South of the Border

How it All Started
In 1949, Mr. Alan Schafer built a simple 18 x 36 foot beer stand known as South of the Border Beer Depot. As it adjoined the North Carolina counties, which were dry of alcoholic beverages, business boomed. A few years later a 10-seat grill was added and the business was re-named South of the Border Drive-In.

In 1954, Mr. Schafer added 20 motel rooms. Materials for the addition were shipped to “Schafer Project South of the (North Carolina) Border”. Mr. Schafer shortened the name of his business to South of the Border.

Business was steadily expanded with Mexican trinkets and numerous kitsch items imported from Mexico. The site itself also began to expand to include a cocktail lounge, gas station and souvenir shop. In 1962, South of the Border expanded into fireworks sales, potentially capitalizing on the fact fireworks were illegal in North Carolina. In 1964 it was announced that the route for I-95 would pass right by South of the Border, and the facility would be next to two exits and within view of the highway. By the mid-1960s, South of the Border had expanded to include a barber shop, drug store, a variety store, a post office an outdoor go-kart track complete with other outdoor recreational facilities and the 104 feet (32 m) tall image of the mascot, Pedro.
https://www.sobpedro.com/our-history

jpg compression artifact

JPEG compression artifacts are visual distortions that occur when an image is compressed using the JPEG format, which is lossy compression method. These artifacts become more pronounced at lower quality settings or with repeated saving.
What Are JPEG Compression Artifacts?
• Blockiness: JPEG divides images into 8×8 pixel squares, and heavy compression can cause visible edges or “blocks” between these squares, especially in areas with smooth gradients (e.g., skies).
• Color Banding: Subtle color transitions may appear as distinct bands due to reduced color information.
• Blurring: Fine details can be lost, making edges or textures appear soft or smeared.
• Noise or Halos: Around high-contrast edges, you might see ringing or halo-like effects.–Mr. Grok

Zone 5

Zone 5

In photography, Zone 5 refers to a middle gray tone in Ansel Adams’ Zone System, a technique for controlling exposure and development to achieve desired tonal values in a photograph. The Zone System divides the tonal range of a scene into 11 zones, from Zone 0 (pure black) to Zone 10 (pure white). Zone 5 represents a neutral, 18% gray reflectance, which is the midpoint of the tonal scale and typically corresponds to a correctly exposed average subject, such as a gray card or average skin tones.

Key points about Zone 5
Exposure: It’s the standard reference for light meters, which are calibrated to render a subject as this middle gray tone. For example, if you meter a scene and expose as the meter suggests, the subject will appear as Zone 5 in the final image.
– Tonal Context: Zone 5 serves as the anchor for placing other tones in the image. Photographers use it to decide how to adjust exposure to shift lighter or darker tones to other zones (e.g., placing a highlight in Zone 7 or a shadow in Zone 3).
– Practical Use: When using the Zone System, a photographer might meter a subject they want to appear as middle gray (Zone 5) and then adjust exposure or development to ensure other parts of the scene fall into desired zones for contrast and detail.

In digital photography, Zone 5 still applies as a reference for proper exposure, often used in histograms or exposure metering to ensure a balanced image. For instance, exposing a gray card to fall around the middle of a histogram aligns it with Zone 5.
Mr.Grok