Tuesday 30 May 2006

12:41 -- Suyen is ticked at me. I went chasing after the UP 844 today, and while I was in the middle of it, I guess she decided to ring my phone a million times. Well, with the wind, the noise and the excitment, I guess I missed the phones going off. So when I checked my phones and saw all the missed calls, plus 4 on the pager, I called back, and got no answer. OOOPPppppssss. I got done so late that I came back here to Henrys before heading off to woik. I also got in a nice walk downtown -- I need the exercise, but it is HOT!!! Oh well. I finally got the train, but had no luck in pacing it -- the thing was just going to damn fast. I almost added a fellow FOAMER to the Haul of Shame. You see, pacing can be dangerous as everyone is watching the train and not the road. Well, this idiot in a silver sedan decided that because he was special and was chasing a train, he didn't need to obey traffic rules. He was easily doing 100 trying to catch the train. What blew my mind was when he blew the light. OK, FOAMERS and stormchasers -- there are a lot of accidents resulting from your "hobby." It is just not worth it.

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I got the 844 as it was pulling out of Union station, I got there just in time. I tried to pace it along Kaw drive, but again no luck. Then I caught up with it at the Union Pacific station in Lawrence. It must've slowed down for something in between -- plus I took the turnpike. Then, again, I tried to pace it out of Lawrence, but, again, to fast and there were too many cars ahead of me. Oh well, I got two great shots. Suyen just called and yelled at me. She said I must be seeing someone. I said yes I am, and her name is 844. Hahahahaha.

There is a time and a place for everything....the time is now and the place is here.
Those who constantly worry about the futre are not thinking about the future

It was a nice long good soothing walk.

Sunday afternoon, I tried to catch the 844 as it came in to Union Station. I was told it was coming from the west, so I thought I would catch it and pace it along Kaw Drive. I should've known I was wrong by the dearth of FOAMERS along the road.


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I found a good place to pace trains, though, beyond Kaw Drive.

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I paced a westbounder coming into the spot, the paced to eastbound coal trains -- I think they were two sections of the same load.

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I was having so much fun pacing the trains that I missed my 18:00 deadline to be back at Union Station to catch 844 pulling in.

I came back to Union Station at about 18:30, and the 844 was already there percolating at the station like it had been there forever.... So, I headed home to pick up Suyen, so we could go to Wal*Fart to pick up cole slaw and cake for Debbie, then we headed to Debbies for the backyard cookout. We got there fairly late. While there, and old friend of mine from way back, Jeff showed up. He is married and has 3 daughters and seems quite happy. It is strange being in the old hood after so many years. I suddenly felt like there were too many years behind me.









































Monday, Suyen and I got up early and headed to my parents. Mom, Dad and Suyen are going to Leavenworth for Memorial Day to pay some old friends of my Dad's a visit in the cemetery. They brought a beer for Dan and flowers. I guess I could be buried there if I want to be (I mean after I'm dead -- hopefully not tooo sooon). It rained yesterday after a long dry spell. People were pissing and moaning about it, but I think it was nice.

At woik, Steve and I did a story about a family in KCK that have to put up with young (probably teenage) prowlers on their property. They actually live out in WyCo (Wyandotte County). They are fighting back. They have security cameras that caught the kid and they made posters, and are putting them everywhere. As well, they called us and we did a story on it.

Today the defication is hitting the electric occilating cooling unit with the Spicer Case. They beleive they found the body of Michelle Richie in Clay county and another body in Lafayette County. This is no surprise to anyone, especially those of us in the media.


Here is the Raccoon that has been visiting our dumpster nightly. This time it is visiting us during the day. My colleagues have named it Rocky -- unimaginitive. When I was pulling out tonight to go somewhere, it was right next to my car, and I figured out that Rocky, is acually a she because she had big teets like she just had young 'uns, which would also explain why she is coming out during the day as well, because of all the free food in the dumpster and many hungry mouths to feed have driven this normally nocturnal animal into the daylight to forage.

Sunday 28 May 2006

14:32 -- I'm at Crave Cafe. I just got done with my Sunday morning woik. I'm having some sort of coffee shake thingy. It has been a weekend of playing detective. Yesterday I was with Bob. We went to the morning press conference in front of the Independence Police station. Of course it is about that couple from Independence who killed that woman and videotaped the whole thing. They have been caught finally, but the police didn't have much more to add than that. We got new pictures of Richard Davis. I dropped Bob off at the station, and went to Lafayette County to ask some questions around Bates City. Today I was with Kim. We did lives at Union Station.


The set up for the evenings festivities at Union Station in Kansas City


1928 Ahearn-Fox Fire Truck at Union Station -- a new addition to the exhibit there


View across Pershing Road up the hill to the south towards Liberty Memorial


They are having a lot of big events tonight, including a visit from Union Pacifics 844, so I hope to be there for that. Last night I paid a visit to Y.J.'s. They have wifi -- woohooo. I learned from David that they are putting a rocket back on top of the old TWA building. The rocket looks something like this:



Read about it here:

http://jimhillmedia.com/blogs/dan_viets/archive/2005/10/03/1740.aspx


This afternoon I spent along Kaw Drive pacing trains in hopes that UP's 844 would pass through here. Unfortunately, the information I got was wrong, and by the time I got to Union Station, 844 was already there.

Friday 26 May 2006

22:14 -- Suyen and I are at Crave Cafe now on 39th street. We left home late this evening after spending the whole day with me uploading videos from my 1999 train trip with James, and Suyen working on her diet stuff. We went to the area around hospital hill and looked for houses for sale. There are some definite possibilities out there.

Wednesday I worked with Peter on a follow up of the murder case out of Independence. We were live in the studio. I had some time so I dubbed all the video from this case onto a big mouth beta tape and did a little logging. I hope it is there for me to use when I need it.

















Yesterday, Suyen and I went to KUmed. We looked around at houses on Hospital hill and found one that was really interesting, but the situation with the lot it's on is wierd. Oh, before all that, we went to this place by Oak Grove and looked at modular homes. We saw one we really really liked. There is a lot in Kansas City at hospital hill that would probably take it too.

Last night we ate at BD's Mongolian BBQ. We spent the rest of the afternoon around the 39th street/Independence Center area. That area is booming. We looked at palm pilots and found out one with an internet connection is either a treo or a pocket PC. Sprints stuff and services are expensive, limited and not that good. I went to the Radio Shack there and the salesman let me try to synch up a sprint evdo phone to the puter -- it wouldn't do it. Oh well, I may be going away from Sprint at the end of this contract.

Tonight we ate Taquiria mexico, before going to the Plaza to "walk". We didn't do much walking and we spent most of the time in Barnes and No balls. Suyen got a diet book and I got June Trains Magazine.

Wednesday 24 May 2006

00:40 -- Monday I worked wih Laura on an apartment fire at 133th & Holmes. No one was hurt. Today I worked with Steve on the case of the woman who was found dead in Lafayette County. They think a couple from Independence did it. Apparently, on the day she was found dead, police found a videotape in this couples apartment showing them binding and torturing her. Worse yet, there is at least one other missing woman.

On the way into work today, I stopped at Wal*Fart and got some velcro and car-biners to hook up this broken light stand I have to mount my canon camcorder to it. My dash cam is better quality than it was before now, and more stable. I'm attempting to upload sample video of driving through Kansas City on the way home tonight....


Here is a video of me driving

Sunday, 21 May 2006

20:58 -- at home now. Just sat in the yard and enjoyed the evening with the animules. I got some exercise by chasing Tima around the yard until she got tired of the game. This morning I worked with Kim bright and early.



Our liveshot was at the Independence police station. Last night they announced some people who were wanted in connection with the woman that was found dead near Bates City.


THAT was a long cable run.

After that, we went to shoot some vid of a truck into a building on Garfield. Then we went and did our regularly scheduled liveshot at the City Market where they were having a big garage sale. Kim and I ate at Gorrozos, then after dropping Kim off at the station and putting van 4 to bed, I went out with Al for the Chiefs mini training camp at the Truman Complex.


We finished about 13:30, and I put my batteries on the charger and left a little after two. I met Ti and we went to Crave Cafe.


We talked mostly about her roller derby team.

AFter coffee, Ti went to pick up Skie, and I went to the Apple store on the Plaza, then to Circuit City then Best Buy on 39th, looking at Palm Pilots. Then I headed home to the yard and the animules and the nice evening.

Here are two pictures I just uploaded from yesterdays incident at City Union Mission:

Saturday 20 May 2006

00:53 -- We got home at midnight. After Crave we stopped by Ti & Troys. Ti is feelin' illin.' Troy gave me a cd with the music from last Friday nights show at the Replay. I just uploaded pix from Crave Cafe tonight. Here they are:

















The band in the pictures was the second band. They have no name because they said another band already has the name they had. They were having a little contest to see who could name their band. They said the winner could carry their equipment at the next gig.

19:19 -- Crave Cafe. I was driving back from a story when I saw a former vet panhandling by 71 Hwy and Brush Creek Parkway today. I was listening to Venus in Furs by the Velvet Underground via Sonic Spectrum on KCUR. It was about 14:30, and this came to me:

Guilt merchants on the corners
sell you drops of Kharma
gotta pay what you can spare
don't make eye contact
you might get hooked
then your gonna pay the fare

I'm sitting here after work. I'm planning on going to the Roller Warriors game to get some vo for sports. It is totally voluntary, but I want to do this for my friend Ti, plus the roller warriors here locally should get some coverage by the news channels. Sometimes that is how it happens, one person goes out on their own and makes it happen. Today I worked with Bob. Our story started out being another homicide on KC's east side. We met a guy who is fighting crime there -- the drug houses, gangs and such. I fear for him. He is a brave man. On our way back, Paul had us go to a report of a car into a building. Well, it turns out that the car was two cars that collided, and the building was the City Union Mission -- a homeless shelter. One of the homeless people was on that corner, and probably has lost a leg from the accident. But, this is the unbelievable part. Another homeless person apparently caused the accident. He apparently was overheard saying he wanted to cause an accident to watch somebody die. He went to the box that controls the traffic light, and pulled the electrical meter off of it. That caused the lights to go out and the cars to collide. It is hard to fathom that it can be so easy to do that. There seemed to be very little to stop someone from doing that. My liveshot tonight was with Al at the Royals game:



I've added some pictures from my phone:


Balerina lake at our trailer park, Sunday May 7, while walking Tima


Brian in Graphics working yet another "impossible" request from me, Monday May 8


Suyen reading her Herbalife magazine at Hatties in Prarie Village, Thursday 18 May 2006