Category Archives: Funny/Unusual

That Internet, she’s a two-edged sword

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You can’t make this sort of thing up. First there’s the funny yet touching story of a guy spending decades to find a long-lost sibling, only to have an elementary school kid types her name into Facebook and finds her in an instant. Irony? Sure. Sappy? You betcha. Until you look at the top comment in the graphic above. Some savvy internet wizard did a cursory web search of his own and came up with:

Yikes. Apparently the elderly chap’s got priors. Still got the warm fuzzies around your heart from the tale above? I always find AGGRAVATED CRIMINAL SEXUAL ASSAULT to be a major buzzkill. Assuming, of course, that it’s the same fella…the birth date appears to line up. Not that I want to spend another second pondering it. Someone out there made the connection, though, so the moment is ruined…even if they got the wrong guy. If the long-lost sister has done her own web search or read the comments in that article, I predict an awkward family reunion – whether it’s the right guy or not.

Ah, “teh Intarwebz”…is there anything they can’t do?

He’s BACK: the Whirling Chicken of Doom™

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I don’t find myself in this part of Mandan often, but when I do pass the former Village Mart I always look for it: the metal chicken statue. I was surprised recently when I drove by, because it’s back after a lengthy absence.

The chicken’s hiatus began roughly around the time that the Village Mart, home of fond remembrances from my adolescence, became the Petro Serve. It spent some time in an unused part of the store and was even the target of at least one attempted theft.

Well, he’s back…and better than ever. After some jackhole damaged the chicken trying to steal him, he went in for some body work. There again he was almost stolen, as the trailer belonging to the people repairing him was also stolen. All of that having played out, he did manage to find his way back – and in better form than ever. In fact, the leading edges of those menacing spinning wings have been lined with plastic to avoid the unthinkable from happening.

I’m not exactly Johnny-on-the-spot with this news; employees I spoke to say he’s been back for a few weeks now. In any case, it’s good to see this local oddity back again, spinning its wings, tongue sticking out almost defiantly, sporting that red-crested smile of resilience.

Arnold Schwarzenegger’s tenuous North Dakota holiday connection

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I’ve been down for the count the past few days, sick and staying in bed with my Netbook and iPod. I happened to come across something extremely painful: an Arnold Schwarzenegger-hosted segment of a “Very Special Christmas” special from 1988. Don’t bother watching it…in fact, I only got through the first thirty seconds of it. What I did see, however, was apparently a champion granny bowler from North Dakota! If you’re a glutton for punishment, you can view the video here:

Notice the misspelling of granny’s town? Sigh. It seems that even when they get North Dakota identified correctly, some sort of other typographical error slips in.

I make no apologies if you watched after the mention of the bowler from “Wanpeton”…you were warned. I’m starting to feel a little better, so rest assured I’ll try to find something more genuinely Christmas-like and far less horrifying than Arnold’s demented television disaster.

Meme Monday

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I didn’t go out with the camera this weekend as I was busy with Daddy duties, but I do have one contribution to the blog. This is one of my favorite memes: Success Kid. While he most often appears in front of a colored pinwheel background, I opted for the original this morning.

This little guy is now five years old, just like my two little fellas. One reason why I don’t put photos of them on the web is so they don’t end up as memes! 🙂

The graphic is true, though. I forgot to set my alarm last night. Thankfully I woke up one minute before it would have gone off if properly set…thus my feeling of victory. Have a great week!

How to summon Bruce Wayne if you’re in Dickinson

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I spot weird things from time to time, and this phone in the Dickinson armory caught my eye. I was pretty busy at the time so I didn’t venture to either stick my hand into those wires to see if they were live or, more pragmatically, lift the receiver to see what would happen on the other end if I did.

In any case, someone has a sense of humor about this phone. I suppose there’s a Guardsman who can help shed some light on this thing, perhaps. In the mean time, I’ll it will have to remain shrouded in mystery.

The next time I’m in Dickinson I’ll give Mr. Wayne a call, and as I drive by the armory I’ll check the roof for a Bat Signal.

I think I know why it won’t start

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I was hunting around in my photo library when I came across this shot from quite a while back, and I don’t remember sharing it before. That’s why there’s snow on the ground, so if you haven’t looked out the window recently, don’t panic.

Clearly this vehicle has sat in place for quite some time to get such a lovely arrangement of trees populating its engine compartment! I may have to look through my GPS and find its location next spring so I can see how it looks with some foliage.

Now THAT is a pile of mowers

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I didn’t have time to explore this pile more thoroughly but I had to stop and snap a quick shot of it. This rather large assembly of mowers in various states of disrepair stood outside a repair shop near downtown Rapid City. I managed to grab (and stylize) a photo the day before it vanished. I wonder if it will now be replaced with a pile of old snow blowers? I hear those are harder to stack…

Smile if you’ve got a spare three-meter dish you’re not using any more

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As I tooled along a dirt road northeast of town my eye caught a satellite dish near a farmyard up ahead. The first thing I noticed is that it was pointing north, which was extremely fishy since there’s not much to point at in the northern sky. I then got close enough to notice the absence of a feed horn and the funky paint job.

I love creative little stuff like this along rural roads, so I stopped to take a photo. I’d just finished stowing my camera back in its bag while standing next to my motorcycle when the owner drove by in his tractor, turning into his driveway. In good ol’ North Dakota fashion, he made a hand signal from the cab to ask, “is everything ok?” I made a gesture with my hands to illustrate that I’d just got done snapping a photo, he nodded and smiled, and we parted with a wave. I love North Dakotans.

Someone’s at the wrong end of the line

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I came upon this nest of swallows inside the large earth lodge at Fort Lincoln this weekend and had to take some photos of the little guys getting lunch. My favorite part about this shot is the look on the face of the birds on the right. The second one in is looking at the camera with what appears to be a frank look of exasperation. Of course, I’m not about to anthropomorphize the little critters, but sometimes their expressions match humans perfectly.

Don’t feel too bad for the little guys on the right; they actually got fed first (I have photos of that too).

Parted down the middle

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What do you do when those cute little saplings you planted in the 80s start encroaching on overhead power and/or phone lines? Well, sadly, you’ve gotta cut ’em. As you can see, that can get a little awkward.

I got a chuckle when I noticed this line of trees on South 12th Street a while back. I’ve seen the same sort of phenomenon along Divide Avenue as well, and I’m sure it’s not an isolated situation.

If trees are becoming a hazard near power lines on or near your property, you can fill out an online request on MDU’s website and request that they come and trim the trees back to a safe distance. As the pictures above indicate, sometimes the result of all that safety is a sight that would make Edward Scissorhands proud.