Protesting Hypocrites

In the wake of the election of Donald Trump to the Presidency of the United States, people in various, yet extremely predictable places came out to express their anger and frustration. The violence continues to escalate too. Anti-Trump protesters insist they will not accept him to represent them.

All of this, they will tell you, out of fear of what might happen.

I wonder if they realize aliens could land tomorrow and annihilate us all.

That is something to be more afraid of.

Yet…

The protesters scream that they intend to show President-Elect Donald Trump exactly what hate looks like.

They are beating other people down, while holding signs that loudly proclaim “Love Trumps Hate.”

They are calling for more violence, even going so far as to suggest that someone should assassinate the man.

Really?

Are they even listening to themselves?

Does anyone else see the hypocrisy in all of this?

The very same individuals that condemned Trump supporters for their potential unwillingness to accept the election results that are doing the very same. They are unwilling to accept the outcome of the election. The shoe is on the other foot and the irony and hypocrisy are utterly astounding, but not very surprising, and as predictable as the people involved and the locations.

What I do find surprising is that many of the very same people chose to sit this one out, and took no part in the election at all. I heard a piece on NPR, and then a few other mainstream outlets as well, talking with quite a few of the protesters, most of whom indicated they did not even vote.

What exactly are these folks protesting, and on what grounds?

They made a conscience decision not to participate, and now are upset at the outcome, intent on harming others, perhaps even killing people.

Seriously?

Sit down and shut up!

If you chose not to vote, then you have no right to complain about the results. You had your chance.

Another thing strikes me, looking at the photos of the protests. Most of these folks appear to be of a certain generation where disruption is a way of life. Indeed, it is all they seem to understand, and maybe I will write a piece on that in the future, and the ridiculousness of it all.

Whether needed or not, whether good or bad, if they do not like something or the way a situation things turn out, they rally hard and fight for change. That in itself is actually admirable. However, they have the whole country believing that is the norm, and cowering in the corner like frightened parents of a spoiled and abusive child.

They have decided that the democratic process is unacceptable. They are going to hold their breath until we give them their way. They are going to take a stand in the middle of the grocery aisle, stamp their feet, and scream about how life is not fair.

Life is not fair. You do not always get your way, and throwing a temper tantrum is not going to change anything. It might have worked with your apathetic parents, who apparently could not be bothered with teaching you that not everyone wins, and you do not always get what you want.

It is time. Learn it. Accept it. Move on.

Protest when there is something worth protesting.

Those opposed did not rise up and take to the streets in protest because Barrack Obama won election in 2008 or 2012.

Those opposed did not attempt to harm others because Barrack Obama won either election.

Those opposed did not threaten to kill people because Barrack Obama won either election.

Those opposed did not threaten to assassinate Barrack Obama because he won either elections.

Those opposed walked away from the election results, hung their head in disappointment, and went on about their lives.

Those opposed followed a peaceful and democratic route in opposition to President Obama and his policies, without physically harming anyone.

Do you see the difference?

Today, I read reports that the Democratic National Committee and their sponsors are posting advertisements on Craig’s List, hiring protesters, and buying charter buses to ship them to all the right places.

Allow me to translate; the wealthy are hiring the poor to rally together and go to jail and/or die for them.

Does that sound familiar; you know, like all the wars that have been raging around the world for more than a millennium?

Congratulations, duped again.

Add to all of this, the continual flood of disinformation on social media that has been going on several years now. Reading nothing but propaganda on Facebook and Twitter, apparently quite a few folks believed every meme that crossed their path, because that is their only “news.” It is their way of life, and they do not allow themselves to read or understand anything else. If you offer an opposing view, they will unfriend you. They do everything they can to ensure they do not hear anything but their own voice and those that agree with them, and they prefer it that way.

I suspect none of them have read this far; too many words, and not enough pictures with cats.

The media was just as guilty of the same throughout the entire election cycle, and they continue to fan the flames.

Foreign media outlets jumped on the Trump-hating bandwagon early, attempting to manipulate the situation. Sitting at their desks thousands of kilometers away, watching CNN and MSNBC, they looked to social media for confirmation and found it. They followed up reporting biased assumptions, based on preconceived notions and intentionally incomplete evidence.

How is it possible for foreign media to understand anything about this nation, the election, or the candidates from 5000+ km away?

It is not. They know nothing and are only causing trouble, and they know it.

Meanwhile, within the US, media outlets are in disarray, finally recognizing the very echo chamber from which they have been broadcasting. They are not even hiding it now, but doing nothing to correct it. Indeed, they continue to fuel the fire by acknowledging the brat children, broadcasting their antics and portraying the situation as if it were the scene in every town in the US.

It is not and will not be.

The more civilized in this nation will shut them down. They will not allow the country to be ripped apart by spoiled toddlers consumed by a fit of rage.

If you are a one of these non-voting protesters, either in the streets or in journalism, there are a few things you need to come to grips with.

Fact: Donald Trump will be the President of the United States, elected under a fair and democratic election process.

Fact: Hillary Clinton did not get enough votes and conceded the election. Simply stated, she gave up.

It’s over.

Get used to it.

Quit preaching peace at the point of a gun.

The country will move forward with or without you.

There is nothing more to say.

Go home.

If you must protest something, perhaps it would be best if you started at the offices of the Democratic National Committee for blatantly cheating Bernie Sanders out of the nomination. They lied. They cheated. They manipulated the vote. They did everything they could to ensure this result. They are to blame for this mess.

For the record, I am not Republican or Democrat. I am an independent thinker that makes decisions based upon the best available data. My data said that Hillary Clinton was a fraud, wanted to continue a dynasty, insisted that she was rightful heir to a throne that does not exist, and was prepared to continue business-as-usual by lying and cheating her way into office.

In my humble opinion, democracy triumphed and prevented that atrocity.

And no, I am not of Gen X, Gen Y or of the Millennials. I am one of the “In Between,” those that have been ignored and marginalized. I am not white. I am not black. I am an American mutt among other mutts, and as you might have noticed, we have had enough of the bullshit.

Can we try just once, to give peace a chance

Van Meter State Park

Tucked into the wooded hills of north central Saline County, near a former bend of the Missouri River, is a rare opportunity to examine three thousand years of Native American history up close.

Glacial deposition and natural weathering formed these mostly unremarkable loess hills. They are like many others across the state, near the river, and most folks probably drive right past without even noticing.

Native Americans recognized the strategic importance of the hills though. Aside from the fact that the river and marshes provided for all of their needs, a commanding view from the tops of these hills ensured control of any and all transportation along the river and surrounding countryside. Most native and foreign expeditions did not progress up river without the consent of the Missouri Indian tribe that inhabited this region.

In depth of study of this tribe, and those that came before, continues today on site at Missouri’s American Indian Cultural Center. Also serving as the Visitor Center for the park, the center hosts display interpreting the cultural history of the Native American tribes of the region. Also included among the displays are early maps of North America, similar to those relied upon by the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

The Native Americans had almost vanished by the time Meriwether Lewis and William Clark came along though. European disease and warfare with other tribes had reduced populations dramatically. Lewis and Clark estimated only about 300 maintained an existence when they passed through.

By the time Abel Vanmeter arrived in the 1800s, the Native Americans had moved on or been forced out. The family tended their farm on the land for nearly 100 years, leaving the Native American portions mostly undisturbed. In 1932, they deeded the land to the State, and the Civilian Conservation Corps developed the park and shelter houses in use today.

The park hosts six different trails, but the most interesting to me was that chosen for this particular hiking adventure. The Earthworks Trail, a 2.8 km hike, winds up the hills through the forested part of the Oumessourit Natural Area and into an open area known as “The Old Fort.”

An earthwork fort built about 300–500 years ago by the Oneota people, the grounds measure approximately 300 meters long by 120 meters wide. Constructed along the edges of the narrow ridge it straddles, embankments and ditches enclose roughly 2.5 Hectares. It is truly an amazing feat of engineering, when one considers it was likely built with little more bison scapula tools and a lot of hard labor.

While archaeologists still do not really know the purpose of Old Fort, it appears somewhat obvious. Standing in the middle of this area, imagining how it might have looked then, defense was of the utmost importance. An attack could come from anywhere, at any time, by anything.

There are arguments against this, primarily since the site lacks any evidence of palisades, typical in most of these arrangements. There does not appear to be any need though. The entire situation is a palisade by its very nature. Any guards posted would have been able to see anything coming for miles.

Nothing could breach trenches or embankments without someone knowing well in advance. Trees were absent from the area at the time, and one could see down into the trenches, along all of the embankments, and down the hillside from any vantage point in the area. Additionally, tribal cultures avoided night operations, leaving wildlife the only concern after dark.

Finding the trail late Autumn can be a challenge. Leaves obscure the obvious, but continues at the other end of Old Fort. Someone without much thought towards usability had decided upon green trail markers. In an area that is typically green and forested most of the year. This seems like a choice that might need reconsideration.

The trail continues past the signs and on into the forest for a few hundred meters before emerging at another clearing. More appropriately placed to greet visitors than the last set, a couple of signs present a short discussion of the burial mounds immediately in view, and the village site beyond.

There was not much more to see. It splits another direction on the other side of the Old Fort. While the path on the right was not hazardous, it was a bit tighter and a more strenuous climb.

Van Meter State Park was a fantastic site, just a couple of hours east of Kansas City, hosting relatively well-maintained trail. It also contains picnic sites, a playground, and a couple of group shelters. Nearby are basic and electric camping areas, complete with modern restrooms and a shower house. Additionally, the park hosts an 18-acre fishing lake, along with a couple more trails that meander the edges of the water.

. . .

further reading

Annie and Abel Van Meter State Park

Missouri State Parks

Missouri's American Indian Cultural Center

Missouri State Parks

PLSS Research & Data Restructuring - Restoring a County GIS (Part 6)

Map of the Public Land Survey System - US Dept of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management

The next phase in restructuring the County data towards dependency on a more solid framework of geographic data consisted of building out the Public Land Survey (PLSS) layer. As noted in the previous chapter, the essential part of this work consisted of collecting Ground Control Points and Registered Land Corners for addition to their own respective layers.

Assembling all of the point data related to the Land Corners layer, numerous inconsistencies were noted, which required further investigation to understand their relevance to the situation.

Section corners appeared to have multiple locations along the eastern edge of the county, as well as along old Kansas City boundaries. Additionally, limited availability of data related to the boundaries along the river created challenges on that front, requiring in depth research to understand all of these issues and their relationship to one another.

. . .

Downloading the PLSS layer from the Missouri Spatial Data Information Service (MSDIS) answered a few questions, but begged clarification on others. Partial sections adorned the eastern boundary of the County, and of the same Township/Range/Section as those adjacent in Clay County. What caused this?

The part of the County along the Missouri River valley had its own set of problems too. Some of the Township/Range information seemed to be completely wrong. Township/Range composed of 50s/30s dominated the County, but in this part of the County, 7/20s popped up along the river. Where did these come from?

While researching these questions, I came to know University of Missouri Professor and co-author of the “Atlas of Lewis and Clark in Missouri,” Jim Harlan. He developed the PLSS layer I downloaded, was very informative, and just a lot of fun to talk with. Validating much of what I already understood, he clarified a few other points as well.

The Platte Purchase of 1836 caused the issue along the eastern boundary. I am still not quite sure that I understand why the surveyors did not just pick up where they left off when they began their survey; instead, a slight jog remains today along the Platte County Boundary, where partial Sections of that part of the Township / Range meets partial Sections from the very same Township / Range in Clay County.

A lengthy technical discussion with Mr. Harlan did not exactly clarify the reasons behind the Sections mismatch, but did help me to understand the origin and impact. He attributed most of the issue and many other discrepancies I would soon uncover to excessive drinking on the frontier survey crews. Amusingly, it only took a little bit of reading to validate those conditions.

More easily understood, the sections along the Missouri River are a simple result of nature, which slipped my mind. Survey boundaries never move. The river does, and quite often. Most of Missouri is surveyed under the 5th Principal Meridian, while Kansas was surveyed using the 6th. Since that time, the Missouri River has wandered about quite a bit, leaving bits and pieces of what some perceive as other states on both sides of the river. This is most evident along the Mississippi River, but the Missouri has its own share too.

At least two mysteries were resolved, which only left the northern boundary of the County. That turned out to be a rather simple matter really. Everything was normal. The County boundary moved a few years prior, and several surveys were available, along with extensive documentation and precise GPS positions along the entire boundary.

. . .

Following the framework identified in the previous chapter, I started construction on what would be four distinct layers. This actually took quite a bit of time, as I originally thought that I might just put it all together in one layer, but revelations associated with the Parcel Number, forced me down another path.

The Parcel Number identified the location of the land, indicating the Township/Range, the Section, the Quarter Section, as well as a couple other elements; indeed, the first 4 numbers in the set represented the legacy Map Sheet # that any parcel with that number could be found on. The second part of that number caused a little difficulty, but a little research uncovered that it was an old National Weather Service thing that has somehow found its way into the Parcel number; it covers 4 sections.

Example Parcel Number: 18–9.0–32–400–015–001.000

• 18 = Township 52 North / Range 33 W — 5th Principal Meridian
• 9.0 = Tetrasection 9.0
• 32 = Section 32
• 400 = Southeast quarter
• 015 = Block Number
• 001.000 = Lot . SubLot Number

Taking the Land Corners feature previously generated, along with the PLSS from MSDIS, I began tying corners to points. It was strictly a Section PLSS, and most of the corners on the PLSS did not move far, usually only a handful of feet in just about every direction. There were a few exceptions, and I decided it would be best to set those aside until completing more research on the specific attributes of those.

Once complete, I began developing the framework for the PLSS that would live on our system. It would be comprised of four independent layers. The current Map Sheet number already in use would carry through all layers.

The PLSSTownships defined the Township/Ranges for further division. PLSSFirstDivision was the first division of the Township/Range layer, and contained the Tetrasections. PLSSSecondDivision was the second division of the Township/Range layer, and contained the Sections. PLSSThirdDivision was the third division of the Township/Range layer, and contained the Quarter Section information.

Fields in each of the layers were named straightforward and simple, but still abbreviated. When developing these, I discovered that while you could give field names any number of characters, if you went to export any of them to a Shapefile the names were truncated. Consequently, all of the field names needed to be eight characters to provide clarity and prevent any confusion about the name.

Most of the data was numeric, or simple text. This attribute information would rarely, if ever change. The field definitions would always work, regardless of what changed though. I used Short Integer everywhere possible, as well as limiting the length of text fields. In the case of cardinal and ordinal directions, I simply created a domain (lookup table).

The layers do not contain all of the data for each of the division. They only hold that relevant to the County, which causes it to appear as if data is missing along the boundaries. There was just no need to define Sections that were not in Platte County though.

We left the boundary on the Missouri River alone. There was just no help for that. Surveys were more than 100 years old in some cases, or had never been properly located with GPS.

GPS positions identifying County boundaries on the north and east side of the County enabled us to re-define the boundary with 99% confidence. The work added hundreds of acres to County that had not been previously included or assessed, resulting in increased revenue for the County.

In the end, we only used the PLSSThirdDivision in our production environment. It had everything we needed in it. All of the other layers ended up being really for other cartographic purposes only and for analysis, and quality control. I simply made all adjustments in the PLSSThirdDivision layer, and migrated those changes up to the other layers once a month.

Building them out independently proved to be a good exercise that provided valuable insight when I started building the Subdivision framework. It helped in understanding the numerous peculiarities of working with DB2, ArcGIS, and ArcSDE, when building out new features and tables. It also provided an excellent understanding of the idiosyncrasies of the Public Land Survey System.

We decided not to involve too many parcel adjustments at this stage. There was more work to do and another framework to complete. New parcels that did not belong to subdivisions were subject to the new PLSS, and adjacent parcels adjust out of the way of them. Additionally, the individual receiving deeds in the Office of the Assessor began updating all associated parcels, where previously they had only reviewed the legal to determine location. This worked well for the remainder of my time there, and just updating as it came through resulted in updating nearly 75% of parcels in the County over 5 years.

All individual features were stored in a Feature Dataset named Public Land Survey System, along with the LandCorners and GroundControlPoints, due to their geographic relationship and dependencies.

. . .

Map displaying all layers of the grid and Land Corners

Below are links to access the four new features created in this process. Full detail on the construction of these features is further defined within the Info Sheet, containing the Metadata, for each individual feature.

. . .

PLSSTownships feature (KML)

- Info Sheet for PLSSTownship Metadata

PLSSFirstDivision feature (KML)

- Info Sheet for PLSSFirstDivision Metadata

PLSSSecondDivision feature (KML)

- Info Sheet for PLSSSecondDivision Metadata

PLSSThirdDivision feature (KML)

- Info Sheet for PLSSThirdDivision Metadata

. . .

Coming next in the series … more data restructuring, Subdivision, re-alignment, and other points of interest!

Medium needs a better Feed

Photograph courtesy of elPadawan, Flickr

Since joining Medium almost a year ago, I have really enjoyed this platform. There are so many great writers here, creating some fantastic original content, that it is a little hard to keep up with all of it at times. I do manage, somewhat.

I continue to find it a bit difficult to follow the sources that I enjoy the most , which leads me to writing this recommendation. Perhaps, someone can identify what I am doing wrong, or the good folks at Medium will recognize the potential for a new feature, or adjust an algorithm somewhere.

Often cluttered with nonsense that I could really care less about, my stream is the primary concern. I follow about 22 different tags; one or two that are relatively specific, like GIS. However, most of the tags are general, such as History, Design, Culture, Photography, etc.

One example is stories by the publication “War is Boring.” I do not mean to pick on them. I have read a couple of really good articles from them, but I do not follow that publication. I do not follow the writer that recently published a story in that publication. I do not follow any of the tags identified in the article, yet there are three stories from this publication in my stream now.

Meanwhile, recent stories that I really care about, from folks that I follow, publications that I follow, and tags that I follow are getting very little stream time. Once, I tried countering this effect by accessing the tags directly, but there is another problem.

Some of the stories under tags are months old and extremely stale. For example, the first story under the tag for Missouri displays an article from February 28 that is wholly irrelevant now. The bill failed to make it out of committee back in April. What use is that story to anyone?

Visiting each individual or publication is not an option either. If I have to resort to that, I might as well just surf around the internet as I did before. Indeed, that is what started trending in my world, and I got to thinking; Medium really should have a better means of keeping folks on the site, reading the things they follow on Medium, and even things they care about that are not on Medium.

A few weeks ago, I re-discovered the RSS feed again. I was amazed. There have made great strides in the development of the RSS Reader since I last bothered with it, which was about the time Google discontinued that effort. In my most humble opinion, this is exactly what Medium should be enabling on the site to attract and retain readers.

Using Feedly, which has undergone a fantastic facelift, I can pull in stories from all over the web, and not just Medium. I can categorize my content, see what is new today, mark articles read, bookmark them for later reading, and even get suggestions for related content that I am not following, off to the side. It even provides a wide array of social media integration and sharing tools, as well as the beginnings of its own little social media platform. The platform that I migrated my publication from, Blogger did a few of these things too, though not quite as efficiently. WordPress also offers a similar format, but their interface is just awkward and confusing at best.

One thing I do not care for on Feedly, is that it requires a bit more clicking around, which I am not usually inclined to do. If I want to “Recommend” an article on Medium, or any other source really, I have to select to “Visit Website” from the bottom of the article display. Ironically, this sort of thing is probably skewing the stats on Medium too. If I go to the Medium site to “Recommend” an article, I definitely do not read it all over again.

. . .

I truly feel there is an opportunity for Medium to step up and meet the needs of current users, attract new users, and as all web sites are most interested in doing, keep those users on site all the time. Medium is by far the best platform for publishing that I have had the opportunity to use. It simplifies everything, why not simplify the stream, and make it more user centric.

I would like to see Medium implement a customizable stream, wherein users could choose to see only the content to which they subscribe; additionally, enable an option to pull in content from sources outside of Medium.

The tabs at the top already offer users the opportunity to explore other Medium publisher topics. Along with the side bar that currently displays a few articles from those subjects, maintaining those would be sufficient to encourage folks to look around a little.

Tags display need modified to display the Latest, or at minimum, as mentioned previously, make it a user-defined option. The content on many tags is stale and irrelevant.

I think these little changes could also provide writers on Medium a lot more exposure, balance the playing field a bit more, and keep it from continuing down the path of appearing at times to be a rather gated community; unless, of course, that is the intent, then never mind and carry on.

The National Museum of Toys and Miniatures

The National Museum of Toys and Miniatures hosts the world’s largest fine-scale miniature collection and one of the largest collection of antique toys on display. Indeed, it is one of the few places were multiple generations can share a trip down memory lane, finding common ground in the toys and games of childhood years past and present.

The museum only recently re-opened after extensive remodeling. It first opened in 1982 as the Toy and Miniature Museum of Kansas City in a modest, Italianate mansion at the corner of 52nd and Oak on the University of Missouri — Kansas City campus. Since that time, it has grown to house over 300,000 unique items.

Recent renovations to the building have helped to modernize not only the structure, but also the displays. Multiple video screens are associated with several of the exhibits, displaying history and demonstrations related to the craft of toy and miniature making and manufacture. There are also a couple of hands-on displays for folks to get an idea of the artistry behind these items.

The main floor contains an extensive collection of miniatures and houses from the past hundred years or more. The houses and set displays represent a variety of cultures and sizes; tiny one room displays to castles, and everything in between. Those items not in a home of their own are artfully set into the walls behind glass in small one-room displays.

Parents will be doing some heavy lifting throughout this area though, as not all of the displays are at a level easily accessible to smaller patrons. Indeed, they will definitely need some help looking through all of the houses. The curator should consider adding some viewing steps for little ones, to ease the burden on their guardians.

Following the stairs up around a column of toys spiraling from floor to ceiling, the second floor is not quite as challenging to view for the small ones. Many of the toys are behind wide display windows with plenty of hall space to get a good view. There are still a few though that will need parental assistance.

Nearly every era of toys and games for children and children-at-heart are on display, featuring some of the most popular ever known, and folks will be surprised at how far back the origins of some reach. There are few more dollhouses on this floor, but these are the grander and gaudier, and a few owned by local residents; including one owned by Kansas City native Josephine Bird, daughter of one of the founders of Emery Bird Thayer Department Store. Outfitted with an array of personal family heirloom items, it also contains many items obtained from the department store, when Josephine was but a child in the late 1800s.

The Golden Age of Pedal Power As an added bonus, two special exhibitions were in progress on the second floor during this particular visit. “Pedal to the Metal” carried over from August, highlights some of the most fantastic pedal-powered inventions of the 20th century. It is a stroll though the history of the pedal car and an entire generation that rolled down the city streets and through farm backyards under their own power, and in their own version of the Ford, Chevrolet, and Kiddilac. There is even an Oscar Mayer Weiner mobile!

In a separate exhibit, “Messengers of Goodwill” enables visitors to discover a part of American history lost, in a display devoted to the American Blue-Eyed Dolls and Japanese Friendship Dolls. The display tells the story of how these three-foot tall dolls played a part in mending diplomatic relations between the two nations during the 1920s, as well as their subsequent relegation to the shredder at the beginning of World War II.

This little museum is definitely one of Kansas City’s own unique treasures and an adventure that will capture the imagination of young and old alike. It is open daily year-round, except for Tuesdays and major holidays, and at the time of this writing, only 5 bucks for children ages 5 to 100.

. . .

further reading

The National Museum of Toys and Miniatures

Kansas City, MO