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  • 2010
    • July
      • Catchin' some rays
        07/29/10

        I need some wildlife video for a project I'm working on, so I worked my way down toward Fox Island to see what I could find. Along the way I couldn't help but notice this beautiful sight in the sky, with awesome streaking rays of sunlight radiating overhead. I was able to catch it

      • Tuesday night sunset
        07/28/10

        My last-minute dash to Menards accomplished its purpose, but put me a little behind the sun. As I rolled into Double Ditch I had to scramble to catch the end of the fleeting sunset. The sky above was so perfectly blue that I didn't actually fret too much about missing what was happening

      • WorldWide PhotoWalk wrap-up, Bismarck-Mandan edition
        07/26/10

        This weekend I was able to participate in the Bismarck-Mandan section of the third annual Worldwide PhotoWalk. I didn't get an official count, but there were close to thirty participants from as far away as Jamestown. It was a blast, and the Bismarck walk was coordinated by Brian Matthe

      • Juxtaposition
        07/24/10

        Been feeling under the weather this week, so not a lot of words this time. Just a nice photo of old vs. new. I will point out that neither of these windmills will reliably power Byron Dorgan's electric cars. At least the old one in the foreground isn't subsidized by our tax dollar

      • (UPDATED) Sunset for North Dakota's energy industry? Byron Dorgan's committed to it
        07/22/10

        If you paid attention during the 2008 presidential campaign, you likely heard candidate Barack Obama foretell that he would bankrupt the coal industry, and that under his energy policies "electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket."



        For decades now, North

      • One of my new favorite signs around Bismarck-Mandan
        07/21/10

        I spotted this sign on the way back from Sibley Park last night. Obvious punctuation issues aside, it raises an important point about ethanol blended fuels that nobody wants to address: they are inferior and smart consumers don't want them. Naturally, the entrepreneurial spirit kicks i

      • You don't have to be a hapless liberal to write a catchy song about a North Dakota politician
        07/19/10




        As an animator I like subtleties such as the one above. Notice how Earl's path follows the outline of North Dakota's border rather than crossing it! Interested parties may remember that you couldn't find Earl Pomeroy anywhere near his constituents last year d

      • Pause for reflection
        07/19/10

        This quaint little church is tucked in behind a rolling green hill southwest of New Salem. The Sims Lutheran Church got a dose of publicity two years ago when Laura Bush visited it on her trip to North Dakota.

        I wanted to catch this church at sunrise but just barely missed it. It

      • Moon over my capitol
        07/17/10

        On my way home from an already successful photo jaunt, I noticed that the moon was about to set in a most convenient location. I bolted to the one spot in Bismarck which allows such a photograph and waited for things to happen. After a little while the moon moved into position right above Bi

      • My admission to the Rocket Poppeteers Astronaut Program
        07/15/10
        This is an update to a post I originally wrote about a little tidbit I discovered through /film back in May. It's a pretty cool "viral marketing" campaign for an upcoming movie. This one just happens to feature North Dakota. It all started with this movie teaser trailer:

      • Put me in, coach! Put me in
        07/14/10

        If one could feel a sense of pity for an inanimate object, it would likely happen during a sight like this. With an ample harvest approaching in the verdant field ahead, this poor broken down piece of equipment is reduced to spectator status. Its glory days have passed and it has been relega

      • How to know where you stand with your combine: googly eyes
        07/12/10

        This sight during the Mandan parade on July 4th made me laugh. It immediately reminded me of a certain Saturday Night Live skit featuring Christopher Walken. I haven't actually watched Saturday Night Live in many, many years (is Dana Carvey still on the cast?) but someone told me about

      • Room with a view
        07/11/10

        A lot of the old familiar abandoned farmsteads I've photographed since picking up my photography hobby are now lying in shambles. After all, a building leaning at a 45 degree angle can only do it for so long, right? So it's time to search out some new ones.

        This one is m

      • There are 10 kinds of people...those who can read binary, and those who can't
        07/09/10

        I spotted this "leetmobile" in a parking lot a while back and had to nab a quick cell phone shot of it. I couldn't actually tell you if the binary code thereon means anything, since I haven't remembered how to read binary code since the 1980s. While I've blurred out

      • Milky Way morning
        07/06/10

        One of the primary reasons I got into photography was astrophotography, or photographing the night sky. I've always been a big stargazer and have quite the equipment for doing so (even down to an iTunes playlist, which I will share soon). I got my first camera to take pictures of Aurora

      • Excellent turnout
        07/05/10

        I haven't seen a crowd like this at the capitol Independence Day celebration in recent memory! It was a very uplifting sight. Just about everybody rose and stood at attention for the Battle Hymn of the Republic. The performance of this grand hymn was the most amazing one I've ever

      • So how do those letters and numbers appear in the capitol windows every July 4th, Christmas, and New Year's Day?
        07/04/10

        Tonight some of these windows will be lit up with "4TH" as part of the Independence Day celebration on the front steps of the capitol. Every year the celebration features the music of the Bismarck-Mandan Symphony Orchestra and finishes with a dramatic fireworks finale. Have you eve

      • July calendar available for download
        07/02/10

        For this month's printable self-standing desk calendar, I chose a photo from last year's July Fourth Celebration at the lovely North Dakota State Capitol building. The symphony is performing in the lower left, and the skies are full of the rockets' red glare. This is a shot th

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