Sometimes a Bike is too Quick

 Recently, I had cause to stroll around Aberdeen, Washington. Normally, I ride my bike or in a car when I visit Aberdeen. Walking, however, showed me many items I would miss when on my bike.

Old and Tired Aberdeen

Seen while walking in an Aberdeen Alley

Gray's Harbor County, and Aberdeen, are some of the poorer areas of Washington State. Aberdeen bills itself as "the Lumber Capital of the World," but that really means its heyday was a century ago. Less well known is that Aberdeen was also home, back in the day, to perhaps the worst serial killer in US history, Billy Gohl. Between about 1902 and 1910, Billy may have killed over 100 people. His memory is immortalized in Aberdeen only through a bar/grill named "Billy's." His name does not appear on the walk of fame, described below.

Aberdeen Walk of Fame

Doug Osheroff, Nobel Laureate born in Aberdeen

The first star presented for your consideration is that of Doug Osheroff, a Nobel Physics winner that was born and raised in Aberdeen. As with Kurt Cobain, he achieved his fame elsewhere.

John Madden played football for a year at the local community college

I was surprised to see John Madden (of NFL fame) on the Aberdeen walk. John wasn't born or commonly associated with Aberdeen. However, as one discovers from Wikipedia, he played football for Aberdeen's Gray's Harbor College in 1956

There were many other stars on the Aberdeen sidewalks, some names more familiar and some less.

Aberdeen even has a Major League Baseball Player

For any loyal reader not familiar with Vean Gregg, he is a member of the Pacific Coast League Hall of Fame. The PCL is a minor-league, but Gregg also played well in the Major Leagues. According to Wikipedia, "Gregg's major league career record is 92–63 with a lifetime 2.70 ERA in 1,393 innings pitched and 720 strikeouts. He was the only pitcher in the 20th century to win 20 games or more in his first three seasons." While Gregg was born in Chehalis, he lived in Aberdeen after he retired from baseball.

I'd have seen none of these items on my bike or from the seat of a car.

Sportsmanship in a Pandemic

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Fires are still burning out west, though rain in Washington has dampened things somewhat. Mostly, it's muggier than usual, however and we'll need more rain to put the flames out entirely and clear the air.

In OTHER news, Coronavirus continues. Looking through the archives, I'm reminded that the Coronavirus is, in many ways, simply a rerun of the Spanish Flu pandemic. In a past post, here, I recounted how the Seattle Metropolitans were the first American team to win the Stanley Cup away from the Canadians. In that post, I mentioned that Seattle was going to play Montreal again in 1919, but the Spanish Flu caused the contest to be cancelled. Today, my loyal reader will hear more about that later story. It seems particularly relevant in these days of Coronavirus and the attempts that professional sports teams are making to cope with it. I encourage reading of the newspaper clipping at left, from the April 2, 1919 edition of the Vancouver BC newspaper, "The Province."

As you can see, the series was tied and Montreal gamely wanted to continue against the favored Seattle Metropolitans, but the Montreal team was simply too crippled by the pandemic to continue. Rather than accept the Stanley Cup by default or by beating a Montreal team with players added at the last moment, Seattle supported the result that the series was declared a tie. Somehow, that level of sportsmanship by both teams seems to be in short supply nowadays.

Lest we get too focused on current events, we should remember that the previous epidemic lasted for two years and claimed over 500,000 lives in America alone. History suggests we may be dealing with the Coronavirus for quite some time to come.

Admitting Rebel Shame - and Saluting Southern Pride

Dallas has at Least Covered up its Rebel Shame - November, 2019

It has now been over two years since I posted about the shameful rewrite of history that the City of Dallas maintains on its property while patting itself on the back for possible removal of a Robert E Lee statue in Lee Park.

Well, since then, they removed the Lee statue from Lee Park. At auction, it fetched more than the high estimate for the winning bid. I note, that now, the "formerly Lee and Oak Lawn before and after that" Park will henceforth be known as "Turtle Creek Park." This happened earlier this year. A story on the renaming is here. Since it appears that no Council action is required, this name change might stick. The Lee statue itself seems to have wound up on a golf course near the Mexican Border. That story is here. At least it no longer resides on public land.

Enough about Lee/Turtle Creek Park. In the meantime, the monument in my "Rebel Shame" post is still in the Dallas Pioneer Cemetery, within sight of Dallas City Hall. Even in Dallas, however, there are signs that Rebel Shame might be starting to be recognized. I was in Dallas earlier today and the statue has been redecorated by Dallas. There're no signs about what might happen in the future, but at least the "brazen lips of Southern cannon thundered an unanswered.." nonsense is not there for descendants of Rebel victims (such as the Gainesville Great Hanging) to read with no mention that things were not quite so romantic as all that for THEIR ancestors.

The picture at the top of the page shows the Rebel Memorial as it is now. To their credit, the Dallas City Council voted to have it pulled down, but not everyone agreed, the story of "what happened next" may be found here, and it is still going on, though the only site I could find within the last month wanted me to take a survey about whether or not Adam Schiff should be charged with treason. You'll have to find that one on your own, but basically, it recounts how lawsuits are continuing over the memorial.

OTOH, we should offer a salute for Southerners that did not betray their country. Among these was Sam Houston, and Lilburn Colley, for whom Colleyville was named. In the 2017 post, I recited Houston's feelings about the United States. Old Doctor Colley remains in North Texas. His grave is in the next town over from the one named after him. If you go to "Findagrave," here, you can see he was born in Missouri, though there's no mention there that he fought for the preservation of the Union.

Headstone of Old Doctor Colley, from Findagrave

In closing, I will add another quote from Sam Houston (one his last while Governor of Texas, immediately after secession), one that none of the Rebel Memorials include:

Fellow citizens, in the name of your rights and liberties, which I believe have been trampled upon, I refuse to take this oath. In the name of the nationality of Texas, which has been betrayed by the Convention, I refuse to take this oath. In the name of the Constitution of Texas, I refuse to take this oath. In the name of my own conscience and manhood, which this Convention would degrade by dragging me before it, to pander to the malice of my enemies, I refuse to take this oath. I deny the power of this Convention to speak for Texas....I protest....against all the acts and doings of this convention and I declare them null and void.

Southern Pride, indeed. Two veterans who helped make the United States united again. I salute their service.

Bicycle Connections

Google Maps Satellite View of Where Patrick Francis O'Rourke was Killed on his Bicycle in 2001

As my loyal reader knows, Beto O'Rourke ("e" as in prounounced in the word "President," not "e"as pronounced in the Canadian word "eh') is from Texas and has announced a run for President. This post, however, is not about Beto. This post is about Beto's dad. 

Most people do not know that Beto's father, Patrick Francis O'Rourke, was an avid cyclist - AND a politician. Pat sent a "payment due" bill to Ronald Reagan's US Government in 1986 for reimbursement to El Paso, and was Jesse Jackson's 1988 Texas Campaign Chair. In his day, in his mostly Latino area, Pat was known as the "Tip O'Neill" of El Paso politics. Like our current President (and Ronald Reagan before him), Pat was a lifelong Democrat that became a Republican - in Pat's case, finding what he considered a better way occurred sometime before 1992. But I digress.

In 2000, Pat O'Rourke made a cross-country trip on his recumbent bicycle from Oregon to New York. Pat blogged about it on the Stanton Street Blog,  which Amy O'Rourke, (Beto's wife) sold in 2017. I was unable to find Pat's original bike posts, and a search on it for "bicycle" revealed nothing. Perhaps my loyal reader can find something. I will update this post if I make a later discovery. My loyal reader might also contact Stanton Street to see if they want to 'fess up and repost.

Unfortunately, Pat's cross-country bike trip is not the end of the story. After Pat got back to El Paso, he continued to ride until one day in early July 2001. On that day; a day like many others, Patrick Francis O'Rourke was riding his bicycle near Artcraft Road and Westside Drive. The intersection is about a block from the New Mexico border on the western outskirts of El Paso. Somewhere nearby, Pat was struck from behind by a motorist and killed. I don't know the crash details (newspapers called it an "accident" - some misnomers just continue on and on), and I will update this post if I find more details later.

The crash in which Pat O'Rourke was killed illustrates something that is not well understood within the cycling advocacy community, but SHOULD be. In my blog, I constantly issue the refrain that "the danger is from ahead" and my refrain is true - in urban areas that have intersections, driveways and other hazards, and even more so in these places when the cyclist is controlling his or her lane in accordance with good practice. However, My refrain is NOT nearly so true on high-speed rural roads, such as that where Pat O'Rourke was killed. Statistically, "from behind" collisions are rare, but they have a very high fatality rate because of the sheer energy with which the cyclist is impacted when hit by a heavy, high speed motor vehicle, or even a protrusion from a motor vehicle such as a side mirror.

Hit-from-behind collisions are more common than in the past because more cyclists take long, country rides - they don't like urban traffic. Shoulder riding on a highway reduces the likelihood of a collision because it can be avoided by the simple expedient of the motorist staying within his or her traffic lane, but all the reflective material on the back of police cars and fire trucks, and all the mirrors cyclists and motorists swear by, do not obviate the fact that any highway shoulder is a dangerous place, even if one arrived there in a heavy motor vehicle. Lots of cycling advocates and traffic engineers have  gotten enamored with the notion of "protected" cycling lanes to reduce "hit from behind" fatalities, but cones, lane dots, rumble strips, any of their variants, or low curbs won't protect a cyclist on a rural highway that is in the wrong spot at the wrong time. Protecting non motorized road users on high speed country roads is something that we, as a society, have not really even BEGUN to come to grips with. Even John Forester relates fearful journeys he made on such roads when traffic got heavy.

Beto doesn't speak about his father much in public, though his father was also a politician. Beto shares the middle name of "Francis" with his father, grandfather, and great grandfather, and his childhood nickname avoided confusion within the family. After Beto's rebellious youth, in which he acted more like George W Bush than any other recent President, he came back home to El Paso and delivered the eulogy at Pat's funeral. Two links to stories involving Pat may be found here and here. Patrick's grave memorial including his obituary may be found here.

From now on, when I hear people try to denigrate Beto by calling him "Robert" or even more, by calling him "Francis," I will inwardly smile at how they are ignorantly honoring his immigrant family, or his cyclist father. From a Facebook image at left, taken from one of the links above, you can see Pat and Beto.

Patrick O'Rourke's life is memorialized here. At that site, you can also trace his ancestry back at least into Ireland. Cycling may be fun and safe - but we should remember that there are unexpected occasions when it is NOT. Be especially careful on high-speed, narrow, country roads where at least SOME motorists do not expect a cyclist or anything else to "suddenly" appear in front of them...

Latter Day Sloane

Eugene Sloan's "25th Anniversary" Bicycling Book Came out Just Under 25 Years Ago

One large influence on my cycling life was Eugene A. Sloane. It's now been over a decade since he passed away. His book first came out 50 years ago. I was reminded, yesterday, of how things have changed for things bicycling. I've touched on Sloane at times, such as here, here, and here, but never at any length.

You see, I ran across the 25th anniversary edition of his book. I must say that, not only is it a dramatic change from his initial edition, but nowadays, things would merit a "50th anniversary" edition with even more changes. While I don't often do book reviews, I'm tempted to do a comparative one. For those needing a memory jog of what the original book looked like, look below. For those who would castigate me for spending good money on what is, arguably, an obsolete book, well, since the 25th Anniversary Edition was in paperback, the library only wanted 50 cents for it. Well worth it even if I'd had to pay twice the price had it been in hardback...

This Book Came out a LONG Time Ago!

New York Politicians Have a Long History of Questionable Actions

National Archives and Records Administration [Public domain]

Donald Trump is not the first New York Republican that might have not thought things through clearly. I just happened to run across the photo, above when checking into the World War record of one of my Great Uncles. It shows the funeral of Former NYC Mayor John Mitchel in 1918. As it turned out, after being the second youngest NYC Mayor ever and failing in a re-election bid, he decided to become an Army Aviator. He was killed when he fell 500 feet out of the cockpit of an airplane into an undrained swamp. Nope, there was not any seat belt being worn. I don't believe anybody was able to query him about what he'd been thinking.

Alternatively perhaps this illustrates why one ought to wear a seat belt when operating a motor vehicle. Apparently, there was a seat belt in the plane, but Mitchel didn't fasten it. You can read about him on Wikipedia, here.

In case anybody keeps tabs on such things, when Mitchel was a Republican, they were the progressives and the Democrats were mostly Tammany Hall operatives or Confederate sympathizers. Mitchel was endorsed by Theodore Roosevelt. Ironically, it was another Roosevelt, Franklin, that broke the power of Tammany Hall when he was New York's Governor.

Flags of Our Fathers

It has been nearly 60 years since the USA reached its current status with 50 States. Three major wars were fought by the US during the period when the flag of our fathers and grandfathers was our national banner.

First, there was World War 1; sometimes known as "The Great War" or "The War to End All Wars." It's been just a few years since the last veterans of that war passed away. This year marks the centennial of its ending. Then, there was World War 2. There are still some veterans of that conflict alive, though some of them are more than 100 years old now. Finally, there was the Korean Conflict. Veterans of that war are well over 80. Vietnam was our first major war in which our armed forces fought under a 50 star flag.

Memorial Day was established shorly after the Civil War to remember our soldiers that have been killed while serving in our armed forces. Veteran's Day, on the other hand, was established after the end of the First World War on Novmember 11. In the US, it is intended to honor all veterans, living and dead. Things do get a little more confusing, since in The Commonwealth, November 11 is known as Remembrance Day (evolving out of Armistice Day) and it honors those that died while serving. I don't think the British/Canadians/Anzacs have anything equivalent to Memorial Day.

Anyway, this year, we elected to remember those of the past on Memorial Day with our 48 Star Flag.

New Mexico's Lost Cause

Rest Stop Marker on New Mexico's Pearl Harbor Memorial Highway

Occasionally, I run across lesser-known elements of history involving the War of the Rebellion (AKA Civil War) and post them on this blog. A couple of such involved DFW-area monuments to the Rebellion. They may be revisited here and here. More strangely, the proponents of “The Lost Cause,” most notably the Daughters of the Confederacy, put up markers here and there to glorify people that had nothing at all to do with the locale. In many cases, there are relevant historical stories that the Daughters forget to mention in their rush to glorify people such as Jefferson Davis.

Last month, I ran across yet another of these markers. This one was in Southern New Mexico, a bit west of El Paso, Texas. At the easternmost rest stop on I-10, the pictured monument commemorated the Daughters calling this route the “Jefferson Davis Highway.” Yup, this is the same Jefferson Davis Highway that pops up all sorts of places, including Washington State. I-10 is an interesting Interstate that gets called all sorts of things. In California, where it starts as the Santa Monica Freeway, it is also called the Christopher Columbus Transcontinental Highway, the Rosa Parks Freeway, and several other names. I’m not sure if it will keep Columbus, as he has more recently been castigated for his Indian transgressions. In New Mexico, I-10 is known as “The Pearl Harbor Memorial Highway” in most places. Well, except at this one rest stop where Jefferson Davis still reigns supreme.

The Daughters’ original memorial was nowhere in evidence unless this is an extensively restored version of it. Instead, we were treated to something New Mexico put up to commemorate another monument. Sadly, there was no mention of New Mexico’s role in the Civil War as a place that slavery and Indian extermination might take place. Jefferson Davis’s main role in such episodes was to fire the one that most wanted to kill off Indian even more than he wanted to fight Yankees.

Flags are at Half Staff due to Florida School Shooting

To make a long story short, the Confederacy laid claim to the southern half of current New Mexico and Arizona as the “Confederate Arizona Territory.” John Baylor claimed to be in charge of things until he was fired by Jefferson Davis for ordering extermination of the Apache Indians. To Baylor’s troops’ credit, history suggests they ignored his extermination orders. General Sibley led a Confederate Brigade into the claimed territory until they were chased back out following the Battle of Glorieta Pass. FWIW, Sibley's forces included Apaches (the same tribe Baylor wanted killed off). The US then divided the territory into Arizona and New Mexico, and the Confederates went back to East Texas. We visited the site of the Glorieta Pass battle, but it wasn’t much to look at.

America Beats the Canadians for the First Time

From Seattle's MyNorthwest, Proof Seattle Beat the Canadians for the Stanley Cup

If we were talking nowadays, it'd be "America Beats the Canadiens."

It was the year 1917. In Europe, the British Empire was part of the Entente battling the Central Powers. Still, we're talking hockey here, not a ware to end all wars. The NHA, predecessor of the NHL took on challengers each year in defense of the Stanley Cup. No American team had ever beaten the Canadians.

Our Brave Seattle Boys, from Wikipedia

Metropolitan Logo

However, 1917 turned out to be different. You see, the Seattle Metropolitans were the challengers that year. Their team was strong, with five future hall of famers. To make a story even shorter, they beat the Montreal Canadians (now Canadiens) in the Stanley Cup final.

Following the loss to the Americans, the NHA disbanded to become today's NHL. Two years later, when Seattle was to play Montreal for the cup, the Spanish Flu led to its cancellation. It would not be until 1928 that another American team, the New York Rangers, would win the Stanley Cup. To this very day, Seattle has never gotten an NHL team, so our 1917 victory over Montreal is likely to be our last for the forseeable future. Who knows if the NHL is still punishing Seattle for beating Montreal?

Where the West Begins

Barrel Racing

There are touristy things to do around Fort Worth. While Sundance Square isn't any kind of place that Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid would recognize, they'd probably feel much more at home at the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo (FSSR).

Apparently, I've failed as a parent since none of my kids had ever been to a rodeo with their dad. In fact, the oldest had never been to a rodeo at all. We corrected that on Friday, by going to the FSSR. I think our favorite event was the Calf Scramble, since the calves reminded us of our dog when he tries to sneak away without getting caught after having committed some transgression.

Having checked off that box, my oldest can honestly say: "This ain't my first rodeo!"

Bull Riding was a Premier Event

Not QUITE Forgotten Even Now

A while back, I published THIS post about the greatest forgotten moment in sports history - the Olympic victory of the 1936 University of Washington crew over Nazi Germany and Italy. As it turns out, as in many stories, one could say "but wait, there's more!"

Now, there's an excellent book about the 1936 Husky Crew entitled "The Boys in the Boat." One thing I never knew before was that the coxswain, Bobby Moch was born and raised about 30 miles from Ocean Shores. Adopted, he was told he was Jewish right before he was leaving to row in the Nazi Olympics. What a time to get told something like this! Perhaps fittingly, he represented the United States when he stood upon the winner's podium to accept the gold medal on behalf of the crew. I do not know if they ever told Hitler about Bobby's background.

Afterwards, coach Jim Ten Eyck of Syracuse said "It's the greatest eight I ever saw, and I never expect to see another like it." And Eyck saw a LOT of crews.

Perhaps the greatest tribute to the Washington program came when Oxford ordered a shell to be used against Cambridge from George Pocock, the builder of the Husky boats.

And wait, there's still at least one more thing. Their boat, the "Husky Clipper" still hangs in a place of honor at the Rowing Center at the University of Washington. Each year, new recruits gather underneath it. At the end of the speech about the rowing heritage at the UW, the coach pauses, raises his hand, and points up at the Clipper before telling THAT story.

I'm told that "The Boys in the Boat" is going to be made into a movie. I guess it's more or less a "Chariots of Fire" - with oars. Certainly, it'll be one of the best competitive rowing movies ever made...

Nancy

In  my post, here, I spoke of Thomas Victor Jones, the last CEO of Northrop Corporation, which later became Northrop Grumman under his successor. Today marked the interment of the "Nancy" shown in that post. I pray she's with her husband once again. While I may not have voted for her husband, both of them DID walk among giants.

Dedication at Moraga Vineyards in Bel Air, California

Best Camera

Olympus Digital Camera Circa 1999

Prompted by a post from cafiend at Citizen Rider about taking a night shot with his "OLD" Olympus, the best camera is


THE ONE YOU'VE GOT WITH YOU!!!

Pictured is my first digital camera. It is an Olympus D450Z (C900). It had all of 1.3 megapixels combined with a 3X optical zoom. I used it for about 5 years until, with the advance of digital camera technology and a flash that no longer seemed to work, I got a newer Fujifilm Finepix S7000. I still use that camera a lot, though new cameras have long since passed it by. Will I get a new compact or digital SLR? Time only will tell...

25 Years From Flight to Flight

Yesterday marked Canada Day and the first flight of the Bell Helicopter 525 Relentless in Amarillo, Texas. I do not know if this was coincidence or intent. I was fortunate to work on that program for much of its early development, though I was unable to see its first flight in person. It was one of the few “completely brand new” developments that most engineers get to see in their careers nowadays. It was a collaboration of the Bell sites in Texas and in Canada, as well as many suppliers. The first flight is shown below.

A while back I got to see “my own” previous first flight of a “completely brand new” aircraft. It was the YF-23 Black Widow II. It’s first flight will be 25 years ago next month (August 27). Its first flight is shown below. The quality isn’t as good since it was my own video shot at the event at Edwards AFB. Less than a year later, we had signs up around our area saying “will design the world’s most advanced fighter jet for food.” I pray the Bell 525 works out a lot better. Only time will tell. 

Rise of Japanese Cameras

Leather Case and Light Meter Have Both Seen Better Days, but the Nikon S is Pretty Good

Inspired by Limom’s camera chronicles, and Chandra’s newFujifilm X100T, I thought I’d tell a camera story of my own. It’s about the camera my dad brought home from him when he came back from Korea at the close of the Korean War. It is a Nikon S.

Rarely, a product is so good that the company from which it comes is renamed to that of the product. Even less often, that product started out with its name copying an established brand. Nikon is such a company. It got established after WWII by producing excellent cameras that were far less expensive than those produced by the Germans; the previous leaders. This happened starting with the first cameras that Nikon produced. These Nikons were rangefinder cameras and came from a company struggling to re-establish itself. The company, Nippon Kogaku, produced outstanding optical products, but the closest they came to a camera before WWII was the production of lenses for Canon. Ironically, as it was to turn out, they got their start in optics by bringing some Germans to Japan for help in the wake of WWI.

These early cameras were, arguably, better than anything that came from Germany, which found itself with part of its camera factories in the Russian Zone. Nippon Kogaku synthesized the best elements of the Zeiss and Leica products and they called it “Nikon.” Nikon was a merging of the Nippon part of their name and the Ikon of Zeiss Ikon fame. Later, Zeiss came after Nikon for trademark infringement, but they’d waited too long.

                                                                                                           

At the Right of the Camera are Where the Flash Attachments Go. Plug into "F" for Fast Shutter Speeds

Anyway, this camera, a Nikon S, was the first large selling Nikon. It was actually their third try at a camera, starting with the Nikon 1 that first saw the light of day in September, 1946. Nikon was a fairly sentimental bunch and their early cameras all started with a “609” prefix in honor of the first Nikon 1. Well, until they ran out of numbers and moved up to “610” and beyond. Our camera, purchased new by my dad when he was in Japan on R&R from the Korean War, is 6105314. LOTS of American servicemen purchased the Nikon S and the steadily improving cameras that followed it. The lenses were so good that professional photographers purchased the lenses to replace the German ones on their Leica cameras.

The third picture shows the various knobs on top of the camera. All three knobs AND the shutter release rotate when the film is being wound. The shutter speed control is really odd. There are actually two different knobs there. One controls the “slow” shutter and the other controls the “fast” shutter. The fast shutter runs from 1/30 to 1/500 seconds exposure. Later, Nikon combined the two shutter speed dials into one and increased the maximum shutter speed. Truly this is something from a different era, considering that the shutter itself is made from cloth.

Besides the Knobs, the "A/R" Lever Decides Which Way the Film Winds

The fourth picture shows another oddity compared to more recent film cameras. There are two knobs that must be turned from “S” to “O” in order to remove the entire camera back. Three  more oddities I’ll mention. First, since the camera is entirely mechanical (not even any light meter in the camera), there’s nothing in the camera to indicate what speed film might be being used. Hence the pink note attached to the camera back. Second, while the lens is interchangeable (using a bayonet that’s the same as the Zeiss Contax), there is no way to reflect different lenses through the viewfinder. It is set up for a 50mm lens, pure and simple. Third, while the film advances the same as a normal 35mm for each shot, the negatives are 2mm shorter than standard. This is because Nikon originally wanted to get more photos off each roll, but the US Occupation authorities nixed it because they weren’t compatible with Kodak.

Postit Pad Helps Remember What Speed Film is in the Camera

In closing, the camera is built like a tank. It weighs just a hair under 2lb, which is the same as a modern Nikon DSLR with a zoom lens, and which is just a bit more than my Praktica camera (really a renamed Zeiss made in East Germany) with its own 50mm lens and its built-in light meter. I’ve heard that using the “Sunny 16” rule works great, and I think we’ve got another light meter sitting around somewhere. I’ve also heard that it is almost impossible to find a flash unit that will work with the camera nowadays. Oh well, one probably doesn’t use a 60 year-old camera to take indoor flash pictures anyway.

For more on Nikon history, go here, here, here, or here. I especially recommend the first and second sources for their story on the older history of Nippon Kogaku and the Nikon rangefinder cameras. The last reference covers many other major camera companies.

Nikon Labeled their Early Lenses in Cm. Hence, This Camera Has a 5cm Lens Rather than a 50mm

Lens Locks into Focus at Infinity. Button on Front Unlocks the Lens Focus

They Still Love Andy in New Orleans

As can be seen, people in New Orleans still have a fondness for Jackson. These wreaths were seen on January 18 in Jackson Square. The inscription on the base; "The Union Must and Shall be Preserved" was added by Union General Benjamin Butler shortly after Butler's Union troops occupied the city early in the Civil War. Butler was a Jacksonian Democrat. Many in New Orleans called him "spoons" for short.

One last photo before we depart Andy. Actually, it doesn't have much to do with Andy other than both statues are on Decatur Street. The statue below is of Joan of Arc. It was a gift of the people of France. Originally, it was gifted in 1958, but New Orleans could not afford the $35,000 to have it erected, so it sat in a warehouse for eight years. Luckily, DeGaulle came to town and got people to raise money and it was finally erected at the Place de France in 1972. BUT WAIT, there's more! Joan became unwanted at her original locale when a big casino went in there, so she was moved her to her current location on Decatur Street a couple of blocks east of the cathedral. The statue is a duplicate of the one in Paris. I do not know if the casino paid for the relocation or not. Certainly, it was moved without DeGaulle's intervention. Presumably, they didn't rename "Place de France" to "Place de Harrah" or "Place de Monte Carlo."

Bicentennial

It was 200 years today that the last British shells were lobbed at Fort St Philip. While most think that the Battle of New Orleans was a quick affair on January 8th, fighting began on December 14th of 1814 and ended when the British packed their gear after the 17th of January. Most also think the battle didn't matter since the treaty was signed in December 1814, but the treaty did not take place until BOTH countries ratified it, which didn't happen until February 1815. What's more, the Brits thought the Americans might not ratify and New Orleans would certainly increase their motivation.

To make a long story short Jackson led very well and was also lucky. Before too long, he became our first Democrat President. Less uplifting is that to this day, some Indians will not carry $20 bills. BTW, I'll have observations on NOLA cycling after I get back.

Passing of an Era

Thomas Victor Jones, with YF-17 Model before it Evolved into the F-18

As is always the case, the end of a year is marked by news agencies summarizing notable people who passed away during the year. Among these articles reviewing 2014, there is at least one giant name missing; Thomas Victor Jones. You see, Tom Jones was the last of a breed in the aerospace industry that we are not likely to see again in our time. Some might not think that a bad thing, but it also probably means less future innovation in that same industry. The photo, above, comes from the LA Times Obituary. Perhaps it is ironic that Ralph Vartebedian wrote it - Ralph was a thorn in Jones's side for many years.

Northrop F-5 at Boeing Museum

In the first half century of aviation, most companies funded a major portion of new aircraft from their own resources. Northrop Corporation was one such. When I started work there, Jack Northrop was still alive, though frail. The CEO was Tom Jones. He made his name by pushing for the T-38 and F-5, aircraft that are still in service today more than 50 years later. He also pushed to get Northrop into the unmanned aircraft business. The mostly Northrop-funded YF-17 later developed into the F/A-18 on his watch and is still being built. It was a point of pride at Northrop that almost ALL the company facilities were company owned. More commonly, the US Government owned large aircraft facilities. Northrop was different under Jones. We purchased license plate holders that said: "Northrop Aircraft Division, a Good Place to Work" at the company store.

Less well known is that Northrop, again under Tom’s watch, played a major role in funding and supporting Boeing (his son just passed away as noted HERE) in the development of the original 747. I’ve been told that Northrop built and owned many of the original tools for that aircraft until Boeing later purchased them back. Certainly, Jones’s support of stealth research and guidance systems directly led to Northrop’s B-2, Peacekeeper missile and YF-23, and there is much more.

It was the F-20 that truly showed him as having the spirit of a Mississippi river boat gambler. It also led to his downfall. For those not familiar with the F-20, it started life as the “F-5G.” The F-5G was Northrop’s response to a Carter Administration initiative to have US companies privately develop fighters for export to friendly countries that were outside the NATO/Israel umbrella. Well, to make a long story short, Northrop spent $1.25 billion of its own money only to find its potential market completely undercut by that same US Government. It then got to spend hundreds of millions more on the ATF competition. Jones went away from Northrop and the last Mississippi river boat gambler was gone by 1990. You can read the whole, sordid story, HERE. Not long after he left, the City of Hawthorne renamed "Thomas Victor Jones Park" to "Holly Park." Sheesh.

Unlike Jack Northrop, who was pretty much despondent when the US killed off his flying wings and ordered them cut up, Tom Jones went into an elegant retirement. He founded Moraga Vineyards around his mansion in Bel Air, California. Moraga is the most expensive vineyard property on the planet. In 2013, he sold the place to Rupert Murdoch (yes, THAT Murdoch) and remained in the house itself until his death in early 2014. We will not see his like again soon. Perhaps it is fitting that the Moraga property once belonged to Victor Fleming who directed “Gone With the Wind.” Maybe Jones was a bit inspired by Rhett Butler.

From the Moraga site, a Low Key Note of Tom's

Elvis Has Left the Building

Elvis Slept Here

Oklahoma, among other things, is home to the longest stretch of Route 66. Back in the days before air travel became routine and the Interstate Highway System reshaped America, Elvis Presley and his entourage would travel along "the Mother Road" and often stayed at the Tradewinds Inn in Clinton, Oklahoma when traveling from Memphis to the west coast. It was a bit further along the road from where they stopped for dinner.

Elvis Had "The Room With No Number," But it USED to be Room 215

Being "The King," Elvis stayed in what he considered the best room, Room 215. I've heard others in his party slept in Room 216 next door. Over the years, fans have absconded with the room number plate so many times that nowadays, it is simply an unmarked door. The room is still decorated in the way it was back when Elvis still occasionally WAS in the building. Shag carpet and all. The motel has definitely seen better days and is now MORE than a little seedy. Tripadvisor has it rated at 1.5 stars out of 5. Needless to say, we didn't have the inclination to stay there.

Clinton is also notable for having one of the best Route 66 museums.

 

New Mexico Quickly

Looking at Texas From New Mexico. Glenrio's Seen Better Days

Recently, we made a little road trip and spent time in New Mexico on the route. We mostly avoided freeways, except for a stretch where I-40 provides good access to remnants of Historic Route 66. Always a sneaky one, I suggested that we pass through Los Alamos, site of the legendary blog “LosAlamos Bikes.” Unfortunately, thunderstorms were passing through the area and so my wife vetoed the detour.

Back Before the Interstate, You Might Have Stopped Here Before Crossing into New Mexico

Going from Texas, the tour begins with the border town of Glenrio. One might have stopped at a café or purchased gas on the Texas side of the border. The motel closest to the border was seen as the “Last Motel in Texas” if you were looking from the Texas side or as the “First Motel in Texas” if you were standing on the New Mexico side of the border. Apparently, all the gas stations were on the Texas side of the border because Texas gas taxes were lower. On the other hand, all the liquor was on the New Mexico side because it was a “dry” county on the Texas side. I was also somewhat surprised to hear about the “Glenrio Historic District” from the NPS website. One wonders how you have a historic district in an unincorporated town that has two inhabited houses and a dog.

 

San Jon Gas Station's been Long Closed Based on the Size of the Tree

Anyway, in New Mexico as you head west is the little town of San Jon. As you can see, some of these places have been declining for many years. The tree at the gas station was growing out of where they used to have a gas pump mounted. San Jon has held on better than Glenrio, with 300 souls remaining after the freeway bypassed it.

 

Tucumcari's Got Lots of "Still Open" Route 66 Architecture

Further west is “Greater Tucumcari.” Tucumcari was and still is one of the larger towns in eastern New Mexico. It was a rail stop, still is a county seat, and there are lots of “Route 66” sights. Still, the city has visibly declined in the last decade. When we moved to Texas, we stayed at the “Payless Inn.” It was not too wonderful a place, but “Tripadvisor” and “Yelp” and various other sites were not available on the road in those days before smart phones. As you can see, the motel never fulfilled its promise to reinvent itself as the Taaj, and it recently burned to the ground. What’s more, we saw two other buildings in Tucumcari that also burned down.

 

Motel We Stayed at on the Outskirts of Tucumari - It was Bad Then, but Worse Now

We also stopped in Las Vegas. Nope, we weren’t hoping to visit some “History Channel” reality show, but Las Vegas is an underrated place that has a much nicer central plaza than “Sundance Square” in Fort Worth. It has real history, as a(probably of several) place where Kearney proclaimed that New Mexico would henceforth be part of the USA. There used to be a water tower in the plaza where three outlaws were hanged/shot by vigilantes, but I didn't see it, so it is probably gone. It is a mostly well preserved and enjoyable piece of the “old west.” Las Vegas is fairly poor, based on the number of pawn shops and a continuing slow decline in population. For those that aren't really excited about seeing where outlaws got hanged, Las Vegas is also the locale where the motorcyclists met Jack Nicholson in Easy Rider, and it was INVADED in the original Red Dawn movie (I guess New Mexico looks more like Colorado than Colorado)!

 

Plaza Hotel in Las Vegas - Across the Street from the Plaza

Well Maintained Las Vegas Main Drag - with Someone Going Through a Trash Can - Probably NOT a Former Dodge City Gang Member

The “Star” of New Mexico for tourism (at least in summer when there's no skiing at Taos) is Santa Fe. Santa Fe is the capitol of New Mexico and has about twice the population of Olympia in Washington State. For those that are not familiar with its history, it was well established when the Dutch first stepped foot on Manhattan Island and when the Pilgrims came to New England. I found the St Francis railroad crossings to be VERY interesting and worse than Khal portrayed them on his blog. The first time I encountered the distance between the “place to stop” and the actual intersection, we were confused and had a discussion about whether we were properly stopped or if there might be another place to stop that we hadn’t been informed about. Railroad crossings at shallow angles are rare enough that I can’t say I’m totally surprised that people on bikes get whacked or trapped. I imagine motorist collisions are not rare either.

 

Some Crossings Aren't Good for ANY Road (or Trail Users) - Images from Google Maps

 

 

Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi in Santa Fe - it is NOT near St Francis Drive!

We Stayed in a Very Nice Old Motel that Starred in a 1989 Documentary that Still Draws German Tourists

Motoring along further we went through the “four corners” area, saw the majesty of Shiprock (and the little town named same, and enjoyed the beauty of southeastern Utah and southwestern Colorado.

Shiprock in Northwestern New Mexico

 

Out of New Mexico and into Utah