Big Sky Blog

Rod Benson, an Earth Science Teacher at Helena High School, has a pretty nifty site that he uses to share with his students some amazing pictures and facts. Some examples:
pictures of “udder” clouds; launching weather balloons in Great Falls; the geology behind Giant Springs; an explanation of the Chinook winds; Montana at night; and the answer to the question, “Which Montana town has the coldest winters?” Good stuff – every link is click-worthy.

UPDATE, Saturday: Damn, damn, damn. The body of little Loic was found Friday night. Damn.

AMBER ALERT IN NW MONTANA: from the Kalispell/Evergreen region – Loic Rogers is three years old, has blonde hair and blue eyes, and was last seen wearing a red, white and blue jacket, a green knit hat and tan winter boots, and likely has a scar on his chin. His nickname is “Tank.” If you see Loic, or have any information about where he may be, please contact the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office at 406-758-5874.

According to a report from Reuters, “If you’re looking for a new home and have $155 million to spare, you could be the proud owner of the world’s most expensive abodes.”

The 53,000-square-foot stone and wood mansion will be built at the Yellowstone Club, a members-only, residential ski and golf resort near Bozeman, Montana developed by Tim Blixseth.

UPDATE from David: More info on Tim Blixseth, the man behind the house; he is ranked #332 on the Forbes list of richest people in the world (more from Technorati).

Three new Big Sky Blogs noticed in recent days, all of them decidedly leaning to the right. First up is the MT Farm Boy, who caught the attention of our very own Wulfgar!. Next comes Montana Headlines (via Billings Blog), which focuses on what it perceives to be a liberal slant in the Montana media, particularly the Billings Gazette. Which brings us to the third entry today, found in the sidebar of the MT Headlines site: Brian’s BS. The “Brian” in question is of course Governor Schweitzer, and BS refers to … well, you know. The purpose of the site: “This site is dedicated to providing a forum to anonymously post stories, without fear of retaliation, to provide a look into Governor Schweitzer’s threats, abuses and general misdeeds during his short tenure in office.” So there’s three new reads for everyone to enjoy, and as always, if you’re looking for more, check out the ever-growing Big Sky Blogroll!

Finally – the official Montana-themed quarter will go “live” this month! From the Trib:

The public is invited to join United States Mint Director Ed Moy and Gov. Brian Schweitzer at the launch of the Montana quarter at the Helena Civic Center at 10 a.m. Monday, Jan. 29. Following the ceremony, the crowd may exchange their paper currency for $10 rolls of newly minted Montana quarters. Children 18 years old and younger will receive a free Montana quarter.

Here’s a recap of the four designs that were put up for a vote last year, and here’s two designs that I created. But the winner – appropriately – was the bison skull, and we’ll get to see it in action soon!

The Montana legislature is moving – slowly, but still moving – into the 21st century, as more lawmakers begin creating and maintaining their own websites. This Tribune article headline reads “Laptop lawmakers log on, blog on,” but there isn’t a whole lot of blogging going on, unless they mean that some members are reading blogs. It lists several members who maintain a website, but of the ones mentioned in the article, the only one that is truly a blog is Representative Kendall Van Dyk. Krayton Kerns’ site is unique in that it features some pictures from his non-political job as a practicing veterinarian, and also a page devoted to his former “girlfriends.” If you know of any other interesting websites from Montana politicians, let’s hear about them!

Are you a metal-head? Or a punker? Or just a lover of music in general? Then you should probably visit Metal Montana, which is “..,dedicated to helping the local Montana metal scene in any capacity possible.” Included are: a roundup of lots of Montana metal bands, with colorful names such as Exit Wound, Colonel Clawhammer, and Lazerwolfs; a helping of free mp3 downloads from some of the bands; a discussion forum for all things metal; and a place for readers to submit upcoming concert information. Another site of note for lovers of the Montana music scene: MT Punk, which maintains a pretty active directory of shows around the state.