In observance

Killdozer Day (or St. Marvin's Day, depending on who you ask) marks the day 14 years ago when a man (Marvin Heemeyer), who was owner of a muffler shop and a welder by trade, created an incredible piece of backyard engineering in an effort to create a tool to enact vengeance on what he perceived as otherwise unassailable enemies that had wronged him and taken his livelihood.

Even after all this time, there is a fair degree of controversy surrounding the man's actions and motivation.  Some believe he was throwing a dramatic fit born out of greed after not reaching an agreement for a renegotiated price for his land, while others see him as a vengeful martyr who is something along the lines of a contemporary folk hero who literally fought City Hall. 

While I'm not particularly interested in discussion these points (you can find more than enough of people's opinions one way or the other on what remains of the internet), I can't help but feel a sense of understanding towards someone who holes themselves up in a garage to feverishly work to bring life to a machine that, in many people's opinion, should not exist.

All joking aside, the machine this guy managed to make was an unbelievable piece of work.  I mean, the guy made fairly effective composite armor from basic materials.  I really wish that more publicly-available documentation about the construction and systems that were designed for this was available.  Not because I have any desire or benefit to gain by replicating it, but for the same reason I love seeing machines and tools that were developed by farmers.

So for all you cats that are getting paid to read this, let me make it crystal clear: I'm not personally or publicly advocating for the actions of the guy that built the Killdozer.  I am, however, beyond intrigued by the dude's ability to design and fabricate such a bizarre vehicle.

Unfortunately, barring the release of any unpublished documents that might exist, we will never know more about the Killdozer that Marvin built.  In an effort to prevent people from idolizing the man, authorities destroyed the machine and sent the wreckage away to many different disposal sites. 

In observance of the anniversary of a day that led the world to discover birth and death of an incredibly strange machine, I'm in the shop, listening to Killdozer's discography, and getting injured by extremely corroded wheel cylinder links.