Interested in All Of The Things, which is probably why I follow you. Things I do: #landscape and #protest #photography, #adventure sports, #paragliding, #stormchasing, #border/#HumanRights #activism. Things I watch from the sidelines: science, security/privacy, online sociality and general internet theorizing. My camera shoots fascists. Photos my own unless noted. You can write to me at my website or @ me for Signal.
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Profile Code
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Published at
2023-08-10T01:11:54+02:00 Event JSON
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Last Notes npub1yttry4rfaja65es49eryqzs28hwcjq76kc336lq0529sfg3mrgnqvx2cgv Mikal with a k My sweetheart lets me hold my phone and read in bed as long as I devote my other hand to her. She must be tired. She often wants not only petting, but my undivided attention and will let me know by play-biting the charge cord on my phone. #caturday https://files.sfba.social/media_attachments/files/112/386/879/512/206/487/original/8e8267c4208b3df0.jpeg https://files.sfba.social/media_attachments/files/112/386/883/856/100/864/original/c2c699abd74c691c.jpeg npub1yttry4rfaja65es49eryqzs28hwcjq76kc336lq0529sfg3mrgnqvx2cgv Mikal with a k Sharing misinformation or disinformation about #protests only helps those who want to sow confusion. Can't verify? Don't share. The so called #snipers photo from Ohio State looks more like the cops with spotting scopes that the administration says it is. How many people with professional cameras and good telephoto lenses were there? Probably more than enough that "snipers" could be clearly and unambiguously documented. The clearly documented cop violence on the ground provides plenty of outrage material. No need to exaggerate risks. npub1yttry4rfaja65es49eryqzs28hwcjq76kc336lq0529sfg3mrgnqvx2cgv Mikal with a k Carrizo Plain trip a week and a half ago. Spent the night so I could be there for storm clouds at dawn. Soda Lake and starlings. Being there for the nice light was worth miles and miles of liquid-snot mud on the road in. #CarrizoPlain #flowers #desert #photography https://files.sfba.social/media_attachments/files/112/335/855/612/315/897/original/eccd18743dbb21e6.jpg npub1yttry4rfaja65es49eryqzs28hwcjq76kc336lq0529sfg3mrgnqvx2cgv Mikal with a k @npub17hj…7a0r Spent a week this fall slot-canyoneering in San Rafael Reef. Super fun and first time there. Be sure to catch Goblin Valley State Park and do the hike out to the far areas. npub1yttry4rfaja65es49eryqzs28hwcjq76kc336lq0529sfg3mrgnqvx2cgv Mikal with a k Took a little side trip from Slab City today over to Anza Borrego to check out the wildflowers. I'll post more tomorrow. #BloomScrolling https://files.sfba.social/media_attachments/files/112/188/763/340/714/203/original/066f880e1c992abc.jpeg npub1yttry4rfaja65es49eryqzs28hwcjq76kc336lq0529sfg3mrgnqvx2cgv Mikal with a k @npub1mm3…ft6j Ugh, more historically revisionist art. Everyone knows that Shrimp Jesus was very dark skinned, not a Northern European white hippie. npub1yttry4rfaja65es49eryqzs28hwcjq76kc336lq0529sfg3mrgnqvx2cgv Mikal with a k @npub1cx5…9ld3 Did a quick look through my phone pics. Here are a few local cactus flowers. First is a common Opuntia (prickly pear) species. Second is a Mammillaria. Third is hedgehog cactus (Echinocereus). I have a bunch of these in my yard that I saved from a road cut. Last is one of the many cholla species (Cylindropuntia) common around here. #cactus #bloomscrolling #cactodon #desert https://files.sfba.social/media_attachments/files/112/027/805/709/571/327/original/8f8c68db884e0dac.jpeg https://files.sfba.social/media_attachments/files/112/027/842/446/192/704/original/99b38d6dbf502b47.jpg https://files.sfba.social/media_attachments/files/112/027/864/231/336/817/original/b84fea72a9f9ac95.jpg https://files.sfba.social/media_attachments/files/112/027/884/619/053/164/original/648851804c25d71e.jpeg npub1yttry4rfaja65es49eryqzs28hwcjq76kc336lq0529sfg3mrgnqvx2cgv Mikal with a k @npub1hyk…3p33 Right. Which is why people who live in upscale gated communities in Orange County commit their financial and other crimes elsewhere. npub1yttry4rfaja65es49eryqzs28hwcjq76kc336lq0529sfg3mrgnqvx2cgv Mikal with a k I want to go back to worrying and complaining about my data being used for creepy targeted advertising. That is suddenly less concerning than the entire internet being strip-mined and slurried to feed LLMs that are themselves sucking the natural world dry and cooking what's left to death with power consumption. I'm so old, I can remember when the internet was fun. #FuckAI npub1yttry4rfaja65es49eryqzs28hwcjq76kc336lq0529sfg3mrgnqvx2cgv Mikal with a k #SuperbOwl #superb_owl_sunday This from an owl photographing trip I did near Salton Sea a few years back. Burrow owl is not amused. https://files.sfba.social/media_attachments/files/111/913/643/766/935/645/original/eee1407f7eb17f9c.jpeg npub1yttry4rfaja65es49eryqzs28hwcjq76kc336lq0529sfg3mrgnqvx2cgv Mikal with a k Bogotá, Colombia is known for its street art, particularly the Candelaria district where I'm now staying. But there is a whole hidden dimension to it that you only see if you go out at night. Most shops have steel rollup security doors that are, of course, open during the day. But once the shops close, the doors go down to reveal a city-sized gallery of amazing art painted on them. It's like a secret hidden art museum. Some of the work is absolutely stunning. It may have to wait a couple weeks till I get home, but I will make a gallery on my website. For now here are a few examples. I brought my 24 mm tilt-shift lens specifically to take pictures of things like this, but I don't really feel comfortable walking around with a fancy camera alone at night, so these are just phone snaps. #Bogotá #Candelaria #StreetArt #Art https://files.sfba.social/media_attachments/files/111/905/085/890/464/153/original/985782feee53ccc5.jpeg https://files.sfba.social/media_attachments/files/111/905/085/898/760/645/original/800c07b96a34fed8.jpeg https://files.sfba.social/media_attachments/files/111/905/085/901/887/741/original/36ebe031b4dc2719.jpeg https://files.sfba.social/media_attachments/files/111/905/085/912/039/235/original/481fe3636ac02979.jpeg npub1yttry4rfaja65es49eryqzs28hwcjq76kc336lq0529sfg3mrgnqvx2cgv Mikal with a k I spent last night and this morning at the border fence and migrant support camp east of Sasabe, Arizona. No one came through last night, maybe because the cartels don't like to work in the rain? This morning once the rain quit for a while, 23 people came through, including lots of families with kids. Border Patrol didn't show up all day to take people to the station and process their asylum claims, so they're spending the night at the support camp. Without that camp, entirely run by local humanitarian volunteers, those people would be out in the rain without shelter or walking the 25KM up and down insanely steep hills to the Sasabe station on their own. The effort being put in by volunteers is amazing. People come out pretty much every day to provide food, water, first aid and shelter for migrants seeking asylum. If you want to help, the main group is https://nomoredeaths.org Tucson Samaritans and Green Valley Samaritans are regulars there as well. #migrant #asylum #border #immigration npub1yttry4rfaja65es49eryqzs28hwcjq76kc336lq0529sfg3mrgnqvx2cgv Mikal with a k @npub1f5h…wjhr And, from the article, it was only in 2021 that Nevada passed the law banning the "sundown siren" practice. They had to go to the trouble of passing a state law because small-minded, pissant excuses for people were just fine with it. npub1yttry4rfaja65es49eryqzs28hwcjq76kc336lq0529sfg3mrgnqvx2cgv Mikal with a k @npub1ecp…59pq @npub10tx…crtk same here! I promise them that, on their deathbed, no one has ever said "damn, really wish I hadn't had all those amazing adventures when I was young and had just worked unpaid overtime hours at the office instead." npub1yttry4rfaja65es49eryqzs28hwcjq76kc336lq0529sfg3mrgnqvx2cgv Mikal with a k It seems to me it should've been a bigger story, but Arizona's previous MAGA governor pulled a $200 million political stunt and built 3.5 miles of barrier along the US Mexico border with shipping containers. They were removed a year ago, but Texas followed suit and, from photos I've seen recently, at least some of those containers are still there. Now Berkeley is doing the same thing so they can level People's Park. Something tells me we are going to see a lot more of this in the future because it's cheap and quick and presents an interesting tactical challenge for protesters. And the other hand, we like interesting tactical challenges 😈 https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/peoples-park-closure-photos-18591783.php I wrote a story about Arizona's container wall https://mikaljakubal.com/container–wall/ npub1yttry4rfaja65es49eryqzs28hwcjq76kc336lq0529sfg3mrgnqvx2cgv Mikal with a k On Christmas morning, I went to the U.S.-Mexico border fence before dawn to take some photos and write a story about the asylum seekers just south of me at the Lukeville, AZ crossing. I hope you like it. I have several more in the works. https://www.mikaljakubal.com/christmas-at-the-wall/ #immigration #migrant #asylum #AsylumSeekers #BorderWall https://files.sfba.social/media_attachments/files/111/654/674/233/280/058/original/1c31e5ea314b24e2.jpg npub1yttry4rfaja65es49eryqzs28hwcjq76kc336lq0529sfg3mrgnqvx2cgv Mikal with a k A lovely little side benefit of using a VPN set to a GDPR country: a "reject all" cookie option for NewScientist.com's 769 (!!!!) cookies. And that is before you even get to the paywall after a couple paragraphs. https://files.sfba.social/media_attachments/files/111/625/016/132/985/026/original/f0b02592857db001.jpeg npub1yttry4rfaja65es49eryqzs28hwcjq76kc336lq0529sfg3mrgnqvx2cgv Mikal with a k Sitting here on the porch, enjoying this lovely evening (it's balmy here and southern Arizona), reading all the interesting things people post on mastodon and I hear a noise… I look over and a medium sized javelina squeezed itself through a 5 inch opening at the edge of the gate. I said "what's up, buddy? Get the fuck out of here." And it squished itself back through the narrow opening. My shoe scuffs the sides if I put it through that opening. I have no idea how that large animal did that. After it left, it went and joined the other ones wandering up the street looking for people's gardens to eat and trash cans to tip over. They are weird as fuck, generally not particularly aggressive and a regular sight here. #Arizona #SonoranDesert #Wildlife #ArizonaProblems #Peccary #Javelina npub1yttry4rfaja65es49eryqzs28hwcjq76kc336lq0529sfg3mrgnqvx2cgv Mikal with a k Can we all agree that "crypto" means "cryptobiotic soil crust"? ** In the outdoor adventure community, there is a fascinating and amusing culture around cryptobiotic soil crust. You can disparage someone's character by saying they are the type of person who "walks on crypto," for example. I'm playing around with a blog post and I'm looking for example of this culture in action. Memes, sayings, artwork, etc. I've heard of a 2016 bumper sticker in Moab that said "Trump steps on crypto," and a Venn diagram of "people who walk on crypto" and "cryptocurrency bros" or something like that. I'd love to find these or any similar images or hear any anecdotes of the culture around cryptobiotic soil. #cryptobiotic #SoilCrust #CryptobioticSoilCrust #StayOffTheCrypto ** apologies to the cryptography community. I know this is a sore spot 😂 npub1yttry4rfaja65es49eryqzs28hwcjq76kc336lq0529sfg3mrgnqvx2cgv Mikal with a k I'm getting Google, Facebook and Amazon out of my life. Starting last year and continuing until it's done, in manageable increments, I've been gradually disentangling myself from three of the worst tech monsters. After 15 years of letting them embed their fangs deeper and deeper into my leg, it's daunting! Finding an alternative for audio books and ebooks tonight was a nice step. I still have to un-DRM my books from them and find a non-proprietary e-reader, but I'll get to that. Even seemingly little things like removing Google Analytics from my sites and installing the (paid) non-tracking app Plausible Analytics felt like a big thing at the time. I had to first look to see if there was such a thing as privacy-forward analytics — there is, with multiple options! Then pick one, then sign up, then install and configure... So I'm taking this step by step. It'll take years. But each additional step feels liberating. #goals #FuckAmazon #FuckGoogle #FuckFacebook npub1yttry4rfaja65es49eryqzs28hwcjq76kc336lq0529sfg3mrgnqvx2cgv Mikal with a k I can't believe I didn't know about Bookshop.org and Libro.fm I love being able to say "fuck Amazon" and not actually have to keep buying stuff from them. Next step is de-DRMing my ebooks and audiobooks and closing my Audible and Kindle accounts. npub1yttry4rfaja65es49eryqzs28hwcjq76kc336lq0529sfg3mrgnqvx2cgv Mikal with a k Human remains ID help request. Do you recognize this belt buckle? This from one of our volunteer search and rescue groups here. Remains were found near Mohawk Dunes, just south of I-8, possibly a migrant trying to cross the desert. The Yuma County Sheriff recovered the remains, but the SAR group requested social media posts to see if anyone anywhere might recognize this belt buckle. It's a long shot, but boost for reach. Note that this location is a little over 2-1/2 miles from the freeway. The person could see cars and trucks on the freeway from there. https://files.sfba.social/media_attachments/files/111/581/280/990/051/722/original/b5d11bcc482464f8.jpeg https://files.sfba.social/media_attachments/files/111/581/285/958/919/798/original/c3dd4d21874f0376.jpeg https://files.sfba.social/media_attachments/files/111/581/289/353/477/408/original/cbe52e249b74f724.jpeg npub1yttry4rfaja65es49eryqzs28hwcjq76kc336lq0529sfg3mrgnqvx2cgv Mikal with a k @npub1xl7…sxzx Board normally with forged documents. Shred them and flush them in the airplane toilet. That would explain the boarding process. But security camera footage back at the originating airport combined with exact timing of documents scanned should be able to easily uncover that. Or simply a comparison of who got on planes versus who exited immigration should show a mystery person who never seems to have exited. Right? npub1yttry4rfaja65es49eryqzs28hwcjq76kc336lq0529sfg3mrgnqvx2cgv Mikal with a k Every time I hear someone go on about "border security" I'm going to post this video of me pushing open a "gate" cut by cartels in the border fence; a fence that cost billions of dollars and is easily defeated by cheap cordless cutting tools. There are two ways to have a secure border: place groups of soldiers in fortified bunkers every 100' along the *entire length of the fence* 24/7 (no, don't do this), or by helping to stabilize the economic and security situations in the countries people are arriving from while also having a humane and easy to navigate immigration policy. Many of the people coming here in hopes of asylum are arriving from countries with a history of U.S. support for dictators (e.g. Honduras, Nicaragua) or as direct or indirect climate refugees. Given that the U.S. is the second largest greenhouse gas emitter (and, I believe, the largest per capita), we legitimately owe these people safe harbor. #border #immigration #BorderWall #BorderSecurity #SeekingAsylumIsNotACrime https://files.sfba.social/media_attachments/files/111/542/808/765/548/223/original/61961d3578013165.mp4 npub1yttry4rfaja65es49eryqzs28hwcjq76kc336lq0529sfg3mrgnqvx2cgv Mikal with a k @npub1hyk…3p33 This is excellent. The next obvious step: write up a legislative proposal we can all email to our federal representatives requesting they author such legislation. And if they don't, we start mass letter writing campaigns and hold demonstrations outside their offices. The talking points are already written in this article, so that part is easy. Every letter-writing campaign can be accompanied by a press release to help reframe the narrative. The proposed legislation needs an identifiable name that can gain wide recognition so that every small action locally contributes to the wider project. If I were familiar with how legislation is written, I would be happy to draft this, but it is way outside of my bailiwick. Certainly someone at @npub1sqf…5skr could do this? npub1yttry4rfaja65es49eryqzs28hwcjq76kc336lq0529sfg3mrgnqvx2cgv Mikal with a k @npub1zdp…vqv8 I think it would make some fantastic gorilla theater! Start a crowd funding campaign where you set the specific amount you need that is $1000 more than the bribes a certain politician has taken, which you will of course make very very public as part of the reason for the requested amount of money. "Senator [name] got $[amount of money] from the fossil fuel industry, so we want to raise a little more and demand he vote for carbon reduction strategies instead." npub1yttry4rfaja65es49eryqzs28hwcjq76kc336lq0529sfg3mrgnqvx2cgv Mikal with a k @npub17l5…za2f I don't ever want to hear another word from any politician about how expensive it would be to provide free education to everyone, cancel student debt, provide housing and health care for everyone. npub1yttry4rfaja65es49eryqzs28hwcjq76kc336lq0529sfg3mrgnqvx2cgv Mikal with a k @npub1typ…c8hh My first thought is "bastards, all of them." My second thought is "how do I get a piece of the action?" *looks up how stock trading works* npub1yttry4rfaja65es49eryqzs28hwcjq76kc336lq0529sfg3mrgnqvx2cgv Mikal with a k @npub1hvz…mle9 It's not like it's very difficult to anticipate the potential confusion and rewrite it, e.g., "Amy Schumer's memoir and Sun Tzu's 'The Art of War' are among a long list of books banned in U.S. prisons…" Writing in a way that avoids Oxford commas is usually simpler anyway, imo. npub1yttry4rfaja65es49eryqzs28hwcjq76kc336lq0529sfg3mrgnqvx2cgv Mikal with a k @npub1k5k…hfcr It is annoying to have to do so, but just ignore and block every one of them. The rest of us are glad you are here. npub1yttry4rfaja65es49eryqzs28hwcjq76kc336lq0529sfg3mrgnqvx2cgv Mikal with a k @npub1306…n04t @npub1jpj…dkzf Is credential stuffing considered a "data breach"? This seems like the blame is more on the users for reusing passwords than on the company, no? Related: I would love to have this testing done, but only under the condition that I could get my results and then the data would be deleted immediately and entirely from their system. npub1yttry4rfaja65es49eryqzs28hwcjq76kc336lq0529sfg3mrgnqvx2cgv Mikal with a k Well, got skunked #BikeHerping tonight. So far I have found all the reptiles well after dark, so I went out later tonight. Short ride, only 8 or 9 miles. It's plenty warm enough for them, being in the high 90s during the day and probably 80 outside right now. Maybe they're all at the bar? #herps #Snakes #NoSnakesInSight npub1yttry4rfaja65es49eryqzs28hwcjq76kc336lq0529sfg3mrgnqvx2cgv Mikal with a k @npub12md…c2vp This is like an earworm for the eyes, except the difference is that I can actually look away from this and turn it off 😂 Too much time with this could drive a person mad. npub1yttry4rfaja65es49eryqzs28hwcjq76kc336lq0529sfg3mrgnqvx2cgv Mikal with a k @npub1su4…a0dw And this is why we need well funded regulatory agencies. These snake oil sellers should've been required to have the product tested *before* being allowed to take it to market. The fine is some pale consolation to people whose kids ended up in the hospital with liver failure. npub1yttry4rfaja65es49eryqzs28hwcjq76kc336lq0529sfg3mrgnqvx2cgv Mikal with a k @npub14hq…gxuu @npub1q9m…zgdu @npub1su4…a0dw I bring a large packet of freeze dried water on my desert hikes. Same thing. Just add water. npub1yttry4rfaja65es49eryqzs28hwcjq76kc336lq0529sfg3mrgnqvx2cgv Mikal with a k @npub19g7…tg6p Okay, thanks 😂 But...so...in their universe, the moon still revolves around the earth? Is the moon round? Is the sun round? I'm so confused. npub1yttry4rfaja65es49eryqzs28hwcjq76kc336lq0529sfg3mrgnqvx2cgv Mikal with a k There's a cool free app called Totality Big Kid Science for iOS that's good for planning where to be for good #eclipse viewing. npub1yttry4rfaja65es49eryqzs28hwcjq76kc336lq0529sfg3mrgnqvx2cgv Mikal with a k How do #FlatEarth people explain solar or lunar eclipses? #eclipse npub1yttry4rfaja65es49eryqzs28hwcjq76kc336lq0529sfg3mrgnqvx2cgv Mikal with a k Looking at the eclipse map, the shadow goes right over Monument Valley which will be saturated with tourists, no doubt. Also goes over Chaco Canyon, which will likely also be a zoo. Shiprock could be an amazing photo op, but unless you have permission from tribal members, you'd have to stay on the road to the NW. The wackiest place will probably be Roswell, NM. I hadn't paid attention to the fact that Roswell will be near the center of totality. I'm seriously tempted to go there just for the human zoo of alien watchers that will inevitably descend on the place. npub1yttry4rfaja65es49eryqzs28hwcjq76kc336lq0529sfg3mrgnqvx2cgv Mikal with a k Whose going to be #Eclipse watching in a week? I had been planning to go back to the #ColoradoPlateau #CanyonCountry In the last couple weeks I was scouting photo op sites, ideally where the sun would appear over the edge of a slot canyon, begin the eclipse and then un-eclipse as it goes over the opposite canyon wall. That would make a cool timelapse, right? But now I'm honestly wondering if I shouldn't go somewhere nice and...just watch it? npub1yttry4rfaja65es49eryqzs28hwcjq76kc336lq0529sfg3mrgnqvx2cgv Mikal with a k @npub1e4l…53m6 I think you're totally right. I looked at my other photos of sidewinders. I was trying to keep far enough away and still get a photo while holding the phone and the light so I didn't take a super good look at it. It didn't immediately move like a sidewinder, so it didn't register as one. It was big for a sidewinder! All the others have seen have been dinky. npub1yttry4rfaja65es49eryqzs28hwcjq76kc336lq0529sfg3mrgnqvx2cgv Mikal with a k @npub1e4l…53m6 Oh, I might have to change that. The tail isn't as dark as the blacktails. I hadn't noticed the horns last night because I was concentrating on holding my phone with one hand, the light with the other, and keeping out of a striking range. Usually, sidewinders are so distinct by the way they move, but this one was moving more like a "regular" snake. npub1yttry4rfaja65es49eryqzs28hwcjq76kc336lq0529sfg3mrgnqvx2cgv Mikal with a k By the way, I made a "snake stick" out of a $2 golf club from a thrift store. Saw the club off and put a flat wad of tape on the end to make it easy to scoop under snakes to move them off the road. I'm going to jam-in and epoxy a metal hook on the end when I get around to it. npub1yttry4rfaja65es49eryqzs28hwcjq76kc336lq0529sfg3mrgnqvx2cgv Mikal with a k Just finished Brave The Wild River, about two botanists, Elzada Clover and Lois Jotter, who did the first complete botanizing of the Colorado River including Cataract, Glen and Grand Canyon on a boat trip in 1938, when very few people had ever completed the then-dangerous descent. They were also the first *women* to run the river. At the time, their gender got all the attention, the press ignoring their important scientific work in just one example of the pervasive sexism they faced as scientists. Author Melissa L. Sevigny does an excellent job of bringing the story of their epic lives together. It had me teary at the end. I started the (audio)book on the drive to a 6-day Cataract Canyon raft trip last month. As mentioned in the book, two previously unnamed canyons, tributaries of the Colorado in Cataract Canyon, are now informally called "Jotter" and "Clover" canyons by river guides who hope the names will stick. They pointed them out as we floated by. https://melissasevigny.com/books/brave-the-wild-river/ npub1yttry4rfaja65es49eryqzs28hwcjq76kc336lq0529sfg3mrgnqvx2cgv Mikal with a k Found another little blacktail rattler tonight. Much bigger than the one last night, but still pretty small. It was off to the side of the road, so I didn't have to flick it off like the others last night. So far, I have found all of these snakes annd the gecko after dark. So maybe I'm going out #BikeHerping too early? When I was doing this this spring, I would start at dusk and come back after dark but find plenty of snakes before dark as well. #herps #snek #NoRunOverSnek #Rattlesnake #Reptiles https://files.sfba.social/media_attachments/files/111/186/015/815/465/926/original/9f816b1f45c9fa6f.jpeg https://files.sfba.social/media_attachments/files/111/186/016/592/931/874/original/4641f30a7517f91b.jpeg npub1yttry4rfaja65es49eryqzs28hwcjq76kc336lq0529sfg3mrgnqvx2cgv Mikal with a k @npub1tg7…9dl9 I think he's more than happy that the libs are leaving. He'll be even more happy when the journalists all leave his little Nazi bar. npub1yttry4rfaja65es49eryqzs28hwcjq76kc336lq0529sfg3mrgnqvx2cgv Mikal with a k @npub1tg7…9dl9 When you control that much money, who cares if you lose some of it? Meanwhile, if you can buy a powerful global communication platform and twist it to to serve your ideological ends while still remaining a *billionaire*? Priceless. That seems to be his point, not making money off of it. npub1yttry4rfaja65es49eryqzs28hwcjq76kc336lq0529sfg3mrgnqvx2cgv Mikal with a k @npub15nc…zzw6 Um, it's mostly been built. And, yeah, there is a term that even some in law enforcement I've spoken with use: Border Industrial Complex. They all know it's a big joke, but a very lucrative one for many. npub1yttry4rfaja65es49eryqzs28hwcjq76kc336lq0529sfg3mrgnqvx2cgv Mikal with a k @npub15nc…zzw6 Back last winter when I was photographing the #ContainerWall in southern Arizona, most conversations about the future or the San Rafael Valley section of the border seemed pretty unanimous that Biden would try to build more wall there at some point. Or, if not Biden, whoever the next president is, R or D. They all want it. npub1yttry4rfaja65es49eryqzs28hwcjq76kc336lq0529sfg3mrgnqvx2cgv Mikal with a k @npub1n5r…gm63 Thanks. Yeah, this place is just...weird. I'm spending today offloading and sorting all my cards from my good camera, so will post better pics later. npub1yttry4rfaja65es49eryqzs28hwcjq76kc336lq0529sfg3mrgnqvx2cgv Mikal with a k We need to start calling it Biden's Wall. Lay responsibility where it belongs. This will also piss off Trump and his supporters, who want to claim credit. npub1yttry4rfaja65es49eryqzs28hwcjq76kc336lq0529sfg3mrgnqvx2cgv Mikal with a k @npub1gha…ffp5 Thing is, *they all know very, very well* that this stupid wall/fence does not "work", other than to drive migrants and asylum seekers into the hands of traffickers who control the easy-to-create access points. I spend much of the year near the border in AZ, doing humanitarian aid and the wall is a very sad joke. Trivial to bypass. THEY KNOW THIS, so the only explanation is a backroom compromise with some Rs or a performative attempt to woo the white center? FFS I have no idea at this point. npub1yttry4rfaja65es49eryqzs28hwcjq76kc336lq0529sfg3mrgnqvx2cgv Mikal with a k @npub1h9y…cr0d No, it's just a somewhat predictable perverse incentive created by cutting off access to legal entry which then leaves limited chokepoints to undocumented entry that can easily be controlled by cartels. npub1yttry4rfaja65es49eryqzs28hwcjq76kc336lq0529sfg3mrgnqvx2cgv Mikal with a k As someone who spends a good portion of the year living a short distance from the southern border in Arizona and doing humanitarian aid work here, I promise you that walls and fences do not stop undocumented immigration. They do not even slow it down by very much. What walls and fences do is force people into the hands of the cartels and help maintain the border industrial complex. It's also really important to keep two things in mind when you read these numbers coming out of the Border Patrol: one is that many of these "apprehensions" are repeats. In other words, the same person was caught several times and therefore counted several times. The second is that many if not most of these people are asylum-seekers, crossing the border and turning themselves in. This is legal, other than not crossing at a port of entry. npub1yttry4rfaja65es49eryqzs28hwcjq76kc336lq0529sfg3mrgnqvx2cgv Mikal with a k Here is the department of homeland security document unilaterally waving all local state and federal environmental laws to build more ineffective, boondoggle, racist, destructive border fence. https://public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2023-22176.pdf npub1yttry4rfaja65es49eryqzs28hwcjq76kc336lq0529sfg3mrgnqvx2cgv Mikal with a k At first I thought this was old news. When it comes to the southern border, the main difference between the parties and their policies is that one is loud and belligerent and the other is sneaky and gaslighty. After protesters' experience successfully stopping the "shipping container wall" through the San Rafael Valley in Arizona last year, it's likely that any attempts by the Biden administration to build that wall will be met with direct action protests. Hopefully Texans will feel the same way about this gross violation. #Border #BorderWall #FuckTheBorderWall https://biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/press-releases/biden-administration-waives-laws-to-rush-border-wall-construction-through-texas-wildlife-refuge-2023-10-04/ npub1yttry4rfaja65es49eryqzs28hwcjq76kc336lq0529sfg3mrgnqvx2cgv Mikal with a k @npub1sh2…gxm0 Yeah, much better than last night (nothing). I still wonder where all the big snakes are. npub1yttry4rfaja65es49eryqzs28hwcjq76kc336lq0529sfg3mrgnqvx2cgv Mikal with a k @npub17z4…zd2x What did I just watch? *goes back out looking for rattlesnakes because they are way less freaky* npub1yttry4rfaja65es49eryqzs28hwcjq76kc336lq0529sfg3mrgnqvx2cgv Mikal with a k @npub16nf…q6as Yeah, I was out river rafting and slot canyoneering around Moab a week ago and every time I got back to town I checked to see if they had come in yet. Got it first thing in the morning when they did. Other than a sore arm, no side effects. So grateful. npub1yttry4rfaja65es49eryqzs28hwcjq76kc336lq0529sfg3mrgnqvx2cgv Mikal with a k Shorter #BikeHerping ride tonight, probably under 10 miles. Found a baby gopher snake when I was almost back to town, then a block from home found a baby Blacktail rattlesnake in the street and then on my gate post found this cute little #gecko #herps #herping #SonoranDesert #Reptiles #Snake #Rattlesnake #snek #NoStepOnSnek https://files.sfba.social/media_attachments/files/111/180/327/229/465/015/original/9dfb3ee5c9d4334e.jpeg https://files.sfba.social/media_attachments/files/111/180/328/529/085/387/original/172c40b20143ebc3.jpeg https://files.sfba.social/media_attachments/files/111/180/328/290/859/630/original/8ce861bcdcf47d2d.jpeg https://files.sfba.social/media_attachments/files/111/180/356/958/222/809/original/9bc4929cc65b0fbb.jpeg npub1yttry4rfaja65es49eryqzs28hwcjq76kc336lq0529sfg3mrgnqvx2cgv Mikal with a k @npub178r…qekt Oh, that is a very good thing to know. I got the alert, but for part of the year I'm at a place where Wi-Fi calling is the only option. That area is highly prone earthquakes, floods and wildfires, so it's kind of significant. Seems like there should be some kind of workaround, no? (The workaround is to mandate that cellular providers build out infrastructure in rural areas, but, well...) npub1yttry4rfaja65es49eryqzs28hwcjq76kc336lq0529sfg3mrgnqvx2cgv Mikal with a k @npub1nqz…838y I got vaccinated last week. When does the transporter technology become active? Beam me up! Beam me up! npub1yttry4rfaja65es49eryqzs28hwcjq76kc336lq0529sfg3mrgnqvx2cgv Mikal with a k @npub16jr…cl6m This and CAN attacks are a perfect illustration of "blue team has to be perfect every time, red team only needs to find one mistake." Until car manufacturers become liable for the thefts, they have little incentive to find and fix the vulnerabilities they've created. Being perfect is expensive. Pro tip: drive an older car and put in a hidden fuel pump cut off switch. (I'm guessing that's probably too complicated in motorized computers.) I recently crossed paths with an acquaintance in the parking lot who pointed to her new truck and excitedly told me how cool it was that she can control the entire thing with her phone... 😱🤦♂️ npub1yttry4rfaja65es49eryqzs28hwcjq76kc336lq0529sfg3mrgnqvx2cgv Mikal with a k @npub1ugm…7dy4 Grrrrr this grates on me. Many places in the Bay Area won't let you order or pay except by QR. I've walked out more than once. There are the usual data and security issues, but what a lot of people don't consider is that mandatory QR scanning discriminates against people who, for whatever reason, don't have smart phones or credit cards. My elderly parents couldn't eat at those places. Seriously fuck that. npub1yttry4rfaja65es49eryqzs28hwcjq76kc336lq0529sfg3mrgnqvx2cgv Mikal with a k Well, dang. 15 mile #BikeHerping ride tonight and not so much as a gecko. No snakes at all. I hope it isn't too cold for them already. This is the same road I was riding in May and always found somebody hanging out on the warm asphalt. 🦎🐍 #herps #herping npub1yttry4rfaja65es49eryqzs28hwcjq76kc336lq0529sfg3mrgnqvx2cgv Mikal with a k Finally got back to my Arizona house last night after three months away and a month of desert adventures. Filled up the birdfeeder and hummingbird feeder and it only took a few minutes for my little bird friends to come back. I'm totally blown away by how quickly they figure out that there's food here again. Just now a little hummingbird came up, buzzed around the feeder and then flew over and hovered right in front of my face about a foot away for 20 seconds and then went back up and drank some of the nectar from the feeder. I like to imagine it was saying " hi! Welcome back and thanks for the food." npub1yttry4rfaja65es49eryqzs28hwcjq76kc336lq0529sfg3mrgnqvx2cgv Mikal with a k @npub10hv…7c77 This funky little wannabe art town where I spend the winters in the desert has everything I need within a five minute *walk*: two coffee shops, two restaurants, bar, library, gym, post office, two thrift stores, not to mention hanging out and watching whatever is happening on the plaza (usually just the javelinas grazing on the lawn, but whatever). Hardware stores and grocery store are a 10 minute bicycle ride on 25 mph streets. This is what Joe Biden's fascism looks like! The horror. npub1yttry4rfaja65es49eryqzs28hwcjq76kc336lq0529sfg3mrgnqvx2cgv Mikal with a k Uncle Ralph was very tasty. #WhyYouShouldHaveFriendsProofReadYourDatingProfile https://files.sfba.social/media_attachments/files/111/169/167/307/678/414/original/d7aa5290399c1084.jpeg npub1yttry4rfaja65es49eryqzs28hwcjq76kc336lq0529sfg3mrgnqvx2cgv Mikal with a k @npub1khh…6mqq I climbed Sahale and Forbidden decades ago. I love that place! npub1yttry4rfaja65es49eryqzs28hwcjq76kc336lq0529sfg3mrgnqvx2cgv Mikal with a k @npub1mnv…3992 Lol I finally gave up trying to be literal. Like, how to describe something that is so completely surreal? npub1yttry4rfaja65es49eryqzs28hwcjq76kc336lq0529sfg3mrgnqvx2cgv Mikal with a k The last shot before leaving, earlier tonight. This place is soooo weird! #Geology #ThisIsYourGeology #ThisIsYourGeologyOnDrugs #RoadTrip #LandscapePhotography #Dirtbagger #ColoradoPlateau https://files.sfba.social/media_attachments/files/111/163/628/928/314/829/original/cc0cb3e7f5c2cb91.jpeg npub1yttry4rfaja65es49eryqzs28hwcjq76kc336lq0529sfg3mrgnqvx2cgv Mikal with a k @npub1t7k…nx82 @npub1za5…tgkf You're obviously an extremist. /s There are so, so many good reasons to de-car the world. Now we've got yet another one. npub1yttry4rfaja65es49eryqzs28hwcjq76kc336lq0529sfg3mrgnqvx2cgv Mikal with a k @npub1nha…wayt White Pocket, Arizona. In the Vermillion Cliffs National Monument. npub1yttry4rfaja65es49eryqzs28hwcjq76kc336lq0529sfg3mrgnqvx2cgv Mikal with a k @npub1jq6…s72z They are books! npub1yttry4rfaja65es49eryqzs28hwcjq76kc336lq0529sfg3mrgnqvx2cgv Mikal with a k @npub1nsp…yc08 Thanks. Everything I'm posting here are unedited phone snaps. I'm out shooting with my 'spensive camera and high end lenses, so once I get back home, I'll put a little story and a gallery up on my website with even better pics. npub1yttry4rfaja65es49eryqzs28hwcjq76kc336lq0529sfg3mrgnqvx2cgv Mikal with a k There are dense clouds on the horizon, so I think the sun is done for today. But now I'm tempted to spend the night and see what the morning brings. I'm tired but, ya know, I'm already here and it's a 7 hour drive back 🤷♂️ npub1yttry4rfaja65es49eryqzs28hwcjq76kc336lq0529sfg3mrgnqvx2cgv Mikal with a k I was feeling tired and it seemed like the rest of the afternoon/evening would be dull and cloudy, so I packed up, intending to start heading back. I've been on the road sleeping in my truck for a while, low on food and out of clean socks and shirts. But I thought, well, maybe there will be one last sun break for some dramatic afternoon light, so I grabbed my camera a couple of lenses and a tripod and headed back out… https://files.sfba.social/media_attachments/files/111/162/674/464/217/897/original/05b0e7d99f801491.jpeg npub1yttry4rfaja65es49eryqzs28hwcjq76kc336lq0529sfg3mrgnqvx2cgv Mikal with a k @npub1jq6…s72z Are you familiar with John McPhee's five part series called Annals of the Former World? Hiiiighly recommended! He really makes plate tectonics and the specific forces that shaped the continent accessible and easy to visualize, especially when you are on site and can see these places. npub1yttry4rfaja65es49eryqzs28hwcjq76kc336lq0529sfg3mrgnqvx2cgv Mikal with a k @npub1p95…w63d Yes! That's it. Wikipedia has a great write up on them. They're pretty amazing and I can't believe I've never seen them or heard of them before. npub1yttry4rfaja65es49eryqzs28hwcjq76kc336lq0529sfg3mrgnqvx2cgv Mikal with a k Ok biology fedi, WTF are these? They look like a miniature horseshoe crabs. I have never seen them before! These are in an ephemeral pool in the slickrock in SE Utah, Vermillion Cliffs National Monument, about 5,000 feet elevation. They are a couple inches long. From above I first thought they were tadpoles but I didn't see their tails wiggling as they swam so I went down for a closer look. #arthropods #Invertebrates #WhatTheFuckIsThis https://files.sfba.social/media_attachments/files/111/160/840/541/566/068/original/063ee500e97332f0.mp4 npub1yttry4rfaja65es49eryqzs28hwcjq76kc336lq0529sfg3mrgnqvx2cgv Mikal with a k @npub1jq6…s72z Its origin is lithified sand dunes. There is a lot of that in the Colorado Plateau, because at one time this area was one of the biggest dune fields the Earth has ever known. But why it erodes in this pattern here, I don't know. I've been meaning to look it up. The lithified dunes are also where are you find the slot canyons. It is interesting that the fracture pattern almost exactly resembles basalt columns and about the same size. npub1yttry4rfaja65es49eryqzs28hwcjq76kc336lq0529sfg3mrgnqvx2cgv Mikal with a k @npub1h92…400y Following you for this post alone. My god how I have wanted to smash those things with a hammer. Here's my question though: how stupid do you have to be, as an advertiser, to pay actual money to have your ad blasted at somebody's face like that. Has anyone, anyone ever, across all of recorded history across the universe, ever bought anything because of a gas pump ad? npub1yttry4rfaja65es49eryqzs28hwcjq76kc336lq0529sfg3mrgnqvx2cgv Mikal with a k @npub1rsx…r243 Ah, you must've seen a cached post from a thread that I have since deleted. But, yeah, next time that is a good trick. npub1yttry4rfaja65es49eryqzs28hwcjq76kc336lq0529sfg3mrgnqvx2cgv Mikal with a k A storm whipped up, so I've finally got some more dramatic skies. The wind is rocking my truck, but I'm nice and warm and tucked inside. Small chance of rain tonight, but I'm hoping it pours and fills up all the pools in the rock tomorrow. Just before dark tonight, I caught some shots of lightning bolts in the distance, over by Fredonia, AZ. #DirtbagLife #RoadTrip #IWonderIfTheyDeliverPizzaOutHere #LivingTheLife #DirtBagPhotography npub1yttry4rfaja65es49eryqzs28hwcjq76kc336lq0529sfg3mrgnqvx2cgv Mikal with a k Before wandering around on the Brain of the #ColoradoPlateau this afternoon, I started with a morning hike to some more hoodoos in Wahweap Creek. #LandscapePhotography #Geology #ThisIsYourGeologyOnDrugs #RoadTrip #Dirtbagger https://files.sfba.social/media_attachments/files/111/157/500/231/730/859/original/977067d548f8518b.jpeg https://files.sfba.social/media_attachments/files/111/157/522/245/748/726/original/2ab5d63930103ba3.jpeg npub1yttry4rfaja65es49eryqzs28hwcjq76kc336lq0529sfg3mrgnqvx2cgv Mikal with a k @npub1jq6…s72z Sandstone. npub1yttry4rfaja65es49eryqzs28hwcjq76kc336lq0529sfg3mrgnqvx2cgv Mikal with a k Y'all. I have found the brain of the #ColoradoPlateau and I can conclusively state it is on LSD. Or maybe I am. This place is nuts! #WhitePocket AZ #RoadTrip #LandscapePhotography #Dirtbagger #DirtBaggingIt #Geology #ThisIsGeology #ThisIsGeologyOnDrugs https://files.sfba.social/media_attachments/files/111/156/827/049/629/936/original/f5f13f64926bdf50.jpeg https://files.sfba.social/media_attachments/files/111/156/827/059/321/784/original/50f4b8d515dd7d4c.jpeg npub1yttry4rfaja65es49eryqzs28hwcjq76kc336lq0529sfg3mrgnqvx2cgv Mikal with a k I have had this experience a lot in southern Utah, where I am out in the middle of BFE and have cell coverage. I never have it like this anywhere in California and not all that often in Arizona. It seems to be a Utah thing. Best guess is that the telco made a deal with some powerful senator to get big tax breaks or something in exchange for actually providing service. I'm 11 miles down a dirt road, in a wide canyon, quite a ways from Page, AZ, the nearest town. Not complaining, mind you, but I wish it were like this everywhere. npub1yttry4rfaja65es49eryqzs28hwcjq76kc336lq0529sfg3mrgnqvx2cgv Mikal with a k A sign that I'm headed the right direction. https://files.sfba.social/media_attachments/files/111/152/191/886/191/688/original/4db21f540cfe7cbd.jpeg npub1yttry4rfaja65es49eryqzs28hwcjq76kc336lq0529sfg3mrgnqvx2cgv Mikal with a k I'm not sure if it's amusing or annoying, but the air is too damn clear! Normally the Southwest is famous for fabulous sunrises and sunsets, but with clear air and no clouds, the light stays super flat till a few minutes before sundown and then it just dies. Same with sunrise. I mean, it's nice weather for hiking but for #photography it's kind of dull 🤷♂️ npub1yttry4rfaja65es49eryqzs28hwcjq76kc336lq0529sfg3mrgnqvx2cgv Mikal with a k Today's #CanyonCountry hike: toadstool rocks/hoodoos in the Rimrocks formation in the #Escalante area. There are a bunch more on the other side of this ridge that I think I'm going to visit tomorrow. I love hoodoos! They are the funnest geology and are common on the #ColoradoPlateau #Geology #Dirtbagger #DirtBaggingIt #RoadTrip https://files.sfba.social/media_attachments/files/111/151/415/406/745/408/original/93cb02bcc57ee1fe.jpeg https://files.sfba.social/media_attachments/files/111/151/415/401/447/062/original/cc9381a102d14a31.jpeg https://files.sfba.social/media_attachments/files/111/151/679/108/570/673/original/c45385d11cf99160.jpeg npub1yttry4rfaja65es49eryqzs28hwcjq76kc336lq0529sfg3mrgnqvx2cgv Mikal with a k @npub1h9y…cr0d Wahweap Creek area. Going to look at some rock formations. Not doing any overnights. npub1yttry4rfaja65es49eryqzs28hwcjq76kc336lq0529sfg3mrgnqvx2cgv Mikal with a k @npub1h9y…cr0d Nah. Heading over toward Paria tomorrow to find some toadstool rocks I saw in photos. npub1yttry4rfaja65es49eryqzs28hwcjq76kc336lq0529sfg3mrgnqvx2cgv Mikal with a k View southeast from tonight's camp spot, Muley Point, overlooking the Goosenecks of the San Juan River. Monument valley in the distance. I tend to wake up before dawn, so I'm looking forward to the sunrise across this wild landscape. I was hoping to get here for the sunset, but missed it by about 15 minutes. #RoadTrip #CanyonCountry #Dirtbagger #DirtBaggerForever #PublicLands #BetterThanAFiveStarHotel https://files.sfba.social/media_attachments/files/111/145/872/627/980/181/original/43bafa134cc20d34.jpeg npub1yttry4rfaja65es49eryqzs28hwcjq76kc336lq0529sfg3mrgnqvx2cgv Mikal with a k No thanks. I don't need to get messed up. Sincerely, another #WellAdjustedAtheist https://files.sfba.social/media_attachments/files/111/021/120/363/027/362/original/00dca25e700e6bdc.jpeg npub1yttry4rfaja65es49eryqzs28hwcjq76kc336lq0529sfg3mrgnqvx2cgv Mikal with a k @npub12gt…4049 I remember Spybot! I guess the other option would be to mark those emails as spam and let them auto delete. Thing is, we also built our B2B mailing list the same way: by sending out ads to the state list of licensees. It's pretty much what everybody does because it's otherwise very difficult to advertise in a way that reaches thousands of widely scattered small cannabis farmers (we're a nursery). It's mildly annoying, but it's what everyone does now. I would rather have people unsubscribe so we don't have to pay for sending bulk mail into a spam folder. And I'm sure they feel the same way. But I wish there were a simple and safe way to do it in case someone does try that as an attack vector. npub1yttry4rfaja65es49eryqzs28hwcjq76kc336lq0529sfg3mrgnqvx2cgv Mikal with a k Are phishing attacks disguised as email list "unsubscribe" buttons a thing? I mean, it would be so damn easy to get most people to click on those. Because I have three related licenses for my business, all in a public database, I get put on bazillions of lists. Even the simple step of link hovering to see the full URL before clicking gets old really quickly. #Phishing #spam npub1yttry4rfaja65es49eryqzs28hwcjq76kc336lq0529sfg3mrgnqvx2cgv Mikal with a k Is it just me, or has iOS voice-to-text transcription become really, really bad? It mostly works if I speak in a slow robotic voice, but it still randomly capitalizes words or substitutes some obscure proper noun for a common word it doesn't understand. It used to work well! I noticed it degraded a couple updates ago, same time it decided that "something" was always "some thing." Now it seems to have gotten even worse. #iOS npub1yttry4rfaja65es49eryqzs28hwcjq76kc336lq0529sfg3mrgnqvx2cgv Mikal with a k Some of the sunroom detail I'm working on. Next step is drilling bolt holes to attach the knee braces. The sheetrock is almost done and then the straw bale area will get a finish lime plaster coat. After that, the only thing left to do will be to find a drywall finisher to come in. I can't stand that part and I'm terrible at it. https://files.sfba.social/media_attachments/files/110/973/807/933/648/137/original/6229a8183b1dd9ee.jpeg npub1yttry4rfaja65es49eryqzs28hwcjq76kc336lq0529sfg3mrgnqvx2cgv Mikal with a k @npub1q5e…6c85 "Utopia!" as an advertising gimmick to sell us a security nightmare. Don't buy it.