I hadn’t planned to go paddling this weekend. However, someone posted a last-minute trip on the Greenville Canoe and Kayak Meetup group for Lake Cunningham, and I made a last-minute decision to join them.

It turned out to be really last minute, because I overslept, and almost didn’t make it.  Fortunately, Lake Cunningham is close, so I tossed the boat and some gear in the back of the truck and headed out.  I kept it light – one camera, no GPS, and very little extraneous stuff.

Eventually 20 boaters showed up at the put-in on Lake Cunningham – quite a crowd.  Both skill levels and boat types were quite varied.  There were a couple of us that had paddled the lake extensively, so I wound up as one of the defacto guides for the trip.

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Photo – Mount Carmel Presbyterian Church, Mount Carmel, South Carolina

Saturday afternoon my sister Glynda and I had ridden up toward Saluda, NC, for lunch.  She and I both love exploring, so on the way home we were taking several side roads and rambling over the countyside.  Our route took us past Ebenezer Church near Tigerville.  That led to a discussion about the name Ebenezer, and about Biblical place names in general, and how so many of these have worked their way into our own geography.

A Biblical place name such Ebenezer, Beulah, or Shiloh is often indicative of an older, usually historic congregation.   The word “ebenezer” itself is an excellent name for a church – according to 1 Samuel 7:12, it was a stone to commemorate what God had done for Israel – a place to give thanks and dedication.  However, in today’s society the word is more likely to conjure up a Dickensian miser, and the word “Beulah” is more likely to bring forth unflattering images of a large woman, rather than a vision of the land of Israel, as Isaiah had intended.  (Although, the word did originally refer to a married woman, so the comparison may not be as far-fetched as one might think.)

Modern churches tend to pick names that are more evocative of today’s sensibilities – New Spring, Grace, New Life, etc., etc.  – or they are more place specific or pick names of neighborhoods, such as Brookwood.  I can’t think of any newer congregation that has selected one of the old Biblical names. Read the rest of this entry »

Three seemingly unrelated tales of environmental misunderstanding…

When I was playing disc golf at Furman Sunday afternoon I noticed something unusual. There were weeds everywhere and the place looked badly overgrown. This was most noticeable around several of the park benches and picnic tables around the lake.

Furman usually keeps immaculate grounds. Not a blade of grass is left too long, nor leaf left to clutter the green grass. With students returning and so many families on campus, I couldn’t understand why things were left like this. I figured cut-backs on maintenance were much greater than I had thought.

When I got home and mentioned this to Laura, she set me straight. This is part of Furman’s sustainability program, and the intent is to let portions of the lake shoreline return to a more “natural state.” Of course, one of my fellow alumni and Facebook friends pointed out that this is a man-made lake, so how could it be natural. My reply was that it probably focuses on saving fuel by not cutting down the weeds.

I was only partially correct. What looks like weeds to me are actually carefully selected natural plants, following an extensive landscaping plan. The plan is to create a wildflower meadow along the banks. While the flowers aren’t in bloom, they do look like weeds.

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Back last spring Furman University put up an official disc golf course.  Sunday was a beautiful (albeit, hot) day, so I decided to spend the afternoon playing a round.

Background

As a student here a quarter of a century ago we played quite a lot of Frisbee golf.  We used standard-sized Frisbees (there was no other brand) and picked a target for our next hole, be it a tree, bench, or hapless passer-by.  Then we would estimate how many throws it would take to get there, and that would be our par.  It was informal, but it worked.

Furman took its first steps toward an official course about fifteen years ago.  This first venture was wasn’t much more than what we had done when I was a student.  A map was drawn up indicating which objects (again, mostly trees) would be used as targets.  The course wound around the mall and PAC building, for the most part.

A few years ago there was an attempt to create a true course on campus, but for whatever reason, that didn’t go through.  Finally, in February of this year it was announced that the course would be built. Read the rest of this entry »

A random link led me to a series of fantastic tonal toys. Some of these are simply diversions, and some are elaborate programs that can be used to create amazing compositions. Here’s a quick run-down of what I found…

Pulsate

Think wind chimes. This little Flash app by Andre Michelle is hypnotic and addictive.  Clicking on the black work area will create a circle that expands from the click-point.  The circle will continue to expand until it touches another circle, so you need to create at least two for this thing to work.  When two circles touch a bell-like tone is generated, and the circles reverse direction.  If they had been expanding they now contract.  A contracting circle will contract until it reaches a single point, then start expanding again.

The pitch of the tone is determined by the size of circles.  A larger circle will create a deeper tone, and a smaller one a higher pitch. An interval is created, but sometimes the larger circle’s pitch is so low that it’s hardly audible.  It sounds like the app is tuned to a pentatonic scale to minimize dissonance, much like a set of wind chimes would be be tuned.

Rhythm is determined by the expansion rates of the various circles.  You can create very complex patterns  by positioning circles closer to or farther away from each other.  Circles within circles also create neat patterns.  I find it fascinating to start with a simple pattern of three circles, and gradually make the pattern more complex by adding more circles.

Here’s a short video of one of my creations.  However, I suggest that you follow the link and create your own to get the full sensation. Read the rest of this entry »