Preparing for March 2009 Trip

Today is 5 March 2009, just eight days before we leave for St. Croix . . . I can't wait!

After attending a recent CIT workshop on Skype, I decided that this would be cool technology to use during our upcoming March mongoose expedition to St. Croix. As is typical with my crazy ideas, I never stop to think about all the logistics involved in such a scheme. If the technology works, lets use it!

I proposed my idea to Jonathan's kindergarten teacher, and she thought it sounded like fun too. So, I said lets do it! Easier said then done. Skype works fine on my MacBook Pro using the built-in iSight video camera. However, I wasn't pleased with restrictions imposed by a camera embedded in the laptop. So, I invested several hours trying to get my Samsung SCD107 digital video camera to do web-streaming. It didn't work, even after I downloaded drivers for Windows XP running as a virtual machine via Parallels on my MacBook Pro (no it doesn't make me wish I had a pc instead of a Mac - nothing can!). After becoming thoroughly frustrated I ordered a web cam. I can't wait to try it out.

The next hurdle was the state of technology at my son's elementary school (Juniper Park). None of their computers ate newer than 12 years old and don't run modern operating systems. Ok, no problem, I have an older MacBook that will work with a web cam attached. Unfortunately, that turned out to not be an easy option because all of the IP addresses must be registered to a MAC address through the Westfield Public Schools Technology Department - a real bureaurocratic nightmare. The solution: bring the class to the CIT at Westfield State College. Despite the fact that the college is closed for spring break, the staff in CIT will be here and readily agreed to host such an event. Problem solved.

The next issue that I had to address was how to make the Cuddeback NoFlash trail camera talk to my Mac (yeah I know lots of technology is only designed to work with pcs running Microsoft operating systems - but I am still not giving up my Mac). After several more hours of frustration I went to CIT to use their card reader to see if I could plug the flashcard from the trail camera into the reader and then download the images into iPhoto. Of course, that worked just fine. Now I will set out the trail camera on the Refuge and see what kinds of images I collect during our March trip. One more piece of the puzzle solved.

Thanks to the suggestion of Lynn Zayac, I will also be taking a Flip camera with me to capture videos of our work to post on YouTube. I can't wait to try that out. I also envision posting video blogs from Jonathan. She also suggested that I try using the USB card for Verizon Wireless to determine if I can conduct a video chat from the field. That sounds really cool!

One more piece of the puzzle has just fallen into place. The Department of Parks and Natural Resources - Division of Fish and Wildlife (DPNR-DFW) in Frederiksted has agreed to let us use their microscope for the blood work that Katie will do on this trip. She will be looking for blood parasites using her skills as a veterinary technician.