Thursday, March 14, 2024

Yucca Man vs. Augmented Reality

 You've never heard of Yucca Man? I'm not surprised. You might say that Yucca Man is to the Mojave Desert what Big Foot is to the Pacific Northwest. Big Foot is much better known, while only desert rats seem to be familiar with Yucca Man. Here's what Microsoft Copilot has to say about Yucca Man:
 
Yucca Man is a myterious creature that allegedly inhabits the Mojave Desert and has been sighted since the 1970s. Here are some intriguing details about this enigmatic being:
 
1. Origins and Sightings:
  • The Yucca Man is described as a hairy creature that roams the desert.
  • Reports of sightings extend as far west as Palmdale and Edwards Air Force Base.
  • Unlike traditional Bigfoot sightings, the Yucca Man is said to be huge, scary, aggressive, fast and threatening.
2. Characteristics
  • The Yucca Man shares similarities with mythical creatures like Bigfoot and Yeti.
  • It is believed to exist in the Mojave Desert, a vast and rugged region in Southern California.
  • Descriptions vary, but it is often portrayed as a large, bipedal beast with glowing red eyes.
3. Possible connections
  • Some speculate that the Yucca Man has ties to Native American legends.
  • It's presence near Edwards Airforce Base adds an intriguing twist to the mystery.
Whether legend or reality, the Yucca Man continues to haunt the desert, leaving curious minds wondering about its existence and origins. 🌵👣

 A friend of mine messaged me with a "photo" of Yucca Man that was generated by Microsoft Copilot. That intrigued me and is the genesis of this post. I didn't know Copilot could generate images, much less an image of something as obscure as Yucca Man. I had to try it out for myself. I prompted Copilot to generate an image of "Yucca Man in a Joshua tree forest with large boulders at sunset" and this is what it came up with.

Pretty creative, don't you think? As a side note, I really enjoyed your comments from last week's post about AI generated images. Personally, I'm worried about what AI will do to photography (and lots of other areas) when it becomes virtually impossible to determine AI from a real photo.
 
Copilot's ability to generage images of Yucca Man got me wondering: Are all AI generators created equal? In other words, do they all generate similar content when using the same prompt words?
I entered the same prompt words into Photoshop ("Yucca Man in a Joshua tree forest with large boulders at sunset") and the above photo was generated. Clearly, the Photoshop AI algorithms have no clue who or what Yucca Man is!!
 
Out in the Mojave Desert, Yucca Man has somewhat of a cult following. You see him from time to time on posters and adds.
 
There's even a Yucca Man craft beer. I'd like to try it if I can find it for sale somewhere, and at 13% alcohol, everyone starts looking like Yucca Man!
 
You might be wondering just what exactly is a Yucca? Well, check out my photos below (100% real photos!). They are sometimes confused with Joshua trees, but Joshua trees are, well, trees! Yuccas are commonly found in the 3-6' size range. Yucca leaves are longer than those on Joshua Trees. Also, on JTrees, as old leaves die, they fall off the plant. On Yuccas, they turn brown but stay attached to the trunk, giving the plant a more wholly appearance.





Quail on a Yucca.
 
Thanks for stopping by and listening to me ramble on about Yucca Man and AI generated photos! Until next time...
Linking with Skywatch Friday.

Thursday, March 7, 2024

Desert Light

 On our last trip to the desert, we were driving home from a short hike and the sky was exceptionally beautiful. Also rapidly changing. There was rain on the horizon. I was so hoping I would be home in time to grab my camera and catch some of the beauty, and it turned out, I barely made it! Shortly after taking these, the sky clouded up and the magical light was gone!




Hope your week is going well, and thanks for stopping by!!
Linking with Skywatch Friday.

Thursday, February 29, 2024

Staying "Local"

 By "local", I mean no big hikes or adventures to report. I did go hiking up in the local foothills last week. Of note, we've had quite a bit of rain, and our normally bone-dry hills now have water! I know, no big deal for those of you in wetter climes, but in my neck of the woods it's something to celebrate!
This is a water catchment basin. It is designed to replenish groundwater after a storm. After most storms, the water quickly soaks into the ground. Occasionally you can see a little mud puddle after a larger storm. This is the most water I've seen in the years I've been hiking in the area.
 
Turn up the volume on this video to hear the startled ducks as I approach the water!
 
It turned out to be a muddy hike! This water was draining into the catchment basin.
 
Beautiful skies!
 
A nice view toward Long Beach Harbor and the dock cranes.
 
Moon at rest.
 
I even found this interesting rock. See the fossilized shell fragments? Geologists say the ocean came right up to these hills (a very long time ago!). I guess I missed out on having a home on the beach. Way too expensive now!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
Over the weekend, we made a quick trip out to the desert to spend some time with visiting relatives.
Even Lilly joined us for this short hike right out the back door of our desert house. Here she is trying to keep this huge boulder from rolling on top of the red barrel cactus!🤣
 
Here she is under a local arch.
 
And a final Lilly photo... blending in with the rocks!
 
Amazing contrails! The sky reminded me of Joni Mitchell lyrics in her song "Amelia": 
It was the hexagram of the heavens
It was the strings of my guitar
 
Bladderpod in bloom.
 
6:08AM Sunday
 
Photoshop now has AI capabilities. For the above photo (can I even call it a photo??) I typed in "Joshua Tree forest with boulders at sunset" and this is what it generated. Not sure what I think about all this, other than it seems way to easy to "generate" photos. They also make it easy to add or replace things to improve a mediocre photo. Want to add a more dramatic sky? How about a full moon? Not sure about the rest of the world, but I'm going to keep my camera and do it the old fashioned way!
 
Thanks for stopping by!!
Linking with Skywatch Friday.

Thursday, February 22, 2024

Lost Pencil

 It doesn't really look like a pencil to me. And who lost it?? Those are just a couple of the mysteries we hope to unravel as we hike to see if we can find this interesting and strange rock formation, and (hopefully) get a close-up look.
We've chosen a perfect day for a hike in Joshua Tree National Park. We are going somewhere in the general direction of those rocks, but there is no trail to follow. My hiking partner today is Mitch, and he seems to know where we're going, so that's good enough for me.

This boulder is helping us with our navigation!
 
This interesting bent-over boulder is called "Aperitif Rock", so named by the rock climbers that like to climb it. Funny name... perhaps this is a climb to stimulate the appetite for bigger climbs to come?
 
Grumpy rock? Or perhaps tortoise head rock?
 
We get our first view of Lost Pencil. Like I said, it doesn't look like a pencil to me!
 
Hi Mitch!
 
From this angle, it looks pretty unstable!
 
 
 
 
This rock caught my eye because it stood out from all the other rocks in the area (mostly it's shape, relatively sharp edges, and color). Possibly a stone tool used by Native Americans? Hard to say, but I put it back on the ground where I found it and continued on.
 
Malapai Hill in the center of the photo. Unlike most of the surrounding hills made of granite boulders, Malapai Hill is dark-colored and volcanic in nature. It almost looks like you can see ancient lava flows!
 
Lucky break to see the moonrise through the clouds!
 

No shortage of interesting rock formations on this hike!
 
We didn't solve the mystery of the rock formation that doesn't look like a pencil and that isn't lost, but you did get an opportunity to see it up close. Hope you enjoyed this short escape out to the desert!
 
Linking with Skywatch Friday.
Thanks for stopping by!