Launching a Kayak near Camden, NJ
The best place to launch a kayak south of the Ben Franklin Bridge is Gloucester City Marina. The marina website doesn’t mention about kayaks but after checking it out for myself I found it to be quite welcoming, with plenty of parking, and access after hours. It’s a bit south of the bridge but the best place to do it.
If you are looking for something closer there are some other options but much less desirable. You might be able to put in by the Michael J Doyle Fishing Pier by crossing through the trees lining the north side of Jackson St to access the beach. Parking is limited and the beach might be on private property so I don’t recommend this option. I hope to save you the hassle in case you look at the map and have similar thoughts.
The public spaces in Camden, NJ near Wiggins Park Marina are all fenced off so unless you have a slip at the Marina and can access the dock or are willing to jump over the fence there aren’t many options available.
Happy Pumpkin
This pumpkin had wonderful tasting seeds, I’d have shared a picture of how yummy they looked but there all gone!
Sending Video to Grandma and Grandpa Through KakaoTalk
Sending video of the first and only grandchild to grandma and grandpa is somewhat of a challenge. Internet access is the primary limitation which is currently 3G data through their recently acquired smartphones. I got them setup using the KakaoTalk chat app for easily sending pictures and text messages back and forth. Using it for video was limiting because high quality videos were too short and longer, low quality videos, weren’t any good for anything besides sending through KakaoTalk.
After doing some experiments using Nero Record to down-size recorded HD video I found I could get over 3 minutes of decent quality video sent through KakaoTalk. This gave me the benefit of recording HD video for permanent record (i.e. burning to DVD) and being able to send a reasonably long video through KakaoTalk for easy access.
The following YouTube video is a walk through of the process.
Happy System Administrator Appreciation Day
Happy System Administration Appreciate Day!
Be sure to thank the computer geek in your life who keeps all your digital bits flowing smoothly… or even if the bits don’t flow smoothly at least show your sysadmin some sympathy.
My General Opinion of the Debt Ceiling Crisis
At the time of this posting the United Stated Federal Government has been shut down for 14 days. This posting is my critical thinking about the debt ceiling crisis.
In my opinion, the news media is filled with stories about which political party is (or isn’t) willing to negotiate about raising the debt ceiling and what could happen if the debt ceiling isn’t raised. Regardless of political affiliations and opinions of who is to blame please ask yourself these questions:
- Do you want defense for your state against foreign threats?
- Do you want protection of your personal liberties regardless of which state you live in?4
- Do you want adequate healthcare and social programs to help in times of trouble?
The answer to each of these questions is probably “Yes”. Most people would agree they are all good ideas. As a matter of fact the first two are already provided as a mandate of the United States’ Constitution. With these ideals in mind can this nation afford to use deficit spending to finance healthcare without putting our other priorities at risk? I don’t think so.
Healthcare is important, it must be accompanied by a fiscal plan to reduce debt and return our federal government to maintainable spending practices otherwise everything else the federal government stands for will be in continually jeopardy.