Finally spotted one in the wild

I was driving on the east end of town the other day when I spotted something very bright, very blue, and very uh-oh along the road. Naturally I had to pull in and take a closer look – not just because I’m curious, but also because I’ve never seen one of these in person. It’s only been in memes or that sort of thing until now.

BSOD means Blue Screen Of Death, and it’s a sure sign that something is amiss with your Windows computer. I don’t know why these have such an allure…maybe it’s the idea of such a public fail, maybe its schadenfreude, maybe it’s relief that it’s not me…who knows. In any case, I can check this off the Bucket List if it was ever there, because now I’ve seen a very large, very public BSOD.

Makes a guy want to come to town more often, see what other spectacular sights await…

“Tree Rex” isn’t looking so hot

When you’ve got kids, you’re treated to a unique perspective on a daily basis. Take, for instance, this tree near Exit 161 in northeast Bismarck. One off the pines got kinda mowed down long ago, and while it valiantly struggles to survive it has taken on a form familiar to young boys: a dinosaur.

It might be a little more apparent in this photo, even with my typical nasty and intentionally ugly watermark. It looks like a Tyrannosaurus Rex, especially during certain times of day – and if you’re a kid.

Sadly, the effect is lost on us when we are coming into town. It just doesn’t look the same from the off-ramp on the north as it does from the on-ramp on the south. It’s obvious from this side that the tree is losing its battle for survival, too.

So, like its namesake, Tree Rex is likely to soon become extinct. I’ve been meaning to snap a photo of this forever, but I’m not a fan of stopping for a photo in any place in which doing so might present a safety hazard. I was finally able to grab the shot during a time when traffic was pretty well nonexistent, even though the lighting wasn’t what I wanted. Thankfully I was able to sneak it in while Tree Rex is still there.

This sign might be irrelevant for a while

I spotted this sign along I-94 a few weeks ago and stopped to take a photo. It’s warning about a curve in a frontage road near an on-ramp, but it doesn’t look like either the sign nor the road itself will be seeing much use for a while.

Certainly by now anyone who’d planned on using this road (yes, there is a road under there) has found an alternate route. I was going to add that Spring is right around the corner, but now certain computer models are forecasting a “Biblical” amount of snow for our area next week! Time to hunker down and see what happens…

So many Monty Python references here

I saw this tree along a Morton County highway and immediately thought of a litany of references from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. First was the easiest: “Your arm’s off! No it isn’t!” See where I’m going here?

“It’s only a flesh wound!” and “I’ve had worse!” also come to mind. I couldn’t help but stop, snap a couple of photos, and post them to share.

If ya gotta go, ya better go now

As a dad, I’ve said that phrase innumerable times. In this case, I don’t think anyone wanted to go. It was below zero. I was returning from a trip to Fargo and decided to take a detour through Fort Ransom for a short – but necessary – hike. That gave me the opportunity to stop for some photos here and there, including this one. You may recognize it, as it sits atop a hill just north of Kathryn.

Signs of a sense of humor

I know it’s now called Auto Value auto parts store, but it’ll always be Hedahl’s to me. When I go there for things like the absolute best floor squeegee ever, or paint supplies and gaffer’s tape, I always end up in the paint section.

When you go to the paint section of the store, you go through this doorway. What is cool about it, and I noticed this a long time ago but don’t remember blogging about it, is the sign hanging at the top of the doorway.

I suppose you have to be a King of the Hill fan to get this, but if you do…it’s hilarious. I got quite a chuckle out of it, but my kids had no idea what I found so funny. Inside jokes are the best jokes.

Naturally, you’d wonder what the sign will say on the way back out of the paint section. Well, you wouldn’t be disappointed.

Who doesn’t appreciate a good Christopher Walken reference? Now I’m going to have visions of him dancing in the video for Weapon of Choice, or perhaps even the hilarious Talkin’ Walkin podcast done by Kevin Pollack, I presume as an homage.

It’s great to see that folks around town have a sense of humor and a penchant for inside jokes!

11 years before the Enchanted Highway? Geese in Flight

Articles like the one pictured above have indicated a resolution over whether or not a giant metalwork along I-94, erected in 2001, can stand and be accessible to the public. I had to include a screenshot of the article above because it pictures the atrocious misspelling of the words “temporarily” or “enchanted” – the latter being an especially important word in this case. I make my share of typographical errors as well, probably even within this post, and usually while pointing out someone else’s typos. But I feel compelled to point out that “enchanted” might be one of two words they’d really want to get right.

An astute person commenting on Facebook pointed out that an ornament like this actually appeared in the 1990 film Edward Scissorhands, so I had to look back in my collection to be sure. Yep…there it is. That made me even more curious, so I had to hit “the Google” for a minute.

A quick search for “geese sunburst wall ornament” produced a ton of results. That was a surprise. Apparently this design has been out there in various forms for a long, long time in a surprising number of permutations.

I’m not going to accuse “Geese in Flight” of being an act of plagiarism; more likely it may be an homage to such ornaments, which have apparently graced many a living room over the years. Personally, I think it’s an eyesore…but I’ve always been under the impression that it’s an original eyesore. Apparently not, since it’s been gracing living rooms since the twentieth century. One learns something new every day!

It’s raining again

I hope this puts the tune “Remarkable Cows” in your head – why should I have all the fun?  I took a little time to roam with my cameras on Friday, thinking I might get some drone time, but the rain dampened those expectations.  It also came down on these cows, some of whom showed that just because you’re big and slow doesn’t mean you’re stupid.  They found shelter on the porch of a dilapidated house in their pasture.

 

I don’t blame ’em – it’s no fun getting soaked when all you’re trying to do is get the weekend off to a decent start.  Unlike me, they have no waterproof gear.  So, mama took the kiddos to the porch for some respite.

 

It’s rather pragmatic, but I don’t know why I found it so amusing.  So amusing, in fact, that I didn’t notice that the chimney of the house had tipped over.  I only spotted that later when looking at the photos.

I don’t know why I found these cows so amusing.  I guess since I’m a city/mountain kid.  In any case, good for them.  We should all spend more time hanging out on the front porch.