Margin Notes: Rainbow Transport Egret

A PCC streetcar pulled onto Market Street near the Ferry Building in San Francisco, California on 3-January-2011

PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA - It was like being in transportation mecca when minutes after I arrived in the state of California last week, I stepped off a BART rapid transit train and surfaced at the Embarcadero Station to find myself just steps from a cable car line, the Market Street streetcar line (pictured above), trolley and diesel buses, and the ferries to the north and east bay--and I wasn't far away from the Caltrain commuter rail station (which could have been reached via MUNI light rail). So what did I do? I hopped a bus across the bay to catch an Amtrak train, of course.

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The other thing that was rather mind-boggling to hear as I surfaced was the news that Jerry Brown was just being sworn in as the 39th governor of the Golden State (he had also been the 34th, from 1975 to 1983. It seems like yesterday (well, 1999-2007) that he was the mayor of Oakland, seemingly at first with no higher aspirations. Then, he was suddenly attorney general, and now a hopefully very mature governor--I agree with Mark Shields that his inaugural speech set a very realistic and constructive tone. The question is whether legislators in Sacramento from both parties will be equally sober in facing the state's incredible problems.

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Construction on the new eastern span of the Bay Bridge was progressing along as viewed from the old bridge on 3-January-2011

Coverage of the Brown inaugural was playing on the radio as the bus crossed the Bay Bridge between San Francisco and Oakland. The new cable-stay eastern span is coming along as seen above--the portions of the bridge that are complete appear to have signs posted and lighting fully completed just a few feet from the current end of the structure, which is a bit different to see.

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A Great White Egret was found in the drainage area outside the W Hotel in Newark, California on 4-January-2011

I had decided to take an Amtrak ride after landing for a variety of reasons, not the least of which was that I was not expecting another chance this week. I chose to go as far as Modesto and then return, creating about a 200-mile round trip including scenery through the Delta to Stockton that I had not seen in more than twelve years. The wildlife in that portion was disappointing, but a Great White Egret was noted along San Pablo Bay. I thought that was pretty neat--until I noted a Great White Egret just outside my hotel's parking lot the next morning.

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That hotel that my new company's travel agent had booked me into was a W Hotel in Newark, California. I don't care what owner Starwood thinks; this new chain is nearly as weird as Virgin America airlines. Techno music plays in the common areas, the lighting is all muted and colored, and the rooms clearly favor form over function. It was rather a relief to move to a Quality Inn.

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A circular rainbow was noted outside a plane to San Francisco, California on 3-January-2011

I suppose I should have been in a psychedelic mood after seeing a circular rainbow during my flight westward. The above photo shows the double rainbow around what was apparently the shadow of the plane at the center of the rainbow, a rather fun phenomena to observe in the air.

Photos: Trip to California, October 2010

The city of San Francisco, California was partly obscured by clouds when viewed from the air on 18-October-2010

TORONTO, ONTARIO - A short update this week to my photo site features pictures from a recent trip to the state of California. The trip mostly offered the opportunity for aerial photographs across the landscape of the United States and Canada, but also a few shots on the ground in Roseville and Placerville, California on 18-21-October-2010.

Politics: State of Confusion

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - I've avoided commenting on politics in this most populous state of the union so far, but before departing it's hard not to make at least a few observations about the campaign that just about everyone I encounter wishes would just be over.

The Republicans were surely hoping for synergy when they nominated Meg Whitman, former CEO of eBay, for governor and Carly Fiorina, former CEO of Hewlett-Packard, for the senate. People impressed with accomplished businesswomen might decide to vote for the two as a block, as part of a campaign for change in the state. However, what seems to be happening based on some conversations I have had is that the faults of each seem to be rubbing off on the other, causing people that might support one of the candidates decide instead to support neither. Incumbent Democrat Barbara Boxer--er, actually one of the outside-funded groups unleashed by the Citizens United Supreme Court case--has been running ads pointing out how Fiorina moved jobs overseas during her time at HP. However, I've heard people talking about Whitman as a foreign outsource advocate, when I haven't seen any ads accusing her of that. Similarly, while it is Whitman who has been accused by Democratic nominee Jerry Brown (yes, the infamous Governor Moonbeam who is again running for the post) of various legal indiscretions related to hiring an illegal immigrant, I've heard people say Fiorina is a hypocrite on immigration. If the polls are any indication, nominating two similar candidates may be backfiring on the Republicans--mud is sticking to both of them at the same time.

There is one thing that supporters of both Brown and Whitman seem to agree on--no matter which is elected governor, they won't be able to single-handedly lead the state out of its current politicized mess that leads to nearly four months without a budget. More systematic change will be necessary--and there's not much agreement on what that means.

With all the money floating around in the various races this election all over the United States, it is interesting that one of the more controversial propositions here in California, Proposition 19 on legalizing marijuana, has very little money going in to the either side. Moneyed interests apparently have little at stake with respect to whether pot is legalized. Furthermore, there doesn't seem to be much of a consensus amongst those in law enforcement on what impact the legislation would actually have--some seem to think it would reduce overall crime, while others think it may lead to trafficking to the rest of the country and thus new problems. Granted, I have not visited a college campus, but I have not heard any discussion of this proposition outside of one KGO radio show. Will many young voters really turn out to support this proposition and thus advantage Democrats that this demographic might be more likely to support? I haven't caught a whiff of it.

Personally, I mailed in my absentee ballot while on this trip. So, for me, this election is all over except waiting for the returns, which will not start to flow until very late on the first Tuesday in November.

Politics: The "Top Two" Primary

KENNEWICK, WASHINGTON - While the talking heads in the mainstream media have focused on the victories of principally self-financed, conservative female candidates in last week's California primary, those looking at the longer-term have pointed out that the most significant result from that election may have been the passage of Proposition 14. I've long been in the chorus that has pointed out the extreme polarization of politics in the Golden State, though I've stopped short of calling it "ungovernable." Proposition 14, by establishing a "top-two" primary, is the first significant step passed by the voters to try to address that polarization, though the experience in this state, Washington, which has had a "top-two" primary for about a year, indicates it might not help very much.

Both Proposition 14 and a similar measure passed by the voters of Washington state have thrown out the party-based primary system. Traditionally, the primary election has served as a public nominating system for each political party. Exactly one Democrat, exactly one Republican, and a single representative of each smaller political party (if they fielded a candidate at all) would move on from the primary to the general election. Under the "top two" primary (which some have called a "jungle" primary), only the two highest vote-getting candidates move on to the general election, regardless of party. Those two candidates might be two Democrats, two Republicans, or even two independents. The parties--especially the smaller parties, which are no longer guaranteed a general election ballot line--hate this system, as it moves control of the process out of the parties and directly to the public. As a result, proponents of the "top two" system say it will result in more moderate, broadly-acceptable candidates appearing as choices for voters in the general election, instead of extreme candidates favored by party activists.

The "top two" primary came to be in Washington state not because of extreme polarization, as Washington (at least for statewide races) had a history of fairly moderate politicians by national standards. It instead came about because the long-standing "open" primary, in which voters could vote for any candidate in the primary regardless of party, had been abolished in favor of a "closed" primary in which voters had to declare their party affiliation and take a ballot with only the candidates from that party. The parties had pushed for the "closed" system on the basis of preventing the "distortion" which took place when only one major party had a primary race, and voters from the other party would vote for the candidate in the contested race they perceived to be the weakest in the general election. This was a relatively rare situation, and voters instead viewed the new system as decreasing their choices. The "top two" primary passed handily as a result, and has since been upheld by the US Supreme Court.

Yet, despite the new rules, there have yet to be any races in Washington in which the "top two" system has clearly changed the results. One Democrat and one Republican still have appeared on the general election ballot. Those candidates haven't been noticeably more moderate in their ideology, or ones clearly not favored by their parties. In contrast, states that have implemented "clean elections" reforms involving public matching funds, most notably Maine, have seen clear effects.

Because of its history of "open" primaries and relative lack of polarization, Washington may not be indicative of how the "top two" primary will play out in California. However, I daresay the result was most significant in its symbolism, that the voters protested the polarized system by voting for Proposition 14. If they had really wanted significant change, they would have needed to vote for campaign finance reform.

Politics: US Headed for Greece

TORONTO, ONTARIO - There are some pretty bizarre "truths" floating around about the need to bail out Greece (and potentially Portugal, Spain, Ireland, and Italy), most of them centering around socialism. While the degree of entitlement spending is an element of the problem in Greece and cutting it will have to be part of the solution, it's absurd on the face to claim that it is the root cause. There are plenty of countries with bigger social safety nets who are not in danger of needing bailout (look at basically any country in northern Europe--and no, I don't count Iceland as part of Europe; it deserves a whole separate analysis).

It doesn't take a Nobel Prize in economics to understand the basics of the problem in Greece. Corruption is rampant--listen to any coverage of the Greek economy, and it soon turns to envelopes stuffed with cash in quite a variety of contexts. As a corollary that is not surprising when corruption is common, trust in government is almost non-existent, and hence people openly don't pay taxes. It's not hard to understand the mentality that leads one to deal with corruption in daily life and reject contributing to generic corruption. When the government doesn't receive the expected income from taxes, it's very hard for it to impose measures that allow it to deal with a financial shortfall such as has occurred in the current worldwide economy. All it takes are a few added factors--say, an financial firm helping a government to falsify its books--and a situation like the one in Greece comes to pass.

Greece isn't going to get out of its problems just by cutting public spending. It will require a cultural transformation. People will have to pay taxes. People will have to report and not participate in corruption. People will have to believe in government. Exactly how that's going to happen when the government has just demonstrated that it certainly did not deserve trust in recent times, I really have no idea. Whereas there does seem to be some hope of restored faith in government in most of the other countries currently on verge of crisis in Europe, it's hard to see how it happens in Greece, and thus it's hard not to expect Greece to have to leave the European Union and go through an extended period of economic collapse.

Those in the United States should not be sanguine about what is happening in Europe. The call for evading taxes has been on the rise in the United States my entire life. The attitude of the editorial page of the largest-circulation newspaper, the Wall Street Journal, regularly glorifies the concept of avoiding taxes. Some readers of the paper have been known to argue that it is patriotic to NOT pay taxes. It's not a long conceptual road from that attitude to the inability of government to collect taxes as has happened in Greece, especially when government is completely ineffective. I've made this argument before--California is in deep financial trouble precisely because it cannot act to resolve it; its government is too divided to agree on a plan to resolve its problems, not because there is no conceptual way to do it. Combine lack of government will with tax evasion and getting out of a bad financial situation is close to impossible. California in particular, and the United States as a whole, are heading that direction.

Funny how socialist countries that do have functional governments, minimal corruption, and near-universal tax compliance seem to be doing just fine.

Photos: Holiday Trip 2009, Part I, California

A pond was frozen near Diamond Springs, California after a rare snow storm on 8-December-2009.

TORONTO, ONTARIO - This week's update to my photo site begins coverage of my trip to the west coast. It started on 7-December-2009 with a visit to the Placerville, California area, which had received a rare snow fall. Snow scenes from around Placerville, night scenes from Sacramento, and scenery from a trip on Amtrak's Coast Starlight from Sacramento to Portland, Oregon are included in this album.

Travel: Going to California for Snow

A snow globe was unexpectedly surrounded by real snow in Diamond Springs, California--elevation just 1800 feet--on 8-December-2009

PLACERVILLE, CALIFORNIA - People in Toronto, Ontario were quite surprised not to see any snow the entire month of November, as this was the first time since the current weather stations opened more than 75 years ago that this had never happened. Furthermore, the trend continued in December--while there were flurries noted in the air as I left town yesterday, there still had been no accumulation on the ground in the entire first week of December.

Normally, one comes to the state of California to get away from snowy weather and head for sun and warmth. While locales like San Diego (or anywhere in the Southland) would be safer bets within the state for warm and dry conditions, my destination of El Dorado County in the Sierra foothills should have also been a safe bet. Placerville rarely sees any snow, period, and hadn't seen any real accumulation since 1972.

That changed this week. A storm started before dawn on Monday, dumping about seven inches of snow in the immediate vicinity of Placerville. This was the largest accumulation of snowfall in the area since 1923. Driving from Sacramento, I was surprised to find the snow level on US 50 at about El Dorado Hills at about 1000 feet in elevation, and conditions unsurprisingly became more wintry as I continued east and higher to Placerville at about elevation 2000 feet.

Today, I had a chance to walk around an area of Diamond Springs west of Placerville and found winter scenes that I had certainly seen before--in Ontario, Massachusetts, or the High Sierra in California, not the relative lowlands. Sacramento media reported on shelters for the displaced and homeless to avoid freezing and on power outages as if they were from Seattle, Washington or Minneapolis, Minnesota. It all sounded familiar--there's no brain surgery involved in the opening of a shelter or in reminding drivers how to drive in the snow--it just doesn't seem to belong here.

The peculiar local angle on the snow accumulation comes from the citrus growers at lower elevations. Mandarin orange farmers in Penryn, California have received a lot of attention as temperatures dipped to 25 degrees Fahrenheit. Cold--close to freezing--is actually good for the species, causing a higher sugar content in the fruit, but actual freezing leads to the entire crop being lost. With one last night of freezing temperatures expected tonight, it will not be known if more than $2 million in crops have survived until tomorrow.

That's what I get for heading to California--the very weather I normally would have been experiencing, but haven't been, at home.

Politics: California Leading? Ugh

TORONTO, ONTARIO - For essentially my entire lifetime, the state of California has been viewed as the leading edge of culture in the United States. Just about every trend that has swept the country, from strict emission standards for vehicles to the use of wireless Internet access to moving well beyond one's region every few years has been credited to the state. If you wanted to look to the future, the zeitgeist stated, looked to what was happening in California. For the sake of the future of the country, we'd better hope that's not the case in politics.

While reading a Andrew Gelman entry on fivethirtyeight.com that seemed pretty obscure on the political ideology of a Republican candidate for Congress in the state of New York, I found a graph by Boris Shor on the ideological makeup of state legislature that struck me as the buried lead of the story. Take a look by following this link and scrolling down to the graph.

The graph shows the ideological positions of each member of state legislatures grouped by party. In quite a few states, there is overlap between Democrats and Republicans, meaning that there are centrists in both parties to potentially work out compromises. In a handful of states, there is no overlap, but nowhere is the gap wider than in California, which is at the bottom of the graph. Nearly the entire span of either party separates the parties apart. No state has more conservative Republicans in its legislature than the most conservative Republicans in California, and only New York and Maryland have any Democrats that are more liberal than the most liberal Democrats in the state assembly in California.

That's pretty much all one needs to know about the dysfunction in California government. The parties are so far apart that there is no room for compromise, and really no ground on which to even have a conversation. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is not shown on the chart, but based on the legislation and budgets he has supported in the past two years, I suspect that he falls somewhere in that gap. He can't reach the Democrats, and he certainly can't reach the Republicans, the party of which he claims to be a member, as he is not nearly as ideological as his colleagues in the assembly. It's no wonder they can't pass a budget.

The United States Congress also isn't plotted on the graph, but believe it or not, there is overlap in ideology between the the two parties there--and it's no secret how polarized the two bodies there have become, and how difficult it is to gain bi-partisan support even for apple pie. If California continues to be a trend setting state, then it's only going to get worse at the national level, and there's no way that would be a good thing.

Photos: Trip to the West Coast, Part II

Mount Rose loomed in the distance in a view looking across Lake Tahoe from South Lake Tahoe, California on 6-May-2009

TORONTO, ONTARIO - This week's update to my photo page continues coverage of my spring trip to the west coast. While traveling around northern California and the Reno/Tahoe region of Nevada between 1-May and 8-May-2009, a variety of scenes were encountered, from a kayaking course and jets taking off from Reno, Nevada to the state buildings and museums of Carson City, Nevada, to the ski slopes around Lake Tahoe to the home of my Great Aunt Pauline near Placerville, California, to the mountains of the Sierra Nevada and Cascade ranges.

Photos: Union Pacific Steam

Union Pacific's Western Heritage Express crested Sand Pass, Nevada with steam locomotive #844 providing the only power on 5-May-2009

TORONTO, ONTARIO - This week's update to my photo site goes back a couple months. The early portion of a trip to the west coast of the United States in spring 2009 focused on following and riding the Union Pacific "Western Heritage Express" between Roseville, California and Winnemucca, Nevada via the former Western Pacific route through the Feather River Canyon between 29-April and 5-May-2009. The experience included riding the train from Portola, California to Winnemucca where the steam locomotive was unassisted and ran at 70 mph. Also included are aerial views from the westbound flights and scenery along the route.

Politics: The New Orange County?

TORONTO, ONTARIO - I could hardly believe my eyes recently when reading the politics site fivethirtyeight.com when I saw the headline "Placer is the new Orange." What I suspected to the be the meaning proved to be accurate--the article by Tom Schaller made the case that while California's Orange County had been symbolic of the conservative movement in the Nixon and Reagan eras, it has become a "purple" county that almost voted for Barack Obama. Instead, it is Placer County with its exurban and rural, low minority population that most closely matches the demographics of the Republican party and has the voting pattern to show for it.

Interestingly, the town of Placerville that has been in my by-line on three trips since this blog began is not in Placer County, but in El Dorado County immediately to the south--which has very similar demographics, and is home to the Mountain Democrat newspaper that is decidedly not Democratic in the sense of supporting the Democratic party. However, that doesn't mean that I haven't spent time in Placer County, which includes the effective Sacramento suburb and major rail yard location of Roseville as well as much of the I-80 Donner Pass route over the Sierra Nevada mountains--I have been to places like Roseville and Auburn within the past few years. Furthermore, Sacramento media dominates both Placer and El Dorado Counties, so the 4th District Congressional race cited in Schaller's article was one I followed reasonably closely.

The concept of carpet-bagging really was a factor in the Congressional campaign between Democrat Charlie Brown and Republican Tom McClintock. Arguably the best ad on either side in the entire race came from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, showing how McClintock had moved around the large state of California to his political advantage. It's still available to watch on YouTube. While Brown campaigned more like Montana senator Max Baucus than San Francisco representative Nancy Pelosi anyway, his portrait of McClintock as not really being from the district seemed to resonate most strongly with the people I talked to in the region.

Of course, McClintock won despite that in a district that went solidly for John McCain, and indeed the region seems to be one especially interested in gun rights with significant anti-immigrant sentiment. Yet, the very fact that Roseville has the largest population in the county and is a suburb of Sacramento is indeed symbolic of what some say is the impending fate of the Republican party. As more left-leaning residents move farther out in the suburbs, the demographics of Placer County will change. If the Republican Party doesn't broaden its appeal, it will not only have lost its hold on Orange County, it will lose its hold on Placer County as well--on that point, I agree with Schaller completely.

Margin Notes: Mountains, Flowers, Shoe Tree

Mount Shasta loomed above Weed, California on 7-May-2009

KENNEWICK, WASHINGTON - For people not from a mountainous region, the volcanic mountains along the Pacific Coast of the North America are an almost inconceivable attraction. To me, they are markers of a native region. So far on this trip, I have seen Mount Lassen, Mount Shasta, Mount McLaughlin, Mount Bachelor, Mount Washington, Mount Jefferson, Mount Hood, and Mount Adams. Tomorrow I will probably see Mount Rainier. While not particularly tall at 14,179 feet, Mount Shasta stands as my sentimental favorite, likely because of its proximity to Interstate 5 and the fact that it is the first tall mountain encountered in California.

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California poppies lined the side of Interstate 5 near Redding, California on 7-May-2009

Noted in close proximity to several freeways in California (take note those in the northeast--these actually are "free"ways) including Interstate 5 were California's state flower, the California Poppy. This part of spring does seem to be the best time to find these orange flowers blooming.

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Shoes grow on trees! A shoe tree was noted outside Moro, Oregon on 8-May-2009

In fact, spring is such a great time to see plant life that even shoe trees can be found in bloom. What, you've never heard of a shoe tree? You mean that humans made up the above tree along US 97 in north-central Oregon? I thought I had found a new source for shoes!

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A typical thorough sign greeted hikers at the beginning of the Quail Run Trail in Reno, Nevada on 4-May-2009

Spring is generally a great time to go hiking, as long as the snow has melted. Nowhere in my previous experience, though, is so much information provided to hikers than in Reno, Nevada. Signs like the one seen above at the the head of the Quail Run Trail provide a wealth of information on the everything from the length of the trail to the hardness and stability of the surface. It would be great if all trails could have this kind of information.

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One of three Southwest Airlines planes painted as an orca whale for a Sea World advertisement took off from Reno, Nevada on 4-May-2009

With an airport in the middle of the valley, Reno is a place where watching airplanes is possible from a surprising number of locations. While hiking last week, I happened to catch one of three "Shamu" planes of Southwest Airlines that are pained up like an orca whale. Who says whales can't fly?

Heritage: 70 mph Behind Steam

The "Western Pacific" heritage diesel sat next to Union Pacific steam locomotive #844 near the Western Pacific Railroad Museum in Portola, California on 5-May-2009

RENO, NEVADA - Steam locomotives running on "mainline" freight tracks are not common in North America. Thanks to liability concerns and the small number of operational steam locomotives that are large enough to pull a long passenger train, the number of such runs in a given year is often small. At one point earlier this year, it looked like there might be only two the entire year of 2009 in the United States. (The picture looks much rosier now; while one of those anticipated trips was canceled, it appears that the total this year will be similar to last year.)


Union Pacific steam locomotive #844, built in 1944, led the passenger special near Scotts, California on 5-May-2009

Opportunities to ride on such excursions on routes not regularly traversed by Amtrak trains are even rarer. Thanks to an invitation from the Western Pacific Railroad Museum, I was able to ride on just such a trip segment today, as a Union Pacific special ran from Portola, California to Winnemucca, Nevada on the former Western Pacific line which today is normally traversed only by freight trains.


The "Walter Dean" dome car was amongst the rolling stock that we were allowed to enjoy during the trip, seen with the end of the train from the vestibule near Scotts, California on 5-May-2009

Union Pacific excursions are always a joy to ride because of the immaculate passenger equipment the railroad maintains for its business and excursion fleet. Included in the train today were a dome car normally assigned to the business car fleet and a coach that was the first car I had ever car hosted in fourteen years ago, and thanks to the small number of passengers, I spent virtually all my time either in the dome car or a vestibule, enjoying the ability to watch the steam locomotive by sticking my head out the side of the train.


Union Pacific steam locomotive #844 crested the grade at Sand Pass, Nevada without diesel assistance on 5-May-2009

That view was especially rare today not only because the steam locomotive was running unassisted up mountain grades (both Sand Pass and Antelope Hill), but because there were sections of 70 mph running on the line. There was no question that the steam locomotive was handling the train, and there was no question that it could make track speed. I had never ridden behind steam at 70 mph before, and I had never felt the wind in my face at that speed on a train before. It was truly an unforgettable day.

My thanks goes out to the Western Pacific Railroad Museum and the Union Pacific Railroad for making the experience possible.

Photos: Trip to California, October 2005

The Caltrain station at Mountain View, California was observed close to sunset on 13-October-2005

TORONTO, ONTARIO - When digging through my archives, I discovered a small set of photos from a brief trip to the Silicon Valley of California for a job interview on 12-13-October-2005. While these photos are more properly merged with similar subject matter in 2006 albums, for this week, I'll present these photos of San Jose and scenes along the Caltrain commuter rail line on their own for the first time on my photo site.

Photos: Trip to the West Coast, Part I

A pair of snowmen were noted near Enatai Elementary School in Bellevue, Washington on 23-December-2008

TORONTO, ONTARIO - This week's update to my photo site features scenes from the west coast of the United States.

The first portion of a trip to the west coast for the holidays included a ride on the Altamont Commuter Express through the Niles Canyon and over Altamont Pass from San Jose to Stockton, California, a walk around Stockton, a visit to my great aunt Pauline near Placerville, California, a visit to my cousin Bruce Carson, Julie Malloy, and their children in the Phoenix, Arizona suburbs, and a look around Bellevue, Washington under a thick covering of snow between 17- and 23-December-2008.

Margin Notes: Holidays, Historic Signals, Signs

The holiday display at the Arizona Temple was viewed on 20-December-2008

TEMPE, ARIZONA - One of the better holiday displays in this area comes from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (the Mormons), whose Mesa, Arizona Temple grounds are well-decorated with lights this holiday season. Besides a nativity scene and three wise men to attract people to the display, it features lights on just about every tree on the block.

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A classic pedestrian signal was noted in Stockton, California on 18-December-2008

A different kind of light was notable in Stockton, California earlier this week. I was surprised to find pedestrian signals that said "Wait" and "Walk" in the pre-1970's style at San Joaquin and Washington Streets in downtown Stockton while passing through on Thursday. These signals should probably receive a historic designation if they have not already.

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ACE train #2 posed after its arrival in Stockton, California on 18-December-2008

What was I doing in Stockton? For some time, I have wanted to ride the Altamont Commuter Express commuter rail service between San Jose and Stockton, California on the former Western Pacific line over Altamont Pass, but it only runs on weekdays. I finally had my chance on Thursday, and enjoyed the scenery through the Niles Canyon and past the aging windmills on Altamont Pass. The section over the pass was especially significant, with signs quite visible of one-time parallel line of the Southern Pacific and the original US highway 50.

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A different kind of sign caught my attention upon arrival in Phoenix. I wondered why a barricade had lettering stating "king with us" until I realized that some of the message had disappeared and it was likely intended to say something like "Thank you for parking with us."

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Parking may be less of an issue in this area after December 28th, when the light rail line from Tempe to downtown Phoenix begins operation. Test trains have been noted in motion during this visit.

Photos: Swan Song of Siskiyou Steam

BELLEVUE, WASHINGTON - This week's photo update completes coverage of my autumn trip to California. The final portion of the trip took me to the far north of the state, Siskiyou County, for a pair of steam-powered railroad excursions. On 1-November-2008, the Yreka Western ran what may be its final steam trip between Yreka and Montague, California, and then on 2-November-2008, the McCloud Railway ran a railfan trip out of McCloud, California toward Bartle and then up the 4% grade to Signal Butte which was almost certainly the last excursion before locomotive #25 is sold. It may have been the swan song of Siskiyou steam.

Photos: Trip to California, Part II

TORONTO, ONTARIO - This week's update to my photo site features the Sierra foothills of California.

The second portion of a trip to California was a visit with my great-aunt Pauline McGrady and her daughter Judi Rehmann in Diamond Springs near Placerville, California on 27-31-October-2008. The time provided an opportunity to explore the Sierra Foothills, including a trip along the rural Sand Ridge Road and a visit to the Apple Hill area above Placerville in the waning autumn days before Halloween.

Photos: Trip to California, Part I

TORONTO, ONTARIO - This week's update to my photo site features the state of California.

The first segment of a trip to California involved a flight from Toronto, Ontario to Los Angeles, California on 25-October-2008 including aerial views of the Grand Canyon. A layover in Los Angeles afforded time to explore north of Union Station with a focus on Chinatown. Then, on 26-October-2008, a ride was taken on Amtrak's detouring Coast Starlight through Soledad Canyon to Palmdale and then through Tehachapi Pass to the San Joaquin Valley and up former Southern Pacific tracks to Sacramento.

Margin Notes: Changes, Gas, FM, Obama

DUNSMUIR, CALIFORNIA - Don't try to tell me that the world is getting better. This week, there were announcements of the end of the daily edition of the Christian Science Monitor newspaper, the complete closing of the Mervyn's department store chain, and the merger of Northwest Airlines into Delta Airlines. I will miss each of them.

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Once upon a time in the 1990's, I seem to recall that Arco stations generally had the lowest gas prices in California. Not anymore. At least where I looked in Placerville and Willows, the Chevron station had the cheapest gas, and prices clearly continue to fall as I have yet to pay more than $2.73 per gallon. For Canadians, that's currently about C$0.88 per liter.

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The move from the AM band to the FM band has now started amongst CBS newsradio stations. I discovered today that San Francisco's KCBS All-News 740, in my opinion the best commercial newsradio station in the English-speaking world, is now simulcast on 106.9 FM, the one-time classic hits KFRC-FM. The simulcast apparently started on Monday.

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I had never driven on I-5 in California north of Gerber before today, but I had been in the back seat on it so many times in the past that it was rather nostalgic to head for the old railroad town of Dunsmuir today. Passing such places as Arbuckle--which inspired a middle school-era essay on how to approach train spotting--and exit signs with unique names like "Auction Yard Road" and "Turntable Bay Road" brought back memories of past trips between California and the Pacific Northwest.

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I would like to provide a type feature on Barack Obama to parallel the piece on John McCain yesterday. However, there is controversy about what Obama's type actually is. Everyone seems to agree that he displays both "emotional" world and "thinking" world traits. So, regardless of why he shows these behaviors, it's not hard to see why he seems more attractive than someone from the comparatively-foreign "physical" world. In an "emotional"-world United States, the "emotional" traits would be familiar, and the "thinking"-world traits would generally balance the "emotional" traits and thus be attractive.

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Would you rather vote for an animal than any of the candidates on your ballot? It's too bad you probably don't live in Rabbit Hash, Kentucky, where a dog was elected mayor. As a fund raiser for their local historical society, it's actually possible to donate on-line and vote for a successor, with the majority of the candidates being canines, but there's a cat and a donkey listed as well as a human. Funny, Tim Eyman seems to be missing from the list--I guess animal body parts aren't allowed.