Thursday Night Sunset returns!
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Monthly Archives: November 2007
Something wrong with the Beacon?
I have the honor of having been one of the folks charged with changing the color of the Weather Beacon to reflect the current forecast. In the 1990s when I worked in Master Control at KFYR-TV, the switch box for the Beacon was right behind where I sat at the control board. There were six clunky push buttons on the box, one for each permutation: red, flashing red, white, flashing white, green, and flashing green. The program log for KFYR-TV had occasional reminders throughout the day/night to check the Beacon.
Later on I heard that the control reverted to KFYR radio, and I think there was a span in there where nobody was really controlling it. I think each station thought the other was doing it! That would have been around the time that the radio stations’ headquarters moved out of the Meyer buildings.
I also got to help Save the Beacon back in the 90’s too, as KFYR’s webmaster, but that’s a story for another time.
Senator Conrad sends me a letter admitting he’s a puppet of the DNC
North Dakota’s delegation to the Senate signed a letter to the CEO of Clear Channel, the syndication partner of Limbaugh’s show, attempting to pressure Clear Channel to influence what Limbaugh says on the air. Doesn’t that fly right in the face of the first amendment? Here we have nearly half the Senate, acting in official capacity, attempting to influence political speech by a private citizen by bringing the presence of the US Senate to bear. This is precisely the kind of thing that the Constitution prohibits!
I don’t care if it’s Rush Limbaugh or Al Franken on the receiving end of this letter, it’s an affront to the idea of free speech in this country. And who’s jumped on board like the good little lap dogs we know them to be? Conrad and Dorgan. And you can bet they didn’t do it because North Dakotans were flooding them with complaints about Rush Limbaugh.
I wrote a letter outlining the points above, because I believe in free political and religious speech. I want to beat the crap out of anyone I see burning a flag, but I won’t…in fact, I believe it’s their right under our nation’s Constitution. I think most liberal talk show hosts are out of their skulls, but I defend their right to spout their lunacy for their dozens of listeners. So my motivation in going after our Senators is not conservative vs. liberal. It’s simply a free speech issue.
Back to Gaylord’s return letter to me. He states “I do not know what Mr. Limbaugh was thinking when he uttered the words “phony soldiers.” Okay, Senator Conrad…if you didn’t know, then why would you enter some very frightening territory, constitutionally speaking, attempting to influence political speech by using the power of the Senate as a bludgeoning tool? Because the national Democrat Party told you to, I’m sure.
Rather than behaving like a North Dakotan, Kent Conrad and Byron Dorgan showed their true colors and act like east coast liberals. Maybe that way they’ll continue to get the support of the DNC to keep their Senate seats. In the mean time, this Congress has accomplished pretty much nothing while wasting its efforts on trampling the Constitution for political gain.
Why do people continue to vote for these idiots? Haven’t they run out of farmers and senior citizens to scare into voting Democrat?
New Beacon
If you’re unfamiliar with the Beacon, you can find a FREE trial issue at many gas stations, the Donut Hole, Denny’s, and various dispenser boxes around town. You owe it to yourself to take one and give it a good read. I’m always eager to see the offerings of various North Dakota authors as well as some nationally syndicated columnists.
Of course, I must suggest that you subscribe if you like it. Sure, there are trial issues available every month, but putting out a magazine isn’t free. I suggest sending publisher Steve Cates the meager subscription fee to help him keep the Beacon running. I do!
Keep an eye on the capitol building this week
Sister Moon
The moon rises in the northeast nowadays, and it looks absolutely enormous as it crests the horizon. Keep an eye out for it tonight!
Thanksgiving Weekend wrap-up
Well, the four-day weekend is done…put a fork in it! (pun intended) Tomorrow marks a triumphant return to the workplace. To me, we’re now in full Christmas mode. Not because the retailers have had the ornaments up for weeks, but because I like to prolong the joy as much as possible. This weekend is a perfect way to get started.
that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. -Hebrews 13:15
I don’t have a good understanding of many of the Old Testament sacrifices of the nation of Israel, but I do know that they did give an offering of thanksgiving from time to time. Just as the blood sacrifices for the atonement of sins are abolished by the New Testament, so is the means by which we can make the sacrifice of thanksgiving. Now we can do so with praise. Pretty cool, huh? That Bible is really amazing once a guy gets to studying it.
I’m thankful this weekend for my family most of all. The line of family, however, is a blurry one for me. On the one hand I have friends and coworkers that are as close as a brother or sister, and on the other hand I have a father who won’t talk to me because I no longer attend the Catholic church. I count them all as family. My life is so filled with wonderful people that there’s nothing else that compares.
In the more immediate sense of family, I’m thankful for my wife and boys. We’ve been married for just over two years, our first boy is about to turn 1, and our second is just over a week old. We have a wonderful home and, while money is tight, it’s always there. God has provided for us abundantly.
There is not one single prayer for my family that has not been answered according to our requests. My prayers for a wife were answered with a woman whose love and motivations are beyond reproach. Our prayers for a happy, healthy, handsome baby PJ were answered, which was a big relief for me because I’m adopted and don’t know my family medical history. He caught a bit of pneumonia but was able to get over it relatively easily as well, thanks to the dozens of people seeking God on his behalf. Stacy’s pregnancy with little Jonathan started out with frightening complications, which miraculously disappeared from one OB checkup to the next. Jonathan’s birth took five minutes and he’s another happy, healthy, handsome little boy. The list goes on, but those are the big ones. God is faithful, even when we’re not.
During the halftime show of the Super Bowl in 2002, U2 started with prayer from Psalms 51:15: “O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise.” Well, I’m going to continue to praise my God, because his blessings are innumerable. To that end, I leave you with one of my favorite verses in the entire Bible, Psalms 66:16…
Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what he hath done for my soul.
I hope your Thanksgiving weekend was a blessing as well, and wish you a fun and joyful Christmas season as well!
Name this alley – but NO PLAYING, by order of the Police Department
Yes, this alley is in the Bismarck-Mandan area. No, you’re not eligible to guess if you lived near it like my friends Lance and Melissa. And, whatever you do, don’t play in this alley if you find it! By order of the police department, according to the sign. Somehow I doubt it’s currently enforced.
Northview Lane is ready for you to enjoy
For some reason, people in Bismarck-Mandan need very little excuse to drive around and look at other peoples’ houses. A friend of mine who lived in a very luxurious home in a south Bismarck neighborhood spoke of these people with great disdain, as he felt as if he was some sort of exhibit while out washing his cars or working in the yard. Go to any well-to-do neighborhood and you’ll find them, gapers toodling along at 10-15 miles per hour, apparently living vicariously through those whose houses are gape-worthy.
Northview Lane is normally not such a neighborhood, but they certainly get the attention for the last few weeks out of each year. Once these lights go up, traffic is almost non-stop. In fact, it was pretty annoying for me to try to take a picture of it! I decided to set my shutter speed at a full thirty seconds long, causing the headlights and taillights of the cars to show up as streaks in the picture, but erasing the cars themselves.
My favorite time of the year is driving around during the Christmas season, Charlie Brown Christmas music playing in the truck’s minidisc player, with my wife by my side. She and the new baby were having a special evening at a friend’s house tonight, so little PJ and I took the trip ourselves. He dozed off halfway down Northview, so it was just me and the camera after that. If time allows, I’ll try to photograph my favorite Christmas displays this year. It’ll help me brush up on my night photography skills and share the Christmas spirit as well. Stay tuned!
I don’t want to do this, but I can’t help myself
I was out poking around and noticed this sign for a local insurance agency, located on the east end of The Strip in Mandan. The mischievous part of me noticed something about this sign that had me dashing for Photoshop:
