In the mean time, I noticed that I took my 44,000th photo over the weekend, the one above. Time flies (pun intended) when you’re having fun! Of course, the photos come more slowly in the winter time. I need to maximize my opportunities during the summer, balanced with family time of course, and so far this year has been pretty good for that.
Check back soon for some amazing aircraft photos! I’ve got so many “keepers” that I’ll have to make a special gallery; a blog post containing them all would take forever to load.
The few chances I would have had to get a horizontal trajectory of the ISS passing the capitol, it either appeared too far south of the capitol to work photographically or was obscured by clouds. Tonight’s photo, while not what I was trying so hard to set up for, isn’t bad; sometimes creativity gets a kick in the shorts, and this is one example!
I took my family to the Friends and Neighbors Day at the NGPRL again this year, and we had a blast! We barely had time to take in a fraction of everything going on out at “the Lab” because of all the scheduled events. We did so much and had such a good time that my little boys (ages 1 and 2) went straight to snoozeville after their baths tonight. And there was plenty going on when we left after a couple of hours’ worth of adventure!
Thanks again to the folks out at the NGPRL for putting on an incredible event. I didn’t even get to talk about the free Cloverdale hot dogs and pop, or the evening BBQ with Chuck Suchy performing! Nor did I get a chance to talk about the various seminars about trees, gardens, lawn care, Garden JEOPARDY, or that kind of thing. There were horse-drawn wagon rides, exhibits, and dozens of friendly faces. I can’t do it all justice, other than to say that the folks at “the Lab” have continued a tradition of fun, hospitality, and education at this year’s event. Next year, when you see those signs around town, make sure you save the date and attend the next Friends and Neighbors Day!
First, we have the night portrayed above. I had bad information; while I had the camera set properly, and managed to get perhaps the sharpest twilight photo of the capitol since I started dabbling in photography, the ISS flew directly over my head (maybe even slightly behind me). Darn.
Last night would have been a perfect night for an ISS capture: it was passing just above the capitol, very brightly, and for several minutes. Then the clouds spoiled it. Grrr.
I already have a photo of the ISS over the capitol; however, I want ANOTHER one. Don’t worry…I’m persistent. It won’t escape. For now, maybe I’ll use a more flexible foreground object like a windmill or something.
I’m neither a farmer nor a daily commodities investor, but I’ve enjoyed listening to Gene Graner of Heartland Investor Services on KFYR Radio from time to time. Well, last week he was talking about political forces acting on the markets, and said some things critical of our state’s anointed Democrat congressional delegation. Apparently that isn’t going to fly at KFYR Radio. Here are the comments – click on the bottom of the graphic to play the clip.
” Today July 2, 2009 I was silenced by the socialists and removed from the daily shows I do on KFYR radio for the comments I made.
I was told I could continue if I just report on the markets. I said I would report the markets and what affects them, including politics.
I was then thanked by the General Manager, who is a know Obamacrat, for the work I had done but that I was no longer needed.
Friends, I put liberty before wealth, freedom before treasure. If more people would do this, this country would not be were it is at, continuing it deep spiral into extreme socialism.”
Thankfully, Gene told me he was doing the KFYR gig pro bono, so getting taken off the air doesn’t affect his livelihood at the political whim of a Democrat sympathizer who can’t stand criticism of his party.
This is concerning. I mean, it’s obvious that the media is in the tank for Democrats, but it’s getting worse. For instance:
Look at who the Bismarck Tribune is friends with on Facebook… pro-homosexual agenda “civil rights” and pro-Obama groups. They don’t bother hiding it, but why should they? It comes out in their “journalism.”
Around a HALF MILLION acres of private land have now been put under the “management” of a bunch of liberal Democrats who are not elected and hold no official office, but they’ve been loyal to the cause and so their “foundation” will be in charge of coming up with a “plan” for usage of pretty much all the land between Huff Hills and the Knife River Indian Village! The Sierra Club, a group historically hostile toward individual property rights, will now be telling the property owners they loathe what they can do with their land! Have you seen or heard THAT on the news?
How about the fact that Kent Conrad has been under investigation by an ethics committee for MONTHS for being part of, and benefiting from, the mortgage crisis that caused much of our current financial meltdown…yet you have probably not heard one single word about this in the North Dakota media! That means KFYR AM and TV…KXMB…any of them. They’re all complicit in this.
I know people at KFYR radio that I like a lot, some of whom I have worked with and been good friends with for years such as Phil Parker, Jason Hulm, Al Gustin, and Todd Mitchell. I don’t dare ask them if they are limited in what they must or cannot say on the air in either their radio shows or their news reports. I wouldn’t want to put them on the spot. I just fear that they operate under the same caution, that telling the truth about North Dakota politics may mean the end of their career. How would you like to have to work in such an environment? I sure hope that’s not the case for the employees of KFYR (or all of the Clear Channel stations in Bismarck).
I’ve never been more glad that I’m no longer in local broadcasting. I’m not constrained by any such rules. If you vote with your phone or your radio dial, you may consider whether this is a big enough travesty to tune out KFYR and other Clear Channel stations in town. You might also want to email KFYR TV and KXMB and ask them why they don’t have the sack to ask Kent Conrad or Byron “Skybox” Dorgan any tough questions. Why haven’t they mentioned that Earl Pomeroy said he didn’t support Cap and Trade “as it stands” – meaning that he would support it in some form?
Don’t let anybody in this town tell you that they’re a News Leader until they start doing some honest reporting. And if you’re concerned about the haps at KFYR Radio, call them or send them an email. Sure, we are used to this kind of thing on a national level, but there’s no reason why we should have to stand for it locally.
Oddly, I don’t have a photo of the other sign that made my Top Five. It said succinctly: “Welcome to North Dakota, where you can get an abortion but you can’t buy bottle rockets.” That speaks volumes right there.
If I get a chance this weekend I’ll post a few more pics. Happy Independence Day! Enjoy it while it lasts!