Random Connections – Page 150 – A collection of photography and exploration focusing on Upstate South Carolina and beyond.

Photo Class Critique

May 4, 2009 Tom No Comments

Photography

Session two of our Town and Country photo class was this evening. Most of our class gathered at Diane Hopkins-Hughs studio to critique the photos we took on the “town” portion of our walk in downtown Greenville. We were to select our five best shots and print them. I gamely jumped in and printed my … Read More “Photo Class Critique” »

Belgian Delights

May 3, 2009 Tom No Comments

Local, Restaurants

NOTE: This location is now closed. We were on our own for lunch today. Laura had stuff to do at Furman, and I had a rehearsal this morning. I’d planned on something quick after rehearsal, so was en route to Taco Hell when I saw that Belgian Delights was now open. I had to give it a … Read More “Belgian Delights” »

Skype Pals

May 2, 2009 Tom No Comments

EdTech

For the past several weeks Diane McAlister’s first grade class at Reidville Elementary School has been writing to a class in Washington State, where each student had a pen pal. The culminating activity was a Skype teleconference with the other class. I had the privilege of visiting the class this past week while the conference … Read More “Skype Pals” »

Weekend Update

April 26, 2009 Tom No Comments

Local, Miscellaneous, Paddling, Photography

As Laura put it, it was a weekend for puttering, not for heavy lifting. We started with some yard work Saturday morning, raking, blowing away pollen, spreading mulch, planting flowers, and even taking a few photos of said flowers.

I had gotten a message from my blogging friend Laura Llew that John Boyanoski would be signing copies of his books, Ghosts of Upstate South Carolina and More Ghosts of Upstate South Carolina, at Poor Richard’s Bookstore in Easley. I thought it might be fun to meet John, and to finally meet Laura L in person, so we headed out that way.

Oysters on the West End

April 24, 2009 Tom No Comments

Local, Restaurants

NOTE: This restaurant is now closed. Laura had a picnic with students, so I was left to my own devices for the evening. I had dropped by the iPlace store at RiverPlace to further confuse my new computer search, when across the road I spotted Oysters on the West End. Since it was time for … Read More “Oysters on the West End” »

Tales of a “Terra”-rist

April 24, 2009 Tom 4 Comments

Geocaching and Maps

Last night I ran into a buddy of mine that happens to be an ATF agent. He gave me some inside scoop on an incident that I saw on the news earlier this week, one that’s given geocachers even more bad press.

On Tuesday someone reported a pipe bomb at the dam in Ware Shoals. The pipe was wrapped in camouflage tape and had the words “Terra Tube” stenciled on the side. My friend was called, and was on the way to investigate when he was told that it was OK, that it was just a Geocache.

It’s been interesting to watch the reaction to all of this. I know the person who placed the cache, and on his website he’s been outspoken about placing geocaches in inappropriate containers and locations. I don’t know how this one slipped past him, but it’s placed him in the position of having to make some uncomfortable apologies.

Read More “Tales of a “Terra”-rist” »

Lunchtime Earth Day Encounter

April 22, 2009 Tom No Comments

Local, Miscellaneous

On this Earth Day, 2009, I thought it would be nice to take a sandwich down to my new favorite lunch spot and contemplate nature with the sounds of the Middle Tyger flowing in the background. This is twice this week I’ve been out here, and I think I came down here at least twice … Read More “Lunchtime Earth Day Encounter” »

Desktop Dilemma

April 19, 2009 Tom 7 Comments

General Technology

My desktop computer died. It was a peaceful passing in the middle of the night after a protracted illness. While not unexpected, it’s death does mean some decisions have to be made. How should I replace it? Is it time for a paradigm shift? Should I even replace it, or just rely on a laptop? I’m just not sure.

Town and Country Photo Class

April 19, 2009 Tom 2 Comments

Local, Photography

This weekend I took part in a “Town and Country Photo Hike” class taught through Furman University’s Continuing Education program. The course was taught be photographer Diane Hopkins-Hughs, and I was looking forward to getting some new tips on photo composition, and learning about new places to shoot in Greenville. Ann Martin also helped lead the class. This session was the “town” portion, and we would be exploring the downtown Greenville area. Next session will be the “country” portion, where we head out into the Upstate somewhere.

In most of the classes I’ve taken there is a wide range of abilities and skills. You have some folks that really are just starting out, and you’ve got some that seem like they are taking the class just to show off how much they already know. Even if the class turns out to be a very beginner class, as this one did, I try my best to stay out of that latter category. I just don’t want to be that guy. Even when a class doesn’t turn out to be quite what I expect, I always try to find something to take back from it.

Getting More from Your Auto GPS

April 17, 2009 Tom 2 Comments

Gear, Geocaching and Maps

I figured it was time for a round-up. I’ve been talking a lot about doing various things with a GPS, but haven’t gone into much detail. Chances are that you got a GPS for your car because you feel like you’re directionally challenged, or you just the convenience of plugging in an address and getting directions. That’s about the extent of what most people do, but there is so much more.

Thought it might be time to talk about automobile GPSs in general, and how they can really benefit a serious rambler like myself. The one I use is a Garmin Nuvi 205, but most of what I’ll cover here should work with just about any unit. If you’re into geocaching, you’ll already be familiar with most of these concepts.

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