Tom – Page 92 – Random Connections

Governor’s School Reunion

June 19, 2013July 25, 2013 Tom 2 Comments

For our first post-retirement getaway, Laura and I decided to head to Charleston for a reunion of my class from the Governor’s School from 1978. The reunion was to be that Saturday, but we decided to make it a four-day weekend in the Holy City so we could get in as much as possible.

35 years seems like an incredibly long time ago. I was a junior in high school, and the Governor’s School was my first real escape from home. At the time it was a six-week program during the summer at the College of Charleston. My area of concentration was geology, but I also did quite a bit with music, performing at the Dock Street Theater at one point. I also had opportunities to to do things I’d never otherwise be able to do at home, such as crewing an Olympic-class sailboat around the Charleston Harbor.

To say that Governor’s School was a life-changing experience would be an understatement. It was the first real view I had of life beyond the limited confines of Laurens County. People in my community had preconceived notions about me, and if I tried anything beyond what was expected, ridicule was the order of the day. At GS I opened up, and was willing to give just about anything a shot. Nobody there cared about preconceived notions.

Read More “Governor’s School Reunion” »

Playing Catch Up

June 19, 2013July 25, 2013 Tom No Comments

Music

We had a great reunion/escape weekend in Charleston, but several things have kept me from updating my blog. Internet at our hotel was horrible. It was taking forever to upload the boatload of photos I took over the weekend. Add to that the fact that the blog got hit by a spam attack, and I … Read More “Playing Catch Up” »

Another Spam Injection Attack

June 15, 2013July 25, 2013 Tom No Comments

Rants

Well, looks like this website has been hit by another spam injection attack. Links to stuff apparently are being added to the posts and comments in RSS feeds. So far I’ve only seen it in one post, so this posting is a test to see if it happens again. I remember the last time this … Read More “Another Spam Injection Attack” »

A Tale of Two Mugs

June 14, 2013July 25, 2013 Tom 1 Comment

Miscellaneous

I’ll admit it. I’m a creature of habit. Ritual governs a large part of my daily activities. These rituals range from choice of clothing colors to the order of my morning routines. Often the ritual is a statement of what I believe. One of my most firmly established rituals involves my choice of coffee mug. … Read More “A Tale of Two Mugs” »

Retirement Playlist

June 12, 2013July 25, 2013 Tom No Comments

Entertainment, Music, Uncategorized

So, tomorrow (Thursday) is my last day in Spartanburg Five. It’s been a long, strange trip, and it’s weird to think that this part of my career is over. It seems only fitting that I go out with an appropriate playlist. But what to include? I think I’ll skip the obvious “Take this Job and … Read More “Retirement Playlist” »

Waterfall Ramble – To the Top of South Carolina and Beyond

June 10, 2013July 25, 2013 Tom 1 Comment

Photography, Rambling

I wasn’t really planning to do a waterfall excursion. Truth be told, I didn’t really have anything planned. Laura was away at her sister’s, so I had Saturday available for a solo outing. My only real thoughts were to head up to Sassafras Mountain and check out the new overlook, then just see where things went from there. Turns out it was a perfect day for catching waterfalls.

I started out early, taking 276 to Highway 11, and from there over to Highway 178. There were some low clouds giving way to clear skies, with fog hanging where those clouds touched the mountains. Table Rock was shrouded, so I didn’t pause for any photos there. On Highway 178 I got to Bob’s Place, and on a whim turned down toward the Estatoe Valley, heading toward Twin Falls.

Quick Sparkleberry Trip

June 4, 2013July 25, 2013 Tom 1 Comment

Paddling

We’ve tried to put together trips to Sparkleberry Swamp several times this spring, only to see the plans fall through. This time it was going to happen. Laura was out of town, and Dwight wanted to introduce his son, Adam to the joys of the swamp and the greater world of paddling. So, Sunday morning I loaded up the boats and headed southward.

There’s really no such thing as a “quick” trip to Sparkleberry. Even the shortest of jaunts turn into an all-day adventure just because it’s so far away. Even so, our plan was to keep this a shorter trip since it was Adam’s first time out.

I picked up Dwight and Adam at their house in Columbia, then we continued on the trip. We did a quick stop at Mr. Bunky’s just because they had never been there. The general store has opened a second floor with flea market type items and antiques.

We had one more stop before we could hit the water – breakfast at the legendary Battens in Wedgefield.

This is the weekend of the infamous Duck Run. If we had been a day earlier, the swamp would have been crawling with hundreds of boats full of mostly drunk revelers. As it was, things were very quiet at Sparkleberry Landing on this particular morning. There were very few other vehicles about. The weather was great, and it looked like a spectacular morning for a paddle.

Read More “Quick Sparkleberry Trip” »

Kayaking to Hooker Falls

May 29, 2013July 25, 2013 Tom 1 Comment

Paddling, Photography

I have long dreamed of paddling Cascade Lake in North Carolina. The lake is in a beautiful setting in the mountains of North Carolina in the Dupont State Forest. Unfortunately, the only access I was aware of was the dirt road that ran along the west shore. There was no public access on that side, so it seemed that the lake was off-limits. Then my friends Lisa and Sherry posted photos that their paddling group had taken on a recent trip. They paddled from Cascade Lake Campground on the eastern shore of the lake up to Hooker Falls. I knew I had to give it a try.

For this particular trip I was joined by Brian Goess. When we started out the weather looked iffy, and at one point sporadic rain drops hit the windshield of the truck. As we drove north toward Hendersonville, though, the weather cleared, and it looked like it was going to be a spectacular day.

We found the campground with no trouble. I was pretty familiar with the area, so it was just a matter of watching for the signs. We pulled in and were directed to the camp store to purchase a day pass.

The folks running the place seemed to be very friendly. In fact, everyone we encountered was pleasant – campers and employees alike. The place was jam-packed and every camping slot filled for the holiday weekend, but we were able to get a day pass and were assigned a parking spot near the boat ramp.

Read More “Kayaking to Hooker Falls” »

Flickr’s Trojan Gift

May 21, 2013July 25, 2013 Tom 2 Comments

Internet, Photography

Huge changes at Flickr – some excellent, some not so good, and some downright deceitful. Right now I’m still processing how I feel about all this, but here are some of my initial thoughts…

Layout

At first glance I really like it. It looks clean and professional, and highlights the photography in a very flattering way. I especially like that it goes to a full screen view of the photo automatically, with comments, etc, down below.

New Flickr Layout

There are a few drawbacks, though. Collections seem to be missing. This is one of the MAJOR ways that I organize my photos. I have multiple sets, usually one for each outing, and the number of sets can be unwieldy. If I can organize those into broader categories, that helps. The Collections link is tucked away on an obscure link to the right. I think it needs to be up there with Photostream, Sets, and Favorites.

Read More “Flickr’s Trojan Gift” »

Blue Ghost Hunting

May 16, 2013 Tom No Comments

Local, Photography, Science

Wednesday night is ghost night in the Taylor-Wright household. That’s the night Laura’s favorite paranormal shows come on TV – Ghost Hunters, Haunted Collector, and the latest, Deep South Paranormal. This particular Wednesday, though, we had something different in mind. We were going ghost hunting ourselves. Specifically, we were going to see the Blue Ghost Fireflies, Phausis reticulata. We had the privilege of seeing the blue ghosts a couple of years ago. Turns out that was another Wednesday night when we would have been watching Ghost Hunters, too. That would not be the last coincidence on this particular trip.

Our friend Joyce McCarrell arranged the outing and sent us the invitation. We met with her and the others that were going at the Cafe at Williams Hardware. Our host for the evening was Ann Tankersly, and we would be following her up to her property near River Falls. In all, there were nine of us heading out to see the Blue Ghosts.