New pastimes and retirement advice, not in that order

First bit of retirement advice is if you are asked to be on a Board of Directors, this is NOT a Sally Fields Moment (They like me! They REALLY LIKE ME!) They have you pegged for a sucker. Do it if you really want to, but have your eyes open.

So after I retired, and after some consideration, I got involved in a railroad historical society that was doing restoration of an old caboose near where I live. (BOD #1) My skill sets lean more towards deconstruction than fine woodworking. This came in handy when two additional cars were acquired.

I have an interest in historical preservation/documentation, so it has evolved that I have done much of the still photography documenting of the reconstruction. We also have a videographer. And it happens that my digital camera has a video function. In the last year, freight service has been re established in our area after an absence of many years and trials (literal trials in some cases) and tribulations in the interim. So I began documenting some of the return with the video function, and how better to share that Utube?

It turns out that there are quite a few people who are REALLY into trains. This has encouraged me to video the local trains. I've branched out a bit into our  local waterway (Also very historic, basically the reason for our towns founding) I came across a site that tracks maritime traffic, (http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/) and has pictures of many of the vessels. You can upload pictures of the ships. A local company has a number of ships, so I have been taking pictures of them and uploading them. If I can ever catch them moving/unloading a barge, I will video that and post it on Utube. I also did a utube video of the Sonoma County Gran Fondo bike ride as it passed a spot on the coast.

All this is leading up to my posting of two of the most viewed videos I've done. I don't guess there are train buffs here, but you might enjoy them anyway (they're short). The first is popular because of the audio I think. The second has some historical significance. And despite what you see here, I think these are the only times the two locomotives have run together. Enjoy!

For dog lovers (from a cat owner)

Walk on the beach, revenge is a ball

My back is finally feeling well enough to walk on the beach and pick up garbage, so I did just that Monday afternoon as we fled once again from the heat inland.

I had been reading about the red tide, an abundance of plankton and algae that is harmful to  many creatures, and indeed, the shore was littered with muscle shells and a few abalone type mollusks. Starfish are also dying but I did not see any of those.

Having reached the end of the beach, I turned to make another pass at a different level looking for garbage. I came upon a couple with two unleashed dogs, a no no, but I don't really have a problem with that, except that as I was talking with the "gentleman" about the dead sea life, one of the dogs took a crap in the sand, and the "lady" was using a plastic ball thrower to toss it into the surf. He saw the look on my face and said "Oh we forgot our plastic bags"

I continued my walk in the opposite direction they were going, and I came across a tennis ball. I put it in my garbage bag and as I walked away I could hear him saying "Hey boy, where's your ball?"

Check out my COOL new bandage!

Just for donating a pint I got this cool bandage I get to wear for 4 hours!

Oh, and I got this too.

AND the Giants won (despite giving up 5 runs in the 9th)

Van back, Back Gone

Got the van back late Monday, about 4 hours earlier, for no apparent reason, my back started tightening up. By the time we picked up the van I was taking Muscle relaxannzzzzzzz.... what was I talking about?

So Tues was spent in bed except for the occasional hobble to the bathroom. Had to double up on the Muscle relaxannzzzzzzz.... what was I talking about?  Some details will NOT be discussed. Glad to have an Ipad and glad a bunch of folks I follow had posts. Bought a book on line, (Turn Right At Macchu Picchu)

Wed I could occasionally shuffle places (bathroom again) briefly. All the muscles that had been compensating were complaining about having apparently run a marathon.

Today I CAN WALK! Briefly. Wash dishes, lay down rest, take out garbage cans, lay down rest, get the mail, lay down rest. Previously compensating muscles are in the "Whoa" stage. Guilty party muscles are in the "Who gave YOU permission to run a marathon?"stage. Back to recommended dosage of Muscle relaxannzzzzzzz.... what was I talking about?

So as proof that previous to this I was not a total slug, I provide video. I had pictures, but just realized I already used them in a previous post!

Shot this 8 days ago. May not be interesting, but it is PROOF I used to have a life outside my bed

Time to get back in bed. BACK in bed!! Hah Hah Get IT? I crack myself up. And say, it's time for another  Muscle relaxannzzzzzzz.... what was I talking about?

Karmic flashback

Last Saturday was a workday at the train restoration yard. I had started painting, but got pulled off because the paint needed to be thinned and we didn't have any thinner. So I started work on the Baggage car (NWP 605). A couple of us pulled some non original wood off one end, and then started removing much of the roofing materials. Much of this was done after lunch when it had gotten warmer. Not a lot of fun and I was sore the next day. So I got to thinking that Monday was predicted to be cooler and I had nothing better to do, so 8 a.m. Monday I'm on the roof.

As I'm tearing off stuff, a motorcycle cop drives by and glances at me. I immediately flash back to when I was a kid. When I was very young, a troublemaking friend had this brilliant idea to climb on top of this decrepit single car garage on a dead end street, which became the bridge of a warship and we were fighting off attacking planes with the only weapons at our disposal, pieces of composition roof. They sail very nicely BTW. Later that evening my dad gets a phone call from the LOL who kept her car in that garage.

So my friend and I had to go down immediately and clean up our mess. The roofing, being old and brittle broke into zillions of pieces which had to be swept up of course. Our dad's spent the weekend reroofing her garage. I don't specifically remember the punishment, but I'm guessing I wasn't comfortable sitting for awhile.

In the top shot, the heaviest layers ( about an inch of tar and paper) have already been taken off.

 The green in the foreground is the original canvas based roofing. I left it on for now for documentation, and it looks kind of cool.

So far, I have gotten only compliments, but I don't think I will be playing war games on garage roofs again.

It's 3 am, do you know where your car is?

Ours is still out front, but has had a rowdy visitor shortly after 2am (when the bars close)

Amazingly we slept through this, but neighbors who heard it and saw a fleeing white vehicle woke us up and called the police. No perp so far. GOOD MORNING!

Another" Heads Up" life lesson

Although it seems obvious in hindsight, 20/20 vision and all, it did not occur to me that allergy swollen eyes would be contraindicated regarding Downward Facing Dog in yoga. Now into self diagnosed Conjunctivitis, I look back in wonder.

Just as well, the instructor had indicated that the class would be doing Handstands, so I was already wondering "well what shall I be doing during that period?" Instead an early exit. Now I'm wandering around in a Benedryl induced haze.

Update: After phone consult, MOST likely allergies (vs Conjunctivitis)

Learning from other's mistakes

...and getting a chuckle in the process

Last week, while waiting for the train, the wife of another rail nut urged her husband to tell "the story". So he  related that once upon a time he had been doing some surveying work on a hot day near some rail road tracks. The crew broke for lunch and he sat on a rail.

After some time he heard a very loud "TINK!" and wondered what that might be. Sometime later he heard it again, only this time it was accompanied by incredible pain in his butt.

He was sitting on a rail joint, the heat expanded the rail, "TINK", pushing the rails ends together, BITING HIM IN THE ASS! It took a piece of his pants AND a small chunk of him.

I'll leave the moral to you all. (both of you)

How I spent my afternoon

...watin' on a train, not quite in vain.

Ever had a bad shoe day?

Me neither, but I'm proud to say I'm married to someone who had one today. I give you exhibits "A" & "B". "B" being the first replacement after "A" had a slight malfunction.

"B" are "Practically new"

One more

Back in the day, this song caused me to read about Ann Sexton and some of her poetry.

Why wasn't this in the LAST post?

BTW his voice is as good as ever.

A Concert Review

I hate to say negative (searchable) things, so perhaps if I put the name P.e.t.e.r. G.a.b.r.i.e.l like this he won't get his feelings hurt.

It started off with 2 songs by one of the backup singers. Not awful, reminded me of Alannis Morrisette, with some unusual vocal inflections.

Then a bit of a monologue by PG about how he has been trying to work with other artists, covering each others songs. In the background meanwhile, sits an orchestra. What turns out to be good news, is that he hasn't gotten a lot of cooperation/production from this scheme. (Thus short on material?)

EVERY SINGLE SONG in the first half was slow and depressing. The only song I recall was Paul Simon's "Boy in the Bubble" Can you imagine that slow, with NO beat? If he had kicked into a beat the last verse it would have brought the crowd to it's feet! As it was, I felt staff should have frisked people for sharp objects before they were allowed in.

I guess I have to admire his commitment to his artistic vision, and his bravery....

The second half was mostly his stuff, with an orchestra. Again brave, but...


Oh, I should mention "In Your Eyes" (which he did as his first of 4 encores) F A V O R I T E   S O N G
E V E R !

It's JUNE! How much could it rain?

On our last workday before our annual dinner?

I guess we're going to have to buy some PFD's (personal flotation devices)

Railroad snipe hunt

Amongst train restoration/history enthusiasts, it's ALMOST a joke about "the locomotive sitting in a pond in a quarry" waiting to be rescued.

Even with this knowledge, Thursday morning at 7 am, I set out with a group of people who should know better, for a 4 hour drive north to the site of an old train station next to a river. Here, it was related to us, had sat some old passenger cars on blocks, that were burned in place, and the metal remnants shoved over the bank next to the river. There is a picture of the cars. There is a first person account of seeing the metal over the side. So permission was eventually obtained from the railroad for salvage/access rights. These could be valuable original parts to use in our restoration of several cars.

I ended up sitting in criminally uncomfortable rear seats in a 4X4 pickup truck for a total of about 7 hours, 3 of which were unpaved bumpy roads.

After following directions, maps and Google satellite photos, we arrived to find the tracks themselves covered by 6 foot high Scotch broom plants we had to wade through to get to the bank which was covered with large trees, blackberries and poison oak. And lots of leaves and old railroad ties and metal strapping.

But nothing else.

But the river was beautiful, as was the drive (which I couldn't take pictures of due to my rear seat perch.)

                      This is the road to the river I took so I could look up and see something. (I didn't)

There were a few clearings, a lot of I can't take a picture because all you'd see is branches. 

This shot is somewhere in between. Look carefully and you can even see some rail.

An elevated shot of the river.

Oh, and it was all very wet because it rained a lot on our way there. My feet were soaked all day, and I got home at 8:30 pm.

I should also mention that the timing was partially due to weather timing and partially due to planting timing as this is located in the midst of what is known as the "Emerald Triangle" where the largest cash crop is, as they say, off the books.

VE SAW NOTHING!  NOTHING!

Crime is not paying as well as it might

thanks to Paypal YEA! We just got notified that they are crediting back our full amount we paid towards a vacation rental in NYC.

I'm fixing a hole where the rain gets in,

(again, hopefully this works) and stops my mind from wanderin'

Another half gallon of roof patch on top of the previous quart we tried on the first attempt.

This occurred the day before we left on vacation. The good news is that the paper sucks back in when it dries out, and we have a dehumidifier right below it.  Pain is unavoidable, suffering is optional....

Ever wondered what those Google mapping cars look like?

Spotted one on the freeway last week.

I assume the camera is in the "tuck" position for freeway travel.

NYC Architecture

This first bldg is "just" a multi use office bldg. The artwork is called "Metronome". It borders Union Square, which is so named because it is the union of several streets

No, it's NOT out of focus

Here it is in early evening, it is next to the Highline. As best I can tell this is called the Chelsea Pier bldg. Pls correct if I'm wrong.