File Under: The Heisenberg Principle in Everyday Life

Put way too simply (and probably inaccurately), the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle states that the act of observing an event affects the outcome of that event.  In the context of the blogosphere, we can restate it as "Knowing that you may write about something totally affects.....Everything!"

That realization hit me soon after leaving Ithaca for Rochester on Thursday morning.  Call it the "Blogenberg Attention Re-direction Principle" or maybe the "Heisenblog Self Absorption Principle".  As long as it doesn't require me to account for the velocity of a photon in a vacuum, any title will do.

Whatever name you give it, the blog factor did affect my thinking.  Like any normal day, I headed out on roads I've driven hundreds of times before.  But this time I had a camera on the seat next to me and thoughts like "what can I take pictures of today" or "which side of the lake has the best light" and "is there anything interesting I might be able to say about that" whirring around in my head.  I found myself thinking about the drive in ways I never had before and visualizing 5 minutes down the road for spots that might be good photo or comment opportunities.

Which in hindsight sounds contrived and self indulgent....but this is a blog after all.  As a reader, you take your chances anytime you load a page.

I needn't have worried.  Pictures present themselves and something to say flows naturally from there.  Plus it was a classic upstate New York fall day with the sky changing from threatening steely grey to brilliant blue every few minutes and filled with fantastically dramatic cloud formations.  I'm not talking about the fluffy balloon animal clouds of summer that remind you of dragons and poodles, but the gathering storm type that makes you look over your shoulder, just to make sure nothing is descending from them.

Classic Upstate NY fall sky over Cayuga Lake

And again, just south of Aurora

Once more, with feeling

We have clouds year round of course but there is something about the fall variety that is special.  The weather in fall tends to be windier, wetter and colder.  Maybe that combines somehow to make clouds that just seem bigger, darker and somehow more theatrical.

From when I was small, I can remember my parents (both American historians) talking about the dramatic nature of the upstate sky and whether or not it had played a role in the religious fervor of the 19th century known as the "Second Great Awakening".  Activity in the communities of Western and Central NY was especially vigorous in terms of revivals and the founding of new religious movements, most notably Mormonism in Palmyra, NY.  In fact, our little part of the world was referred to as  "The Burned Over District" because of the extreme zeal and number of new movements started here about.

I don't know what role the clouds had in all of that.  They certainly have never made me speak in tongues or want to found a religious movement (although I have been thinking about starting the Church Of The Flying Stuffed Monkey, but that is not cloud related).  They do make me stop and look at the sky every now and then.  I think I may even have seen Zeus peeking out from behind the most dramatic cloud banks every now and then so maybe...

But back to what was to be seen last Thursday.  In my last post, I had the advantage of Lake Champlain or the Green and Adirondack Mountains as the background for most of the pictures.  Thursday's trip was more about what an ordinary day looks like.  And most days it looks like the New York State Thruway.

New York Thruway toll booth...gotta love E-ZPass

NY State Thruway seen over the dashboard

Probably 250,000 of those million miles I've driven have been on the Thruway.  The monotony and regularity of the road is a big part of why I try to seek out new routes whenever possible.  Still, the Thruway goes through beautiful country and the camera has shown me that you can get a new take of a familiar view, just by freezing what is normally seen at high speed.

Corn field on Rt 318 at 50mph.  Okay, I admit it, this isn't from the Thruway.  Sue me.
Rt 318 is how to get from Rt 20 to Rt 414 and then to the Thruway.  This field is less than 2 miles from the toll booth, so I feel justified in using it.

Getting passed by an 18 wheeler in the rain on the way home

Hopefully, creating a static moment from a panorama of motion can give a different perspective.  Or at least capture something that is cool looking.

Note on safety.  The pictures taken when the car is moving are not actually aimed.  I never look through the view finder but just point the camera in the general direction of what I want to capture and press the button, taking a lot of shots very quickly and hoping to get lucky.  I go back and pick out the good ones later, once I've stopped.  If I miss something, no big deal, I'll be back on most of these roads soon enough.

So how will I account for and combat the "Blogenberg Principle"?  I guess I won't.  Except I will remember  to put the camera in the car and to just wait for the pictures to suggest themselves.  I only have to push the button.

On a side note for those who read the last post, the last time I filled my tank the auto-shutoff clicked at 9.2 gallons (11.2g tank).   It was a bittersweet moment....