Buzztime Play Along TV

by Debbi | Jan 30, 2009 | Cool Stuff

The Sandbar has another exciting announcement this month!

A few weeks ago when we set up our new wireless network, it wasn't just to let Frank work from the bar (but don't tell him we said that.) The main reason we needed the network is so we could set up the new Buzztime Play Along TV game for our customers to play.

You're probably already familiar with Buzztime, or NTN- it's popular in many restaurants and bars around town already. It's free to play, and each player gets their own handheld "Playmaker" that kind of looks like a toy. It's really easy to sign onto the system from the device, and then you're ready to play!

Every 15 minutes, a new set of 10 trivia questions are displayed on the TV's in the bar. Pick your answer on the Playmaker and see how you do against other players in the bar and around the country.

Between trivia games, you can choose from several different individual games on the Playmaker- our favorite one was called, naturally, Shark Attack. It's kind of like Wheel of Fortune meets Hangman.

We think this will be something fun for people to do after work, especially on the 5-9 shift. You can play alone or bring a group of friends along. We've been handing out Playmakers all week, and so far the game seems to be a hit!

Don't worry, though- if there's a big game on TV, like the Super Bowl or KU Basketball, we'll still tune the TV's to the game instead of Buzztime.  Stop by sometime to check it out!

The Sandbar is a Hot Spot

by Debbi | Jan 12, 2009 | Cool Stuff

Of course The Sandbar is a hot place to go for an evening of drinks or dancing or fun. But now we have another definition of a hot spot.

You know that area above the beer cooler, where one of the TV's sits? Dave and I spent a few hours yesterday afternoon cleaning and clearing out old wires so we could replace the old router hub with a new one that would allow us to set up a wireless network. And let's just say that area isn't on the regular cleaning list.

It took us awhile to do all of this. We have an old PC sitting up there that our cable modem, webcam, and the monitor above the bar are plugged into. There's also a keyboard and a mouse for the rare moments that we actually need to do something on the computer. This was one of those moments.

While there are many cords and cables connecting all of this stuff, none of them are very long. The computer is up in the corner; the monitor is halfway down the bar. The keyboard and mouse wouldn't reach more than a few feet away from the computer. And all of it sits over my head. Needless to say, we had quite the balancing act going on: standing on a chair in between the computer and monitor, squinting to see the monitor that was still four feet away, and alternating between holding the keyboard and using the mouse on a clipboard-turned-mousepad. Not a very ergonomic way to work on a computer.

But the end result is that we now have a new wireless network in the bar, and we've decided to leave it open for those of you who might want to check your email or surf the web from your laptop or your phone.

There's another reason that we needed to set this up, but I'm saving that big announcement for another day.

Take A Virtual Tour of The Sandbar

by Debbi | Jan 8, 2009 | Cool Stuff

I was checking The Sandbar's Facebook page the other day, going through the friend requests, when one of them caught my eye. First, there were no "mutual friends," which I thought was odd, because usually the friend requests tend to come from someone who's already friends with eight of our friends.

The other odd thing was the name- it sounded more like a business than a person, and a business I'd never heard of. My first thought was that it was one of those entertainment/promotion companies that seem to have overtaken MySpace with their spammy bulletins. I hesitated to approve the friend request (sorry, Tim, if you're reading this!) because I didn't want to turn the Facebook page into a place for other companies to constantly try to promote another bar or event.

In the end, though, I approved the person. And now I'm glad I did- almost immediately, a link was posted on our page to The Sandbar's little space on Roundus, a cool little website that offers virtual tours of, well, everywhere.  Roundus is based in Lincoln, Nebraska, and they aim to build a virtual tour of the world by starting in the Midwest and eventually expanding across the globe.

You can go here to see 360-degree views of The Sandbar from six different vantage points, even outside. Although it's not near-real-time like our webcam, it's a very clear (and bright!) picture of everything you love about The Sandbar.

Dave was a little surprised when I asked him if he knew there was a virtual tour of the bar online, and not one we created.  Apparently the bartender on duty failed to inform Dave of the activity that was taking place. Fortunately, said bartender appears in the video so we can properly flog him later. 

Best Homemade Ornaments Ever

by Debbi | Dec 11, 2008 | Cool Stuff

I was catching up on a few websites that I've neglected lately, and I found some good stuff.

I'll start with my favorite.  If you're in the mood to decorate for the holidays, drink some alcohol and get a little crafty (and who isn't?), this is for you. It's also great for those of you who are into recycling. You'll just need some beer cans, various glue/fasteners/staples, and some imagination. And perhaps some more beer to drink while you're putting it together.

I'm not going to steal the guy's pictures from another website and repost them here, but you can click here to see the finished product. Quit being lazy, it's worth the click. In fact, if Dave wasn't already rushing around trying to finish some other DIY Christmas gifts, he would totally be making some of these.

Check back in the next few days for some other interesting finds on the internet.