We're not in Kansas anymore, Toto!

So we made it to Radford, VA. Left home around 10AM and arrived in Radford at 11PM after about 700 miles of driving, 2 fill-ups, several pitstops, and a short detour to the Super Walmart of Roanoke (which lived up to its Super moniker).

We avoided touching 95S and thus avoided all the mean and nasty traffic around DC and Baltimore and elsewhere. In fact we never once hit any traffic. 81S in PA was completely overrun with 18-wheelers and the shredded tires shed from these vehicular monsters. With only 4 meek wheels, I felt very much in the underpriveledged minority.

MD and West VA were a breeze. Virginia has an insane number of caves and caverns with all sorts of crazy names like "Weyers Caves", "Forever Cavern", "Visit our gift shop we have a Cavern, too!". Why does Virginia need so many caverns? Well to hide the bodies of course. Check out the photo above (click to see better). I don't even want to begin to think what horrors lurk inside that heap of plastic bags. Gross!. Ohh, and take a look at the vanity license plate. Very classy indeed.

Well, got another long day ahead of us tomorrow. We didn't meet up with Jenna, Allison, Kelsey and Jan. They didn't make it this far and holed up in Roanoke for the night.

Radford's Comfort Inn has a pool that must be 130F. Amy loved it. Although, had it been hot we probably would have loathed it. Oh and all the toilets in the Comfort Inn are named after Dorothy's dog in the Wizard of Oz: Toto. Very appropriate for the weary traveler.

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From the Road

From the Road

Magda you're amazing! (Great comments.) Emily regrets that she can't be at the (first ever?) sing at her house this weekend. We'll all be there in spirit!



Passed Dickinson College in PA. Emily beamed proudly.



-Posted by Amy

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And we're off!

And we're off!

Intended departure time: 9 - 10am.



Actual departure time: 10:03, not including misc. errands.



Number of forgotten items realized: zero, so far.



Current outlook: very good.

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Emily Goes South

Emily Dickinson works on beating time upon receiving a telegraph of her expected trip to Alabama.

Meet Emily Dickinson, the obsessively private lyrical poet from Amherst Massachusetts. This cute and cuddly stuffed likeness of Emily was given to us yesterday by our soon departing Magda (fare thee well). Amy, Emily and I had a long discussion over breakfast and it was decided it was time for Emily to shed her reclusive veil, escape Amherst and see a bit of the world. Emily will be accompanying us on our travels to Alabama tomorrow where she will meet new and interesting people in far off lands. She is very excited.

Stay tuned for more updates on Emily's adventures.

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Julian Beever's pavement drawings

This guy is awesome! It must take him forever to make these masterpeices. Somehow I think he probably hates when it rains. I admire people who have the patience to make transitory art such as sidewalk art, ice sculptures or carved pumpkins. It would simply break my heart. Although any regrets are probably easily allayed by paychecks from Coca Cola and Sony.

Julian Beever's pavement drawings

And more here!

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Going to Alabama!

It seems like every weekend has been filled with singing this summer. The Albany All Day, the Pioneer Valley All Day (and subsequent singing marathon which follows), and the usualy weekly and monthly sings. Sacred Harp has kept us very busy, particularly the PVADS where Amy was secretary and I was diligent drinksmaster and self-nominated photographer. Sadly, Amy and I decided not to go to the Connexion & Ingalls Bicentennial All Day in VT. Having planned to go, at the very last moment we thought it best to save up our stamina, in both driving and singing, for the our trip down to Alabama for the Young People's Sing (Saturday, July 30th) and the Lacy Memorial Sing (Sunday, July 31st).

I've never been to Alabama although I have been down south (Bristol, TN) during the Summer months. That refulgent glowing orb in the sky with brighter flames arrayed should be very enlightening. Today I bought my first pair of swim trunks in over a decade, specifically for this trip. The hotel has a pool and I plan on getting my money's worth by using it extensively.

Of course the real impetus for this trip isn't to sweat and wither, but rather to sweat and wither and sing in the company of the fine southern folks, many of whom come up north for our annual convention. Everyone I've talked to about singing in the South tell me things such as: "It's the greatest singing ever", "It's like a dream--unbelievable!", "The people are so wonderful", "You're going to have such a great time". Having sung every Tuesday night in Northampton, which boasts a frequent turnout of strong and talented singers and a beautiful space with wonderful acoustics, I would have to admit I feel very blessed, if not spoiled, by the glorious noise we rouse up each week. But the people showering the accolades upon the South are the same people whom I share this wonderful experience with each Tuesday. So there must be something more to it all and I will find out in less than a week. I have a feeling that this trip will be an annual event for Amy and I.

We're planning on driving down, following in the tire tracks of the many who have made this voyage before use. Thursday morning we embark and aim to reach the Comfort Inn at Radford, VA and on Friday we complete the final leg of the journey and find our way to the new Holiday in Fort Payne, AL.

I will have my camera, my laptop, and complete wireless Internet access for the whole trip (compliments of T-Mobile and The Holiday Inn) and plan on adding some updates on our trip. Stay Tuned!

Postscript: My mantra for the week: I will not bounce when I lead. •

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Photo of the Week: July 24th 2005

A lily pad glides across Lake Metacomet

One of our simple summer pleasures is taking our Coleman rubber dinghy out on the high seas. Well, not quite the high seas, but a medium size lake down about a mile from our house. It affords me a lethal dose of sunlight, a dash of tranquility that only water can impart (if the motorboats aren't zooming around) and some much needed exercise. I can't imagine upgrading to a larger more motorized vessel. The raft is akin to floating around in an oversized couch: it's soft and smooshy and you can just ease into it and be quite comfortable. What could be better than that?

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Zen and the Art of Web Design

I've been designing web sites commercially since 1999. And like the cobbler whose own children go shoeless, I've never managed to cobble together my own personal web site. So this Summer, having cleared my plate of large jobs, I set forth to come up with a plan for my own web site, the site you are currently viewing.

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Photographing Sacred Harp Singing

On the off chance that someone is interested, here's some notes regarding my photography of Sacred Harp sings. I don't claim to be an expert at photography, photographing Sacred Harp, or singing Sacred Harp for that matter. I am very much a student at such pursuits and will most likely be a student for the rest of my life. Nonetheless, I offer some of what I have learned in hopes that it can help others.

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Photo of the Week: July 17th 2005

Just one of our many flowering window boxes shot from below.

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The Common Desk

A couple years ago I built my own desktop. It took about a week of cutting, sanding, hammering and waxing. When I was done I had created a desktop that struck a perfect balance between my creative working space and the legions of electronic devices (printers, phones, monitors, etc.) which threatened to take over. Something that no prefab particle board arrangement could promise. I was happy and productivity shot up
something-eight percent.

Do you feel a little uninspired by your workspace? Check out "The Common Desk", a fabulously constructed, richly humorous film by the creative broadcast design company "Belief". It's 40 minutes long but it will be the best 40 minutes you waste this week. And if you're in the creative field or just feel the need to blow another 40 minutes of your life check out "Pollinate : Chain Reaction".

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Continuous Ink Feed Systems

Anyone who has a inkjet printers and uses it with any frequency knows that manufacturers are making a killing selling inkjet cartridges. Oftentimes the cost of new cartridges is a significant percentage of the cost of the printer new. In fact one of my earlier printers, a Lexmark cost exactly the same as a set of color and black cartridges for that very printer.

Early in my business I needed a good printer to run proofs on. I sprung for the Epson 1280, a wide-format printer which cost me a small fortune. Cartridges for this beast were around $45 for a color and black set. But given how often I use it I could see it was going to bankrupt me rather quickly.

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Photos from the Pioneer Valley All Day Sing

There are a lot more photos in the gallery. Follow the link below...

Pioneer Valley All Day Sing

Comments are welcome!

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Shooting in RAW and Hitachi Microdrives

I recently started doing all my shooting in RAW as opposed to JPG mode. JPG is great for saving space since all the photos are processed in camera and compressed and saved as wimpy little 8-bit images. However, that space saving comes at a sacrifice to image quality and photo editing control. With RAW format, the raw sensor information is recorded to the card as a 16-bit RAW file, unadulterated by the camera built-in image processors. This herculean uncompressed 16-bit RAW file can then be opened in a RAW processor such as Adobe Camera Raw allowing you the ability to modify the image with total control, a true luxury compared to JPGs. But more on RAW processing in a later post.

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Photo of the Week: July 10th 2005

On the Same Level as a Toad

Every once in a while I capture a photo that comes out perfect. No cropping, no color adjustments, nothing is needed to make the photo pop. This is one of those photos. Captured a few years ago with my my now dated Minolta Dimage 7Hi, this photo is one of my personal favorites.

As Amy was watering the lettuce in the garden she found she had also watered a rather large toad and called me out to take a look. Not being one to let a photo op pass me by I grabbed my camera and got down on my hands and knees. I placed the camera on the dirt and snapped these photos about 12 inches away from Mr/s. Toad. The sun was just right, the water had made the toad clean and contrasty, and the toad posed just long enough to allow me to squeeze off a few shots.

If this photo taught me one thing it would be to think outside the box when composing a picture. There were nearly an unlimited number of angles and positions I could have used to take this photo. But by getting down to eye level with the toad I was able to capture an unusual viewpoint that most of use will never see.
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Photo of the Week: July 3rd 2005

Amy cutting off Amber's Hair.

More Photos...

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100 Things About Me

Amy's "100 things" list on her own web site has inspired me to start my own list. So without further ado...

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