Space Invader?

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In one of my recent photo hikes I came across this vertebra, presumably from some sort of livestock. It just struck me as familiar, as if it was some sort of character from the Space Invaders video game I enjoyed in my youth.

I struggled with the orientation of this photo, since it looks quite like a little digital alien like this, or flipped upside down. Please turn your monitor or laptop upside down to view it the other way.

Fallen Farm #37667

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My friend Tony was in town from the great Palin state of Alaska a few weeks ago, during our last nice stretch of warm weather. He brought his camera and lenses with him, so we took a Saturday to go poking around the outskirts of town. One of the places we stopped to visit was this falling farmhouse north of Bismarck.

I’ve wanted to get a closer look at this building for a long time. I’ve taken many photos of it from afar, actually. This year it seemed to suddenly lurch to one side, as if its days were coming to an end in the near future. With that in mind, we took our gear and hiked in for a closer look.

If I may get all abstract on y’all for a minute, here’s a shot of the roof of a fallen outbuilding that has long since gone away. Only this roof remains. I thought it pretty neat that the nails had found their way up, forming a little cluster of sorts. I took several shots before I found an angle I liked.

I never tire of photographing windmills and old farmsteads. Some days I think they seem cliche’ or that I’m overdoing it, but I have to remind myself that each one of them is special. They’re an endangered species of sorts, too. Tony pointed out that even in Alaska, one can tire of a certain type of photo. For example, you can only take so many Alaska mountain shots before one tires of it. Unique photos are elusive, and need to be hunted down…that’s part of what makes them special.

Variety is the key, I suppose…that’s why I’ve tried to vary my subject matter a bit lately. It’s important to keep a diverse palette of photo styles and subjects, so that none of them ever seem tired. That’s especially true of the North Dakota features which are so near and dear to my heart, and which inspired this website in the first place.

Finally got a brain (life size, too)

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No, I didn’t get it from the Wizard of Oz, although some may allege a resemblance to the scarecrow. Ignore them. I got this brain-shaped spongy stress ball from a satisfied client last week after doing a video about traumatic brain injuries.

It turns out I’ve got experience there, after decades of bouncing my body off the earth (and whatever else gets in the way). I’ve stuffed my skull slightly through a friend’s windshield, trashed a few motorcycle and mountain bike helmets, taken a few hits to the head in karate (you can’t block ’em all), and I don’t even remember what else. I probably don’t remember because of my history of traumatic brain injuries! I’ve had some extended hospital stays to nurse my bruised melon in Montana and North Dakota. As far as I can tell, however, there has never been any permanent dain bramage.

Side effects of TBI’s can include headaches, nausea, dizziness, impulsiveness, difficulty finishing tasks, memory loss, and I forget the other ones I highlighted in the video. Strange…I can’t get past memory loss!

Anyway, I now have a brain. Stay tuned to see if I use it.

Public Service Announcement: you probably missed it. I did. No worries.

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Wednesday was National Ammo Day, apparently. I didn’t get the memo. I found it today somehow, probably from a link on the Say Anything blog. The idea was for everybody to go out and buy 100 rounds of ammunition, stimulate the economy, and send a message to the Obmanation and his merry band of gun-stealing twits.

I didn’t know about it Wednesday, but let’s just say that I’ve made up for it. There’s plenty of ammo in this family to go around, and there’s always room for more.

I have friends in other parts of the country that have told me of gun stores selling completely out of guns and ammunition once Obama got elected. He has a dismal record of anti-gun voting, and is putting people in his administration with similar views of firearm ownership. Socialist politicians like the Obamessiah love unarmed, uneducated peasants. As for me and my house, we’re going to be neither.

If I may change the subject for a second: that photo above was shot entirely handheld while sitting at my kitchen table, with a non-stabilized macro lens, and manual focus. I have not cropped it, rotated it, or manipulated it in any way except to size it down for the blog. The seven Hydra-Shox rounds I wanted to show are quite well aligned..WOW! I guess after 38,000 photos, I’m starting to develop a steady hand. After my last trip to the range, I’d say the same applies when wielding my Glock or whatever else I’ve brought. Practice pays off, whether you’re “shooting” a camera or shooting a gun.

Don’t worry that Wednesday passed you by; go out and get some ammunition! After January 20th, they’re likely to tax it, serialize it, or eventually ban it. I guess that’s the real public service announcement after all. You don’t need someone to name a holiday in order to get yourself prepared.

Something you don’t see every day

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Obviously I’m not a hunter; I just shoot targets. Thus I was surprised to see this collection point at the Game & Fish office when I visited today. I don’t really know what to tell you, other than it reminded me of that song “Fish Heads” by Barnes & Barnes, back in the early 80s.

If you’ve got a deer head to dispose of this hunting season, head east and visit the NDG&F headquarters on east Expressway! They’ve got a bucket waiting.

Veterans’ Memorial

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If you’ve crossed the new Memorial Bridge at night, you’ve probably seen this monument lit brightly on the Mandan side of the river. Now that the bridge has been formally dedicated, flags adorn the tops of the flag poles in the center, and the area is nearing completion. If I remember correctly, a small section of bridge span will be placed here sometime in the future.

I love my ultra-wide angle lens, by the way. It’s the only way to make such a shot possible. Obviously there’s some perspective distortion in the corners, but I think it’s a nice photographic effect.

This stone, bearing a memorial placard, has been placed beneath the flags. The stone stood by the old bridge as long as I can remember. I don’t know if it’s been there since 1924, like the metal placard it bears. There a stone like this for each end of the bridge, and I am sure Bismarck’s will be placed in an appropriate position once the debris of the old bridge is cleared and work on the Bismarck memorial begins. I wonder if the park on the Bismarck side will be the same as the one on the Mandan side? I sure hope so.

One neat feature of this monument is that it shoots a beam of light skyward at night. It’s most visible during those cold fall and winter nights, when we get a slight haze in the air. That’s pretty much every night during a North Dakota winter. That’s one more reason why I hope a second such monument is placed on the Bismarck side; we’ll have two columns of light shooting straight upward, similar to the monument at the site of the fallen World Trade Center buildings.

One other interesting feature is the text of the memorial placard, which thanks “our sons and daughters who died in the World War that liberty might live.” When this memorial was made in 1924, there had been only one “World War.” If they only knew of the display of valor yet to come.

This bridge is open for traffic, but I expect far more wonderful things from it down the road. This monument area is nearly completed, but I think they’ll be adding some signage and a chunk of the old bridge. I also look forward to seeing what is built on the Bismarck side of the river, once all the pulverized concrete is trucked away and construction can begin. In the mean time, it’s worth a chilly walk to see how things are taking shape as the new Liberty Memorial Bridge serves the second part of its important purpose: honoring our nation’s veterans.

Little boy, big capitol

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Not only did we fire up the grill and have a burger day at work today, but I also had the opportunity to take off a little early. That provided me the perfect window of time to take little PJ up to the capitol building for his first time! He wasn’t scared when he first saw the view from the 18th floor windows, but he was surprised. His favorite was watching the little cars driving around down there. He always likes elevator rides too, and the capitol has fast ones. He asked to hit the buttons, of course.

This is the only mall I feel like visiting during the holiday season. I find it interesting that there was so much green grass under the snow. I noticed the same thing at the Tom O’Leary tennis courts. Bring on more November snow storms! I’m from the Rocky Mountains, so I remember trick-or-treating in snow so deep my dad had to carry me. I wouldn’t mind October snow here either.

Once our capitol mission was accomplished, it was time to go look at things like motorcycle shops, trucks, and airplanes. Those are PJ’s favorites, and he seems to remember everything he sees. When I tuck the boys into bed, I always talk about our day and all the fun things we saw. I expect they’re going to grow up loving Bismarck-Mandan, and North Dakota in general, as much as their daddy does.

November 11th, 11:00 am. 11-11-11. Where were you today?

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Today wasn’t very sunny, so one of the features that makes this memorial at the state capitol grounds so special was hampered by weather this year. I was at work anyway, and ran errands over lunch, so I missed it. November 11th is always Veteran’s Day, and this memorial is designed for something special at 11:00 am on 11/11 each year. Here’s how I featured it last year:

I don’t know how many of you folks have looked far back enough to see this post about the Veteran’s Memorial at the state capitol grounds, but this year marks the first time I actually made it to the memorial on Veteran’s Day. As noted in my original post, this monument has a unique feature that displays itself on Veteran’s Day.

On Veteran’s Day at 11:00am, the sun sweeps a path across the metal globe in the middle of the monument. Judging by the number of people waiting to catch a glimpse of this once-a-year happening, I can see it’s no secret.

North Dakota is raised on this globe, and polished. When the sun comes across the globe, the great state of North Dakota shines. It was dull when I inspected the site on Saturday, so I rubbed it furiously to try to shine it up. You’d think someone would have thought of that already, but I guess not.

This is the base upon which the globe sits. Note that the inscription says “the eleventh hour of the eleventh day.” That’s important…

…because I got there late. I mistakenly thought it would be at 11:11. The significance of all those elevens, by the way? World War I ended at 11:00 on 11/11/1918. I mistakenly thought there would be a fourth eleven in the time that the sun was centered on North Dakota. That’s why it’s off-center in the photo above.

Here’s the tube through which the sun shines to reach the globe in the middle of the memorial. It casts about a four-inch circle of light on the globe when fully aligned at 11:00. It appears to have some sort of reflective inside, although I don’t know if that’s true. While the sun is coming through it, it’s hard to look at.

I’d like to pass along a belated thanks to all veterans. Closest to me are my friends Reed and Tony, although I’ve met many others and owe my freedom to millions of ’em. Military service is not something to be taken lightly. The memorial at the state capitol bears the names of North Dakota soldiers who lost their lives in service to their country. If you haven’t inspected this memorial, which has a new parking lot and is just south of the State Library building, please pay it a visit. Once again, the original blog post can be seen by clicking here.

Bring on the Night

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I needed a photo of these three explorers for a video project I’m working on. You’ll probably recognize it when you see it, and there’s a good chance many of you will see it soon. The thing is, I needed a night shot with a clear sky. North Dakota winters are often quite hazy, so I was happy to see the clear dark sky last night. I ventured out in the cold with my trusty camera, snapped the shots, and hustled back to the warm truck.

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We can count the flakes as it snows and snows.
We can’t get hurt. It melts and fades.
…
Was it only last week
we made crazy promises,
mad as the snow?

I couldn’t help by throw some lyrics in from my favorite song by Kitchens of Distinction, titled “Mad as Snow.” I was nearly mad at the snow Thursday and Friday; I had a lot of it to shovel!

I grew up in the Rockies and took a break during college to move back out and make a living (meager, yet fun) snowboarding. I started out shoveling snow but eventually did get to live out my “dream” of snowboarding all day and getting paid for it. The free season pass wasn’t bad, either! But I grew to enjoy shoveling snow as I embraced mountain living. 50 miles from the nearest city, one usually has to master a shovel! But I’m not 20 years old any more.

I shoveled the drifts around our house, ignored the driveways, and made sure access to our rental property was restored on Thursday night. I woke up Friday to find that there was more snow than before! Grrrr. I got a text message from work saying not to come in, so I put that time to use with my trusty shovel again.

This time I took a break in the middle of shoveling to storm off to a few area stores to “check out” snowblowers. Of course there weren’t any to be had, except some overpriced ones with plastic parts sure to break in the cold. Dejected, I made my way back home for more shoveling. Thank God I got through it, one scoop at a time. I could have done without the drifts, though.

Today I chiseled off the driveways I’d previously ignored, after a run to a very busy Scheels Sports. My favorite Thomas Dolby live album in my iPod, an ice cold Cherry Coke in the driveway, and my Dakota Snow Blade kept me company as I chopped the now-packed snow into manageable chunks and cleared the slabs. To do all this with a shovel instead of a snowblower DOES seem as “Mad as Snow.” I’m just not mad AT the snow. Not yet.