Gerald R. Lucas

Mailer Conference

Holy moly. What a busy couple of weeks. As you can see by the dearth of posts to this blog, I have been occupied elsewhere, including a wedding, a conference, and several other things. The wedding was great. I was the official photog, but I was also a guest. Autumn and ...

MSC Email Issues

On July 22, 2009, Macon State College's Office of Technology Resources CIO turned off secure POP3 and secure IMAP access to email. Apparently, some phishers obtained access to the system because some users replied to their emails with sensitive information. As a result, the maconstate.edu domain became blacklisted. The reaction ...

The New Kindle 3

This looks like something that every one of my students would enjoy. Finally, a technology to get even the most apathetic student reading. What can't digital technology accomplish? I also like their tagline: "So advanced, even illiterates can use it!" See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

Some Thoughts on Health Care

[An excerpt from a Facebook discussion.] There needs to be an affordable public option. Period. It should focus on preventative care, education on nutrition, premium incentives for exercise and body weight, and incentives for states to build parks, bike lanes, and exercise facilities. The health care discussion and reform needs to ...

London 2010!

The new European Council London Study Abroad brochure is out, and it features my photography. Unfortunately, I'm not going next summer, but my colleague and friend Heather is. So, you should sign up! Check out the European Council web site for more information. Seriously, this is one of the best experiences ...

New 24-70 L

I got it today: a new Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L USM lens. This is the last one I needed to complete my starter professional kit. Couple it with the Canon EF 15-35mm f/2.8 L USM and the Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS USM, and I have coverage from ...

The All-New (Again) grlucas.com

OK, I know this is the tenth time I've tried this, but here goes again: I now have a front-end to my photography biz (again), grlucas.com. I decided I really did need a place to highlight my photography other then this site, which is really for my academic life. So, I've ...

More Plato…

Rediscovered an early essay I wrote on book ten of Plato's Republic: In Book X of the Republic, Plato states: "all poetical imitations are ruinous to the understanding of the hearers, and that the knowledge of their true nature is the only anidote to them." Plato believed that imitation of sensible ...

Plotinus on Beauty

"We ourselves possess beauty when we are true to our own being; our ugliness is in going over to another order; our self-knowledge, that is to say, is our beauty; in self-ignorance we are ugly."

WCWJU

I'm thinking about starting a religion. Seriously. It seems that only narratives about belief and faith get anywhere in this country these days. Facts are irrelevant -- too pedestrian. Loud opinion is king, and my don't we have plenty of it to go around? Not only do we like opinions, but ...