Now a reminder of an older, less frequently used feature. When I activated this feature a long time ago, I posted instructions on how to "Rate the Windbag." The number of regular visitors to the site has grown by leaps and bounds since then, so I'll post this again for those of you who are new. While older posts have rating counts as high as 400 or 500, I'm getting several times that many visitors on even a slow day now. So perhaps not everyone knows what those dots are for.
This is a 5-point rating system. If you like the post, click on the dot to the far right. If you think I'm out of my ever-lovin' mind, click on the dot on the far right. Just kidding. The dot on the left is worth 1 point, the one on the right worth 5, and I leave it to you to discern the values of the remaining three.
Each time a user clicks a dot it's added to the tally, the number on the right. The average rating is on the left. In the graphic above, 4 users have responded with an average rating of 3.8.
This diagram illustrates the difference between the way a designer sets up a web page, with how he thinks the reader will scan it in mind, and the way the average web surfer actually looks through the page. It's a pretty big difference, isn't it? By the same token, I tend to assume that those five little dots look like they're clickable... but apparently not everybody gets it right away. Oh well.
That's why, when you see the numbers at the bottom of the posts, things won't always make sense. I'll have a post with a low vote count, but with one comment, and dozens (sometimes hundreds) of comment views. So, while the post has been read between a thousand and two thousand times (that's how many daily visitors I get), only one person may have found reason to comment, and not everybody decided to read his/her comment. Even fewer decided (or knew how to) vote to rate the post. It's actually very interesting to see, especially in light of the server stats that I receive daily!
Of course, if you're reading this post on one of the websites that syndicate it, you're not eligible to vote. You have to actually come to bismarckmandanblog.com to do so.
Have fun. The old Democrat adage "vote early, vote often!" doesn't apply here.
[ 1 comment ] ( 11 views ) | permalink | Click a dot to rate this entry:
( 3 / 242 )
While heading down to the Burnt Creek dock with my boys, I took the scenic route down Sandy River Drive. It's one of my favorite roads because it's narrow, straight, canopied by trees, and I have several friends who live along it. Just before I headed north to the boat dock, however, I saw this new item.
Marking "The Road to Nowhere", this marker was obviously put up by someone who got a raw deal. In case you have a bad monitor, let me go ahead and quote it:
This marker is dedicated to the public officials who deemed "we're from the government and we're here to help" - even though the residents of the area didn't want the trees removed, their roads destroyed, and the new road built."
As usual, I proofread everything I read, and something caught my eye. If I'm right, "Pactas" should actually read "Pacta" as it's the plural of the Latin word "pactum." It means an agreement, contract, covenant, or treaty. The full translation of this little dictum is essentially "Agreements should be honored." If so, all those years of high school and college Latin finally paid off. The dedication itself speaks for itself...just think the Democrats want the government to be in charge of our health care, too!
The road really DOES go nowhere, by the way. I went to the end of the road so I'd have room to turn our carbon-belching SUV around, but not until after I poked my head through the moon roof to take this shot of our tax dollars at work.
If you'd like to find this marker and enjoy the picnic table, you can take River Road north from Pioneer Park, then turn left and head west on Sandy River Drive until you spot the marker on your left. Its GPS coordinates are 46 deg 51.164 minutes North, 100 deg 51.237 minutes West. If you find out who placed the marker here (it ain't hard to figure out), tell them I sent you.
[ 4 comments ] ( 80 views ) | permalink | Click a dot to rate this entry:
( 3 / 239 )
This year brought something different for our family on Independence Day. I was hired to take photos for Cycle Hutt, our church didn't do a float this year because of our new building project, and my wife and I thought it better to keep the two little boys at home on the hot afternoon. That means that I didn't sit and watch the parade go by like last year; rather, I took lots and lots of photos of the goings-on at Cycle Hutt and around & on the float for the parade.
There are around 1800 photos overall, but I pared it down quite a bit into a few image galleries:
July 3rd: Practice, brief Stunt Show
July 4th: the main stunt show, the crowds, the fun.
The parade float, complete with a burnout stand and other fun stuff.
July 5th: Another stunt show, wrap-up with the SPEED Channel crew, and a brief group ride afterwards.
Local Riders - These guys got lessons from JasoN Britton!
Enjoy! Prints are available, if you'd like. Just find the "Contact me" link on the upper right of this screen, and we'll get you the details.
[ 2 comments ] ( 26 views ) | permalink | Click a dot to rate this entry:
( 3 / 249 )
One of my mountain biking buddies and I were comparing photos a couple of weeks ago and I found this gem in his collection. He gave me permission to share it with y'all, so I thought I would take the opportunity to do so. The tractor above was mowing near the sagging walls on a hill along west Century Avenue when a section of the wall decided it had had enough. Fortunately the tractor operator was okay.
The same cannot be said for the wall; however. The same sort of upkeep that had left sections of the wall sagging in the first place has also left a pile of bricks where the incident occurred. I don't remember the date of this particular rollover, but it's been a while...plenty of time to repair the wall. In the mean time, I wonder how they mow around it?
[ add comment ] ( 2 views ) | permalink | Click a dot to rate this entry:
( 2.9 / 247 )
Take a look. Do you see it? I saw it right away after the bridge caught my eye. I was driving west on Memorial Highway, on my way to Mandan when I spotted it. I suppose it's because they have removed a lot of the construction materials from the bridge as it nears completion. Do you see it yet?
I have to say I'm really disappointed. Ever since the day I attended the groundbreaking where the various mayors and senators congratulated each other and the architect drawings (done by my friend Alex, by the way) were unveiled, they've been talking about how this is going to be a site of interest with lots of foot traffic and memorial parks at either end. That's why I can't believe the oversight I spotted this week: there is no walkway on the north side!
Question: how is a person going to get a view like this without dodging traffic on the new bridge? Answer: they aren't. There's a walkway on the south side of the bridge, but the only time of year the sun sets on that side of the bridge is in the dead of winter. Not aesthetically pleasing, and cold on top of it. Sad.
I give the new bridge a big thumbs-down for this fact alone. If offered the choice of a walkway on the north or on the south, I'd have definitely recommended the north. Sadly, that choice wasn't mine to make. Oh well, maybe they'll make a wide shoulder and I can dodge traffic to get the right shot. In the mean time, I'll just have one more thing to whine about!
[ 1 comment ] ( 12 views ) | permalink | Click a dot to rate this entry:
( 3 / 226 )
Calendar
