Assuming the Drab Color of the World

I needed a little something in case I got stuck with nothing to do on a recent trip.  Most simply turn their attention to that little black box in their pocket.  I usually avoid that at all costs.  This book stuck out on my bookshelf as something that might be mildly entertaining, without too huge of commitment.   I do not recall from where it came at all.  It just appeared in my collection one day; perhaps, under its own power, it invited itself into my world.  

Regardless.  While standing in the line of eternity at the airport, I began reading and quickly found it fit the bill perfectly.  Short passages within specific topic chapters outlined a diversity of opinion and speculation on the cause of this or that in the turn-of-the-century Ozark world.

One of the most striking observations came in the forward.  It not only fits the time of the writing but could easily be applied to the impact of globalization that occurred throughout much of the time after.

"Wherever railroads and highway penetrate, wherever newspapers and moves and radios are introduced, the people gradually lose their distinctive local traits and assume the drab color which characterizes conventional Americans elsewhere. The Ozarkers are changing rather rapidly just now, and it may be that a few more years of progress will find them thinking and acting very much like country folk in other parts of the United States. This standardizing transformation is still far from complete, however. A great body of folk belief dies very slowly, and I suspect that some vestiges of backwoods superstition will be with us for al long time to come."

Indeed these vestiges of backwoods superstition persist in much of our daily lives, as demonstrated by a few other passages within the book.  The very first that I encountered took me back to a saying my great-grandmother espoused frequently that was always left me a little confused about what rain and sunshine had to do with the devil beating his wife.  I remain perplexed to this day too.

The next I encountered came straight from my parents mouths.  It is but another that leaves me wondering.  Why Bread and Butter?

Some may be more familiar with the "Salt and Pepper" variation.  While this one seems equally unfounded, the book does discuss beliefs surrounding various aspects of good and evil associated with having, keeping and freely giving salt away to another.

Then there are some that do not match perfectly to well known phrases, though it is easy to tell from where they may have had their beginnings, as with this related to finding a pin.

I could probably snapshot most of this book, and may yet include more of these phrases in the comments as I go along.  It is a fun read, to the say the least.  Some phrases have no specific origin and some are meant to keep children busy in the days before radio, television, or any sort of other technology. I neglected to snapshot this point but it amounted to sending children to go count the freckles on the face of another to find out how many days until summer or some such thing.

Randolph, V. (2012). Ozark Magic and Folklore. Dover Publications. (Original work published 1947).

Tao Verse 16

The great truth of Nature is Tao.

Mineral Baths to Mountain Bluffs

Our Anniversary Escape this year led us to Hot Springs in Arkansas.  The biggest motivator seemed to be that every other attempt to visit the namesake placename has ended in some disruption or another.  The most recent attempt north of Yellowstone in Montana found the place had closed for the season the weekend just prior to our arrival.  This turned out very similar to other attempts too, though not a complete failure.

It is an interesting little town to explore and soak in a little, quite literally and of course, figuratively. While three days felt like the perfect amount of time to get a good taste of the area, a longer stay would be needed, if one were to have an interest in conquering things like the 21 km Sunset Trail.

Hiking was not at the top of this agenda this time, though we did afford time for the Gulpha Gorge Trail, after pausing for a ride up to the top of the Mountain Tower for a look around the valley.  Most of the remainder of the time involved parading up and down Central Avenue, relaxing in a mineral bath and enjoying some delicious German food.

Local art proved itself an unexpected highlight, featuring an array of massive murals climbing three or four stories high. These pops of fresh paint felt like a modern dialogue against the city's historic backdrop, appearing in almost every corner of the downtown area.

Leaving the city behind, the second half of the adventure turned north into the Flatside Wilderness of the Ouachita National Forest.  The detour was mostly unplanned, beyond knowing of a waterfall there that just happened to be along the way.  We found the cascade mostly dry, though an interesting space in the middle of nowhere to visit.  The trek in and out of the location, crawling up and the rough roads offered their own adventure, proving once again that the journey is just as important as the destination.

Returning to our home away from home in Heber Springs offered time to enjoy friends and family and scoot up to Batesville Motor Speedway for the annual dusting at .  It was a bit cooler than last year, and the wind was not quite as tuned into the direction it should have, but not awful.  The drone of engines and a good coating of red clay just feels right on a cool spring night.

A day on my own led me to the North Sylamore Creek Trail.  Road conditions deterred previous transports from enjoying this piece of scenery.  The short route down to the Allison Trailhead is not always in the best of conditions.  This time, well-prepared with a high clearance vehicle, the road presented itself in much more appropriate fashion.

With transport parked firmly in place, a secondary obstacle loomed.  The creek itself it not much where the trail first meets the bank. However, the Forest Service encourages a trek north from there about 100 yards and cross at a much deeper section.  It is undoubtedly one of those little counterintuitive trail quirks.  Perhaps during high water, it is a shorter distance but then again, much deeper still.

Once on the trail, the landscape changes as the trail climbs steadily to meander northerly above the river, enabling spectacular views of where water likely spills over the edge of the bluff high above, in several locations; that is, in damper conditions.  The stretch defines Ozark geology, with hidden caves and weathered karst littering the length of the journey.

After exploring roughly 4 of the 30 kilometers associated with this trail, it was time to think about heading back since I had no clue how long it was really going to take and there were other plans for the evening hours.  Emerging from the wilderness earlier than expected offered time for a quick jaunt over South Sylmore Creek and its swinging bridge.

The road back to Heber Springs from Mountain View takes about as much time as crossing from one side of Kansas City to other.  It is undeniably more interesting though, even if the state continues to push to straighten out the roads and remove the deep valley dives.

Conversation and a good meal brought things to a close for the day, so much so that we completely  lost track of time.  We realized too late that we missed the change to jump over to Sandy Beach to enjoy the sun set on another enjoyable journey into Arkansas.  There is always another chance.

The drive homeward did not really stand out all that much.  Anticipated afternoon storms, coupled with a return to work looming on the morning horizon the next day encouraged arrival at an earlier than normal time.   It had  been another good journey, leaving us with good memories, multiple new additions to The Ozarks collection, and a little red clay all around.

KC 2 Atlanta & Back

Downtown Atlanta proved an interesting place to explore for a few days, while attending FABCON / SQLCON 2026.  More compelling than anything else, I had the opportunity to capture a few views for the collection from 9 km or so in the air.

Basecamp held its own unique history, though not much is left of the old place beyond a high-rise with a spectacular view from the outdoor pool on the 19th floor.  With a Margaritaville attached, a Waffle House a block away,  Centennial Park sprawling across the street, and the Georgia World Conference Center lie just on the other side  of that, it proved itself the perfect location.

In my spare time, I wandered about a 2 km radius from the location, taking in the local art and dropping by the state capitol building.  The space between has definitely seen better times, though appeared as though it were rebuilding to return to those glory days. It was an interesting town, and very walkable in the daylight, though I am not sure I would return with the sole intent on seeing Atlanta.

Tao Verse 15

Those who have Tao want nothing else.

Mason Jars, Dishware, and Mowers in the Forest

Hiking about one of my favorite spots this past weekend, I got to thinking about a previous discovery there, and thought to check in on it.  I almost forgot where it was.  I checked one spot and then another, before a crunching sound underfoot that did not align to the sound of leaves confirmed the location.  

Brushing away the dead leaves, I noticed some of the pieces of mason jars previously noted.  There were not quite as many as before and the rusting remnants of the vehicle that contained these artifacts were nowhere to be found.  That is not surprising.  At the time, I had made the mistake of posting about this little discovery on Twitter. Shame on me.  Lesson Learned.   

A couple of new pieces emerge this time, with a few more light brushes.  They were only lightly covered in soil and appeared to be part of some sort of dishware.  Turning the piece over, fading paint appeared on the artifact.  It was not much thicker than a nickel and appeared to be hand-painted.  An AI search on this image indicates:

"The image displays a shard of antique porcelain with significant crazing, which are the fine cracks in the glazed surface and a common sign of age in old ceramics.  The pattern appears to be a transferware design, potentially from the 19th or early 20th century."

The second piece was a bit larger and probably a flanged bowl of some sort.  Judging by the diameter and the convex interior curve, it might have been a old wash basin.  An AI search on this image indicates:

The object in the image appears to be a shard of vintage ceramic dishware, likely stoneware, featuring a cream-colored glaze. The shard shows a thick body typical of 19th or early 20th-century pottery, with significant crazing (fine cracks) in the glaze.

Coloring, texture, and general make indicate both items are related, beyond just their location. They were rescued and cleaned under hot water and placed in a plastic bag for preservation.  I feel as though I may need to excavate a bit more of this situation to learn more. 

This is the most anyone will get to know this time.

The backstory on this weird little archaeological find begins after a series of heavy rains a couple of years ago, when I discovered an interesting artifact along the trail of one of my favorite hiking spots.  Lying perpendicular to the trail in a ditch created by downhill drainage, I noticed a chunk of metal sticking up and went to examine.  Brushing away leaves and dirt uncovered what appeared to be the decaying bed of an old pickup type vehicle from the 1930s.  The tailgate remained mostly intact, though sides and bed were one. Multiple broken mason jars lay against a corner of where one of the remaining corners met the tailgate.

It appeared that someone had been driving along and had broken down while ascending the hill.  The general direction of the vehicle indicated progress from the direction of Liberty towards Gladstone. They apparently just left everything there, though that seems a bit odd for someone to do.  Did they go looking for help or otherwise and simply forgot how to get back?  Did they just give entirely?  Did they get caught transporting moonshine?  Did they die here?  What exactly happened?  Scant research uncovered nothing.

Leaving this little find in place and undisturbed, I took a couple of photos and unwittingly made a post about the discovery on Twitter.  Returning to the site a few months later, it should have been no surprise to discover that someone had been rooting around, though it remained mostly undisturbed.

I posted on Twitter about it, at the time. I should have never done that and won't make the same mistake twice.  Almost everything described in this back story has vanished.

A few hundred yards from there, an old mower lay quiet on the forest floor.  This land was used for something at one time, or it was junk yard.  Hard to tell just now.  More research is needed.  Below are a few shots of that in the last couple of months.

Tao Verse 14

Beyond the sense lies the great Unity.

SharePoint List Deprecation in favor of Rules

Microsoft continues to align with the Google way of doing business, abandoning processes that are user-friendly in favor of a more awkward way of doing things.  It is simply continuing technical stupidity.

Microsoft strives to deliver utmost value to our customers through modern, optimized, secure solutions in this newly evolved world focused on digital transformation. As part of this evolution of Microsoft 365 solutions, we will be retiring SharePoint Alerts and believe Microsoft 365 customers will be better served by modern notification solutions based upon the Power Automate platform or SharePoint Rules. - SharePoint Alerts retirement - Microsoft Support

Microsoft, you believe wrongly.  Alerts were simple and straightforward.  We now have to setup 3 rules to accomplish what one alert did perfectly.  Additionally, the Rule does not include information that the Alert included, which causes users to have to click-through to get to that information.  To get that information, you have to create an Automation.  I can get through it, but it is not exactly a simple process for nearly all of my user community.  This is not helpful.  Thanks for piling on more work for me, Microsoft.

I suppose that I should be thankful they are not ditching SharePoint completely.

Golden Sands Ranked First

This view greeted us in the morning during our stay at Great Sand Dunes National Park & Preserve last year, and just ranked first in a little photo contest for "Golden Sands" on PulsePX. 

Requirements for submission expected one to "Explore the textures of the dunes. Capture the shifting patterns of sand in deserts or on beaches. Use the low angle of the sun to highlight the ripples and ridges, creating a warm, textured, and minimalist landscape."

 It was much more than we expected to see that morning, after overnight cloud cover denied any dark sky star-gazing. 

Year One in the Crosstrek

One year in the Subaru and it has been a good car.  It is good to run down unpaved paths with a great deal more undercarriage confidence than the previous vehicle.  I remain unimpressed with the level of technology in the vehicle and since purchasing it have discovered that many others are also unimpressed with level of technology in any vehicle.  Some things are acceptable; other points are purely ridiculous.  

As an example in 2024 model year, Subaru moved the climate controls to the touch screen.  This was a terrible move and not user friendly at all.  One has to physically look at the screen to see where to touch to turn the fan up or switch the output. This is a terrible user experience. There is also the case of the frost bomb that awaits the unsuspecting solo driver in cold weather.  

There a few other things do not really live up to expectations, but are mostly tolerable.  Gas mileage is not what it should be or could be.  If Ford can get 40 mpg out of a 2015 Focus, surely we could do a little better ten years later. "Eyesight" could be a little less helpful.  There is no need for the car to drive itself.

The chief complaint is the relative cheapness of the vehicle, which is starting to stand out.

Some things are what you might expect out of cheap car.  Scratches under the door handle, from repeated use are awful.  The above image displays the issue.  It took 8 years for my previous vehicle to even come close to looking like this.   Why do other cars not have this issue?  Is it cheap paint?

Some things you do not expect to see in the upgraded version of the cheap car.  The Limited has a Leather arm rest in the center console.   The photo above displays it poorly but a noticeable impression on the corner of the side of the driver has started to appear.  The Premium version, owned by a friend just as long, does not have this problem.  It has a much durable center console arm rest.  Subaru should have used the same framework and covered that with leather.

Lastly, the backup camera, and Subaru is not alone on this front.  The only camera I have encountered that does not have a problem with dirt and grime all over the lens was the 2015 Focus.  Ford seems to be the only manufacturer that knows how to place a camera so it does not get dirt all over it; that is, at least on that year and model.  Subaru did ensure that you have some means of cleaning off the camera,  even if it is mostly ineffective, amounting to drool running over the lens.

Those are the only complains so far, for the past year.  I am sure there are some that I missed that are trivial in nature.  It is a good car though.

Tao Verse 13

Be wary of both honor and disgrace.