What is the latest Josh?? Inquiring minds, etc etc...

Location Update:
The Discovery Pond has decided to pass on hosting the camera due to it "Not fitting into their agenda".
I am also looking into other locations, such as the Star, the Silver Star Casino, The Texas Club, and more.

Camera State:
The camera seems to be unharmed according to Dean. The power supply unit for the housing is not so lucky, but can be fixed.

Did I miss something?

Nope excellent update and thanks so very much for your efforts...Keep up the good work kiddo...

I would think that local businesses would jump at the chance for a little free advertising. A "thank you" on the website and a sign in the window stating you are home to the camera of fame. It is sad that so many are so hesitant to offer a home to this little project.

Good job, Josh, keep up the fight for us ex-pats! And for the record, I am always loyal to good businesses, even if I have to pay a premium for a service or product. Sometimes the easy/cheap way isn't the right way.

Their agenda? Of being an overpriced toy store in a town full of elderly? I suppose they do have grandchildren...

Now Now Buck. John is a nice guy, but hey. If he thinks it will do nothing to help his agenda, we will honor it.

I am just shocked at a store saying they have some type of agenda which conflicts with this little web cam that so many ex-pats as well as others enjoy so very much...Good grief...How silly and I agreed with Mr. Zook that the sponsorship of the cam would compel me to buy there...

[This message has been edited by howdy (9/22/2009)]

Hello Johsh,
I would be interested in visiting with you about this! If you could contact me at Kafe Utza 234-9821 that would be great!

Alright, call you tomorrow in my run abouts.

Never been there and I am definitely not a coffee snob (I drink anything) but next time in town I will go to Cafe Utza just on the premise of supporting businesses supporting the community.

Thanks.

ditto as I have never been there but count me in too, will be stopping by soon and thanks for supporting the web cam...

Kafe Utza has the only coffee anywhere i can drink. It is perfect everytime. mmmm

John Scheuring is a lovely man and his store is where I do much of my shopping and eating! He is a HUGE supporter of the downtown merchants. Imagine if that old Penny's store were an empty space rather than a prime retail anchor.

He has a busy, busy business and may not want to deal with the hassle of a web cam that will require maintenance and attract vandals. Why is that a bad thing?

I think the web cam is cute but a going downtown business that pays taxes, employs people, provides shopping alternatives and makes tasty food is a heck of a lot more important!

Well now that Amorette has chimed in we can confirm the old people do shop at Discovery Pond.

Yup. Haven't got grandkids, although I am certainly old enough to, but have nieces of Discovery Pond product age. Other nieces and nephews are all growed up and some have kids of their own! Where did the time go?

Why, when I was a girl, we had to walk ten miles through the snow, uphill both ways. . .

At this point I am still looking into a location. I was told september 14th by Dr. Dill that I could not remove my router from his internet until he was around, so even if we did happen to find a location, I still would not be able to set it up until after the 29th. Kafe Utza offered, but they are not on main street sadly. Checking back in with the Star monday, also with a few more businesses I have called.

What about the Montana Theater, like on an edge of the marque?

If this new location works out, the camera will be closer to the ground, only 15 feet from it. Also, it will be almost directly in the center of main street, within a very well known business. Updates to come later this week.

Also, MilesCam.com is undergoing some design changes... Black to white... and a few things are getting moved around.

Sounds good Josh, good luck....thanks for the update!!

Here's the latest so people will hopefully stop asking.

We have completely removed all equipment from the EMVC and Mr. Fleming's Building.

We are still looking for a location. I am in talks with one business, but this has went on for 2 weeks and we have not moved an inch. Looking around for a secondary option.

Keep up the good work, Josh...Your frustration is felt by many, I am sure, as one would think any business would love to have this cam and the publicity that goes with it...Guess not tho...Keep plugging away and sooner or later someone will see the benefit of it...

Just got off the phone with John Stockhill, and they are a bit too busy at the moment to even think about it, but they were very nice. Which in my book is always a plus.

Last post on this subject was two months ago. Any thing new, or is it dead?

Still dead. We were literally installing it, when 2 issues arrose with the currentish location. One, they did not wish for me to use their network for internet, but If i did... Two... They were afraid of over-bandwidth usage and hackers.

They offered to continue to allow me to use this location, but decided I would need to install a $45/Month Midrivers Connection... Which I, nor the MilesCam budget can allow.

So, the hunt is back on to secure another location. I have a few choice places in mind, and will be contacting those business's Monday.

[This message has been edited by Josh Rath (1/30/2010)]

Thanks for the update, Josh...here's to hoping your efforts pay off. I know you've put a lot of work into this endeavor for some time, and I know you've hit some roadblocks and frustrations along the way. Hope it all ends well.

Doesn't the website that you have the cam through take care of most of the bandwidth? The people hosting the cam would only have to basically provide for a single stream to them and all the downloads would be from the 3rd party server? I don't think they're going to notice the bandwidth at all even if they just have basic broadband. As far as hacking goes, they should be no more likely to get "hacked" than they were before.

You might talk to MidRivers about putting it up. They aren't really at the most exciting part of Main Street but if nothing else they shouldn't be afraid of the bandwidth demands.

[This message has been edited by Levi Forman (1/30/2010)]

Great suggestion Levi...plus Midrivers might like hosting it as a service to the community...

Yes Levi, that is a great suggestion but... Last BHS Parade I contacted them to see if they would allow me to park across the street from them, and use their WIFI to broadcast it live. They didn't call back for weeks, until the week of, and declined me on the offer. I am going to contact them but I doubt it... Also, yes Levi. The 3rd Party does infact take most of the bandwidth hit, along with my webserver which is in California. The owner of a business in the Masonic Temple understood this, but is afraid MidRivers will charge him extra for the bandwidth usage. Which they won't, and I did try to get that across to him, but I did not succeed.

Why not try the 600 cafe? Butch has always been a big supporter of Miles City and I'm sure he would be glad to help if explained to him correctly.

Bahahahahahahaha. That is hilarious. I went in there to get support/sponsorship from them and literally got thrown out.

Maybe someone else with some connections on Main Street could talk with a store owner about it? I think Josh might be suffering a lack of trust due to his age.

I trust many, but there are a few I wouldn't trust a dollar to. All is fine, I will be talking with a few business owners Monday.

I think the implication was that Main Street merchants might be more trusting of someone a little older or, for that matter, with a more professional presentation for the webcam request?

Perhaps someone could work with you who is active in the business circles there in Miles City? They could approach merchants on a more equal level and preach the virtues of the community cam, advertising, and requisite needs?

That would certainly be in the spirit of the "community" effort to bring the cam to life... donations of time, money, and perhaps additional effort by individuals?

That would be fine Dan, I have no problem with that. If someone were to wish to do this, that is fine. But first, I'm going to be talking to a few business owners that I know here in town on main to see if they would like to host it.

Maybe someone else with some connections on Main Street could talk with a store owner about it? I think Josh might be suffering a lack of trust due to his age.

I agree, Levi. Seems like the Chamber of Commerce or Economic Development Council might be organizations that could help with this issue. They should be able to work with Josh as an intermediary to find someone to take this on. Josh, I recommend that you go talk with them.

Yeah, I was referring to the businesses trusting Josh because of his age. With the context of the whole history of this project, I have no doubt in Josh's ability to get the thing up if a business will cooperate with him, but if I owned a business downtown and a random teenager walked in my door with a webcam, I would probably be skeptical as well.

I'd like to make a comment about the web cam in regard to this thread of comments and responses. I offered to let Josh set the camera up outside of our business where it was located when Eric Brandt first set one up. When Eric did it he used his own server and Internet connection, not ours. His camera was also set up to send still images every few seconds, not to stream live video. Streaming live video really uses up a lot of band width, something our office needs to function.

Eric controlled his web cam from a computer on site that only he had access to. I had no problem with still images being sent out every few seconds to a third party site to be viewed by the public. Josh came in and said he was going to use our Internet connection and control the camera off site by logging onto our server. That I have a problem with. I don't know Josh from Adam and no nothing of his integrity today, much less down the road. It was a matter of security and common sense not to open our server up to remote access by a stranger.

Another bit of commentary: I'm really not one to judge people by their cover (appearance), however many people do. Josh, when you walk into a Main Street business soliciting for help with a project you may want to remove the piercings through your lips, nose, and ears, and you may want to present yourself as a bit more professional. I would advise that you ask how/if/when/what rather than saying 'here's what I'm going to do' in your place of business.

One final note, I want to see the camera up and running and helped pay for the first Miles City Web Cam. I enjoy telling people I know in far off places to check it out. I'd love for it to look at the Montana Theater marquee so I can see what's playing. I hope it makes it up someplace, soon.

First off chad... Yes, i did say I would be using your internet connection, which is apart of the deal of hosting this camera. But, in no way did I say I would be accessing your "server". I said I would be accessing my computer remotely, if necessary. I wouldn't be accessing your files whatsoever, nor would I care to. Plus, if your server is connected to the internet, it is open to hacking and virus' without my interaction.

Second, I could not care how much people judge me on my appearance. If they do, it is their loss. Also, I only have the lips and ears pierced. Not so much the nose. I may appear unprofessional at this moment, because everything is in the healing stage (Which you should know well about), and once everything is healed it will be less of a striking thing, using smaller jewelry/retainers.

Third, if everyone thinks they can produce the same thing I do, in a much faster/better fashion, I'll be more than happy to pass this project on to you. I have done my best to make this happen, along with the many wonderful people who have donated to it, but if you can do better.. By all means. Do it. Otherwise, shut your mouth, get on with life, and let me handle this project.

[This message has been edited by Josh Rath (2/2/2010)]

Your concerns are understandable, but I don't think there is real cause for worry.

With regard to security, there would be no need for the camera computer to have anything to do with your server assuming that you actually have one. Josh wouldn't be logging into your computer, he would be logging into his. All he needs from you is to be plugged into your router. Your server or your other network computers would be no more exposed to Josh than they would be to anyone else if you have appropriate network security measures in place.

As far as bandwidth goes, let's do some wild guesses as to some numbers. I don't know what the upstream bandwidth is but I would think it would be similar to what the download rate is and I measured that when the webcam was running before (the full video one, not Erik's camera) and it was around 50kb/s. Assuming you have a typical cable internet connection that is around 5 or 6 Mb/s the cam would use around 1% of your alloted bandwidth, which you most likely don't use even a tiny fraction of yourself when you're not downloading large files or something. You would have to verify these numbers but I don't think I'm too far out in left field here.

Levi, they have 512 KBPS up. Which, even with that slow rate, it would be more than enough. But I am past the Masonic Temple and Stevenson Design. I have moved on to bigger and better places.

Hehe, yeah why not set those bridges ablaze eh?

Over a month later, updates all around! As you have seen, the Main Street Grind is looking pretty finished, thankfully! Hopefully they are far enough along for Dean and Myself to get in and install the Camera, and computer kiosk this week... Most likely on tuesday or wednesday!

Also, this will be up to Rick completely... But on the Grand Opening Day, with his permission, I plan to switch the cam to an indoor camera for a live view of everything going on from the balcony inside. But that is a way away from now.

Are you serious? You are putting "Big Brother" on Main St.? Miles City doesn't need cameras. Everyone knows everyones business already. Wow, what is your point? Please enlighten me. I don't see where this is going besides in the hands of police or the government.

Uhm... Not to burst your ego bubble.. But you realize 1. Miles City has cameras EVERYWHERE in this day and age... and 2. This MilesCam has been around in some form since 2004ish (Maybe back farther). This "Big Brother" camera cannot actually make out faces on it, because it is on top of a building, looking down main street at the events that take place. This isn't an HD video broadcast either. I'm not out to invade privacy, and I'm not doing it.

[This message has been edited by Josh Rath (3/8/2010)]

Whomever the webhost is will be supplying the bandwidth and the live stream will be constant through the provider. IE: wherever the connection is. (The place of business) Your talking alot of bandwidth for people logging in and streaming daily and the webhosting company will get paid for that site. If you are selling something with big profits it's worth it. If not then just post clips to youtube.

Wow. April, get a grip -- and for Christ's sake, don't let your cheese slide off the cracker.

That makes zero since to me. Why? The bandwidth is being provided for free using the Wifi in Main Street Grind. Also, the way my streaming works is... I send video to the Live Video Webservice I use, which inturn deploys that out to the video embed whereever it may be. No matter how many people access my website and view the video, the bandwidth price is the same. And the Webservice makes their money by ads on their own website, and the occasional ad that appears over the video.

THIS ISN'T ABOUT A PROFIT. IT IS A COMMUNITY PROJECT.

Edit: HAHAHAHA Nice one Larry!

I think this lady is similar to PolarBear... a Privacy freak.

[This message has been edited by Josh Rath (3/8/2010)]

Too bad her name isn't Poly... you could have told her to use "Polygrip".

Bahahahaha!

Edit: Also April, why the hell do you care what we do in Miles City? You are in Hesperia, California!

[This message has been edited by Josh Rath (3/8/2010)]

I am a Miles City Resident and own a home there. I have much family in town and know alot of people. But that's ok. You can rip me up for my comment. Do you always do this to people you don't know? You still never answered my question about the purpose of the cam. I just wanted to know. Tear me a new one for that? You are real businesslike?

I know Poly too!

April. I'm 17 years old. At this age, I really could care less to be a business man. And the purpose of this really is to give people something to do when home bored outta their mind. They can get a laugh from the drunks stumbling out of bars, or see the next main street car crash. For the few months the Camera was on it was great. Now it will be even better. I didn't rip you on any comment whatsoever, so quit making things up.

[This message has been edited by Josh Rath (3/8/2010)]

Wow Josh... For as grown up as you want to be treated, you are not sounding like it. You never know who will be giving you your next big opportunity, and comments like that could be the make or break in this economy... But, maybe you just don't care?

My next big break? I'm pretty sure she wasn't going to do that. And when you approach me with an attitude, and basically calling my project pointless and not worth the time, I get hostile.

This time I agree with Josh. With by looking around the site she could have found out how benign and harmless the webcam is, and how much work Josh has put into it. Also just by clicking on it she could have found out it has a lot of support from MilesCity. commers

Many area towns are now establishing their own webcam.
Thanks to Bob Van Der Valk, a retired businessman with nothing to sell, http://www.visitterry.com has installed a cam of downtown Terry too. (It's listed at the bottom of the menu bar and can be seen in daylight hours).

Glad to see we have inspired many!

The date is set!

We will be installing the Miles Cam in Main Street Grind THIS FRIDAY. Check back for updates!

Josh, please be sure to include a link in the update. I am looking forward to the view.

No Problem Bill! Also, as everyone will see... The MilesCam site and logo has received a facelift! I'm still working on it, however.