Reiter's Practical Cape Cod

Cape Cod Wholesale Nursery offers good to excellent prices

We were waiting for months until the Cape Cod Wholesale Nursery opened because we were told it offered half-price plants.

Today we visited it and it does indeed offer 50 percent off the "retail" price of many plants, trees and shrubs (see below; poor camera phone image).  My girlfriend and I have visited many nurseries on the Cape, but she's definitely the expert.

She says the prices range from good to excellent.  For example, she paid $25 for a pink-flowering dogwood that's about six feet tall, $9.88 for a four to five foot forsythia and a bit less than $13 for an azalea in a one gallon pot.

She says the dogwood would normally sell for twice as much, perhaps more.  The nursery's newspaper ad says eight-foot pyramid arbovitae are $28.88 and heather is $12.88 in a two gallon pot.

Details

The Cape Cod Nursery is at the intersection of Route 28 and Martin Road in Waquoit, just past the Falmouth-Mashpee border.  The phone number is 508-540-5041.

It remains open for only a few months; I should have found out exactly how long -- perhaps until around June.

If you're in the market for plants, it's worth a trip.

Shawn Lutz: Cape Cod painter - camera phone video interview, part 2

Here's the second part of the two part camera phone video interview with Shawn Lutz, my neighbor who's a terrific painter.

The video runs 19:49 minutes. 

Shawn discusses the subjects he selects, the differences in quality and price between lithographs and giclees, his painting technique and producing paintings on commission versus painting without a pre-order.

Commissions take time

Shawn typically does only ten paintings a year and if you want to commission a painting you'll have to wait at least two and a half years because of the current backlog.  Of course you may purchase lithographs and giclees of his existing work.

You may view Shawn's work on Cape Cod at the Winstanley-Roark Fine Arts in Dennis, Mass.

As with all these "Audioblog.com" videos, just click on the little triangle below the video to start it and slide the brown slider to the right of the loudspeaker icon to increase the loudness. 

As I mentioned in part 1, you can also increase the loudness using your computer's volume control.

Shawn Lutz: Cape Cod painter - camera phone video interview, part 1

Two months ago I wrote about Shawn Lutz, a neighbor who is a great painter.   Yesterday, using the video recorder in my camera phone (Nokia N70), I interviewed Shawn about his work.

This is the first of the two-part video where Shawn talks about his painting, including how he started as a painter (starting with painting cars) and his painstaking techniques for oil painting that involve painting layer upon layer and varnishing as well as using very fine sandpaper and glazing.

Shawn says his technique results in not seeing any brush strokes and his works look similar to porcelain

Each painting can take four or five months to finish and he works three to four hours a day on each painting.  He tries to work on three paintings a day.

One painting shown in the inteview required about 280 hours to complete.

Listening to the video

To listen to the video, just click on the triangle on the right below the video.  To increase or decrease the volume, slide the brown bar to the right of the loudspeaker icon.  Of course, you can increase the volume on your computer, too!

The video runs 16:49 minutes.  (Unfortunately, I ended it too abruptly.  I should edit the last ten seconds or so, just at the end of where Shawn discusses where he shows his work.)

The second part of the interview is just above this one.

You may also see Shawn's Web site at Lutz Fine Art.

Orleans: Bird Watcher's General Store, Hot Chocolate Sparrow

After manually watering our plants — the first time this “spring” (well, it’s officially spring) — for 1.5 hours (!) we took a drive to Orleans, Mass. and visited the Bird Watcher’s General Store (see below) and the Hot Chocolate Sparrow.

The Bird Watcher’s General Store is one of my girlfriend’s favorite stores for — surprise! — bird supplies:  Many kinds of bird food (packaged and bulk), feeders, nest boxes, bird baths, books, cards, etc. (see below; two megapixel camera phone photo).

My girlfriend is the expert on birds and she likes the store because the employees/owners are so nice to deal with and are extremely knowledgeable.  She trusts their advice. 

The store also has a nice Web site with many more photos than the two I shot and posted today.  If you’re into birds or have friends that like bird stuff (see below), this is an excellent place for a visit.

There’s another bird store on Cape Cod that she really likes, but I'll save that for another article.

Hot Chocolate Sparrow

My girlfriend went to the Hot Chocolate Sparrow (see below; two megapixel camera phone photo) once before, and liked it, but this was my first visit.  This is an interesting “destination”; in other words, worth a trip, especially if you’re in the area.

The shop makes its own chocolate, which is why I bought a one-pound box of milk chocolate selections.  My girlfriend and I had a few pieces and we think the chocolate is, well, okay.

We should reserve our final judgment until we’ve devoured everything in the box.  But from what we’ve tasted (and to be very fair we’ve only tasted a small sample) we don’t think the chocolate is that special.

Chocolate sampling

It’s certainly classier to give a gift of a box of chocolates from (Hot) Chocolate Sparrow (the store is named Chocolate Sparrow at its Eastham, Mass. location) than, say, Russell Stover chocolates or a Whitman Sampler from your local CVS. 

But from a taste standpoint, for homemade chocolates on the Cape, we prefer the ones at the Stage Stop Candy in Dennisport, Mass.  (Got any more suggestions?)

And even though they’re “mass produced,” we also like Lindt chocolates.  There’s a store in the Cape Cod Mall.

Oh -- my girlfriend reminded me of a chocolate shop that she prefers on the Cape, the Chatham Candy Manor on Chatham's Main Street.

At the Hot Chocolate Sparrow we also bought drinks.  Given the name of the place, I got a large homemade hot chocolate — a “Hot Chocolate Sparrow"(see left; two megapixel camera phone photo), that's “made with our own hot fudge sauce,” as the menu says.  It was, well, plain ol’ hot chocolate.  I had hoped — expected — it would be very chocolatey or have some special rich taste. 

Nope.  I don’t think it tastes any different than mass market hot chocolate.  Maybe I got a bad batch.

Other selections

My girlfriend got a rooibos chai and liked it.

The Hot Chocolate Sparrow has a large selection of coffees and teas (see below) and there’s a good chance you’ll like your selection better than I did.

The store also sells “Richardson’s Family Ice Cream,” frozen yogurt, a large selection of pastries (we got a slice of Boston cream cheesecake that we haven’t eaten yet) and sandwiches.

Good for late snacks

There’s a seating area and the store seems like a very nice place for a sandwich or snack.  It's open relatively late:  9:00 p.m. on weekdays now and 11:00 p.m. on weekends. 

During the summer, it might be open later on weekdays.

Cape Cod's WiFi project in Orleans: More information

On March 11 I wrote about the Cape Cod WiFi project, Unwired Village, that’s under development by Orleans, Mass. the Orleans, Mass. Chamber of Commerce and the Cape Cod Technology Council (CCTC).

Orleans is testing WiFi now and is slated to offer the free service in the downtown area in May 2006 and around the rest of Orleans about a month later.

I sent a link to my article to Teresa Martin, executive director of the CCTC, and she was nice enough to provide some more information about the effort and gave me permission to publish her comments.

“Street light” connectivity

Teresa writes, “Unwired Village is NOT replacing commercial services.  Rather, it is the 'street lights' of wireless connectivity.  It is designed for public spaces and, optionally, businesses can direct it into their customer areas to provide a customer benefit as well.

“It is not intended to replace either the business network for internal company use or the private network for private personal use — we are not in the ISP business!!!

“Also, it is not a municipal network.  It is something provided by chambers and other business entities as an extension of the community roles they already play.”

Reliability/performance

I noted in my previous article that the network would be good news for people — Orleans consumers and business people — who can’t afford high speed Internet access.

Teresa makes a good point — that I should have noted previously:  Using WiFi as your primary Internet connection is dependent upon the reliability of the connection, the coverage, the speed and, especially for businesses, security.

If you’re an Orleans resident and you can get good WiFi coverage and a fast enough speed in your house, perhaps it could become your primary way to access the Internet.  What’s not known, however, is the reliability — and that’s critical.

How quick to repair?

If your phone line goes out, you can count on Verizon to fix it quickly (generally speaking)!  Comcast will come quickly (at least in my neighborhood) to fix any cable television or cable modem problems.

But if you rely on Orleans WiFi as your primary Internet access — and the service crashes for any reason — you might be disappointed with how long it takes to repair. 

This is speculation, of course, because I don’t know the provisions for the network’s repair, and I suspect this is still under consideration.

Security issues

Security issues are important to businesses and should be important to consumers (although they don’t always know what to do).  Companies typically establish security procedures — more sophisticated passwords, firewalls, virtual private networks, etc. — for wireless (and landline) networks.

Consumers can set up similar security features, although some features (such as installing a firewall) can be a bit tricky.

The Orleans WiFi network will offer some security features, but basically it’s up to users to ensure their Internet access is secure. 

Providing support

Commercial Internet Service Providers, such as EarthLink, America Online, Verizon and Comcast, all provide software and customer support to help secure your system.

However, I’d suggest that the people developing Unwired Village, the CCTC and Orleans, publish some security information on a Web site.

Indeed, my previous article discussed how difficult it is to find any information about the WiFi effort and suggested the type of information that should be posted to help consumers and businesses.

I assume information will be posted when the WiFi network in Orleans is ready for a formal launch in a couple of months or so.

ISP or not?

As I wrote in the previous article, free WiFi offered to the public and businesses, is an extremely controversial subject.  Many ISPs hate the idea because they want people to purchase service — dial-up, high speed broadband and wireless data — from them.

Should municipalities or other entities (private organizations, corporations, etc.) offer ISP services, for free or at a low cost, to residents and businesses? 

It’s a complicated issue, although many municipalities around the world already offer or will offer such WiFi services.

Demanding wireless data

The bottom line is wireless Internet access is being demanded by many employees and, increasingly, by consumers.  As a wireless data consultant I get telephone calls and e-mails all the time from consumers who want wireless Internet service at their homes and/or when they’re traveling.

(I don’t provide any hardware, software or other Internet services.  I advise large and small companies and organizations about developing new and improved wireless data products and services.)

There are several ways to obtain wireless Internet, usually through WiFi (free or paid), cellular or satellite (more expensive).  In February I wrote about wireless access on the Cape.

Looking towards the future

I’m really looking forward to more free WiFi the Cape and — just as importantly — I’m looking forward seeing educational efforts by Cape businesses and organizations aimed at letting people know what’s available.

I’m also very interested in learning how successful the WiFi network will be and whether local residents and companies as well as tourists use it in large numbers.

Marshland Restaurant and Bakery: Good, moderately priced food in Sandwich

We’ve eaten at the Marshland Restaurant and Bakery (no Web site — boo! Thanks to Dave Doolittle of Sandwich, I learned today, 1/20/08, the Marshland now has a Web site) a few times and we’ve liked it every time (see below; two megapixel camera phone photo).

It’s a diner-type of place with half a dozen tables (and a table for two located, unfortunately, near the bathrooms) and more than a dozen stools at two counters (see below; 1.3 megapixel camera phone photo taken from the bakery).

The menu offers a nice selection including hamburgers and sandwiches, a variety of salads, numerous hot entrees such as prime rib, meatloaf, sirloin steak, grilled chicken, baked scrod and roast turkey. 

I had the grilled turkey reuben and fish and chips and liked them both.

Vegetarian

My girlfriend had a vegetarian taco salad (once with onion rings on top, suggested by the waitress) and liked it both times. 

Speaking of vegetarian, in addition to salads there is a vegetable stir fry, hummus wrap and Middle East wrap.

There’s also a kid’s menu, that we didn’t sample!  In addition, there’s an extensive breakfast menu but we’ve never gotten up early enough to partake of it.

Pricing

Marshland is very moderately priced.  Hamburgers and sandwiches are about $5 - $6.50, and there are less expensive items. 

Entrees range from about $6 to $12 and can be a dollar or two cheaper for lunch.

Warning:  Marshland does not accept credit cards.  I don’t know if it accepts personal checks.

Try the bakery

A bakery is attached to the restaurant and the selections are really tasty.  I’m a big fan of the chocolate chip muffins but they sell out early. 

(Indeed, good muffins sell out early in many Cape Cod restaurants known for muffins, such as Jack’s Outback restaurant in Yarmouth Port, Mass.). 

While I’m on the subject of restaurants and Sandwich, another good moderately priced choice is Sandwich’s Sandwiches (see left).  There’s not much seating space but there’s a nice selection of sandwiches, soups and salads.

Varieties

The Marshland bakery offers a variety of muffins, cookies and inexpensive baked goods.

If you’re looking for a moderately priced restaurant that offers a nice selection of food for everyone plus bakery treats, try the Marshland. 

It’s not gourmet, it’s just good food.

Orleans developing wireless Internet, but where's the customer information?

Orleans, Mass. will have a town-wide wireless Internet service, called WiFi, for businesses and consumers.  A test transmitter has been operating since December 2005 and WiFi is slated to be available in the center of Orleans in May 2006 and in the rest of the town about a month later, according to a recent article in the Cape Cod Times.

That’s great.  It means anyone in Orleans with a WiFi-enabled computer should be able to connect to the network — for free. 

The network is especially good news for people who can’t afford high speed Internet service and for local businesses that can’t afford “business rates” charged by such companies as Verizon and Comcast.

Today, many laptop computers include WiFi as a standard feature or as an option for less than $100 extra.  You may also purchase a WiFi PC Card that fits into a laptop, starting at $25, or purchase an inexpensive WiFi card or USB WiFi transceiver for your desktop PC.

Where’s the information?

But you wouldn’t know WiFi is under development in Orleans by looking on the Web in all the obvious places.  Information about the WiFi network is virtually non-existent. 

That’s not good news, I believe, for everyone involved — the town, local businesses and consumers.

Network details

The Cape Cod Times reports that the Orleans Chamber of Commerce and the Cape Cod Technology Council (CCTC) are jointly developing the WiFi network as the result of a $136,000 grant from the Massachusetts Technology Cooperative. 

The CCTC hopes the Orleans network will be the first of many to cover other towns on the Cape.  So do it!  I typically carry at least two cellular phones and sometimes my laptop Tablet PC that's WiFi-enabled.

When I'm not watching "ABC News Now," "Fox News" and other television on my phones (yes, you watch some live TV broadcast to phones), I sometimes use WiFi on my laptop.

Funding WiFi

The Orleans WiFi network will be funded, according to the article, through advertising. 

It's not easy to generate enough advertising revenues to break even, let alone make a profit, on municipal WiFi networks.  WiFi is relatively inexpensive to implement, certainly compared to cellular and many other wide area wireless technologies.

But there are ongoing costs -- network hardware repair, Internet lines, customer support, etc. -- that must be paid for.

The first test WiFi transmitter is on the Orleans Chamber of Commerce building and anyone within range of the transmitter may use the free service. 

Easy to use

If you have a Windows XP or Apple OS X laptop computer, the computer typically will automatically find all available WiFi networks.

The Orleans network is signified (with an “SSID” if you want to get technical) with the notation “uwv” (for “unwired village”). 

I assume the way it works is a user would open a Web browser window that should immediately display the Orleans WiFi Web page.  On the page you create a password-protected, free account, as the article notes.

Searching to no avail

“Peter Barton, manager of the project, said the team is preparing to approach local businesses to find spaces for additional transmitters and pitch advertising proposals,” the Cape Cod Times article says.

Okay, so where do businesses go to find out more information?  I used search engines for the Web in general and I also looked on Web sites of the CCTC, the town of Orleans and the Orleans Chamber of Commerce.  I searched for “Peter Barton” using such terms as “Cape Cod,” “Orleans” and “WiFi.” 

Nothing about WiFi. 

(You are able to find some information on the Web about Teresa Martin, executive director of the CCTC.)

If information is available, it isn’t easy to find. 

“Get with the program”

The CCTC and/or Orleans Chamber of Commerce need to begin using the Web to publicize the project.  It’s not difficult to do.  In fact, it’s pretty easy.

There are so many existing WiFi resources to provide information to consumers and businesses in Orleans. 

I know a bit about WiFi.  I’ve been examining wireless for almost 28 years.  My business is wireless data consulting and I help companies around the world develop new wireless data services (wireless e-mail, wireless music, wireless video, etc.) and enhance existing services.

I also have done some consulting in WiFi pricing and business models.

The time is now

I spend a lot of time looking at how small and multinational businesses can promote their products and services, and it doesn’t have to take a huge amount of time or cost a lot. 

To generate excitement and use of the network, as well as getting businesses to think about advertising, the time to begin promotional efforts is right now.

I understand that the CCTC or the town of Orleans might want a “softer” promotional effort, rather than publishing much information now.  But the cliched cat is out of the bag. 

The WiFi network for the center of the town is slated to launch in about two months.  With just two months to go, it's time to take a "harder" approach to providing marketing information about the value of WiFi.

Providing WiFi information

Here’s my “practical Cape Cod” advice about the type of information that should be provided to the public:

*  What is WiFi?  A non-technical discussion of the technology.

*  What are its uses compared to other Internet access technologies?  Comparing technology use models such as the different costs, speeds and coverage of cellular, DSL, cable modems and dedicated (i.e., T-1) lines.

*  What do I need, as a consumer and business person, to use WiFi?  Detailing the hardware, software and ways to access the network.

*  How reliable will be network be?  What happens during power outages?  Who provides customer support?

*  How are other municipalities using WiFi?  There is an enormous amount of information about how both small towns and major cities around the world have already implemented and are implementing WiFi networks.  Use and link to this information to help Orleans residents and businesses learn what’s occurring.

Municipal WiFi is actually an extremely controversial subject; some analysts and many existing telecommunications companies (especially phone companies) don’t believe governments should be in the business of providing wireless communications.

(One new study says municipal WiFi networks around the world today cover only about 1,500 square miles, but by 2010 there will be 126,000 square miles.)

*  What other WiFi networks exist on the Cape?  There are a variety of paid and free WiFi networks on Cape Cod, as I briefly discussed in a previous weblog entry (see WiFi at the end of the article).

Using technology to promote technology

It also might be a good idea to start a weblog — similar to “Practical Cape Cod,” for example — that chronicles the progress of the WiFi project. 

Last summer the CCTC apparently thought about doing a weblog, but there are only two test posts.  I suggest either removing these "orphan" posts or begin writing in earnest.

Weblogs are easy to create and use, terrific for generating readership and getting comments from the community and a good way to rank higher on search engine lists.  Of course, it does indeed take some time to write on a regular schedule.

In other words, an Orleans (or Cape Cod) WiFi weblog would be an excellent vehicle for getting out the word.  No complicated Web designs or expensive programers are needed.

Audio and video information

Also, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to post a few videos and/or audio files about the WiFi project.  People like listening to or viewing this type of information.  It’s easy to do. 

(Perhaps I’ll post a brief camera phone video about WiFi, the way I’ve posted a few videos in this weblog.)

There are other ways to stimulate interest in a municipal WiFi venture, but that’s enough for now.

And, by the way, what is this WiFi project called?  Does it have a snappy name?  I couldn’t find one.

Raison d'etre

My reason for posting this article certainly isn't to criticize.  Building a wireless network is difficult work.  Many components are required and every one has to be good enough to establish a viable wireless system.

I'd just like to foster the growth of wireless Internet on the Cape and wanted to provide some suggestions for doing so.

Buying something at Home Depot? Open the package!

We've done a fair amount of work on our house and, like so many people on Cape Cod, we've spent a fair amount of time -- a lot, really a lot of time -- at Home Depot in Hyannis.

Home Depot has a large inventory, obviously, and handles lots of products.  Unfortunately, sometimes what you think is in the box isn't what you get.

The problem is packages are opened by customers and sales people -- and put back on shelves -- and all the parts aren't always included.  Sales people are supposed to check that packages returned to shelves have all the parts, but they forget, they're busy or they just don't know what parts belong in the package.

At least twice at Home Depot we've purchased products that didn't include all their components.  We are now renovating a bathroom and the person doing the work noticed that the new Moen tub/shower set contained the hot/cold water mixing valve (see left) and tub faucet but not the shower head and arm.

"Sealed" is no guarantee

The package was sealed with a plastic strap, but that wasn't any guarantee, obviously.  So now we have to waste time driving to another Home Depot to pick up the missing parts.

My "practical Cape Cod" advice is to open packages before you leave the store to make sure all the parts are included and nothing is damaged.  Home Depot probably doesn't want you to open a "sealed" package in the store, but that's too bad.

It could save you a lot time and aggravation.  Of course this is a good idea regardless of where you live and what you purchase.  Renovation is no picnic, sigh.

Camera phone video tour of backyard bird feeders and bird houses

Cape Cod is a great place to watch and feed birds.  My girlfriend loves this, and purchases many bird feeders and different types of seeds.

She also spends a lot of time staring through binoculars looking at the birds in our backyard.

We have a variety of bird feeders:  Suet cages, flat tray feeders, a tray feeder with a roof, plastic bird feeders, tube feeders and sock feeders.  Most are in the backyard but we also have a few in the front yard.  (Photo left taken from camera phone video -- see below.)

Bird preferences

Small birds often like the tube and sock (often called thistle or nyjer) feeders.  The large birds gravitate towards the tray feeders.

And some birds feed on the ground so we throw seeds down as well.  Some of the birds we’ve seen in the yard include Baltimore orioles, mourning doves, bluejays, bluebirds, cardinals, black cap chickadees, a variety of woodpeckers (including the Northern flicker), sparrows, robins, falcons, finches, hummingbirds, blackbirds and crows.

Birding is very popular on the Cape and there are several excellent bird stores, that I'll write about later....with lots of help from my girlfriend who is the expert.

Camera phone video

As part of this "Practical Cape Cod" weblog I'm taking advantage of the tools of my trade — being a wireless data consultant -- and employing different types of cellular camera phones to shoot still photos and videos.

Using a hot, new Nokia N70 camera phone -- with excellent video recording capabilities — I shot a video of the various bird feeders and bird houses in our backyard and included some birding tips.

I transferred the video to my laptop computer using a cable and then uploaded the video to the Web by using a WiFi connection.

Because of the video processing, the quality of the video that's on the weblog isn't as good as watching the original footage I shot.  But it's just fine for watching on the Web.

Click and watch

So, if you're interested in watching, just click on the little triangle on the left of the graphic below and the video should start playing.  If you want to increase or decrease the sound, move the “slider” to the right of the loudspeaker icon.

The video runs a bit more than four minutes and it works best with a fast broadband connection.

(It was rather windy when I shot the video this morning so you’ll see the bird feeders swaying and perhaps hear the wind.)

Looking for well-priced suet for birds? Check out Christmas Tree Shops

My girlfriend is the expert on birds.  She enjoys buying different types of bird feeders, bird food and nest boxes, reading bird books and magazines and peering through binoculars staring at the birds in our yard (see below).

She's thrilled when a new bird species appears, such as a bluebird a few days ago.  One of these days some neighbor might see her peering through the window with binoculars and call the police!

She (and I tagging along) also spends time going to various stores to pick up all the bird stuff (that's the technical term!).

Suet prices

Lots of birds love suet, a greasy, fatty square "cake" of food that's often placed in suet cages and nailed onto trees.  There are many types of suet and, apparently, it is especially good for many birds during the winter because it contains protein.

Our woodpeckers (several different varieties) are especially fond of suet, though many other types of birds -- and squirrels -- like it, too.

My first birding tip is to check out the Christmas Tree Shops on Cape Cod to find reasonably priced suet for birds (see below).  She says you may sometimes find good discounts and lower prices at other stores that are running specials, but you may always count on Christmas Tree Shops for well priced suet.

More to come

Stay tuned for many more "practical Cape Cod" information about birding including a bird feeder video I'm going to shoot I shot a few days ago with a high-end camera phone (with camcorder capabilities).

[The photos in this article were taken with a two megapixel camera phone that I'm testing.  The photos came out a bit dark so I brightened them just slightly with a photo editing program.]