Random Connections – Page 155 – A collection of photography and exploration focusing on Upstate South Carolina and beyond.

Two Disc Golf Courses in Two Weeks

February 8, 2009January 30, 2020 Tom 3 Comments

Uncategorized

After nearly a year of being out of the game, I’ve had the privilege of playing two different disc golf courses on consecutive Saturday mornings. While both experiences were a blast and made me want to get back to this regularly, both let me know how much had happened with the state of disc golf in the Upstate in the past year.

Grant Writing, Ganster Style

February 8, 2009 Tom 2 Comments

EdTech

Imagine , if you will, the classic heist movie. A collection of thugs pull off a bank robbery and escape with a large but finite amount of cash. One by one the thieves double-cross each other. According to South Carolina Math Standards for 3rd-5th Grade standard 1, C, the thugs realize that if with fewer … Read More “Grant Writing, Ganster Style” »

Adventures in Teleconferencing

February 4, 2009 Tom No Comments

EdTech, General Technology

Tuesday I took part in two different teleconferences, one where I was a participant and one where I was the session leader. Both used similar technologies, but difference services. Neither worked very well, but for different reasons. Conference 1 – I was supposed to drive down to Columbia for a Tech Leader’s Roundtable. With all … Read More “Adventures in Teleconferencing” »

Google Releases Google Earth version 5

February 2, 2009 Tom 1 Comment

Geocaching and Maps

Today I found out from Frank Taylor’s Google Earth Blog that Google has released version 5 of Google Earth. I had to run out and update my copies of the program right away.

At first glance there doesn’t appear to be much different. The buttons are altered slightly but the overall user interface hasn’t changed. However, there’s quite a bit new in this release, most of it under the surface (literally.)

The brand-new flashier bits in this version are as follows:

Google Ocean – greater details of the ocean floor had already worked their way into the last release of version 4. However, now users can plunge beneath the water’s surface to explore. A new folder of points of interest has been added to accompany the new feature.

Google Mars – Now users can switch between Earth, Sky, and Mars. The imagery is quite impressive. However, make sure that you de-select any of your terrestrial layers. It was a bit disconcerting to see earth-bound geotagged Flickr images on Mars.

Historical Images – To me, this is one of the coolest new features. When activated from a button on the tool bar, a slider appears. If there are any historical images of that location, slide the bar to the left to view them. It’s great for tracking changes over time. For example, here’s a view of the Reedy Falls Park area from 1994, prior to construction of the Liberty Bridge and Falls Place…

A Declaration of Independence

February 2, 2009 Tom No Comments

EdTech, Rants

Starting today, I’m doing something I should have done 10 years ago. I refuse to take sales calls of any type unless they fit one of these three criteria…

We have an active request for proposals for that specific product.
I have directly contacted your company with an inquiry about a specific product (and that doesn’t mean you happened to get my contact info from some conference or other indirect means.)
We have already established a client-vendor relationship for specific goods and/or services.

So unless your sales call happens to fit the above, don’t expect much of a response from me. I will still accept e-mails so that I have your contact information on hand, but I will not have an extended phone conversation with you, I will need attend a webinar, and I will not schedule a meeting with you.

Geohashing – A Game Based on a Comic

January 27, 2009 Tom 6 Comments

Geocaching and Maps

The XKCD comic seen above came out around Christmas of 2006, and formed the basis for a new GPS activity – not necessarily going to a random location and making out, but using random numbers to generate latitude and longitude coordinates. The process of generating the random coordinates is called Geohashing. These coordinates serve as a basis for adventure, not unlike throwing a dart on a map and then trying to reach that location. It’s a lot like Geocaching, but you don’t have to find a little container, and the coordinates change.

Goodbye to the Bahamas and Trip Reflections

January 25, 2009 Tom No Comments

Travel

I watched one last Bahamian sunrise, this time without a camera in sight. We had packed, and we were ready to head home. We had a good, large breakfast at the hotel, then went to meet our transport to the airport.

The trip home was uneventful, which was a good thing. By this time I had caught the cold that had plagued Laura for the entire trip, so we were both coughing up a storm (much to the annoyance of our fellow travelers.) There were no delays, and we arrived safely in Greenville at the appointed time.

Our luggage, however, was a different story. There was nothing awaiting us in Greenville. We were just glad it happened at the end of the trip rather than the beginning. The airline was able to locate it, and about 11:00 PM it was delivered to our house. Apparently my luggage tag had snagged in a conveyor belt and had caused damage to the bag and the delay. The contents were OK.

Kayaking and Caves in Lucayan National Park

January 24, 2009 Tom No Comments

Paddling, Photography, Travel

For our last full day in the Bahamas I had booked a kayaking tour and trip to the Lucayan National Park. Laura had been fighting a bad cough all week and didn’t feel like going, so I was on my own. After watching another stunning Bahamian sunrise, I began gathering my gear and headed down to meet the group.

I was the only one from our resort going on the tour, but there were nine others that had already been picked up, and we stopped for four more on the way out. Along with our guide, we had a party of fifteen.

Island Time

January 21, 2009 Tom No Comments

Photography, Travel

Things are more relaxed. Nothing is rushed. Everyone has a good time and things get done when they get done. That’s Island Time.

Even so, I was up at the crack of dawn, literally. Even on Island Time some habits are hard to break. However, I did have a purpose. I wanted to try some time-lapse videography with my little Nikon S50. The only problem was that I didn’t have a good tripod with me. My solution was to drag the floor lamp out onto the balcony and strap my little mini-pod to it with a Velcro strap. It looked weird…

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