iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

I found a 5 pack of #Solarcan from one of their first production runs, so I installed this Solarcan, serial #562 (normally the ones I buy are in the #30,000 or more) for a few weeks in the spring - just to see if it was still good.

031

3 #Solarcan were installed at the winter #solstice '24 at #lawrenceuniversity #Bjorklunden in Bailey's Harbor, WI. Collected after the summer #solstice The first is looking south at the Chapel. The second is facing the solar array, and the last one is in the woods near the solar array.

053

These two solargraphs came from an installation at Valley New School, looking East and South on College Avenue in Appleton, WI, installed around the spring equinox and taken down in May. #pinholephotography #solarcan #equinox

040

Bbartel @bbartel.bsky.social · 21/06/2025

Here are a few Solarcan images I haven't shared yet. The first batch were taken from the roof of three elementary schools (Berry, McKinley and Richmond) in Appleton - installed in early January, and taken down in May to share with students. #Solarcan #pinholephotography #solstice

152

Here's a solargraph of the ravine at the bottom of Reid Gold course in #Appleton The #Solarcan was installed on December 21, 2024 and removed on June 18, 2025 - just a couple days before the summer #Solstice

031

Bbartel @bbartel.bsky.social · 21/06/2025

With the summer solstice yesterday, I collected a couple of Solarcan installations I had installed near the winter solstice. Enjoy the solargraph - days get shorter for the next 6 months #solstice #solarcan

Bbartel @bbartel.bsky.social · 25/05/2025

Amen. “If God intended for us to shoot vertically, he would have created man with one eye above the other.” www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/int...

washingtonpost.com

Opinion | The latest generational divide: How to hold a phone

A breakdown of why young people insist on recording videos vertically — and why older folks hate it.

Bbartel @bbartel.bsky.social · 21/04/2025

Want to teach about AI on Earth Day? How about use this article: www.yahoo.com/news/saying-... Not just power, but water too: "...using GPT-4 to generate 100 words consumes up to three bottles of water — and even a three-word response such as “You are welcome” uses about 1.5 ounces of water."

yahoo.com

Saying 'please' and 'thank you' to ChatGPT costs OpenAI millions, Sam Altman says

Being polite to your AI assistant could cost millions of dollars.

Bbartel @bbartel.bsky.social · 01/04/2025

Installing a Solarcan pinhole camera between the winter solstice and spring equinox is a unique time in the N hemisphere, with no leaves on trees and the sun isn't too high, so it gets fully captured on paper #pinholephotography #solarcan The first image is from the Oconto river, from can #38,294

2212

Bbartel @bbartel.bsky.social · 21/03/2025

Here's a few @Solarcan Puck images from the windows at Valley New School in Appleton. They have some amazing views of downtown Appleton!

061

Bbartel @bbartel.bsky.social · 21/03/2025

I've been working with 5th graders in a few elementary schools to install Solarcan Pucks around the school close to the spring equinox (facing North, South, East and West). Then they learned how to process and adjust the images to show the path of the sun over the course of a few days.

100

Bbartel @bbartel.bsky.social · 23/01/2025

Last night was perfect snowflake photography weather in Green Bay. From the inside of my windshield.

120

Bbartel @bbartel.bsky.social · 21/12/2024

A few @solarcan results from around the front yard, back yard, and down in the ravine (with a Solarcan Nebula). Front and back yard were installed in September, and the Nebula was installed in the summer. All started with trees full of leaves, eventually letting in more sun in the winter #solstice

040

Bbartel @bbartel.bsky.social · 21/12/2024

Happy Solstice! I've harvested a few @Solarcan installations and installed a few more. More to come...

Bbartel @bbartel.bsky.social · 06/12/2024

Snow squall to sun: This was difference in pressure from last night’s low of under 750 mmHg when the snow squall arrived, to today’s sunny high close to 770

Bbartel @bbartel.bsky.social · 04/12/2024

It was almost perfect snowflake photography weather earlier today. A little too warm and now too windy.

Bbartel @bbartel.bsky.social · 12/10/2024

Northern Lights pics from Thursday taken with a Pentax K-1, 10 second shutter, f-2.4 and various ISOs. We were just north of Appleton, so you can see a plane taking off from Green Bay.

Bbartel @bbartel.bsky.social · 28/04/2024

“He’s not the one caught dozing off nearly every day, slurring his words, rambling incoherently about Gettysburg, running a sparse campaign schedule or whining about the temperature” www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...

000

Bbartel @bbartel.bsky.social · 15/04/2024

Got to spend a little time with my dad taking pictures of a great horned owl family in City Park, Appleton and then a breeding pair of bald eagles across the river. There are two owlets and the mother visible. We can only see both eagles but not the eaglets yet.

110

Bbartel @bbartel.bsky.social · 10/04/2024

With some help from new friends from the History Museum in Appleton, I installed some @solarcan.bsky.social pucks on the 4th floor of the Castle. The first solargraph is facing east at Lawrence University. You can see Main Hall on the right, and it looks like the sun is coming out of the Chapel.

201

Bbartel @bbartel.bsky.social · 08/04/2024

I taped a couple @solarcan.bsky.social pucks to the sunroof of my car for a day or two, and love the output I get from driving around under the sun. Now those are maps!

011

Bbartel @bbartel.bsky.social · 29/03/2024

I had a few @solarcan.bsky.social Colour cans to install, so I did that today before the trees leaf out. I also wanted to get an angle upwards as we near the solstice so I made a crude stand that I could drill into trees. Time to wait a few months…

101

Bbartel @bbartel.bsky.social · 21/03/2024

better #sapsicle pictures with a better camera

000

Bbartel @bbartel.bsky.social · 21/03/2024

Here’s some early spring #phenomena for students to look out for if the have sugar maples - sapcicles!

100

Bbartel @bbartel.bsky.social · 20/03/2024

The vernal equinox can be a great time to harvest @TheSolarCan in the northern hemisphere. You can capture the entire path of the sun, and there aren't any leaves. This Solarcan Nebula was installed in the winter solstice, & I took it down last night. #pinholephotography #equinox #Solarcan

Bbartel @bbartel.bsky.social · 18/03/2024

Sure it’s cold(er), but it’s perfect weather for capturing pictures of snowflakes!

000

Bbartel @bbartel.bsky.social · 15/03/2024

Here's our interview with founder Sam Cornwell about Solarcan! youtu.be/7zvYh4XvFVk?...

000

Bbartel @bbartel.bsky.social · 08/03/2024

While in Austin for #sxswedu, I chose a room facing south. On Monday, I taped a #solarcan puck to my window (for calibration purposes), and gradually adjusted the angle over the week to get the solargraph right. NOTE: on Wednesday, the puck fell giving a broken arc from the sun

Bbartel @bbartel.bsky.social · 07/03/2024

"Smoke and Mirrors". Just saw this powerful visualization art at #sxsw2024 from Beattie Wolfe beatiewolfe.com/smoke-and-mi... It's art that communicates 6 decades of climate data (methane emissions) - a follow-up from her "From Red to Green" CO2 visualization beatiewolfe.com/our-planet

000

Bbartel @bbartel.bsky.social · 07/03/2024

Found in Austin: student artwork that fell out of the garage. We’ve all been there.

000

Fantastic keynote for day 2 of #sxswedu2024: It’s Time to Stop Talking About the Literacy Crisis from Spencer Russell. Watch it here! youtu.be/nD5jAxEsNl8?... And there's even a 'whoop' from me as he talks about being married to a Kindergarten teacher.

000

Sarah Rose Siskind tells #sxswedu2024 says use humor to help science communication but must be positive “if you want to be trusted, use a light touch”. Avoid aggressive humor, and definitely not boring.

Sarah Rose Siskind reminds #sxswedu2024 that people drop out of stem fields, from 4th grade through college, because of boredom. And scientific jargon.

100

Keynote for day 3 at #sxswedu2024 is science! "Science Comedy: Why It's a Thing & How to Do It" presented by science comedian Sarah Rose Siskind @srsiskind as always, sitting in the front row!

000

While in Austin for #sxswedu2024, walked a bit to see a couple remaining Moonlight Towers. Both on 11th, one still lites up at night (11th and Lydia) and one that doesn't (11th and Trinity, near the capital). Austin is the only place where Moonlight towers remain in the U.S.

000

After a couple months, I found a @solarcan.bsky.social solarcan installation that fell down from the tree where it was installed. Fortunately, I found it, and still processed it anyway. The errant sun paths and some water damage make it all the more interesting.

031