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      • Okay, the moment you've been waiting for. I've gone completely nuts
        02/28/06
        The Walrus restaurant in Arrowhead Plaza makes the finest Italian food of any restaurant in Bismarck, no questions asked (Sorry, Greg). They have one particular dish that I just can't escape, the Italian Sausage Pizziola Pasta, which I've come to lovingly refer to as "the ISP."

      • Noisy Misty Waters
        02/27/06


        You're looking at a wide angle of a new neighborhood being built along the Missouri River, north of Bismarck. It's called Misty Waters. This new inlet and neighborhood are being built immediately north of the Burnt Creek boat dock. Like the trendy Marina Bay and Southport ar

      • Middle East wildlife refugee program
        02/25/06


        Well, not exactly. But this camel and baby (baby's obscured by the fence) look a little out of place in the snow. They're quite hairy though, so probably very comfortable. When one thinks of camels, it's instinctive to think of the desert. When one thinks of North Dako

      • Thursday Night Sunset
        02/23/06


        I didn't realize it had been three weeks to the day since I posted a sunset picture. I was lucky to get one tonight because the snow moved in just as the sun was approaching the horizon. Coincidentally there were also some nice clouds overhead as the pressure wave pushed its way t

      • More anti-North Dakota "hate speech" from Minnesota
        02/22/06
        I don't know how many of you are familiar with the nonsense written about North Dakota by John Hoff. He's a guy who came to Grand Forks, somehow won a local government seat, then proceeded to act like such a jackass that they threw him out. He landed back in Minnesota, where he now puts

      • Feelin' prosperous today
        02/21/06


        I'm taking a few minutes to eat here at work, with a bowl of my favorite canned pseudo-food. Saying grace before dinner, it occurred to me again that we really live like kings here in the Bismarck-Mandan area. The least among us has got life infinitely better than the majority of

      • Washington Street - something needs to be done. You can help
        02/21/06
        It's no secret that Washington Street needs attention. As in, widening. Traffic signals. The works. It is the longest north-south street in our city, reaching from the sandbars of the Missouri River bottoms up past Highway 1804. Yet it continues to be a huge bottleneck in the Cathedral dis

      • This one's short
        02/21/06
        I had the misfortune of trying to get to the Expressway McDonald's at around 5 o'clock this evening. WOW. Anyone who doesn't think the Memorial Bridge got a lot of traffic should take a look at the bottleneck at Washington and Expressway at the end of the work day! It was just plai

      • Close, but no cigar
        02/20/06


        This is what it should have looked like this weekend. All the variables looked as though they'd line up. The sky was clear. No bright moon to mess up the sky. Somewhat unsettled atmosphere. Clint out standing in the field (no puns, please) with his camera equipment. The POES s

      • It's always racing season somewhere
        02/18/06
        And thank God for that! Just because the temps are below freezing doesn't mean it's not a good time for racing. Well, there's ice racing, but we haven't gone out to do that so far this year. I'm talking about the indoor kind, like the electric cars they're running at

      • CWP reciprocity
        02/17/06
        I received my renewed Concealed Weapons permit from the Bureau of Criminal Investigation yesterday. With all the background checks they have to do these days, it takes at least a month to go through the renewal process. I noticed that a couple of things have changed.

        First off, I'v

      • Say...got an extra 577 megs of hard drive space?
        02/16/06


        This is a composite of North Dakota as photographed from space between July 1999 and Sepetember 2002. It is enormous -- 577MB file size, roughly 16,000 pixels wide by 14,000 tall. You'd better have broadband if you want a copy of this file.

        This isn't as high of re

      • Closed UFN - Memorial Bridge
        02/16/06


        This was the scene Wednesday evening as all traffic, motor vehicle and pedestrian, was stopped on the Memorial Bridge. A week or two ago, a crack was discovered in one of the concrete/stone/steel pylons...a crack eighteen inches deep by some reports. I don't know exactly what they

      • Great steak night!
        02/14/06
        I just had one of the best Bourbon Street Steaks ever at the north Applebee's. As part of the NBC Sports crew I used to be a regular patron of the various Applebee's locations around the state. We'd run up a nightly tab of four or five hundred dollars for weeks during the busy sport

      • Turkey Crossing
        02/14/06


        Seen on South Washington. These guys seem pretty nonchalant about traffic nearby. Hopefully they don't get pasted as they confidently strut across the road.

        There's another big group of these birds on Highway 1806 just south of Mandan. A friend of mine flies helic

      • Meeting Tonight
        02/14/06
        Among the items on tonight's agenda at the City Commission meeting are the Northern Plains Commerce Center (NPCC), yet another Renaissance Zone project proposal, and more.

        You can view the agenda by clicking here (PDF document).

        Looks like something is going to happen to

      • Today's How-To: Brand yourself a jackass for under five bucks
        02/13/06


        I'm all for brand loyalty...but who's the idiot who came up with this sticker? They must be a rich idiot by now; I see these things all over the place. Many of them use the character Calvin of Calvin & Hobbes fame, without license I'm sure. Then you just pick the l

      • We don't know what it is, but it's up ahead
        02/12/06
        I always get a kick out of this sign on west Century Avenue:



        I know it's indicating that the visitor's center is up ahead. It's a universal sign, but in this case it's more funny than informative...even if you can't read. Maybe it brings curious onlo

      • Who speaks for them?
        02/11/06


        Well, I do, of course! These poor little guys were all fluffed up and cold yesterday during the blowing snow. I wonder how those little guys get by all through the cold North Dakota winters. Certainly they must be good at finding shelter. In this case they were fluttering around by

      • Public Service Announcement
        02/10/06
        My friends had the unfortunate experience of having a washing-machine hose burst in their house the other day. Their son wasn't aware of how to shut the water off, so he called his mom and she rushed home to do it. In that short amount of time, the rush of water did an enormous amount of dama

      • Observation deck
        02/09/06


        If the words "observation deck" make you think of the starship Enterprise from Star Trek, you are a geek. No, this is from my beloved capitol building. After doing some poking around at the state archives (okay, maybe I'm the geek) I ventured upstairs and saw these reall

      • Our next Mayor and City Commission
        02/08/06
        Recently Mayor John Warford announced that he's going to seek another term as Bismarck's mayor. We should be very pleased at that announcement; he's a good mayor. He's also got a vision for this community and a good head on his shoulders. Of course he'd be a good candidat

      • Small town feel
        02/07/06
        I've always referred to Bismarck as "the biggest small town I know." It has that feel. Even compared to Minot, which I attribute to the constant influx of people from all over the country (due to MAFB). It felt that way again today.

        I remember when Ed Schafer was the gov

      • You don't have to live in ND to be a US Senator...
        02/07/06

        ...but you have to make it look that way. Yet we've got the 21st century version of the carpetbagger in North Dakota. I consider Dorgan a Virginia resident, although I'm sure he has a nominal address here in ND to hang on to his cushy Washington gig. He comes around to express con

      • Monday night bridge
        02/07/06


        Taken after dark, about 3 seconds exposure. Unfortunately a train had just gone by, I wanted to get that whole "streaking headlight" thing but missed my opportunity. I didn't feel like standing around in the cold for much longer.

        Some inspiration credit due to

      • Credit where credit is due
        02/06/06
        I stopped in at JC Penney in the mall yesterday with my wife to exchange a jacket for a different size. While she was tending to that and perusing that 50% off sale, I grabbed a bunch of sale Nike stuff and wandered over the men's suits department. Boy, am I glad I did!

        First off:

      • Bumped: Cozy Music tomorrow night
        02/06/06


        My friend Luke will play with Gypsy Foot and Fat Dad at "Jokers" tomorrow night, February 7th. Not only will these guys play their favorites, but they'll also probably do some really wild impromptu collaborative stuff as well. You simply must check it out.

        Jok

      • The Ghost of Super Bowls Past
        02/05/06
        You'll see it today. Why? Because, if you live in Bismarck-Mandan you will be watching it processed through equipment older than I am. We're talking really vintage stuff here. I used to work for KBMY in the 1980s and the gear they're using to stay on the air today is the same stuf

      • You're likely to have an opinion on this.
        02/04/06


        What's a guy to do if he's got 1) a spare S-10 chassis and 2) a spare Pontiac Firebird body lying around? Well, I think the answer is as obvious as peanut butter 'n' chocolate.

        Unfortunately I didn't get a chance to hang around and talk to the owner/c

      • Target-ed for construction
        02/03/06
        Anyone who's gone down 7th Street recently may have noticed two things about Kirkwood Mall. First is the stack of culverts and orange safety fencing by the former Marshall Field's part of Kirkwood Mall.

        First let me take you back to the 1980's (I love to do that, after all

      • Albino fawn found near Stanley, ND...?
        02/02/06
        If it's on the Internet, it must be true...

        I just got a copy of an email showing an albino deer with a touching story about it nearly getting hit by a car near Stanley. It was rescued and turned over to a game warden. Well, the first thing I do when I find something in my email is

      • Wednesday night sunset
        02/01/06


        It's been a little while since I posted a nice sunset. If you only knew how much mud I had to get on my truck to get this shot! Thank goodness to big tires, skidplates, and four wheel drive. This particular vantage point won't be around long, with all the development going o

      • Sad thing is...who'll know he's gone?
        02/01/06
        Local cross country skiers are certainly aware of the trail on the Mandan side of the Missouri river, running from just north of Bonanza Restaurant to just north of the Veterans' Memorial Bridge. Mountain bikers and runners, too, make good use of this trail when there's no snow to glide o

    • January