Thursday Randomosity

Little Engine That May Dept:  Steam Engine 557, "retired in 1963, returned to Alaska in January after it was purchased from a scrap dealer in Washington state and donated to the Alaska Railroad Corp. with the understanding it would be restored. Efforts to raise the money are already under way."

More photos here.

The Plot Thickens (or Not) Dept: Audio recording of the 911 call regarding the most recent man shot & killed by Anchorage police officers (I wrote about it yesterday) doesn't contain mention of him only having a BB gun. The caller, apparently identified as the man's son, does state that his dad said he wanted to commit "suicide by cop". 

If It Ain't One Thing, It's Another Dept: Problems continue for Shell's Offshore Oil Barge  "BELLINGHAM, Wash. -- Minor oil spills at Bellingham have plagued construction of an oil spill containment barge needed for Shell Oil to drill exploratory wells in the Arctic Ocean off Alaska. ... Shell is waiting on the barge to start drilling. The barge will carry a dome-shape containment system that could be lowered onto a leaking well to funnel oil and gas to a barge."


If In Doubt, Use Heavy Equipment Dept:  From the Unalaska Police Blotter:  "An apartment manager, clearly frustrated by the number of non-tenants who park in his parking lot, used a front-end loader to remove an illegally parked vehicle and then block it in another space. The vehicle owner chose not to pursue charges in spite of the damage that was done to her vehicle."