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Month: January 2009

Geohashing – A Game Based on a Comic

Posted on January 27, 2009 By Tom 6 Comments on Geohashing – A Game Based on a Comic
Geocaching and Maps

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The XKCD comic seen above came out around Christmas of 2006, and formed the basis for a new GPS activity – not necessarily going to a random location and making out, but using random numbers to generate latitude and longitude coordinates.  The process of generating the random coordinates is called Geohashing.  These coordinates serve as a basis for adventure, not unlike throwing a dart on a map and then trying to reach that location.  It’s a lot like Geocaching, but you don’t have to find a little container, and the coordinates change.

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The Incomparable Weirdness of Twitter

Posted on January 26, 2009 By Tom 1 Comment on The Incomparable Weirdness of Twitter
Internet, Weirdness

Twitter-Capture

As if there were any doubt, my true nerd nature is about to come through.  Some of my admissions in this post will be embarrassing, but it gets my point across about Twitter.

I freely admit that I am a Trekkie.  I can usually name most of The Original Series episode titles having seen just a few seconds of one.  I am not, however, a “Trekker”.  I don’t have a Star Fleet uniform in my closet (although I did have a model phaser when I was a teenager), nor to I dress up like a Klingon and attend conventions.

So what does this have to do with Twitter?  I’ll get to that in a moment.  I signed up for Twitter as a matter of convenience.  It was a simple way of updating my blog and Facebook from one location.  I didn’t really have any intention of “following” anyone on Twitter, but soon I got tired of looking at my own updates.  I added a few friends and locals that I knew from other social networking sites.

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Goodbye to the Bahamas and Trip Reflections

Posted on January 25, 2009 By Tom No Comments on Goodbye to the Bahamas and Trip Reflections
Travel

I watched one last Bahamian sunrise, this time without a camera in sight.  We had packed, and we were ready to head home.  We had a good, large breakfast at the hotel, then went to meet our transport to the airport.

The trip home was uneventful, which was a good thing.  By this time I had caught the cold that had plagued Laura for the entire trip, so we were both coughing up a storm (much to the annoyance of our fellow travelers.)  There were no delays, and we arrived safely in Greenville at the appointed time.

Our luggage, however, was a different story.  There was nothing awaiting us in Greenville.  We were just glad it happened at the end of the trip rather than the beginning.  The airline was able to locate it, and about 11:00 PM it was delivered to our house.  Apparently my luggage tag had snagged in a conveyor belt and had caused damage to the bag and the delay.  The contents were OK.

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Kayaking and Caves in Lucayan National Park

Posted on January 24, 2009 By Tom No Comments on Kayaking and Caves in Lucayan National Park
Paddling, Photography, Travel

For our last full day in the Bahamas I had booked a kayaking tour and trip to the Lucayan National Park. Laura had been fighting a bad cough all week and didn’t feel like going, so I was on my own. After watching another stunning Bahamian sunrise, I began gathering my gear and headed down to meet the group.

I was the only one from our resort going on the tour, but there were nine others that had already been picked up, and we stopped for four more on the way out. Along with our guide, we had a party of fifteen.

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Island Time

Posted on January 21, 2009 By Tom No Comments on Island Time
Photography, Travel

Sunrise Sailing

Things are more relaxed. Nothing is rushed. Everyone has a good time and things get done when they get done. That’s Island Time.

Even so, I was up at the crack of dawn, literally. Even on Island Time some habits are hard to break. However, I did have a purpose. I wanted to try some time-lapse videography with my little Nikon S50. The only problem was that I didn’t have a good tripod with me. My solution was to drag the floor lamp out onto the balcony and strap my little mini-pod to it with a Velcro strap. It looked weird…

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A Geeky New President

Posted on January 21, 2009 By Tom No Comments on A Geeky New President
General Technology, Geocaching and Maps

There were ample opportunities for someone like me to really get their Geek on while watching the inauguration.  First there was the Hive Mind experience of sharing the inauguration in real time with friends (and strangers) separated by thousands of miles on Twitter and Facebook.  Then there was the ability to get multiple perspectives from … Read More “A Geeky New President” »

How to Kill Twitter (or Facebook)

Posted on January 21, 2009 By Tom No Comments on How to Kill Twitter (or Facebook)
Internet

One of the things I love about Twitter and Facebook is that you can update one from the other through various third party services.  Unfortunately this opens up some potential security problems for these services.  I’m sure someone has already thought about this, and I’m sure these services have safeguards in place, but what if… … Read More “How to Kill Twitter (or Facebook)” »

Bahamas – Day 3

Posted on January 21, 2009 By Tom No Comments on Bahamas – Day 3
Travel

As previously noted, most of the day was spent watching inauguration festivities. However, we did get out an do other things. I woke up early to watch the sunrise. As I was standing out on the balcony with my camera I looked out over the other balconies to see others out with their cameras. The … Read More “Bahamas – Day 3” »

A New Day Dawns

Posted on January 20, 2009 By Tom 2 Comments on A New Day Dawns
Miscellaneous

Morning Light Show

What can I say? I have lived to see many presidential inaugurations, and none have inspired as much hope as this one. I am very proud that Barack Obama is now President of the United States.

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Lazy Day at Lucaya

Posted on January 19, 2009 By Tom No Comments on Lazy Day at Lucaya
Travel

What did we do today? Not much. And that was just perfect. After a nice breakfast we headed across the street to the Port Lucaya Market. This shopping area has a split personality. The middle section has restaurants and high-end shops with duty-free jewelry, etc. On either side of the shopping area is the straw … Read More “Lazy Day at Lucaya” »

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