Minnesota Nice??

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