Here’s a renewable fuel for you: the charge of static electricity generated by sliding a toddler butt down one of the many plastic slides adorning the playgrounds of our beloved cities! Yeah, I tried it…adults get zapped, too. I’m just glad I don’t have my 19-inch mohawk, like back in my adrenaline junkie days. That’s a lot of hair to have standing up, although I suppose it’s cheaper than hair gel.

If you never got to play with a Van_de_Graff_generator in science class as a kid, just go down the slide somewhere! Make sure it’s one of the newer plastic ones, though.

Little PJ never seems daunted by the static charge he gets from going down the slide. Since I often catch him at the bottom, I appreciate those old metal slides from my youth! I might have to take a can of Static Guard with him next time we hit the playground.

Hat tip to my buddy Jerry for this one. For the record, there was no KFYR satellite hookup when this was taped, and even in 2003 when I left the station. Elvis, however…well, of course he’s here! After all, Elvis is Everywhere!

No, I’m not talking about anything that Richard Hoaxland found on Mars’ Cydonia region… this is simply evidence of someone putting some joy into their work, and it’s sticking out of the side of the approach to the old Memorial Bridge.

You can see it as you approach it from east or west on the new bridge; simply look at the end of the beams holding up the approach to the old bridge on the Mandan side. What I figure is that it was necessary to cap the end of the old beam with concrete when they tore down part of the approach to make room for construction. When putting the concrete in place, I suppose a worker with a sense of humor added the smiley face.

Hat tip to Brucellosis for spotting this back the rest of us were still confined to the old bridge. He spotted it while on a walking tour of the bridge, and I’ve been waiting patiently to see it for myself. Thankfully it was still there once the new bridge opened; I’m not about to go trespassing. Now one can see it simply by driving by, but be careful! You don’t want to have an accident while rubbernecking, do you?

While heading down to the Burnt Creek dock with my boys, I took the scenic route down Sandy River Drive. It’s one of my favorite roads because it’s narrow, straight, canopied by trees, and I have several friends who live along it. Just before I headed north to the boat dock, however, I saw this new item.

Marking “The Road to Nowhere”, this marker was obviously put up by someone who got a raw deal. In case you have a bad monitor, let me go ahead and quote it:

“Until 2006 the road to the west of this site contained 22 giant cottonwoods, oaks and ash trees – and two private roads maintained by residents of this area.

This marker is dedicated to the public officials who deemed “we’re from the government and we’re here to help” – even though the residents of the area didn’t want the trees removed, their roads destroyed, and the new road built.”

As usual, I proofread everything I read, and something caught my eye. If I’m right, “Pactas” should actually read “Pacta” as it’s the plural of the Latin word “pactum.” It means an agreement, contract, covenant, or treaty. The full translation of this little dictum is essentially “Agreements should be honored.” If so, all those years of high school and college Latin finally paid off. The dedication itself speaks for itself…just think the Democrats want the government to be in charge of our health care, too!

The road really DOES go nowhere, by the way. I went to the end of the road so I’d have room to turn our carbon-belching SUV around, but not until after I poked my head through the moon roof to take this shot of our tax dollars at work.

If you’d like to find this marker and enjoy the picnic table, you can take River Road north from Pioneer Park, then turn left and head west on Sandy River Drive until you spot the marker on your left. Its GPS coordinates are 46 deg 51.164 minutes North, 100 deg 51.237 minutes West. If you find out who placed the marker here (it ain’t hard to figure out), tell them I sent you.

I can’t explain why this Farmall tractor is perched atop a pole any more than I can explain the bathtubs at its base! It sure is eye-catching, though.

The wooden farmer perched atop this tractor has an almost Lego-like appearance. It looks like the weather has worn away at him a bit; it would be cool to see him with a new paint job!

I spent a few hours poking around west and southwest of Bismarck-Mandan this Saturday. That’s when I had the opportunity to photograph this tractor on the outskirts of Glen Ullin. I found lots of other fun things at which to point my camera, and they’ll show up here soon as well. None of the other ones involve boxy wooden farmers, though.

This poor fella stands along south 12th Street, sort of an agricultural Atlas who refuses to shrug. I bet he’s cause some serious rubbernecking, though!

Hat tip to Brucellosis for featuring this on his blog. You beat me to the punch! I took some photos of this a while back but hadn’t posted them yet, and I’m glad I waited to catch him in the snow. It helps with the fact that the background’s pretty unappealing.

This is part of a political campaign display, and is accompanied by a sign for a hopeful candidate. His message: help keep District 30 strong! I’m not showing the sign, though…no free advertising. Especially considering that our three representatives down here are Republicans, so this challenger is presumably a socialist, I mean Democrat. Same difference.

I have since found out that Arnie Zent was vying for a Republican nomination for a vacated seat. My presumption was wrong, as is often the case. That drives home the old lesson: When you presume, you make a pre out of you and me!

I spotted these familiar statues on North 2nd Street this morning, but had to do a double-take when I saw their new attire! It’s good to see that someone has a sense of humor. These statues are gonna need it – the HIGH for Saturday is expected to be five below zero!

So there I was, driving through an industrial park in east Bismarck, when suddenly I exclaimed, “Oh!” I had seen this sign, hanging on the side of an otherwise anonymous business. I’d tell you where it is, but the address is right “below the donut” as Too-Tall Tom would tell you.