The Lost Quarry

There's a children's book called Blaze and The Lost Quarry that my daughter read in preschool a few years ago.

Blaze and the Lost Quarry cover


It turns out that C. W. Anderson lived in Mason, New Hampshire, not far from where I live, and the lost quarry is in the woods near the center of Mason. It's a pleasant hike or mountain-bike ride and the quarry is quite large and filled with water.

Lost Quarry, Mason, New Hampshire photo by Ed Bacher


Though the quarry has not been active since the early part of the last century, there is still a great deal of evidence of the operation, including old roads, foundations, the Boston & Maine railroad bed, and some rusted cables and bolts.

Bolt, Lost Quarry, Mason, New Hampshire photo by Ed Bacher

Cyclocross

The New York Times has a nice article on cyclocross racing today.

Z-squared Building

My friend David Kaneda, who owns an electrical design firm that has worked on a number of innovative sustainable projects, has recycled an existing building in San Jose, California, to serve as his company's new headquarters.

He believes it is the first commercial building to have zero net electricity consumption and emit zero greenhouse gases. To achieve this, he and his design partners used a combination of strategies, including energy conservation, passive lighting, solar-electric panels, and a ground-based heat pump.

See this article from IEEE Spectrum for more information.

Dunstable Rural Land Trust

The Dunstable Rural Land Trust protects some beautiful woodlands just south of the New Hampshire border near Nashua. The wildlife refuge is open to hiking, biking, paddling, and birdwatching. There's a small parking area off Main Street just south of the state line.

Shaded Terrain on Google Maps

Just today, I noticed a new button called Terrain on the Google Maps interface. Very nice.

Off Track Blog

Andrew Wolfe of the Nashua Telegraph has an excellent blog called Off Track. Andrew is a reporter for the Telegraph, but he's also apparently a big trail runner, paddler, and mountain biker.

He has an excellent collection of links to trail maps near southern New Hampshire: Off Track trail maps.

Errol Morris on Roger Fenton

Great series of blog articles on Roger Fenton's cannonball photographs from the Crimean War: Errol Morris's blog.

Lowell Bridge

Bridge, Lowell, Massachusetts photo by Ed Bacher


This is a small bridge over one of the canals in Lowell near the Merrimack River.

New York Photographer

There is a deserved buzz about Eugene Salignac's photographs of New York City.

A Watershed Moment

At midnight on Tuesday, the New York Times ended its experiment in charging for some of its premium content. For more than a year they held back some of what they judged to be the most popular articles and Op Ed columnists. I know I missed reading Paul Krugman's economic and social insights . Now they're back, and I think this is clearly a case where the wisdom of the crowd has convinced a lumbering behemoth to reverse course. Although I was sorely tempted to pony up the $49.95 per year that the Times demanded for Times Select, I never quite reached the point of actually doing it. Evidently, I was not alone.

Jason Kottke has spent most of the last several days poring through the archives, and has come up with some real gems.

Mountain-Biking New Hampshire

I've been exploring a number of mountain-biking spots in southern New Hampshire, and I just disovered the My Maps feature at Google Maps. The resulting map is a work in progress:


View Larger Map

Link.

Mobile Phone Pictures

These pictures were all taken with a mobile phone, the SavaJe "Device of the Show" at last year's JavaOne in San Francisco. This was my first experience trying to take real pictures with a mobile phone, and I'm actually pretty pleased with the way these have come out.

San Francisco, California

Sidewalk Grate
My mother would look at a picture like this and say "Why don't you send me some pictures of the kids?" I do, but I still like taking pictures of things, and I couldn't pass this one up. Not bad for a cell phone picture.

San Francisco, California

Metal Chairs Near Moscone Center
I'm actually pretty happy with the exposure on this picture.

San Francisco, California

Cable Car Turntable
At last year's JavaOne show in San Francisco, I used the SavaJe mobile phone to take a few pictures around the city. These are relatively low-resolutions pictures as digital images go, and I expected to be disappointed with the pictures I took. To the contrary, I was pleased with the image quality. The exposures are not perfect, but considering this is total point-and-shoot, they're not bad. I've adjusted the image quality a bit, but have not manipulated the image other than adjusting the contrast and the tonal range.

Souhegan River Flood 2007

Amherst, New Hampshire

Pump House along the Souhegan River. photo by Ed Bacher

Souhegan River/Boston Post Road 2007

Amherst, New Hampshire

Souhegan River flooding Boston Post Road. photo by Ed Bacher

Apple Picking

Merrimack, New Hampshire

Apple-picking at Currier Orchard. photo by Ed Bacher

Baseball Season

Amherst, New Hampshire, photo by Ed Bacher

Since baseball season is starting, this seemed like an appropriate image to start off this blog.