Top Posts of 2019

The top posts of 2019 are a little different than I have seen in the past. Usually it is a mix of a few big hit posts that were linked on other sites and a lot of older posts that have long lives.

TMT Rendering
An overhead view of the proposed Thirty Meter Telescope, credit TMT Observatory Corporation

This year DarkerView’s traffic was dominated by the controversy on Mauna Kea. Publishing a series of posts on specific issues resulted in a lot of shares, mostly on FaceBook that drove traffic.

TMT supporters would routinely link DarkerView to provide more information in the raging online arguments that drove so much of the controversy. I can only hope that the posts had some effect in countering the dizzying amount of misinformation that featured in these arguments.

1A Compendium of Anti-TMT Myths5,047
2Keep it Running3,318
3Where can you fly a drone in Hawaii?3,254
4A Backyard Telescope Pier1,763
5The Mavic Air Panorama Modes1,410
6Remove the abandoned telescopes?1,328
7Will TMT use nuclear power?1,204
8Jan 20th Total Lunar Eclipse1,017
9Are there TMT jobs for locals?1,003
10Perfboard704
11The observatories pay no rent?695
12Restoring the Cave Astrola680
13The motivation for TMT is greed and profit?667
14Old School Drive Corrector657
15Will TMT be the biggest building on the island?652

Of course the Backyard Telescope Pier article continues to be the most popular long term post. This post has been on every DarkerView top post list since I started the blog. A number of other similar reference posts can be found in the top post lists.

Overall DarkerView had 74,125 page views from 39,679 unique visitors, a large increase from the 46,707 views of 2018, almost double.

Arguing with a Flerf pt. 2

So I pressed the conversation longer than I really should have. But I did discover a number of motivations behind the obstinate adherence to an easily disproved view of the world. It took more conversation, but his motivations did become clearer.

Total Solar Eclipse 2017
The 2017 total solar eclipse as photographed from central Oregon

To no surprise part of the reason is religion. When he began to quote bible verses in support of his claims of a “immovable” Earth one can begin to see where he is starting from.

Our flat, enclosed, immovable earth is absolute proof of a creator. God is real. We don’t have to believe in Him anymore. We can know it to be true.
Flat earth absolutely destroys the atheist/humanist worldview. Just like that.

Adam Asing in a Facebook Comment

If one begins with the belief that the Earth is flat, it is easy to reinforce that idea in this modern internet age. A thriving community of flerfs form one of the clearest examples of an echo chamber to be found on the net, a cult really. Circulating photos and YouTube videos reinforce the worldview, ridicule the “globe heads”, cement a community together in a belief of “true knowledge”.

Continue reading “Arguing with a Flerf pt. 2”

Favorite Posts of 2018

While the top posts of 2018 are interesting, the list is quite different when treated to a list of my favorite posts of 2018. The posts chronicle a very eventful year, a little too eventful perhaps. Fire and destruction was brought to a large section of the island, the entire island shaking and shuddering as the volcano erupted.

Fissure 8 Lava Fountain
The lava fountain at fissure 8 in Leilani Estates throwing lava hundreds of feet in the air on June 4th, 2018

As I compile this list I relive 2018 a bit, recalling good memories and the year’s many adventures. As I often state… DarkerView is a blog in the old sense, a web-log or online diary. It may be public, but it is also quite personal, a record of my life.

That is a long list!  I find myself unable to shorten that list by much, indeed, there are good posts that should be added.  The length of that list states one thing very clearly…  2018 was an eventful, interesting year.

A distinct change in this year was my increased political activity, particularly as it surrounds Mauna Kea. I am not just discussing blogging here, there was more… From submitting written testimony on state legislative actions, to attending public meetings, and testifying on issues I feel strongly about. The blog posts record some of that, but by no means all.

The year was eventful on the mauna. With record bad weather in the beginning of the year ruining many night of observing. there was plenty to keep my busy through the year. There is much to feel satisfied about, a few nice accomplishments, even a small victory or two.

The annual Alaskan voyage may very well be my last, my father is considering selling the boat, something that was always part of his plan. Certainly this was my last run along the Inside Passage, a milestone that I mark with some sorrow.

I re-read my written memories here, recall much of what has happened this year. I suspect that 2018 will stand out in my memory when other years have grown dim with fading memory.

Kiholo Bay by Drone
Kiholo Bay taken by the Mavic Air

Top Posts of 2018

Examining the most popular posts for the year shows trends we have seen in the past. Certain subjects have a very long lifetime, with steady interest and thus search engine hits. The backyard telescope pier plans continue to be one of my all time most popular posts, it has been in the top spot for a few years running. In general a number of amateur astronomy how-to articles are represented on the list.

Other articles reflect what was popular this year. Getting to the lava may now be obsolete, but the eruptions and the news boosted this post into my top rankings. Canon mirrorless cameras also garner a lot of news this year, and thus more hits on DarkerView.

1A Backyard Telescope Pier2,358
2Repairing a Wii Balance Board1,085
3Astrophotography with the EOS-M889
4Restoring an Orange Tube Celestron C8644
5Viewing the ISS599
6Rewiring a Celestron NexStar Telescope595
7Starscape Photography568
8Visiting the Summit of Mauna Kea529
9Light-years, Light-minutes and Light-seconds524
10Old School Drive Corrector503
11Shooting the Canon EOS M5487
12Emergency Alert Fatigue397
13Tragedy on Mauna Kea380
14End-of-Road Puakō374
15Getting to the Lava374

The message is clear, while the new articles on DarkerView are popular, it is the old articles that form a legacy here. People continue to search for and read a lot of the old material on the blog, a result that gives me some satisfaction.

WordPress Blocks

WordPress 5 introduced an entirely new editor, Gutenburg.  I knew it was coming, but had not really paid attention.  So when I updated DarkerView to WordPress 5 I was unprepared for what was coming.

The new Gutenburg editor introduced with WordPress 5
The new Gutenburg editor in WordPress 5

Oh *#$@!  This is different.

Blocks?  What are blocks?  Everything is blocks? I think I get it, it makes sense, the concept is straightforward… The trouble is in the details of actually doing anything useful, learning what icon to press, how to arrange things.  There should be a way to do this, but where is it?

Now that I have had some time with it, and watched a couple training videos, I think I am getting the idea.  At least I have been able to produce new posts without struggling.

The new editor is truly more powerful, more of a desktop publishing editor than a simple blogging editor.  With Gutenburg the power of WordPress to produce professional websites is dramatically improved.

I wonder what new users will think of when they encounter the editor.  Gutenburg dramatically steepens the learning curve necessary before using WordPress.  It is possible to use the classic editor, but only within a block.  A more explicit way to use the classic editor may be a good idea.

The only real effect on DarkerView right now will be a modest increase in the time it takes me to write a post, there are more keys to press and a few more mouse clicks to get the job done.  There will be no real change in the appearance or function of the blog, at least for now.

4K Screen Backgrounds

I was just re-editing one of my photos for use as a background. In my life complicated by multiple computers, many of which are virtual, I use unique screen backgrounds to remind myself which computer I am on.

Zodiacal Light over Keck
Zodiacal Light over the Keck telescopes

Hmmm? Maybe I should share a few.

These are sized for the newer 4K monitors at 3840 x 2160, which is the usual 16:9 aspect ratio now used for most monitors. The images should display well on full HD monitors as well. You can use these for personal use only, no commercial use or re-posting to other services!

Use the ‘full size’ link under the image to download it.

Darker View is Back

You may just have noted that DV was down for a few days. While I poked at the issue a bit I did not find the problem until today, Saturday. I finally had time to really sit down and figure out what was wrong.

Waterlilies
Waterlilies in an ornamental pond, iPhone photo processed in Prisma
It turns out the my service provider rearranged some things, the big one being the URL’s for the SQL database hosting machines. Thus, while all of the website files were there, they could not get to the databases that provide all of the actual content.

I probably received some e-mail explaining that there would be a change. I just ignored it in the usual torrent of messages I get every day.

Server names updated in the setup files and a few PHP scripts, it appears everything is back online. Sorry for any confusion!

File a Lawsuit, Break the Law in the Process

So… The Office of Hawaiian Affairs filed a lawsuit against the University of Hawaii challenging the lease for the summit of Mauna Kea. This is news across the state, press conferences were held, a big media deal.

OHA Infringement
Screenshot of the OHA website with a stolen image from Darker View
In the process OHA stole two images of mine for their website to illustrate their press releases. Yes, OHA, a state agency, is currently in violation of federal copyright law.

You can see the images here. There are two shots, one of a wrecked Toyota from earlier this year, one of an ancient Hawaiian ahu or shrine high on the mauna.

As one Facebook friend already noted “At least they credited you!” That does not make the infringement go away, it is still infringement. They even left my watermarks and copyright symbol on the image, there is simply no excuse.

Interestingly it appears that OHA, a state agency, does not host their website on a state server. Rather they use Google Cloud Services to host the website. Thus it makes filing a DMCA take-down notice much easier.

I have done just that.

This is not my first DMCA takedown action, or even my third, done this a few times, it works fairly well. The notice goes to the hosting service, if they do not take action, they become legally liable. As a result service providers take DMCA notices fairly seriously.

A legal notice has been served and should be addressed in the next few days. We shall see what the OHA webmasters do with that. Either they remove the material, or the entire website goes poof.

Connecting the Community

This island is a small community, anything that happens is likely to involve someone you know, or a friend of theirs. There are often only a one to three degrees of separation between you and nearly every event that makes the local news.

Mauna Kea Wreck
A wrecked Toyota pickup truck about a mile below Hale Pohaku
Even someone who has not grown up here seems to become quickly enmeshed in the community… One day I hear news of a body being discovered on a remote Kohala coastline by kayakers. The next day at work I ask Peggi about her husband’s kayak trip… As you guessed, they found the body. This may seem unusual, but here these sort of linked events are commonplace, amplified by the small community effect.

It is amazing how fast information moves from mauka to makai, the grapevine is very well connected on this island. This connectedness is accelerated by social media. Where once you would have to wait hours or days for official confirmation, or a newspaper report, we now know immediately.

There are specific places everyone goes for this type of informations. Two notable Facebook groups cover island happenings, Big Island Thieves and Big Island Popo Alert.

Continue reading “Connecting the Community”