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Articles by Alan Kandel
What you’ve always wanted to know about publishing but were too afraid to ask
Listen folks, I’ve been in the publishing field for some 38 years now. I’ve seen publishers come and go in that time. One publisher I once wrote freelance for pulled the plug on one of its publications after producing that product for at least 30 years. The other product, which ran for an even longer time, fell by the wayside, also.
What you've always wanted to know about publishing but were too afraid to ask What you've always wanted to know about publishing but were too afraid to ask Briefly
Media industry fromDaily Kos 9 Nov 2026 Sustainable publishing depends on broad audience targeting, reliable advertiser payments, and an effective, well-compensated advertising sales team. A publisher ended one publication after at least 30 years and another after an even longer run. A separate publisher lasting about a dozen years spread resources across many custom publications in addition to its main product.
Train-operating-/signal- control: To fully automate or hybridize is the question
Spain’s Oct. 28, 2026 high-speed-train crash is a sober reminder of the devastation that can result on the rails when things don’t go just right. Though rare, these types of incidents nevertheless happen. And when they do people want answers. The most important question though is how to keep these mishaps from happening again. As to the crash itself, preliminary reporting indicated that human error was to blame.
On this, October’s 31st day, a ‘spooktacular’ image
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Time to Re-Introduce Concepts That Work to Mitigate Air Pollution, Traffic Congestion and Sprawl
Now 99 Ranch Market, one of the country’s largest Asian supermarket chains, will close two of its California stores before the end of the year, putting employees out of work. Tawa Supermarket Inc., the Buena Park-headquartered parent company of 99 Ranch Market, filed two Worker Adjustment and Retraining …
Time to Re-Introduce Concepts That Work to Mitigate Air Pollution, Traffic Congestion and Sprawl
It’s mind-boggling! Regarding the powers that be in the Central San Joaquin Valley, there seems to be a lack of the knowledge that would move us light-years abead with respect to attaining better air quality and realizing far fewer passenger vehicle miles traveled and promoting and advancing smart growth policy and what it will take to achieve this.
Throwback Thursdays: Celebs I met in passing
Peter DePaolo driving his Duesenberg racecar in 1925Bain News Service, publisher via Wikipedia In my life I’ve met a number of celebrities. Those persons were former Oakland Raiders Head Coach and broadcast television sports anchor, the late John Madden, tv actors Alan Autry and Lorne Green and Indy auto racecar-driver legend Peter DePaolo. These meetings, each and every one, were impromptu or, in other words, unplanned, happenstance, happening by chance.
If required to take one, would an AV pass a driving test?
Parkshuttle, Metro-station Kralingse Zoom, RotterdamMaurits Vink via Wikipedia I no longer drive. And having driven over a 53-something-year span, I’m pretty sure I could still pass a driving test if I were put to the test. It’s the written part of the exam that I’m not as certain on whether I would pass that or not. I would no doubt need to brush up on that. But all of this is neither here nor there.
One of the most bizarre book-publishing arrangements I ever heard of… see if you don’t agree
The baseball diamond of the San Diego Padres’ Petco Park in 2005 This one has to take the cake. If I was going to publish a book, I would never ask anyone for a penny to help finance any part of my book-publishing effort. Yet this is exactly what one published author is doing. And, in return for supporters’ monetary donations, the author has agreed to give donators mention in the book. Correct me if I’m wrong, but what that sounds like to me is a quid pro quo. I’m not saying it is.
Throwback Thursdays: The Classic Car Era
In today’s driving environment, it’s a case of build more and more will come. The practice is not a good one if the aim is to reduce traffic congestion and gridlock. With regard to accidents, there has been much attention heaped on the autonomous automobile as of late, many hoping that this is the be-all, end-all with regard to accident reduction, if not outright elimination.
On Track To Profitability? Our national passenger-rail provider, Amtrak, is definitely making tracks!
This article was first posted on Oct. 19, 2026 at All About Trains with the title: “Making Tracks: What Progress Looks Like On Amtrak” Amtrak, the nation’s rail-passenger service, has, in my view, gone nowhere but up.
In Lower Manhattan, a cleaner air/congestion-pricing-policy link, researchers find
One year after New York City launched its congestion pricing policy, fine particulate pollution inside Manhattan’s congestion relief zone was 13 percent lower, according to a new analysis that accounted for regional pollution trends, weather and normal year-to-year variability. “For the most part, the program appears to be working,” said Daniel M. Westervelt, a study coauthor and an associate research professor at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, which is part of the Columbia Climate School.
From Founder-Owned to Employee-Owned: Why ESOPs Are Gaining Momentum in the Alcohol Beverage Industry
For generations, many breweries, wineries, distilleries, and beverage distributors have been built around a founder’s palate, personality, and persistence. That founder-led identity can be a competitive advantage—but it can also complicate succession.
Remembrances of one of America’s deadliest train crashes: What’s been learned, what’s changed since, what could be on the horizon
Close aerial view of the collision site. The collision occurred on the section of single trackNational Transportation Safety Board via Wikimedia Commons On Sept. 12, 2008, one of the deadliest train-on-train collisions in recent history had happened. The mishap occurred in Chatsworth, California and involved a freight train traveling east by railroad timetable (geographically south) and a commuter train traveling west by railroad timetable (geographically north).
Spectacular Rail Photography of artist extraordinaire Carol M. Highsmith
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Conservation’s the word: Reduced-water usage makes dollars AND sense
I’ve seen several different news reports in recent months covering the western U.S. water crisis. If I recall correctly, the most recent one I saw was a “Climate Central” report presented on the “PBS NewsHour”. A significant part of that report focused on the level of the Colorado River, here again, if I recall correctly, and how far it has dropped in recent times behind both the Hoover and Glen Canyon dams.
AI in the workplace: Still Very Much Uncharted Territory
The United States stands with our allies and partners in promoting international rules and norms for AI. awe have a moral, ethical, and societal duty to act, and @POTUS and I look forward to continued collaborationOffice of the Vice President of the United States via Wikimedia Commons This content was originally post at All About Trains as: “Commentary: Transportation And AI: Very Much Still Uncharted Territory” On Fri., Oct.
More trash talk: Solid-waste-handling programs worth their weight in gold
Workers in the Recycling Center (Materials Recovery Facility) at the Shady Grove Transfer Station, Montgomery County, MarylandEric Vance In August, I wrote a diary about Fresno’s inspiring Operation Cleanup program. In case you missed it, that one profiled a program in the raisin capital of the world that (pun intended) picks up where ordinary refuse collection leaves off. You can read all about that here.
Throwback Thursdays: ‘70s Emerson, Lake and Palmer’s Anaheim Convention Center concert
California State Route 101 in Santa Barbara CountyCharles O’Rear via Wikimedia Commons Three like-minded students living on campus at Cal Poly SLO, got this wild idea in the Fall of ‘73 to go to an Emerson, Lake and Palmer concert, this one held at the Anaheim Convention Center on a Friday or Saturday night. I don’t think there was a worse time to go. It was during the height of the oil embargo. It was all any driver could do at the time to find and fill the tank with gas.
Growth in air-quality improvement in Central Valley
Smog-damaged plant at the statewide Air Pollution Research Center, at the University of California. Plant was damaged by fumigation with 1/2 part per million of ozone for 3 hoursGene Daniels via Wikipedia California’s central San Joaquin Valley air is getting cleaner. Still, several key pollutants in the Valley — namely daily and annual fine-paticulate matter and 8-hour ozone — do not meet federal air-quality standards.
Is it what or who you know (that makes all the difference) or, could it be both?
Situation number 1 “Get out! I never want to see you in my office again!” was an ultimatum I was given from an obviously pissed off instructor I had once. And, this coming on the heels of a meeting in the very same office happening but minutes earlier. (Disclosure: the instructor here shall remain nameless).
Fall Color Special. Subject: Railroading
After The StormAlan Kandel SP #9331 eastbound going around the horn on the #2 track. Cape Horn, CA in November 1980Roger Puta via Wikimedia Commons GP40-2 #145 with the B&O Orange Blossom Specialat Halethrope, Maryland, on Nov. 12, 1987Roger Puta via Wikimedia Commons DDA40X #6945, SD40-2 #3600 and SD40-2 #3230 roll tonnage westbound nearing Pulga, Calif.
Problem solving by any other name is Conflict resolution
“high” jousting in Paulus Hector Mair’s compendiumPaulus Hector Mair via Wikipedia Just to provide background, I founded a Problem-solving Group on DK. No members yet besides yours truly but it’s still early. I’m hopeful. In this diary I want to talk about my earliest real problem-solving case that I have knowledge of. I provide background first and then explain how the problem got solved. It actually resolved itself.
Problem solving by any other name is Conflict resolution
Jaspreet Singh: 3 Ways To Use ChatGPT To Become a Millionaire There is much debate over whether AI is useful or destructive (or both), but can something like ChatGPT help you become a millionaire? According to …
With driving becoming more inconvenient, people more and more are taking the train
Three Caltrain commuter trains take a break from weekday rail-commuter services as seen in Gilroy, California on a Saturday. The empty parking lot is the giveawayAlan Kandel I’ve been reading where using trains for travel is becoming more and more convenient as more and more trains go into service. New schedules instituted by Amtrak appear to be bearing this out.
‘Against All Odds’: The Phil Collins Story
Press photo of the band Genesis by Atlantic Records (that’s Phil Collins in the foreground) to promote their album ‘ “…And Then There Were Three…” (1978). No copyright markings on the photo and no registration could be found in the US Copyright RegistryDistributed by Atlantic Records via Wikimedia Commons There are musical talents and then there are musical talents. And, then there’s singer/drummer/keyboardist/songwriter extraordinaire Phil Collins. His full name: Philip David Charles Collins.
Should Train Travel Be About More Than Just Getting From Place To Place? The Short Answer: Yes
Caltrain’s KISS EMU (electric multiple unit) train from Stadler undergoing overhead electrical wire clearance testing in Aug. 2022. The number 308 is seen here passing through the Palo Alto, Calif. stationSan Mateo County Transit District via Wikipedia I’ve heard horror stories about travelers in Japan riding trains being packed into passenger-rail conveyances like sardines in a can.
On automation in transportation: Are we even on the right track?
Photo of the mangled wreckage resulting from the head-on collision involving Metrolink Train 111 and Union Pacific Train LOF65‐12 that occurred in Chatsworth, California on the afternoon of Sept. 12, 2008National Transportation Safety Board via Wikipedia Making surface transportation fully automated: It’s where we seem to be headed. Should we even be going there? I picked this particular day to opine on this topic because on Sept.
Throwback Thursdays: My three years as Daily Kos Community correspondent
Getting the word outMichael A. Dean On September 8, 2026, I celebrated my third year as Community Correspondent at the Daily Kos. I also finally figured out how to turn off “Spell Check” and “Auto Correct” on my “old school” iPhone 7. Which now forces me to become an editor’s editor in terms of checking my own work. Which, I think is good if for no other reason than to keep me on my toes, editorially speaking. So, I embarked on this journey on September 8, 2023.
How much weight was public input given in deciding final HSR-route selection?
Back before the California high-speed-rail route was set in stone, Californians had numerous opportunities to weigh in on route possibilities. Many, in fact, in that regard did weigh in. Did any of that input have any bearing on where the high-speed-rail right of way in California would ultimately be placed? My gut reaction is the effect that input had was slim to none. On Sept.
California’s Big Valley now has til 2037 to meet 8-hour ozone health standard
On Sept. 6, 2011 — exactly 15 years ago to the day — my “‘Houston, San Joaquin Valley Has A Problem” [sic]: Cars Causing Smog” commentary was published at the California Progress Report. That opinion piece is now re-published in its entirety below. In California, or more precisely the San Joaquin Valley, our problem isn’t droughts, hurricanes or floods; it’s smog – at least right now it is.
And to think I could have owned race horses, possibly — Pt. 2
On August 3rd, I told of how I might have come to be a race-horse owner had family circumstances worked out differently. My grandpa Philip (my dad’s dad) was tragically killed in a motor vehicle accident in Deming, New Mexico circa 1935. Granddad was only 30 years old at the time. My dad was just seven.
In a nutshell, the U.S. freight railroad industry in the 21st century
Conrail train on Horseshoe CurveRoger Puta via Wikimedia Commons One of my responsibilities as “contributing editor” for a Fresno-based lifestyle magazine in the early, early 21st century, was to write business profiles — what are alternatively known as “advertorials”. One thing leading to the next, of course, what if, say, I were tasked with describing the United States freight-railroad industry today in 500 words or less. What, exactly, would I write?
The passenger train: It’s incomparable!
Amtrak #314 with the San Francisco Zephyr at Andover, Calif. on Donner Pass in Apr. 1981Roger Puta via Wikimedia Commons The diary below was originally posted at All About Trains on Aug. 28, 2026 having the title “Commentary: There Isn’t A Train Ride I’ve Made That I Didn’t Like. I Can’t Say The Same For The Non-train Rides”. Compared to travel on any other mode, nothing tops the train! Take, for example, the time I rode from Salt Lake City to Roseville, California.
Railroad History Shorts — Chessie System
This image taken at the B&O Railroad Museum in Baltimore, shows the three main constituent parts of the Chessie System. To the left is B&O engine #5605, to the right is a C&O Railway passenger car and straight ahead in the background is WM locomotive #81Alan Kandel The Cheshire cat Chessie that was adored so by legions of admiring fans, went into retirement in August 1987.
Two very ‘hinky’ ‘The Fugitive’ movie lines now have me questioning why these were even used!
Actor Harrison Ford who had the lead role in the 1993 movie The FugitiveRepository: San Diego Air and Space Museum Archives via Wikipedia You remeber the movie The Fugitive, the Andrew Davis thriller. Okay, so take the word “hinky” for example.
Bad-air alerts triggered by increased traffic, high temps and ways to reduce emissions
Another commentary from the “From the archives” space. This one, was originally posted at the California Progress Report on Aug. 24, 2011 with the title “Ways To Reduce Emissions in Face of Bad Air Alerts Triggered by High Temps, Increased Traffic”. When reading, please keep in mind that though the commentary is 15 years old, it has implications for — and relevance — today. Temperatures throughout the San Joaquin Valley today will range from the mid to upper ‘90s.
Another once-in-a-lifetime bike ride: SFV to SLO via TCB and PCH
My first account appeared on this site on Oct. 11, 2023 with the name: “A once-in-a-lifetime bike ride: HMB to SLO via PCH”. There were 18 comments and 40 recommends. So today’s accounting, like the original, required some hitchiking. Both were forced due to circumstances beyond my control. In the first instance, it was because bicyclists and pedestrians are not allowed on the San Mateo Bridge. In today’s diary, the referenced hitchhiking was necessitated on account of inclement weather.
‘Operation Cleanup’: Fresno’s once-a-year curbside refuse-pickup service
Remains of a Carolina Laurel tree that was felled in my back yardAlan Kandel Business is picking up. In Fresno, you can take that to the bank. Figuratively, of course. At any rate, at least once a year, anyhoo. That service goes by the name “Operation Cleanup”. Not only was the program started circa 1994, it takes roughly five-and-a-million city dollars to keep the service running annually. During this time, it can be a real scramble.
Regardless of job worked, I always gave it my all. A personal journey
At work, no matter what the job assignment was, I always gave the effort my all. You’ve heard that expression “you get out what you put in”. So, if you put in 110 percent, you’ll get 110 percent out. However, in my case, I rarely if ever found that to hold. At my first job, which was as home-entertainment equipment salesperson, I had other responsibilities besides selling audio-entertainment gear.
Alignment, crossing issues: 15 years ago, what were then main California bullet-train concerns
Wasco Viaduct in Wasco, Kern County, in March 2024. The structure was built as part of Construction Package 4 in the California high-speed rail projectPublic-domain photo via Wikimedia Commons High-speed train-wise, what mattered to Californians on this day a decade-and-a-half ago. The following is a reposting of the “California High-Speed Rail Draft EIR Addresses Crossing and Alignment Issues” commentary at the California Progress Report on Aug. 17, 2011.
Does California have what it takes to pull high-speed rail off?
It’s a fair question. Information has spread (word has it) that the California high-speed-rail project will see track being laid sometime this year. When exactly that will be, I can’t say. On the project’s first 119 miles — the only portion of the line where active construction work is actually happening — between Shafter in Kern County and Madera in Madera County, 62 sites where construction activity has been taking place, well, those projects have now been completed.
Global warming’s uncommon impact in central California
Vernalis on the San Joaquin River in Central California US Geological Survey via Wikipedia Connecting the counties of Kern and San Joaquin and spreading across the mostly flat expanse between the mighty Sierra and Coast ranges, the Valley floor, with the exception of those major communities that line either the I-5 or SR 99 corridors, is for all intents and purposes prime agricultural land.
So What Do You Think Of Amtrak’s Proposed Breaking Its Corporate Framework In Three?
In this photo, seen are representative examples of the fleet (the train), infrastrucure (the ties) and passenger services (in this case, North Carolina’s “Piedmont” service)M. Cottrell via Wikipedia The railroad proposes breaking the corporate framework by creating three separate divisions: Fleet Management, Infrastructure Management and Passenger Services. One division would be responsible for managing passenger services. A second would be responsible for managing all Amtrak-owned infrastructure.
Rubbing elbows with big wigs or having friends in high places
Portrait of Gary Gensler, Chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission under President Biden.U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission via Wikipedia No one knows when their born where life is going to take them. Whomever said “life is a jouney” knew or knows what they’re talking about. Through my dad’s line of work, this allowed our family to become upwardly mobile.
Hashtag Rescued: How’s That? And more! Observations
Printing press at the Roycroft Community campus (displayed in the Copper Shop)Dave Pape via Wikimedia Commons My post yesterday has the tags #Recommended, #Rescued and #RescuedtoRecommended” attached. The diary title in question: “And to think I could have owned race horses, possibly”. Firstly, those were not self-placed. As to the Rescued tag, it begs the question: What was it rescued from? Was it relegated to the dust bin? Was it ever in danger of being circular filed? I think neither.
And to think I could have owned race horses, possibly
Seabiscuit on workout with George WolfSeabiscuit Heritage Foundation via Wikipedia Remember those commercials where the person in at least several said “I could have had a…” (certain vegetable drink)? Well, that things didn’t work out just so in my life, I can now say “I could have been a race-horse owner” much like my dad’s dad, Grandpa Philip, did. To be truthful, I don’t care for horse racing. Never have, never will.
On this day 15 years ago, cars’ fuel-efficiency ratings were on Americans’ radar
A traffic jam at Venice Boulevard and La Cienega Boulevard in Los Angeles, California in 1953Publication: Los Angeles Daily News via Wikipedia The commentary below was originally published at California Progress Report on Aug.
On critical thinking, let’s ask AI and see what it says
It seems I can’t perform a Google search anymore and not be shown some response provided by AI. Yesterday or two days ago (I don’t recall which) I heard for the first time the word “busker”. So unlike me to do so, I took the plunge and did an Internet search. Yes, I got an answer, and it was AI generated. A disclaimer appeared on screen too. It read: “AI responses may include mistakes. Learn more,” all italicized. Wow, I thought, at first.
On Fresno’s Measure C extension, does the left hand know what the right hand is doing?
Diarist’s note: The article posted below was originally published at All About Trains on Jul. 31, 2026, it having the title: If I May, A Minute Of Your Time To Bend Your Ear On Sound Fresno Transpo Policy?” I assume you’re unaware that Fresno’s 2006 half-cent transportation sales tax Measure C extension expires in 2027. Another extension would require a new measure be on this November’s ballot.
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