Random Connections – Page 100 – A collection of photography and exploration focusing on Upstate South Carolina and beyond.

Fall Passings

October 14, 2012 Tom 4 Comments

Miscellaneous

I’m beginning to develop a love-hate relationship with autumn. Last year about this time we lost my father and two friends. This year, stresses at work and various health issues have had us at bay. Then today I found out that another long-time friend had passed away last week. Robert Ridgeway was one seriously unique … Read More “Fall Passings” »

Blog Round-Up

October 12, 2012 Tom 3 Comments

Internet

The Death of Blogging has been touted for years now. Even the term “micro-blogging” for services such as Twitter has fallen out of favor, being replaced by “social media” and the like. Therefore, it’s very encouraging when I come across new blogs that have lots of potential. Some of these have been around and I’ve … Read More “Blog Round-Up” »

Alan on the Side

October 8, 2012 Tom No Comments

Photography

I had to laugh after writing about yesterday’s paddling trip on Saluda Lake. My lead photo was a shot of Alan Russell, out in front and slightly off to the right…

It occurred to me that I LOTS of shots of Alan like this. Here’s one from a trip up to Lake Jocassee…

…and one from a trip to Lake Marion…

For paddling shots I like to establish context, and that means including shots of my fellow paddlers, and not just the scenery. Using the Rule of Thirds, the paddler is offset to one side. I paddle more with Alan than anyone else, so he is more likely to be in the shot. I guess since I’m right-handed, I tend to place him on that side. Here are a few more examples…

Saluda Lake on a Fall Saturday

October 7, 2012 Tom No Comments

Paddling

It seems like it has been ages since I’ve been out on the water. When Alan suggested a quick paddling trip for today, I jumped at the chance. His daughter, Caitlin, and her boyfriend, Ben, were in town while Furman is on fall break, so we were looking for a quick trip somewhere close by. Saluda Lake fit that bill nicely.

There are two public access points for Saluda Lake. Saluda Landing is on the Greenville side, and is a privately owned boat ramp and marina. On the Pickens side there is a relatively new public park. The last time we were there, Saluda Landing charged us $3 per boat to launch, whereas the Pickens park charged $3 per car parking fee. So, the question was, is it worth $6 for the convenience to Furman and a launch closer to where we wanted to paddle? We decided it was, and agreed to meet at Saluda Landing. However…

Bond at 50

October 5, 2012 Tom 4 Comments

Entertainment

Today is the 50th anniversary of the premier of the first James Bond movie, Dr. No. All this week NPR’s Morning Edition has been doing a series of specials on James Bond at 50. This week they are exploring the physics of Bond gadgets, music from the Bond movies, Bond’s favorite martini and the differences between shaken and stirred, and, finally, a survey to determine which actor was the quintessential Bond.

Some people memorize the names of all of the presidents of the US in order. Some memorize all the books of the Bible. I can recite all 22 James Bond films in order, with information such as the Bond actor, major villain, and plot. I sometimes do this as a cognitive exercise to relax, somewhat akin to counting sheep. (And, for the record, I can list all of the books of the Bible, but don’t know all the presidents.)

So, when NPR started this series I was delighted. Unfortunately, it came off as a bit shallow. I guess time constraints wouldn’t let them delve into the issues as much as I might have liked, but I was hoping they would get into whether or not a shaken martini tastes better than a stirred one, rather than simply which is colder. Oh, well.

Marching Band Season

September 30, 2012 Tom 1 Comment

Entertainment, Music

As my friend Duck Hunter pointed out on his blog, not only is it football season, but it’s also marching band season. The Furman Band has really been sounding good the last several years, and this year continues this trend.

Of course, we’ve taken more interest in the band the past several years since the son and daughter of our friends Alan and Mary have been in the band. Joshua graduated last year, but Caitlin still has a couple of years to go. So, we’ve been following the band’s repertoire closer than usual.

Sorry I Haven’t Posted Lately

September 19, 2012 Tom 1 Comment

Miscellaneous

I was looking through my news feed when I came across an item from Mental Floss about Niche Blogs. There were a few interesting ones, such as Star Trek Points at Things, The Worst Thing for Sale (with some not-safe-for-work content), and a UK blog entitled Dull News in Local Newspapers. One that especially caught … Read More “Sorry I Haven’t Posted Lately” »

Pickens County Ramble

September 17, 2012 Tom 4 Comments

Local, Photography, Rambling

I’ve been going a bit stir crazy. The weather has been perfect for hiking or kayaking, but with this lingering cough I just haven’t wanted to risk getting sick again. Laura was busy writing an exam, so sister Glynda and I decided to head out and find something to photograph.

For this ramble we repeated a trek that I had made with Duckhunter back last year. Our route took us north of Clemson and into some of the old communities of Pickens County.

From Greenville we drove to Easley, then followed 93 to Liberty, then on to Norris. From Norris we headed north to our first stop at the mill village of Cateechee. Glynda had never visited this part of the state, so it was new territory for her. We circled through the mill village and looked at the ruins of the mill, then drove around to the old Cateechee School.

Read More “Pickens County Ramble” »

How Many Greenvilles?

September 10, 2012 Tom 8 Comments

Geocaching and Maps, Miscellaneous

Perhaps it was the fact that I’ve crossed several state lines recently. More likely it was because I’ve spent several late nights wide awake and coughing. Being sick can make you think weird things, but for some reason the following aphorism popped into my head…

There is a town called “Greenville” in every state. However, Tennessee is the only only one that spells it as “Greeneville.”

I don’t even remember where I heard that the first time. My first intent was to take this at face value and create a Google Earth KML file showing the location of each town called Greenville. (Did I mention that I’ve been sick lately?) That turned into a challenge to test the validity of this statement, and learn a bit more about Greenville, where ever it might be found.

Read More “How Many Greenvilles?” »

Rambling in Western Virginia

September 8, 2012 Tom No Comments

Family, Rambling, Travel

After a successful wedding we had a couple of days to spend in Roanoke. I got no sleep because of coughing, but I still wanted to make the best of our mini-vacation.

We started with a fantastic breakfast at the hotel, then spent the rest of the morning helping Glynda recover. We got the wedding gifts and other paraphernalia packed away, and got her checked out of her hotel. I drove Aaron’s car, Glynda drove hers, and Laura drove our car up to the hotel where Houston and Lynda were staying, and we got together with them and Chip, Anna, and family for lunch.

Having just married off her daughter, Glynda was exhausted both physically and emotionally. She is normally one of our heartiest ramblers, but that wasn’t going to happen today. She stayed back at the hotel, while Houston, Lynda, Laura, and I set off to see what we could find.

S	M	T	W	T	F	S
1	2	3	4	5	6	7
8	9	10	11	12	13	14
15	16	17	18	19	20	21
22	23	24	25	26	27	28