prod & ponder

Ok, I haven’t been posting a photo a day while traveling over the weekend, but I have been taking the shots. From Saturday…

Muddy Creek Falls in Swallow Falls State Park, a 53 foot (largest in MD) waterfall.

A big hint for Garmin GPS users: do not follow your GPS’s instructions for getting into Swallow Falls State Park. Garmin sends you in via an unpaved trail, just barely drivable in the best of conditions. Quotes during the drive included: “WTF?!” and “Well, everything is probably ok, as long we don’t see anyone with a banjo.” To make matters worse, the park’s POI isn’t set to its actual entrance, visiting center, or parking area. As a result, it’s a bit discouraging when you find yourself on said path and the GPS announces “You have arrived!” when the only thing in sight is a random tractor abandoned nearby in the woods.

Note to self: some more chipper photos are in order.

I went down to Lafayette Park this morning to photograph the tax protest. It was wet, a small turn-out, and very much not my cup of tea ideology-wise. Still, it’s been a long time since I shot a protest, and it was a good time.

Don’t get me wrong, after years of being a nomadic adjunct, I’m thrilled to be a tenure-track faculty member with an office of my own… even if it’s a very small office that has no natural light. Fortunately, there’s all sorts of other interesting, better lit, and spacious spots to work on campus.

I spent much of today camped out in the student center, drinking coffee and grading papers. Not bad, not bad at all.

(Photo: looking up from today’s work perch.)

I’d rather be out, swinging in the hammock. But there’s a stack of papers that need grading and work to be done.

For those who celebrate the holiday, happy easter. On the passover front, I really want a bacon sandwich on toast.
(Photo of the neighborhood church.)

Well it’s been a fugly day–full of rain and a cold wind–so indoor adventure was in order. Fortunately, it was Nanotechnology Day at the Maryland Science Center, which is handy, because I’ve already decided that Ben has a future career as a nano-engineer.

There’s a lot to like about the Maryland Science Center, except for one glaring omission: the social and behavioral sciences. News flash: science is an epistemological stance, related to scientific method and not a particular subject of inquiry. Duh. And so, nifty as the Maryland Science Center is, Amsterdam’s NEMO Science Center–which includes a terrific section on the social sciences–remains my favorite.

(I’m trying to get back into the habit of taking at least one photo a day. This is the view of inner harbor from the center.)

I’m going to need to start packing two baseball caps, as Ben keeps poaching mine.

Today’s banter with a fussy boy:
Me: “Can you say doggie?”
Ben: “No”
Me: “Can you say choo choo?”
Ben: “No”
Me: “Can you say daddy? Please?”
Ben: “No”
Me: “Can you say no?”
Ben: “Nnn….” long pause…. and then he just growls.