Arcane Fun Fridays – Step away from the keyboard

It’s been a long week, so I thought today I’d share a little link love, and point you to some of the sites I like to visit when I want to relax.

One of my hobbies is digital photography. I’m on my fifth digital camera (or maybe sixth, I’ve lost count). It’s a Nikon Digital SLR, the D-80. My favorite thing to take photos of is architecture, especially old buildings, and especially old abandoned buildings. There’s something about the effects of nature assaulting a building that just fascinates me.

The site that got me started is called Hours of Darkness ( http://www.hoursofdarkness.com/ ). The site specializes in both night photography and photographing abandoned things like buildings, cars, airplanes and the like.

Another site I love is Opacity ( http://www.opacity.us/ ). This site also focuses on the exploration of abandoned places. The site owner, Mr. Motts does some excellent photoshopping to create some stunning effects. Both Opacity and Hours of Darkness have very active forums, and a lot of great photos can be found there so be sure not to miss the forums on either site.

A few more sites I frequent with the same themes are Art In Ruins ( http://www.artinruins.com/index.php ), Bleeding Shutter ( http://www.bleedingshutter.com/main.php ), and Urban Desertion ( http://www.urbandesertion.com/ ).

When I’m looking for a deal, I check out Woot. http://www.woot.com/ . They only sell one thing at a time, but it’s usually a good deal. Earlier this week I bought a wireless network card for an old laptop I plan to convert to a Linux machine. (Don’t worry, I already checked, it does have drivers.) Even if you are not interested in the deals, the write ups are a riot, some will leave you in stitches.

When I’m in the mood for a podcast, something educational but having nothing to do with computers, I listen to Astronomy Cast at http://www.astronomycast.com/ . Good show, lets me relax and at the same time learn a little something.

When I need a good laugh, I really enjoy the on-line comic, Being Five ( http://beingfive.blogspot.com/ ).

And finally, when I really need a good laugh or a meaningful story, I read the blog of my own sweet wife. You can find the Southern Tinkerbelle at http://southerntinkerbelle.com .