Monday, December 14, 2009

asdf

I haven't put anything on here in quite some time. Too busy. About a month or two ago I tried to make a video rappelling from Alderman. The rappel was great (did it upside down too) but you couldn't see anything on the video...too dark...it was just a regular digital hand-held camera.

I've heard it through the grapevine that a metal plate has been placed over the frame of the door that leads to the roof of Gilmer so the latch cant be jimmy-ed. That is a very noble effort on the part of facilities, but unfortunately it will not stop individuals such as myself. Now I will have a legitimate excuse to climb the building instead of just doing it for fun. (Let it be said, though, that I do not recommend this to anyone. In all honesty, I also discourage it in private communication with others.)

In other news, there was supposed to be a good meteor shower tonight, and I thought about goin on the water towers for a view, but I never got around to it.

However, I did step out onto the balcony of my apartment to discover a most excellent view of my nearby surroundings. A fog has enveloped the city, and it catches all the nightlights inside its cloud, setting everything aglow. My friend lent me a camera so I could click a few snaps. Quite colorful. It would have been a good night for roofing. Click to enlarge:







Sunday, October 11, 2009

Tour de W.C.

Showed a friend the West Complex








When you ride an elevator, those are the cables that keep you from plummeting to the bottom of the elevator shaft.





A friend.


Me, myself, and I.


Monday, September 21, 2009

Tower of Light: Pics + Video

I did it. I completed one of my main extra-curricular goals that I set for myself to do before graduating. I climbed the Scott Stadium light tower that faces the AFC.

Originally I had planned to climb a different tower, but I ran into many complications that night and had to switch up my plans several times for several things.

Climbing that thing is EXHAUSTING. I was ready to take a good break when I was only 2/3rds the way up, but of course you can't really do that. It's not like a ladder where you can just slump over a bar and rest. Because of the way that it is designed, you constantly need to be pulling with your hands/arms to keep your body inwards up against the steel column so that gravity doesn't pull you away from it. Understandably, this tires you out quickly. When I made it to the lowest of the light platforms, I laid face down for at least 10 minutes to rest. Each heart beat felt like a solid punch in the chest--a mixture of fatigue and adrenaline i guess....though I also had done a lot of strenuous work before going up which added to it....also I'm probably out of shape.

I tried to capture the ascent on video with a camera slung over my back...but it didn't stay on correctly and didn't really work. I took some footage from the top but just used a borrowed digital camera which darkened everything significantly and does a terrible injustice to the actual view. The pictures are quite sub-par because I was pretty exhausted and unable to hold the camera still (also I'm not very familiar with the borrowed camera). I brought a miniature tripod/stand but it ended up not being of any use up there.

The view that I saw was incredible. All the surrounding countryside was layered in a blanket of mist, out from which rose the mountain peaks. The sky was studded with stars, and the city lights were something to behold. Also, three separate pillars of steam/smoke billowed beautifully out of the skyline. The few pictures below will give you only the faintest hint of the real thing.

You may be asking what that ridiculous-looking blanket is which is hanging up there. Well, originally it was a white blanket that I tagged and wanted to hang there to remind me of the achievement, but, in my haste to get back down, I did not fasten the "flag" as well as I should have. Thus, the next day, the wind flipped the sheet over itself 360 degrees and twisted it a bit too. This is why it currently looks like a confusing collection of colorful lines instead of the "Sm" that should be on it. Seeing it like that today was a serious FML! moment for me... Understandably I didn't feel like climbing up again there to fix it :)

This slideshow begins with pictures taken from all over UVA, and the light tower footage comes at the end. (First go to the end of the page to pause the site music so it wont interfere.) The pictures in the slideshow are not of very good quality. Perhaps I can make a new one in the future as I plan to buy a camera soon.



Click on pictures to enlarge:









Confounded wind ruined the flag. (It originally displayed the "Sm" that I occasionally tag with)

Saturday, September 19, 2009

The Ghost of Gilmer: Once upon a foggy night...

Click on pictures to enlarge.

Climbing the face


and over the top.


and the street is still.



Taken by a friend of me.


Taken by me of a friend. I think this is the coolest one.





A group of about 10 first-years came up via the chem building.

Friday, September 4, 2009

Clark in the Dark





there was a cool rainbow ring around the moon for most of the night (whenever it was behind clouds). You can't really see the moon here though since the lens collected so much light.




not me. a friend of mine

tryin different stuff









I wonder what could be going on down there.

Oh so that's what's going on. We best move on.