All posts by Bill Genereux
Comet Neowise
We went out to look for comet Neowise last evening. It was cloudy and thought it would be tough to find the comet. I started photographing the big dipper because I knew the comet was supposed to between the dipper and the horizon, but we still couldn’t see it. Only after I looked at the photos at home, I noticed that I did actually capture an image of the comet. It was just too hard to see with the naked eye and on the little dSLR screen in the field.
There was a thunderstorm to the south, so I started photographing that while we waited for clouds to clear and the sky to darken.
Once I found the comet, I tried zooming in for a closer look, but I struggled to get things in focus.
It was sharper if I zoomed out. Also, I remembered that there is less camera shake if I used a timer so I started doing that too.
We finally started to be able to see the comet pretty well.
Then we started playing around with using a flash so we could appear in a photo with the comet. But the clouds kept getting in the way so it’s a little hard to see.
By the end, we could barely see the comet at all. But we had a really fun time comet-gazing.
Em Sings National Anthem – Clifton, KS
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1529663613860815&id=179795702180953
BeatVN gifs
This gif caught my eye. This sequence is kind of mesmerizing.
More here: https://giphy.com/BEATVN/
Animated Gifs for Teachers
I believe some people have an animated gif for all occasions. You know the ones–those people who make snarky or delightful comments with a single looping image? Thoughtful teachers sometimes use a well placed visual image in their presentations and in online interactions. I think some people collect and curate a collection of imagery to use.
I know how to make my own gifs, but often, I’m too busy to make one to use a visual comment. Usually, I just search for some that have already been made.
During one such search today on giphy, I found these fun gifs created by Wheeling University athletes. Making gifs is a great idea for any school’s students to do.
The dancing ones are my favorites:
Sea Fever Song
I wish I had some recordings of myself from the songs I sang in high school. This one I sang for state music contests in my junior year. Sea Fever…
Daft Punk – Around the World
I heard this song this morning on Timmmmmmmmmmy Boy’s Reclaim Radio channel.
June Haircut
After nearly four months without a haircut, I finally got one yesterday.
Jane Elliott – Frontline: A Class Divided
This film has greatly affected the way I think and teach. It was really familiar too because our 6th grade social studies teacher at Concordia Middle School did a similar, unforgettable unit, dividing us into favored and unfavored classes. I remember being pretty irritated at our 6th grade overlords that year. Then when the tables were turned, we exacted our ruthless revenge on them.