A collection of photography and exploration focusing on Upstate South Carolina and beyond.
I’m sure you’ve seen the commercials. A very attractive woman wants to know who might be searching for her online. She logs onto MyLife.com and seems delighted to find that lots of people have been searching for her – old high school chums, past loves, etc., etc. She naively reacts as if this is a GOOD thing. Of course, my first thought is – STALKERS! Perhaps the image below is more realistic:
Every spring and fall the Greenville Farmers Market has a festival. I’m not talking about the one that has sprung up on Main Street downtown (not to take anything away from that market), but the one sponsored by the SC Agricultural Commission on Rutherford Road. Local growers bring their wares for a two-day sale. Laura … Read More “Greenville Farmers Market” »
Last night we got to witness a rare astronomical event. We were able to view a “Super” Harvest Moon. This happens when the full moon falls on the same night as the autumnal equinox. The sun sets at just about the same time that the moon rises, and does so in a nearly precise east-west … Read More “Super Harvest Moon” »
At first I thought it was great. In June of 2009 I casually tweeted that I couldn’t wait until my new Mac was delivered, and wondered what was holding up FedEx. It was rhetorical. FedEx was actually right on time with the delivery. However, my tweet prompted a response from FedEx asking if there was … Read More “Twitter Spam” »
I own more kayaks than the average person, but probably no more than the average avid paddler. Folks that have seen my collection have asked why I have so many boats. I started with two whitewater rec boats – one for me and one for Laura. As a favor we bought another from a friend who was moving away, and Laura’s sister and various friends have used it on paddling trips with us.
In the past year I added two flatwater boats, again, one for me and one for Laura. Chip kept a couple of kayaks at our house, so the collection looked larger than it really was. Five kayaks for two people wasn’t really unreasonable, since they served different purposes.
Even so, I was surprised when Laura gave the OK for me to go to the Confluence Watersports Friends and Family Kayak Sale and shop for another boat.
This week I’m doing a workshop for our teachers on creating virtual tours in Google Earth. This part of a graduate course dealing with Google Apps, and I was trying to find ways of using Google Docs to create the tours. In the process I came across a neat way of using surveys in Google Earth.
This process is similar to one of the collaborative activities I described in a previous blog post. The process is similar to the one I described there, but instead of having students create PowerPoint presentations and upload them to Google Docs, the teacher creates forms with which the students interact.
The following is from the handout that I created for the workshop…
Karen Buchmueller is a good friend and colleague of Laura’s, and she’s also an avid photographer. Both of our spouses were tied up for the afternoon, so we decided to head out with our cameras and shoot some photos. Our targets for the afternoon were the old ruins of Pelham Mills, and Ebenezer Methodist Church.
I had visited Pelham Mills several times with my camera, but it was Karen’s first visit. I always enjoy visiting places with other photographers, even if it’s somewhere that I’ve already taken lots of photos. They often spot things I’ve overlooked, or see an angle or composition that hadn’t occurred to me. This was definitely the case at the old dilapidated mill office.
It’s football season! Saturday marked the opening to Furman’s 2010 season. For some reason it’s a week later than usual, and later than most other colleges. However, we’re just glad it’s underway, and headed to the stadium to watch Furman take on the Colgate Raiders. The plan was to meet up with Alan Russell and … Read More “Furman Opener 2010” »
Laura and I once again had to divide and conquer for the evening, so I was on my own for dinner. I decided to try the Tropical Chicken Grill nearby on Pelham Road. We had tried to eat hear twice before, but the first time it was too crowded, and the second time it was … Read More “Tropical Chicken Grill” »
Laura had an American Chemical Society meeting Tuesday evening, so I was free to explore. I decided to take my camera out to the Upper South Carolina State Fair.
When I arrived at the fairgrounds, there were a few people, but it wasn’t too terribly crowded I was able to park fairly close to the entrance. I got another surprise as I got to the entrance. It was “Gate Buster” night, so there was free admission to the fair, and $15 for an armband for unlimited rides.
I got there at the height of the “golden hour”. The setting sun bathed the garish colors of the fair, creating a warm pallet with a darkening blue sky accented with clouds.
