Back in the saddle a bit

Posted on February 19, 2014 by Clint

After dozing off early in my recliner tonight I woke up to a text from a friend who was out on patrol tonight. He noticed that the Northern Lights were in full swing. I grabbed a good friend, hopped in the truck, and took off. We were not disappointed.

As I mentioned recently, I’ve had some health issues and other things that have just plain sidelined me as far as photography and blogging. This was a great way to get back in the saddle for a bit as much as my pain would allow, and happens to have been one of the better aurora borealis nights in a long time. Just because I’ve been in my recliner doesn’t mean I haven’t been watching what the sun and skies are up to.

We appear to have arrived along one of my favorite rural roads just in time to see some very spectacular lights. We saw spikes, we saw ripples, and we saw a lot of them. I worked the area the best I could within the time allowed, and we pointed the truck back toward the Bizzo once things began to taper off.

I can’t speculate on the frequency with which I ease back into my beloved photo hobby, but hopefully this is a harbinger of good things to come. With the weather changing in our favor and another spring and summer on the way, things are looking pretty good. I hope to be on the mend in time for mountain bike and volleyball season, too!

The Democrat letter-writing machine is in full gear. Here’s how to spot ’em

Posted on February 13, 2014 by Clint

Here we are, well into 2014 and the Democrats barely even have any candidates named for office. That’s no surprise, considering the destruction their party has wrought on a national level. Anyone with a “D” next to their name is likely to get a well deserved, good old-fashioned hinder-spanking. What they are doing, however, is getting their tinfoil-hat brigade into full swing in letter-writing mode, hitting the “Letter to the Editor” pages as frequently as they can.

I’ve written my share of letters to the editor of our local newspaper as well, and I think it’s a great means of citizen activism. What I am pointing out in this article is the orchestrated wave of motivated foot soldiers, belching Democrat Party talking points to the printed page in increasing volume.

I’ve noticed it lately because I check the Tribune’s Letters to the Editor page regularly. I’ve mentioned before that their Comments sections (when they had them) were where one could go to kill a few brain cells. But these are actual letters submitted to the paper, verified by the editor, and signed with people’s real names. But who are these people, and why should you pay attention what they’ve written?

In the case of the Bismarck Tribune, you only have to do one additional click to get some background on a letter writer before you lend credence to what they have to say:

Take this cookie-cutter screed from Henry Lebak (to whom I’ve retorted on the Tribune’s Letter to the Editor page) going after Margaret Sitte. This is the only race I can think in which the Democrats actually want to compete, so here comes the attack. Well, simply click on good ol’ Henry’s name in the blue byline text, and you’ll come up with this list of what he’s written in the past:

Mister Lebak’s been busy. He’s got a litany of “Republicans bad, Democrats good” type stuff in his repertoire. Fine…that’s his right. But my point is that this isn’t just some regular guy who finally got so fed up with Senator Sitte or the Republicans that he had to finally write a letter and air his grievances. No, this is a semi-pro.

There are other leftists, such as the one shown in the top image, who have an even longer list of vitriol than Henry does. I don’t have to accuse Mr. Lebak or others of being shills for the Democrat Party, and it doesn’t matter if they are. They’re activists, as evidenced by the volume of their writing, and it all reads like Democrat Party fundraising letters and talking points memos.

I’ve got few letters to the editor on the Tribune’s site, too…but I’ve got a website on which I’ve boldly declared where I stand on matters of faith and politics. You may agree with me, you may not. But if you still don’t know who I am, clicking on my byline will also bring up my list of rants and give you a good picture of who this crazy right-winger extremist zealot is. Do your research.

This is especially important right now because, as I have pointed out above, agents of the left are already busy pecking away at their keyboards (with the W’s still removed, no doubt) and flooding newspaper editors’ inboxes all over North Dakota. Take the time for one extra click, see what else they’ve written, and if you get a list as long as the guys above you can be sure you’re dealing with an activist.

Five years ago and twelve degrees colder – and I was out with my cameras

Posted on January 27, 2014 by Clint

January 26th, 2010 was a great day. The fact that it was even colder than today’s bitter winter Monday didn’t dampen my spirits, as I was on site for the move of the Falkirk Mine’s dragline “Chief Ironsides” from the west side of Highway 83 to the east side. I was being paid to document the occasion, as it happens very infrequently. I’m glad I dressed in layers; while Sunday’s low in the area was -7 with a mean temp of 12, the low that day was -4 with a mean temp of -2. I’m using the mean temperature for the title of this post.

In order for Tuesday’s dragline walk, enormous preparations had to be made. For instance, a gap in the power lines running parallel to Highway 83 had to be made. The machines are simply too tall to go under. The railroad tracks had to be covered as well.

Next, a compacted dirt road several feet thick had to be constructed. This served the purpose of protecting the paved road as well as creating a level deck for the scoop and draglines to traverse.

Crews worked from each side of Highway 83, meeting in the middle. Enormous excavators filled dump trucks, which deposited their dirt at the end of the constructed road on their side. Big dozers pushed it into place, and the biggest grader I’ve ever seen did the grooming.

A bed of shredded straw was placed on the highway prior to the dirt work, presumably to aid in the cleanup. This way the dirt wasn’t plastered onto the roadway below. I got to stand really close to where these guys were doing their dirt work, but at a safe distance. Of course I brought my hard hat, vest, and safety glasses with, and I had an escort the whole time to make sure I wasn’t in danger.

With the road complete, it was time to get the “small” stuff across. The two machines in this shot are on tracks, simply driving across instead of the meticulous “walking” of the big dragline.

This equipment is electric, running with giant extension cords that lead back to the power plant. When they need to take a trek like this, the smaller ones are powered by a generator on a trailer. The truck follows dutifully behind or beside this scoop shovel as it tracks across.

For bigger equipment such as this tracked dragline or the big Chief Ironsides, they operate tethered to their usual power source. There’s a new power cable waiting for them on the other side.

This “little” tractor isn’t so little. Its sole purpose in life is to guide the electrical cable supplying power to the big dragline. It’s got a hoop-shaped guide on the back that is used to push the cable around to where it needs to be.

Weather delayed things a bit, but we finally got going just before sunset. That made for some challenges with shooting video. Stills are one thing in low light, but HD video is another. The main shot I was set up for was a time lapse of the roadway crossing, and the light was changing on me very quickly.

It was quite dark by the time the thirteen million pound behemoth, controlled by a woman named Melody, crossed the road. There was a thick dirt road constructed across Highway 83 just for this purpose, since the dragline needs a level deck for moving. It also protected the highway from the immense weight of the machine.

There was a dedicated crew for this task; the rest of the mine’s operations didn’t skip a beat. Talk about a daunting task: close the highway, build a new road capable of handing a thirteen million pound load, get the equipment across, then remove that road…all within 24 hours. Great job, gang! That’s an impressive day’s work.

I froze myself silly, but I got the shots. I had one HD camera, tucked in the Suburban parked sideways in the median due to wind, doing the 1080p time lapse while I ran around getting other angles and video footage with a second HD camera. Of course I kept my trusty still camera bag with me at all times. Thankfully I dressed really warm, and had a real blast!

Condolences, Dr. King. American liberals have prevented your dream

Posted on January 20, 2014 by Clint

Sorry, Martin Luther King Jr.: you failed. It is with great regret that I note, on the day marking the remembrance of your life and accomplishments, that we’re the antithesis of that famous speech back in August of 1963:

“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”

Where are we now, almost fifty years later? Prominent black Americans such as Justice Clarence Thomas and Condoleeza Rice are treated as outcasts by “compassionate liberals” simply because they realized the American dream, and they did it without a nanny state providing it to them. It was even deemed perfectly fine by liberals to draw racial, hateful, despicable cartoons about Ms. Rice simply because she worked for the Bush administration…yet one more liberal double standard.

Colin Powell got the same treatment until he decided it was more fruitful for his personal gain to vilify Republicans and conservatives as well, and it worked to ingratiate himself with those same “compassionate liberals.”

Had Barack Obama been judged by his character and not hyped by the historic nature of his half-blackness, he wouldn’t have made it out of Chicago. Well, the cult of personality, propped up by the house organ media, actually got this fella elected. Now we’re all dealing with the Hopey-Changey result. This isn’t sour grapes, folks: the President’s policies, and the agendas of the people who have surrounded him his entire life, spell the end of the United States of America if allowed to come to fruition.

When Justice Sonia Sotomayor was going through the confirmation process, it highlighted another way in which the American left has let down Dr. King and minorities everywhere. In the Ricci v. Stefano case, firefighters were given or denied promotions based on their race and not the proficiency scores of those taking a qualification test. Liberals DO, after all, want to judge people solely on the color of their skin. Justice Sotomayor was overturned by the US Supreme Court in this matter. Sadly, this racist was later confirmed to the SCOTUS.

The “compassionate left” uses race as a way to divide people, foment anger, and then rally them toward an agenda that means none of them well. When someone like Bill Cosby comes along and appeals for the importance of character among people of color (or whatever the “politically correct” term is), they throw him under the bus and try to discredit him. How is that serving the minority community?

Rather, race has been turned into an industry, a rather lucrative one for the likes of Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, and their ilk. These charlatans are two of the last people who would ever want racial tension to subside, since it’s racial tension that writes their rather sizeable paychecks. It’s people like them that have hijacked and usurped Martin Luther King Junior’s movement and have turned it into a perversion and a racket. I say again, the last thing people like this want is for true racial harmony, regardless of anything they may say otherwise.

Martin Luther King, Junior had a remarkable dream. I think it would be a reality for most Americans if it wasn’t for leftist opportunists trying to attach minority labels to people of various races for the sole purpose of polarization and victimization. Look at their ideals, their policies, and their end results. As long as the “compassionate left” drives the debate about where we stand on racial issues in this country, Dr. King’s dream is not even a distant reality.

-60? Mandan has seen worse. MUCH worse

Posted on January 5, 2014 by Clint

I noticed in December 2012 that the sign at good ol’ Mandan High tends to surrender when it gets really cold outside. Given the photos I’ve since seen of other people seeing this same temperature on the sign, I think it’s got to be a software glitch.

On a related note, the windchills we’re seeing this weekend would be at least 20 degrees colder under the old formula, which was retired in 2001. Because of that reformulation we will never see windchill temperatures as cold as we did in the past. That’s important for two reasons:

We NoDaks like our cold weather bragging rights.
Don’t let some pointy-headed liberal tell you that Global Warming™ is the reason.
Guys like me who say “Back in my day, we really had windchills” aren’t that crazy.

Time to hunker down, recover from my recent robot attack, and throw a pizza in the oven. Stay safe, everyone!

This one’s Photoshopped. I have a valid reason

Posted on January 1, 2014 by Clint

Would you accept a note from my doctor? I actually posted this from my hospital bed in Rochester after undergoing robotic surgery on New Year’s Eve. I was really looking forward to perhaps being home to pursue a shot of the capitol with its windows proclaiming the new year, but that wasn’t in the cards. Thankfully I have Photoshop so I can at least imagine what it looks like – that, and a maddening array of everyone else’s photos of the event.

I’m back home in the Bizzo now, so hopefully I can make a speedy recovery and lift a camera again soon. I love sharing photos of Bismarck-Mandan with everyone, and the past several months have not allowed me to do that very much, so I’m hoping that 2014 will provide more opportunity.

The four most important words you’ll hear this Christmas

Posted on December 23, 2013 by Clint

Hark the herald angels sing,
Glory to the newborn King!
Peace on earth, and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconciled.
One ubiquitous Christmas holiday phrase is “Peace on Earth.” As the hymn above shows, that is entirely appropriate; however, we tend to assign an earthly context to it by mistake. It’s not about peace between men at all; rather, it means peace between men and God. Those four most important words I alluded to in the title are the last four in the verse above: “God and sinners reconciled.” That is the source of peace on earth.

“And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” (Luke 2:13-14)

That peace and good will didn’t transmit from man to man; it came from God to all men. Since the fall of Adam, that peace between God and men did not exist. By giving the gift of His son, however, God was offering that peace and good will to men once again:

“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6)

There’s your peace…

“Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.” (Romans 5:18)

Repeatedly in the Old and New Testaments, the Bible reminds us that “there is none that doeth good, no, not one.” Romans 3:23 points out that “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” We need as Savior, one whose birth we celebrate each Christmas. As the angel told Joseph:

“Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:20)

This was the Savior foretold by the prophets. For example:

God’s desire is to restore that fellowship and peace, reconciling (see those four important words once again) us to Him through his Son:

“For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell; And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven. And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled…”

If you’ve read this blog for a while, you know that I believe what Jesus says in the Bible: “you must be born again.” He means that in order to be forgiven and assured a place in heaven, you must put your faith and trust in Him. We can not do anything to assuage the sin that we carry in our lives; only He can.

By placing your belief and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ to forgive your sins, acknowledging that He made the only sufficient sacrifice for them on the cross, you can be saved. Only then will you be able to truly partake in that “peace on earth” that the angel of the Lord spoke of when declaring good news to those shepherds.

I love the spirit of Christmas as much as, if not more than, the next guy… but the joy, the spirit, the family time, the celebrations, the lights, the gifts… those are all simply a by-product and a shadow of the joy that God extends to each and every person through His son, the one through whom we enjoy unspeakable joy and peace each Christmas and throughout the year.

With all due respect, I think you’re a little late

Posted on December 18, 2013 by Clint

I have seen this billboard, or one similar to it, a couple of times. I finally had to stop and take a quick photo because I think it reveals a problematic mindset. Your opinion may vary from mine, but I think that age 13 is far too late to be teaching our children about alcohol.

I’ve never been into drinking. When I was younger, I didn’t see my parents do it – other than perhaps a single Fuzzy Navel or something at a wedding. My dad had more alcohol in the house than I bet 99% of American households, but he didn’t drink it; he collected unique bottles, cans, and miniatures. What I had witnessed in other people consuming alcohol was the change in their behavior, and it didn’t seem like something worthy of pursuit. Thankfully my parents backed those observations up with admonishments about what alcohol can do to people’s behavior and consequences to its use.

Later, as I became an adult and my childhood love of motorcycles really took off, I definitely wanted nothing to do with alcohol. I used to say that alcohol was “against my religion”: motorcycling. This was, of course, before becoming a Christian. I simply knew that alcohol would severely impact my ability to ride, and that was unacceptable.

Meanwhile, having accompanied friends to Shades or other bars or nightclubs, I couldn’t see a point to alcohol consumption or hanging out in places dedicated to it. I’m thankful for that too.

The Bible warns about alcohol, in that “Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.” (Proverbs 20:1) Based on my experiences above, and my convictions now as a Christian, I’m quite fine doing without alcohol or its effects. And I’ve never needed it to have a good time.

Wow, I’ve really digressed, but I felt it important to give some background. Now back to my original point: if you have convictions one way or another about alcohol, 13 is far too late to talk to your children about it. By then your behavior has probably influenced them way more than your words will be able to. If they grow up around people consuming alcohol, they’ve already formed their own perceptions. If they see it as perfectly acceptable behavior, good luck lecturing that out of them.

Our children were told about alcohol, how my wife and I feel about it, and what the Bible says about it when they were around the age of four. They watch a kids’ gospel western show that has an episode devoted to it, and it sparked curiosity in them. Their questions prompted us to tell them our stance on alcohol consumption from a personal, practical, and biblical perspective. We train them on so many other things, alcohol is just one more part of the picture.

At some point they’re going to be old enough to face those choices for themselves, and I’m not going to try to shelter them from that. In the mean time, I’m making sure not to squander the opportunity to teach them while they’re young, explain why we believe what we do, and help them apply that long with everything else we teach them.

Frankly, by age 13 I’m sure many kids have already had exposure to alcohol. If they run into that at such a fragile age with no preparation by their parents they’re going to be at a far greater risk to make poor decisions. Peer pressure is all but unbearable at that age, so unless a child has a firm foundation it’ll be very hard to resist.

I appreciate the well-meaning message of this billboard. I simply think its message needs to be applied much earlier. Parents leading by example will help reinforce the admonishment they give their children. With all our children face at the age of 13, they had better be well trained already. Otherwise they’re getting too little too late.

Introducing the 2013 capitol Christmas tree – it’s real, and it’s spectacular

Posted on December 9, 2013 by Clint

Straight from Wisconsin, this beautiful specimen was lit tonight at a ceremony featuring local musicians, some Bible readings, and even some audience participation as we sung a couple of songs as well. It’ll be up through December 31st and is adorned with ornaments made by ordinary folks and submitted through the North Dakota Council on the Arts.

It was a relief to see that there’s still a real tree in the Memorial Hall of the capitol this year; due to the potential fire hazard of an actual tree there’s mounting concern that may put an end to this tradition in favor of an artificial, non-flammable tree. That’ll be a sad day when it happens, but I understand that North Dakota doesn’t want to be known for burning down two capitol buildings.

It’s okay, Bismarck; the sand is safe

Posted on December 8, 2013 by Clint

I just got done running a bunch of errands for my wife and myself, from Menards to south Walmart and points in between. I’m glad to count myself not among one of the unlucky drivers rammed by an out-of-state “new arrival” winter driving noob, or who kissed a curb because a seemingly innocent looking turning lane was actually a rocket chute to disaster, or who realized that being able to brake or turn safely is a privilege not always available to everyone. No, I was one of the lucky drivers who was able to drift around town in four wheel drive with my Spidey sense tingling but made it home intact.

I had to run to the south Walmart in my travels, so I thought I’d inspect the Public Works building on South 26th Street to see what kind of preparations were underway. After all, tomorrow morning brings the start of a busy work week, and seemingly every intersection in town has been glazed to Zamboni-esque perfection. As you can see above, those responsible for making things safe for local drivers must be tucked snugly away with visions of sugar plums dancing in their heads or something.

It was maddening to see absolutely ZERO sand or gravel applied to major intersections. For example, the top of 9th Street – where one turns onto State Street to continue north – had a particular mirror-like sheen that made the right turn extremely treacherous, and doing so without either ramming a curb or drifting into the adjacent lane a feat of skill. Then to see that apparently nobody’s gearing up to do it later is infuriating. Crashing is dangerous and expensive.

This reminds me of when I left Bismarck to attend NDSU. I looked outside in astonishment that the City of Fargo was actually plowing the streets while it was still snowing! I’d never seen anything like that. No matter how bad and impassible Bismarck roads seem to get, it becomes apparent that someone must make the decision to keep all snow removal assets in the garage until the snow stops. After all, we’d hate to have to clear a street twice, wouldn’t we?

Watch out in the morning. You’ve been warned.

Bismarck-Mandan Blog

Photography , musings, and a love of North Dakota