Picnic in the Sleeping Bear Dunes Ghost Forest

Perfect Friday night!

How many bunnies can you find in this picture

Look closely,  then click the link to see the answer. Thanks to my 5-year-old for her help.

Answer video:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVoD6EzWskc

Creepy crawly camp

So... last night at BSA camp, I hear a faint knocking on my tent. "Dad... Dad... I think there's a black widow in our tent."
After decades of camping and scouting in Northern MI, I am well versed in the identification of the handful of dangerous creatures in our woods. And also the scarceness of most of them. in fact, I have only observed black widows in captivity and on film.
Me, snug in my sleeping bag and bug netting, just on the verge of slumber: "There's no black widow in your tent, buddy. Go back to sleep."
My son, obviously anxious: "Can you kill it anyway?  <His tentmate> is allergic to spiders."
Groggy, I get up, climb out of my bed netting/sleeping bag, put on my crocs, and stumble to their tent. My son and his tentmate are as far away from the doorway as they can be without being outside. They are shining flashlights directly above the door, right over my head.
I look up and see the largest female black widow I have ever seen, TV, captivity, or otherwise... sitting about 14 inches above my head.
I freeze and begin plotting my next move. Despite being at scout camp, I immediately decide to utilize a white lie forthe betterment of the two terrified scouts sitting wideeyed before me.
"Aw, that's not a black widow. It's too big."
Tentmate: "Can you kill it anyway? I am allergic."
Me: "Yeah, that is probably a good idea. You guys were right to come get me. Better safe than sorry."
The next morning I told them the truth, congratulating them on their spider identification, and explaining that I wanted them to be able to get some sleep. I, on the other hand....

Slingbox Customer Support

Let me start this post by saying that I LOVE my slingbox.  I can watch my TV anywhere using a PC, laptop, or my mobile phone... that is until recently.  Slingbox posted an update for my android. I installed the update and it stopped working on my phone.  

So I contacted customer support today using their wonderful, easy-to-use Support Chat feature.  Here is the full transcript. I particularly like their unwillingness to accept that their update broke the application on my phone, and the abrupt ending.

2:14 PM  Connecting...

2:14 PM  Connected. A support representative will be with you shortly.

2:15 PM  Support session established with Patricia.

2:15 PM

Patricia:

Thank You for contacting Sling Media Technical Support. My name is Patricia. Which product are you looking for support on today?

2:15 PM

Scott Swan:

Hi Patricia. I have a Sling 350 -- love it. I need support for the Player for android.

2:15 PM

Scott Swan:

phone, not tablet.

2:16 PM

Patricia:

Thank you, I have your account in front of me, how may I help you today?

2:16 PM

Scott Swan:

the most recent update... the one with Facebook integration... updated on my phone, and now the player will not launch.

2:17 PM

Scott Swan:

LG Phoenix- Android Froyo 2.2.

2:17 PM

Scott Swan:

Everything worked fine until the update.

2:17 PM

Patricia:

Sorry to hear that. So the app will not launch? What exactly happens?

2:18 PM

Scott Swan:

I click the Slingplayer button, the login screen appears for a split second, then it simply returns to my home screen.

2:18 PM

Scott Swan:

I have reinstalled.

2:18 PM

Scott Swan:

I have restarted.

2:18 PM

Scott Swan:

I even did a factory reset and reinstalled.

2:19 PM

Scott Swan:

I can still connect using a PC browser, so the 350 is working fine.

2:19 PM

Patricia:

Are you on WIF or netwwork?

2:19 PM

Scott Swan:

either one.

2:19 PM

Patricia:

So you uninstalled and reinstalled?

2:19 PM

Scott Swan:

tried both

2:19 PM

Scott Swan:

yes.

2:19 PM

Scott Swan:

Factory reset with reinstall.

2:20 PM

Patricia:

The Slingbox?

2:20 PM

Scott Swan:

slingbox 350 works fine.

2:20 PM

Scott Swan:

No... Factory reset on phone.

2:20 PM

Patricia:

Have you uninstalled and reinstalled the app?

2:20 PM

Scott Swan:

yes.

2:23 PM

Patricia:

What is your password ?, I will try on our Android.

2:24 PM

Scott Swan:

sling1234

2:24 PM

Scott Swan:

Do you need me to logout on my PC?

2:25 PM

Scott Swan:

I logged out.

2:26 PM

Patricia:

No, Did you uninstall through settings, applications then manage applications and uninstall?

2:26 PM

Scott Swan:

Patricia, I tried a reinstall through applications. That did not work. So I did a FACTORY RESET on my phone and installed the app fresh. Same result.

2:30 PM

Patricia:

I can connect fine on the application here on the android phone.

2:30 PM

Patricia:

It has to be something with the phone, you are watching golf.

2:30 PM

Scott Swan:

It worked fine on my phone until this update.

2:31 PM

Patricia:

The update cannot cause the issue, I am connecting on our android on your email and password.

2:32 PM

Scott Swan:

The update most certainly CAN cause the issue. Are you using Android 2.2? What are the memory requirements of the app?

2:33 PM

Patricia:

The version is 2.4

2:34 PM

Scott Swan:

Right. Can you provide the installer for the previous version? I do not need Facebook or Audio Only modes.

2:34 PM

Scott Swan:

I love this app, and I have only had my slingbox a couple months.

2:37 PM

Patricia:

No you cannot go back to the previous version and there are no memory requirements as the slingbox does not use memory.

2:38 PM

Scott Swan:

Well I can assure you that I was using the application on my phone, I noticed the update, installed it, and the application stopped working after that.

2:39 PM

Patricia:

I am on the current app on our android and logging in under your email and password just fine.

2:40 PM

Scott Swan:

I don't have your phone. I have my phone, and all the other applications are still working fine.

2:43 PM

Patricia:

Does your router have UPNP enabled.

2:43 PM

Patricia:

*?

2:45 PM

Scott Swan:

The router is setup properly. You wouldn't be able to connect from your phone if it wasn't, right?

2:48 PM

Patricia:

I agree, I was just asking a supervisor.

2:49 PM

Patricia:

I cannot tell you what it is, you have the latest firmware on slingbox, and you can connect on everything but your phone, and we can connect here.

2:50 PM

Patricia:

It is something with your phone and the app.

2:50 PM

Scott Swan:

Your update broke my phone app. Why can't I go back to the previous version? I will disable auto-update for it and everyone will be happy?

2:51 PM

Patricia:

Sir you can call in and talk with a supervisor.

2:52 PM

Scott Swan:

I called three times and no one answered. That's why I am here.

2:52 PM

Scott Swan:

877-467-5464, right?

2:52 PM

Patricia:

Are you on a land line?

2:53 PM

Scott Swan:

No. Does that matter?

2:53 PM

Patricia:

Yes, you have to be on a land line you cannot call in via SKYPE or Google.

2:54 PM

Scott Swan:

Ok. Thanks. You have been very patient, Patricia.

2:54 PM

Patricia:

Your slingplayer is 2.2?

2:54 PM

Scott Swan:

No, my Android version is 2.2

2:54 PM  Patricia has ended the session.

Artwork

Thanks,
Scott