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Author: Tom

Standard “Too Busy to Post” Post

Posted on May 8, 2014 By Tom No Comments on Standard “Too Busy to Post” Post
Local, Miscellaneous, Music

How many things can be crammed into one weekend? On the agenda for this one upcoming there’s Mother’s Day, a kayaking trip with Lowcountry Unfiltered, a photo walk with the Upstate Photographers, Artisphere is happening in downtown Greenville, it’s Furman Commencement… …and, oh yeah, we have a concert at the Peace Center Saturday night and … Read More “Standard “Too Busy to Post” Post” »

Shinola and Java Fix

Posted on May 2, 2014May 16, 2014 By Tom 2 Comments on Shinola and Java Fix
Local, Restaurants, Weirdness

Art, Antiques, Funk

I had been working around the house most of the day and needed to get out and about. I decided a cup of coffee was in order, but I didn’t just want Starbucks or Atlanta Bread Company, my usual haunts. Then I remembered Java Fix, a coffee shop in a tiny weird building on Wade Hampton Boulevard. That simple decision turned into an afternoon’s adventure.

I’m a sucker for weird angled buildings. These are usually built to take advantage of a limited footprint where roads intersect at a sharp angle. Often there will be an entrance at the narrow end, then the place widens out. There used to be a really cool building at the intersection of Poinsett and Highway 183, but it was torn down when the Pete Hollis Boulevard was build. That was a shame.

Located where Mohawk Drive veers off of Wade Hampton, Java Fix is in a tiny little angled building. I think it started as a car service place. For awhile it was a record store, and I remember stopping in to browse. It’s also been a hairstyle saloon and several other things before the Fix people took over.

Java Fix-009

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Ten Years of Random Connections

Posted on May 1, 2014May 16, 2014 By Tom No Comments on Ten Years of Random Connections
Internet, Miscellaneous

RandomConnections10Years

It hardly seems possible. This month marks ten years that I’ve been blogging at RandomConnections.com. The new website was announced on May 6, 2004 on a post on my previous website as follows:

I have a new website….

www.RandomConnections.com will be online shortly. The new site will be the host for my web log (which will be replicated here, as it always has) but I wanted something without my name plastered all over the place. I’ll move my workshop information to the new site, and leave all my personal stuff here – resume, personal interests, etc., etc. The only personal item on the new site will be the blog.

With the new site in place, I’ll be able to create blog entries for specific categories, probably one for each of my alter egos that I use on various bulletin boards. I’m also going to post our travelog and vacation gallery there.

I love the Internet! Instead of boring just one small set of humans with your vacation pictures, you can annoy the entire planet!

The first post on the actual site was on May 14, and went something like this…

The new website is now active (Duh, obviously). This site features a much more interactive weblog than my old site, while keeping things lean and clean. The other site turn [sic] into self-indulgent blathering, was over-designed, and cumbersome. I make no guarantees about this site, but at least the blathering will be categorized.

I also don’t intend to plaster my name over everything on this site. Certain portions will be kept more professional, and will focus on Education Technology and Web Design.

Yes, both of those posts are still online, as evidenced by the links above.   I haven’t fulfilled the promises in those early posts, but I had no idea I’d still be doing this ten years later, or what those ten years would have brought.

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Bocca Pure Italian

Posted on April 27, 2014May 16, 2014 By Tom No Comments on Bocca Pure Italian
Restaurants

I must have driven by it a thousand times – an old Pizza Hut with the distinctive architecture now converted into another restaurant.  However, this time it caught my eye.  Laura and I were on our way back from a paddling trip.  Later we would be back up this way for a play at Furman, … Read More “Bocca Pure Italian” »

Altered RPMs

Posted on April 24, 2014May 16, 2014 By Tom No Comments on Altered RPMs
Entertainment, Music

This conversation started on Facebook, and the results were entertaining enough that I thought I would summarize it here. If you’ve already read it and commented there, then just skip this post.

It all started when a friend directed me to a site that had a slowed down version of Dolly Parton’s hit “Jolene.” It was as if someone had taken the 45 single and played it at 33 1/3 RPMs on a turntable. The result was a slow, haunting version that sounds amazing.

I reposted this on my Facebook timeline and got lots of comments. One commenter doubted the veracity of the record, and thought that it had been faked. I suggested taking the original audio file and importing it into Audacity, then slowing it down by 27% digitally. Rather than wait, I decided to do it myself.

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Flea Markets and Falls

Posted on April 24, 2014May 16, 2014 By Tom No Comments on Flea Markets and Falls
Local, Photography, Rambling

Twin Falls, AKA Reedy Cove Falls

Glynda has been recovering from surgery, and is making great progress. For the first time in ages she had energy to get out and about and explore, so she suggested that we go to the regular Wednesday gathering at the Pickens Flea Market. It looked like it was going to be a beautiful day, so who was I to say no?

We left out early and arrived at the flea market shortly after 8:00 am. Even at that time there were already crowds gathered. We wandered among the booths and looked at the goods. Since I’d had success with my 35mm lens on yesterday’s Earth Day trek, I decided to use it here, too. I had my Panasonic as a backup.

For the most part it was the same old same old. There were the random collections of antiques, toys, bottles, etc. etc. I noticed that a lot of my shots are starting to look the same. It’s hard to find something unique.

Pickens Flea Market and Twin Falls-007

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Earth Day and Long Exposure Photography

Posted on April 22, 2014May 16, 2014 By Tom No Comments on Earth Day and Long Exposure Photography
Photography
Upper Reedy Falls B&W
Reedy River at Falls Place

It wasn’t the day I expected, but it wasn’t a bad day at all. I was expecting it to be a cloudy, stormy day, and I had lined up a long list of indoor chores. So, when we awoke to beautiful sunshine, the last thing I wanted to do was hang about inside.

The question was, what to do? I remembered an article I that Petapixel had posted to Twitter about the photography of Darren Moore. Darren uses a neutral density filter to create long exposure photographs even in bright sunlight. His photos of the UK coastline are surreal and haunting.

Inner Sanctuary

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The Anonymity of a Common Name

Posted on April 18, 2014May 16, 2014 By Tom 1 Comment on The Anonymity of a Common Name
Miscellaneous, Rants

One nice thing about having a VERY common name is that I’m harder to track down online. If you do a Google search for my name I’m fairly far down on the list. Throw in a couple of variables, such as kayak, photography, or music, and it might get you a bit closer, but you’re … Read More “The Anonymity of a Common Name” »

Abbeville Revisited

Posted on April 17, 2014May 16, 2014 By Tom No Comments on Abbeville Revisited
Rambling

My mother and my sister Glynda wanted to get out and about. Mom likes to rambling and explore as much as any of the rest of our family – we came by it naturally. It was a beautiful but chilly spring day, with dogwoods and azaleas in bloom, so we decided to drive across country to Grits and Groceries for lunch.

Glynda and I had been here before. When we got here today, the interior was crowded, but we were able to find seats at a table with two ladies who were just finishing up. They were quite friendly, so it worked out.

The last time I was here I was taken to task for not trying the tomato pie. I wasn’t going to make that mistake this time, so we started with one of those. It was the size of an overly large muffin, and just enough for each of us to have a bite. I’m glad I tried it, as it was excellent.

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Ogeechee River with Lowcountry Unfiltered

Posted on April 15, 2014May 16, 2014 By Tom 1 Comment on Ogeechee River with Lowcountry Unfiltered
Paddling, Photography
Ogeechee with LCU-50
Ogeechee River

It’s a Second Saturday, and time for another Lowcountry Unfiltered adventure. This time LCU would be taking on the mighty Ogeechee River south of Savannah, Ga. The Ogeechee is Georgia’s Edisto River. It’s a nearly 300 mile free-flowing blackwater river. The section we would be floating would include cypress swampland, as well as some tidal flow.

Having spent the night nearby, I had plenty of time to get a good breakfast and head over to our rendezvous at the take-out at Kings Ferry Park on Highway 17. I was the first to arrive, and took the opportunity to catch some photos in the morning light.

Ogeechee River with LCU

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