Random Connections – Page 148 – A collection of photography and exploration focusing on Upstate South Carolina and beyond.

Another Busy Week

June 21, 2009 Tom No Comments

Uncategorized

I’m looking and my last blog post was for last Sunday. I find it hard to believe that it’s been a whole week since I last posted anything here, but it’s been that kind of week. Right now I’m sitting in an airport waiting to board a flight Maine, where I hope to get some … Read More “Another Busy Week” »

Rope Swings, Rednecks, and Riverfest

June 15, 2009 Tom 2 Comments

Paddling

It’s the second Saturday of the month, so it must be time for another Lowcountry Unfiltered adventure. Our goal was to retrace our tracks from July of last year and paddle a section of the Edisto River from Mars Old Field Landing down to Givhen’s Ferry State Park. This time, against their better judgment, my brothers Stephen and Houston agreed to come along.

Houston met me in Greenville and we loaded up the boats, then spent the night at Stephen’s place in Sumter. Early that morning we headed on down for our rendezvous with the rest of the gang.

Saturday was also the date for the Edisto Riverfest. We weren’t sure what to expect in terms of crowds, both at the parks and on the river itself. We decided to leave the boats with Stephen at the put-in, then drop off the truck at the take-out. That way if things got bad we could paddle straight through and load up and go without having to wait for the rest of the group. Turns out that wasn’t going to be a problem.

Friday Freaks – Vampire Cars

June 12, 2009February 1, 2015 Tom No Comments

Weirdness

Today’s Friday Freaks post comes from The Hope Chest (warning: language NSFW) via BoingBoing.net. The Hope Chest’s tagline is “Bad News from the Past”, and it features scanned articles from old newspapers from the early 1900’s. Recently The Hope Chest has had a vampire obsession, specifically, vampire cars. The term “vampire auto” doesn’t refer to … Read More “Friday Freaks – Vampire Cars” »

Of BOOBs and Curves

June 10, 2009 Tom 1 Comment

Photography

Nope, not what you’re thinking. If you came here looking for something else, I’m afraid you will be disappointed. This will be a dull-by-comparison tutorial on Photoshop. In this case BOOB stands for Bridge Out Of Bounds, and Bezier curves are the cool masking technique I’ve finally mastered to make intricate OOB (Out Of Bounds) images possible.

In an OOB, the image appears to break through a frame in the image. Imagine you have a framed photo hanging and part of that photo escaped onto the wall – that’s the effect that OOBs try to achieve. I’ve written about them before here, and there is a great Flickr discussion group dedicated to OOBs. Here is the first one that I ever attempted, where my kayak appears to leap out of the photo.

2009 Scottish Games at Furman

June 7, 2009January 28, 2024 Tom 2 Comments

Entertainment, History and Genealogy, Local

This morning I loaded up the photo and recording gear and headed up to Furman for the 2009 Greenville Scottish Games. It was a great day to be outside – finally no rain, and not too terribly hot. I decided to check out the games, and see if I could get a bit more information on family history.

The crowds were gathering, but not too back. Shuttle buses were running from the parking areas, so I boarded one. I should have walked. The bus I was on circled the same route twice until it had enough people to head on up to the games proper. I was beginning to wonder if we were on some perverse infinite loop.

I made it to the games and shelled out the rather pricey $15 for admission. This gained me entrance to a wonderland of Gaelic activity. In one field were the athletic competitions – caber toss, sheaf toss, and hammer throw. In another were the sheep dog trials. A tent was set up for dancing competitions, and pipers were competing on a hill near Cherrydale. There were vendors for food and Gailic stuff set up near the stadium, along with a large tent with a stage for bands. The main field was ringed with the clan tents, and each of the aforementioned competitions were featured on the main field at one point or another. Quite a lot to see.

Stimulust

June 6, 2009 Tom 2 Comments

Rants

[Warning – unabashed political rant ahead]

I’ve been rather quiet on the subject of our idiot governor and his refusal to apply for stimulus funds. Now that the matter is settled, I wish that my former classmate would just shut up and slink away until his term is up. This has been a case of the worst type of political grandstanding at the expense of the citizens of our state.

Whether or not you agree with the concept of stimulus funds in general is moot. The funds had been allocated. If Sanford had not applied for them the funds would have been redistributed to other states. Yet, the people of South Carolina would still have had to pay for the stimulus funds through our taxes. It would be a case of us paying taxes but receiving no benefits, and solely because of a grandstanding idiot.

Friday Freaks – The Ekronoplan

June 5, 2009 Tom No Comments

Weirdness

In my RSS feed reader I have a folder for websites called “Weirdness.” This folder orgnizes feeds from such unusual sites as Awkward Family Photos, Cracked, Mental Floss, Fail Blog, and Dark Roasted Blend, among others. Sometimes I’ll get a link to a new website that joins the list of weird feeds. Every now and then something pops up on one of those sites that is worthy of more than just a bookmark or a Tweet. So, I’m going to try to highlight the best of these with a Friday Freaks post on, you got it, Fridays!

Today’s Freak comes from Dark Roasted Blend, and it’s the Ekronoplan, an unusual ground effects vehicle from the Cold War Soviet Union that is part boat, part, aircraft, and all weirdness. The Ekronoplan is so weird, in fact, that DRB devoted two posts to this unusual vehicle.

Google Squared

June 5, 2009 Tom 2 Comments

EdTech, General Technology, Internet

Google has released two cool new products this week. First, there is a major update to the user interface for Street View. The transitions between scenes are much smoother, and it reminds me of Microsoft’s Photosynth technology. One gets the feeling of looking around corners, and actually being immersed in the environment. For a good example, take a look at Times Square in New York.

As cool as this is, I’m even more excited about the public release of Google Squared, a new search product that creates tables for search results. I had mourned the demise of Google Notebook, and haven’t really played around with Search Wiki, which is supposed to replace it. This new product is an excellent tool for research and comparison.

Unrest in the Neighborhood

June 4, 2009 Tom 2 Comments

Local, Rants

The other day as I was heading out of our street I spotted a small yellow sign advertising a community “meet and greet” at our local swimming pool. I decided that it would be a good opportunity to see some of our neighbors, so I made plans to attend. Unfortunately, it turned out to be more of a “meet and beat” with complaints overriding any socializing.

The meeting included residents from our greater neighborhood, bounded by the four major streets. There was one neighbor from our street, and a good friend from several blocks away. In all, about 25 people gathered.

Down to the River to Pray

May 31, 2009 Tom No Comments

Paddling

The symbol of a river figures prominently in religious iconography, Crossing over Jordan, etc. The concept of baptism also figures strongly in this symbolism. Instead of going to church on this lovely Sunday, I decided to explore these symbols directly, with a paddle down the Green River. Bob Donnan and I rendezvoused at the take … Read More “Down to the River to Pray” »