Daily Archives: August 19, 2026

World Photography Day

Photography,

I was not aware of this celebration until I played Spark, a phone app I recently downloaded. It is a series of little games related to a daily theme. Today was dedicated to World Photography Day. This unofficial global event originated in India in the 20th century as mostly in-person events. The Internet helped it spread and eventually settled in as an annual event. The holiday recognizes the invention of the daguerreotype by Louis Daguerre in 1837. This process was the genesis of photography. The French government gifted the process to the world for free on August 19th, 1839.

Choosing a favorite photograph is a challenge so I decided to browse my Flickr photo stream and choose the first one that spoke to me. This photograph depicts the James River Footbridge near Snowden, Virginia. It is part of the Appalachian Trail. We visited in October 2025.

photograph of wooden footbridge over the James River

Never Mind

teaching, work

“The best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men / Gang aft agley”
Robert Burns

I am knee deep in grading the final projects for the summer semester but looking forward to trying out retirement. I even announced it to the world, or at least the few people who read this blog.

Then the email from the department chair arrived yesterday evening: two sections of an undergraduate information literacy course are available for the first term. The course is developed and just needs a facilitator. It will mean working through the weekend as the semester begins Monday. I said yes. The money isn’t great but it helps stave off social security. Plus, of all the jobs I have done in my career, I love teaching the most. Even asynchronous, online courses offer opportunities to connect, learn and grow with other educators.

So, full retirement is on hold at least through the end of this year. We shall see what 2027 brings!

Now, back to grading.