September 30, 2006
September 29, 2006
September 28, 2006
Lawn Mower
Our new electric lawn mower. We went for the electric version in order to avoid the hassles of gas and oil and winterizing, etc. Of course, now we have to fight w/a long power cord, but at least we're not polluting our local environment every time we mow the lawn, right? (Yeah, I know that there's pollution generated by the power plant that supplies the electricity, but I'm hoping that the amount of pollution required to generate the electricity to mow the lawn is less than the amount of pollution produced by the gas engine of a traditional mower. Am I right about this tradeoff?)
September 27, 2006
Ronald Reagan Station
The post office in “the Heights,” a sort of suburb of Billings. The name of this post office tells you just about all you need to know about this area of town.
September 26, 2006
Crossing the Tracks
Looking West down the BNSF railroad tracks that cut through downtown Billings. I cross these tracks on my bike every day on my way to work. The sky is invariably gorgeous at this time of day.
It looks like if you're a train junkie, you can listen in on the train radio traffic online.
September 25, 2006
Folksinging Mayor
Billings Mayor Ron Tussing plays guitar and sings a song he wrote for the Northern Plains grand opening.
September 24, 2006
Northern Plains open for business!
Grand opening sign at the Northern Plains Resource Council's open house last week.
September 23, 2006
Open Sesame!
The newly-installed garage door opener in our garage. At right is a wider shot of the opener and its door. The installation project took me all of last weekend, but I sort of dragged it out because it was so nice to have something to occupy my time and mind while I waited to hear whether I'd passed the bar. (I got the results a couple of days ago and, yes, I passed!) The opener works great, except that the door was installed kind of poorly and has never moved very smoothly on its tracks so there are still some problems there. I'm working on it...
September 22, 2006
September 21, 2006
Embarrassment of Riches
Just a handful of the terrific mail I've received recently from my bestest friend, Superdilettante. As you can see, she is amazingly creative and a master of the mails. Included in this cornucopia of goodness are two great zines (one by the PodPost duo, another by Sarah Contrary), an excellent mix CD, at least two terrific letters that are more like works of art than epistolary correspondence, and the book in the foreground, which I devoured almost immediately upon receipt and highly recommend. You see how lucky I am to have such a good friend?
September 20, 2006
Chariot Ding
The dent created in our car by vandals. Our beloved chariot has been badly blemished! We haven't gotten an estimate on this, but I fear it's not going to be cheap to fix. Should we fix it, or just let it be? Thoughts?
September 19, 2006
September 18, 2006
Shattered Glass I
A closeup of the broken glass in the rear window of my dad's car. I figured I could get some good out of the broken window if I got some interesting pictures out of it....
September 17, 2006
Vandals!
The shattered rear window of my dad's car. Someone thought it would be a nice idea to take a baseball bat (we think) to the window one Saturday night while the car was parked out in front of our house. They also tried to break the rear window of our new car but instead just left a big, ugly dent in the body surrounding the window. This was a really nice way for someone to welcome us to the neighborhood, don't you think?
My favorite part was reporting this to the police. It was like this:
“Yeah, I need to report an act of vandalism,” I said.
“What's your name and the address?” (I give them.) “Do you have any suspects?” (Uh, no.) “Ok, well, we won't send anyone over if you don't have any suspects. Here's a report number for your insurance. Have a nice day.”
Now that's what I call great police work! I realize they have more important things to worry about and there's probably not much they can do, but still...
September 16, 2006
Smoked Silhouette
A cactus-like plant (the name of which I should know but don't) attempts to survive after being half-burned in the wildfire. Is this a form of yucca? I just don't know.
I liked the silhouette version above, but I included the different view at the right so you could also see a little more of what the plant actually looks like.
September 15, 2006
Wildfire Was Here
A hillside ravaged by a wildfire a few weeks ago just outside of Billings. This area has had a horrible fire season, but I'm sure the dry heat that stokes these fires has nothing to do with global warming since there's no such thing, right? Right?
September 14, 2006
North Broadway
Another view of the Billings Farmer's Market. (Yesterday's pic was also from the Farmer's Market.) The market is held every Saturday and we've always been a number of times. Downtown is just about a 10-minute walk from our house so it makes a nice Saturday to stroll down to the market, get a coffee and some fresh baked good from one of the vendors, and stock up on succulent fresh produce. We got some nectarines, for example (they'd been brought in from Colorado) that were to die for! The carrots, squash, green beans, peas, fresh basil, onions, garlic, and sweet corn have all been awesome, too.
September 13, 2006
September 12, 2006
Smart Arc
A tiny smart car passes by the Arc de Triomphe. The massive scale of the monument makes the already diminutive car look even more tiny. I want a Smart ForTwo!
(Thus ends our brief tour of Paris. L. and her sister had a terrific time and I'm saving my pennies so that one day I may also return to the City of Light.)
September 11, 2006
Industrial Strength Sleep
A sign inside the Pompidou Center (I think). This was probably part of an art installation of some kind. L. should really be posting this so she could explain...
I don't know what it means, but I think I could use some of that...
September 10, 2006
September 09, 2006
Wi-Fi World!
A giant wi-fi symbol in the plaza outside the Pompidou Center. The Pompidou was about my favorite museum in Paris and it turns out it was L's favorite, too.
September 08, 2006
Les Give Me Five!
An ad at a Paris bus stop. It looks like they might be giving away MacBooks, but I'm not really sure.
September 07, 2006
September 06, 2006
Parisenne Chopper
Bikes L. saw on the streets of Paris. The red one looks superfun to ride, while the green one looks like your typical bicycle built for two.
September 05, 2006
Notre Dame
The cathedral from a bit of distance. At right is the back of the cathedral. Both views highlight the flying buttresses that support the building from the outside. It's amazing to think construction of this building began in 1163 and didn't finish until nearly 200 years later. The U.S. has only been a nation for just over 200 years. The mind boggles...
September 04, 2006
Paris Metro
The inside of a metro train in Paris. Nice, huh? As you can see from the pic at right, most of the trains are double-deckers, which is pretty interesting. I was in Paris about 11 years ago and I don't remember any double-decker trains. It seems like a good way to accommodate a growing ridership...
September 03, 2006
The Tower towers
The Seine with the Eiffel Tower in the background. This is another of the pics L. took on her trip to Paris.
September 02, 2006
LIttle Eiffel Stands In the Archway
Yes, that's really the Eiffel Tower! What is it doing here? L. got to go to Paris for a few days and this is one of the many great pictures she took. I'll be featuring a few more in the next few days.
The Eiffel Tower always makes me think of the Pixies' song, “Alec Eiffel,” the lyrics of which I copy for you below so you don't have to visit one of those ad-encrusted lyrics sites.
Pioneer of aerodynamics
(little eiffel, little eiffel)
they thought he was real smart alec
(little eiffel, little eiffel)
he thought big they called it a phallic
(little eiffel, little eiffel)
they didn't know he was panoramic
little eiffel stands in the archway
(little eiffel, little eiffel)
keeping low doesn't make no sense
sometimes people can be oh so dense
they didn't want it but he built it anyway
(little eiffel, little eiffel)
little eiffel stands in the archway
(little eiffel, little eiffel)
keeping low don't make sense
keeping low doesn't make no-sense
(little eiffel, little eiffel)
little eiffel stands in the archway
oh alexander i see you beneath
the archway of aerodynamics.
September 01, 2006
Good Earth Market
Good Earth is the community “health food” store in Billings. It's a cooperative, which means you can be a member and get discounts that way. You can also volunteer there as a member to get additional discounts, I think, and to help ensure the success of the store.
Good Earth features lots of organic and locally-grown produce, meat, and dairy goods. It also has a wide selection of eco-friendly and organic products from around the country. Plus it has a deli/cafe where you can get some really great hummus, among other things. Prices are often a bit higher than you'd pay at a regular grocery store, but most of the time that's because you're paying for the fact that the items were produced responsibly -- in ways that don't destroy the environment and by workers who have decent wages and are treated humanely. In other words, it costs more, but it's worth it.