Paul Knightly

Geologist and Photographer.

Views are mine.

Research: https://paulknightlyphotography.com/pages/research.html
Photography: https://www.paulknightlyphotography.com
Location: Northwest Arkansas, USA

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Last Notes

2026-08-19 16:53:58 GMT

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ha, that's awesome. I've done my share of peak bagging and high pointing over the years. My Dad and I "summited" Mount Sunflower about 25 years ago and left a note in the summit register noting that we proudly did so without supplemental oxygen.
It's a great way to get outdoors and to see parts of different states you wouldn't normally go to, particularly when it comes to doing county-level high pointing.

2026-08-18 14:36:13 GMT

I chose not to renew my park pass this year in protest of the government prioritizing ego over showcasing the natural beauty of the parks as in years past.
I go to parks to recreate, get off the grid, and to immerse myself in the natural world. Not to subject myself to further surveillance when I switch my phone off. I won't be setting foot on any national park or federally managed land as long as this practice is in place.
https://www.404media.co/the-national-park-service-is-using-flock-rangers-are-pissed/

2026-08-18 14:26:45 GMT

I'm trying to have "cool" thoughts and thinking ahead to crisp, fall mornings that are hopefully right around the corner.
Here's one of my favorite photos of fall, captured about 6 years ago. Morning fog is nestled amongst colorful trees in an Ozark hollow.
#Photography #Arkansas
https://media.mstdn.social/media_attachments/files/117/116/963/661/473/514/original/8821fad23c63ea7c.jpg

2026-08-12 11:13:09 GMT

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Just to hit home how unusual this is, we've lived here for 10 years and this is the first time I recall seeing any regional water use restrictions in place during that time. City-level water restrictions have been more common, but rarely weather-driven.

2026-08-12 11:05:52 GMT

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The number of burn bans across Arkansas have nearly tripled in the past day, with county level bans spanning most of the western half and central portions of the state.
#arwx
https://mip.agri.arkansas.gov/agtools/Forestry/Fire_Info

2026-08-12 10:54:10 GMT

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Due to the ongoing heat, Benton County and Washington County have placed outdoor water use restrictions based on address number for the next couple of weeks to reduce strain on the system.
If you only have time to water your plants in the evening like I do, you're out of luck - only morning watering is permitted. The notice went out yesterday, so the watering I did last night will likely have to get my plants through the next two weeks. Vegetable season is over.
#arwx
https://media.mstdn.social/media_attachments/files/117/082/145/227/571/218/original/c80167eec027dfa6.webp

2026-08-11 10:49:22 GMT

We're entering into the hottest week of the summer thus far in Northwest Arkansas. While triple digit heat is not unusual, typically hitting it at least a few times every summer, a prolonged stretch like this is.
Temperatures will hit 100 F (38 C) today and then will hit 102 F (39 C) every day between Wednesday and Sunday. Daytime temperatures will likely remain above 100 F through most of next week.
No relief in sight, as they say.
#arwx
https://media.mstdn.social/media_attachments/files/117/076/463/029/143/379/original/30b7203dc98b827c.png

2026-06-19 14:14:52 GMT

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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 14:14:00 GMT

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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 14:13:33 GMT

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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 14:13:02 GMT

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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 14:12:27 GMT

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.

2026-05-21 17:37:42 GMT

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Second are fireflies. We have friends that own land outside of town and their field was full of fireflies at dusk this weekend, but I've only seen one in our neighborhood so far this year, where last year it was possible to see dozens at a time from our porch.

2026-05-21 17:37:33 GMT

I'm about to start a calendar or diary of various insect appearances around our yard. I'm currently working off my past recollections, which are hand wavy at best, inaccurate at worst.
Two things that have risen in prominence this week:
First is that despite a strong showing March-April, I've observed a drop-off in bees, noting that I haven't seen any at all this week, despite our native flowers starting to come into bloom.

2026-05-16 13:33:36 GMT

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Latest update to the subscription news saga - it looks like some point recently (for me in the past week) the BBC now requires a subscription to access any of their content - $9/month or $50/year. The BBC has been my primary non-American news outlet for the better part of the last decade plus. It looks like the CBC is still available, at least for now.

2026-05-09 15:30:00 GMT

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The kicker is that I have *some* disposable income that I can put towards this, but many people don't.
There have been warnings about this for several years now, but the risks of a tiered media ecosystem developing seems more and more likely.
Do we want an information ecosystem that's defined by those who can afford to pay for the news (and consequently, who they are paying), and those who cannot afford to pay for their news and are fed AI or misleading slop?

2026-05-09 15:27:37 GMT

It looks like NBC is the latest major news network to paywall articles in recent weeks (and a substantial volume of them at that).
I'm willing to subscribe and pay for good journalism, but I can't pay for everything. So, I'm increasingly forced to one of two options:
1. Subscribe to selected outlets, but with the result of being siloed.
2. Don't pay for news, but have access to an increasingly limited supply of free/poor quality journalism/articles.

2026-04-16 13:41:19 GMT

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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 13:38:32 GMT

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

2026-04-15 15:27:15 GMT

It's 2026 and the baseline expectation is that at any moment, something as innocuous as a company that makes shoes marketed as environmentally friendly could pivot to building AI data centers and the market will go crazy. I hate this timeline.

2026-04-10 15:24:07 GMT

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my 'problem' now is that I have a friend group that includes a couple of big movie buffs who have created literal shrines to their DVD collections, either on multiple shelves or in a dedicated closet or cabinet.
I'm not one for keeping up with the Jones's, but they've shown me the light that DVD storage can be an art in and of itself. Mine just has significantly fewer collector's editions than theirs lol.

2026-04-10 14:42:24 GMT

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we only pay for Netflix and a Hulu/Disney bundle at this point, primarily for kids shows. Otherwise antenna for TV and DVDs for movies that we like watching frequently. I need to start taking more advantage of our library's DVD collection.
I've really taken towards browsing the DVD selection at antique stores. There can be a lot of good finds for DVDs in good condition for just a few bucks.

2026-04-10 14:38:14 GMT

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Very quickly reaching a point where the value proposition provided by streaming falls out, if not already.
Many streaming platforms don't report on total subscriber numbers, so I wonder how much of recent price increases are related to them compensating for losing subscriber revenue or missing growth targets because they're losing existing customers while adding new ones.
Either way, price increases plus decreased options in their libraries has led to increasing my DVD collection.

2026-04-10 14:36:44 GMT

PC Mag echoing the pain of the masses today.
Streaming is somewhat unavoidable in the current media ecosystem if there are certain shows or broadcasts that aren't available legally by other means. So while I don't subscribe to either of these services, I do feel the pain with the recent price hike to Netflix.
https://media.mstdn.social/media_attachments/files/116/380/895/669/538/117/original/5e3f718793e1ce20.png

2026-04-08 20:52:04 GMT

Ars sat down with Andrew Guthrie Ferguson to discuss his new book, "Your Data Will Be Used Against You".
Really insightful interview and I'll add this to my reading list.
https://arstechnica.com/culture/2026/04/how-our-digital-devices-are-putting-our-right-to-privacy-at-risk/

2026-04-08 12:27:02 GMT

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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 12:24:47 GMT

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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 12:20:23 GMT

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.

2026-02-21 15:53:09 GMT

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Which isn't to say we don't already do that. The plus side to having more relaxed gender norms is that I really don't care if a toy is pink or blue, things are shared or passed down. Larger items such as bikes, scooters, etc. get passed directly down from the oldest to the youngest.
And what gets hard is I see the benefit to our parents keeping toys from our childhood. They have a full compliment of toy options available when we take the grandkids over to visit. So where do you draw the line?

2026-02-21 15:48:48 GMT

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I see other Millennial parents swinging hard in the other direction to very rigid minimalism, but it's something I often associated with friends or family that are more well-off and who can afford replacing toys, clothes, etc. that they prematurely get rid of and have to replace.

2026-02-21 15:45:54 GMT

RE: https://mastodon.world/@davidnjoku/116104869055700654
Feeling this so much as a Millennial sandwiched between two sets of Boomer parents that are bringing childhood relics to our house every other visit, and two growing kiddos that have accumulated more crap than I can keep up with.
What's hard is getting rid of things that serve dual purposes for kids that are close in age so that we don't throw something away that the eldest no longer uses so that we don't have to buy it again for the youngest.
I literally have no clue how to manage that.
#note1m8s…vq23

2026-02-20 15:25:23 GMT

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The key here with all of this sharing is the increased chances for biometric data to be caught up in a data breach. As noted in the post, the problem with biometric data is that "unlike a password, you can’t change your face if it gets compromised."
We may reach a point where biometric data sharing becomes compulsory for a range of applications such as airport security screening and gaining access to government services. Until then, I decline in all situations where participation is voluntary.

2026-02-20 15:18:13 GMT

RE: https://infosec.exchange/@briankrebs/116103192779110422
This is a really good rundown on the types of data sharing that occurs around biometric verification services, and why requests to share biometric data always give me pause.
#note1s2m…6ef5

2026-02-19 18:00:21 GMT

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ha, I feel like that may be the next level up for our current setup. I've been slowly adding something new every year and starting to run out of new toys for kitchen!

2026-02-19 17:40:45 GMT

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For my European followers, that's about 283 grams or 1.67 bananas weight of coffee for 21.25 EUR compared to 1134 grams or 6.67 bananas weight of coffee for 17 EUR.

2026-02-19 17:36:04 GMT

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I made a similar comment last year, while I feel like I should drink there more often (they are good), the main hold-up for me is that since finishing grad school, I maybe visit a local coffee shop a few times per year.
We have a full home cafe setup (French press, pour over, Aeropress, espresso machine) and with some practice, I can consistently make coffee-shop level drinks at home.
And Onyx beans are expensive. Like $25 for a 10 oz bag. I can get a 2.5 lbs bag of our favorite roast for $20.

2026-02-19 17:30:23 GMT

Onyx Coffee Lab, based in Northwest Arkansas, topped this years list of 100 Best Coffee Shops in the world, after coming in second place in the same rankings last year. It's the only U.S. coffee shop in the top 10.
https://theworlds100bestcoffeeshops.com/top-100-coffee-shops/

2026-02-19 17:22:08 GMT

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I will be the first to admit that despite what I can find in terms of open source options or through Apple Maps in terms of navigation needs, these options are frequently lacking in providing accurate or current details about businesses.
This is most likely attributable to businesses preferentially updating their pages on Google Maps and leaving information on other services to be automatically populated or lacking. The Google Maps restrictions directly impact non-user access to this data.

2026-02-19 17:18:34 GMT

As a part of my personal journey of degoogling as much as possible, I stopped using Google Maps as my default mapping service a little over 2 years ago. What is being reported in this article, that people using Google Maps in a signed out mode or through a mobile web browser, is not new and have existed for at least most of the last two years. What may be new is limitations in a desktop browser window.
https://www.pcmag.com/news/google-maps-is-now-less-useful-if-youre-not-signed-in

2026-02-19 13:04:22 GMT

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There's also the fact that FSAs require human time and energy expenditure to submit claims, and I'm only willing to tolerate so much back and forth to claw back money that I am rightfully owed.
If a single expense gets rejected, they'll start getting paper forms and I'll force them to expend their human energy so that I can reserve mine. At least that's presumably keeping a human on their side employed.

2026-02-19 12:51:08 GMT

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I'm definitely in a wait and see mode with this. I don't like the notion of FSA's requiring me to go through an approval process when HSA's exist and serve the same function with fewer hoops. Not my choice I suppose.
But when the alternative requires me to print a page for each expense (using expensive ink), physically mailing the form, etc... it begs the questions: is there still a cost savings by having an FSA? And is my environmental impact larger by killing living trees or burning old ones?

2026-02-19 12:45:05 GMT

Just had my forced interaction with AI in health insurance. Submitting a daycare FSA reimbursement, the uploaded forms are required to go through a new AI system and came out riddled with errors and in a non-compliant breakdown of costs. I know from experience this will lead to rejected expenses. But it's their AI - I'll let them explain to me why my expenses are rejected by how their system entered costs.
They have graciously provided a paper form if I don't want to interact with their AI.

2026-02-18 14:09:32 GMT

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I've considered that. Our local paper went to a Sunday-only print edition but everything else can be accessed online with an account.
As long as I had been able to continue to access our local TV affiliates, I haven't had much of a push factor to subscribe. The website for our local Fox/NBC affiliate broke today under my current browser and privacy settings configuration, so I may finally have the necessary motivation to subscribe.

2026-02-18 14:04:50 GMT

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The most recent case of reputable sources not upholding their standards is the incident with ArsTechnica over the weekend. I recognize that they quickly retracted the article containing AI-fabricated quotes, but it represents how slippery the slope can be when AI is a part of the writing workflow.
404 Media made a limited release printed "zine" that quickly sold out, so I'm hoping they can expand that as a recurring offering.
https://www.404media.co/ars-technica-pulls-article-with-ai-fabricated-quotes-about-ai-generated-article/

2026-02-18 13:59:24 GMT

In an effort to reduce my internet data footprint, I've adopted several services that block ads and trackers. The drawback is that websites have been increasingly retaliatory by blocking access or breaking.
Combined with the proliferation of AI slop, including from formerly reputable news sources, I'm trying to branch out by supporting a handful of trusted online outlets, but I'm increasingly looking at print media.
Does anybody still subscribe to print publications? Any recommendations?

2026-02-18 13:47:47 GMT

I know that this interview has been making the rounds, but it's well worth the watch.
JT's campaign emphasizes the importance of supporting rather than denigrating people who live in "red states", either by choice or fate.
He has a lot to say about his faith and the separation of church and state. His statements were largely the norm 15-20 years ago, but have been severely eroded over the past decade+.
https://youtu.be/oiTJ7Pz_59A?si=loJCDOqMBOFzkmrD

2025-08-02 11:16:22 GMT

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 20:04:39 GMT

"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/

2025-07-17 10:46:34 GMT

Look, I'm not going to claim that I'm a master barista after my short-lived career working at Starbucks for about 2 months over 13 years ago.
But I will say that with a good pour over technique, it's possible to make that ground coffee that's been sitting in the back of the pantry for 2 years taste better than any K-Cup without generating the extra plastic waste.
Won't win any awards, but it's palatable.

2025-06-21 13:18:27 GMT

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 13:36:57 GMT

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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 13:35:05 GMT

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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 13:30:11 GMT

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 19:12:51 GMT

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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 04:47:24 GMT

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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 12:22:38 GMT

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 10:57:07 GMT

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 20:16:05 GMT

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 00:42:31 GMT

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 15:08:15 GMT

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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 21:44:55 GMT

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 17:46:21 GMT

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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 17:43:40 GMT

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.

2024-11-18 11:26:25 GMT

I've setup a bridge to Bluesky and can be followed there at the link below. I'll share some additional links on how to bridge between Bluesky and the fediverse.
https://bsky.app/profile/paulknightly.mstdn.social.ap.brid.gy

2024-11-11 21:42:48 GMT

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!

2024-11-07 23:58:20 GMT

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 21:39:45 GMT

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 14:38:45 GMT

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 21:31:21 GMT

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 09:20:10 GMT

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/

2024-09-11 11:23:13 GMT

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It sucks that Meta has such a grip on human relationships and interactions that even if I've otherwise cut myself off from a platform and won't lose any sleep over deleting all of my accounts in an instant, the effects of deleting those accounts entirely can't be ignored.
It's like if we lived in a world where sending letters was the only way to stay in contact with people, and deciding to never answer the mail again would result in ending those relationships. It's extremely problematic.

2024-09-11 11:19:13 GMT

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"Why not just delete your accounts?"
Because of the walled garden effect and the negligible uptake of alternative means of staying in contact with people. I have some friends who live oversees who insist on using Meta-only services to stay in contact (admittedly not entirely their fault since there are few alternatives).
Deleting FB would be equivalent to ending those friendships, so I go the deactivation route to keep a backchannel available, if needed, to stay in contact.

2024-09-11 11:15:39 GMT

Finally deactivated FB (again). The last time I deactivated was pre-pandemic and lasted for a couple of years. Need to find a way to save all of the recipes my spouse has sent me on IG, but that will be soon to follow.
There's the standard privacy concerns, but what's pushing me over the edge is too much AI-generated content that isn't flagged as such, despite Meta's promises to do otherwise. I've yet to see a single AI flag on FB or IG. The election is 2 months away. That's a problem.

2024-09-06 14:50:31 GMT

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I need to look into the metal filter. We compost all of our grounds, including filter papers for the carafe and now the Aeropress, but I haven't been a fan of the added paper waste, even if its being 'reused'.
I'm glad to hear that review. The cost of even an entry-level espresso machine had been the major hold-up in us making the jump to making our own lattes. I can see minor benefits to an espresso machine, but it isn't enough to offset the price if the Aeropress does the job.

2024-09-05 12:34:44 GMT

The city of Bentonville released some new renderings of the 8th Street Gateway Park, which sit on a currently undeveloped tract of land between a residential area to the west and the 'gateway' to the downtown area to the east.
Concept art is cool. Although bigger concern for that area is it's capacity to handle traffic. The I-Street/8th Street/Walton Blvd intersection is awkward at best and quickly becoming a pinch point for traffic entering from all directions.
https://www.8gatewaypark.com/

2024-09-02 11:19:15 GMT

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And yes, my Southern Weather Brain is showing that I consider the mid-80s to be refreshing, although I'm mostly referring to morning temps that truly fit that bill.
There's always the possibility of this being False Fall, and seeing hotter temps in September lately hasn't been unusual.
I for one am rooting for a seasonal September to remember. Like the ones I grew up with below 375 ppm.

2024-09-02 11:12:25 GMT

As if on cue with the start of meteorological fall, the upcoming week+ in NW Arkansas should have highs consistently below 90F/32C with some excursions into the upper 70s for the first prolonged stretch since mid-June.
This summer had less 100+ degree days than last year IIRC, however we've still been running several degrees above avg most of the summer. This week will be avg or just below.
To have temps that are seasonable and feeling that first chill in the air is refreshing. #arwx

2024-08-30 16:21:51 GMT

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To their credit, the US Forest Service and other agencies have started making it explicitly clear that drones count as motorized vehicles and are therefore not permitted in wilderness areas.
I've seen people try to do the mental gymnastics of "well, I took off from/landed and operated from outside of the wilderness area, so it's ok."
Nope. Not the spirit of the law. Motorized vehicles are prohibited within wilderness areas. Flying inside the wilderness boundary counts
https://www.fs.usda.gov/visit/know-before-you-go/recreational-drone-tips

2024-08-30 16:17:53 GMT

Ugh. University of Arkansas just posted their new national TV ad and it includes drone footage from a prominent Arkansas landmark that's in a designated wilderness area. I've not heard of anyone getting approval to use drones for media purposes in wilderness areas, nor am I familiar with a process for doing so. Unfortunately I have no reason to believe that footage was acquired in a legal manner, but I'm too cynical to play drone police. There's never any recourse for these types of violations

2024-08-19 18:18:01 GMT

Stepped outside to get the mail and smelled smoke and noticed ash falling from the sky (in Bella Vista). Now trying to figure out where the fire is and if I need to be concerned. Nothing on local media at the moment.
#arkansas #arwx

2024-08-14 23:33:17 GMT

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!
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2024-08-13 20:28:47 GMT

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

2024-08-07 18:56:17 GMT

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 16:25:05 GMT

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 14:00:44 GMT

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 15:23:38 GMT

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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 15:16:58 GMT

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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 15:02:32 GMT

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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 15:00:12 GMT

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/

2024-07-02 21:04:10 GMT

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The intersection where I have a problem with AI models and facial recognition is that there is a long, storied history of tech companies insisting that they aren't using our personal data to train their algorithms, only to find out later that the opposite is true.
This is particularly problematic when images of children are used.
The act of being alive or taking a photo in the past 95 years is not sufficient for there to be a blanket consent to use anyone's existence as a training dataset.

2024-05-22 09:33:34 GMT

Incredible drone footage of the Greenfield, IA tornado courtesy of Reed Timmer.
The drone was able to orbit through the outer circulation of the tornado capturing some of the best views I've ever seen of a multi-vortex tornado.
There's a lot that can be learned from this type of close-range footage. Includes a brief clip around 2:15 of a wind turbine being taken down by the outer wind field.
https://youtu.be/IEFGKMWYD-E?si=4ZNdSCufFAf6sFwJ

2024-05-11 06:38:06 GMT

Not only did I not have catching the aurora in southeast Kansas on my bingo card, I did not expect that I would be taking so many photos of the aurora towards the south, or during twilight.
Also had the surreal experience of it being bright enough at one point to be able to read the markings on my camera!
Made it back home in time to catch some views of the fading aurora from Missouri en route and at our home in Arkansas.
Absolutely unreal experience!
#Aurora #NorthernLights #Kansas #kswx
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