It’s Birkie Weekend

I’m writing this from the Telemark Lodge in Cable, WI. Today and tomorrow we have a promotional table for LSC Online at the Birkie Expo and we have 18 or so students who are participating in the races on Saturday. This is a great event and provides some good exposure for our college.

We need to get more press out of this event. Joshua Tesch, our P.E. instructor (and a world-class Nordic skier) was just telling me about one of the students in the class who lives in Oregon but is here in town for the event. That is exactly what I was after when I first came up with the idea of combining Distance Education with distance athletic events. I’m hoping I’ll get a chance to meet her and get a few quotes that we can work into a news article.

They have limited wireless connectivity here at the lodge; not much coverage area and a weak signal. It’s funny to walk out into the lobby and see a lineup of about 8-10 people on the couches all with their laptops open and clicking away. Not funny ha ha, but funny in the way that you would have never seen that even just two or three years ago. Not only has the Internet changed the way that many of us live, but wireless access continues to change things more and more all the time.

There is absolutely no cell phone coverage out here at all. But I can call my wife using the wireless network and free calling service at Skype. www.skype.com I don’t even need to call her, but I’ll do it anyway just because I can…and also to let her know that I don’t have cell service out here. I could just send her an email, but it is more fun to call over the Internet. Or maybe I’ll just send her one of those quick Springdoo www.springdoo.com messages. She may not be able to talk back, but she and the kids will probably get a kick out oh hearing me on the Internet. Luckily, the kids are easily impressed.