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I'm glad Texas PAC is wasting its money running pro-Paxton ads in Minnesota but ugh they're gross

Nate B @warpedhorizon.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Transporting iron ore long distances by rail is uncommon, but not unheard of. Moving it by water is more efficient, of course, but many successful steel mills have been built inland. This 1993 BN ore train is bound for Granite City Works near St Louis, which opened in 1895 and still operates today.

Three green Burlington Northern locomotives lead a long train of red ore cars on a crisp January day. At the front are a pair of EMD SD60Ms, with their angular cabs and unique 3 front windows. Behind them is an SD40-2. They're in the Mississippi River valley near Savanna Illinois, with the high bluffs rising around them.

https://www.railpictures.net/photo/881686

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Nate B @warpedhorizon.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Just saw something I did not expect to see in the Twin Cities metro- a Cybercab! It had a human behind the wheels and was wearing Texas Manufacturer plates. It caught up to me while I was headed north on Hwy 100, crossed the river on 694, then exited at East River Road. Official testing?

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Nate B @warpedhorizon.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Can someone tell Faine to stop reporting Aella posts? It's been half my feed all day!

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Nate B @warpedhorizon.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

If a Trump post on Truth Social is causing you to freak out like this please turn off your phone and spend your Sunday doing anything else.

Bluesky post "A billionaire dictator who'll lose everything if the opposition replaces him on Jan. 20, 2029 is stockpiling killer drones and high-powered rifles on towering monuments and ballroom roofs

I'm sure it's nothing to worry about"

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Nate B @warpedhorizon.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Why is Amy Klobuchar talking about "working across the aisle" in 2026?

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Nate B @warpedhorizon.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

I wonder what happened with DL258 tonight. Instead of flying to Dublin they're returning to MSP, and are currently burning fuel over the northern exurbs.

Screenshot of tracking, showing it taking off from MSP airport, heading out a ways, turning back, and now doing laps.

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Nate B @warpedhorizon.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

I might have found it. 10 years ago Kwik Trip did a $1.99 deal on 73%. But were there Kwik Trips in central MN in 2016?

Twitter post from @KwikTrip:

"Big on Fresh! Low on Price! Kitchen Cravings 73% Lean Ground Beef is $1.99/lb! Price good thru 8/25."

July 9 2016

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Nate B @warpedhorizon.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

I think it's fair to call Montevideo the middle of rural western Minnesota. It's about equidistant from I-90, I-94, and I-29; and surrounded by agriculture on all sides. As of 9/15/2026 diesel is $6.24 there.

GasBuddy screenshot of diesel prices. At Casey's it's $6.29, at the two Cenex stations it's $6.24.

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Scorigami @nflscorigami.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

🏈 GB 22 - 39 MIN FINAL ✅ That's Scorigami!! It's the 1097th unique final score in NFL history.

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Tony Webster @tony.xyz · 13/09/2026

Had to wake up offensively early for this flight, but got to see both skylines at sunrise. Window seat always.

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Brian Danger Hicks @ckape.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Interesting to see 1003 on the Bluebird, I thought they only ran that train with steam after they took off the original 3-car set. (The original set was also McKeen cars, but more heavily modified and specialized to the route archive.org/details/sim_...)

A blunt-nose self-propelled railcar pulling two trailers. All three cars have the characteristic drop centers of McKeen cars, but they have the less common arched windows instead of porthole windows, and the power car has a large radiator on its roof.

A side view of the same train fully showing all three cars. It has the caption "The Blue Bird — Forerunner of the streamlined trains. Chicago & Great Western between Minneapolis & Rochester, Minn. — 1929. Gas-electric power car by Electro-Motive."

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Nate B @warpedhorizon.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

McKeen cars are so neat. Chicago Great Western #1003 was captured by Otto Perry on September 20 1931 in St Paul, serving as #41 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘭𝘶𝘦𝘣𝘪𝘳𝘥 to Rochester MN. digital.denverlibrary.org/nodes/view/1...

A strange looking self-propelled rail car. At the front it comes to a sharp point, with large cow catcher sits below the nose. and the windows are portholes, and the main door is in the middle, lowered down to serve low level platforms. The car is towing a baggage-mail car.

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Nate B @warpedhorizon.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Looks like the C-130s for tonight's Twins game flyover had to hold for a while. At least they did it over wealthy neighborhoods for once.

Flightradar24 showing a screenshot of the flight path of a Minnesota National Guard C-130H Hercules, showing its holding pattern over the wealthy suburb of White Bear Lake.

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Nate B @warpedhorizon.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

I'm getting impatient with eBay, might as well try here. I'm looking to buy a Broadway Limited California Zephyr dome observation in Amtrak phase I, but I can decal a CZ version. I'll entertain any reasonable price below the $290 some people think they're with on eBay.

An HO scale model of a dome observation car. The glass dome sticks above the roof z and the end of the car is rounded. It's silver with red, white, and blue Amtrak stripes.

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Vince Mpls @vincempls.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

This old railroad bridge in taylr's video looks basic but has an important history, especially relevant this weekend. And the great new bike path through what was once inaccessible industrial land now allows people to (legally) see it up close. A bridge🧵!

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Nate B @warpedhorizon.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

The 2026 Minnesota State Fair, through my 1999 Sony Mavica FD73.

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Nate B @warpedhorizon.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

The 2026 Minnesota State Fair, through my 1999 Sony Mavica FD73.

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Nate B @warpedhorizon.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Gotta fix my Mavica so I can take it out again Tuesday

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Vic Thorstenson @vthorstenson.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

Following up this post with shots from another roll, taken 21 years ago and not developed until this month. The Kodak TMax 100 shows amazingly little degradation even after two decades in a cardboard box. More details in the alt text.

Stone Arch Bridge in Minneapolis. Photo taken in 2005 shortly after the arches were fitted with lighting. Camera was a Rolleiflex TLR on a tripod fired with a cable release.

Night shot of pedestrians and cyclists on the deck of the Stone Arch Bridge. The camera was fixed to a tripod on a slow shutter setting, perhaps 1-2 seconds. The two blurry figures in the foreground are cyclists who happened to ride into the shot during the exposure.

Another view of the Stone Arch Bridge in Minneapolis. This time the Guthrie Theater can be seen through the arch on the right. Photo taken in 2005 shortly after the arches were fitted with lighting. Camera was a Rolleiflex TLR on a tripod fired with a cable release.

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🧌🥛 🏨 @comraderobot.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

fuckin god damn! it worked!!! 🔭 no digital compositing just one tenaciously stupid asshole with an hour’s worth of four and a half minute timers and a large format camera

me holding negative with a bunch of dark spots changing size in a diagonal line

negative converted and cropped into a photo showing to moon rising to the right and increasing in size as it comes out of eclipse

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CJ Fogler @cjzero.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

"Tough break for Willi... and also Castro"

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Steve Quick @stevequick.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

Highlight of the Minnesota State Fair

Cup Warehouse and Distribution Center at the Minnesota State Fair

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Nate B @warpedhorizon.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

Lunar Eclipse Peak, August 27, 2026. I've been pretty happy with my Panasonic 100-300 telephoto but it is not a good astrophotography lens, I could not find the infinity focus sweet-spot tonight.

Our moon, in near-total lunar eclipse. It's colored a strange red, with just a little sun reflecting off of the top.

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snackerü @snackeru.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

Waiting for the bus to the Minnesota State Fair (photo credit: my dad!)

Shadows of people against a parking ramp wall

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Nate B @warpedhorizon.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

Before it was one of the finest pieces of bike infrastructure in the nation the Midtown Greenway was the Milwaukee Road's Twenty-Ninth Street Railroad Depression. John Hill captured this sequence showing a train running through it in 1985. rrpicturearchives.net/pictures/115...

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Nate B @warpedhorizon.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

My list of National Parks I've visited isn't very impressive, but I am one of the few who has visited Isle Royale.

A map of the United States, with National Parks highlighted. I've only visited 15 of the 63.

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Nate B @warpedhorizon.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

Jacob O'Neal does great engineering research and animations for these videos, but I'm confused about some of quirks in the script. Shortening "aircraft" to "craft" for example. Could be AI, but I don't think a modern model would do that. Still a fun video to watch. youtu.be/n9-5G4bS0X4

youtu.be

How the Grumman F-14 Tomcat Works

YouTube video by Animagraffs

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Nate B @warpedhorizon.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

Back on Memorial Day I visited what is possibly the most unique museum ship in the United States, the SS 𝘔𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘰𝘳 in Superior Wisconsin. She's the last above-water Whaleback freighter in the world, the sole survivor of the 44 built in the late-1800, and is open for tours during the summer months.

A strange looking freighter under a bright blue sky. The freighter is cigar shaped, with a black painted hull and the pilot house and crew accommodations at the stern. A sign in front reads "tour the worlds last whaleback ship".

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Nate B @warpedhorizon.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

For a brief time in the 80s the Minnesota Transportation Museum took the 1913-built Dan Patch Lines #100 out on excursions. Robert Ball caught it leading a 1 car trip in White Bear Lake, on their way back from Stillwater. flic.kr/p/bm7L8i

A strange dark blue diesel locomotive leads one passenger car. The locomotive is a boxcab unit, with a giant headlight above panoramic windows and a steam-style pilot. The passenger car is an railway post office/baggage/coach combo. At every window someone is leaning out. Captured passing the station at White Bear Lake on the old Northern Pacific, with just the brick platform visible next to weed covered tracks.

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Nate B @warpedhorizon.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

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Vince Mpls @vincempls.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

Progress continues on United Village at Allianz Field. Such is the abysmal state of St Paul's zoning and planning, the eight-story hotel on the right is the tallest building permitted on University Avenue since 1923. Let's see the past 3 contenders with one honorable mention:

construction site with two buildings, on the left is a 90' tall building with crane atop, sitting in front of a grassy area.

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David Brauer @dbrauer.net · 12/08/2026

Polls overestimated the progressive in Michigan Polls overestimated the progressive in Wisconsin Polls underestimated the progressive in Minnesota … maybe polls just suck

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Nate B @warpedhorizon.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

Buried deep inside rrpicturearchives.net is one is one the silliest nerd crash outs I have ever seen

Comment section below a photo. First post, by Rob Moraca on October 8 2008:
"Great photo, Greg! I never got to ride this train, but I did ride on the GN's Glacier Express and the NP's Northcoast Limited befjre the merger."
Second comment by Martin Province on November 30 2008:
"1972 railfan taking some pics.cool."
Third comment by Mr Hobo September 4 2015:
"Hey Ron, please tell me how the GN's Glacier Express was, considering THEY NEVER EVEN HAD A f.ckING TRAIN NAMED THE GLACIER EXPRESS!"

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Nate B @warpedhorizon.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

Buried deep inside rrpicturearchives.net is one is one the silliest nerd crash outs I have ever seen

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Brian Danger Hicks @ckape.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

A similar operating principle was used on Jumbo, a special motorized snowplow developed by the Twin City Rapid Transit Company

Two pictures of an electric railcar with a large angled conveyor belt on the front that goes across the full width of the car. One one side there is an adjustable wing plow to help push flow further to the side. A caption reads, "This is Jumbo, the conveyor plow designed by TCRT’s Master Mechanic in 1893. Snow traveled up the front conveyor and was ejected to the right through the opening behind the conveyor and above the chain to the wing plow. It was photographed on Nicollet Avenue near 31st Street Station. It took ten motors to power everything, hence the double trolley poles to collect sufficient current."

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Nate B @warpedhorizon.bsky.social · 08/08/2026

The delusions of eBay sellers are wild. These are circa-2007 factory-painted plastic cars! They don't even have Kadee couplers!

Two eBay listings for HO scale passenger cars painted in Great Northern's Big Sky Blue. On the left is a baggage-Railway Post Office car, on the right is a vista dome coach. Both have a starting bid of $199.95, buy it now of $259.95, but are actually worth $30-40.

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Nate B @warpedhorizon.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

And when the Empire Builder is late it means the Borealis runs right behind it. And I finally got a close shot of a Dash 8-32BWH, with #518 taking the lead and P42DC #44 taking up the rear.

A short passenger train. The lead loco is a GE Dash 8-32BWH, astrange boxy thing painted silver and blue. Behind it are 3 bilevel passenger cars in silver with red, white, and blue stripes. At the back is an angular P42DC, also painted silver and blue.

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Chris Steller @chrissteller.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

Minneapolis just now

Merriam Street bridge over the East Channel of the Mississippi River near downtown: trees, steel bridge truss reflection, scattered small puffy clouds in Sky and reflected in river

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Nate B @warpedhorizon.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

If you somehow aren't sick of Michigan already....

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Nate B @warpedhorizon.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

Already 2 hours late, today's Empire Builder has come to a complete stop for the second time in just a few minutes. This allows the engineer to disembark and hand throw the last switch needed to route them from the BNSF onto the Minnesota Commercial, which will take them to St Paul Union Depot.

A passenger train sits on a yard ladder. An angular GE P42DC leads it, painted silver and blue, with a red and blue Siemens ALC-42 behind it. The train is composed of one silver baggage car and 8 silver bilevel Superliner cars. The engineer of the train can be seen in hi-viz gear throwing a switch lever to route the train. The Minneapolis skyline is visible in the distance.

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Nate B @warpedhorizon.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

And when the Empire Builder is late it means the Borealis runs right behind it. And I finally got a close shot of a Dash 8-32BWH, with #518 taking the lead and P42DC #44 taking up the rear.

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Nate B @warpedhorizon.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

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emily north @north0fnorth.tgirl.gay · 02/08/2026

grand teton national park, july 23, 2026 perhaps the best photo i’ve ever taken

two of the peaks of the tetons at sunset, with orange light filtering over them

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Ken Shirriff @righto.com · 31/07/2026

This vacuum tube module was used in an IBM programmable calculator from 1948. This module, called a "trigger", stored one bit of information. Let's take a closer look and see the module operate.

A cylindrical tube module. It consists of a U-shaped metal frame forming a handle, with a vacuum tube and some electronic components (resistors and capacitors) mounted on insulating disks. At the bottom of the module, nine metal pins allow the module to be plugged into a socket.

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Vince Mpls @vincempls.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

Poor St. Paul just can't get a break this week. Pearson's started in Minneapolis before moving to St Paul, making the American classic "Salted Nut Roll" a truly Twin Cities enterprise. Goodbye Pearson's, you deserve an homage 🧵

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