Category Archives: Cool

Quite possibly the coolest old photo I’ve ever discovered

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Check this out! I received a copy of this photo yesterday, from the collection of Jim Eastgate, featuring the state capitol building. A friend mentioned that this was taken during Easter. There are MANY noteworthy things about this shot:

– First, it’s a long exposure taken at night. This is obvious because the lit windows are visible and there’s a streak of light on the right side of the photo from a car driving past.

– It’s hard to see in this shrunk-down version, but a string of utility poles runs from the lower left diagonally to the center right of the shot, and I’m not sure if they’re power lines or telephone wires.

– The original capitol building had burned down and the bottom two floors were all that survived. It was suggested to me that you can see it in the center-right portion of the shot, right below the “.com” of the watermark. I’m not sure if that’s true, or if it’s a portion of the Liberty Memorial Building.

– The landscape was far different then, as you can see the road in the foreground and the slope of the hill.

How cool would it be if they still did this every Easter? Hm…

The Cold War in North Dakota

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The most usable space in the Heritage Center was the setting for a very interesting presentation this weekend: the effect of the Cold War and military infrastructure on the landscape and culture of North Dakota. It was an extremely well-attended session, to say the least…one of three sessions planned to highlight North Dakota historic sites and their importance.

Site director Mark Sundlov, a former member of a Minot Air Force base missile crew himself, was the presenter. He has a unique perspective on this subject and is determined to help preserve this important part of North Dakota’s (and our nation’s) history. Right now it’s ripe for the picking, as there are many anecdotes to record. The audience had plenty of their own. The interest in this subject as well as the gold mine of information and firsthand accounts was a strong affirmation of just how spot-on Mr. Sundlov is about the impact of the military and this period of history on the culture of North Dakota and the everyday lifestyle of its citizens.

I strongly recommend clicking on this link to listen to a podcast interview with Mr. Sundlov from a while back, before the Ronald Reagan Minuteman Missile Historic Site was even a reality. In it he talks about life on a missile crew, something that wasn’t really part of the focus of Sunday’s presentation.

If you want to read more about the Cold War remnants around our state from this photographer’s perspective, try some of these links, which will each open in a new window:

Cold War Mancation, Part One: Minuteman Missile Site

Cold War Mancation, Part Two: Nekoma Missile Base (Mickelsen Safeguard Complex)

Cold War Mancation, Part Three: Former OMEGA Station LaMoure

Cold War Mancation, Part Four: Cavalier Air Force Station

Cold War Mancation, Part Five: Minot

Duluth falls far short of North Dakota snow angel world record

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This is STILL the world record for single-site snow angels.


I found out today that Duluth tried, quite unsuccessfully, to top our record for the most snow angels made in a single location at a single event. Nice try, but North Dakota tops Minnesota in all the good ways. 🙂

You may remember a while back when I posted that Canadians had made over 15,000 snow angels for a new record – but they were at multiple sites across a wide area, so it is NOT the same record as ours.

Fear not, NoDaks…we’re still undefeated.

How they get that enormous Christmas tree into the Capitol each year

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Each Christmas one can see a beautifully adorned and rather huge Christmas tree standing in the Great Hall of the state capitol building. It’s lit at night so that people driving past the front of the building can see it, and the display is readily available for you to visit from around 7:30 am until 5:30 pm each weekday. One can’t help but wonder: how does such a large tree find its way into the capitol building in the first place?

Of course, the direct approach is the most effective. Rather than trying to thread any hallways or turn any corners with the cumbersome tree, it comes right up the front steps and through the revolving doors. Conveniently, the panels these doors are able to collapse and slide out of the way to allow a wide berth for anyone wishing to wrestle a formidably sized conifer through the doorway.

These doors were actually designed to do this; while bringing anything larger than a briefcase through the revolving doors might pose a challenge, these doors are designed to pivot completely out of the way and provide an even wider opening than most conventional doorways.

The tree arrives on a flatbed trailer in the morning. There are some preparations that need to be done before it enters the building: a slice needs to be trimmed from the bottom of the trunk, so that it can take on water; and branches need to be trimmed from the bottom to provide around sixteen inches of clear trunk to fit the stand. After that it’s a question of manpower.

Dudes from the facilities crew grab an armful of tree and march it up the steps, wrangling through the doorway with plenty of clearance. After that it’s simply a short left turn and a matter of bolting the tree stand to the bottom of the tree’s trunk.

A rope is used to move the tree into position, first by tugging the top into line while the adjusters in the stand are tightened or loosened to make sure that the tree is standing straight. Once that is completed, the rope is pulled down from the top of the tree and wrapped around the stand’s base, which is then pulled into position at the center of the windows of the Great Hall.

After a bit of sweeping and other cleanup, the binding wrapped around the tree is removed and the branches allowed to relax. The stand’s remote water tank is filled to provide the tree with ample hydration. Later in the week, the tree will be decorated with items made and/or donated by North Dakotans, through the ND Council on the Arts. I hope to submit one for next year, because i ran out of time this year. The tree now sits as you see it above until it gets decorated on Thursday and Friday. The official Tree Lighting Ceremony is next Monday.

So, there you go…one more geeky question answered by yours truly, a geek who chases down the answers to queetions which haunt the most neurotic among us.

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!

When you absolutely have to get something lifted atop your capitol building

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As I drove past the capitol on Boulevard Avenue, I noticed something peeking: the boom of an obviously very large crane. Circling around to the north I found the Wanzek guys lifting materials up to the top of the capitol with a large crane capable of lifting 275 tons. This looks like the same monster that was parked on North 9th Street to help lift new elevator parts and stuff to the top of St. Alexius.

The capitol will be undergoing some limestone reclamation and repair in the near future, making for some interesting closures around the grounds. It’ll be interesting to see this local landmark get a facelift inside and out!

Rick Green returns to Bismarck-Mandan

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I was thrilled when I heard that Rick Green was coming to New Song Church last weekend, because I’m a huge fan of his work with Wallbuilders. This was an afternoon presentation on the Constitution and the Christianity of the founders of our nation, and the information presented was extremely eye-opening and educational.

If you haven’t visted the Wallbuilders website, you simply must do so. And even better is the daily half-hour Wallbuilders Live podcast. With a tagline like “The intersection of faith and politics” this show is enlightening and puts current issues in the context of the country’s founding documents and the faith of those responsible for them.

There was plenty of Q&A which ranged from current affairs and the upcoming elections to the original intent of the founders and some very interesting technical “nuts & bolts” about the Constitution (including some common misconceptions), the role of the courts, and the powers of the branches of the federal government. If this sounds like dry stuff to you, you’re mistaken.

I found out about this at the last minute or I’d have posted more about it earlier, giving people time to call New Song and RSVP to attend. The cost was $10 and pizza was provided (yum). The next time Rick comes to town, I’ll make sure to help New Song promote his visit and encourage you to come! In the mean time, check out Rick’s website and the Wallbuilders Live podcast.

Plenty more where this came from

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What do you get when you combine a Planetary K-Index (Kp) of 6.5, three photography buddies, and permission to roam an abandoned farmstead at night? Photos like this one.

Things REALLY got hopping, even enough to overcome the light of the full moon directly overhead. I had multiple cameras going to shoot the event, shooting stills and a time-lapse video I hope to work on over the weekend.

It was REALLY cold out tonight – but once I started getting the good shots, I forgot all about the cold. In fact, that excitement kept me going until 4am! Too bad I expect it to wear off before going to work in a couple of hours… *yawn*

You can expect a lot more of these photos in the near future!

It just seems more like Christmas once the capitol’s windows are decorated

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If there’s a beacon of Christmas decorum in Bismarck-Mandan, it’s gotta be this one: the state capitol. Coinciding with Monday’s lighting of the official Christmas tree, these windows keep an annual tradition that seems as much a part of Christmas as snow and caroling!

Bit of trivia: the stars on top of the capitol are too large to get up to the roof via conventional means, so they were dropped off by National Guard helicopter way, way back when. My friend’s dad flew that important mission, as I recall.

Have you ever wondered how those windows get decorated with color for Christmas, or blacked out to form numbers on New Year’s Day and Independence Day? If you haven’t read it before, please click to view this post on the guy who leads the crew in charge of that duty: Bill Jundt.