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Category: Rants

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Google Maps Screws Up

Posted on July 21, 2013July 25, 2013 By Tom 1 Comment on Google Maps Screws Up
Geocaching and Maps, Rants

I’m not one of those people that mounts protests every time Facebook changes their layout, or when GMail makes some slight change. I even like the new updates to Flickr, even though some users are threatening to abandon it for Ipernity. So, when I say that Google Maps has really screwed up with their latest … Read More “Google Maps Screws Up” »

Another Spam Injection Attack

Posted on June 15, 2013July 25, 2013 By Tom No Comments on Another Spam Injection Attack
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” »

Published again, without permission

Posted on March 13, 2013July 25, 2013 By Tom 2 Comments on Published again, without permission
Photography, Rants

Fellow explorer Mark Elbrecht alerted me to this. The Greenwood Chamber of Commerce has a website promoting their Festival of Flowers this June. On the page promoting tours of Cokesbury College there was a familiar photograph – mine! The problem was that they had not asked permission to use the image.

Cokesbury College Website

Normally I don’t mind if folks use my images on their sites as long as they use the proper embed codes that Flickr provides, which link back to my original photo, or if they credit the photo properly. Technically, they don’t even need to ask my permission since I leave the embed codes available to anyone.

What ticked me off about this image usage was that A) they re-hosted the image on their own site, cropping the image in the process, and B) the statement at the bottom of the page stating, “Copyright © 2011 – South Carolina Festival of Flowers. All rights reserved.” That would imply that they are claiming copyright to my photograph. I sent the Chamber of Commerce an e-mail listing conditions for continued use of the photograph.

For the record, here is the original photograph, with the proper link back to its Flickr page…

Cokesbury College

Read More “Published again, without permission” »

Flickr Video Artifacts

Posted on January 9, 2013 By Tom 2 Comments on Flickr Video Artifacts
Photography, Rants

Flickr has its flaws, and has come in for some warranted criticism from photographers such as Thomas Hawk in San Francisco for its management practices and failure to keep up with Google+ and other photo-sharing communities. However, I find it a cost-effective service that still meets my needs for both blogging and photography. At last count I have nearly 19,000 images on Flickr.

There is one flaw in Flicker that has really jumped out recently, though. That’s with it’s video compression routines. Video uploaded to Flickr looks horrible. Period.

I’m more of a photographer than videographer. I don’t pretend to know all the ins and outs of video compression, etc., etc. I also get that Flickr is primarily a photo sharing site, and has limited functionality as far as video uploads are concerned. However, there are some times that it’s quicker and easier to upload to Flickr. I also like the control over privacy, which tends to be an all-or-nothing proposition with YouTube and other video hosting.

Read More “Flickr Video Artifacts” »

Published Again (without credit)

Posted on December 28, 2012 By Tom 4 Comments on Published Again (without credit)
Photography, Rants

UPDATE: A correction can be found here. Back in early November I was contacted by the artistic editor for the Charleston Magazine about using the above photograph in their January issue. I agreed, provided that they gave me credit as the photography, and sent specific instructions on what I wanted on the credit line. On … Read More “Published Again (without credit)” »

Blogging Drought

Posted on August 24, 2012 By Tom No Comments on Blogging Drought
Rants

Things have been very hectic around our household lately. I worked all last weekend getting ready for school to start, and have spent several late evenings at work this past week. As such, I haven’t done much exploring, paddling, or photography. This weekend we’re hanging around the house trying to catch up with errands. So, … Read More “Blogging Drought” »

Whither Photography?

Posted on May 16, 2012 By Tom 4 Comments on Whither Photography?
Photography, Rants

A long time ago I used to do calligraphy. I was pretty good at it, and picked up some spare change by doing place cards for wedding receptions, invitations, and a couple of framed pieces. I didn’t do anything fancy – just basic Old English and script fonts. I had the correct pens, and that … Read More “Whither Photography?” »

Telecom Scam

Posted on May 4, 2012 By Tom 1 Comment on Telecom Scam
Rants

Yesterday several of our schools received an invoice similar to the one above. The invoice is for a service agreement that “covers preventative maintenance on all telecom system equipment, including, [sic] telephone instruments, switches, routers, & cabling.” The bill was for $425, and since it included technology equipment, it wound up on my desk. Of … Read More “Telecom Scam” »

Hymnal Blasphemy

Posted on March 5, 2012 By Tom 10 Comments on Hymnal Blasphemy
Music, Rants

hymnal 1

I’ve mentioned before that I collect hymnals. I prefer older, antique hymnals, but I’m just as interested in newer versions, particularly if it’s from a congregation with which I’m not as familiar. One of the first things I’ll do when visiting a church is grab a hymnal to see what they are using.

On occasion I’ll Google the term “antique hymnal” to see what comes up on eBay or other sites just to see if there are some interesting hymnals available. Recently these searches have found something that really makes my skin crawl. I think the phrase is “Antique Hymnal and Ephemera Crafts” and I’ve come across this blasphemy most often on that bastion of bad taste, Etsy.com. No, I won’t be posting any links because to me that would be just like posting a link to porn.

Crafters are using old hymnal pages to create all manner of evil, from wreathes…

il_570xN.304726544

2012-03-05_0806

il_fullxfull.304728644

…to roses…

il_570xN.296655279

2012-03-05_0805

…to gift wrapping…

2012-03-05_0758

Read More “Hymnal Blasphemy” »

Creative Spam

Posted on February 24, 2012 By Tom No Comments on Creative Spam
Internet, Rants

So far my blog is recovering nicely from the hack attack on it last week.  I’m not seeing any of the incoming links for various pharmaceutical products.  I do still get spam comments, though.  Fortunately, Akismet is doing a pretty good job of making sure I don’t have to waste time on those. Even so, … Read More “Creative Spam” »

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