I Like Graveyards

Idaho Vs. Fresno State

2009-11-08T08:00:00.000-08:00

Fresno State 31 to Idaho's 21. It was a crappy game as usual during the first half. I watched the second half on ESPN U and they did pretty good considering our QB was out. They had one major turning point in the last little bit of the game and fumbled the ball. That pretty much lost it for them, but they didn't quit. They scored again bringing it to a ten point game, but failed on their attempt at two points. Still, another Hail Mary could have tied it for them, but again, they just couldn't get it done. Idaho (7-3 overall) fell to number 4 in the WAC with Fresno (6-3 overall) at number 3 and Nevada (5-3 overall) and Boise State (9-0 overall) fighting it out for first. I will be very interested to see how Boise handles Nevada. All the same, it is nice to not finish dead freaking last in the WAC for once. Up next is Boise State for the Vandals on the smurf turf.

Wedding Date

2009-11-04T16:15:00.001-08:00

See Caren's blog for information regarding when we are getting married.

http://isntthatthepoint.blogspot.com/

Idaho Vs. Louisiana tech

2009-11-03T08:46:00.000-08:00

For Mom's benefit, if you haven't already looked, Idaho beat LA Tech 35 to 34. From reading about it, it would have been a fun game to watch. It came right down to the last minute of the game and Idaho's first lead of the game also won it for them. I'm sure homecoming was a bit more exciting in Moscow this year than in years past.

Up next is Fresno. Then Boise State. The final game of the season will be against Utah State. The vandals are currently 7-2 overall and 4-1 in conference. It seems that Idaho (4-1), Fresno (4-1), Boise (3-0), and Nevada (4-0) are all competing for the WAC championship at the moment. I'm kind of excited to watch Boise State vs. Nevada on the 27th of November. Should be on ESPN2. Rest assured I'll be rooting for Nevada.

Hmmm.....looks like Boise State got knocked down a little in the BCS standings. ;-)

Bon Voyage

2009-10-26T08:32:00.000-07:00

Sorry this is a bit late Mom, but hope you have a good trip and your flights go well. Tell everyone there hello and enjoy Jack's baptism. I'm looking forward to my trip to SLC this weekend for Caren's nieces baptism, but I do have to admit I'd much rather be going to Tasmania than Utah. Catch a few of those fish for me. I do miss fishing on the ocean there.

Here are the stalker pages so far.

Salt Lake City to Los Angeles

http://www.flightstats.com/go/FlightTracker/flightTracker.do?id=174285089

Los Angeles to Melbourne, Australia

http://www.flightstats.com/go/FlightTracker/flightTracker.do?id=174308567

The map thing won't work for the last flight because it doesn't originate in the US or Europe, but the information about departure and arrival should be good.

Melbourne, Australia to Hobart, Tasmania, Australia

http://www.flightstats.com/go/FlightStatus/flightStatusByFlight.do?airline=QF&flightNumber=5707&departureDate=2009-10-27

Ouch!

2009-10-25T07:35:00.000-07:00

Nevada 70, Idaho 45. That was a great game, but in the end it came down to stopping one player and Idaho couldn't do it. Nevada's offensive line was able to occupy Idaho's entire defense. The quarter back didn't even have to throw or hand off the ball. He just ran it the entire length of the field because there was nobody available to block him. Excellent strategy that Idaho just couldn't adapt to so he literally ran it the entire length of the field several times and in at least one case on the first play of their possession. Other than that, Idaho did great. There were some amazing plays going on and it would have been a fun one to attend in person even though we lost. Idaho held them up until the fourth quarter when they failed to answer for two of Nevada's touchdowns. It just went downhill from there, but they did manage to get one more before the game was over.

There are four games left in the regular season. I think we have a good chance in the next one, Louisiana Tech, and the last one Utah State. I think that Fresno and Boise will give us a run for our money, but in the end Idaho will come out on top. ;-)

More on Football

2009-10-19T09:31:00.001-07:00

I thought this was funny enough for a post. I was driving to work this morning and listening to a Spokane station on the radio. They were doing sports news and got around to college football news for the area. They were talking about how the BCS bowl standings came out yesterday. Boise State is number 4 on the list at the present time with Florida at 1st, Alabama at 2nd, and Texas at 3rd. They then walked through Boise State's lineup of games for the rest of the season and when they finished, they said, "The only thing standing in Boise State's way at this point are the Idaho Vandals." That made me very happy. How long has it been since the only thing in Boise's way was Idaho? If I were a Boise State fan, then I'd be nervous that a team from Moscow, Idaho went from dead last to being the only thing in their way in one season. GO VANDALS!!!

And again!

2009-10-17T18:14:00.000-07:00

Idaho 35. Hawaii 23. The Vandals are now 6-1 overall and 3-0 in the WAC. Need I say more? Well, I'm going to anyway. We are now officially bowl eligible. I don't remember the last time that happened, so clearly it wasn't while I've been a Vandal. The Nevada Wolf Pack is next, then Louisiana Tech, then Fresno, then Boise, and finally to finish off our WAC Championship this year will be Utah State. GO VANDALS!!!!

Ghost Hunter

2009-10-17T03:55:00.000-07:00

I recently went on a business trip to Moscow which included a stop in at special collections for my own personal benefit. I love that library and it was good to be back "home." I went there to relocate a book I found a year ago with a list of who is buried where in the Yearian Cemetery near Leadore, Idaho. I eventually found the book and read the introduction which I thought very fitting for this blog.

The book is called, This Quiet Ground and was written by a Lemhi County Historian named Julia I. Randolph. Published in 1989 by Maverick Publications.

Here is the part that I thought was fitting given the nature of the beast and the name of this blog. I'll leave you to be the judge of the current situation.

"One does not become a 'ghost hunter' overnight. It requires a great deal of squinting at old newspapers and peeking into other people's diaries and haunting old cemeteries. In Lemhi County it required good hiking boots and a husband with a fine sense of humor and nose for old bones.

Also, one does not become a 'ghost hunter' by design. The phenomenon comes about purely by accident and the first stages are barely noticeable--minor annoyance at scraggly-looking cemeteries, irritation when public records fail to reveal what became of one's great-great-great-uncle. Second stages are more recognizable. They are exhibited by a tendency to vacation at boot hill, to do one's browsing in the microfilm section of the library, and to grill one's neighbors about seemingly innocent nature walks. In the last stages, caution is thrown to the wind. There is a compulsion to seek out and question the oldest living people in the community. Casual Memorial Day visits turn into week-long forced marches between the mounds of other people's ancestors, recording and mapping names that become more familiar than one's immediate family members. Hundred year old vernacular comes easily to the tounge, paved highways recede into time-stained wagon ruts, and, yes--one's skin does seem to take on a translucent quality.

Of course, not just anyone can become a 'ghost hunter.' This particular occupation, or preoccupation, depending on one's personal views, gives new meaning to the virtue of patience, requiring checking out all types of leads and stories, and then cross-checking, and re-checking, and looking again with someone else's eyes for a fresh slant. Luckily for me, I have a whole raft of friends and family who were happy to give up their weekends beating over sagebrush mountain slopes and sorting through stacks of scribbled notes. I figure by this time next year they'll even be talking to me again. But personalities aside, most of the difficulties involving research derive from written inaccuracies that result in misinformation or contradictory information...And while this kind of misinformation is merely annoying to a researcher, to a reporter or author who is required to present only the facts, it can be something of a nightmare.

A 'ghost hunter' needs wagon loads of misguided compassion. How else can one mourn the death of a stranger's child who died at birth over a hundred years ago while one's spouse of 40 years burns himself trying to cook dinner for himself and son. How else can one spend family savings and vacation time poking around for old grave sites in the middle of nowhere while the rest of the family huddles dolefully in the truck munching on dry biscuits? There is no explanation for this strange behavior, and all I can offer in my defense is that, after actually seeing the headstones of the Grubb children at May, and reading in the paper of their untimely deaths, they were no longer strangers to me, but beautiful babies that I only missed knowing by a mere happenstance of time. I felt the fierce pride of Dan Hurley on Beaver Creek, an old blind rancher with no relatives, who bartered away his life's work to neighbors in return for a dignified death and burial on a windswept sagebrush ridge."

First HF Contact, SSTV, and Caren's first VHF Contact

2009-10-11T16:01:00.000-07:00

I setup a vertical ground plane antenna in the back yard comprised of five 16.5 foot 16 gauge stranded wires. I pulled wire out of a cheap 10 dollar 100 foot extension cord from Home Depot in Spokane.

Four of the wires run out horizontally from the base along the ground at 90 degree angles from each other. The fifth wire runs straight up vertically from the base.

The vertical wire is the radiator and the four others are the ground plane.

These wires were cut to a length that is 1/4 wavelength on a frequency in the middle of the 20 meter band. The idea being that the best radiation transmission and reception would be in the middle of the band and semi-good throughout the rest of the 20 meter band.

The results were excellent.

The nature of HF is such that transmission occurs by skipping the RF energy off the ionosphere. Thus, local communication is best done on VHF and UHF while long distance communication is best done on HF. That isn't entirely true, but for the most part it is.

I was able to communicate really well with stations in the neighborhood of 1,000 to 1,500 miles from me such as the midwestern US and the Southwestern US. I was able to hear stations in all parts of the United States though. Just as anticipated, the station in Eastern Washington was the most difficult to hear even though it was the closest.

I need to build a directional antenna next and figure out what bands are best for worldwide communication. Kerry's friend in Tasmania is my next great goal for that. I can already talk on the VHF/UHF repeaters in her area through what is called echolink which is just a system for linking VHF/UHF repeaters throughout the world via the internet, but that is not near as cool as long distance simplex.

I also tuned up the radio to the SSTV frequency on the 20 meter band and was able to receive pictures from New York, and California. I don't have my computer wired into my radio yet though, so I had to stop after awhile. Holding a speaker from the radio to the microphone on the computer just wasn't cutting it. Imagine the sound of a fax on the phone line. That is basically what it is. Now imagine that for long periods of time. Music to my ears, but not so much to other ears in the house. ;-)

Caren got on the radio last weekend to talk on the Spokane Regional Storehouse Net which is the LDS church's emergency communications net. Her first Radio contact was with Net Control for the Hayden Stake Net prior to the regional net. She is pretty amazing and very patient with my nerdly activities.

Fun times.

Hot Damn!!!

2009-10-10T20:12:00.000-07:00

The Vandals did it again. The most wins in a single season in 9 years. The first time they have won in San Jose since 1998. What a game! Neck and Neck the whole way through and San Jose sealed the deal by throwing an interception with less than a minute left in the game. Idaho is second to only Boise in the WAC at this point both conference and overall and even then Boise only has one win on them overall. Watch out BSU. We are coming for you. ;-)

What a game!!

Here is some music for your listening pleasure:

http://www.tomandrodna.com/Vandals.mp3

Other Blogs Listing

2009-10-07T12:22:00.001-07:00

Am I the only one who has noticed that in my other blogs listing to the right that Heidi's blog seems to regularly display various adds for ED and STD cures? It would seem that something is wrong with the widget.

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?

2009-10-05T20:34:00.000-07:00

I admit that I was shocked listening to Idaho play New Mexico and hearing the final score. However, I actually expected that to be the one game they actually won this season. Much to my surprise, they are 4-1 overall and 1-0 in the WAC so far. They have won more games in the first month of the season than they did in the last two seasons combined. It will be interesting to watch the season progress I think. I might actually get tickets to a game down in Moscow if they keep this up.

Boise is 5-0 overall and 1-0 in the WAC.

Unbelieveable

2009-09-18T09:22:00.003-07:00

This is so stupid I don't know where to begin. How many degrees in rocket science does it take to realise that letting a convicted mentally insane murderer (who confessed himself) go the fair is not a good idea? And to top it off, he has escaped before. Oh, and it gets better...he was allowed to go there in plain clothes. I didn't think it possible for someone to be this stupid, but the people at that mental institution belong there as patients, not doctors.

http://www.khq.com/Global/story.asp?S=11151502

Nerd Flu Epidemic

2009-09-15T11:32:00.000-07:00

Apparently nerdliness is infectious. A few weeks back Caren saw an advertisement in the sacrament meeting program for a free class in Spokane covering the information you need to get your Amateur Radio Tech license which is the first of three levels. It is taught by the LDS Regional Emergency Communications Specialist for this region. I'm not sure if she was sick that day or what, but she decided that we should take the class.

I decided that this would be a good oportunity to upgrade my license from Tech to General and then to Amateur Extra.

Only two weeks into the class, I was ready to take the General test, so I decided that I would take the test early over in Hayden. Caren decided that was a good idea for her too and so last night we went over to the Kootenai County Search and Rescue building and Volunteer Examiners from the Kootenai Amatuer Radio Society Club administered the test.

Caren passed with a 97% and I passed with a 100%. We also took the next test up (General for Caren and Extra for me) because they offered and it certainly can't hurt anything to try. Without studying for those tests at all (not even looking at the book) Caren got a 50% on the General and I got only slightly higher than that on the Extra. I'm very proud of Caren for how well she did, but not at all suprised. She always does very well at what she sets her mind to doing.

After the test we stuck around to listen to a presentation from the deputy director of at least two of AmSat's projects about his experiences launching the AO-40 Amateur Radio Satelite. It was really pretty interesting.

The plan at this point is to keep going to the class for review and reinforcement and have both of us at the Extra Class level within a month or two.

In exchange, I will be doing CPR and other medical related training with Caren and both of us are going to see about joining up with Kootenai County Search and Rescue as well as the Kootenai Amateur Radio Society Club.

It is a lot of fun and seems to fit the obession with learning stuff that we both have.

Congratulatios to Caren and welcome to the nerd ranks.

A Day In Scotland

2009-09-12T19:50:00.000-07:00

Aunt Yvette asked me to post this on the blog.

Dear Family,

On September 26, 2009 the Scottish American Society presents a Day In Scotland. There will be Highland Games, lots of food, music, dance and lots of entertainment. If you like the music of Scotland I can assure you that there will be lots of it. I will be present at the location from 11:00 am until about 6:00 pm and would love to have you join me for all the festivity of the day. Those of whom have attended in the past will tell you that it is sure a fun day and time well spent. Bring a chair (foldable lawn chair) and if it is a hot day I always bring an umbrella and sun blocker!! There is shade but the seating is up to you. I would love to have you there as there is lots to learn about our heritage!! I will see if I can get Joe to put it onto his blog page and we can view the information from there.

Love - Yvette

Scottish American Society of Idaho Scottish American Society of the Treasure Valley

HomeEvents and CalendarLinksAbout UsPartnersContact Us

2009 Treasure Valley Celtic Festival and Highland Games

Saturday, September 26th, 2009

Keep checking back here for more information regarding the upcoming festival.

Click below for Entry Forms:

• Piping Competition

• Athletics Competition

• Clan Booth Registration

Hotel Accommodations:

Cambria Suites Boise

2970 West Elder St. Boise, Idaho 83705

located off Vista near Freeway Exit

(208) 344-7444

Quoted room rate is $69.00 + tax

Rooms are under

Scottish American Society rates.

What to Expect this Year:

Piping Competition

Atheletic Competition

Field Events

Bonnie Knees Competition

Dog Show

Clan Tents

Tea Tent

Vendors

Musical and Entertainment Guests:

- Swagger (visit their website at swaggertheband.com)

- Ocean's Apart

- Christa Walker, Fiddler

- Boise Highlanders (visit their website at boisehighlanders.com)

- City of Trees Pipe Band

- Celtic Sisters Folk Bank

- Thistle and Ghillies Scottish Dancers (visit their website at thistleandghillies.org)

- and much more!!

Keep checking back for more updates!

Costs

Festival Ceildh (Friday. September 25th) TV Celtic Festival and Highland Games

Where: Plantation Golf Course

When: 7 pm

Cost: $8 per person in advance to be purchased at Wee Bit O'Scotland or $10 at the door.

Tickets are limited and will sell out quickly.

Where: Expo Idaho (formerly known as Western Idaho Fairgrounds)

When: 9 am - 5 pm

Cost: $10 for adults, Kids ages 5-15 are $5, Kids under 5 are FREE, Seniors (60 and Up) are $5.

Tickets are available at the door or before hand at Wee Bit O'Scotland.

Click here to check out pictures from past years events!

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Want to know more about SAS? Download our Newsletters!

Webmaster: Melody Paris, Scarlet Toad Designs • Site sponsored by Wee Bit O'Scotland

Remembering

2009-09-11T08:10:00.000-07:00

I was thinking this morning about where I was and what was going through my mind 8 years ago today at about this time in the morning. I remember being dumbfounded. I couldn't believe what I was watching on the TV as I got ready for work. When I got on the bus to go to work, nobody on there had heard yet and nobody seemed to believe me when I told them about it. When I got to work that day we did nothing but watch the TV all day long.

I remember all of us at work had a sick feeling inside wondering what was next. My politics are no secret. I supported the decision to go to war then and I still support it.

Thank you to all past and present who have served to make this nation what it is. I can think of at least 20 direct ancestors who served in the military. Some of them were killed in the process. Of the surviving information passed down (speaking specifically of that written first hand), not one of those ancestors ever regretted doing what they did.

My thanks to Dad also for time served in the military.

Toes In The Water and Ass In The Sand

2009-09-09T14:50:00.000-07:00

After a four day weekend, I think this song accurately describes how I feel.

Football

2009-09-05T20:10:00.000-07:00

Looks like it was a good week for Idaho for the most part. The jury is still out on the Idaho State vs. Arizona game with the outlook not so good. However, #14 Boise won out over #16 Oregon and Idaho beat New Mexico State at the first conference game for the WAC. Unfortunately, Idaho is up against University of Washington, San Diego State, Northern Illinois, and Colorado State for their next four games. Not looking to good.

Football Season

2009-09-03T09:12:00.000-07:00

Well, today marks the beginning of another season of football for the Boise State ponies. They play Oregon tonight in Boise and I think it will be on ESPN. Good luck...you will need all the practice you can get in preparation for November 14th.

Idaho is starting their season off with a conference game this Saturday in New Mexico against New Mexico State.

Here is a little music to get you in the mood.

http://www.tomandrodna.com/Vandals.mp3

If I'd Only Learned How to Cook and Jose Cuervo

2009-09-03T08:10:00.000-07:00

This is my answer to Heidi's post about Dinosaurs Divorce. I have a few favorites that I like to listen to and go to for my life's advice, but yesterday I heard someone on the radio that tops all of them but the Cash Master General.

I think this song adequately portrays how it really happens.

I also thought it was funny that this song came on the radio immediately after that one:

Here is another one by Jerry Reed that reflects my opinion pretty well:

Europe Pictures

2009-09-01T11:34:00.001-07:00

Hi all,

I'm finally finished geotagging all of the photos from our trip to Europe. This is also being sent to the blog, so you should be able to find it on there as well at the following address:

http://www.ilikegraveyards.blogspot.com/

I had to split all of the pictures up because Picasa will only let me have 500 pictures per album. Paris was further split because on my camera alone there were nearly 500 pictures from Paris. I split Paris up into those from my camera and those from Yvette's camera.

For those that don't know already, there are a lot of problems with geotagging photos if one doesn't want to do them one at a time. Most of these are exactly where they should be, but some are off a little. Others have been assigned arbitrary coordinates. For some strange reason (probably we got in during the A.M. hours after a full day of train rides and flights through four countries and I didn't care if I lived or died much less if my batteries were charged) I didn't have the gps running while in Venice. However, I have arbitrarily assigned coordinates from St. Mark's square to those pictures. This means that all pictures from Venice will show up at St. Mark's Square regardless of whether or not they were taken there. Also, the GPS had a hard time getting a signal in some of the trains. This was especially true on the way from Milan, Italy to Zurich, Switzerland. All pictures of that section of the trip have been arbitrarily assigned to Lugano, Switzerland.

Inside of each album to the lower right hand side is a little map that shows the location of the pictures. If you select a picture, then it will show that picture in larger format and the map will show the location of only that picture. If you click "view map" or "view album map" depending on where you are in the album, then it should bring up a larger map with the locations of all of the pictures and a list of the pictures in smaller thumbnail format.

For those interested in viewing the track along with the pictures, there are instructions following the links to the albums. If you just wish to view the track by itself, then open this link:

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&z=5&msid=110621227674241327820.00047187e7ec21ebef1f9

Here are the links for the albums:

Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Italy:

http://picasaweb.google.com/yvettecarenjoeeurope/Europe2009BelgiumNetherlandsGermanyItaly?authkey=Gv1sRgCIq92Zizos2X5AE#

Switzerland:

http://picasaweb.google.com/yvettecarenjoeeurope/Europe2009Switzerland?authkey=Gv1sRgCMyBhOrK47vtgwE#

Spain:

http://picasaweb.google.com/yvettecarenjoeeurope/Europe2009Spain?authkey=Gv1sRgCIzS2b21jvuj6gE#

Greece:

http://picasaweb.google.com/yvettecarenjoeeurope/Europe2009Greece?authkey=Gv1sRgCPqx7P-UrcSqtQE#

France - Joe's Camera:

http://picasaweb.google.com/yvettecarenjoeeurope/Europe2009FranceJoeSCamera?authkey=Gv1sRgCOa_tevPs4uYwgE#

France - Yvette's Camera:

http://picasaweb.google.com/yvettecarenjoeeurope/Europe2009FranceYvetteSCamera?authkey=Gv1sRgCO2snISvv7OpygE#

Instructions for viewing the track with the photos:

Step 1)

Open this link:

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&z=5&msid=110621227674241327820.00047187e7ec21ebef1f9

Step 2)

Copy the link below corresponding to the album you are interested in and paste it into the Google Maps search box. (Note: Don't open the link. Just copy and paste it into the Google Maps search box.)

Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Italy:

http://picasaweb.google.com/data/feed/base/user/yvettecarenjoeeurope/albumid/5376225542747000865?alt=kml&kind=photo&authkey=Gv1sRgCIq92Zizos2X5AE&hl=en_US

Switzerland:

http://picasaweb.google.com/data/feed/base/user/yvettecarenjoeeurope/albumid/5375019021476458913?alt=kml&kind=photo&authkey=Gv1sRgCMyBhOrK47vtgwE&hl=en_US

Spain:

http://picasaweb.google.com/data/feed/base/user/yvettecarenjoeeurope/albumid/5376261025654690977?alt=kml&kind=photo&authkey=Gv1sRgCIzS2b21jvuj6gE&hl=en_US

Greece:

http://picasaweb.google.com/data/feed/base/user/yvettecarenjoeeurope/albumid/5376517297210570353?alt=kml&kind=photo&authkey=Gv1sRgCPqx7P-UrcSqtQE&hl=en_US

France - Joe's Camera:

http://picasaweb.google.com/data/feed/base/user/yvettecarenjoeeurope/albumid/5376548170413793393?alt=kml&kind=photo&authkey=Gv1sRgCOa_tevPs4uYwgE&hl=en_US

France - Yvette's Camera:

http://picasaweb.google.com/data/feed/base/user/yvettecarenjoeeurope/albumid/5376553098868570769?alt=kml&kind=photo&authkey=Gv1sRgCO2snISvv7OpygE&hl=en_US

Step 3)

Click "Search Maps".

Step 4)

At the bottom on the left hand side should be a little box with a plus sign and the words "Europe 2009" to the right of it. Click on the plus sign.

Step 5)

There should be two check boxes there. Make sure both are checked.

Give it a minute, and it should load all of the pictures that are there so far and the track.

Note: If you didn't close out everything and start over between albums, then there may be more than two check boxes there. Near as I can tell, it won't display pictures from all albums if you check all of them, but rather only the most recent.

Step 6)

If it doesn't work, swear, close it all out, and try again.

Step 7)

If it still doesn't work, then throw your hands in the air and call me or e-mail me.

--Joseph C. Mitchell--
--KE7HLP--
Sent from Spokane, Washington, United States

The Hunt Just Got Better

2009-08-26T17:24:00.001-07:00

See my previous post first. I just figured out a way to track the trains in this area using either an internet connection, or a scanner that will pick up in the 800-900 Mhz range connected to a computer. On top of that, it shows up in a program very similar to that used by dispatch. OTG!!^2

More to come after I have a chance to play.

Hunting The Big Iron

2009-08-26T13:05:00.000-07:00

I am a nerd of the 1st order. A 33rd degree master nerd if you will. I have no qualms admitting that as I'm sure you well know. In fact, I just finished taking a nerd test and my result is, "Slightly Dorky Nerd God." Here are the specifics of the test:

That being said, I finally found a movie for me. I discovered yesterday that I'm a train fanatic. I heard the BNSF Mile Post 60.1 Detector go off on the way home from work yesterday about five miles west of there and immediately my blood started pumping and I hit the gas to catch up. The day before I caught one at Praire Ave. and Hwy 53, crossed the tracks, turned around to watch it go by, and then chased it to the next intersection at Hayden Ave. and Hwy 53. It's an addiction and a genuinely fun hobby and I really don't know why except perhaps the results of the quiz above.

I was perusing around the Internet and found this website:

http://www.railfanschasingtrains.com/

Play the trailer to the left hand side of the page.

I especially like the audience quotes section and especially this one. This one is for you Caren:

“It answered a question I’ve carried for 35 years. Why train chasing? Why couldn’t he (my husband) have taken up stamp collecting? Now I know why – because that hobby could never ever been as much fun as chasing trains with his friends.”

OTG!

Pioneer Route

2009-08-23T17:23:00.000-07:00

Supposedly the preliminary report for the feasibility study on resurrecting Amtrak's pioneer route is due out any day now. Mike Crapo is supposed to put a copy of the study on his website when it comes out. I will post a link on here when I see it. I'm a very strong proponent of restoring this route. This would allow for more direct connections to Southern Idaho from Northern Idaho via rail whereas my last trip entailed going from Spokane to Portland, Portland to Sacramento, and Sacramento to Salt Lake City.

Here are a few short YouTube videos I found about the pioneer route.

Enjoy.

Pioneer I

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axokH-AZvF0

Pioneer II - Oregon

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0zcAvLpmRk

Pioneer III - Idaho

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzcteGmnr7o

Pioneer IV - Utah

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivjuQr1HDQI

Train Chasing on Crack

2009-08-14T04:37:00.000-07:00

I recently found a Google Earth kmz file that contains all of the tracks and stops for the entire Burlington Northern Santa Fe system. This amounts to tens of thousands of stops and tens of thousands of track segments. This is a little more than I can chew at one time with any technology that I have outside of Google Earth without loosing patience. So, I needed to cut back and only use the section I'm concerned with in the BNSF Funnel area. From my days of doing GIS, I know that to do this by hand is torture and the best way is to do it graphically. I converted the file from KMZ to KML with Google Earth selecting only the portions of the file that I wanted, namely the stops with their names (including tracks is not realistic at this point because I can't use them in the end and they consist of series of tens of thousands of points even in just the BNSF Funnel area), and then from KML to GPX using GPSBabel. I then opened the GPX file with GPX Editor and used a framing tool to select only the portion that I wanted and deleted the rest. This cut it down to about 150 points. I then converted the file back to KML and imported it into Google Maps this time. The other day I drove along the tracks and stopped at nearly every intersection to record the position and mile post number that BNSF conveniently paints on the outside of those big boxes that they have at every intersection. I manually entered these points into the same Google Map (looking back, the easier way would have been to just export them from my Nuvi 270). So now I have a google map with both my control points and all of the points designating the location of stops along the BNSF Funnel. I then manually edited all of the stops from the original file to include the mile post number from the BNSF system map that I pointed out in my previous post. Here is the result:

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=110621227674241327820.0004710c31c189da35e05&z=7

Now for the fun part. The Garmin Nuvi series of GPS units allows one to import custom POI's or points of interest. I downloaded the KML file for my new map and converted it back into GPX with the new names and all. I then used Gamin's POI loader to load all of the points onto an SD Card (I have a bunch of 256 MB cards that bought cheap at walmart a long time ago that work great.) So, now I have full access to all 150 plus my own control points along the BNSF system, can navigate to them, or simply see where I am at in relation to their system as I listen to them announcing their locations over the radio. This makes train chasing much more efficient.

There are lots of possibilities with this new found knowledge. One can use the Nuvi system to create a self guided tour using the same ideas only plus mp3 audio files. Think about it....a self guided graveyard tour! Oh the glory!

One can also set the Nuvi to give out alerts when you come within a set distance of any of the custom POI's.

My nerdly senses are tingling, but it is 5 am and I need to go back to bed.