This was once the main highway over Raton Pass between Trinidad, CO and Raton, NM. I-25 runs over the pass these days.

posted by Jean Dec 22, 2006

Winter. Late afternoon.
The beach is empty. The air is grey-blue.
The ocean is grey-silver, scattered with foamy white waves.

At the high-tide mark is a long wooden, railed walkway leading to
an old gazebo perched on top of the highest dune.
Inside the gazebo is a picnic table with benches.

Under the table is a pair of small deck shoes.
Between the shoes is an empty styrofoam coffee cup.

The most interesting thing is on the table. An open book.
The pages on the left are flapping lightly with the breeze.
The pages on the right are clipped together by a pen.
They struggle to move with the wind..

On that first page on the right is a single handwritten line.
In the most delicate and precise penmanship. It says…

"I am going home."

Also known as the Mariposa Lily, they are native to the area. The bulb is edible and was a food source for the Shoshone and early Mormon settlers in Utah. This version is the sagebrush mariposa lily ... it likes to grow in dry climates amongst sage brush.

One day they weren't here. The next, a few showed up. The next, the field was full of them.

Then one day - they disappear.

These are in my backyard; took the pictures just a few days ago.

Unfortunately, the Salt Lake city council adopted the sego lily to be placed on "certain" flags to avoid laws preventing "those" flags from flying on government property. Just another pleasant thing those people have tarnished with their political agenda.

I suggest you read the latest at Area Ocho by Dive Medic: "There Is No Hiding Your Thoughts"

He summarizes with:
"You can’t think about taking a crap without someone expecting you to reach for toilet paper."

I do what I can to prevent much of this on this site - I keep minimal statistics, I don't use Google Analytics, I use an uncommon theme, I don't apply cookies (though WordPress does). I don't use certain plugins that would make maintenance of this site easier but feed back information to the provider. I do use a spam filter which collects info. But by necessity, your IP address is captured as is your browser; both are needed to allow your computer to view this (or any other) site. Several other aspects of your system are also captured. A VPN can help, but the use of such also leaves a "fingerprint".

For example, yesterday (Friday) this site had 139 visitors from 71 IP addresses (which are recorded). Most viewers show up on Tuesday mornings. The most common browser is Chrome followed by Edge. The most common - by far - country for visitors is US, followed by Hong Kong, China, Serbia, Belgium, Canada. I suspect some of those provide the wonderfully unoriginal spam of which I currently have 99 waiting to be checked for legit comments and then deleted.
Among the more word-for-word common:

"I don’t think the title of your article matches the content lol. Just kidding, mainly because I had some doubts after reading the article."
"Can you be more specific about the content of your article? After reading it, I still have some doubts. Hope you can help me."
"Your point of view caught my eye and was very interesting. Thanks. I have a question for you."

I can't do anything about what happens from your end.

Your computer may be the culprit: both Apple and particularly Windows "phone home" if for nothing else, to make sure your license is up-to-date. Your browser is tracked to the point where it is possible to record which tabs you have open and where they are connected. Win11 is particularly troublesome - I dumped Windows operating system shortly after Win10 came out. This site (and hosting service) is based on open-source Linux.
(I was working for an agency when Win10 was released. The agency wanted to stick with Win7 due to security concerns in Win10. The agency finally relented though).

Even air-gapped computers are at risk. Every time a USB device is plugged in, the transfer of information is possible whether intended or not. Did you know the technology exists that can track your computer usage through fluctuations in your power line or from electromagnetic fields emanating from your monitor? Not that the use of such is common ... but it does exist. Think of those electric company meters that track usage second-by-second (they can record much faster than that though).

There is no escape; to attempt to escape is just adding one more piece of information about yourself to those interested in such information. "Looking to disappear? We can sell you bug-out gear."

Stay safe out there folks ... Embrace the tech. It's embracing you.
(Advice given by someone who avoids smart phones as much as possible)