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Random Connections
A random collection of rants, reviews, and miscellaneous thoughts on everything from instructional technology to local restaurants.
A Stonecutter’s Tale
I first noticed this when we made our trek to the Promised Land with Glynda and Houston. At Cedar Springs ARP Church several of the more elaborate headstone slabs in the cemetery had the carver/artist’s name inscribed at the bottom.
Then, when Dwight and his family traveled with me to Kingsville in Lower Richland County we stopped by the historic Congaree Baptist Church. There, on one of their headstones, was one of the names I had spotted at Cedar Springs – W. T. White.
Then, last Saturday on our way back from the Edisto River, Alan and I stopped by the old Pon Pon Chapel of Ease near Jacksonboro. There, at the bottom of one of the old slab stones, was the signature of J. White.
I began to wonder if W. T. White and J. White were related, and also wondered how their work became so wide-spread across South Carolina’s historic churches. Turns out they were part of a dynasty of stone carvers that did much, much more than just carving headstones. Continue reading ‘A Stonecutter’s Tale’
Posted in History and Genealogy
Remembering Dave
Monday morning we learned of the passing of David Pass, fellow singer and long-time manager of the Greenville Chorale. Dave sat next to me in rehearsal for many years, and usually stood next to me in concerts. In addition to being an excellent singer, he had a quick wit, and was always ready with a joke.
Dave picked up the nickname “Sergeant Major” because of his talent for keeping the Chorale organized and on-track. His logistical sense made sure everyone had the music they needed, and that setups were done properly for all the concerts. Despite the tough moniker, though, Dave was one of the most kind-hearted people you would ever meet. Last year he took time off from his Chorale responsibilities to provide full-time care for his mother.
Dave was 63. His absence from the Chorale was already noticeable, and we had looked forward to his return. It’s heartbreaking to realize that he won’t back. He truly will be missed.
Posted in Miscellaneous
Edisto River – The Jacksonboro Passage
This trip was supposed to have been last week. The second Saturday of the month is when our Lowcountry Unfiltered group normally hits the trail. However, an event last weekend involving most of our group caused us to postpone the trip. That freed me up to participate in the Tame the Tyger Race last weekend.
So, this weekend rolled around, and our group headed down to the Edisto River. This time we were headed to a new stretch that ended just shy of the ACE Basin. We were going to do a thirteen mile stretch from Martin’s Landing to West Bank Landing through the historic district of Jacksonboro.
I loaded up the boat and gear Thursday night and headed down as far as St. George after work Friday. The weather wasn’t looking promising, but I decided to take the chance. When I got up Saturday to head down to the river a thick fog covered the area. However, it looked like it was going to burn off later. Driving through this historic area I wanted to just stop and photograph everything, but knew I’d need to get on down to our rendezvous at the take-out. I drove on through Jacksonboro, and turned at the old Wesley United Methodist Church onto Hope Plantation Lane.
Posted in Geocaching and Maps, Paddling, Photography
A New Camera Strategy
My new Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5 arrived yesterday. I haven’t had a chance to really put it through its paces, but so far I’m impressed with the few photos I have taken. The LX5 won out over a whole slew of contenders, and the decision to get it means a new strategy for my day-to-day photography.
The contenders included the following:
- An exact replacement of my S70 in the form of a refurbished S70
- An updated Coolpix, such as the S100
- A different small camera, such as the Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS10
- The Canon S100
- and the one I bought, the Panasonic LX5
Posted in Photography
A Good Time to Explore – Photo Editing
For lunch I decided to stop at our nearby hibachi chicken place. This was the fortune in my cookie. Of course, I had to eat it.
I snapped the photo with my iPhone, and was surprise at how well it turned out. What really punched it up, though, was the application of a photo filter in Aviary.
Which brings us to the issue of Aviary and Picnic. For many years if you wanted to edit photos online in Flickr, Picnic was the way to go. It was offered as a menu option in Flickr, and had some basic editing and enhancement tools in the free version, and more filters and other editing tools in the paid filter.
Aviary, on the other hand, was an excellent suite of multimedia tools, encompassing music editing as well as image editing. It was pretty much browser-based, but stand-alone from other hosting options.
Then came Instagram, and everything changed. People got hooked on using vintage filters to quickly change photos from an expensive camera into something that looks like it was taken with a cheap camera. Effects that used to require Photoshop and some technical expertise could be replicated in seconds with Instagram’s filters. It seemed everyone wanted in on the action. Continue reading ‘A Good Time to Explore – Photo Editing’
Posted in Photography
