Minnesota Nice??

News about my brother's and sister-in-law's business: Argus Leader Media - Business

Thanks to my sister for tipping me off to this wonderful resource: Muppet Wiki - Muppet Wiki - A Wikia wiki

A bit longish, perhaps, but worth a lot of laughs: YouTube - Lord of the Rings by George Lucas

This is a fun flickr group that I recently joined. It is a fun game to try to find ways to relate one's photo to the one most recently added to the pool. Flickr: "Power of Positive Relationships"

Some cute silliness (link updated Dec. 23, 2007): Boffomedia presents

Some great footage of grizzly bears. Thanks to my brother-in-law, Matt, for the reference! Alaska Grizzly Bears, McNeil River Falls - Wildcam Grizzlies - National Geographic Magazine

Well, now, this is extremely depressing. Kudos to the British for keeping this horrible stuff in check when the perpetrators attempt to host such sleaze within their borders. BBC NEWS | Technology | US 'worst' for online child abuse

Found on Netscape. I'd be interested in knowing what kind of range it gets on a charge; it certainly looks interesting. Tesla Roadster - Exclusive VIDEO, PICS and SPECS � Netscape.com

Yugo1 Originally uploaded by bmw328driver . was surprised to see one of these rustbuckets still running. At least, I presume it was running today in order to get into this parking space at a local Best Buy.

Too funny on too many levels. For a straighter parody of the original, I also recommend Weird Al's version . Life After Coffee � My Cubicle - Song Lyrics

deer011 Originally uploaded by bmw328driver . I spotted this deer in a shade garden in my back yard this morning. This is rather scary, considering that I live in Richfield, just south of the busiest highway commons in the state, and just a few miles west of Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport -- in other words, in a heavily urbanized area. It looks like I may have to adopt the northern Wisconsin farewell, "Watch out for deer"! More photos of the deer may be found here .

"knazzer" has made some very amusing characters for use in the computer game, The Sims 2 . Doctor Who fans should especially enjoy such characters as his Doctor Who #9 and Rose Tyler , while Star Trek fans should enjoy his Borg Drone . TheSims2.com - MySims - Uploads

I know a few well-intentioned people who send me items like the example shown below. These are variants on the IMPORTANT MESSAGES that must be sent to EVERYONE YOU KNOW in order for some marvelous thing to happen – the sort of nonsense that any quick check of The Urban Legends Reference Pages will quickly reveal to be utter nonsense – as if plain old common sense – oxymoron that that may be – should not be enough. Of course, the messages that get forward are the edited versions of the messages; below is an original message, with the portions that are usually edited out given strong emphasis! ;-) Subject: Important Hey it is Andy and john the directors of MSN, sorry for the interruption but msn is closing down. (You can tell that we are executives at an Internet company because we are so hip we only use our first names, and, in "john"'s case, do not even let ourselves be encumbered by the rules of capitalization. Doesn't that sound exactly like the sort of comm

Originally uploaded by PierrePierrePierre . This photo from flickr made me laugh.

With my taste for juvenile humor, I was very pleased to find a new home for this marvelous ad that I had last seen on AdCritic.com, back in the old days when anyone could watch ads there for free. This one still makes me laugh. YouTube - Smart Beep Fart Commercial

Another YouTube find for the evening, and much more disturbing than the previous one . Warning: some bad language follows in the comments below the video on this page: YouTube - Michael Jackson

I found this video cute and funny. Some people have way too much time on their hands, but at least they're creative, rather than destructive. YouTube - Addicted to YouTube

Lake Harriet Sunset, Minneapolis Originally uploaded by bmw328driver . We had had some nice clouds at lunch time, so I made certain I had my camera and a few lenses in my backpack as I went on my after dinner bike ride. I happened to reach Lake Harriet on the way home at just the right time.

From the "Duh" department: Crosstown project fails to draw a bid So, to paraphrase the "Wimpy" character from the old " Popeye " cartoons, MNDOT is saying to contractors, "I will gladly pay you Tuesday 2045 for a reconstructed Interstate exchange in the next year." And they are surprised that no one bid on the job? Sounds like some State leaders and transportation officials better take a refresher course in "Business for Dummies" and "Microeconomics for Complete Idiots"! Meanwhile, delays mean yet more delays on much-needed reengineering of the Crosstown Commons, the Rodney Dangerfield of local highways. One of the most poorly designed interchanges in the State, it routinely has major traffic delays, and is the site of many accidents and a cause of the waste of untold gallons of gasoline. Here is a map for those unfamiliar with the site: Map of State Hwy 62 & I 35w Minneapolis, MN 55401, US Here's hoping that,

It is not that often that this fairly conservative Minnesotan agrees with the rather leftist editors of the Star Tribune , but they got it right on this one. I've always tended more toward the Libertarian end of conservatism and have always believed strongly in the separation of powers between the three branches of government and, as such, am dismayed by what this allegedly conservative President is attempting to abuse power. Editorial: King George, the eavesdropper

OK, it isn't news to Britons, or to those who have enjoyed seeing the first new season on the Sci Fi Channel , but it is great to see the return of the BBC's " Doctor Who ". The BBC is to be commended, not only for the excellent show ( having won the BAFTA award for best dramatic series !), but also, as a bonus, having a truly commendable web site to accompany the series. The games are a rather fun use of flash, my favorites being "SuDocWho" and " The Last Dalek ". How can you not like a game that lets you play a Dalek? I can't wait until Season 2 makes it to these shores!

Downtown Minneapolis has a lot of places where one may find free wi-fi access. This is a really nice service, in my opinion! Some of my favorites: The University of St. Thomas 's downtown campus buildings are a great place to get wi-fi access – if you are a student, like yours truly. It's especially nice for some spots with park benches just outside the buildings where you can get access, especially on those days when the weather's very nice. Dunn Bros Coffee has several locations scattered throughout the skyway system, including a couple with free Wi-Fi access. Great if you drink there, or even if you are a freeloading non-coffee drinker like me, firing up the notebook in the empty first-floor area of the TCF Tower where the Park Cafe used to be. Aroma's has good pizza, sandwhiches, pasta, and salads, and also has one of the strongest and fastest free connections around. It's a really nice find! Finally, my favorite has to be the new Minneapolis Central Public

Although not an intentional act to steer business away from the company, I was surprised to see that my flickr page for an open house at Sears Imported Autos' body shop winds up being one of the first few items listed for "Sears Imported Autos", a local dealer of Mercedes and BMW. "Sears Imported Autos" - Google Search

Flaming Originally uploaded by bmw328driver . This extremely rare (joking) Ford pickup was parked in two spaces at the far end of the McDonald's parking lot in Blue Earth, MN. I didn't think I'd cause trouble by pointing out the first thing that "flaming" brings to mind to someone who grew up in the Minneapolis area....

Top Floors of the New Library, Downtown Minneapolis, MN, USA Originally uploaded by bmw328driver . I have added photos of the new Downtown Minneapolis Library to my Flickr site . The new library was built on the same site as the previous Library from the 1960's. Just as the previous library had extreme architecture that let you know the exact date it was designed and built, this one is quite extreme, as well. I just hope it ages better than its 1960's relic predecessor. I was originally a bit nervous when I saw the original sketches showing it to be so much a building of glass, given how UV exposure and preserving media do not mix. However, it appears that the exterior glass is mostly reserved for places where people walk, sit, study, meet, and so forth, while the media which the library stores are actually closer to the center of the building, away from the direct exposure to the sun. One very nice bonus feature of the library is the free wi-fi internet connectivity

Hosta Leaf after Rain, Back Yard Garden, Richfield, MN, USA Originally uploaded by bmw328driver . This is my favorite of the first batch of photos I took with my new D200 that I posted to Flickr.

I finally took the plunge and bought a Nikon D200 . After taking just a couple hundred shots over the last two days (no film development costs to worry about really frees you up, once you've sunk your funds into equipment, including memory cards), I can see why it has earned such glowing reviews at sites such as Digital Photography Review , KenRockwell.com , and the UK's LetsGoDigital . I've posted some of my first few sites on my flickr site, tagged as follows: Flickr: bmw328driver's photos tagged with d200 There will be many more to come. I highly recommend the camera to anyone considering a serious investment in a digital SLR, especially if, as in my case, they have previously used Nikon 35mm. SLRs and have developed a bit of a lens collection.

A recent survey by AutoVantage apparently states that, amongst some set of large cities, Minneapolis drivers are "less angry". I guess it depends on how they define "angry". Granted, out of the five worst and five best cities mentioned in the story, the only other one I have driven in yet is Seattle. But I have driven in some other large US cities, including San Francisco, San Diego, Salt Lake City, Milwaukee, Indianapolis, Detroit (though only passing through to Canada en route to New Hampshire) and several trips to America's third largest city, Chicago. As far as I could tell, the drivers seemed better than what I was accustomed to back home, though my opinion may have been influenced by my concentrating on figuring out how to navigate new, unfamiliar roads, rather than being able to notice stupidity on roads I know "like the back of my hand", as the old expression goes. I won't bother bringing up driving experiences in Germany, Denmark, and

For those wishing to learn more about Fractal geometry, you may wish to read my introductory page, John Watne's Mandelbrot and Julia Set Page , and do some playing around with viewing Mandelbrot and Julia sets with my Mandelbrot and Julia Sets Java Applet Page.

... in Minneapolis Today, I did something for the first time in my 16 years of taking after-lunch walks in downtown Minneapolis. I walked right past a criminal being handcuffed by a Minneapolis Police Officer. From what I could see, the officer acted very professionally and respectfully, certainly more so than I believe I would have had I been in his shoes, arresting someone who stole some woman's purse. Given that this was at the northeast corner of the block on which St. Olaf Catholic Church is located, I would not be too terrible surprised if the victim were some elderly parishioner. While the black purse that was in view next to the criminal was the same black color as his shoes, I must say that it really didn't go with his outfit. Anyway, it was good to see a policeman doing a good job, and acting very professionally in doing it.

The Star Tribune newspaper has an interesting column, "web search", which appears in the Variety section most days of the week. On Monday, May 8, it listed some links for some stunts demonstrating some inspired silliness to brighten up the day. Improv Everywhere Mission: Best Buy . 80+ people dress in blue shirts and khakis, meet, and visit a single Best Buy store, causing a bit of chaos. ZUG: Comedy Articles: Electronic Road Signs and Me . Fun reprogramming the electronic road signs often seen at road construction sites. The " Klaatu barada nikto " programming is especially inspired. Also on this web site, the Michael Jackson's Credit Card prank is especially funny. The Museum of Hoaxes has lots of funny stuff. I especially enjoyed the Monster Truck Church Commercial ( audio ). StrangeReports.com allows you to play some juvenile, yet amusing, Internet pranks on friends. Enjoy, and have a good laugh.

The phrase "Minnesota Nice" has been around for so long that Wikipedia has an article about it. However, as someone who has lived here since being born in St. Paul in 1968, I would be the first to agree with the article that "Minnesota nice is not as prevalent as it once was", especially with regard to anything involving motor vehicles. In the Twin Cities, many drivers are borderline psychotic. No, scratch that – the "borderline" portion. The following incidents have happened within just the past six months: On a return trip from visiting family out of town, when my wife was driving and keeping pace with heavy – for a weekend evening – traffic, in the right lane she was passed by a psychotic driver on the shoulder, underneath the S. 46th St. bridge across I-35W, and then nearly run into by the crazy s.o.b. when he cut in front of her. Just a couple months ago, when I went to my car parked in the corporate parking lot, I saw a big dent in my driver