Click on photo to see full version or larger version. Photos from 2015. The first is of a magnolia tree in my yard on January 31, 2015 before the snowstorm. The other snowy photos were taken on campus the next day (February 1, 2015). The flower macro photos were taken with a cell phone (Galaxy S5) by holding a simple 10x loupe with LED lights. I was very surprised by the results! (I did some editing to increase sharpening, etc. with the app Snapseed.) Scroll to the end of the page to see more. The flowers shown here are Rudbeckia subtomentosa (sweet black-eyed Susan, three photos), Solidago (goldenrod), two flowers the names of which I don't recall, and Echinacea purpurea (purple coneflower).
Here's a chess game I played to a draw in 2008 against an International Master (IM). An IM is the level below a Grand Master in chess.The IM is playing white and I am black. The buttons below the image of the chessboard allow you to move through the game or pause the auto-play. We were playing via the Internet Chess Club. The day before I played him using the same opening (an unusual opening called the North Sea Defense) and was beaten by him. Once you know that the IM was 16 at the time and he was playing 20 people simultaneously, it's a less cool accomplishment. Still...
I annotated this game but don't know where those notes are now. If I find them, I'll post them.
I annotated this game but don't know where those notes are now. If I find them, I'll post them.
[Event "ICC 30 30 u"]
[Site "Internet Chess Club"]
[Date "2008.02.15"]
[Round "1"]
[White "IM"]
[Black "Doug Hess"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ICCResult "Game drawn by mutual agreement"]
[Opening "Robatsch (modern) defense"]
[ECO "B06"]
[NIC "KF.06"]
[Time "2"]
[TimeControl "1800+30"]
1. e4 g6 2. d4 Nf6
3. e5 Nh5 4. Be2 d6
5. Bxh5 gxh5 6. Qxh5 dxe5
7. dxe5 Qd5 8. Nf3 Qe4+
9. Be3 Qxc2 10. O-O Qg6
11. Qh4 Rg8 12. Qg3 Nc6
13. Nc3 Bg7 14. Qxg6 hxg6
15. Nd5 Kd8 16. Rfd1 Bd7
17. Ng5 e6 18. Nxf7+ Kc8
19. Nf6 Bxf6 20. exf6 Rf8
21. Ng5 Rxf6 22. Rac1 b6
23. Nf3 Be8 24. Nd4 Kb7
25. Bg5 Nxd4 26. Bxf6 Ne2+
27. Kf1 Nxc1 28. Rxc1 Bb5+
29. Ke1 Rf8 30. Be5 c5
31. f4 Rf5 32. g4 Rf7
33. Kf2 Rd7
34. Rc2 Bc6 {Game drawn by mutual agreement}
1/2-1/2
Another drawn game against another IM, who is playing white. This was also an exhibition match in which the IM was playing 20 games simultaneously on the Internet Chess Club. This reverts to the same unusual opening as above. Sometimes odd openings can give you a leg up on a stronger player.
[Event "ICC 45 30 u"]
[Site "Internet Chess Club"]
[Date "2013.07.13"]
[Round "1"]
[White "IM"]
[Black "Doug Hess"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ICCResult "Game drawn by mutual agreement"]
[WhiteElo "2411"]
[BlackElo "1300"]
[Opening "Robatsch (modern) defense"]
[ECO "B06"]
[NIC "KF.06"]
[Time "13:10:59"]
[TimeControl "2700+30"]
1. e4 g6 2. d4 Nf6
3. Nc3 d5 4. e5 Nh5
5. Be2 Nc6 6. Bxh5 gxh5
7. Be3 Bf5 8. a3 Rg8
9. g3 e6 10. h4 f6
11. Nf3 Bg4 12. Bf4 fxe5
13. dxe5 d4 14. Ne4 Rg6
15. Qd3 Bg7 16. O-O-O Qe7
17. Rde1 O-O-O 18. Ned2 Qc5
19. Ng5 Bf5 20. Qc4 Qxc4
21. Nxc4 b5 22. Nd2 h6
23. Ngf3 Rd5 24. Re2 Bxc2
25. b4 a5 26. Ree1 Ba4
27. bxa5 Nxa5 28. Re4 Rc5+
29. Kb2 Rc2+ 30. Kb1 Bf8
31. Rc1 Rxc1+ 32. Kxc1 Bxa3+
33. Kb1 d3 34. Nd4 Nc4
35. Ka2 Nxd2 36. Bxd2 b4
37. Nb3 Rg7 38. Bxb4 Bxb3+
39. Kxa3 Bc2 40. Rd4 Rd7
41. Rxd7 Kxd7
42. Bd2 Kc6
1/2-1/2
The photos below were taken with a cell phone (Samsung Galaxy S5). The first four photos were taken with a loupe placed in front of the cell phone lens. To make these macro photos come out nicely requires extra light, so I purchased a loupe with an LED light on it (very inexpensive) and, for some, I also placed the flowers under or near a table lamped. The first two photos are of Centaurea cyanus (blue cornflower or bachelor's button), then a Echinacea purpurea (purple coneflower), and Salvia azurea (blue sage). The monarch butterfly grew up on some Asclepias incarnata (swamp milkweed) I planted and is drying its wings on a cosmos flower. In the final photo, Azul the Cat is judging you.
