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Last Notes

2026-09-10 15:19:35 CEST

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While infrastructure improvements throughout Northwest Arkansas have been severely lagging behind growth (such as improved water supply lines, better mass transit, and a badly needed secondary north-south highway west of I-49) the airport has been a bright spot.
I fly out of XNA every month or so and it's consistently the best airport experience of the airports I fly through frequently. I'm sure that'll change as the region grows, but I've been impressed with how they've kept pace with growth.

2026-09-10 15:15:32 CEST

Summary of recent news for XNA - Northwest Arkansas National Airport.
- The airport surpassed Little Rock in enplanements in 2025
- The airport will be starting construction on an expansion to the terminal that will add 7 gates to meet growing demand and accommodate larger aircraft
- The new airport connector road and Interstate 42 (Springdale Bypass) opened to traffic last week
- XNA has been nominated as a contender for USA Today's best small airport in the country
https://www.axios.com/local/nw-arkansas/2026/09/09/xna-plans-expansion-concourse-gates

2026-09-10 15:09:37 CEST

This is older news, but a reminder that at the current moment, every county in Arkansas is under a burn ban with a high risk (level 3 of 4) for wildfires assessed for each county.
The entire state (100%) is in one form of drought or another, with close to 25% of the state under extreme or exceptional drought, the highest categories.
Rain starts to enter the forecast today and through the weekend, but this is going to take more than a few rainy days to resolve.
#arwx
https://mip.agri.arkansas.gov/agtools/Forestry/Fire_Info

2026-09-09 12:20:40 CEST

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There's a native plant sale later this month, but I'll skip it and save the time, energy, and resources for the spring. With cooler temps on the horizon, I'll restart yard work and prepare some new flower beds and terrace gardens ahead of the spring planting season.

2026-09-09 12:16:04 CEST

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For the lawn, I've never cared for having a manicured monoculture, but I do want/need grass to grow on our steeper slopes. When the lawn watering restrictions were implemented, that was the death knell for the fescue that I planted earlier this year in some of our shaded areas. I'm not optimistic about the chances for that grass to recover this fall or in the spring.
Weighing my options, I'd like try clover, but need to find a reputable seed dealer so I don't end up with hitchhiking invasives.

2026-09-09 12:12:20 CEST

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I've been taking stock of the impact this has had on our yard and various gardens.
Despite going with native plants, there's a tipping point to how resilient they are in the face of extreme heat and drought. If the forecast temperature drop and rain had occurred about 2 weeks ago, I think most of our plants could have recovered and put out new blooms through the fall.
Most of them hit the point of no return over the past week or so.

2026-09-09 12:09:16 CEST

All going well, today could be the last day of triple digit heat of what has been an exceptionally hot end to the summer over the past month and a half.
There are daily chances for rain starting tomorrow extending into the weekend, and then we should see daytime temperatures drop by as much as 10 degrees or more over the coming week or so compared to what they've been.
#arwx

2026-09-07 13:56:24 CEST

Sunrise over a Missouri corn field this morning with the slightest hint of cool air.
https://media.mstdn.social/media_attachments/files/117/229/623/593/765/994/original/97a4a9912a389975.png

2026-09-07 13:03:05 CEST

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There are, ironically, issues with the privacy and ad snooping on the posted news link, although my broswer blocked several trackers. I havent found a different article and will update the link if I do. The original Gamers Nexus video investigation is here:
https://youtu.be/6IFVTcM28KA

2026-09-07 12:23:03 CEST

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I dont know at what point recording audio crosses the threshold of recording conversations, but in two party consent states theres no way this can be legal. Although Im sure that they'll try to duck and say that we all agreed to this in some separate terms of service or privacy policy we agreed to in the past, even if we didnt directly consent on the device in question. Doesn't provide coverage to children, but hits home that these are not safe devices.

2026-09-07 12:17:31 CEST

Of smart TVs, I often hear the argument that if its never connected to the internet, you can maintain privacy. Except there is growing evidence about how the data is stored while the device is offline, that it will search for nearby WiFi networks, and connect to open networks if able.
Now LG TVs have been caught logging audio recordings even when the TVs appear to be off or in standby mode. Smart TVs are a poblem as long as they are plugged in.
https://www.notebookcheck.net/LG-smart-TVs-caught-logging-audio-with-screen-off-and-snooping-on-local-devices.1391214.0.html

2026-09-06 17:26:30 CEST

#SilentSunday
The Milky Way over the San Rafael Swell, Utah.
May 2019.
https://media.mstdn.social/media_attachments/files/117/224/783/639/522/662/original/81c0ceba59902c50.png

2026-06-30 05:36:18 CEST

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Just got home from a week-long vacation and the firefly population in our backyard has exploded!
Dozens of Big Dippers right around sunset, followed by near equal numbers of Heebie Jeebies after dark. May have seen a few Big Scaries as well. Yes, those are all informal names for different species.
Could very well be that the full moon is drawing them out, but I’m here for it y’all. This is the best that I’ve seen them at this house. Got several photos too that I’ll work on when I have time.

2026-06-19 16:17:44 CEST

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Sorry to be reposting this thread - I forgot that I recently locked down my account, but this is one that I want to be publicly visible and able to be freely shared and boosted.
This has turned into an unexpected seasonal passion, maybe bordering on obsession over the past couple of months. I'll be sharing more on my journey to encourage fireflies and other critters to setup shop in our backyard.

2026-06-19 16:14:52 CEST

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The Great Arkansas Firefly Hunt is also a good resource for identifying common species in Arkansas. They have one of the best firefly identification guides that I've seen to date, and would likely still be relevant for adjacent states.
https://www.arkansasfireflyhunt.com/

2026-06-19 16:14:00 CEST

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Firefly Conservation and Research has a nice website with several resources on fireflies including tips on encouraging them to visit and thrive in your yard.
https://www.firefly.org/

2026-06-19 16:13:33 CEST

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You can find more details about the firefly sanctuary at the link below. I'll share a few additional links on how to build out your own firefly habitat.
https://peelcompton.org/coler-mountain-bike-preserve/firefly-sanctuary/

2026-06-19 16:13:02 CEST

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I also went on a short backpacking trip this past weekend and saw some of the same types of fireflies (that I can now do a better job of identifying in hindsight), but at a lower density.
It's not an exaggeration that there were 100s of fireflies visible from the center viewing area of the sanctuary, and its a testament to what thoughtful design and intentionally preserving insect habitats can yield.
In addition to fireflies were other bugs at a higher density than I've seen elsewhere locally.

2026-06-19 16:12:27 CEST

Visited our local firefly sanctuary last night and it was magical! I'll try to setup for some long exposure photography next time, but it was a great experience.
There are at least 30 different species of firefly in Arkansas, and at least 11 have been identified in the sanctuary. The ones we normally see after dark in our neighborhood are Big Dipper fireflies, and they're more tolerant of artificial light. The species I saw last night can only thrive where artificial light is limited or absent.

2026-04-16 15:41:19 CEST

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There are other similar events that have happened over the past year, and I've noted a sharp drop in forecast quality and accuracy where I need it the most to perform my job duties.
The culprit here appears to be rooted in balloon launches that have been shifted, delayed, or eliminated, reducing input data that supports numerical weather models and provides critical observational data for meteorologists to review. It's a key broken chain in a system that was once the envy of the world.

2026-04-16 15:38:32 CEST

I hadn't had time to follow up on this. We used to be able to say that if a tornado hit without warning, it was a pretty good chance that you just weren't paying attention.
But a localized tornado outbreak south of the Kansas City metro on Monday evening was not captured in severe weather outlooks issued earlier in the day. And while the NWS ultimately issued a tornado watch once they realized what was happening, it happened suddenly enough to catch people by surprise.
https://www.nbcnews.com/weather/tornadoes/tornadoes-kansas-concerns-changes-national-weather-service-rcna331826

2026-04-08 14:27:02 CEST

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I'll share some before and after photos soon. Not quite at the after stage yet, but I'm excited about the progress so far and looking forward to the final 'product'.

2026-04-08 14:24:47 CEST

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Typical for the region, our yard is on a slope with a high clay and rock content that isn't favorable for vegetation growth, which means a persistent risk of washout occurring if left untended.
Currently replacing a large swath of shaded portions of the yard with a shade and heat tolerant fescue and preparing to shore up some areas along the foundation with native shade-loving plants. Lessons from past years is that if new veg isn't established by late May, the entire summer is a struggle.

2026-04-08 14:20:23 CEST

Working at a somewhat feverish pace getting new additions to the garden and yard established over the coming weeks in anticipation of a likely warmer and drier pattern that will persist throughout the summer due to El Nino.
Arkansas is already entrenched in statewide drought conditions so I'm trying to take advantage of 'cooler' temps and current precipitation pattern.

2025-08-02 13:16:22 CEST

I felt motivated this morning to revisit my photo catalog from Iceland, including re-touching some edits that were lost to an older computer years ago. This is my new spin on an old photo of Kirkjufelfoss from 2019.
#Iceland #Photography #LandscapePhotography
https://media.mstdn.social/media_attachments/files/114/958/863/055/349/179/original/ee21421b16fb0bc9.jpg

2025-07-21 22:04:39 CEST

"Corn sweat" is real, and something I was first introduced to about 11 years ago. I had just moved back home to Kansas City after spending a year working in Phoenix. A few of my first jobs including collecting soil and groundwater samples in corn fields in east Missouri along the Mississippi River.
Not only was I not fully re-acclimated to working in the heat + humidity, but it was some of the worst kind of humidity possible under the prevailing conditions.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/humidity-from-corn-sweat-intensifies-extreme-heat-wave-in-midwest-u-s/

2025-06-21 15:18:27 CEST

Haven't posted photos in a while because I'm woefully behind on editing anything new.
Case and point here - these are from a local northern lights outing along the Oklahoma/Missouri state line from October 10 of last year.
In keeping with my local sightings in the four state area, I tried to see the lights from as many states as possible, so I also have some pics from Missouri and Arkansas as well, although less vibrant due to light pollution.
#NorthernLights
https://media.mstdn.social/media_attachments/files/114/721/535/885/518/821/original/810099d9a72045bf.jpg
https://media.mstdn.social/media_attachments/files/114/721/535/974/518/723/original/244aff11c58991f5.jpg
https://media.mstdn.social/media_attachments/files/114/721/536/744/549/709/original/b6dfd33455cc2101.jpg

2025-04-11 15:36:57 CEST

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The work around had been to just download the album all at once rather than buying a song at a time, but that trick didn't work today when I downloaded a new album and it split off into two "separate" album entries that I'll now need to correct from my laptop at some point.

2025-04-11 15:35:05 CEST

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This may not be intentional, but it's a bug that exists regardless of where songs are downloaded from, originating from both the desktop app and iOS app.
The fact that it spans multiple applications points to, at best, neglect by Apple to correct software issues or at worst, that they are allowing issues in iTunes to persist to push people into subscribing to Apple Music.
I stopped using the native Music app and started using Cesium about 2 years ago to avoid the pushy subscription ads.

2025-04-11 15:30:11 CEST

Latest example of enshittification.
Something I've noticed for the past year or so is that when I purchase multiple songs from an album, or an entire album, from iTunes, the album will get split into multiple album entries in my music library.
Rooting around it seems to result from slight formatting changes to how the album is named, which results in separate entries being created. The only workaround is to sync the library to a laptop and manually change the album names in the file directory.

2025-04-02 21:12:51 CEST

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And I do know that my photos, as well as those of other photographers, have been ingested by generative AI training datasets because of this poignant example from DALL-E several years ago. The prompt was "supercell over Kansas" and the resulting image attempted to replicate photographer watermarks along the bottom of the image. My photo of a similar scene on the right provided as an example. It's shameless, and still theft.
https://media.mstdn.social/media_attachments/files/114/269/944/054/665/508/original/2fd9d3aca5421344.jpg
https://media.mstdn.social/media_attachments/files/114/269/947/311/033/605/original/12428c0396ac4245.jpg

2025-02-02 05:47:24 CET

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Adding to this list, items that I purchased yesterday (January 31, 2025) in anticipation of the imposition of tariffs today.
Avocado (each): $0.96
Bettergoods Pot Pie (family size): $8.94
The Bettergoods pot pie is a new Walmart brand item and one of the few foods both kids will eat right now, and prominently labeled as "Produced in Canada."
Gas and other foods unchanged from Jan 20, however I did find a dozen eggs for $3.50 at one of our closest Trader Joe's in Kansas City on Tuesday.

2025-01-20 13:22:38 CET

For no particular reason.
Prices on January 20, 2025 (NW AR/SW MO)
- 12 eggs: $4.17
- 1 lb ground beef: $4.63
- Gallon whole milk: $4.23
- Gallon gas: $2.67

2025-01-10 11:57:07 CET

Whelp. A firefighting aircraft struck a civilian drone, punching a hole in the wing and grounding the craft.
The law and penalties are clear - do not fly drones in the vicinity of wildfire fighting operations. Hopefully the drone pilot is found and faces the full penalties under the law.
Unfortunately bound to happen and some point, and I've seen way too many drone images and video coming out of areas with active fires this week. Time to make examples.
https://abc7.com/post/los-angeles-fires-super-scooper-firefighting-aircraft-hit-drone-flying-palisades-fire-faa-investigating/15785774/

2025-01-09 21:16:05 CET

This is a really good interactive article on how North America is a "fire continent" and that wildfire behavior prior to European colonization was very different than it is today due to changes in land management practices.
It's a blessing and a curse in that many regions have experienced a relatively quiet century or so of limited fire activity. But the absence of fire combined with climate change means these regions will see more fire over the decades to come.
https://apps.npr.org/us-wildfires-impact-environment-climate-change/

2025-01-07 01:42:31 CET

I can confirm that I started seeing these posts cropping up in my Instagram feed around the September time frame that Meta reports as rolling out the feature. I tried to "show less" of the posts, but that only increased the frequency that they were showing up in my feed. I promptly and without second thought deleted my alt accounts and deactivated my primary account in late October. Probably deleting that one soon too.
https://www.404media.co/instagram-begins-randomly-showing-users-ai-generated-images-of-themselves/

2024-12-28 16:08:15 CET

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Some of my favorite views captured within a 30 minute drive of Jasper. I spent a week here in 2021 on a writing retreat to make progress on my dissertation. I took some time most days there to be in nature, whether that was a short drive to the Buffalo River or to nearby overlooks.
#Arkansas #NorthwestArkansas #Ozarks #Photography
https://media.mstdn.social/media_attachments/files/113/731/031/911/542/160/original/0751513ff6d7febc.jpg
https://media.mstdn.social/media_attachments/files/113/731/039/095/441/239/original/9d2dd95bac4fb6a4.jpg
https://media.mstdn.social/media_attachments/files/113/731/043/407/744/213/original/f95dde1216caa5be.jpg
https://media.mstdn.social/media_attachments/files/113/731/045/264/127/721/original/a5b4e3d3bbdcea0e.jpg

2024-12-18 22:44:55 CET

In a world of bad news, some potential good news. Murder hornets eradicated from the U.S. (Washington state).
https://abcnews.go.com/US/murder-hornet-declared-eradicated-united-states/story?id=116916451

2024-12-17 18:46:21 CET

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This was the second sprayer I bought on Amazon and while it wasn't perfect, it did get the job done. The first one, advertised as an olive oil sprayer, couldn't actually move oil through the spray nozzle (too viscous). So it was probably luck of the draw that I found one that worked at all, minus the leak issue.
But that's been my track record with the majority of Amazon purchases in recent years - just barely good enough, if I'm lucky. And at this point there are few alternatives for shopping.

2024-12-17 18:43:40 CET

Had an olive oil sprayer that was purchased on Amazon a couple of years ago tip over and leak it's entire contents into the pantry - ruined everything not in a plastic or metal container.
There really aren't any ready replacements available that aren't above Amazon's poor quality standards. At this point I'm not buying anything that's cross-listed to Amazon. It's a sure sign of poorly made products. So I'm open to olive oil sprayer suggestions.

2024-11-11 22:42:48 CET

Ironing out details for our trip to Europe next month. About a week in the UK (London and Oxford) for a work meeting, followed by a few days in Paris, and then Amsterdam.
Specifically looking for food recommendations in those cities from my European followers. I have a short list pulled together from looking at online guides, but I know those are only part of the story.
The rest of the trip will be hitting the expected major attractions. But we're big on food and drink tourism wherever we go!

2024-11-08 00:58:20 CET

Reasons why I (usually) never leave anything of value in hotel rooms.
Came back to my hotel room early today to take a couple of afternoon calls and found work crews throughout the hotel replacing door locks/handles. No notification was provided to me or other patrons. "Do not disturb" signs were ignored.
Most room doors were wide open, including occupied rooms (like mine). My personal laptop that I left to lighten my backpack load was on full display to anyone standing the hallway.

2024-11-04 22:39:45 CET

Confirmed tornado in far northeast Oklahoma working its way towards NW Arkansas over the next hour. KNWA is live with local coverage.
#arwx #okwx
https://www.nwahomepage.com/weather/livestream/

2024-10-14 16:38:45 CEST

Never ceases to amaze me how much of consumerism is driven by the inability to track down replacement parts to keep otherwise functioning items working.
Latest example is our camping stove, which apparently got damaged when we moved last year and is missing the knob to adjust propane flow. OEM parts used to be available, but have been discontinued. I confirmed with some testing that it otherwise works, but isn't safe to do so without a dedicated knob. So now we will end up buying a new unit.

2024-10-09 23:31:21 CEST

Ugh. I spent half of the day messaging a coworker I thought lives in Jacksonville before realizing just now, eye wall bearing down, that they're in Tampa. Please ya'll, for any job but especially white collar jobs, let your coworkers know. An email saying "Hey, the world is literally falling apart around me, I can't get this file to you today" is completely acceptable. Please stay safe out there.

2024-09-20 11:20:10 CEST

Apple going on the record to say that a photo is "something that really, actually happened" is a stark contrast from statements from other companies, including Samsung and Google, who have said things like "there is no such thing as a real picture".
While Apple isn't immune to doublespeak, it's a big deal for them to say that "2+2=4" while their competitors try to argue that "2+2=whatever you want it to be".
There has to be consensus on what constitutes reality.
https://petapixel.com/2024/09/19/if-you-care-about-photography-apples-approach-should-have-you-cheering/

2024-08-15 01:33:17 CEST

Had a very fortunate opportunity today to join a guided tour to the bottom of Meteor Crater in Arizona. This is a bucket list stop for a lot of planetary geologists but due to the steep slopes and harsh environment the area is typically closed.
The tour was provided in conjunction with a few planetary science meetings that are happening in Flagstaff. Its been great talking about terrestrial analogs for planetary exploration over the past few days, and putting some principles to practice today!
https://media.mstdn.social/media_attachments/files/112/962/923/067/965/996/original/82b87eac6a07e343.jpeg
https://media.mstdn.social/media_attachments/files/112/962/924/263/969/333/original/35d58c6424488218.jpeg
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2024-08-13 22:28:47 CEST

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forever and always calling this area Potato Alley from now on.

2024-08-07 20:56:17 CEST

One of the bigger perks to not living near an airport is I can finally use my drone to avoid going up on our roof for basic inspections.
Like today I just needed a better visual of the eave/peak to scope out for installing a TV antenna later this month. Easy 3 minute flight to get the photos I needed and didn't need to scale the roof on a hot summer day. Winning.

2024-08-06 18:25:05 CEST

You've probably heard that the U.S. highway system was designed with stretches suitable for landing aircraft.
A stretch of highway in northeast Arkansas was closed for several hours this weekend so that Arkansas National Guard pilots could practice landing their C-130s on a straight stretch of highway.
I'm sure this has happened more frequently, but this is only the second time that I'm personally aware of. Very cool.
https://youtu.be/s3hL4Z4h8yE?feature=shared

2024-08-06 16:00:44 CEST

Finding out that Gov. Tim Walz is enough of a geography nerd that he gave a keynote address to the Esri User Conference two weeks ago just sent my approval of him into the stratosphere. Watching this right now but man, I'm excited for this ticket.
https://youtu.be/Ni8BrT0-6gM

2024-07-31 17:23:38 CEST

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this is true. My only 'success' in licensing photos was through sending ABC a bill plus added recovery fees when they scooped photos off Twitter without asking. Base rate for each photo was a comparable range - if they had just asked nicely first!

2024-07-31 17:16:58 CEST

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I tried a similar approach a while back and was also met with crickets. It sucks because I know the local outlets don't have the budget and would benefit for the sake of supporting issuing warnings or emergency coverage, but the major networks do (or rather could have the budget if they adjusted their model). I think most photographers aren't expecting to get rich, but why should CNN get ad revenue when I went to the effort to get the photo? At least help put a few gallons in the tank.

2024-07-31 17:02:32 CEST

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My interactions with major media outlets over the past decade is that most news organizations treat still images as a birthright that they should have unfettered access to at next to no cost, if any at all. I've definitely encountered that with written assignments that were expected to be done on a volunteer basis.
It's part of why I've stepped back from sharing images and stopped attempting to license storm chasing content. It's a theft-based business model that few photographers can win.

2024-07-31 17:00:12 CEST

This is disappointing but mirrors a broader trend throughout media that all but strips photographers of their rights to license content that they independently capture, either through agreements such as this, or by outright refusing to license still imagery period. I can only imagine that the ULA agreement may partially have come from media pressure, but no proof.
https://arstechnica.com/space/2024/07/ula-to-amateur-launch-photographers-work-for-me-but-not-for-thee/