Gustav has arrived...

An updated map from the National Weather Service. Looks like "he" will hit land sometime late tomorrow morning. Truckers, like myself, up here in Nebraska and everywhere else are watching the storms path carefully. We're also watching the price of diesel. I'm due to deliver my final stop in San Antonio this Thursday. As you can see on the other side of Gustav, in the Atlanta, is Hanna. Mother Nature is making sure the RNC scales down their "party" in New Orleans. Bush is skipping the event and McCain is trying to act "Presidential." Gustav, right now, is a Catagory 3 storm with winds of about 115 mph. The only one left in New Orleans appears to be Fox "uber" reporter Geraldo Rivera. I wish him and every one else in harm's way, the best of luck.

One of life's little pleasures...

is a "perfect" order of fried chicken. If you are a trucker, you may know the Tiger Truck Stop in Lafayette, LA off I-10. They have "perfect" fried chicken. It takes about 35 minutes to prepare and comes with a glass of awesome sweet tea. The worst fried chicken on the road is at Flying J. It's tastes terrible, is too salty and very greasy. Maybe that's how the Mormon's like it, but I've told them, in many unanswered e-mails, that they have to find a better recipe. I know they don't care, but I'll keep trying. Sunday night here at Shoemaker's T/S (Ambest) in Lincoln, NE, I have, once again, found the "perfect" fried chicken. Now what has to occur for fried chicken to become "perfect?" First, the actual chicken cannot be frozen and it must be white meat. Dark meat chicken should only be served to cats. Then the right kind of light spices has to be applied. A little "peppery" - easy on the salt. There are a few great recipes on the net. I prefer my "perfect" chicken to steamed. That pretty much insures that the white meat will be firm, juicy and cooked all the way though. In other words, safe to eat. The cooked skin should almost fall off on its own. It has to melt in your mouth. The deal is complete if served with any kind of potato along with carrots, string beans or corn on the cob. Soft buttery corn bread or soft rolls only makes everything "more" perfect. And of course, if you're not on the road, an ice cold beer or if you're on the job, sweet tea, diet Pepsi or a root beer float. Now that's heaven. That's perfect fried chicken. The photo credit is http://www.flickr.com/photos/katiekellert/465644382/

Do you understand this, at all?

Before I became a big time hot shot trucker - yeah right - I worked at the National Broadcasting Co., as Director of Corporate Logistics. It would be one of a small number of other management jobs I would suffer through. My first few days at NBC, during orientation, what was instilled in me was the importance of commercials. In fact, the programs are considered quite secondary. Understand that the more 18-25 year old women watch a show, the more the network can charge for commercials. Commercials are like passengers to an airline and loads to a trucking company. The more popular the show, now matter how stupid the content, the more commercials can be sold, the more the network can charge for the commercials and bottom line, the more money the company, in this case, NBC, makes. We are all familiar with the $1 million dollar a minute "spots" during the Super Bowl. Well, you get the point. It's all about money and demographics. So this brings us to the Tonight Show, Jay Leno and Conan O'Brien. Surprisingly Leno is being replaced by O'Brien this May. For the longest time, after Johnny Carson "retired", I did not like Leno. For many years, I did not watch him. When I went on the road, Mrs. Grumpy started taping (VHS) the Tonight Show for me and I really enjoyed it. Along with Law & Order, the Tonight Show provided "comfort" television for me - consistent likable entertainment. I could settle down in the bunk and know the next 60 minutes would be fun. Right after the Tonight Show comes Conan O'Brien, a two-time president of the Harvard Lampoon and Simpson's' writer (one of many) and producer. Just like Leno, I like O'Brien, a lot. But, his show is not the Tonight Show. Conan has a different flavor, a different tone than the Tonight Show. Some guests on Conan do not appear on Leno, and although I'm not positive, the opposite must be true. Both shows are excellent, but here's the rub, so to speak. A more profitable demographic watches Conan. Leno appeals to an older less profitable demographic, despite high ratings and the popularity of the Tonight Show. So with what I consider a stupid decision, Leno is out and Conan is in. I would surmise that there is more going on here. Things like this don't happen without "other" supporting reasons. Perhaps Leno's relationship with NBC's management soured over money, production or other problems. Who knows - the decision has been made. I'm very sorry to see him go. As a millionaire many times over who receives six-figures to do 45-minutes of stand-up on the road, he'll be fine. Still married to his first wife, with no children, I'm sure he's smarter than Ed McMahon and won't need a hand-out years from now. And then there's the possibility that Fox or ABC will give Leno millions more to do a show on their network. Conan, in anticipation of his move to LA next year, has just purchased a $10.5 million dollar mansion.

Update on Gustov and Hanna

The weather map is courtesy of the National Weather Service. I'm here in Lincoln, NE. The price of diesel here is $4.14 a gallon. I filled up, topped off the oil, washer fluid and coolant. The Qualcom went off early this morning advising drivers to avoid the Gulf Coast areas, especially along Texas and Louisiana. I'm not due to be in San Antonio until Thursday. Mrs. Grumpy, in Florida, is telling me that today it is difficult to place cell calls to the Panhandle. Inside Shoemaker's truck stop, the buzz, the night before, was about Obama, the next morning it was McCain's VP pick and last night it was all Gustuv and Ivan. It should be an interesting week, especially as the RNC convention begins Monday in St. Paul.

Dinner at Shoemakers...

Oh do I love the "ole" truck stops! What Pilot, T/A and FJ did to truckers is simply unforgivable. Travel centers be damned. So when I pull into one of these older Ambest places, like Shoemaker's here in "scenic" Lincoln, NE., with a big parking lot, no lines and plenty of trash cans - it's good to be home again. Mrs. Grumpy said if I didn't get out of the truck and get some real food, she was going to Fedex me some whoop ass "right quick." Believe me, ya'll don't want any whoop ass from Mrs. Grumpy, be it from Fedex, UPS or DHL. So in I went. You've got to go through their little store to get to the restaurant, and it's mighty hard not to buy something. I had to stop myself, because I was hungry and I needed the exercise walking around after dinner. I had my eye on this rebel fish license plate for $4.95. But it would have to wait and maybe I'll come to my senses and forget about it while eating. I go to the back, away from everyone else, to find a nice quiet spot, by myself. I try a booth and amazingly I fit right in. Just like the old days. These booths were probably installed years ago, before everything shrunk except our waistlines. I ordered a sweet tea and glanced at the menu. The special was cat fish. Do they have good cat fish in Nebraska? Don't know and I wasn't going to take the chance. Something occurred to me though. The waitress, who had way too much black eyeliner on for a "good girl", had no rear end. Below her back there was nothing. Flat as a pancake. Flat as a box top. I wondered how her tight pants stayed up. It was as though she had backed into a metal die cutting machine, down came the blade and off came her ass. Poor girl. But she seemed nice enough and I gave her my order for the soup & salad bar and the steak sandwich with fries. The french dressing was not the typical travel center bottled crap, but tasted home made with a honey kick to it. Very good. The salad came out of a big commercial plastic bag - nothing special. The potato soup also tasted home made and it felt good going down. The steak was as flat as road kill and was as salty as jerky. It had some char-broiled taste, but not much. Should have ordered the fish special. The large round seeded roll that the road kill was on had all the juices soaked in and was good. The fries were just perfect - hot curly fries just like Mrs. Grumpy and I like - with ketchup (preferably Hunt's) heavily smeared on them. All in all the meal was just what I needed - except one thing. Just as I sat down with my salad from the bag, in my personal quiet area, away from everybody else, here comes the traveling family of 5. Damn, damn, damn. Every trucker knows and dreads the horrible traveling family of 5. Why for goodness sakes do they decide to sit near me? There are plenty of other tables elsewhere. Let's start with the dad. He's losing his hair and is 'bout 40. He is kinda short - maybe 5' 7", thin and would instantly remind you of that safety guy every driver despises. In other words, he ain't one of us. And to top it off, he's got one of those "I'm trying but just can't grow a real man's mustache" neither here nor there hair growth under his lip - the kind that guys who are trying to make corporal try to grow. I take an instant dislike to this guy. He looks and acts like a weasel. The wife is ok. Actually she seems the most normal of the bunch. Then there is the 8 year old daughter who is trying real hard to be her mom. She sits away from the father and right next to mom. The son. The son, is well, how should we say, definitely ADD, OCD and every other "D". He is too thin. He can't sit down. He doesn't shut up. He has to touch everything. He has to pick everything up, feel it and then put it down. He walks around, sits down, gets up, walks around again, touches everything and then disappears somewhere. Probably to touch everything in the damn store. Oh, you just wanna shoot him with a tranquilizer dart. Why couldn't they just leave him tied up in the SUV. No one would blame them. They all order breakfast for dinner. Are they on another time zone? The father has his cell phone camera out taking pictures of his monkey son touching things. Is this for science? Maybe they're both part of some annoy the poor trucker experiment. He leaves the table with the cell phone camera to follow the son touching everything. I sure hope he doesn't grab one of the cashier's large boobs. Now that would be a picture. Back to the table. The wife has made herself a mega "health" salad towering over everything else on the table and the daughter is on her second hot chocolate, both with heaping gobs of whipped cream. 90 degrees outside and all this family needs is more sugar, caffeine and cocoa. Now next to the daughter is the mother. She's got the typical real short, almost lesbian looking hairdo, common among many senior women. Her faded beige bra straps are coming out of her sleeveless shirts and I see one is worn out. The elastic is worn and the strap is wrinkly. Being married to Mrs. Grumpy for 30 years has taught me a lot about brassieres. Looking at this mother, she definitely needs a new one. Without good straps, well, let's say nothing stays up, and "things" sag. Definitely the case here. Everything else she had on is slightly too large and definitely polyester. Now I wonder whose mother is she. I've completely forgotten about my meal. I'm obsessed with this family and I've got to get to the bottom of this. Ok, so I told you the son who can't sit still has gone to touch everything and the weasel father with the creepy moustache is following him with the cell phone camera. Are you with me? Good. So there's the mother with the "lesbian" hairdo and one bad bra strap on one end of the table, the hot cocoa daughter in the middle and the mega "health" salad mom at the other end. Nothing is said. See-lencio. The mother is bored. The mother is looking around for who the hell knows what. Care to guess? Yup. She is the mother-in-law! The mother of the creepy mustachioed weasel guy. The mom mom - mother of the ADD/OCD son, hot cocoa daughter and wife of the creepy mustachioed weasel guy - couldn't care if she (the mother-in-law) choked on her eggs and blue berry muffins. The food comes. Creepy weasel husband comes back. Then soon after, wild monkey boy comes back dancing all around, up and down, swinging his arms, yelling "when did the food come, when did the food come?" Does anyone have a banana? The waitress (black eyeliner missing an ass) comes over to me and says "I've got to go on break - "they're (the evil 5) kill'n me over there." She said if I need anything she'd be over "there" - pointing to (not letting "them" see) her "secret" hiding place . She assigns the "family" to two other "unknowing) waitresses. The family starts to eat like this is the last supper. I'm done. I pay the bill. The creepy mustachioed husband - the weasel - walks behind me as I'm signing the receipt. Man did he finish fast. I did not forget the rebel fish license plate and go into the store. I'm walking around. I glance to my right. I see dad thumbing through the girly magazines in the back. So that's where he went! Poor mom is stuck with the daughter, now probably on her 4th hot chocolate, the ODD/OCD wild monkey boy son and the polyester mother in law who needs a new bra. What a interesting dinner here at Shoemakers! And yes, I did buy the plate along with a pen I didn't need and a pint of Edy's Maxx mint brownie ice cream, which I definitely didn't need, but boy oh boy did it feel good goin' down. The photo credit is http://www.flickr.com/photos/firasco/396544240

Breaking news - I've been saved!

No, Jesus did not come walking by and the local Jehovah's did not come a knock'n. BEEP. The Qualcom was a call'n me. A holiday greeting? No. A trip? Yesssss! Pick-up tomorrow morning in Valley NE, 75 miles from here going to Live Oak TX. And it's a preloaded trailer. Excellent! Delivery 9/4. 9/4? What a minute? That's next Thursday. Next Thursday? Are they kidding? That gives me 6 days to drive 1300 miles! No way. And where the heck is Live Oak? Sounds familiar. EL-5. Due North of San Anton. What a minute? What about Gustov? Shit. If I can deliver it Tuesday morning, it will make next Friday's paycheck. I can deliver it and then get blown away by the hurricane. Just my luck. Whatever. I'll confirm the preplan. At least I'm not stuck here all weekend. BEEP. You have got to be kidding. 7 stops! 7 stops! So, they want me to drive the 75 miles from here in Lincoln to Valley - pick up a preloaded trailer with 7 stops - then drive back 75 miles right to where I am in Lincoln to deliver the first two stops which are here in Lincoln. R-eye-t. Then to Liberal KS, then to Oklahoma City, OK, then to Shawnee, OK, then to Kenendale, TX and then to Live Oak, TX. I'm speechless. What's a matter, Roadway couldn't handle it? When is Gustav supposed to hit the Gulf? Monday, Tuesday maybe? And into or over to Texas? Monday, Tuesday? Well folks it's going to be an interesting week. And tomorrow afternoon, I'll be back right here "stuck" for the weekend. Can you say "local" job, pleeease! The map is from the National Weather Service at http://www.nws.noaa.gov/

FOR TRUCKERS ONLY...

Well this comes under the category of "it's so funny, I could cry." I was in Crete, NE but after waiting all day for any kind of load and not getting one, I moved east a few miles on I-80 to the Shoemaker (Ambest) T/S in Lincoln. I forget that if you roll down any of your windows in Nebraska, for any length of time, your cab becomes "invested" with flies. So, as I write this, there is a "squadron" of at least 15 flies barnstorming me. I decided to turn on the A/C in the cab and bunk on max in the hopes that they will be dead (frozen?) by morning. One has landed on the screen here and is looking at me rubbing its front legs I'm sure thinking "boy, does he look delicious!" Screw you fly! See, I'm so bored I'm yelling at flies now. Anyway, sad to say (for me anyway) that I'm "stuck" here, so it would seem, until Tuesday morning, "loadless." Does anybody know of anything exciting to do here in Lincoln, other than spending money I don't have in Wal-Mart? I could get drunk, but I don't drink. Well, just a little. How about bob tailing over to a "titie" bar somewhere? No thanks. Could go east 'bout 45 miles to Omaha. Yuk. I'm determined not to overeat while I'm "stuck" here, being low on cash and having an excess of canned mini ravioli and soup on board, which can easily last a week, if I don't go crazy. Once, when the Petro in Little Rock, AR closed due to an ice storm, I ate six cans of spaghettios and one of those long Christmas sausage things in one night, and had nothing left to eat until everything thawed out. Hey, I was stressed! Now how about this. Do you have a relative in this area? Perhaps someone sick or elderly you haven't seen in a while? A distant cousin? Let me know. I have the time now to go and visit them. Maybe they could make me a home cooked Nebraska meal. I promise I'll help do the dishes. I do have an old X-box thing with an army WW2 fighting video game I could play. But I always get stuck in some bombed out French farm house and can't get out without my son's help. And he is not here, so forget the video game. I'm sure someone would sell me some drugs so I could get high and laugh and sleep the next three days. But I'm sure it wouldn't mix with my blood pressure pills and I need those more than I need (illegal) drugs. If you are an OTR trucker, you know the position I'm in and perhaps you're also "stuck" somewhere without a load over the Labor Day "holiday." Believe me, I sympathize with you, buddy. I was searching for a "titie" bar photo to peak your interest and came across this one - I don't know who the hell it is - no, its not McCains VP choice - hey, just a joke, ease up, ok? - but the credit for the photo is http://rides.webshots.com/photo/2741184160079502177xOcQLq

Will he speak...

at the RNC - the Republican National Convention - in Minnesota next week? Prior to the horror of 9/ll, his administration was dormant. After 9/ll he failed to capture Bin Ladin. He invaded Iraq and neglected Afghanistan. Weapons of mass destruction or payback for what his father didn't do? Then Katrina. He made our country the "homeland", yet we seem to have less freedom than ever. The Patroit Act. Then Abu Ghraib. Then Gitmo. We torture. Our government is more bloated than ever. We are in a recession. We have no coherent foreign, economic or energy policy. China, India and Mexico and others have many of our jobs. We have a trillion dollar debt. His approval rating is - and has for some time been- in the low 20's. The housing market is in a bad slump. "No child left behind" is a failure. Immigration is a mess. His appointments have been far less than satisfactory. People are angry, frustrated, confused, scared, unemployed, uninsured and yearning for effective leadership. It's not John McCain that doesn't get it - it's our current President. He believes history will judge him differently. So, if he does speak next week while hurricane Gustav heads back to New Orleans, what will he have to say to us "I'm sorry" perhaps?

We need you...

now more than ever. I see Sen. Obama and I can't stop thinking of JFK, RFK and MLK. You cannot let that happen. We almost lost Reagan. That is just not acceptable. I don't envy your job. The whole open stadium thing in Denver sacred the heck out of us. But, you came through. The future hope of America lies with a war hero, a mom, a brilliant young African-American and a man from Delaware. Please keep them safe. Thanks.

Hey, are you ready this time?

I hope so. I know this is a "holiday" weekend. But you can take time off when Bush is gone. Now is just not a good time. While your boss will be partying up in Minnesota, I hope you'll keep your eyes on the ball. Don't expect much from him. Ya'll really blew big time it with Katrina. Maybe you should get McCain's and Obama's cell numbers. They'll help you out. Is that crazy guy still Mayor there? That "chocolate city" guy. Don't expect much from him either. Hey, let's keep the Dome closed for football. Try using every bus this time. Even if Gustav passes New Orleans, get out all the sick and elderly anyway. And get them out early. Borrow National Guard from other states to protect property and save life. Call the folks over in Florida, who seem to understand how to properly handle disasters. They'll help you out. I know the world is watching, again. No more toxic poison trailers. And what about those levees? Have ya'll done anything about them since 2005? And where is "Brownie?" Hopefully far away. The Governor has just declared an "emergency" for Louisiana. It may be a Category 4 hurricane. I drove by New Orleans soon after Katrina. It was despicable what you did. Please don't let it happen again.

What bothers me about Obama...

has nothing to do with his race. It has nothing to do with his "lack" of experience. I don't think "experience" is going to give us a better President. What bothers me is getting "stuck" with another Jimmy Carter. I know John McCain is NOT Carter. With Sen. Obama, I'm "still" not so sure. And that really worries me. Carter, a Southerner from Georgia, graduated 59th out of 820 graduates at the US Naval Academy. He was senior officer, serving in the nuclear submarine program, on the USS Seawolf. He was a businessman (Peanut farming), Governor of Georgia and then was a 1 term President losing to Ronald Reagan. So much for experience. He was a terrible President. He was a horrible Commander-in-Chief. He was a poor executive. So much for experience. I remember Carter as a thinker, a micro-manager unlikely to be comfortable delegating, highly detailed and slow to take action. As with Bush, we needed to remove him from office. So what about Obama. What is his management style? So he, supposedly, chose Joe Biden. But what else. Perhaps he is a "natural" leader. He is certainly is a "natural" speaker. But a great speaker does not a President make. And, again, this worries me greatly. You may not like his answers, but McCain usually does not think about his answers. Obama does. So for me anyway, Obama and the Democrats have about two months to convince me he is not another Jimmy Carter. The credit for the photo is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Carter

"One, beautiful sensation, every little step she takes!"

Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska. The photo is by Kiichiro Sata, Associated Press. Her job approval rating is 80%. She has also been referred to as "Sara Barracuda." That's her husband on the right with one of her 5 children. Fox News says McCain now has a "trucker" on the ticket. For sure, by choosing Palin, McCain, has injected a hell of a lot of excitement into this campaign. The next two months until the election are going to be really interesting. I was 60/40 for Obama, with little movement over to the Democrats after their convention ended last night. Right now, I am 75/25 for McCain. I'm not sold on Obama/Biden. I wanted Hillary to be the nominee with Obama as her running mate. Mrs. Grumpy does not like McCain. Perhaps, for the first time in our 30th year marriage, we will be voting differently. As an OTR trucker, I will vote by absentee ballot. Today, I'm real proud to be an American. God bless the USA. PS/the words I used in the title are based on the song from "A Chorus Line."

Gustav

Courtesy of NOAA - the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. This is a 3-day forecast track. "He" is currently "impacting" Jamaica and heading for the Caymans. Right behind Gustav is Hanna.

Is she the McCain VP pick?

Sara Palin, 44, Governor of Alaska. Yes, Alaska. She was born in Idaho and has 5 kids, one with Downs. You can find out more about her at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Palin
Is she still in Alaska or was she on that private jet that flew from Anchorage to Akron last night? She is a very popular governor, former TV sports reporter, a strong environmentalist, independent from the oil company, in favor of off shore drilling, strongly pro-life, lifelong NRA member and a religious conservative. McCain is due to tell us who his VP candidate is at noon today. The other woman in consideration is Meg Whitman, the billionaire CEO of EBay.

When the lights go down...

This sucks, big time! Obama shama rama dama. (Sip) Who gives a f--k. R-eye-t. Whata joke! I shoulda been the nominee. I shoulda been the damn President. The damn President! I was soooo damn close. Damn Democrats. (Sip) Maybe I should be a damn Republican ey? I wanted to get that 3am call and show 'em all what a real Commander-in-Chief would do. I wanted to show 'em all what wearing a pants suit was all about. Damn stupid ignorant morons. (Sip) I'd give those generals a piece a my mind, I tells ya. (Sip) Now I'm stuck in Albany. Albany. What a shit hole! A lousy Senator from Neeeew Yoooork. I miss Illinois. I miss Arkansas. Boy, was I really something in Arkansas. Dose were the days! I hate New York. (Big sip) Dirty, smelly, cold, snowy. Awe hell, I'm pissed. I did my thing - kiss Obama's black ass - for the party. For the damn party. What a rippp! Now I want to dissappear. I need a long cruise somewhere. Without Bill. The credit for the photo is http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A9G_bDoUEbZIrC8AKbyjzbkF/SIG=12ac8pi9n/EXP=1219977876/**http%3A//www.nonstopbargains.com/Hillary%2520Clinton.htm

I'm going to wait and see...

what the Republicans have to say at their convention. McCain, according to the mainstream media, is going to announce his VP selection on Friday. Right now, I'm leaning 60/40 for the Obama ticket. I'm not 100% sold though. Something about Obama is bothering me, and I don't feel we're seeing the real John McCain. The "maverick" as he "was" known, I strongly suspect, is a "temporary" creation of the RNC - the Republican National Committee - "John, if you want to win, you're gonna have to do this, act this way, talk to him and say this." I believe McCain hates every minute of his campaign, but, just like Obama, desperately wants to the President. If McCain is elected, the next morning or (hopefully not) at 3am when the phone rings, the "real" John McCain, the maverick, will reappear. The credit for the photo is http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0WTefTJDLZIjccA406jzbkF/SIG=125n8tu0p/EXP=1219976777/**http%3A//sarahandthegoonsquad.com/category/son-of-a

from the Pilot, Lavergne, TN, I24W

So I'm driving on I24 and I realize that I'm not far from my scheduled fuel stop. Further down is a T/A, but since this is a "fuel solution" stop from my company, I'll stop at the Pilot. I'm not happy about it, but today I'll be a company man. So I get off the exit, and I say to myself, this should be interesting. I never quite know how the next 45 minutes or more of my life is going to be spent dealing with some aspect of the Pilot "world." It always an adventure, mostly a negative one. Hey, the first pump next to the building is empty, I'll pull in there. Wow, my card is accepted on the first slide in. Pilot's poorly maintained Comdata readers almost always reject my card about 7 times before they get tired and finally accept it. I fill up, both tanks. I put my Trip pak in the box, despite some "hobo" leaning against it. The truck next to me is done. He pulls forward, closer and closer, wheels rubbing, closer and closer to the pump. He scraping the sidewalk. Ripppp - out comes the side of the pump and booooommmm goes the tire and crunch goes the wheel. I run. Everybody wonders what the explosion was. Everybody inside is looking. Hell, I could of had my ass blown off. I'm sure some folks would have been happy about that. The driver gets out. He goes back to look. He says nothing. Fool. I'm auto approved for the fuel purchase. I get in my truck and pass the cab of the other driver who is on the phone acting like nothing just happened. I just love fueling at Pilot.

Checking in on Evan Lockridge...

Well, since Stern is on vacation and despite the fact that with Sirius and XM I have a hell of a lot to listen to, I still can't seem to find anything that appeals to me today. At 2pm I am somewhere near or past Nashville. I did have the CB, the national broadcasting arm of the KKK, on, but as we all know that gets old fast. Sooo, time to visit with 'ole Evan on Sirius, the Road Dog, channel 147. Today, for 2 hours, I can look forward to something about a Canadian drivers survey nobody knows or cares about, something about toll roads, something about the (evil) ATA and 4 wheelers and the holiday, and something about a trucker who was fired for helping the police and how horrible that is this being Trucker Appreciation Week. All that and calls from Bow Tie Man, Puddles, Dutchman, Southern Rebel, Wombat and other "characters." I must stop here and ask why are these grown men and women acting like children calling into a satellite radio show using "CeeBee" handles? They all can't drive for Werner and Swift, can they? No wonder truckers are not taken seriously. It sounds like Romper Room. What seemingly responsible man would refer to himself as a wombat? Even though Lockridge was a runner up for NBC to cover synchronized swimming in Beijing and can interview a pile of dog poop with the enthusiasm to make it interesting, the handle thing has to go. So, first the lady from the Canadian Trucking Human Resources Council. The only thing I can think of while this gal was talking is who in the hell did she blow to get that job? The Canadian Trucking Human Resources Council? Who are we kidding here? With her was a mousy sounding guy who kept having to refer to his pile of useless facts to find answers to Evan's questions. Of course, I should have known - he's the editor of, yes, another useless trucking magazine, this one published in Canada. When does Bubba the Love Sponge come on? I had to suffer through this nonsense interspersed with loud stupid commercials for Rail (Rohl) or it is Rohl (Rail)?, the Zapper, Anchor Funding, Progressive and (theee worst) Arrow Trucking. And, Lockridge gave us the BREAKING NEWS about some hurricane somewhere - Ivan, Gustov? - at least twelve times. He lives for these breaking news items. Did you know that in his sleep he dreams of being that fictitious anchorman Ted Baxter, from the old Mary Tyler Moore Show. Anyway, hell, I know the "Evanator" works hard to bring all this nonsense together. I like this guy. I like his voice. I love his enthusiasm. And, he hasn't been ooida-ized. Why he lives in Birmingham, I don't know. I give him credit, but thank goodness, Stern will be back from vacation soon. The photo is a wombat taken by http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A9G_bDmu9rVItmgBNHmjzbkF/SIG=1295c858r/EXP=1219971118/**http%3A//www.flickr.com/photos/10052670@N08/2167680679/ The talented photographer is a D Frasier.

A Federal Motor Carrier Reform Act...

is what we need. If your toe started twitching, if your ears started to flutter, if your finger started to shake, you'd know something is wrong and you'd seek help. Well, let's say your body is the Federal government and your toe, your ears and your finger are the states. The Federal government is sick with STATE BACTERIA! And it's causing our system to twitch, flutter and shake. PA, IL, CA, AZ and all the rest are eating away at a system that is out of date, inefficient and where every creepy politician has their hand in the till. Obviously, I'm not a believer in state's rights. Back in 1776 (our 1st revolution) when the formation of state's rights was a unique idea - we had 13 to contend with. But now they're out of control. They're 50 of the buggers plus Washington, DC. States are a pain in the ass. They're run by wealthy lying baby-kissing Governor's who don't know their ass from their elbow. They are greedy little ambitious bastards "ta" boot, who don't give a shit about trucking or truckers. Most of the them are lawyers. Below them in the slime pit are state legislatures comprised of whiny annoying do-gooder's with tunnel vision influenced by rich lobbyists, religious groups and individuals who blame truckers for all their problems. Interstate commerce, specifically interstate trucking is NOT the business of the states, but of the FEDERAL government. Interstate trucking should be governed by FEDERAL laws, not state laws. And, for those truckers that sit around bullshitting around the counter saying it is controlled by the Feds, no, I'm sorry, you're dead wrong, it is NOT. That's why we're in the mess we're in now. That's why we have a 55 mph speed restriction on an interstate highway, that's why every STATE weigh station is different, that's why you can't drive a 53 ft trailer in this STATE but you can in another, that's why we have dual speed limits - and on and on goes the bullshit list. Interstate commerce, specifically trucking, must be governed by a new FEDERAL department - flush the exciting bureaucracy - the FMCSA, etc. - and establish a new and SIMPLE set of laws that SUPERSEDE all state laws overseen by a new carefully organized FEDERAL department with the power to tell the states to go screw themselves. Bottom line is, I want the states (bacteria) to have NO control over INTER STATE trucking. Get them out of the mix. They can screw the INTRA state trucking companies and drivers, but should have nothing to do with INTER state trucking. I don't care if I95 or I5 or I65 goes through your state, it's not you're concern. You need not worry about it anymore. It is now the business of the FEDERAL government, not the state. You can have control over the cars, buses, RV's and all INTRA state traffic, but not INTER state trucking. This will all be covered under a NEW Federal Motor Carrier Reform Act, details of which I'll be covering in later posts. The picture credit is http://www.cheektowagacentral.org/webpages/mslib/photos/Revolution.gif

What is your major malfunction...

Kentucky and North Carolina? Why did I have to "creep" through a KY weigh station at 10 mph while a 300 lbs. women in an orange shirt sat inside eating pizza? I am so tired of this stupidity. Beyond the morons of the DOT of Kentucky and (sanctuary to Mexican illegal workers) North Carolina, why is it that only 29 states now have the Pre-Pass system operational? And why is it that so many drivers are so lazy that they don't have the transponder installed in their trucks? Do you like pulling into weigh stations? Here is a system that allows to keep on moving down the road and you don't have it? You gotta be kidd'n me! This is one for our side and you're not taking advantage of it.

US Homeland Security nuts...

Just a short note friends about the stupidity of US Homeland Security. You know about my passport exploits, well now there's more. My son is applying for some kind of license that requires Coast Guard approval. His application and the support paperwork that he submitted was promptly returned to him the other day. Inside was a handwritten note from some Commander of something that said he overpaid by $5 and they enclosed a $145 US Postal money order. They instructed him to get a corrected money order in the amount of $140 and send everything back. Only one problem. There is no fee to file the application and the money order for $145 returned to him WAS NOT HIS! So my son's $145 richer and his damn father is still from NEW ZEALAND!

Yea, yea, of course, he'll return the money, as if they were wondering what happened to it.

The USAF airman was...

was brought within minutes into the combat support hospital after the blast. His right hand was gone, both legs and feet were crushed and he had numerous other serious injuries. He had taken off his body armour because of the 124 degree heat. Within 36 hours he was at Walter Reed Army Hospital. Today is his first day at Dickinson University in Carlisle, PA. He was being interviewed on the radio along with the doctors and editors of a new book that has risen to #65 on the Amazon booksellers list. Remarkable for what is really a "training" book for surgeons on their way for duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. Too graphic for many, for others it honestly and accurately depicts the horror of what happens to our brave young men and women serving their country. It also serves as a tribute to what incredible things our medical teams are doing (and inventing) on the battlefield to save lives. My father-in-law' medic helmet is sitting in our garage. I now have some idea of what he went through serving his country in WW2. The book is expensive at $75, but worth checking out. Again, be advised, even doctors have found the photographs disturbing.

The blog...Adventures in Trucking...

blogger Wayne Neisser has announced that he has negotiated a multi-million dollar line of credit in order to design, build and launch an Adventures in Trucking satellite. His partner, reportedly, is the big truck manufacturer, International. Neisser, in an exclusive interview with the aFlush, said his goal is to have every trucker write a blog, through him. Neisser - who tore down his home (it still had a mortgage) to build a subterranean bomb proof stone structure to house his own massive Internet server - he now lives full time in a used truck given to him by International - does not feel that being everywhere on the net is enough for him. "I'm never satisfied", he says. His blog, which he writes along with his wife, is available on MySpace, Blogger, YouTube, Twitter, Delicious, Stumbles, Scout, Typepad and millions of other sites. His vast following of at least 25 readers, several of which have either died or retired from trucking years ago, can now find his blog anywhere and everywhere. You can even watch him blog via his podcast. Neisser attributes his blogging success to dictating money making ideas on a small RCA mini-recorder in the middle of the night then playing them back over and over until they become reality. He tells aFlush that his ideas are so numerous that his mini-recorder frequently runs out of space and he has to rely on ReQuall and Jott to help him out. Neisser, who also does an Internet radio show, acknowledges that 99.99% of truckers never heard of him, but vows to press on, eventually hoping to host a prime time game show to be broadcast on his Adventures in Trucking satellite network. Still in the planning stage, it is rumored to be called "Who gives a rats ass about trucking?" Weisser, ever the renaissance man, admits to being very conflicted about a bunch of things in his life. "I'm a trucker, but I also think of myself as the Vince McMahon of trucking blogs as well as an economist, programmer, editor, animal rescuer, great writer (he is working on a book called the History of Trucking Blogs, due out next year), husband, connoisseur, photographer and Internet expert. Asked whether he ever read aFlush, Neisser said never, "whoever writes that damn thing doesn't understand about paragraphs." When not overseeing his vast trucking blogger empire, you can might find Neisser delivering a load of strawberries from NJ to CA. Neisser, who admits being dropped on his head as a child, says his biggest goal is having lunch with John McCain and talking about his trucking blogs. Good luck, Wayne. You can read for yourself the golden words of Neisser by going here http://adventuresintrucking.com/ There you will also find a little scrunchy photo of him taken by a really cheap disposable camera, as he paused on his way to the top of Mt. Everest where he erected an antenna connected to his server. The credit for the photo is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vince_McMahon
(this entire story was bogus, but as funny as hell)

OOIDA names "Diesel" Dave...

Sweetman as their "man" to cover the next winter Olympics in 2010. As Dave will be there anyhow delivering "exotic" high value automobiles to the event, OOIDA said "we think Sweetman can write about how trucks at the event properly inflate their tires, how to get the best possible alignment and possibly conduct a mini seminar on tread. While the rest of the world media will be covering the events, Dave will actually be taking a closer look at the wheels on all Olympic vehicles and report to readers of OOIDA's Land Line about what he finds. It is sure to be exciting reading. In the interim Sweetman will be writing about the possibility of using flat square tires on Mexican trucks to achieve maximum fuel savings.
(this is all not true, but definitely hilarious)

Will the real police state please stand up...

Most of us just spent two weeks visiting with the Chinese in Beijing. Tonight before I left the house, what I saw and heard on the NBC Evening News with Brian Williams greatly disturbed me. Did you watch it? Even one female bystander on the report commented that - and I'm paraphrasing - "that it looks like a police state!" She was talking about the images, which are broadcast to the world, of all the cops, swat teams, FBI, Secret Service and myriad of other law enforcement agencies charged with watching over the Democratic convention in Denver. You saw people protesting surrounded by local Denver cops in stark black "fatigue" uniforms and "battle" helmets armed to the hilt with clubs, machine guns and riot gear looking more like the Russian KGB. What an image to portray to the world, 10 weeks before this "free" country elects a new President. Brian Williams commented after seeing the scene outside "I'll think it's safer for me to stay right here in my chair" This is a man who 48 hours ago was supposedly safer and less threatened in Beijing than in Denver, CO! I'm going to continue this analysis over the next few days. Right now I'm in Deland, FL to pick up a load to Crete, Nebraska and it's been a long day and I'll say good night for now. The credit for the photo is http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2008/08/25/us/0825SECURITY_3.html

Hi Hillary, this is Barack...

how ya doing? hoz Bill? hoz Chelsea? hoz life? Well, listen, ah, Hil - can I call u Hil? Ok sorry, Hillary, what? Ok sorry, Senator, huh? Ok, sorry, Senator Hillary, ah, I mean Senator Clinton, listen I'm really sorry about this whole Biden thing, but, well, after all, he is a man and has a lot of experience, what's that u say, yea I know you were in the White House for 8 years, yah I know you told Bill how to run things, but, what's that, yeah, I know you've been all over the world and know heads of state like Joe, but but, listen, huh, ok ok I'll say you should have been the nominee and I should have been your VP, but Hil, I mean Senator, I mean Senator Clinton it just didn't work out that way, and, and, I'm calling to find out what you want for supporting me and all, I mean what can I do for you once I'm elected? What's that? Well, Supreme Court Justice is not out of the question, how about Attorney General, now Senator Hil, I mean Senator Clinton it's not nice to say that about Janet Reno, huh, ok ok forget Attorney General, what? what does Bill want? He wants the Court? Well, I can appoint the both of you, together on the bench, that wouldn't be right, what's that? Bill wants Ambassador of England or China? Well, we might be able to work on that, what? You still want the Court, ok, well, you are going to say nice things about me at the convention right? You promise? You're not crossing your fingers behind your back are u? Ok, well I guess if you can say nice things about me and shut up,I mean watch Bill, I can give you the Court job. What do you mean you can't control Bill, but, but, alright forget Bill, but you will say nice things about me? Great, thank you so much, Hil, I mean Senator, I mean Senator Clinton. Oh by the way, can you wear that little red number on stage at the convention? Hello, hello, damn - she hung up already. The photo credit is http://www.flickr.com/photos/24515158@N06/2336591460/

So, how large is your penis?

That's one interview question you won't be hearing this week on Howard Stern's show on Sirius/XM. Why? Because Stern and his side show of dysfunctional crude racist childish "characters" are on their 4th, 5th or 6th week of vacation - I've lost count - this year. What a deal this guy got - $500 mil and probably about 12 weeks of vacation a year, not to mention he only broadcasts 4 days a week. Despite his "shock-jock" antics, Stern is, without a doubt, one of the best interviewers of the "somewhat rich and not so famous" talent. I'd love to hear him go one on one with Obama and McCain, even Biden. I just really don't care to learn how their penis' are. But, ff you really needed to find out about someone and get inside their head, let Stern have a go at them, then send them down the street to Bill O'Reilly. Then go cast your vote. But catch 'em while you can because Stern will no sooner be back from vacation when his next one begins. And remember, he has only about 2 more years left on his contract. The photo credit is http://www.cbc.ca/arts/story/2005/10/25/stern_replace_051025.html?email

"Baa daa, daa, daa, daa, daa - baa, daa

daa, daa, daa, daa - mun day mun day (slight pause) sooo good toew me - mun day morning" - so said the 60's phenomenon, the Mammas and Pappas. Yes, readers, it's Munday morning. And, after trying to start the truck last night without success, I sent an e-mail to my operations manager and "cc'd" my senior driver manager and the president of "my" company. I said to them that I've wasted days sitting here because those darn wacky maintenance folks can't seem to make a decision and buy new batteries. I purposely did not "cc" the SVP of maintenance because he is a moron and I don't like him. Anyway, by 10am this "morn'n" all 4 batteries were replaced with brand new Interstate (s) and, of course, the truck starts without a problem. Two of the old batteries were completely gone, one was leaking acid and the fourth had a little juice left, but not enough to keep the Qualcom on, let alone start the truck. The tech, who came to the house, said he was surprised they lasted as long as they did, and to please tell my company, especially on FL trucks, to replace the original batteries after 2-3 years. I said you tell 'em. So now I'm flagged to our main terminal or our #2 terminal in Laredo. I'm sitting here in my living room waiting on a load out of here. The truck is due for a PM and needs a updated Federal inspection sticker. It's hot outside, but a beautiful sunny day - and one of about 7 that I've wasted worrying about the truck. What a damn shame. The photo credit is http://www.laurelcanyonthebook.com/ And you can hear the entire song in a live performance by going here http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=H7KrlDZ5Hkw

Back to crappy television, again...

The Olympics are over. All in all, I'd say - good job China. I actually had a good reason to sit down in my favorite chair with an O'Doul's and turn the teevee on the past week or so. Mrs. Grumpy and I went to bed with it and turned it on (again) when we had our morning coffee. You know my favorite was the women's beach volleyball. I liked the track and field, women's diving and of course the swimming, both men's and women's. I watched other events like BMX, boxing and rowing, but only while working on my laptop on, well, my lap. I thought NBC did a good job covering the whole affair. We never did find out what was going on with Bob Costas' hair. I especially liked Mary Carillo's reports and Bella Karolyi's honesty. The Olympics will now move on to merry 'ole London for the 2012 games. Oh by the way, the USA did win the most medals overall, our Chinese "friends" the most golds with the Russians, the Brits with the Aussies bringing up the rear. But, with the Olympics over, it's unfortunately back to really crappy television. There are a few "shows" I like. But the rest of it, huh? I don't like what I see, I can't follow the constant schedule changes, the story lines are stupid and childish, there is too much violence and the actors don't look or act like "real" people. I'm tired of cops shows, besides, I don't really like cops. Enough with those CSI type shows (Miami, New York, Las Vegas, Bahrain - just kidding about Bahrain) and God help us, I wish every reality show would just die quickly and go away forever. I don't care about prisons, sex in prison, prison gangs and guards or criminals problems. I don't want to see weirdos tattooed. I don't want to watch (over the top) gay fashion designers under stress because they have to create a shirt from a Happy Meal box or anorexic wanna-be dysfunctional models without any confidence or looks. I don't care for American Idol, Millionaire or best of this and that type shows. I'm tired of Brits with attitudes. Ice trackers or truckers is completely moronic. I'm bored of seeing overworked unsafe fisherman fish. I've always known the construction industry is (very) dull so why show me hour after hour of it and Dirty Jobs with Mike Rowe hit the wall episodes ago. There is too much bad news - not the news itself, but the people who "deliver" and "read" the news are just plain amateurish. I can't stand baseball. Nascar - I'm not going to capitalize all the letters anymore - should be seen live and in person. The football season is not long enough. Golf shouldn't been allowed on television. HBO and all the imitators don't offer enough good movies. The quality of "on demand" is sorely lacking. We paid $3.95 last night to see "Bucket List" and could hardly hear the damn thing. There are by the way - way too many bad commercials. Some of these "commercials" - when they're over - Mrs. Grumpy and I just look at each other with puzzled looks on our faces. And there are way, way too many channels that we don't need, most of them are for, guess what, yes, commercials! And I know you've heard this before but I (perhaps you too?) enjoyed teevee a lot more when there were just 5 channels. When cable teevee and HBO just came on the market with only 25 or channels, it was awesome. It's been downhill ever since and now has hit rock bottom. Too bad. So instead of thinking about Bob Costas's hair, I now can wonder what the hell is going on with Mary McCormick's upper lip - she plays US Marshall Mary Shannon in "In Plain Sight." on USA. The credit for the photo is http://www.saltwatersportsman.com/

And just when did the...

price of a "decent" boat become about $45K? OK, break out the harmonica. A little tune please. Way back when I was a teen ayger, my parents said to me, "V. Grumpy, if you get all B's next year, we'll buy you a boat." Wow. The boat I so wanted was a little Boston Whaler skiff with a 25 hp Merc engine. I believe the price was give or take about $2K. My son, who works for a nationwide boat dealership sells a larger version of what I dreamed of for about $125K! Ok, now by a little bit larger, I mean a monstrous 150 hp computerized sea tested Merc. His version is so efficient (and expensive) you simply walk next to it and think "I wanna go now" and it turns itself on without a sound and you're off, forgetting about the monthly payment and absurd cost of fuel. Yes, it is a little longer than my dream boat with an Airbus type instrument laden center console -satellite this and that, radar, sonar and other ar's. But bottom line it's not that much different than my dream boat. You get in and go, fishing, swimming, island hopping, bikini watching or whatever. But sweet holy Jesus, look at the prices of some of these "other" boats. Flipping through my latest copy of SaltWater Sportsman, Boston-Whalers are some of the most expensive boats on the market. The 345 Conquest with twin Mercury Verados, 347 gallon fuel capacity, a 40 gallon live well and a top speed of almost 45 miles an hour costs twice as much as my house was valued before the real estate market collapsed. On page 70 in the Sept. 2008 issue a Henriques 30 Express "a versatile boat for inshore and offshore fishing" is a 35 ft beauty for $325,000! A 28 foot Triton 281cc center console is $140K! Back down to earth is the (page 79) Wellcraft 210F 21 footer for $43,520. And to the left across the fold is the ridiculous Nordhav 75 EYF for (gulp) $4,400,000! Now McCain says rich is $5 mil and Obama says it's about $150K. But neither can afford the likes of that Nordhav or a lot of the other advertised boats. Being a OTR trucker, I can't even swing for the rubber dingy thing that the Captain of the Nordhav goes to shore to purchase the owners caviar and champagne. And I'll let you in on a secret, used boats suck. And older used boat engines are garbage. My son and I have had several of both and oh have we suffered for it. Never again. You gotta buy NEW. You just have to figure out to pay for the sucker. Hopefully - he does not get an employee discount - my son will somehow buy a nice new boat with one of those dream Mercs before I'm too old to remember why I ever dreamed of owning that Whaler. And we'll have some good times. And fish until we drop. Because way back then I never did get that little skiff. Sure I got the B's, but my parents never fulfilled the promise. And deep down I've cryed about it ever since. The photo credit is http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A9G_bHKApbFIqWMBux.jzbkF/SIG=1233n56i7/EXP=1219688192/**http%3A//www.flickr.com/photos/rc6750/2492031863/ and Saltwater Sportsman Magazine's website is http://www.saltwatersportsman.com/ These folks support catch and release which I'm a big supporter of.

Sunday, Humid and Hot...

Well, it's Sunday here on the West coast of FL. Biden is now Obama's VP running mate, the Democratic convention begins in Denver in a few days, the Olympics are almost over, our troops are still in harms way in Iraq and Afganistan and Nancy Pilosi, one of the richest people in Congress and Speaker of the House is looking mighty sexy to me on NBC's Meet The Press with Tom Brokaw.

Yesterday, the weather folks kept telling us that "remnants" of Fay were passing through our area moving north. They told us to expect high winds, lots of rain and thunder and lightning. What we got was what we had all week with Fay - nothing.

We did not have the big rains, the flooding, the winds or anything else, other than awfully high thick humidity. So inside my house right now it's about 73 degrees (low humidity) and outside it feels like 100+. I just don't feel real motivated whatsoever to venture outside to do anything and sweat. I did find it hilarious that with all their high priced "technology" and tall towers with big balls on top labeled DOPPLER radar, these "meteorologists" had no clue what Fay was doing. The maps and stuff though are mighty pretty.

With the empty threats of impending bad weather coming, Mrs. Grumpy drove me back over to the KW dealer to pick up the truck. The bridge over the bay was backed up with traffic (we never found out why) and we had to drive in reverse back off an exit ramp and find another route to go with the clock ticking. It was about 11:15am and we had until noon before they closed. Yes, we did call them and Mrs. G. made arrangements to leave the key with the parts desk which stays open all day. We got there at 11:57. I got the keys and of course it wouldn't start.

If you own a dog you know sometimes he-she will just give up and roll over on its back with 2/3's of "its" paws up and the other 1/3 curled over. That's just about how I feel right now. I just don't give a crap. My company is going to have to deal with their equipment needing to function efficiently and the fact that they have wasted about 4 days of my not earning a dime. I'll have to deal with this Monday morning. Another day of waking up and within 5 minutes, I'll the weight of the world on my chest, again.

After getting a jump start the second time in 48 hours - actually the first time it wouldn't start until we popped the clutch - I drove the truck back over the bay to the house. I kept it running until about 9am after Mrs. G. checked with our neighbors to see if they minded. No problem. I'll go out and see if it starts a little later.

The photo is my gal Nancy with the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad taken by Huessin Malla of the AP/Associated Press.

Here's the deal...

you may not believe this, but in many "circles" this guy is loved and worshipped. Why it was only yesterday that I was told by a very nice middle aged lady (working at the KW dealership) that he, Bubba, aka Bubba the Love Sponge, was, in fact, the "smartest" man in America! My "Bubba Army" sticker on my laptop has brought me more attention than well, anything else. "Hey, Bubba Army, right on dude! - he's the man." is what I'm typically told. It seems every mechanic (and other blue collar worker, including cops) knows of or has heard or listens regularly to the Bubba radio show. It all began for Todd Alan Clem in Indiana on "regular" radio in 1985. Years pass and he moves from city to city - radio station to radio station - and now he can be heard on Sirius/XM thanks to Howard Stern bringing him on board and back from the dead. Concurrently (once again) he can also be heard on a growing list of Florida terrestrial radio stations. Bubba is national via satellite, but he destined to go national on terrestrial again, I'm sure. It's just a matter of time. Bubba is hot and 'rollin. I'm not going to spend any time writing about his indecency issues and the history of complaints and fines with the FCC, the pig incident and the host of other shit he has gotten himself into. It's all really irrelevant to the fact that this guy is very popular and people want to hear what he has to say. I never listened to him on "regular" radio, but I have tuned in numerous times on satellite and I must say, he is growing on me. I like the guy. I like his voice. He's got his own unique way of speaking. I like his style. And, he is a big guy like me and my son. Most people tell me they like the "cleaned-up" version of Bubba on terrestrial radio more than the satellite show. I've only heard the uncensored version. Now, Bubba is a mini business conglomerate, with merchandise, restaurants, a road show called Bubbapalooza and more. He's into racing, his little boy races, his wife is hot, he has a weight problem which he constantly battles and talks about on his show, one of his best friends is Hulk Hogan and like I said people grow to love the big guy. One of his theme songs is "Full Trucker Effect" by Johnny Socko, which I guarantee you will want to hear over and over. The guy works hard, makes a hell of a lot of money and I suggest you check him out. His website is http://www.btls.com and you can read more about him at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bubba_the_Love_Sponge The photo credit is http://www.orbitcast.com/archives/bubba_the_love_sponge

China, Cuba and Russia, again on the move...

China, China, China - enough. Cuba, again, beat the USA baseball team and will play unbeaten South Korea for the damn gold medal. And although I'm "free", I still am not "allowed" to buy a Cuban Cigar. That's the Cuba 90 miles south of Key West, FL. Whatever. So - moving onto Russia. They invaded Georgia and they're back in the news. But, you may or may not remember a previous post about a trip I made to the port of Baltimore, actually Sparrows Point, Md. The huge steel facility I picked up at, which was 85% automated and had 2/3's less people (vs. a typical US owned plant) working in the coil warehouse facility, had been sold to the giant Russian steel company SeverStal - which in Russian is Северсталь or Northern Steel. Well, that same Russian company just purchased PBS Coals in Pennsylvania for $1.3 billion in cash. According to The New York Times, "The company produced about 2.4 million tons of coal, last year, including 1.5 million tons of coking coal, which is used to make steel." SeverStal is controlled by Alexei Mordashov, who is #18 on the Forbes World's Billionaire list. They report his net worth at $21.2 billion. But this is not about him, it's about yet another piece of the United States being sold - and control of one our most valuable natural resources now belonging to an entity off our shores - in this case Russia.

Pagliacci?

So we leave the KW dealership last night after they did nothing. I really didn't care at that point if I ever saw my truck again. I also would never want to set foot in another truck dealership. We made the best of a bad situation, between Mrs. Grumpy reminding me that "Well u have been home for a weeeek now", (like I neeeed reminding) and losing another day of income - we went out to dinner at a local sports bar called Mugs and Jugs. It was karaoke night so we had free "entertainment" with our steak and boneless wings. But now it's the morning after, so to speak. It's Friday. It's raining. Many places around us in FL are flooding 'cause of the "stalled" Fay. Mrs. Grumpy calls me on her way to work asking me if I called the dealership. "It's 8 'o clock, give 'em a call and bug 'em so you can at least get out of here today!" Nooo I did not call the dealership. Hey, can we talk. You know most mornings I get up and I'm "stuck" in the truck. About 15 to 30 minutes later I commute the 2 seconds from the "residence" - the bunk - to the office - my uncomfortable drivers seat. Almost instantaneously I face the world and all it has to "offer." And about 15 hours or so later I reverse the process. So this morning I get out of our "real" bed and within about 5 minutes what seems like the weight of the whole damn world is sitting on my chest. Call the dealership, call the doctor, take out the garbage, deal with my driver manager, put out the dogs, figure out how to get to the dealership, what about a load today, tomorrow?, get the trailer, got to get the stuff like clean clothes in the truck, what about ice - holy shit! This is ridiculous! This is no way to live. I just woke up and I feel like shit. I just want to go in the closet and hide. Ever since I got home last week, I have thought about nothing but the damn truck, getting it started and the crappy seat. Last night in the restaurant I looked around me and said to myself, what do all these people do? They seem to have "normal" lives. They "seem" to have "normal" jobs. But who knows? I know nothing of their reality just as much as they don't appreciate or care about mine. I remember my father who had a heart attack and died at 55. He was two years older than I am now. I remember all the pressure he was under. And all the cups of coffee he would drink. And my mother driving him crazy over nonsense when he got home. And, right now, for me, it's no different. I've become the clown character, pagliacci - pronounced palli ach ee, from the famous Italian opera of the same name - laughing on the outside but dying on the inside. Hang on, Mrs. Grumpy on the cell again wanting to know if I can do (wash & dry) the bed sheets, copy all the passport stuff before she mails it, and do the dogs nails. Gotta go. The photo credit is http://www.mugsnjugs.com/

(Music) How old are u now, how old...

are you now? Hey little girl - are you 12? Or 13? Maybe you're a really young looking 14 or 15? Asians do tend to look younger than Europeans and Americans. What? Did you say 16? Nooo. How can you be 16. You're a baby! 16? No way. It just can't be. Every mother out there says there's no way you're as old as 16. And mothers, they certainly know their stuff. I'm not a mom, but you sure look like your 12 or 13. The Times of London says they have "evidence" that you're 14 and 220 days. Which certainly means your not 16. It also means that you're too young to compete. And someone is lying. Now the IOC - the International Olympic Committee is going to investigate, whatever that means. They picked Beijing, made judges scoring more complicated and confusing and said this is the last year for women's fast pitch softball because the US always wins, or did. The IOC is as bureaucratic and untrustworthy as the Communist Chinese. Remember the old saying, one lies and the other swears to it? Anyway, if He Kexin - that's the girl, the gold medal winner pictured here, is found to be truly underage, then she can say sayonara to the medal. And if this all proves to be true, that she is only 14 1/2, then shame on the Communists for lying and placing this little girl in this position. Read more at http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/beijing/blog/fourth_place_medal/post/IOC-orders-investigation-into-He-Kexin-s-age?urn=oly,102564 and that's where the photo is from.

'Bout to bust a freak'n gasket...

It's 5pm. I've been sitting at this damn KW dealership since about 11am this morning. The truck was pulled into a bay about an hour after I got here. My company "instructed" the service foreman to expedite the service. Hood open. Doors open. Noon, 1pm, 2pm, 3pm, 4pm and now 5pm, and I just found out that...

NOTHING HAS BEEN DONE TO THE TRUCK!! NOTHING. NADA. ZIPPO. ZELCH.

I have been sitting here like a moron waiting and waiting. I was lied to. I was deceived. I asked three times about the status of the work. "It's com'n." "They're working on it" "They spotted a recall and they're replacing..." all b.s., because...

NOTHING HAS BEEN DONE TO THE TRUCK!! NOTHING. NADA. ZIPPO. ZELCH.

Mrs. Grumpy (23 miles away) is now driving over here after WORKING ALL DAY to pick me up and take me home, because...

NOTHING HAS BEEN DONE TO THE TRUCK!! NOTHING. NADA. ZIPPO. ZELCH.

WHAT IS WRONG WITH THESE PEOPLE?

IS THERE SOMETHING WRONG WITH ME? SOMEONE'S TRYING TO TELL ME SOMETHING - I JUST DON'T KNOW WHAT IT IS...

the photo credit is http://www.ynwa.tv/forum/index.php?showtopic=117628

Enemies of the state...

These two Q-tips, Wu and Wang (with the hat) are pissed that the Communist Chinese government did not pay them enough for their homes. Both residences were knocked down to make way for redevelopment projects like the Olympics. This, according to The New York Times, is becoming a common complaint among "common folk" as the Communists ride the pseudo capitalist train to world dominance. Wu and Wang, applied for a permit to demonstrate and then the Beijing cops "sentenced" both to 1-year of "reeducation through labor." Both are protester wanna-bees. One is partially blind and both have trouble walking without canes. Even if they could, they never even got to hold up signs. It was the thought to and the subsequent the filing of the applications to protest that got them in hot water. The Communists are scared to death that the rest of the world will see two 70+year old ladies saying any negative about the government during their precious "perfect" Olympics. It's not enough to censor the press, the Internet, its own citizens. No, even these two elderly women are deemed enemies of the state and are subsequently shut-up. There is a designated "protest" area near the Olympic site, but guess what? No one seems to be using it. Whoever the leaders of ruling party of Communist China are, they have no back bone. They lack confidence. They are small minded. They don't have a clue as to how stupid this makes them look. They rule over billions of people, who think they are free. But they're not. And no matter how wonderful the Chinese think their Olympics is, in the back of everyone else's mind around the world, China is a second-rate evil country, despite all of its recent economic prosperity. And I ask, how long will it be before the revolution of the "I thought I was free, but I really wasn't?" occurs. For more information and to the read the NYT article please go to http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/21/sports/olympics/21protest.html?pagewanted=1&hp to rest The New York Times story. The photo credit is Hg Nan Guan of the Associated Press.

Manager whisperer...

Now follow me here. This photo is of the dog whisperer. Someone has a dog with a behavior problem. It's almost always caused by the behavior of the owner, not the dog, but forget that. So the dog let's say goes wacko when the owner walks "it" and spins in circles, bites, farts, whatever - not good. Makes the owner look like a moron, which in many cases is the truth, but, again, forget that. So in comes the dog whisperer. If you watch this show, you know that all the dog needs to know is the whisperer is coming and he knows the game is over. The whisperer enters the house and you can see the dog is already shaking in this doggie boots. 5 minutes after the whisperer puts the dog on the leash and takes "it" outside, any behavior that was previously exhibited is over with. After 15 minutes on the leash with the whisperer, thousands of years of inbred cranky dog behavior ceases to exist. Problem solved. The dog whisperer takes no shit and no prisoners. After all this is a man who rescues and trains pit bulls. That's because he's really not the dog whisperer, but the doggie devil. And the dogs know it. The dog whisperer really never has to go anywhere. All he has to do is phone the owner of a bad dog. Put him on speaker phone and he does that cist! sound and instantly the dog becomes tabula rasa frozen and waiting for instructions on what to do next. The only reason any of this does not work is because the owners are stupid. When things don't work out, the whisperer does do follow-up visits, but you can tell he is not happy about it. This is when the owner gets a good whispering-style talking to. "Be here and in the now, be peaceful, show control", he says, really saying to the owner, hey get your act together fool and learn how to control your damn pet. And don't call me again. Now why the hell am telling you about this. As that famous radio news broadcasting said, "There's more to the story!" I'll have to save it for the next post. The photo credit is http://cdn.channel.aol.com/ch_kids/dog-whisperer-cesar-millan-300-032707.jpg The whisperer's website is http://www.cesarmillaninc.com/

Do you have any clue...

who this woman is? I didn't until a couple of years ago. She is Diane Rehm. Her show is on WAMU 88.5 American University Radio in Washington, DC, and you can hear it on Sirius/XM NPR or on your local NPR station. Now let me say that when you listen, you may think that she is really old, possibly 80 or 90. Her voice sounds old and shaky. From the AMU website, I learned "That in 1998, her career nearly came to a halt because of a mysterious speech problem. She took a leave of absence from the show and saw specialist after specialist until, finally, she was diagnosed and treated for spasmodic dysphonia, a neurological disorder that causes strained and difficult speech." But don't let this deter you, this woman is entertaining, smart, insightful, intuitive and so much more. And she is not annoying. I have learned much about the world from her radio show, certainly more than any high school or college course I've ever taken. Her weekly audience is about 1.7 million and growing. She is broadcasts to U.S. military installations around the world via Armed Forces Radio. She is a best selling author and was named by Washingtonian magazine as one of Washington's "100 Most Powerful Women." I strongly urge you to take some time out of your busy day and listen. Again from the AMU website, "As Diane says, "It's crucial we hear not only the voices of policymakers and experts, but that everyone has a chance to offer their opinions and ask questions." For more information and to subscribe to her podcast please go to http://www.wamu.org/programs/dr/diane_rehm/