficulties

Technical Difficulties

Comments, Spam, and Having to Wait

Back Online

Technical Difficulties

Webcam's Back! Yet Again

Blizzard Coming: Maybe

Offline, Again: "Service Unavailable" - Frustrating!