We had a GREAT Christmas! We had Jeff and Nicole over on Christmas Eve with their kids; as well as Kenneth and Sue's mom Frances over for dinner. On Christmas Day we had Kenneth and Sue's mom Frances over for dinner. It was great fun!
(Click on photo above to enlarge it. More photos here on Flickr!)
Dave Kelly, our contractor dude, and us spent most of the day looking at toilets, plumbing fixtures and other similar home improvement things for our bathroom remodel project. Today we went out again and looked at more tile, sheet vinyl and other stuff.
Dave is a great guy and is very entertaining. He also is very laid back and patient with us non handyman types. This is how we are spending our vacation...
(Click on image to enlarge.)
On Monday, December 28, 2009 the Union Pacific (UP) ran what is likely the last UP Santa Cruz Local. I knew the train normally ran on Mondays. I was off work so I went and chased the train. There was not a lot of advance publicity about the last trip. Still, I was surprised to see I was the only person documenting the train leaving Watsonville.
In January 2010 the Sierra Railroad is going to start leasing and operating the line. I posted information about the train running to the Coast and Heads Up lists, I don't know if that is why several other railfans showed up later in the day, especially for the return trip. Maybe they were planning to come anyway.
Steam powered narrow gauge trains once pounded the Santa Cruz mountains over the hill between San Jose and Santa Cruz. The South Pacific Coast Railroad was probably the most successful narrow gauge railroad in California history. Built by Comstock Lode millionaire James Fair (known variously as either “Slippery Jim” or “Sunny Jim”) and his front man, Alfred “Hog” Davis, it ran from Alameda to Santa Cruz, a distance of 80 miles. This old narrow-gauge line, the South Pacific Coast, was bought by the Southern Pacific (SP) and converted to standard-gauge. SP ran trains with names like the Suntan Special to Santa Cruz. The line over the Santa Cruz mountains was abandoned in 1940 as cars replaced steam powered passenger trains.
The passenger business gone, freight continued to roll into and out of Santa Cruz. The Southern Pacific operated trains into Santa Cruz on another rail line north from Watsonville that extended through Santa Cruz and continued north to the Cemex cement plant in Davenport. The Southern Pacific was taken over by the UP in 1996 following years of financial problems.
UP continued freight trains to Santa Cruz. The Cemex plant in Davenport was by far the largest business on the line getting it's own five day a week train of cement hoppers. The closure of that plant in March 2009 left the Union Pacific with only a handful of carloads a week coming off the long line extending from Watsonville to Davenport. There clearly was not enough business for this line to survive profitably even with service cut down to one train a week. Frankly, it is hard to see how Sierra can make a go of it. So, going into 2010 this little railroad line will be a priority for me.
December 28, 2009 was a rainy overcast day. That seemed fitting really, the run marked the end of class one railroads going to Santa Cruz on a sad rainy day. No loaded revenue cars came back on the train; only empties. No money was made on this trip. Yup, that's the problem in a nutshell.
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Please click on the photo above to enlarge it.
Or, if you would like to see more photos on Flickr, click here.
Or, if you want to see a special Web page I created on this topic, click here.
Today I have been thinking a lot about my mom. This is her birthday. She died on October 18, 1984. She was a good mom. Sadly, both of my parents died young; before I was thirty. So many memories, so long ago. She would be 90 today.
(If you want to see a larger version of this photo, just click on it.)
Winter came to San Jose yesterday. The days are getting longer once again.
About the photo: This photo is shot on film, with a Nikon 105mm 2.5 lens (Ken Compton's old lens) on a N90S on Fuji 400 film exposed at 200. Click on photo to see a larger version.
Fall is finished at SJSU. This photo was taken between Clark Hall and Dwight Bentel Hall on November 29, 2009. Two guys were tossing a football in the late afternoon that day. Just click on the photo to see a larger version of the image.
We are very proud of son Jeff who graduated from San Jose State University yesterday with his degree in accounting, Jeff is a fine young man and an excellent father and husband. It is not easy juggling family, work and college; but Jeff did it! And, he graduated with honors. What an achievement!
I will miss him being an SJSU student. That was a real treat having him go to school where I work.
Click on the above photo to see it larger!
I made some error when I set up my project and captured this video. I have not yet figured it out, but I will.
On November 21, 2008 Modesto and Empire Traction 70 Tonners are hard at work between Modesto and Empire, California. These little General Electric locomotives are over 50-years old. Their days are numbered because their replacements were coming as these videos were shot.
I wrote this this morning as I was sitting in the living room unable to move because my cat Pixel was curled up in my lap. I have no idea how something so little (and so dumb) could have so much power over me. When he gets in my lap he looks up at me with huge golden cat eyes and I am totally at his mercy. Oh well, at least he was warm; warm and sound asleep.
I had woke up at 5 a.m. with insomnia and Pixel is great company. Did you know Pixel has his own Web page in Catbook and a page in Catster? Catster and Catbook are like Facebook and MySpace for cats; yes, there is a Dogster, as well as a Fishster. I sometimes wonder if the people who post Web pages for their fish have totally lost it or if they are making fun of those of us who are silly crazy over our pets.
I guess I should have moved my cat and gone and done something more productive, like make coffee. But, it was only 6:00 a.m. and I guess there's no rush. Soon it was 6:20 a.m. Pixel and I had been at this over an hour. Sometimes I get so caught up in this and that (and sleeping cats) and I am late for work.
We can't have that!
Usually, I just sit until my legs start to cramp from sitting so long with a cat in my lap. Then, I get up and Pixel will saunter over and eat some kibble.
It's tough being a cat.
Did I tell you Pixel snorts? Yes, he snorts like a little pig. Around 6:30 a.m. he snorted. He lifted his head and then he looked up at me like I was bothering him by typing on my laptop as he was trying to sleep. Poor Pixel.
Then, my leg started to cramp. Finally, having no choice; I got up. Pixel got up too, stretched, walked over and ate some kibble. I went to work and he began his day.
Kathy died of cancer October 29, 2009. Kathy died at her daughter Darcey's home. According to Bess Obercoe, a mutual friend, one of the things Kathy lamented shortly before she died was, "why do people have to die over holidays?" She did not want to spoil her family's Halloween celebration.
Kathy died surrounded by family; also in the home was Darcey's husband Mike, Kathy's other daughter Kayla, and Mike and Darcey's children.
I met Kathy in 1991, at Bess's 40th birthday party, not long after my first wife passed away. Kathy and I became good friends shortly after that. It was a friendship that lasted many years. I was transitioning into being single after having been married most of my adult life. Bess and Kathy were the first people to teach me what it was like to be single and to have single friends of both genders.
Kathy taught me how to have fun again. Kathy's daughter Kayla is two years younger than Kenneth. With a two-year-old girl and a four-year-old boy, plus my older boys, we all would go on family style adventures in amusement parks or go to the beach. Sometimes at night, after finding sitters, she and I would go to dinner, maybe movies or out for drinks; sometimes with other singles.
Kathy worked at a travel agency when I met her. I sometimes accompanied Kathy to events for travel agents. Kathy planned an airplane trip to Disneyland for my sons and I. She worked out all the details for us. It was my sons' first flight.
Kathy was widowed. We could talk about our experiences of having a spouse die in a way you can not talk to a friend who has never been married or who may be bitterly divorced with a living ex-spouse. We had both lost our parents as well. We had a lot in common. I think the friendship was good for both of us.
Kathy and her Italian-American family adopted my family and I. We had great experiences at their big parties. The friendship continued after I met Sue. Sue and I still went to some of their family parties. Sue fit right in, she's Italian-American herself. Kathy came to our wedding. When Darcey married Mike, Sue and I were there; we photographed their big beautiful wedding.
Darcey went into real estate. She is very successful at it. Darcey sold Sue and I the home we live in now. One of her associates even sold Sue's mom her home. When we needed a new roof for our home, the roofing company Kathy was then working for did the job. Kathy came by our house and put a big sign in front of it saying, "Roof by Los Gatos Roofing."
Meeting Kathy at Bess's party changed the course of my life and the lives of the members of my family, in so many ways. She, and members of her family, remained connected to my family for many years. As Kathy declined she became very private, she did not want to be seen, that's not the way she wanted to be remembered.
I remember Kathy's green eyes, the way she smiled, the way she laughed, the way she engaged life and most of all; the way she could tell a story. She could take a story and make it her own. After she told you a story you felt like you had been there and had experienced it. Thinking back on her passing has brought back so many memories. I am very thankful that we knew Kathy and that she was a part of the lives the members of my family and I.
The weekend of October 24, 25, 2009 I went to the Feather River Canyon with Ken and Zach Compton. The Fall Colors were spectacular and the train action was great.
At Portola I ran into my high school buddy Paul Burmeister and his wife Judy whom I had not seen for many, many years.
It was a great weekend!
Technorati Tags: trains, railroads, Railroading, Union Pacific, ssloansjca
Today I learned an old friend who has cancer does not have long left. Barring a miracle; this will be the second friend I have lost this year. To me, each friend I lose is a reminder of our need to let friends know how much we love them and how important they are to us. We can either tell them so directly or just be sure we make time for our friends and through our actions let them know we care.
On Saturday July 25, 2009 our flight from Dublin to London was late we ended up getting an unexpected layover. An afternoon in London!
We flew Aer Lingus from Dublin to London and the flight left Dublin about an hour late. This caused us to miss our connection.
We had hardly slept the night before due to music from a pub next to our hotel (we would have been much better off just joining the party!)
Aer Lingus got us overnight accommodations and meal tickets at the Park Inn near the airport. We could have just slept in the hotel; but didn't. Our luggage stayed at the airport. We took the Hoppa Bus from Heathrow to the hotel, freshened up and took a bus to the Underground station and went off on an unexpected adventure!
Last Saturday we celebrated the birthdays of grandkids Jacob and Madison. It was a good party with parents, grandparents and great grandparents as well as friends and other family in attendance.
Technorati Tags: Sue Graziano Sloan, Jeff Sloan, Nicole Sloan, Madison Sloan, Jacob Sloan, Sloan Family, ssloansjca
I have finished another small set of photos from Ireland. This set is from our time going to Galway and the Aaron Islands and it is now here on Facebook.
These join the other sets:
So, Westport is next. Sue and I have watched the movie Michael Collins and would recommend it! I also read the book 50 Dead Men Walking, Stephen (our tour guide) mentioned and am reading Easter 1916.
Until later,
Erin Go Bragh!
Technorati Tags: ssloansjca, Ireland, Dingle, Galway
On Saturday August 15, 2009 we went to San Francisco. At the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMoMA) we saw exhibits featuring Georgia O'Keeffe, Ansel Adams, Richard Avedon and Robert Frank. Photos were only allowed in the Avedon photo exhibit.
Then we toured the other modern art exhibits.
After that we went to North Beach where we walked around, went to O'Reillys Irish Pub and Restaurant and finally went for a canoly at Mara's.
[Click here to see more photos]
Technorati Tags: Sue Graziano Sloan, Sloan Family, ssloansjca
I have finished another small set of photos. This set, from our time in and around Dingle, is now here on Facebook.
These join this small set that covers our 2 days going to and staying in Kinsale.
Here is the Facebook photo set of the photos in Dublin.
If you want to see many, many more photos, the big collection of all the photos is here in Flickr.
Galway is next. As I run each and every photo in the big collection through Photoshop it takes 6-8 hours to put these sets together. One of the photos I am most happy with was the one of the stained glass mural at the Blaskin Islands Centre. This is actually four photos joined together.
Technorati Tags: ssloansjca, Ireland, Dingle
Jeff is thirty-one today
Thirty one years ago today Jeff was born near Sacramento. He is a man and an excellent husband and father and we are very proud of him. Thirty-one will be a big year for him as this is the year he is graduating from SJSU with his accounting degree. This video of him was made when he was a little older than his eldest child, daughter Madison, is now.
This Video is in Quick Time 7 format, download free viewer.
Technorati Tags: Jeff Sloan, Sloan Family, ssloansjca
It is Wednesday and that means it is time for another bike ride this evening. I am looking forward to it and it is always fun to spend time with friends. I am still thinking about the vacation we recently took. It so far exceeded all my expectations. I am glad we got to do that. I wish I had been able to travel more when I was young. I am sorry my kids were not exposed to that and I hope they don't wait to long to travel more.
Besides going through the thousands of pictures from the trip, I have been riding my bike and doing yoga and spending time with Sue. Life is good. This is great riding weather.
On July 14 we left Dublin and went to Kinsale, Ireland. These photos are from that part of our vacation:
These are all from the Europe 2009 photo collection I am building on Flickr.
I have organized and am posting the photos from our first two days in downtown Dublin, after returning to Dublin for our Ireland tour. I hope you enjoy these:
These are all from the Europe 2009 photo collection I am building on Flickr.
Our Last Days in Paris
I have organized and am posting the photos from our last two days in Paris, before returning to Dublin for our Ireland tour. I hope you enjoy these:
These are all from the Europe 2009 photo collection I am building on Flickr.
The first three days of the trip in pictures
I have been spending a lot of time editing and preparing the thousands of photos from our trip to Europe. Here are some photos I have selected, ran through Photoshop, prepared for sharing and have posted to Flickr:
These are all from the Europe 2009 photo collection I am building on Flickr.
We did not expect our adventure to continue after we left Dublin, Ireland for home but that is just what happened. We had not gotten much sleep the night before leaving because there was loud music playing outside our room at the Dublin hotel. We were up late and had to get up at 6:00 a.m. to make our early flight because Dublin airport is such a zoo.
Our Aer Lingus flight was greatly delayed leaving Dublin and we missed our American Airlines London connection to Chicago. Aer Lingus in London was not able to get us a flight out of London until the next day so they put us up in a hotel in London near Heathrow Airport with all expenses paid!
Sue and I were dead tired and it would have been easy to have just gone to the room and taken a long nap, but I had never been to London and adventure called! So, after we got our room we got directions to the London Underground from a concierge and some helpful Brits and we took the a bus and the underground to downtown.
Time was limited, but we managed to get in the Tower of London, Tower Bridge, Big Ben, The Parliment Building and Westminster Abbey! We ended up grabbing dinner at a take away (we did not use our hotel dinner voucher) and ate it at the base of Big Ben!
As often happens the underground and buses were also a grand part of the adventure. We got to do some fun people watching, talk to some Londoners and hear some snippets of conversations that provided a good window into everyday life in London.
So, we flew home the next day and had an added day of unexpected adventure for very little cost! Sometimes it is a good thing when things go "wrong."
Due to lousy Internet access this post has been delayed:
Written Friday July 24, 2009 1:24 p.m. - We are on the road heading toward Dublin. Behind us is Belfast and Northern Ireland. Belfast is a lovely and still very divided city. We drove past the wall separating the hard core Catholic Republican and Protestant Loyalist neighborhoods. We stopped and went up to the wall. It was like being at a battle ground or at ground zero, a real living symbol of the death of thousands who have killed each other in Northern Ireland. On the wall someone had written, "all you need is love."
The Downtown area of Belfast is lovely and peaceful, like a whole different city. We went to Saint George's Market and talked to some nice vendors. Sue bought jewelery and we bought food for tomorrow's return flights to home. Then we went for a nice walk in Belfast. We even went to a model shop that had model trains. That was very cool, European Model Trains!
Then, we got back on the bus and started for Dublin.
Late news flash: Saturday July 25... Our plane out of Dublin was late. We missed our London connection so we are overnighting here. Another big adventure...
Due to lousy Internet access this post has been delayed:
Wednesday July 22, 2009, 5:36 p.m. Derry, Northern Ireland - Today we visited Derry. Sue and I went through the free Derry nationalist neighborhood called the bog and the loyalist pro-British enclave on the west bank. It is a confusing mixture of religion, history and symbolism that is a part of my Irish history. Yet, to me it seems kinda pointless. I am Scot-Irish which means my people would be the loyalist Oranges, the Scots brought over by the Brits to take over the land taken from the Irish clans after they were defeated in the battle of Kinsale in 1601.
Yesterday was the fourth of July and we went to Candy's house for a fun evening with friends. It was a great evening and we saw the Gilroy fireworks show from her house.
[Click here to see Fourth of July photos on Facebook]
Today we have been packing and getting ready for our trip. Day after tomorrow we fly to Europe.
Training Day
Yesterday was not a hard core train chase. Instead it was a relaxing day exploring old haunts, places I used to go to a lot to photograph trains. It was suprising to see a lot changed in some places, like the new Amtrak station in Martienez. I also tried to get some angles on places, I used to shoot at, but never shot quite the way I shot yesterday.
These are just some of the digital photos I took. I shot much more on film. I hope you like these. Yes, I still shoot film!
[Click here to see more photos on Facebook]
[Click here to see the photos on Flickr]
Technorati Tags: trains, railroads, Railroading, Union Pacific, ssloansjca
Within a short walk of San Jose State University is a special place, Downtown Yoga Shala. Shala, a “sacred space” in Sanskrit, is just that. It is a wonderful yoga studio that has made a big difference in my life. Located at 450 S. 1st Street the Shala is in San Jose's blossoming South First Art (SoFA) District and is surrounded by art galleries.
On June 26, 2009 the Shala had a Candlelight Yoga Class taught by Jeff Lang featuring live music. Girish played wonderful music and the result was unlike anything I have ever seen or photographed. Veronica Cruz, a good friend and the owner of the Shala did a great job setting up this event!
These links off Twitter this morning are very interesting:
For more updates please check out my union Twitter feed.
On June 28, 2009 Sue and I went on John F. Kennedy Drive in San Francisco for a bike ride in Golden Gate Park.
We stopped at Stowe Lake for ice cream and later went out to dinner at the Thai Stick (love the name) restaurant in Millbrae.
[See More Pictures on Facebook]
Technorati Tags: Sue Graziano Sloan, Sloan Family, ssloansjca
It was a great weekend. On Saturday, June 20, 2009, I went on a "barrel" ride with Veronica, Randi, Bob and Harvey from Gunn High up Canada Road. The fog came in as we went north and it turned cold. Most of us were prepared for that.
On June 21, 2009 Ken came over and we had a Father's day BBQ. We made yummy shish kabobs. It was a family endeavour and everybody had a hand in making dinner. Both my other sons called. It was a great day!
Technorati Tags: Sue Graziano Sloan, Sloan Family, Kenneth Sloan, ssloansjca
According to an FAQ posted on the California State University Employees Union (CSUEU) Web site:
The State Budget Crisis has finally hit the CSU, and we are being faced with the possibility of massive layoffs as a result. On Tuesday, June 9, CSUEU President Pat Gantt, VP for Representation Dennis Dillon and SLRR Teven Laxer met with representatives of CSU management at the Office of the Chancellor on an information-gathering basis. The CSU informed the union that it was likely that the Budget Conference Committee would be recommending cuts to the CSU budget totaling $583,816,000, the amount proposed by the governor in the May Revise. This represents a staggering 13.5 percent cut to the budget.
Many of the people who ride bicycles on the sidewalks at SJSU do so in ways that risk serious injury to themselves and others. Cyclists riding with no hands are unable to take evasive action if a pedestrian, cart or disabled person steps into their path. Usually cyclists who ride like this way are not wearing helmets.
This bike position is especially prone to falling. These cyclists, as well as endangering others, risk head injuries that could kill them or leave them permanently disabled.
On the evening of June 8, 2009 I took a 35mm SLR camera loaded with black and white film to Alviso, CA where I photographed trains and the salt marsh.
Technorati Tags: Alviso, trains, railroads, Railroading, Union Pacific, ssloansjca
Wednesday's Lollipop ride was a lot of fun. More people showed up than I ever recall for a mellow ride and we had great weather. After the ride we had burritos, drank wine, talked and had a fine time!
As we live our American lives enjoying so many goods that say "Made in China." Let's not forget how much it has cost. "The time for the Chinese government to provide the fullest possible public accounting of the thousands killed, detained, or missing in the massacre that followed the protests is long overdue," U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Sean McCormack said in a statement on the eve of the 19th anniversary of what China has called the "June Fourth incident."
"We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly," Martin Luther King Jr.
Technorati Tags: Emerging Technology, Globalization, China, ssloansjca
Sunday; not just a walk in the park
Sunday was a recovery day for me, I was recovering from the previous day's century. We went for a short hike up to the top of a nearby ridge. Then, that evening, we went with Sue's mom to the Greek Festival where we met daughter-in-law Nicole's family. Unfortunately that evening I got a wicked migraine. That was not a walk in the park!
Saturday Century Ride a Success
The first ever Whine and Dine Century (100 mile bicycle ride) went from San Jose to the outskirts of Hollister. It had a metric (60 mile) option that some riders rode. By the time we got home from the dinner after the ride, it was almost dark.
It has been a busy weekend with much going on. Friday there was the College of Engineering Commencement. Saturday morning was the big SJSU Graduation and that evening a fun party at the Crosby's. Yesterday I went on a bike ride with Veronica, that was a lot of fun. Then, last night, Sue and I watched the finale of Battelstar Gallactica.
Today I am doing grading but took time out to go on a fun bike ride with friends to Los Gatos. It was a good break!
[Click here to hear audio]
Less than a week before she died Marie left me a phone message. She and I had been text messaging but for some reason she was unable to text back. So she left a phone message asking me to call back. I did and we had our last conversation. I was able to patch that phone message onto my computer. This is Marie's voice.
