Category Archives: Vehicles

Forklift fail or forklift win?

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Every time I pass this forklift at Honda Plus, located on Airport Road, I have to chuckle at the ingenuity of people. Not only does this counterweight serve an important purpose, it also shows that you CAN make Toyota and Nissan parts compatible…somewhat.

One of my favorite “daily visit” sites is failblog.org. It took off from the FAIL meme: You take an image of someone doing something dumb, making a hilarious mistake, or just generally failing at something. Paste the word FAIL on it in an Impact style font. Post and share the hilarity.

An alternate of it is WIN. While I question the means of attachment of this weight to the forklift, I have to admit it displays a certain innovation. While it would probably qualify for failblog.org, I wouldn’t put this in the “dumb” category. Thus I couldn’t decide if this was a FAIL or WIN, so I thought I’d make my own failblog.com-worthy image and let you be the judge:

Giant piece of metal strapped to a piece of heavy equipment: check. Toyota counterweight attached to Nissan forklift: check. FAIL text in proper font (Impact): check. All that’s left is to see if it’s a FAIL or a WIN. I may even decide to post it to failblog.org sometime, or you can if you’d like.

Minot Air Force Base hosts Northern Neighbors Day 2009

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I was blessed with the opportunity to attend the Minot Air Force Base’s “Northern Neighbors Day” this weekend. I believe this show runs every two years, but it’s been a while since I’ve been able to make it to one. I have been looking forward to this day for two years, and I was not disappointed. Boy, did I take a lot of pictures. Here are a few…and there’s a link to a gallery of more at the bottom of this post.

Starting with the star of the show, the B-52 Stratofortress.

Check out the riflings on the barrel of this A-10’s 30mm gun! That’ll get those depleted uranium shells spinning.

Of course, there were plenty of aerobatic demonstrations.

How’s that for a ribbon cutting ceremony?

Various planes and helicopters were available for people to inspect, including a peek into the cockpits of some such as the F-15 and F-16. Pilots were on hand to chat.

Don’t get any funny adventurous ideas. You’re still on a nuclear weapon facility. I need one of these for my property, at least the last line anyway.

Yes, attractive women DO fly deadly planes.

I’m sure I’d have even more photo opportunities if my truck did this.

If I couldn’t attach these to my motorcycle, I bet I could make a monster go-kart with them!

The Barack Obama fighter. Hope™! Change™!

As some of the Army’s “Golden Knights” parachute team spiral toward us, the Pietsch brothers circle in their stunt planes.

These jets can fire up at a moment’s notice. They have explosive charges on the engines that can be detonated to spin the turbines up instantly, negating the use of an APU. They can be airborne and ready to go make some mayhem in a matter of minutes. We got a demo.

Something you don’t see every day: an F-16 Fighting Falcon alongside a P-38 Lightning!

Something else you don’t see every day: a B-52 Stratofortress next to a B-25 Mitchell!

This was my first experience with the B2 Spirit stealth bomber. I came away from it very pleased. All radar invisibility aside, the thing is just darn near impossible to see or hear when it’s coming or going! Only when it flies by is it detectable, and then it’s too late. It’s quite BIG, too.

U2 flyby. No, not Bono…he only THINKS he can fly. I was stunned at just how loud this aircraft is, and it was a real hoot to see it peel off and head to 60,000 feet. I don’t think they’ve ever let on how high it can REALLY go. Space, pretty much.

Uniform-01, the missile training facility. It’s an exact replica of a Minuteman III silo and launch facility. Through a stroke of luck my friend Jerry and I got a personalized tour of this thing, with the better part of an hour to just have the instructor to ourselves and ask questions. This alone made the trip worthwhile. No, I was NOT allowed to take my camera with me when we went down the hole.

Beauty.

Amen, brutha. I know the pusillanimous, sissified PC crowd thinks that this statement is imperialist and overbearing…but it’s not. America has been the greatest stabilizing force in the world. It’s because of the folks serving here at Minot Air Force Base, and all over the world, that we enjoy peace. If there’s a war, they win it for us. If there’s peace, it’s because people are afraid to mess with them. They stand by our allies and defend our nation and its friends.

Want more pics? I took a TON of them. These were just some of my favorites. I took the opportunity to make an online gallery of the ones I like the best. You can find it by clicking here. I hope you enjoy. Thanks to the friendly (and I do mean FRIENDLY) folks at the Minot Air Force Base for all that they do and all their hard work and hospitality in making this Northern Neighbors Day one that I’ll remember for the rest of my life!

Amen, brother…Amen.

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I couldn’t help but notice this big rig parked in a most conspicuous location last Thursday afternoon. At work we have a joke with which we heckle each other, “Could you make the font bigger?” In this case, I think it’s just right.

This truck is doing some well-needed evangelism, whether moving or stationary. The trailer had Maine plates and the tractor had California plates. Hopefully this message has been seen in all points in between!

I’ve got my memory verse for this week. See also Psalm 66:16.

Proclaiming the gospel from all angles. I admire this driver’s conviction. I didn’t see anyone inside, and if they were napping in the sleeper I hardly wanted to be the one to interrupt. In fact, I’m going to have a nap of my own once I finish typing this. My two precious little tow-headed boys are already sawing logs, and it’s like sweet music to my ears on the baby monitor.

This is the first thing you see when this truck approaches, you can’t miss it on the side as it goes by, and it’s the big rig’s parting words as well. Amen, brother…Amen.

The homemade 4×4 phenomenon takes on a new dimension: a dually

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My boys and I spotted this rugged looking Ford Van conversion tonight. Yep, it’s got four tires on the back. I guess it’s ready for some heavy cargo, since it can’t pull a fifth wheel trailer. Interesting.

I’d say this whole homemade 4×4 thing is getting out of hand…but isn’t that the point? I’d hate to discourage this kind of creativity and ingenuity. Besides, it’s exactly the opposite of what liberals want us to do, drive silly little deathtraps in a vain attempt to “save” the planet they worship.

For any of you who haven’t seen them all, here are a few of the other creations I’ve spotted in Bismarck-Mandan:

This little Gremlin conversion scores big points for the license plate: MOGWAI.

Nothing says class like a Mercedes sedan. Apparently if you don’t like the ride height, it’s possible to give it a little boost (along with some four wheel drive for good measure).

Equally classy is the Cadillac sedan, which happens to bolt on to a Suburban (by the look of things) chassis. The step rails are a bonus in my book. This is in the nicest shape of all the conversions I’ve seen.

Knight Rider had a lot of gadgets, but I’m pretty sure that four wheel drive and a Vortec V6 were not among them. There’s a ZR-2 model S-10 chassis underneath this Firebird.

There’s one other 4×4 I haven’t seen around here since the mid 1990s: a pinkish-red pearl El Camino, or possibly Ranchero, which was last seen on the used car lot at Cedric Theel. Who knows where it eventually ended up. If I spot that one, I’ll count my collection complete. Of course, that’s what I said before I saw the Gremlin.

Quadfecta: Mogwai!

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While on my way to help some friends with their computer, I spotted this beast. It’s an AMC Gremlin, a car model of some considerable notoriety. I’m not sure of the brand/model of the chassis to which it’s affixed, but it makes a pretty proportional 4×4. Now it just needs some paint and TLC.

The license plate reads “MOGWAI.” For those of you who don’t get that… you are obviously not children of the 1980s. That or you didn’t see this movie. In any case, I caught the reference instantly.

This was a pleasant surprise, because I already had the “4×4 Mongrel Trifecta” completed:

The 4×4 Cadillac was one of my favorites. This has got to be on a Suburban chassis, I can’t think of anything else big enough! Maybe a big extended cab pickup frame.

Then there’s the 4×4 Mercedes. I bet the engineers back in Stuttgart never imagined this! No idea on the chassis here.

I called this one a “Four by Firebird.” I’ll put this one up against KITT in the original Knight Rider any day! This one is on a Chevy S-10 chassis, which I knew by sight but also from the “Vortec” sticker on the side of the car.

I figured my work was done with the trifecta. Then I found myself employing a term that doesn’t even exist in my dictionary as this fourth photo op presented itself. If I ever run into that pink/red El Camino 4×4 that used to sit in the used car lot over at Cedric Theel a long time ago, I’ll have the quintfecta! Ugh…I need to come up with better terminology. I could say something like “4×4 by four” I suppose, that’s got a nice ring to it…but what happens when I see a fifth?

Here come the planes

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“Here come the planes……..they’re American planes. Made in America…” That’s how Laurie Anderson sings it in “O Superman” anyway. My little boys, particularly my 2 yr old, love anything mechanical. PJ loves watching airplanes land and take off, so I decided to take him to my favorite spot. This is where, if the wind is right, planes come really close overhead while landing. I had my camera bag, of course, so I grabbed my wide angle lens and used a fill flash to document his encounter with the jet.

He was actually scared as it went overhead, which was surprising because he hasn’t been before, but then asked for “one more airplane” after it had passed. His 1 yr old brother took it all in stride, and gave me a bonus when he started to say “Daddy!” for the first time, and kept saying it as we drove around in the truck. What a summer this is going to be!

UPDATED – Justice is served for local motorcycle/atv enthusiasts

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I posted a while back about this trail, located east of Midwest Motor Express. The land is marked with No Trespassing signs, but permission is given to those who wish to use the trail if they sign a waiver form in the office of the trucking company.

Apparently the City of Bismarck once again that someone having fun within their domain could not be tolerated, and went after Midwest Motor Express. They claimed that MME was operating a “racetrack” in violation of City Ordinance 14-02-03.

This trail obviously falls within the definition of a recreational trail, not a race track, and thankfully the court saw this as well. John Roswick of MME emailed me the court’s decision in PDF format. He has given me permission to link to the PDF, since it’s a matter of public record: click here to view.

I suppose I’m still smarting from what the City did back when they redid Sertoma Park. The sandbars used to be filled with people having a good time, and the road through Sertoma was a common place to see people cruising around during the summer. Parking was ample, and people would park along the road to walk to the sandbar. There were football and volleyball games, sunbathing, swimming, and tons of other activities on the sandbars. Then the City came along. I have no doubts that busting up all the activity on the sandbars was a reason for the park’s new configuration, and the new Sertoma Park made getting to the sandbar a hassle. Thus all those pesky kids and their fun-havin’ were forced to go somewhere else. And they did.

This also brings up the issue of the City trying to flex its muscles outside of the normal city limits. I don’t know if MME currently resides in city limits, but in North Dakota the cities have say in what goes on for miles outside their legal boundaries! How a county resident can get hassled by representatives of a city government in which he has NO representation or right to vote is beyond me. Hopefully there won’t be a long line of people like MME, who is simply trying to serve a segment of community, who get hassled by government policy-pushers looking to flex their political muscle.

Discovery in reverse

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I was taking my little boys to some of our favorite spots around town; the river to see boats, construction sites to see tractors and bulldozers, and the airport to see airplanes. As we were driving past the airport, this plane caught my eye from the highway. I couldn’t help but investigate.

This plane is painted in official USA colors, similar to Air Force One. That’s what caught my eye. Of course, this was one of the few times I didn’t have my camera with me, so I had to use my cellphone. I showed PJ the plane, we watched a Basin Electric jet land and taxi, and then it was time to go home and get mommy for a stroller walk to the park.

At home I saw a portion of the local news, and it all clicked into place: the First Lady was in town! Aha. Her upcoming visit was not announced, so most people (like me) found out about it after the fact. Rather than go look for the plane after learning of the visit, I found the plane and then learned that the First Lady was in town. Discovery in reverse!

Seems everything is a commodity these days, especially tires

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I suspect this is a common sight these days. Like metal, petroleum products, and everything else, rubber is in short supply. Perhaps this piece of equipment’s trip sans tires is similar to a story I heard a while back.

I was videotaping at a mining operation (not local) and one of the guys mentioned that they had placed a huge equipment order. When the time came for delivery, the manufacturer called to say that the equipment was ready to ship, but that there were no tires. No tires? Yes, the industrialization of other parts of the world had put a strain on the supply of tires for heavy equipment.

To my recollection, they had to cancel the order; you can’t have millions of dollars of big equipment show up and not be able to put it into service; at that point it’s costing money, not making money. I talked to another fella at a different mining operation who said that they have to try to stretch the tires on their big haulers a little further, and try to buy in advance, because they’re hard to come by. If they can’t operate their equipment, they can’t produce their product.

I don’t know if that’s the case with this loader. I don’t think they ship them without tires normally, but perhaps that’s the case. I used to have a desk facing the dock where Caterpillar equipment would come off the train cars, and I don’t recall seeing any without tires; of course, this is a truck, and it has to fit under the overpasses.

Whether this loader being hauled without tires is an illustration or not, I’m told the problem exists. I found out more anecdotal evidence when I replaced the tires on my truck. The model of truck I drive came stock with oversized tires, so that’s the kind of replacements I have to buy. Tires that cost $400 a few years ago cost $700 now. Ouch!

Race tires for the motorcycle were around $350-400 when I last raced, ($300 EACH if you order from the catalog) and they’re good for a couple of days if ridden hard. When it comes to the cost of tires and fuel, that’s the only reason I am glad haven’t gone racing lately!

Spot something goofy in this “antique” picture

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I took my wife and boys on a walk along the Mandan side of the river, taking the Missouri River Natural Area trail. We hopped on from the trailhead in the Captain Leach area north of the Memorial Bridge, and I spotted this scene in one of the many backyards bordering the trail. As I framed the shot, I caught something. Do you know what it is?
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How many times does “ar” appear in “Bismarck?” I suppose I can’t call it a typo, since this lettering wasn’t typed! I wonder if the artist got a phone call halfway through the word Bismarck or something. Maybe it was painted on International Talk Like a Pirate Day! It never fails…everywhere I look, I find typos. It’s a disorder, I think.

Case in point: we just got our first fancy new high-definition video camera last week. I opened up the operations manual from Sony and…yep! Typo! I guess it’s a good thing that my spelling and grammatical “spider sense” still works.

I experimented with giving this photo the faded look of an old print by desaturating it and giving it a slightly different gamma curve. I love playing in Photoshop and haven’t really had much to do with it lately. Time to step it up, I think…those skills can get rusty when not used!