BUGS!!!!!!

[Gina D.]

Yes, I am a heathen. Here I sit on a perfectly charming nite, in a campground, with lights softly glowing in my screen room.

AND my laptop at full tilt.

The citrinella is going, I am covered in Deet.. so the bugs are not after me.. BUT.. they like to surf, appearantly.

The screen is covered in crawly things! They like FGRV better than any other site. Maybe we should turn it down a little.

[Kurt & Ann K.]

Gina,
I think it may have something to do with all the blue color. Remember the "bug-zappers" which had bluish flourescent bulbs?
Yellow lights repel bugs.
Thats my story and I'm sticking to it...swat, swat, swat
Kurt & Ann K.

[Deb in MN]

Hey if I could, I would bring my computer everywhere! I'm totally addicted!!!!!!!!

[james kent]

No No No
No computers
No tv
No radio

[Per Walthinsen]

No Yes Yes
No computers
Yes TV
Yes Radio

[Frederick L. Simson]

No No No
No computers
No tv
No radio

Remember when you were a kid, and you took your flashlight with you deep inside your sleeping bag so you could read your comic books (or Mad Magazine)? Today you don't need the flashlight, 'cause you got your laptop in there!

[Byron Kinnaman]

The best way to stop insects and other bugs from collecing on your computer screen is find the O.N./O.F.F. control. Put the control in the O.F.F. position. Even if the bugs still hang around you won't care.

[Byron Kinnaman]

No No No
No computers
No tv
No radio

Ahhh! I totally agree. NO to electronic devices, except maybe a GPS so I can do a little geocaching.

[Miriam]

Remember when you were a kid, and you took your flashlight with you deep inside your sleeping bag so you could read your comic books (or Mad Magazine)? Today you don't need the flashlight, 'cause you got your laptop in there!

And on your laptop you find.....
http://www.dccomics.com/mad/

(Man, I haven't looked at Mad Magazine in AGES! Thanks for the trip down memory lane, Frederick!)

- Miriam

[Kurt & Ann K.]

What ever happened to camping so one could have some peace and quiet, enjoy nature and a good book? There's plenty of interruptions, like telephones, T.V.'s, radios, computers, noisy neighborhoods, etc. at home. A change of pace is what it's about, without bringing the distractions of home with you.
"Get a life" refers to a complete change of lifestyle!

Kurt & Ann K.

[Gina D.]

I am not a book purist. I feel the written word is more important than the media it's written on. I read the paper online as well. Every morning.

The same words fell into my eyebones and eeked into my brain.. what difference does it make HOW the words appear before they get to your eyes?

I also don't do campfires (Well, rarely) after it's dark. I could sit inside and stare at my nice white walls, read a book (Which I have been doing).. or read the internet. It's all the same, just the delivery method is different.

OR, I could pop in a video.. (My tv hasn't even been turned on once in the 5 days I have been at this site)

Which is better?

[Deb in MN]

I think it rather funny how much I like the computer but hate the TV! I DO not understand weekend campers who would love to bring the TV! If you live long long periods in your camper, then I understand you'd like to relax and catch the news, some shows during rainy days,etc. But for weekends.. No TV!!!! of course, I LOVE to read books- they are better than commercial TV.

I love the computer, since in the evenings, I can talk to a LOT of family members and friends all at the same time on the messenger thingy, for an hour or longer, without burning up the phone lines, making your hand and ear sore, plus you can be surfing too! LOL

But, honestly, when we do go camping, it's to get away from all that. Oh my gosh, specially the PHONE.

[jack maloney]

TV, radio, computer, cell phone, DVD player, iPod - electronic leashes that tie us to the world we're trying to escape by camping. There is nothing sadder than walking through a campground on a beautful starlit night, and seeing the soft glow of video screens inside all the bulgies and stickies where the folks and their kids are avoiding the natural world.

[Gina D.]

If nature were the only reason to go, I would still be in a tent, or better yet, a bedroll and a fire. Trailers, no matter how spartan they may be, are still RVs, and they carry our own everyday conviniences with us. Not escaping them, but having them follow right behind. Even if they are bare bones, they still have the trappings of un natural comfort. At what point do you draw the line?

Each person has thier own degree of acceptable, and who are we to judge?

I personally camp to get away from work, thus, I am not fond of having guitars at camp. I can, and do, hear that all day. BUT, I realize that it is a source of pleasure for lots of folks.. so I would never say "Leave the guitar at home".

My personal life is fine, I don't need to "escape" from it and a computer is part of my personal life. Sitting in camp with it at nite is certainly far more relaxing and pleasurable than sitting with it on my couch.

[jack maloney]

If nature were the only reason to go, I would still be in a tent, or better yet, a bedroll and a fire.

Obviously, Gina, you're a bit younger than I am. I've been a backpacker, climber, ski mountaineer and wilderness canoeist most of my life. I've been privileged to spend more nights under canvas or nylon or open skies than most folks. But age and arthritis have made tents and a bedroll and any form of sleeping on the ground sheer torture. Try rolling up a wet tent when your arthritic knees and knuckles are screaming.

The UHaul has made it possible for my wife and me to extend our enjoyment of mountains, forests and the natural world for - hopefully - many more years. And I still think kids are better off looking at stars than at pixels. Adults, too.

[Gina D.]

Not much younger, and I have been there, done that too. I have rolled up more cold wet gear and stuffed it into a large pack than I care to remember myself. At very high elevations. I have iglooed above Timberline on Mount Hood, and snow camped in many a forest on almost a weekly basis.

I grew up in Oregon, where that was a favorite form of recreation. I didn't even stay in established campgrounds until I was in my late 20s. Where my tent was set up involved at least 5 miles of hiking, and often, between 5 and 15.

I have Rheumatoid arthritis too, and know that pain too well, one of the many health reasons for the trailer. You can't stop the progression, you just learn to go with the flow.

One can balance technology and nature. Everything in moderation, including moderation.

[shirley munson]

This is a good little discussion.
I find that I don't miss TV or DVDs because I change my "body clock" and go to bed at dark and get up at dawn. That's when life is good for walking, reading etc. Then breakfast is the best- at 7AM . No sleep problems at night after that early start.
That's the way we were for millions of years, on the "cave man " time schedule.
Speaking of caveman. I am on the Shangri-La diet by Seth Roberts. The pounds (12) are easily going off in the first 12 days. 30 to go!